Queen Beryl was more than angry.  She was humiliated and furious.  The Moon Princess had managed once again to make a fool out of her.  Now she stood, glaring at Malachite, down below the throne steps.
     He was looking down, making a hole in the ground with his shoe.  "General," she began icily, "would you care to explain what happened tonight?"
     "Well, your majesty, the Scouts --"
     "I don't give a damn about the Scouts, I care about Princess Serena and the crystal!!  WHY did the plan fail??"  She knew why it had failed, and she also knew that Malachite had no clue as to what had happened.  But she knew.  The princess had almost succeeded in turning Prince Darien back to the side of good, justice, and...  She wrinkled her nose.  Love.  It infuriated her that Serena had come so close to winning her prince back.  One minute longer and Darien would be lost from the Negaverse forever.
     She turned her thoughts away as she concentrated on the task at hand.  Malachite was in front of her, nervously mumbling about statistics and formulas and other such nonsense that she had no time for.  It was a trick he had learned from the late General Neflite...trying to distract his queen with figures and estimates when he did not know an answer to a question.  He should know better, Beryl thought smugly.  Because we all know what happened to Neflite.
     The queen chose to interrupt him.  "Nevermind that, how is Prince Darien?"
     A flash of relief passed through Malachite's eyes at the sound of a question he could answer without looking like a fool.  "He's stable, madam, and slowly recovering.  Soon he will be back to our side with more Nega-energy within him than ever before.  Ready to fight the Sailor Scouts--"
     Queen Beryl shook her head.  "No, no good.  I cannot risk Darien again.  Today proved that when it comes to making him remember his past, the princess Serena is a formidable foe.  I can't risk repeating what just happened.  Come to think of it," she mused, "that wasn't the first time..."
     Malachite sighed.  It was true...Serena had managed to heal Darien more times than he could count on one finger, and if it wasn't for the queen's bringing him directly back to the Negaverse in the nick of time then he would be fighting against them once more.  And though to the general it seemed like a good idea, (he wanted to be able to fight with Darien good and proper...really make him pay for Zoicite's death) his queen had some unknown plans for keeping the prince around...and her will was always right.
     "...you will be fighting against the Scouts alone from now on.  Prince Darien will stay in the chambers and continue to be brainwashed fully, and then we will be able to use him in the final fight, when that day does come.  He will be an important factor in Sailor Moon's downfall."  The queen turned her attention to a large projector on the wall.  "And now, Malachite, see what I have been preparing these past few weeks.  In all of its glory."
     The screen showed a large image of a blizzardy, icy and barren land.  "The South pole?" guessed Malachite.  He was rotten when it came to geography of the Earth.
     "No.  It's an area called D-point, located in the northern latitudes.  It is the place I plan to launch the war on Earth from.  Unbeknownst to everyone else in my kingdom, I have been prepared a portal in the side of the Negaverse's domain which leads that.  Already troops and buildings have been placed there, ready for the final stages to be completed.  Then, we shall begin the attack on that miserable planet.  Earth does not stand a chance, especially when no one else in the world -- including the Sailor Scouts -- knows this battle station exists.  Yet.  With the resources those stupid cats of theirs, I would not be surprised if they did not find out very VERY soon, which is why I need you to distract them for awhile, or at the worst, capture them before they try to break through to D-point."
     "But my queen," insisted Malachite.  "How would the Sailors be able to find D-point so quickly?  Tokyo is a long, long way from there."
     "Yes," Beryl said with a sigh.  "It would be much better that way, wouldn't it?  But, when I broke through and created the portal to D-point, one -- or possibly several -- different locations around Tokyo opened up due to the Nega-energy I sent through there on the way to D-point.  If the Sailor Saps happen to stumble on to one of those locations, they will be transported very near to the battle station, if not right inside of it.  I would send some monsters to guard these supposed portals, but besides the fact that I have no clue where these points are, all of our best soldiers are out in the snow and cold of the north.  I can't spare anymore fighters, which is why you yourself will have to stop the Scouts if they reach a portal."
     Malachite nodded.  "I will use any means necessary from reaching the battle station," he vowed.
