Darien sat down for yet another meal. He had just come from his apartment, where Serena had been trying to cook for him, and failed miserably. Fortunately, Marie had invited him over for a supper with them, and he gladly accepted the offer, much to the delight of his grumbling stomach. Marie came out with a plate of spaghetti, and sat down in between Dustin and Darien. "How are you feeling?" She asked, still remembering the battle from the day before at the amusement park. "I'm fine." he said, although he couldn't get the image of the black rose out of his mind. Darien heaped a full helping of spaghetti onto his plate. "That's good. You didn't look too good when we left. I guess that Serena takes pretty good care of you." Dustin said. "Yeah, she does." Darien agreed. "You care for her a lot, despite her age. I can see it. What is it about her that has got you so entranced by her." Dustin asked. "Everything." Darien said. Dustin wanted to ask more, to learn more about Darien's life, but could tell that Darien felt uncomfortable and instead began to eat his food, and Darien followed suit, until they had eaten an entire meal in silence. A very uncomfortable silence. "So . . ." Darien began, trying to begin a conversation. It died with that word though. Darien realized he had absolutely nothing to say to this man he had just met, this stranger who was his father. "Well . . . " Dustin began, but could think of nothing else to say. "Tell me about yourself. Did you have a good childhood?" Dustin asked. Darien thought for a moment, carefully considering his answer. "It was fine. A lot I would have wanted to change, but not the worst I can think of." Darien said, unwilling to elaborate. "Oh." Dustin said. He could feel the silence closing in on them, separating them. Dustin was only too keenly aware of the distance between himself and Darien, the short answers to his personal questions. It was like Darien was afraid to open up to him, to put his emotions out in the open. They sat not speaking for a long minute. "I want to apologize." Dustin said finally. "What for?" Darien asked, puzzled. "I just believed the doctors and the police. I believed that you were dead, and I never tried to find you. I shouldn't have given up on you, abandoned you and I'm sorry." Dustin said. "No, you had no way of knowing, just like I had no way of knowing that you were alive. There's no one to blame for this. All we can do is go on from here." Darien said. Dustin smiled. "I think I'd like that. But can you ever trust me again?" Dustin asked. Darien furrowed his brow, unable to understand what Dustin meant. "Trust you?" he asked. "You don't trust me. I can see it, in your eyes, by your actions. You won't even tell me about your life. Why?" Dustin asked. "I won't betray you." he said earnestly. Darien held his head in his hands, thinking. 'He's right, I don't trust him,' he thought. 'But, I don't know how to trust.' "I'm scared." Darien finally said, his voice slightly trembling. Those three words, so small, so common, and yet, they seemed more dangerous than any nega-verse enemy. Dustin looked at Darien, seeing the obvious inward struggle that Darien was coping with. Speaking his heart was definitely not something he did often. "If I get too close, how do I know that you won't leave." Darien said. "I don't trust many people. I want to trust you, I really do, but I don't think I know how. I've never had a family. It's all just so different from anything I've ever felt. And I don't know what to do." "Don't do anything. Let things just progress naturally. Just believe me when I say that you are my son, and that I would never do anything bad to you. I may not be perfect, and I can't say that I won't do anything that might hurt you, but I'm learning along with you. Together, we can learn from each other, if you'd just trust me, and I trust you, and we will become a family. Trust that I'll always be here, no matter what, that we are family, and that family stays together. You've been alone for so long that you've forgotten what it's like to have a family. Don't shut us out, don't hide away, alone. Let us in your world Darien. If you don't doubt my love for you, then there isn't any reason to be afraid." "I know there's no reason for it. But I am." "So am I. But one things stops my fears. I trust that you will be there for me, as my son." Dustin said, his eyes shining. Darien's face mirrored Dustin's, the family resemblance startling. "I trust you too Dad." Darien said slowly, still scared, but no longer so alone. Serena bounded up the temple stairs, hoping that maybe Rei wouldn't kill her for being late again. She was already breathing heavily, and wondered if the Shinto priests thought climbing those stairs would be a good way to pay for any sins a person had committed. Serena could almost picture Rei yelling at someone to run up the steps another fifty times. Probably Chad, if Serena knew Rei. 'Or me if I don't hurry.' She thought to herself and began to push her self to run even faster. It looked like she wasn't the last person at the temple. Three silhouettes were outlined behind the transparent door of the temple. Serena began to explain her tardiness before she opened the door, hoping to talk be fore Rei had a chance to yell at her again. "I'm really sorry but I had detention today but it wasn't really my fault cause Darien wasn't feeling so good so I stayed with him till late last night to take care of him until he told me to go home and -" "Would you shut up meatball brain." Rei yelled, stopping Serena's breathless flow of words. ""I'm kinda in the middle of something." Rei said in a more civil tone, her face flushing as the two people she had been talking with, a girl and a boy Serena had never seen before, stared at the priestess in amazemennt and shock. "Didn't you get my message?" Rei asked. Serena shook her head. "What message. I ran straight from school to here." "Well if you hadn't gotten detention, you would have been able to stop by your house and find out that I have to show these two around." Rei gestured to the two. They looked to be similar in age, 17, and in appearance. Both had coppery hair, and dark brown eyes to match. Their skin was a dark tan color and they were dressed in the traditional robes of the temple. "Sorry Rei. So, who are you're new friends" Serena asked. "He's kinda cute. Chad's got some competition." Serena added in a quieter tone, nudging Rei a little with her elbow. Rei glared at Serena with daggers in her eyes. "You are so immature Serena. These are the two new students my grandpa sponsored from the theological school. They're gonna work here. And I have absolutely no interest in him or Chad." Rei said in a loud tone that got everyone's attention. Rei immediately blushed a red that matched her robes. "Gee thanks Rei." The boy said sarcastically. Rei's eyes widened. "I'm sorry Adam, I didn't mean it like that." Rei stammered. "I know. I was just joking around. So, are you gonna introduce us or what?" he asked. "Right, Serena this is Adam and Sarah Mossi." Rei said. "Oh, cool. Nice to meet you." Serena said, shaking their hands. "Yeah. Same here. You go to one of the local private schools, right?" Sarah asked. "Yeah. It's so boring. I wish I didn't have to go to school at all." Serena said, dreaming of the day when she wouldn't have to worry about not doing her homework again. "What about you guys, Are you going to Rei's school?" "Nope. We get to work at the temple. That's our training so we can become certified Shinto Priests." Adam said. "And Priestesses." Sarah added. "Way cool." Serena said, glancing down at her watch. One look at the time and Serena let out a squeal. "OHMIGOSH. I'm so late." She wailed, then took of down the street as fast as she could, leaving a gust of wind behind her. Adam and Sarah stared off after her "She always like that?" Adam asked. "I'm afraid so." Rei sighed, shaking her head. "She's cool. I think I like her." Sarah said. 