"Seiya! Are you ready?" Serena inched toward the door. She was beyond excited, but also very nervous. If it took as long for Natsume to warm up to her as it did Rini then Earth would be done for.

"Ready." Seiya appeared hugging Serena from behind. Serena giggled as she opened the door.

"They're at it again." Lita sighed loudly outside the apartment. Everyone stood outside filled with energy.

""It's a pleasure to see you again, Hotaru." The teenager, instead of looking down silently, lifted her head to her leader and said, "It's a pleasure to be back." Setsuna wrapped an arm over the Princess of Saturn.

"So what's the plan Serena, we don't have tons of time." Ami was staring at her watch.

"We go to the amusement park…." Started Serena.

"And give Natsume the best time of his life." Seiya finished.

"Aww! Now they finish each other's sentences." Mina teased. Lita pretended to gag.

Haruka ignored Mina's teasing, "Serena, there's no pressure to get the kid to like you for the battle."

"I know but it would be nice to be loved by my child." Serena smiled gently as she slipped on a brown leather jacket over her white and blue shirt.

"If that is what you wish. But don't push yourself." Michiru gave a comforting smile.

"Besides who wouldn't love Serena?" Seiya commented. In their good spirits the group set off.

"I hate Serena!" With each word Darien send a blow to the tree before him. Not only was he angry that he had to hunt down the child of his ex-wife, but now he was in this damned amusement park. The same one Serena begged him to take her every month.

"Shut up or you'll draw attention to us!" Darien noted the final disturbance in his otherwise peaceful life, Suzuki. The brat followed him around like a lost puppy ever since the dumb blonde kicked him out.

"What did you just tell me?" His own voice sounded metallic.

"No-nothing."

"I knew you would come!" Outside the amusement park gate stood a black haired boy with blue eyes that could challenge his mother's.

"Natsume?" Serena gasped upon seeing her son for the first time.

"Come along then! I've been trying to get onto these rides for the past week but they won't let me on without a parent." Natsume dashed to the group of friends and claimed Seiya and Serena's hands.

Walking through the entrance, the rest of the girls said their goodbyes to Seiya and Serena. In hushed tones they explained to Serena where they would be keeping watch for youkai in the park.

"First this one!" Natsume rushed towards a tall wooden rollercoaster called, "The Giant Serpent." With the strength of a full-grown man, Natsume yanked his parents forward.

"But I've never been on a coaster before!" Seiya sounded truly mortified of the ride.

"Me neither. Come on!" Natsume laughed.

This could be fun. Serena smiled and followed the boys.

There he was, the boy, the target. Darien watched as the boy dragged his parents onto the coaster ride. Darien knew it well. Serena loved this ride she would go on it back to back all day.

As he watched his old lover disappear under the awning outside the ride, Darien saw a goofy smile plastered on her face. The face she showed only after the defeat of yet another major villain. How was it, that these two boys could elicit that smile? God knows how many times Darien tried to when they were still together, when he still loved her. When did he even fall out of love? Did her ever stop?

Darien shook his head violently. Of course he did! He wanted to see the bitch suffer. He wanted to watch her die in the arms of the man who took her away.

Flashback

Darien and Serena stood on the rooftop with the other scouts and the starlights. He noticed how Serena remained happy as they all watched the starlights fade off in the distance to return home. He noticed how Serena's tears only fell from those beautiful blue eyes once she knew Seiya would not see them.

It was a heart wrenching sadness, that one who loved another more than anything or anyone else tried to hide, in fear it would prevent their loved one from fulfilling their dreams. It was a consideration Serena never gave to Darien.

He remembered the same night when she asked, "Do you love me?" She stared at the twinkly stars then. And he replied with, "I do." She continued to stare into the distance, "Really? Truly?"

Darien recalled when they returned to her house for the first time. There were pictures of Seiya with Serena and the scouts in the woods, at baseball games, and at the amusement park, but none of Darien. She explained with, " I was sad because you never returned my messages." Finally there was the towel in the bathroom that she said belonged to Seiya.

Flashback End.