     Beryl smiled and cackled.  "Good.  Soon the Sailor Soldiers will know the true meaning of devastation and war.  I have only yet begun to fight.  By the time we are ready to launch the full-scale attack on Earth, they'll be, in their precious leader's words, moon dusted."  She smiled into the depths of her universe.  Which ever idiot human thought that revenge was not the answer was dead wrong.  Because it was.  And it was oh so sweet at the same time.  She could hardly wait to begin her plan.


Several days had passed in the time span that Darien had been inside that contraption Beryl called an energizing machine.
     He felt himself very much not up to date on all the goings on, and was eager to ask questions as soon as the servant released him from the tank and reported that the queen had ordered him to see her.
     "You called, my liege?" he asked with a formal bow as he entered the throne room.
     Queen Beryl was looking deep into her crystal ball with a frown on her face.  "Ah yes, Prince Darien.  Are you feeling much refreshed and better?  The last battle with that annoying Moon brat really took it out of you."
     Darien nodded.  He didn't recall anything about a battle...his last memory was of calling Sailor Moon to the warehouse.  After that he drew nothing but a blank.  "Yes ma'am, much rested."
     "Good."  She looked up from the ball.  "Prince Darien, you are now my right-hand man."
     "Malachite?"
     "He's dead...was killed just yesterday by Sailor Moon.  Too much has happened since the last battle you took part in.  The Sailor Scouts somehow managed to find one of the entrances into D-point...a portal that exists somewhere in town that took them into a cave.  Those stupid cats of theirs must have found out the coordinates.  But, they didn't make it to D-point...Malachite stopped them before they could.  Unfortunately Sailor Moon defeated him with one of his own attacks.  I watched his downfall through my crystal ball and I have to say I'm not the least bit surprised or upset about it.  He was much too incompetent after I took care of General Zoicite.  He didn't even seem to care much about this mission of ours.
     "The Scouts doubled back to Tokyo through the same portal to regroup or something, and now that they know where they are headed they are most certain to try and teleport directly to the outskirts of D-point.  When they get there I plan to have a little surprise waiting there for them."
     "But my queen," Darien objected.  "Wouldn't it be wiser to send someone after the Scouts rather than letting them make it all the way to D-point and relying on your droids there?  I could go."
     "No," she said.  "No, I need you in the final battle with Sailor Moon."
     Darien blinked.  He wasn't that fantastic a fighter, not as strong as Malachite, and his super powers were really very limited.  Why did Beryl want him to be involved in the showdown with Sailor Moon when any other simple droid would be able to do it much better?
     "Besides, you need your strength.  Until the time comes when I need you you must train and be ready.  Wipe from your mind any memory you have of that final battle -- it was meaningless, and nothing there happened of importance.  Do you understand?"
     He nodded.
     "Very well.  You are dismissed."
     Darien bowed and retreated back to his quarters.  On the way he was troubled by the vision of the general Malachite.  Sure the two of them had never seen eye to eye, but at least it was someone to talk to, someone to argue with, someone to sit with during breakfast.  Malachite was the last of the four head generals that had been appointed before he came to the Negaverse.  He did not know the fates of the ones before.  But somehow he knew that wherever Malachite was he had to be happy.  He was most likely reunited with his girlfriend.
     A girlfriend.  It was something Darien knew he would never have, and he realized with a pang that he envied Malachite that fact.  Even if the general had lost his love, at least he had had it.
     Darien reached into the corners of his mind, trying to recall something...about a dream.  He knew it was important, and it had something to do with love, because just trying to imagine that emotion had brought the nagging feeling back to him.
     But he did not find the memory.
     Beryl had erased it with those of the battle.
     And he was filled with a sense of loss...the emptiness from the first few nights in the Negaverse returning to his body full force.


Darien was taking a nap, (an absurd thing to do as the Doom and Gloom Girls were at that moment taking care of the Sailor Scouts) and resting up for the final battle when the news came that the four girls who were the friends of Sailor Moon had been killed.