'Me too.' Rei added silently, then returned to briefing the two on temple life. Reeny slurped her chocolate milkshake loudly, turning the heads of everyone in the diner. She blushed as she noticed the stares. "Sorry." She said. "No biggie Reeny." Mina said, and then began to slurp her own drink loudly. "So where's Serena today?" Lita asked. "She's with Darien." Reeny said. "He wasn't feeling well so she stayed with him to take care of him." "If he thought he felt bad before, wait'll Serena's done with him." Rei commented. Sarah looked at Rei in surprise. "I thought you two were supposed to be friends?" she said in a confused tone. Lita, Ami and Mina looked at each other and then broke out into laughter. "What?" Sarah asked again, beginning to feel like an outsider. "You know how a big older sister teases you even if she loves you lots?" Mina asked. Sarah nodded. "Well, that's Rei and Serena." Lita finished. Understanding dawned over Sarah as she smiled. "Cool. Kinda like Adam and me." Sarah said. "Yeah, only I think Adam is way cuter than Serena." Reeny said. "I didn't even know they had cute guys who wanted to be priests." Lita said. "Is it cool at the religious school you guys go to." "It's okay. But I'm really glad to be getting this first-hand experience at the temple." "You're parents must be proud of your dedication." Ami commented. "Yeah, they're cool I guess. We don't usually see them. We're always busy with school and with other things." Sarah said quietly, taking a sip of her drink. "What else do you guys do for fun. Do you like sports?" Mina asked. "No, we don't have time for that. We had things we had to get done." Sarah replied. "Like what? I personally love Karate. You should join my gym and we could take it together." Lita asked. "Things." Sarah said in a quiet tone. "What things." Lita asked again, leaning in close to Sarah. "Just stuff, all right. It's none of your business." Sarah yelled, her calm momentarily broken. All the other girls looked at her with hurt faces. Sarah looked at them and began to blush. "Sorry I yelled." She said, hanging her head. Rei put an arm around her shoulders. "You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to. So tell us about Adam." Rei said, trying to put the unpleasant scene behind them. Sarah smiled gratefully. "Has he got a girlfriend?" Lita asked, her eyes almost turning into miniature hearts. "No, but don't you go and get any ideas." Sarah said. "Shouldn't you be concentrating on studying instead of boys?" Ami asked. The others groaned. "Sometimes Ami, I have to wonder." Mina said. "So what do you think of Adam?" she asked. Ami blushed and stared down at her book. "I think that he's got very nice hair." Ami said. Lita nearly spit out her drink in surprise as the others just sat with their mouths open. "What!" Rei screamed. Ami blushed. "I uh, meant that he has very nice . . . uh, handwriting, that's it, nice handwriting." "Sure you did Ami. Sure you did." Lita teased. Ami only blushed harder. "Ah - choo." "Bless you Darien." Serena said, as she grabbed a super value family pack of advil off the shelf of the store. She deposited the item in the already full shopping cart next to various health care items. "Serena, I don't think I really need all this stuff." he said in a nasally voice. He sniffed, slightly, irritating his already red nose. "I want to make sure that you get better." Serena said, grabbing some scary looking cough medicine and reading the ingredients. "Serena!" Serena jerked her head up and looked down the isle in search of the voice that had just called out her name. She saw a tall brunette waving at her, her hair done in a familiar pony-tail. "Hey Lita." Serena called, smiling. She turned to Darien. "Do you mind if I go say hi? I'll be right back, and then we can finish shopping." She asked. "Go, by all means, go." He said a little too quickly. Serena pouted. "What, you don't want me to be here. I don't have to be here at all. If you want me to leave, I'll go, see if I care if you get sick and die." Serena said in an agitated voice. Darien began to panic, afraid to make her angry. "No, that's not what I meant Serena." "Prove it." Serena said, crossing her arms across her chest. Darien sighed. "Serena, please, you know that I love you." he said. Serena smiled. "Show me." "Serena, come on, this is silly." He said, sniffing again. "So you think I'm silly now. Well I don't have to take this." she said, beginning to stalk off. Darien grabbed her arm quickly. "I love you this much." He said, kissing the top of her head. "Now go say hi to Lita for me, all right." he said. Serena stood up on the tips of her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Be right back." She said, and skipped down the isle to Lita. "Hi Lita, what you doing?" Serena asked, waving her hand, which still held a bottle of medicine. "Just shopping. Darien still doesn't feel better?" she asked, noting the bottle. Serena nodded sadly. "Yeah. It's weird cause he never gets sick. I'm worried." Serena said in a hushed tone. She didn't want Darien to hear. The two began to walk down the aisle as Lita looked at the shelves in search of a great deal. "I'm sure it's nothing. Everyone gets sick." Lita said, studying the back of a jar of tomato sauce. "Maybe. But I think it has something to do with his rose not working." Serena said. Lita frowned. "Do you have any idea how that happened yet?" "No. And he doesn't seem happy about it either. It's like he feels he's not good enough or something without it." Serena said, her arms waving animatedly. "I think he's just worried that when the time comes for him to protect you, he won't be able to." Lita said. Serena laughed. "Well that's silly." She said. But Lita didn't look to sure. She looked Serena square in the face. "Is it?" she asked. And Serena didn't have a reply. Marie and Dustin rang the doorbell to Darien's apartment. Marie held a steaming pot of something that smelled delicious, and Dustin kept on trying to take a peek at her culinary masterpiece. On the third ring, Darien answered the door, still clad in a pair of sweats and a tank top that he had worn to bed the previous night. "I brought this over. What are you doing up? Now get back into bed this very instant." Marie admonished. Darien smiled, enjoying the mothering and sat down on the couch as his mother swept past him and began to make her self at home in the kitchen. "Still not feeling well?" Dustin asked. Darien blew his nose in reply. "I don't get how I got this stupid cold. It's not like it's bad enough to be called real sick, but it's just enough to make me miserable." Darien complained. "With Marie around I'm sure you'll get better in no time." Dustin said. Darien