Author's Note:

I just cannot get this couple out of my head after watching bits and pieces of Serena and Diamond. It's so hard to find a good story on these two, but I hope this one manages to catch someones eye and to those who are reading, thank you, and please don't forget to review. They go a long way towards me writing the next chapter. I can honestly see these two coming together more than Darien and Serena.

Diamond left Serena's sleeping form in his chambers before making his way back to the main Hall. That was going to happen a lot. The Dark Crystal would weaken her before boosting her strength. It would allow her to become accustomed to the atmosphere as well as the Negaverse without causing harm to her body. His footsteps echoed in the empty hallways; it would take some adjusting on her part, as well as the others.

She shouldn't have been able to fight Wiseman while on the verge of unconsciousness and her power left him in awe. It was truely unparalled. He remembered the split second the golden crescent had flared into transparency on her forehead, defending his future Queen against the Wiseman's boostful energy. They hadn't expected that. But it was futile. The brief burst of power hadn't lasted long. This Serenity was weaker than her future self; but she hadn't come into her full power yet. In all honestly, Diamond knew that they were two different time lines. There was the Serenity with those eyes...those crystal, ocean blue eyes. He couldn't have her.

He would have this one and in turn, have her future.

Serena, she said. That was her name. She hadn't ascended to the name Serenity yet. Then Serena it would be.

"Have you lost your mind? You can't bring her here." Emerald lashed out the words the moment he stepped back into the room.

"I can do as I please." Diamond reminded her.

"She's dangerous, brother." Saphire turned towards him, dark haired where his brother was fair. He never would understand his brothers obsession with Neo-Queen Serenity and he loathed the woman who had captured his brother's attention so. She made Diamond wreckless.

"She's no longer a danger to us." Diamond wasn't hesitant to remind them of that fact. She hadn't fought when he had brought her among them. She had been docile, even with wiseman. He had felt her moments tension, but he didn't dwell on it. Saphire wasn't very subjective to Wiseman, either. Wiseman was an enigma, but he obeyed Diamond's every order.

"Are you forgetting what happened back there?" Emerald slipped off the edge of the table where she had been perched. Why couldn't Diamond understand that? Serenity had banished them all because they wouldn't submit to her vision of a Utopia. The future Queen was a formiddable foe and even Emerald could see that potentional in the young woman who the Prince so blindly thought he was in love with. Jealously had her balling her fists. She could give Diamond so much more than this...this woman ever could. Than she ever would. "She doesn't belong here, Diamond."

"She's mine." Diamond said coldly.

"You're a fool." Emerald bit out. He was risking everything for Serenity.

"Jealousy does not become you, Esmeraude." Wiseman finally spoke, the warped tone of his voice almost taunting her.

Diamond waved his hand and the familiar image of Neo-Queen Serenity flickered into transparency above the table. He stared at it for a moment before closing his hand and the image shattered. He had the real thing now. "Enough." He spoke with authority and turned to Wiseman, his violet eyes lowering to the broach that Wiseman held between dark hands. Diamond frowned and then held out his hand wordlessly. When had Wiseman lifted the broach from Serena?

"The Silver Crystal is gone." Wiseman spoke and Diamond looked to the center of the broach where the Silver Crystal was. But it wasn't. It was indeed gone. It didn't matter. Wiseman had no right to take from his future Queen. "You must find it."

It had clearly been there when she had tried to transform before and it had been there when they were in the Hallway before she had placed the broach in the folds of her dress. He wasn't worried about the Crystal. Serena would give it to him. He need only demand it. He beckoned with his fingers this time. He wouldn't ask again. Wiseman placed the broach in his palm and then Diamond placed it in his own pocket before turning his attention back to the crystal orb that the spector held.

"What will she remember?" He asked.

"Whatever you want her to remember." Wiseman spoke as his hands moved around the orb of energy. Diamond saw the swirling darkness shift and peel back to reveal Serena on the glossy surface, her body a calm sleeping beauty on his bed where he had left her. As he watched, he saw images flickering across the surface. He saw her time with Darien, her hand in his, that sweet smile of hers as she stared up at him...his lips thinned. But the image of Darien began to fade, to be replaced with himself. Diamond saw his hand in hers and finally, that sweet smile directed at him. Darien was no more. He knew nothing about her time spent in Crystal Tokoyo, much less of her life on Earth, so he twisted the images to fit his own needs. He gave her life here on the Dark Moon with him, he gave her images and memories of the Negaverse. He gave her a prior life with him, where before there had been none. She had obviously lived a life on Earth and he couldn't erase all of that, but he could make her vocal point of life with him the main. He could make her love him. He could make her believe that she had promised herself to him through crown and ring.