     He had known ahead of time...it was in a dream he had had:

Darien was in the haze again, but his sense of feel was sharp.  There was nothing to do but stand...some force told him that he was waiting for something to happen.
     Finally a form emerged from the fog.  It was a girl, in civilian form.  Her brown hair was tied back into a tight pony that had a ring of light glowing over it, and her rose earrings attracted his attention.  "There you are," was all she said.
     "What do you mean?"
     A fleeting image of a painting with a couple flying in front of a moon reflected in his eyes.
     "She was looking for you," the girl said with a short laugh.
     "Who?"
     "You know who, Darien.  She loves you so much."
     "She?"
     The girl laughed.  "Is this the same Darien that was always so sure of himself...now all you have to say are questions about a past you should remember very well.  I'm sorry I pushed you away...in the warehouse.  I didn't know then what I do now...."
     Suddenly the girl was gone and another figure came up behind him.  "Hello there," she said.  Her blue hair was lit up with a halo of gold that penetrated the light.  "I am here also."
     "Mercury?"
     "Just Amy now."
     "What is going on...how do I know your name?"
     "It is all coming back to you eventually.  Little by little.  When the time comes you will remember it all -- everything that you need to know you'll recall."
     "I wish I knew what I needed to know...."
     "Cheer up.  The princess waits, but not alone.  We shall live on."  And then she, like the brown haired girl, disappeared into nothingness, her laughter echoing into the night.
     To Darien's surprise yet another young female entered his line of vision.  This one had blonde hair, and he was fooled for a moment so much that he stepped forward and emitted a hoarse cry.
     She shook her head.  "No no, silly, it's not who you think."
     "No?"
     "Nope!!"  She laughed.  "I died a hero's death -- did you see how I saved her?"  The girl's eyes glittered with triumph.  "I did my part, just as Amy and Lita did theirs, and Raye will do hers.  You will do your part as well, Darien.  The story can't end the way Beryl wants it to end.  Eventually things work out for the very best.  Remember Sleeping Beauty?  Her prince came to save her.  You'll save her."
     He knew she was not talking about Sleeping Beauty, but rather about...about....
     Then the blonde was gone.
     "They had to go...it was their time."
     Darien whirled around to greet this new voice.  Raye.  He knew her, he could never forget her.
     Unlike the others this one bore a sad smile and tears in her eyes.  "Oh Darien," she said, running to him and giving him a warm hug.  He relished in the warmth -- the dreams he usually had were so cold.  "Oh Darien," she repeated.  "You and I are the only ones that can understand.  I regret, Darien, I don't think that I did enough to keep her safe.  I left her...I didn't want to, but I had to."  She sobbed.  "I can't believe I left her there!!  I just turned my back on the princess to go on...."
     He smoothed her hair.  "It's okay.  You did, I know, what you had to."
     "Serena was always so scared...."
     "She knows what to do.  She always did."
     Before he knew it he was crying as well.  They were weeping for themselves and the mutual love they had for the young girl struggling below on the Earth...who was a universe away in reality but in their hearts so much closer they could hear her cries.


Darien was awoken from the dream by the voice of his queen.  He could remember none of it, the bits and pieces were snatched away at the sound of Beryl's harsh voice.
     PRINCE DARIEN, YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUESTED IN MY THRONE ROOM AT ONCE!
     "At once, majesty," he said aloud, leaping out of bed and flexing his muscles to get the sleepy kinks from them.  It must be time for the showdown with Sailor Moon, he thought, a grin of pleasure coming across his face.  He felt no more feelings of concern for her.  The re-energizing had taken all of that away.  Now he was ready to act on the queen's commands, whatever they may ask of him.
     He suited up into his armor and was on his way out the door in a matter of minor seconds.  And he would have run straight down the hall had not he overheard some of the whispers from servants huddled off to the side.
     "...they say that Sailor Moon is coming here to the Negaverse at this very moment!!"
     "Oh surely she shall be the death of us all!!  She has the power of the crystal on her side...."  This second droid sounded extremely worried, and was wringing his hands together.