blanched as he pictured both Marie and Serena trying to make him feel better. "I've already got Serena on that end." Darien remarked. Dustin smiled. "Ah, that would explain your own private drugstore back there." Dustin said, gesturing towards the counter covered with the numerous bottles he and Serena had purchased. "Did you know that if you mix cherry cough syrup with Flintstone vitamins, it tastes like a kiwi?" Darien asked. Dustin shook his head no. "Write an article about it. Oh that reminds me. I have a great article I want you to write." Dustin said. He unfastened his briefcase and pulled out a handful of loose papers. "I was thinking you could write an opinion on these Sailor Scouts." Dustin said. Darien's eyes grew in surprise. "The scouts?" he choked. Dustin looked at him, wondering what the problem was, but decided it was probably just him being sick, and continued with his idea. "They're vigilantes. People could be hurt by these powerful attacks of theirs. And when ever they're around, people suddenly loose their energy. I want you to write about how wrong these people are, how they need to be stopped." Dustin said. Darien couldn't say a word, and his mouth just hung open. After a moment, he regained composure of himself. "What do you mean, vigilantes? The scouts have done nothing but good for Tokyo, killed off dangerous youma's and saved everyone countless times." Darien said. Dustin wasn't convinced. "You don't know much, do you? They're blasts could go stray and kill someone. We don't even know if they're human. Or why they are helping us against monsters. What kind of people would do that, risk their lives to save people they don't know. I think that we'd all be a lot safer if we threw Sailor Moon, and all her little Sailor friends in jail." Dustin said in a steely voice. Hate towards the scouts was evident, and Darien was more than a little surprised at his father's words. "I won't write this." Darien said. Dustin looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean, you won't write it. I'm your editor and if you want to keep your job, you have to write it." Dustin said. Darien shook his head stubbornly. "You're wrong about the scouts. They've saved my life, and Serena's life, many times. I won't let you make people afraid of them when all they want to do is good." Darien said. Dustin was not happy at his son's disobedience. "You don't know that. They might not be as benevolent as you think." Dustin said, raising his voice. Darien stood and looked down at Dustin, his eyes glaring. "And you don't know that the scouts are evil. You can fire me if you want, but I won't write the article." Darien said, and left the room to check on Marie in the kitchen. The look in Dustin's eyes, one of disappointment, one of anger and hurt, haunted Darien. He didn't like yelling at his father, didn't want to make him angry or unhappy, but he wouldn't let Dustin ruin the scout's image. If an article like the one Dustin wanted actually was printed, it might very well get the scouts thrown in jail. Darien felt someone lean against his arm. "What you thinking about?" Serena asked. "Nothing, just thinking." He said, and looked around him again, at the forest surrounding them. "Ok. You'll tell me when you're ready." Serena said, snuggling closer to him as they watched Reeny play with Lita, Ami and Mina on the swings. Serena liked the peacefulness and calm of the park, and especially liked sitting next to Darien on the small park bench. "Hey love birds." Sarah said, sneaking up behind Serena and Darien. Rei and Adam were walking a few steps behind Sarah. "Hey Sarah, have you met Darien?" Serena asked, her neck twisted around to face the girl. "No, it's nice to meet you." Sarah said, offering a hand. Darien pulled his hand away from Serena's shoulders and shook her hand. "This is my brother Adam." Sarah said as Adam and Rei joined the three, and sat down on the next bench. "I love these lazy days." Rei said, leaning back against the bench. "Yeah, me too." Serena said, resting again against Darien and closing her eyes. Reeny, Lita, Ami and Mina stopped playing on the swings to join their friends, sprawling out on the soft grass floor of the park. "Isn't that your Dad?" Reeny asked, pointing to a pair walking down a path. "Dustin! Marie! Over here!" Reeny called, waving her hands and jumping up and down to get their attention. The two turned and began to walk towards the group of young people. As they approached, Darien could make out their faces. It was his parents. "Those are your parents?" Sarah asked. "I thought you were an orphan." "I am." Darien said softly. Dustin and Marie walked up, Reeny clutching Dustin's hand. "Hello Dustin." Darien said. It wasn't an informal familiar tone, yet it wasn't a formal, cordial tone either. If anything, it was a confused tone, the voice of someone who doesn't know how to approach another. "I don't think I've met all your friends." Marie said, looking at the group of girls and the one lone guy. "This is Lita, Ami, Mina, Sarah and Adam." Darien said, pointing each one out. Sarah stepped forward and offered her hand. "Pleased to meet you." she said. Marie shook it, and smiled back a warm reply. The group began to talk about something or other, something regarding owning a major paper, but Darien wasn't listening. His head was hurting him again, a headache, only much worse than the ones he had been getting while sick. He held his hand to his head, and squeezed his eyes shut. Serena grabbed his arm. "Darien, are you all right?" she asked in a panicked voice. Darien nodded his head to try and alleviate her fears, but she didn't buy any of it as his knees began to fail to support his weight. Serena pulled Darien down, forcing him to sit on bench, asking him if he was all right every two seconds. Icy tendrils began to grip Rei. She felt something strange going one, something evil. She could feel it, feel it nearby and she was scared. It was obviously this evil that was affecting Darien. Perhaps it was even the new threat, or a mysterious new enemy that had possibly replaced Rubeus. "I think we should get Darien home now. Serena, why don't you and Reeny go and make sure he gets rest." Rei said, narrowing her eyes, darting her sight over every crevice in the park. "All right. I'll see you later guys." Serena said, getting up and pulling Darien up after her, supporting him on her slender shoulders. Slowly they began to make their way to Darien's apartment, with Reeny tagging along behind them. "Do you think he'll be all right?" Sarah asked. "He'll be fine." Rei said, as the worry that had spread through everyone subsided. "But it's late now, and this park isn't safe at night. We should all head home." Rei said. The other agreed and headed off for their separate homes, with Rei and Lita going to the temple together. "I'm worried about Darien." Rei confided. Lita looked at Rei with questions in he eyes. "Why?" "This wasn't normal. I felt terrible evil in the park. I think that new enemy might be the cause of his sickness." Rei said. Lita remembered what Serena had said in the market. "Serena said she thought he might be sick because his rose didn't work. Do you think that this enemy might be involved in that too?" Lita asked. "Maybe. But we don't know if it still isn't working. These new youma's are strange. They