He gave her memories of his body rising over hers on that very bed, his fingers tangled in the golden hair spread out over his pillows as he moved, elicit sounds of ecstasy falling from her lips...

Emerald gave a hiss of breath and stalked from the room, the door slamming behind her.

She saw him move, but it was too late. He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't sacrifice himself for her. But he threw his body in front of hers and Serena watched as if in slow motion as the black shards of energy pierced Prince Diamond's body. Oh God, why did they always have to die for her? She wasn't worth it. Certainly not to Prince Diamond. He was her enemy. You weren't supposed to love the enemy.

She caught his body as he staggered and his weight caused her to stumble back but she never let him go as she fell to her knees with him. "Why did you do that?!"

"Because you can't die." Prince Diamond gave her a pained smile of white teeth before it turned into a grimace. "The World wouldn't be the same without you."

"Shut up." Serena leaned over him, ignoring the threat from above as she grasped the edges of dark spiraling energy that protruded from his body. It was so dark and negative that it burned right through her gloves so that she hissed in pain. But she never let go. She squeezed until her own power fizzled down the dark shards and began to splinter down the center. But it wasn't enough. Her lips trembled. He was dying.

"You're crying...for me."

It took her a moment to realize that she was crying. And someone was laughing at her pain from above. She was so tired of people dying because of her! She lifted tear stained eyes to his pale face as he swept his fingers over her cheeks, catching two stray tears. "Help me, please." She begged him.

Diamond knew he was dying. But he couldn't resist the plea in her voice. He would do anything for her. So he covered her hands with his and squeezed. Light and dark energy pierced the dark shards spearing his body and they splintered into nothing, leaving the gaping wounds bare. The pain...

He had lied to her. She needed to know... He lifted a hand and cupped her damp cheek. "I'm sorry I lied to you...I really did love you."

He was slipping away. She could feel the energy draining from his body and she shook her head as his hand fell. "No...Prince Diamond...Diamond...open your eyes. You're not dying for me."

Was this where it all started?

He was laughing. HE. He wouldn't stop. He was taunting her. Taunting the dying man in her arms. He...

Who was he? Why couldn't she see him?

She ignoring the daunting figure that darkened the sky and cradled Prince Diamond's body. "There's light in you, Diamond. It'll work. It's not your fault. You didn't know how truely evil he was. But you...you're not evil." She forced a watery smile. "And trust me, I know evil." She lifted her right hand and opened the broach so that the Silver Crystal was exposed.

"Don't do it, Sailor Moon." Tuxedo Mask called out to her frantically, the sound of the other Sailor Scouts running behind him. Of course he wouldn't want her to save the man who had kidnapped her. But they didn't see what she saw. They hadn't been there when this EVIL had exposed itself and Prince Diamond had realized the true extent of his mistakes.

This was why she led. Because she saw what other's couldn't.

She willed the light of the Silver Crystal to expand from her broach and then pressed her hand against Diamond's chest. Don't die...breath...keep breathing...He lied to you...you deserve a chance to live. Breath...breath...he was breathing...

She went flying backward as the taunting laughter from above suddenly morphed into something terrifying-anger. The shadowy figure took her place beside Prince Diamond and she watched in horror as that darkness pierced through her light to force life back into Diamond's body on its own.

Because it was too late. It had seen that she had stopped the hand of death. But if she was going to bring Prince Diamond back to life...it would ruin everything. The Darkness couldn't let that be. So he forced the Princes life to continue...to continue...the power of the Dark Crystal... Because the Darkness couldn't let itself be defeated. And these two surely could. He kept the Prince alive...and then took him away into the darkness. They would start again. But this time things would be different.

They didn't know. They didn't remember.

What was she supposed to be remember? Who was...the darkness that she couldn't see?

Serena opened her eyes slowly, the dream a hazelike sensation. More like a nightmare. That same sense of weakness filled her from before, but was absent the pounding headache. She found herself staring up at a familiar canopied bed and then turned her head as the bed dipped. Prince Diamond.

I'm sorry I lied...I really did love you.