     However the other seemed confident.  "There now, you forget that she will never fight to the death against her beloved Tuxedo Mask, and as we speak he is on his way to destroy her.  Why would she even want to live now that the other pesky Sailor Soldiers are gone...she cared about them too much and is, it can be assured, none too easily ready to lose another loved one.  She'd rather lose her own life."
     Darien had been out of sight during this exchange, but now walked over to the two servants as if he had just entered the room.  "Is it true," he asked.  "That what you speak of is true -- the Sailor Scouts have been disposed of?"
     The droids, almost embarrassed in having been caught speaking bowed low before the prince and nodded.  "Yes," the first one said.  "The Doom and Gloom Girls might have died in their attempts, but it was not in vain.  The souls of the Sailor Scouts now are in the afterworld to never return.  And Sailor Moon has not been given a very long period of mourning for them...it should be easy to kill such a distraught adversary, highness."
     "Yes," he said in distraction.  Something was pulling at his mind, and he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity as pieces of the dream he must have had while sleeping blew across his mind on a fast riding wind...that did not stop long enough.  "But a soldier more consumed with grief is none the less also more consumed with vengeance for her dead comrads.  I will be fighting for nothing but a queen who I have pledged my service to.  And Sailor Moon will be fighting me with the memory of four dead phantoms in her heart.  They are on her side as much as ever, and no doubt they will be helping her just as they did in life."
     Darien strode away, somehow angered by the turn of events.  His cape fluttered behind him on the gust of the dreams he cold not afford to remember, but were always with him, as the Scouts were with Sailor Moon.


When Darien entered the throne room there was no one there but himself and the queen on her throne, though he could feel the presence of Metallia...the Negaforce all around them.  The air was thick with her, as she was waiting for her agent to properly dispose of Sailor Moon so that the final phase of their plan could be set into place.
     Queen Beryl was different than he had ever seen her.  There was a light in her eyes that held the promise that soon she would have her revenge for whatever wrong Sailor Moon had done her.  She was dressed in her regular dress and sitting on her regular chair.  And yet all was different.
     He had not yet made his presence known, but Beryl spoke to him: "My prince, she comes now to us and her death even as I tell you."
     Darien dropped to his knee and bent over her hand, pressing it to his lips.  He made a move to stand but she made a strangled noise with her throat.  "No, no, she must come in and she must see you like that.  It will break her spirit, seeing you in submission to me, your love, your queen!!  Stay there until I give you the command to rise."
     Something in what she said...the "love" she had spoken of, threw him off and he would have questioned what she meant but did not have the strength to think much on his own.  It was too much for him.  She now owned his mind and his soul and his heart.
     "They are all around, watching me," Beryl was whispering...more to herself than to him.  "Can you feel them around us?  Jedite, Malachite, Neflite, and Zoicite.  Those pitiful souls.  They want me to fail, they want you to fail.  To imagine that they once fought on the same side that they spent these last months as well as the final battle on the Moon one thousand years ago fighting against.  You do not remember of course, but I do.  Neither did they, but I do.  I remember everything so clearly."  Her voice was harsh.  "It may be a good thing that the others of you louts lost your memories.  Even you and the Princess Serena do not remember fully.  Blast Serenity.  I would not remember either if not for her majesty Metallia.  She is here too...do you feel her?  They are all watching me, I cannot fail.  More importantly you cannot fail.  If you do then it shall be my failure too, and I shall have to go at it again.  Fail, Darien, and I swear to God that I will kill you after I deal with Sailor Moon.  Mark my words...if you give into the love that you and she used to share then it shall be your downfall as well as hers."
     It was the most the queen of the Negaverse had ever spoken to Darien, and he struggled to make sense of it.  She is mad, he thought.  Mad.  Insane with this drive to rid the world of Sailor Moon.
     He could not feel the generals she spoke of, even if he could feel Metallia.  How could he not feel the Neagforce?  But the souls of Malachite and the others watching them?  It seemed impossible.
     Her words of his downfall chilled him more than anything, though he could not make heads or tails out of the rest of her speech.  He had a feeling he didn't want to.
     Suddenly there came the agonized cry of a young woman.  He knew that Sailor Moon had arrived.