haven't hardly attacked at all." Rei commented. "Not that I'm complaining." She added. Lita stared off into space, thinking. "I wonder . . . " she said to herself. But Rei heard her. "Wonder what?" she asked. "Well, there were two of those things that seemed to be in control. Maybe they're someone we know, like Alan and Ann were. Like double agents or something, in disguise." Lita said. "Yeah, well who do we know that could possibly be a youma or an alien or whatever we have to face?" Rei asked, slightly annoyed at Lita's silly idea. "Well, how about Sarah and Adam. They're new, there's two of them, a girl and a boy, and really, how much do you really know about them. And remember how when we were at the diner and Sarah totally blew up at us when we asked about what she did for fun?" Lita said. Rei thought for minute, remembering the scene. "It was like . . . like she was hiding something." Rei said at last, realization dawning on her. "And," she said, as if the pieces were falling into place. "I felt the dark energy in the same area as they were while they were in the park." "Do you think they could be the enemy?" Lita asked. Rei nodded. "I think we should watch them very carefully from now on." Rei said. Lita agreed fully. The enemy, it seemed, was among them. Serena rested in Darien's chair, a chair she used to think was fairly comfortable. But, after sitting in the same position in the same chair, her butt nearly asleep, she realized that chairs must have actually been some medieval torture device. Reeny didn't seem to mind resting in Serena's lap though. The little girl was fast asleep, her little pink haired head resting against Serena's stomach. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically with each intake of breathe. Serena stroked Reeny's head, unable to join her in slumber land. She was worried about Darien. He was asleep in his bed, sleeping just as deeply as Reeny. Serena thought he looked very cute when he slept, so much more peaceful, almost child-like. She couldn't even see that he was sick. But she knew, and that alone was enough. Something was making him sick, and they had no idea what. Maybe it was dangerous, even fatal. Serena shook her head, banishing such thoughts. She knew he'd get better, that this crazy illness would go away. She would make sure of it. A soft beeping sound came from the corner, emanating from Serena's backpack. Carefully, she got up and put Reeny, still sleeping, on the chair. She grabbed the communication device and hit a button. Mina's face appeared. "Serena?" she said breathlessly, her face red. "Hey Mina, what's up?" Serena whispered. "There's some monster attacking over at the 3rd street movie theater. We could use Sailor Moon." Mina said. "Sure thing. Be there in a sec." Serena said, then turned the device off, grabbed her coat and ran out the door. "Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!" A bolt of lightening raced towards a monster with a movie reel camera on it's arm. A ribbon of film wrapped itself around Jupiter's blast and began to turn it around on the scouts. Jupiter and Venus dodged the reflected attack, and it crashed into the box office, completely destroying it. "Ready for your close up scouts?" the creature asked, as it held it's arm out again, a bright light glowing from the lens of the camera. "Hold it right there." The youma turned around at the new voice. "Who's there?" it asked, looking around for the newcomer. "I'm Sailor Moon, and you're about to be left on the cutting room floor." Moon said, as she gripped her wand tightly. "As if!" the youma cried, a beam of light spraying forth from the camera. Moon jumped to the side, and was immediately wrapped in black film. "Ohh, get me out of here." She cried. The film began to tighten around her, and Moon could feel herself being suffocated, her energy slowly being drained. Darien woke with the familiar pain in his head, a pleasant change from his previous throbbing migraines. Sailor Moon needed him. He smiled as he patted the still sleeping Reeny on the head then raced out the door to help Moon out. He hopped on his bike and raced towards an unknown destination. He never knew where exactly she was, but he felt himself being guided by an unconscious force, being pulled magically by something incredibly strong. He just let his instincts guide him, and he always ended up at the same place Sailor Moon was. "Serena!" He recognized that voice. It was Mina. And she didn't sound happy. "Guys, get this off me." Serena this time, and she sounded weak. Darien knew she was in trouble; he could feel it. "Let her go nega -scum! Schewwwchhhhh - brahmmm" Jupiter, very angry, and a blast, probably her lightening bolt. But he could still feel Serena's pain. It was his turn to save her. He pulled out his rose and held it up and . . . nothing. Nothing happened. He stared at the rose in disbelief. It had never not worked. How could he help Serena without his power? "No!" he said, unable to accept it. "Ahhhh." Mina was screaming. "No! Mina! Hang on guys, I'll get you of there." Jupiter said. This wasn't good, he knew. They needed him. Behind him he heard a rustling, and he turned to confront it, his eyes shining dangerously close to uncontrollable fury. "Darien!" Sailor Mars said, skidding to a stop. Sailor Mercury stood behind her. "What are you doing, why haven't you transformed?" Mercury asked. Darien opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't make a sound. "Darien?" Mars asked. "I'll be there in a minute. Hurry, the girls need help." He said, finally regaining control of his voice. Mars nodded and the two girls ran out in the clearing, screaming their own battle attacks. Darien turned away from the battle scene, away from Serena trapped in some weird energy draining film, her pleading eyes accusing him of not saving her. Something snaked across his leg and he jumped, staring down at the ground. "Luna!" he exclaimed. Luna nodded. "Darien, what's the matter?" she asked. "Nothing Luna, why?" he said, trying to mask his emotions. "You would have transformed by now, helped Serena out. So why haven't you." she asked. Darien picked her up and began to pet her behind the ears. "I'm just, uh, trying to get the scouts used to relying on their own powers, and not on me to save them." he said quickly, still petting the cat. But Luna twisted around and looked at him in a disapproving way, almost like a very disappointed mother. He now knew what Serena meant when she talked about Luna being worse than her own mom. "Darien, that's bull and you know it." Luna said. "A nice little massage isn't going to get you out of this. Now, tell me the real reason." She said forcefully. Darien sighed in defeat. "I can't become Tuxedo Mask anymore. I tried and it didn't work." He said dejectedly. Suddenly, the ground shook as a blast went stray. Darien and Luna lurched forward, and struggled to keep their balance. "What are you going to do? They need your help?" Luna said sadly. "I can't. I'm just plain old Darien Chiba. I'm of no use to them like this. I'd probably need to be saved instead of saving them. They don't need me." he said, fingering his useless rose. It seemed that it was darker than before, a deep shade of blood red. "Are you willing to stake their lives on that? You're still a part of this team, powers or no powers." Luna