Who was cruller the one who cheated to be with someone else, or the one who lied to her husband telling him she loved him when she clearly loved another? It didn't' matter, because he would have the last laugh. He would kill her lover and her son. Darien laughed manically, his head bent back. He would leave Serena alone and have Earth. His laughter blended with the screams of those on the coasters.

Suzuki walked up behind Darien and saw the man laughing and caught a glimpse of his eyes. There were no pupils, just black holes like Ataxia, like a youkai.

Suzuki took a step backwards stomping on a twig. Darien's contorted body straightened and his pupils reappeared," Do find something to do besides make noise."

Rei felt like her body was drifting away from her soul. It was as if she had not control over her emotions or her feelings. She curled in on herself. Closing her mental eye, letting the drug do its work.

"Again!" Serena and Natsume yelled in unison. Seiya was hunched over, his hands on his knees, "Don't you two want to take a break? We've gone that ride three times!"

"Please!" The duo begged again.

"How about those?" Seiya pointed to the teacups. They were slow and melodic, even better they were on the ground.

The trio dragged themselves off the teacups, their heads spinning as they tried to maneuver their way to some seats.

"No more teacups." Natsume mumbled.

"Yeahh no more…" Serena said dazedly.

"I don't know… I could do that again." Seiya sat leaning back on his chair.

"No!" Serena and Natsume cried. Then all three burst out laughing.

"What should we do next?" Natsume's stomach grumbled.

"Maybe we should get you some food." Serena smiled warmly towards the young boy. She stood and ruffled his hair, "Hey…"

Seiya picked up Natsume and placed the boy on his shoulder, "Wah! Everything looks so different from up here!"

They made the perfect family. The family he yearned to have with Serena. It was final. Ataxia didn't have to worry he would definitely kill Natsume. Darien just had to wait for him to be alone.

Seiya laughed, "He is definitely your child Serena, he has your appetite."

Natsume stared wide-eyed at the double cheeseburger, large cheese fries, and large chocolate milkshake with extra whip cream and an ice cream cone. "Are you sure you can eat all of that?" Serena had ordered the exact same thing.

"Of course! I'm not a child."

"Well you look like one. Though when I first met you, you didn't act like one." Seiya had a handful of fries.

"Well I'm on the good side. I'm a hero like Superman. I have to be serious in my introductions." But Natsume had a mouthful of burger so the last word came out as "um-fro-mun-fruns."

"What did you mean when you said that I loved someone else before Serena. I thought you meant I wasn't going to be with Serena." Seiya looked slightly upset.

When I first saw you it was with Princess Kakyuu. Did you not love her?" Seiya looked worriedly at Serena.

"He was nuts for her," Serena laughed.

"Say why are you so open with us Natsume? You don't know us."

"But I do. I've seen you both so many times that it would've been impossible not to know you. You're my parents." Natsume burped.

Once everyone finished their food, they walked hand in hand with Natsume in the middle. Finally, they reached and boarded the Ferris wheel. It wasn't long before Natsume close his eyes, and his head slowly sunk until it rested on Serena's lap. Serena lifted the rest of her son's body till it lay horizontally on the seat. Softly, she combed through his black hair, humming.

"He's completely knocked out. Couldn't he have waited till we got off the Ferris wheel?" Seiya scratched his head.

"It is a lovely sight." Serena looked at the multi colored sunset that shone just outside the window.

The wheel was at the top. "Just like the other time before we rushed to the temple." Serena gave a sad smile to Seiya as he continued, "Should we pick up where we left off?" And in that moment where the couple locked eyes they each made a vow to protect their family. Then the two kissed. It was chaste and quick, but the two kissed just as the sun disappeared.

The couple walked off the Ferris wheel grinning like idiots. The taller of the two, the man, carried a small child, their son, over his shoulder. The child's arm wrapped around his neck and the man held the child's legs by his waist.

It was her chance. They were vulnerable. The clock on the grand tower in the distance showed the time, 8:00.

Serena and Seiya talked excitedly, cheerfully. Both were excited to take their son home, and were pleased everything went well. The park was empty now; the tourists went to their resorts and the couples to the hotels.

So when both saw a raven-haired woman walking toward them in the distance, they knew who it was.

"Rei…" The word barely escaped Serena's mouth before the woman shot a ball of fire at the blonde knocking her back. Seiya ran to his lover's side. "GO, protect Natsume."