     "Sailor Moon, how nice of you to drop in.  Welcome to my Negaverse."
     "You're...you're Queen Beryl..."
     "Yes...and you remember Prince Darien?"
     She gasped and the shadow curled back to reveal him, kneeling at his queen's feet and kissing her hand.  He did not turn...he did not need to see the girl to know that there was hurt in her eyes and on her face and in her throat and heart.  It was radiating all around him, and Beryl was soaking it up with pleasure.
     "Prince Darien...," she said suddenly, "I want that Imperium Crystal now."
     Darien rose.  It was at last time to do his duty.  Finally, the moment to make her  proud of him.  "Consider it done, my queen.  It's been sweet, Sailor Moon."  That last part he added in a sarcastic voice, and the minute the words left his mouth he was sorry for them, for they evoked a harsh gasp and staggering back from his enemy.
     There was not a moment to waste.  He whipped out his sword, leapt up into the air with super-human strength and came down to hack Sailor Moon to pieces.
     But right before the blade came in contact with her she got out of the way.  "Darien, nooo!!"  The Moon Wand was in her hand.  "Moon Healing...ACTIVATION!!!!"
     Darien did not try to shield himself from the attack.  Beryl had told him that it would not affect him in any way, though he had no idea of how she happened to know that herself.  He simply stared boredly, straight ahead, at nothing.  His gaze was vacant.
     "It's no use," he heard Beryl cackle, "you can't heal him!  Not even your crystal can break the spell I cast.  Prince Darien is mine, now and forever!"
     Now wait a moment, he thought.  I don't belong to her.  And what's this about a spell?  Am I bewitched?  No, I can't be...  The image of the princess from his dream fleetingly entered his mind before he saw a purple light behind his eyes and the instant of clarity disappeared.  He went in for the attack against Sailor Moon a second time.
     She was tossed to the side like a pillow stuffed with nothing but feathers.  The wand fell from her hand and skidded across the floor with a loud clank.  "Darien," she cried out, then, softer, "Oh, my wand..."  Her fingers reached out to touch it, but she was too weak to even move.     
     "It's mine," Queen Beryl announced, to rub salt in the warrior's wound.  "As it was meant to be.  Your mother managed to keep it from me for a time.  But now at last its mine!!!"  Her voice took on a hysterical and roaring edge, and Darien was even more certain than ever that she was insane.  "YOUR UNIVERSE WILL BE NO MORE!!" screamed the queen, "ONLY THE NEGAVERSE RULED BY PRINCE DARIEN AND ME!!!"
     Now, he had a few things he wanted to say about that...but before he could think of them they were taken from his mind by the evil, invading purple light.  And if he were even able to remember anything other than that he was only living to serve Beryl and her holy cause, he would know that he was indeed bewitched...cursed...brainwashed...controlled.
     "Darien..." Beryl was saying, "get me that crystal.  And get rid of her," she added with a disgusted snarl, indicating the limp Sailor Moon.  "She's caused me enough aggravation."
     Then all of a sudden, before Darien could even gather his strength to destroy the girl, she, (or rather, her tiara gem) began to radiate with light.  "I know she's wrong about you Darien...." she whispered faintly, "you're not evil...."
     In a matter of moments the tiara was at his chest, striking it with a pleasant but weakening light.  Sailor Moon's hand was outstretched after it, her eyes wide with pain, and her face contorted with weariness.
     The light threw him to the ground, and nearly knocked him out.  Sailor Moon did not make her move then to kill him, which surprised him.  She could have easily gotten him unconscious with that damned tiara spell of hers.  But she didn't...it was as if she did not want to hurt him.  And he wanted to hurt her...  Maybe...maybe...
     Kill Sailor Moon.  Get the crystal.
     His mind forced his eyes open.  He would not let her win, no matter what, he would not let her defeat him and shame him against his queen.  With great struggling, he lifted himself from the cold, hard, floor.
     "I warned you," Beryl said to Sailor Moon.  "You can't turn him against me, his mind belongs to the Negaverse now, he'll never turn against his queen."  Her voice was now strangely solemn and biting, as if she wanted to hurt the Moon child with her words....