said angrily. Suddenly, five high pitched screams rose into the night. Darien jerked his head up, feeling Serena's terror. She needed him. "Serena." he whispered and let Luna down, then raced around the corner. Luna smiled, and hoped that he didn't end up getting himself killed. Five cocoons of film, each featuring a different face. The one facing him had piercing blue eyes, sad, familiar eyes. Serena seemed to be pleading with him. "No." he said to himself, clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles turned bone white. Darien grabbed at the film that was containing Serena, but it exploded in white light, knocking him away from her. The creature turned around to see what the disturbance was. It stared at Darien, who was getting up slowly, and began to laugh. "You think you can stop me? Why, you're nothing more than a mere human." it said, laughing. Darien narrowed his eyes and launched himself at the youma, tackling it with all his strength. Both went crashing down to the ground. Darien quickly hopped to his feet and went back to Serena, trying to rip apart the film with his bare hands while the youma still struggled to stand, doing so with much difficulty due to the heavy camera perched on its arm. White light surrounded Darien again, but he gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the painful blast. He gripped the film tightly, twisting it in his hands in an attempt to tear it. But it wouldn't give. The monster behind him pointed the camera at him point blank, light beginning to shine from the projector "Wait. Don't hurt him." the youma paused at the words of his master that whispered in its ear, a voice only the youma could hear. The masculine voice seemed to boom from nowhere and everywhere. "No, kill him. If it means killing the scouts, kill him." another voice, a woman argued. "Kill the scouts, but don't hurt him." the man's voice said firmly. "Fine, I don't see the harm." The woman's voice conceded. The youma nodded and blasted Darien with a subdued power. Darien screamed as he was flung through the air, over the cocoon that held Serena, and lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious. In his hand, he gripped a small piece of the film that had surrounded Sailor Moon. Light poured from the small hole in Sailor Moon's cocoon. The light pulsed, then erupted in a volcano of white light, and the dark shell cracked, then exploded into millions of tiny black shards that sprinkled to the ground. Sailor Moon fell to the ground, and panted, resting on her knees. She looked around her, and saw her friends all captured, and she saw Darien. Her eyes began to water, remembering the scene, him trying to save her. She had seen the whole scene, her cocoon a window that kept her apart from the outside world, yet allowing her to observe it silently. She stood. "You will pay." She said in a slow determined voice, clutching her wand with a strong resolve. "Little girl got a backbone?" the youma said, laughing again. Sailor Moon held the wand out in front of her. "You will not hurt my friends." she said quietly, then closed her eyes and waved her scepter in front of her. "Moon Scepter Elimination." She screamed, a ball of fast and furious power screaming towards the youma. It held it's camera out in front of it protectively. "Houston, we have a problem." It said before being hit with the energy and disintegrating into dark black dust. Sailor Moon stared at the pile for a moment before rushing to Darien's side. She sunk to the ground and held his head in her lap, stroking his dark hair. "Darien, please be all right." she said, her eyes watering. She unconsciously held his hand. And he squeezed hers in return. Sailor Moon's eyes widened and she began to beam. "You're all right." she said happily, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. "Not if you choke me." he said. "Oops, sorry." She said, letting go. Sailor Moon stood, and helped Darien to his feet, then wrapped her arms around him. "I'm fine, go check on the scouts. Besides, we're in the middle of a street." He said, although due to the late hour, no one was actually out, besides an old bum who had watched the entire event and chalked it up to just drinking something that a little more than he should have. Slowly, the other scouts stood up and Sailor Moon ran back to Darien's side. "You did well Serena." Darien said, giving her a small hug. Sailor Moon smiled. "Really?" she asked. He nodded. "Yeah, let's go home." He said. Sailor Moon agreed and said good bye to the scouts, promising to meet them the next day, and de-transformed. She and Darien began to walk to his place. "Are you sure you're all right?" Serena asked while they walked. "Positive." He said. "You were amazing." Serena said. "I don't think I could have done what you did if I was in Serena mode and not Sailor Moon. Thanks." Serena said. Darien shook his head. "I didn't think I could either. I still don't think I can." Darien said, lowering his head. Serena was confused. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I can't transform." He said. "I can't be Tuxedo Mask anymore." "What! What happened?" she exclaimed "I don't know." he snarled angrily. Serena winced inwardly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" "No, Serena." Darien interrupted. "I'm sorry for snapping. I shouldn't have." Serena squeezed his hand. "Don't worry. But if you're not Tuxedo Mask anymore, I don't want you fighting anymore. You could get hurt." Serena said, remembering him flying through the air when that energy blast had hit him. "I know. But what if you need me Serena. I'm so, so useless." He said unhappily through a clenched jaw. "Useless? Are you kidding? You are so not useless it's not even funny." Serena cried, and stopped walking. "Darien, you are the reason I do anything. If I didn't have you to be my . . .to be my strength when I fight, I would have been dusted a long time ago. Even when you're not with me fighting, you're still with me in my soul, giving me my power. I need you more than anything." she said in a voice that didn't seem Serena - like at all, but more mature, a glimpse at Serena the woman she would be, and not Serena the girl that she was. Darien didn't know what to say at her words, but they meant more to him than anything. He had no idea how to thank her for her precious gift. He took Serena's hand in his. "Serena, I-" he began, but Serena stood up on her toes and kissed him, cutting him off. When she was again firmly standing on her own two feet, the two walked together in silence towards his apartment, needing no words between them, just enjoying each others' presence. "So Serena, did you stay at Darien's last night?" Lita asked. The girls oohed and aahed as they sat on the steps of the temple. Serena blushed furiously. "Nothing happened. I slept on the couch. You guys need to stop watching those soaps. Oh and Rei, if my parents ask, Reeny and I were here last night." "What! You want me to lie to your parents?" Rei said in outrage. "You guys, he needed me." Serena said. "I'll bet." Mina giggled. "Sure he did." Lita said. Serena got up and whacked her upside the head. "Come on, I'm being serious. Something is seriously wrong with him." Serena said. "Like what? He actually wants to study?" Rei said. Serena shook her head angrily. "I am trying to be serious!" she