"Natsume will be fine. She wants you, not him. I won't leave you." Their eyes locked.

"Okay. Then wake him up. Tell him to run away, back to our apartment. Tell him to lock the door and hide under the bed." Seiya attended to the child as Serena stood.

"Rei why are you doing this? What have I done wrong?" Serena stepped forward. Without a word Rei turned into Sailor Mars. In response Serena transformed into Cosmos.

Rei was taken back. Serena was so powerful Rei could see her aura. Mars stepped back but tripped over her heel and fell. Cosmos was going to finish off the sailor, when she heard a high pitched scream and a man yell, "No!"

Serena whipped herself around. Seiya was safe, but he stood with a facial expression of agony. Natsume was kneeling with Darien crouched over the boy. The child's head was tilted toward the sky, exposing his neck. Darien held a black rose with razor sharp thorns to the boy's neck.

"Darien… stop. Please let him go… Please…" Serena completely turned her back to Rei.

"Mother! Father!" Natsume whimpered.

"No, because then I will lose. If I kill him, I win." Darien started laughing hysterically. He gripped the blade tighter, preparing to swipe his wrist. But Natsume kicked backwards delivering a blow to his stomach. Darien gasped and started back in on Natsume when a flash of orange smacked into him.

"I'm disappointed in you Darien, don't you know the best way to get a woman is to win her heart not to break it?" Venus stood above Endymion.

"Cosmos, duck!" Serena crouched briefly just as a fire crow sailed over her head. The ends of her hair were singed.

"That was supposed to cut through your neck." Rei steadied herself for another attack. But Darien was already lunging for Natsume. The scouts started to attack. The inner scouts surrounded Darien taking swipes at him, while the outer scouts walked over to Serena backing her up. Serena watched as the man she once loved was knocked back and forth his neck snapped side to side. And the scouts only stopped when they saw blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth.

"Rei help me." In a last plea Darien reached out to the woman.

"You are not my mission. If you are too weak to protect yourself then you are not worthy of Ataxia's leadership." Darien swore and ran away before the scouts could finish him off. Serena shoved Natsume toward the park gates directing him home.

Once he was gone, Cosmos ran at Mars, "Ice Center!" A ball of hail sprung from Cosmos's fingertips barreling toward Mars. "Fire Arrow!" The arrow left a hole big enough for Mars to slip through. But she didn't stop there. She started to send punches and kicks at Cosmos. The astral soldiers blocked with her arms till they bruised. Mars dealt a swift kick to Cosmos's side knocking her to the ground. Mars never slowed. She continued to kick viciously at Cosmos in the stomach. Seiya tried to step into the fight, but Haruka and Michiru stopped him, "This is their fight. It has been coming for a while. Rei needs to know understand who her princess is."

Rei stopped attacking, "Burning Crow." Before the attack flew past Rei's fingers, Cosmos bounced back up kneeing the assailant in the stomach. Rei coughed hard but quickly recovered and dashed at Serena. The blonde ran toward her with the same speed but didn't stop till Rei passed her. Then Serena pivoted and clutched the woman's hair. A black pond filled Cosmos's fist. Rei winced at the pain and lowered her body so the strain on her hair lessened.

"As your princess and leader I order you to kneel." The trance like Rei disappeared replaced by one who merely stared painfully upward for Serena still hadn't let go. "Now." Rei bent her head back further and glared at her princess.

"You bitch. You will never be my leader. You are not my princess. You're nothing but a filthy thief. You stole the leadership of the scouts, you stole Darien, and you stole my friends. I will never accept you as my princess."

Rei snapped awake did she just admit to being jealous. What had happened? Why was she at the amusement park… with Serena? She was confused but she would never show that. Rei just knew that Ataxia did something to her. Ataxia was messing with her head.

"That's low, using an oath that old. I owe you nothing, Serena. Nothing." Rei spun to her former comrades and friends, "And you are all fools for following this brat."

"As princess, I declare you shall return from whence you've come from to receive testament of your oath. I demand…" Serena started a chant to help Rei remember her oath.

"You caused this! You're the reason Earth is under attack, why Rini died, and you're the reason why Ataxia got so strong. You are! Not me!"