     Darien, clutching his chest, lifted up entirely, sword in hand.  "Goodbye Sailor Moon!" he yelled, preparing to swing the blade at her body, which was now in a kneeling position at his feet.  Just one stroke and she would be gone and the crystal would be his.  He hated her, he hated the girl in the sailor suit before him.  He hated everything she stood for.  She knew love, she knew kindness, and those were the two things that Beryl and he rejected.  He hated her -- she deserved to die.  He needed the crystal more than she did because --  And then the purple light, and he prepared to swing again...
     "Darien!!!"
     He stopped in mid-air.  The victim had spoken.
     "Darien...she may have your mind..."  His thoughts were turned to the glowing object in her hand.  Was it a weapon, he wondered suspiciously.  No, it was a locket.  A star shaped locket.  He had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.  And that was not due to the purple light.  No, his mind had truly blanked the memory out.
     The locket was playing music.  Beautiful music, but sad.  A sad melancholy tune, that sang a silent song of couples parting, maybe not ever to see each other again, and new found beginnings, and desperate endings...and crying...and laughter...and more tears still.
     "...but your heart belongs to me."
     Now he saw images in his head.  Of a princess on a balcony...and a prince that looked like himself staring up adoringly at her.  Of a girl sticking out her tongue at a man in a green jacket, with sunglasses, that also bore a resemblance to the prince.  Of the same two, floating in the air with the help of a little parasol.  And finally of a man, the same man...smiling...in love...
     "You remember," Sailor Moon continued, "don't you?"
     "You are the enemy," he declared, but he was uncertain suddenly, and she knew that, as did the queen.
     "No I'm not," Moon insisted, and he believed her.  "Look Darien, its our locket!!" she exclaimed, indicating the one she held in her hands that radiated the light.  Where had he felt the light before...where had he felt it...?
     "....a symbol of everything we've shared!"
     Shared?  What had he and the Moon Brat ever shared besides a common dislike for each other?
     "All those happy times on the Moon...."
     The Moon...it was coming back to him...slowly...so slowly...
     "Don't let her take all that away from us, PLEASE Darien!"
     The plea struck his heart hard and true, and he felt it melting.  She was crying, Sailor Moon was, and she was begging him to remember something he could not, and probably never would be able to.  Something that the queen did not want him to remember.  Beryl was keeping something from him, and he didn't like that.  He didn't like that at all.
     "It's me, Darien," Sailor Moon whispered.  "Princess Serena.  I've come to set you free again.  Just like I promised."
     Yes, she had promised...the girl in the dreams promised that she wanted to set him free again.  And if she was the one who wanted to set him free, Beryl was the one who was opposing that.  Beryl was against this pure, beautiful girl who wanted to help him!!!  And the queen of the Negaverse was preventing that from happening!!!!!!
     "I remember..." he said softly.  And he did.  The pieces were coming back to him.
     And after them was coming the dark purple light, and as much as he tried to stop it, it was still coming!  Beryl was sending it, at his mind, to eat away at the beautiful memories he was receiving.  The light was mangling them, twisting them...little by little...it was not as powerful as before because now he wanted these memories, precious as gold, back in his mind, and the purple light would only work well if he had nothing against it.
     Sailor Moon saw his urgency, saw it in his eyes that time was running short, even though he could not say it.  "Oh, all you have to do is touch it!" she cried out, the tears coming faster.
     His hand reached out...closer and closer to the locket....


"Are you stupid or just incredibly lazy?"
     "My name's Serena, NOT Meatball Head, or is your brain too small to grasp that?"
     "She is a looker...when she's not falling down."
     "Sailor Moon!  Look inside your heart and find the warrior within you.  It is your destiny."
     "You should get out of here Sailor Moon.  This fight doesn't concern you anymore."
     "'Course it concerns me; you kidding!?  If we stick together we can beat 'em!"
     "And I want you to know that I've always been on your side and always will be."

     Names.
     Faces.
     Words.
     Songs.
     Fluttered around in his head.