yelled, as the others all got very quiet, finally understanding that Serena meant business. "What's wrong? Is he OK?" Ami asked. Serena shook her head again, this time sadly. "He can't transform anymore. And he was sick again last night. He couldn't sleep at all last night cause his head was hurting him so much. I don't know what to do." Serena said, close to tears. Mina got up and put an arm around her friend. "I'm sure he'll be fine." Mina reassured her. "But I've never seen him so hopeless before. He felt so bad that he couldn't transform. I hate seeing him sad." She said. "Oh I know honey." Mina said in a comforting voice. "I think the nega-verse is involved in this. I bet if we beat those monsters, we can help Darien get his power back." Rei said. "Really?" Serena said. The others all nodded. "Well let's get to work. We have some youma's to dust." Serena said determinedly. Darien grumbled as he peeled the potatoes. He had never liked doing it as a kid, and he still hated the menial task. But Marie had invited him over to help her prepare dinner and to 'get to know her little boy.' But, Darien figured that she had noticed that he and Dustin weren't happy with each other. Of course, Darien couldn't help that. Dustin was completely prejudiced against the scouts, thought they were more evil then the nega-verse, and wanted Darien to convince the public that they were a threat. IF only Dustin knew that he was one of the people he wanted locked up, that Serena was Sailor Moon. "Not so deep. I would actually like to have a potato left when you're done mutilating it." Marie said, waving a giant spatula in the air. "It's not my fault. Blame Mr. Jund." Darien said. Marie gave him a blank look. "Mr. Jund?" she asked. Darien laughed. "Inside joke, nevermind." He said. Marie's face seemed to fall. She appeared so sad all of a sudden. "Marie, what's wrong?" he asked, alarmed. But Marie waved him off. "I'm fine." she said. But Darien didn't believe her. "You don' t look fine." he said. "It's just that I've missed so much of your life. If I had been there when you were growing up, I'd understand who Mr. Jund was and I just wish that I could have been a part of it." "You're a part of my life now." Darien said, smiling. Marie looked up at him gratefully. "How did I ever get so lucky to have such a sweet little boy." Marie said. Darien raised an eyebrow. "Little?" He asked, standing beside the woman, who was close to 5'2" tall, as opposed to his solid 6'3" frame. "You'll always be my little boy. No matter how tall you grow to be. Must be from your father's side. They're all tall in his family." she said. She looked at Darien closely. "You know, you're a lot like Dustin. Definitely your fathers son. Even stubborn like him." she said. "Stubborn?" he asked. Marie laughed and Darien suddenly felt that this was leading to something, that this new change in topic was deliberate and had a point. "Your father is so stubborn. Like about you not writing that article. He could have just said fine and given it to someone else. Or you could have just not been stubborn and written it. But no, you both have to stick to your own thing." She said. For a sweet little old lady, she sure was conniving. He wondered if Serena could be like that too. Probably, he thought. "It's not my fault. I will not write something that will ruin the scouts reputation, especially if its totally untrue." Darien said defensively. "I'm sure you won't. But couldn't you just maybe try and put that little argument behind you and not be mad about it?" Marie asked. Darien shook his head. "He was hurt that you wouldn't even consider it, that you so blatantly disobeyed him, your boss, your father. The utter disregard and lack of respect for him was what hurt him." Marie said. "But he can't possibly be allowed to think that way about the scouts, and I most definitely won't. It's so wrong, and unfair and . . .he just can't." Darien said. "Are you willing to let it ruin your relationship with your father?" "No, but it's not like it was going to ruin it or anything." Darien began to walk around the room, pacing nervously, while Marie calmly stirred her pot of soup. "Oh really. You haven't been talking in how long? And today was the first time in how many days that you've been over?" Marie asked rationally. Darien thought about it, and couldn't answer her questions. "I thought so." Marie said. A whirring noise sounded in the direction of the garage. "That's Dustin. Why don't you finish up in here while I set the table." Marie said, grabbing the plates and silverware before Darien could protest. The wooden door connecting the garage to the kitchen opened and Dustin walked in. "Darien." He said, surprised to see him. "Hi Dustin." "What brings you here?" Dustin asked, setting his briefcase down. "I haven't seen you around the office lately." "Marie invited me. And I've been sick." Darien said. he sat down in a chair at the kitchen table. Dustin joined him. "Still?" he asked. Darien nodded. "You should see a doctor about that." Dustin said. "I know. Thanks." Darien said, then swallowed. He opened his mouth and . . . "Darien, I'm sorry." Dustin said before Darien had a chance to speak. Darien stared at Dustin in surprise. "I should have respected your opinions. I know I shouldn't have made you write something you truly didn't believe in. But you have to understand that I was angry at you for totally ignoring my orders. I'm not used to that." Dustin said. "And I'm not used to being given orders. I should have at least been more open to what you wanted, maybe compromised or something. I mean, it wasn't something we should have been fighting over." Darien conceded. "I guess we're both fools then." Dustin said. "Maybe. But at least we both know it." Darien said, smiling, all apprehension gone. "So are you going to join us for dinner tomorrow at Chin Chin's. Bring Serena if you like. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of her in the future." Dustin said, and nudged Darien slyly with his elbow. Darien began to feel embarrassed in a way that only a parent can cause. Marie's dark head peeked in the door. "Oh, I can't wait for the wedding. I want it to be all white with-" "Marie!" Darien cried in exasperation. "She's only 15. Jeez, weddings, next you'll be bugging me about grand-kids." Darien said. Marie just got a sharp glint in her eye and Darien began to wish he had just stayed quiet. "Great idea Lita. Let's follow them. Right. Where exactly are we?" Rei said in an incredibly annoyed voice. Lita fumbled with the map before pinpointing their location. "We're far. Here." She said, pointing to a small town that seemed to be an hour outside of Tokyo. "Great, just great. Grandpa's gonna kill me." Rei whined, sounding like Serena. Lita momentarily wondered if she should tell Rei of her similarity to the blond, but then decided she'd like to live to see tomorrow. "I didn't know that Sarah and Adam lived so far our of town. They're staying with you, remember. You're the one who should have found this stuff out." Lita replied. "Besides, if they lived close to town, they wouldn't need to live with you during the week." Lita said. Rei was about to retort, but instead pointed out the window of the cab as she saw Sarah and Adam get off the bus. "Driver, drive up another hundred feet and then let us out." Rei