She rose up on her elbows and then sat up slowly. He reached a hand behind her to steady her as his lips curved. "You woke sooner than I imagined. Again." She had actually slept this time. Twelve hours, though he kept that information to himself. The longer she slept, the less her body fought the dark energy. As much as he wanted to spend time with her, these first boosts of dark energy were crucial.

After all, he had an eternity with her.

Serena lowered her gaze to his chest and then his abdomen. She couldn't see his body, but the memory was fresh in her mind. A tear slid down her cheek.

His smile died. "What's wrong?"

"He hurt you."

Who had hurt him? He frowned. "No one has hurt me, Sereni...Serena." Why was she crying? She should never cry. He lifted his hand and thumbed away her tear. His beautiful Princess, she thought someone had hurt him.

She shook her head. "No, I remember. You saved me and...you were dying..."

He tensed and his hand lowered, cupping the side of her neck. His forehead tightened, the inverted dark moon growing warm. If she remembered he would have to use his third eye to fix that situation. "What do you remember, Serena?" He remembered all too clearly how he had thrown himself in front of her body...from a face he couldn't see or remember. He couldn't let her die. He didn't remember much about that fateful day, but he did remember the pain. Wiseman had come to his aid and healed him with the power of the Dark Crystal.

But he did remember that she hadn't been fighting FOR HIM. She had been against him. But any enemy that would harm her was his enemy, as well. "Serena."

That was when it had started, wasn't it? He'd told her he loved her. Was it the others? Had he rescued her from THEM? It didn't matter. That was in the past and as he had said...She was home. A home that she felt that she remembered, but it didn't hold the feel of familiarty. "You were willing to die for me. Let me see, please." She asked, her hand hovering over the white and blue ornament covering of his jacket.

Diamond frowned. She remembered, but she didn't remember the full events. That was good. Wicked satisfaction filled him at the knowledge that she was afraid for him. But his heart also ached at the anguish he saw in her blue eyes. "The wounds are healed, Serena." But he nodded regardless, his hands going to the hidden buttons in between the fine fabric. Her hand was already there, though, pushing the buttons through each hole before he could.

This wasn't how he had imagined she would be undressing him for the first time.

Serena realized it wasn't much of a jacket more than it was a garment as she pushed the adorned fabric wide on either side of his chest. His chest was pale, but toned with slight ropes of muscles that narrowed down to a slim waist. And three pale slashes that marred his otherwise perfect body. Two were on the right side of his abdomen and the third was smaller, right below his left ribcage. He was scarred. She wouldn't have thought it possible that he could hold scars. But even dark energy could do that to someone like him.

Her hand shook as she reached out and touched her fingertips to the scar below his ribcage and she felt him inhale roughly. Her head jerked up. "I'm sorry."

Diamond shook his head. "It doesn't hurt anymore, Serena." She was touching him. She was touching him all on her own.

Another tear fell as she trailed her fingertips over the ripple of hard abs to the second scar. "This is my fault."

Diamond shook his head and then cursed. Tears. He couldn't stand the sight of tears in those blue eyes, no matter that she was sad over HIS past pain. He took the hand touching him and pushed his fingers through hers and then wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her into his lap. "It's not your fault. He never should have let you go there in the first place." That damn fool of a man had allowed Sailor Moon to travel to too dangerous a place. Diamond never would have allowed Serena to endanger herself in such a way. But did he even realize what he had said?

She didn't seem to catch his words, though. She just let him press her damp cheek against his bare chest.

"Don't cry for me, beautiful Queen." Diamond whispered.

Wiseman hovered in the darkness surrounding him. He was alone, the crystal ball hovering between his hands as he watched the display. "Pathetic weakling..." He murmured. The young Prince was making the same mistakes. He carried too much emotion and he didn't even realize it. Wiseman wasn't worried about the Prince, though. He could deal with him easily enough...all over again.

Sailor Moon was a different story altogether. Where was the Crystal?

He had watched her dream unfold. She remembered in her dreams, even if she didn't remember in the waking world. She had an uncanny sense of recognition, even if she didn't know what it was. He would have to be very careful going forward. Diamond had indeed died and while Sailor Moon had been the one to revive him, he was the one who had held Diamond's soul in place.

But he was also the one who had slain Diamond. He was the one who would have slain Sailor Moon if that idiot Prince hadn't gotten in his way. Wiseman had taken great caution to bar those memories. All the Black Moon Clan knew was that an unseen enemy had nearly slaughtered their Prince. History would repeat itself...

But this time they would all die.

-Your reviews mean the world to me -