     A whirling tornado of memories come back.  
     The purple light was overwhelmed and left his body...
     At the same moment
     That his hand came into contact with the smooth gold. 
     Of the Star Locket.


The light purified his body, and shot out around him.  He screamed, but it was not of pain...it was of shock and remembrance...the absolute power surrounding his body was enormous, he had never felt anything like it before.  No attack anyone had ever thrown at him had ever been so intense, and yet so, so natural.
     "No!!"  Queen Beryl was screaming too, but not because of any light or power.  "Traitor!" she spat at him.  "How dare you!!!!"
     Darien's body slumped to the floor, and Sailor Moon rushed to his aid.  "Oh Darien," she whispered joyfully.
     "Thank you," he managed, staring into the eyes of his princess.  Serena.  He remembered her now, and it was the best feeling in the world.  More wonderful than he would have ever thought possible to be able to say her name in his mind and know at last what it meant to love so totally and so absolutely that your soul and heart were in tune with hers.
     At that instant he felt something fall to the ground and followed her gaze there.  A rose.  The petals had fallen off, some of them anyway, but it was hardly wilted.  Where it came from he knew not.  Perhaps it had always been there, one red rose in all of the black ones he had recently been throwing at the Scouts in his efforts to get the crystal from their leader.  And that red rose had been hidden, unable to reveal itself, until now when all was saved.
     "I'm free," he murmured, staring into her eyes.
     Sailor Moon's face broke into a beautiful smile.  "Oh, I know, Darien," she whispered, pulling him to her.  "I know...."
     The two of them were so lost in the moment as they hugged that they had almost completely forgotten Beryl.  Until she sneered behind them, "That's so sweet, I'm getting cavities!!!"  Suddenly a sharp, jagged stone materialized in her hands.  "This Sailor Brat is not going to insult me in my own place!!  YOU ARE MINE!!!!!"  The dagger made of granite flew out to them.
     There was a scream, but he couldn't tell who it came from.  Darien just knew that he had to protect his love.  With a mighty leap he whisked a rose out of thin air, and threw it spiraling towards the queen.  It splintered the stone into millions of pieces, and struck true in the middle of Beryl's chest, narrowly missing her heart...if she indeed ever had one.
     "Noooo!" Beryl cried out.
     "You got her!" Sailor Moon said from behind him.
     They both watched as the queen of the Negaverse melted slowly into the floor, which had, where she stood, become a vast pool of water.  "You haven't seen..." she coughed, "...the last of me, Sailor Moon!"
     Darien then collapsed at his girlfriend's feet.  He was considerably weakened.  That last attack had taken all of his strength, and his body had taken the toll of the energy that had been inside of the stone, so that when it broke the force hit him hard.
     Things were starting to get fuzzy, and he was comforted by a coming sense of peace.  There was an angel looking down on him...but her face was not peaceful.  It was worried.  "Oh Darien," she said, shaking him.  "Can you hear me??  Answer me!!"
     Serena.  "I'll find a way back to you," he replied, lifting his hand to caress her face.
     She smiled.  "Hey, you can call me Meatball Head."
     He tried to smile back, but his eyes closed.  He waited for the kiss...the kiss which he had wanted from first the dream princess, then the real Princess Serena that night at the warehouse.  The kiss which had had not partaken of in so long.  He wanted to wait for it...
     His eyes could not see, but he could feel her face drawing closer to his.  Excitement took the place of peace in his soul, and he waited...  Just one moment longer, he begged whatever being thought it was necessary he leave this heaven on Earth with the girl he loved.  Let her kiss me.  Let me kiss her.
     But the kiss did not come.  A sigh breathed onto his lips, and with his final moments he felt the face pull away.  "I'm sorry, Darien," said a voice softly.  "But it wouldn't be fair for me to kiss you when all the others didn't get to kiss their favorite boys.  Raye, Mina, Lita, Amy.  It wouldn't be right.  I'm sorry, forgive me.  If only we could have lived normal lives...find your way back to me, my love."
     Those were the last words he heard before being swept into the eternal light.  Away from his angel.