said. The driver of the cab immediately complied and soon Lita and Rei were following Adam and Sarah to some unknown destination. "IF they are from the nega-verse, this is a great place to not get noticed. I bet this is where Elvis lives or something." Lita said. Rei put a finger to her lips to silence her friend as they quietly shadowed the brother and sister. After 15 minutes of walking, they came upon a small town, the houses nothing more than small huts. Sarah and Adam went inside one, quickly opening and closing the door to the place. Lita and Rei tiptoed to the door and slowly opened it, trying to draw as little attention in the secluded place as possible. In the darkness they saw . . . . Serena looked at her watch again. It was already 8 and her stomach was rumbling loudly. She was beginning to get impatient, and was just a little worried. Darien was late. He was almost never late. But he was supposed to have picked up Dustin and Marie and met her for dinner at 7:30 and still hadn't shown yet. Maybe he wasn't feeling well. She should call him. She got up and walked to the pay phone and dialed his number. But, she soon slammed the receiver down in frustration. No one had answered. Serena went back to her table, and began to chew on some bread. "What could be taking so long?" she wondered aloud. Then, she knew. It had to be traffic. That's was it, he was caught in traffic. Serena leaned back contentedly, happy that that disturbing problem and been solved, and waited. A waitress approached her, a cheerful face plastered on her visage. "Hi, I'm your waitress Nikki. Would you like to hear our specials?" she asked. Before Serena even had a chance to respond, the waitress began to talk. "Out special tonight is Moon Bunny Stew." The waitress said. Serena scrunched her nose up in disgust. "Are you kidding? I'll just have a hamburger." Serena said, pushing the menu away from her. The waitress didn't look happy with her choice. 'What a freak.' Serena thought to herself, although she did think it was nice of the waitress to take such an active interest in her dinner choice. "Listen girly, you're gonna have the stew whether you want it or not." The waitress said as her face began to pale to a light lavender, her eyes flashing red. Serena screamed and pulled back, as far away from the monster as she could. The waitress fully transformed into a youma in a crazy cook outfit, it's hands made of deadly sharp knives. Serena screamed as it brought a blade down in front of her, splitting the table in two equal pieces. Serena jumped away and began to run, the youma following her. Ducking into the kitchen, which was covered with unconscious people whose energy had been drained, Serena transformed in a flash of light and then called the scouts, although only Ami and Mina responded. Then, taking a deep breath she went back out into the dining room to face the youma. Darien roared in frustration and anger. He pulled at the chains that bound him to the chair, but they would not give. He could feel Serena in danger, and although he couldn't go to her as Tuxedo Mask, at least he could have been there to support her in his normal human guise. But now she was alone and he was captured by the nega-verse. Needless to say, it had not been a good day, or week for that matter, for Darien. "Come back here." Darien screamed in rage. His voice echoed off the walls, fell upon deaf ears. "I trusted you. How could you do this to me. Why?" he asked. They never answered. "You are cowards all of you." Darien said. The woman laughed. "Cowards? Could a coward have captured you?" she asked. "Using deception as you did, yes a coward could have." Darien replied. "Then I am a coward. But I am a coward that has captured you, and that is all that matters." She said. Darien clenched his fist tightly, his nails biting into his skin, trying to curb his anger. "I thought we were - " "You thought wrong. How could we care for a human. You really should pick who you trust more carefully, Darien." The woman said in a cold voice. Suddenly, her dark wave of hair was near, and she was almost whispering in his ear. "We replaced Rubeus to do the job he never could: kill Sailor Moon. And soon, she will be ours. She is fighting a losing battle even as we speak. So how would you like your rabbit stew Darien." She said, laughing softly. Sailor Moon held a napkin to her arm, staining it bright red. It wasn't a deep cut, but boy did it hurt. She got up and threw her tiara at it, knowing that it would be blocked by the sharp razors. Bringing up her wand she blasted it just as it was busying itself with destroying the tiara. It worked, but did not kill the youma. It was too strong. Sailor Moon needed the other scouts to help weaken it before she could kill it. "Come now. Why don't you give up. No one will save you last minute." It said, and pulled something small and red out of its pocket. A rose. She held it out to Sailor Moon. "Recognize this. My masters will enjoy killing you after they are done killing your little boy friend." It taunted. Sailor Moon stared at the rose blankly. "No. NO!" she repeated, tears beginning to well. That was Darien's rose, she could feel his presence still surrounding it. That would explain why he was so late. And Marie and Dustin. Had they dragged those poor people into this as well? She tried to reach out to Darien, to feel him somewhere, to find some sign that he was alive, but couldn't. Only he had that power. "What have you done with him?" Sailor Moon demanded. The youma laughed again, then launched a group of knives at Moon. She dodged to the right, then jumped again to the left in order to avoid another group of deadly kitchenware. She was beginning to get tired from this game and was panting heavily. She heard a whoosh behind her and saw a huge butcher knife heading straight at her. And she was so tired, she didn't think she could move our of the way. And in a flash of orange, something crashed into her, something soft and safe. "Sailor Venus!" Moon cried, hugging her friend tightly. "Come on Sailor Moon, let's dust this guy." Venus said cheerfully. Moon nodded her head, only in a much more subdued fashion. Moon glanced at the rose on the floor, now a shade of reddish black, that seemed so alone. She mumbled something, wiped her eyes, and stood up defiantly. "Darien." Rei and Lita gasped to themselves, as they saw the sight before them. It was completely unexpected. Adam, hearing the small noise, went to the door and saw the two familiar faces. "What are you doing here." He said menacingly. Rei's eyes grew big and glassy. "We um, wanted to talk with you about um, about religiosy stuff. Right Rei?" Lita stammered. Rei nodded. "So you followed us?" he said again, still not sounding too happy. "Who says we followed you?" Lita said, trying to spare some of her dignity. "WE never told you our real address. We were afraid if anyone found out, we would be treated as poorly as we are here." Adam said. "Well, I guess we did follow you, but we didn't know about any of this." Rei said. "So why did you follow us. Certainly not to talk about 'religiousy stuff.' Adam said, ushering the two in. "Um . . ." Rei stammered. "So who's this little guy?" Lita asked. Sarah smiled and handed Lita the baby. "This is Jason. My son." Sarah said. "You're son!" Lita and Rei exclaimed. Jason