"Stand amongst your Martian brethren and restate the vows…" Serena continued.

"Listen to me…"

"Take responsibilities for duties not fulfilled."

"I owe you nothing…" Rei's voice escalated.

"Remember how to protect the moon."

"Stop." Rei covered her ears.

"Your oath…"

"Stop…"

"Your vows…."

"Stop! Shut up! I said shut up!" Rei was cowering on the ground, hands over her ears, eyes shut tight.

"Your princess."

"I RECANT MY OATH!"

Serena stopped. The scouts stood open mouthed, while Seiya remained confused. Mars elicited her Mars stone. Cosmos stared at her soldier. And once she realized what was happening it was too late. Rei stood with her foot in the middle of a pond of flame red broken shards of glass. The red powers of Mars leaked into Cosmos filling a white section on the uniform.

"Good luck beating Ataxia without me." Rei walked away.

Serena unhenshined and sunk to the ground collecting the power shards. It was Setsuna that approached the woman, "What do we do about Rei?"

"Her power should've transferred to me. I should be powerful enough to use her powers." Setsuna and Serena joined to group as they planned what to do next. "Umm… Does anyone want to go out to lunch with me?" Everyone turned toward her mouths gaping wide open.

"How can you be thinking of food?! We didn't get Rei to join us!" Seiya was incredulous. He knew Serena loved her food. But this wasn't the time.

"Hey! I don't control when I get hungry!" Serena turned to walk to a nearby food cart when she tripped and landed on her hands and knees. "It's a shame. You're just as klutzy as ever." Mina teased as she passed Serena. The moon princess hid her concern for the lost battle. Would she be able to harness Mars's powers?

Serena stood at the bottom of the shrine steps. It had been a couple of months since she stormed out of this very temple after learning of Rini's death. Before she knew what to expect, but now everything was lost to her. Something in this shrine would unlock the power of Mars. She didn't need to seek out the power's source because she could feel it. The pull came from the center of the temple, the place Rei used to spend most of her time. The sacred fire burned furiously as Serena approached. Mars was special. it was only planet with the power of prophecy. Pluto could only provide possibilities. Mars gave actual glimpses of the future, and applicable warnings. And the prophetic fire would only speak to the keeper of the Mars powers.

Serena kneeled down to both knees. Her hands came together and her head bowed as she prayed, 'Great Flame, please welcome the new owner of the Mars power, your new priestess."

The flame flared and a voice boomed in Serena's head. "You are not the new owner. My priestess has never changed."

"But I have acquired her abilities."

"You have misunderstood the qualification to by my priestess."

"I haven't, I just need the powers of…"

"You need to be the heir of Mars. All other princesses of Mars have been loyal to the moon and kept their powers. People have led that to believe you need to powers of Mars. The only way for you gain access to me would be to kill Ryenia."

"Ryenia?"

"Ryenia is the martian name of the soldier you call Rei. Just like your Lunar name is Serenity."

"So you will not tell me what is to come from the next battle." Serena inched toward the flame."

"I will not tell you what is to come from the next battle." With hesitation she dipped her fingertips into the fire. There was no pain.

"It doesn't hurt…"

"Because you have been touched by the pure power of Mars. It is a mark that will never leave you. You and your descendants will forever be able to touch fire with no injury or pain."

"That is all? Still no prophecy?"

"No prophecy will be given." Serena stood disappointed. As she opened the door the voice boomed again.

"Beware, replacements will be needed. Earth an Mars may be heirless. Accept who will change and who will not and you will be able to save one."

"Thank you." Serena exited the shrine.

There was no one to use the Mars powers.

The astral planets could not use their full powers with out Mars.

And I would need to replace either Darien or Rei.

We may not win.

Yay! Another chapter up! I took some time to look at previous chapters. And I know I warned in the first chapter that I would not proofread. But the mistakes I made were pretty painful to look at. So I want to apologize about the terrible grammar, and the awful spelling on some words. I will be editing the previous chapters slowly with grammatical/ spelling corrections. So yay! That may take a while though. And I have been trying to get back in the habit of posting every 1 or 2 weeks. I hope everyone liked the update :)