grabbed a handful of Lita's hair and yanked. "Ow. Why you little . . . cutie you." Lita said, catching herself. "I know, I'm only 17, but well, you know how it is sometimes. My parents were so angry that they sent me to go to theological school with Adam. But I wouldn't give my baby up. A friend watches him while I'm away, but I always miss my baby." She said, patting her sons head. The little boy gurgled in delight. "Jason pretty much eats up most of mine and my sisters time. And people aren't very accepting of Jason, being born to an unmarried mother so young and all. It's a kinda sensitive subject for us." Adam added. "So that's the reason why you're always so evasive." Rei commented. "Yeah." Sarah said quietly. "He's a real cutie." Lita said. Rei groaned. "Just so long as he doesn't remind you of your last boyfriend." Rei said. "Well ya know, those eyes . . ." Lita began, but stopped as Rei began to hum a tune under her breath. "Well hello Mrs. Robinson, Jesus loves you more than you can know . . ." Rei mumbled. "I heard that, pyro." Lita exclaimed as the baby watched in delight at the entertainment. "I cared for you both." Darien said, his voice hoarse from yelling so much. His emotions had been stirred up more than they had ever been before, and his soul was aching from it. He felt tired. "We used you Darien." The woman said. Darien shook his head. "But you're my parents. How could you do this." He said, still not believing. Dustin strode in the room, yet he had dropped the false pretense of being human just as Marie had done. Now, his hair was jet black, all wrinkles disappeared from his dark brown face. "We were never your parents Darien. It was all just a ploy to capture you. To make you trust us so you would be more vulnerable." Dustin said. "But why? Why did you pretend to be my parents?" he cried. "Because it was the only way to get close enough to you to be able to steal your powers. And let's face it, without your powers to save her butt, Sailor Moon is pretty much a goner." Marie said. Darien looked away from the joy in her face as she mentioned the possible death of Sailor Moon. "So why don't you just kill me. Why play this game?" he asked. "Without the rose, your not much of a threat. But, even as a pathetic human, you still went to her, saved her life as Darien Chiba instead of Tuxedo Mask. She even said it herself, you're her strength, what gives her the ability to fight. So if she thinks you're dead she should be easy enough to defeat." Marie said. Darien looked up angrily at the woman he had thought was his mother. "So why don't you kill me now." Darien asked again with steel in his voice. Dustin and Marie looked at each other; neither had an answer. Sailor Moon stared down at the youma. It was on it's last legs, backed into a corner, it's arms broken from the icy cold of Mercury's power. "Where is he?" Sailor Moon asked. She waved her wand out in front of her menacingly. The youma smiled sadistically. "Dead." It said. Sailor Moon shook her head. "I don't believe you. What have you done with Darien?" she demanded again. It didn't say a word. "I'll use this, I swear, if you don't tell me." she threatened. The youma laughed as though it were a pathetic request. It wasn't even frightened. "Better than what they will do if I return defeated. I tell you again that he is dead. But I'm sure it didn't hurt. Well, at least not too much." It said, taunting her. Sailor Moon gripped her scepter tightly, trying to ignore its words. "He can't be . . . No!" she cried, her eyesight blurry from the forming tears. She hardly knew what she was doing, the time going by so fast, yet so slow at the same time, everything spinning, changing. She wasn't even aware that she had raised her scepter, that she called out in anger, "Moon Scepter Elimination!" and that in a blast of intense light, the youma was no more than a pile of ash. Venus stood beside Moon, afraid to touch the girl, who was trying so hard not to cry, to be strong. "Sailor Moon?" she asked. Moon sunk to her knees and became Serena Tsukino. She held out a hand, and ever so carefully picked up the rose, running her fingers over the delicate petals. "Serena, its' time to go." Mercury said quietly, unsure of what to do. Serena got up, her eyes still transfixed on the rose, and walked out of the restaurant without a word, mindlessly following her friends. "Well, it seems that she survived." Marie said. Darien sighed in relief. Thank whoever for small victories. "Don't look so happy Darien. It seems she's . . . snapped." Marie said, simulating the snapping of a twig with her hand. "She won't even leave her room, according to her mom. I wonder how hard it will be to kill her now? I've even called to 'comfort' the poor girl in out 'terrible grief.' I hear the Wiseman has already sent someone to dispose of her." Marie said. Darien again grabbed the chair to keep his precarious control of his emotions. "I hate you." Darien said, trying anything to get Marie to listen to his pleas. But, he didn't know what else he could say that would get them to change their mind. "Hate is such a strong word Darien. You really should be more careful about how you use it. You might regret it someday." Marie said. "I know. That's why I said it." Darien replied. Marie winced slightly at the verbal blow, yet retained an icy expression. "One day, you will understand why we are doing this." Marie said sadly. "I don't understand why you want to hurt me?" he said. "You might not have been my mother, but didn't that time together that we spent as a family mean anything?." he said desperately. Marie looked away. "I . . . Creatures of the nega-verse have no need of emotions." She said finally, still not looking at him. "I know that isn't true." Darien said. "You are capable of love just as much as I am. And I thought that maybe you and Dustin and I had reached something like that. That love was the one tie that bound us together, as a family. I refuse to believe it was all an act." Darien said. Marie looked away, towards the door. It opened and Dustin walked in. "What are you two talking about my dear?" he asked, noticing the stricken look on Marie's face. "Dustin, please, you were my father. You were my father not because of any blood thing, but because of who you were. Please, my father would have let me go." Darien said. Dustin looked at Marie, away from Darien's desperate eyes. "We can't let you free. When we have killed Sailor Moon, then you can leave, we promise." Dustin said. But Darien shook his head angrily. "That's not good enough. I don't care about anything if she dies. I need her. You have to let me go to her. Please. I know Dustin, that you felt something, anything." Darien said. "That's why I'm still alive, because you have emotions. Don't shut them out. Listen to them." he said. "Please Darien, be quiet, I don't want to hear anymore." Marie said, covering her ears with her hands. "Darien, we don't have a choice about this. We managed to save your life. But Serena's too important. She has to die if we want . . there's no way around it. This was as much as we could help." Dustin said. "You're not helping me. You're destroying my life." Darien snarled. "We're saving it. You weren't like we were told humans were supposed to be. It's all your own fault for us doing this, for making us love you. If you hadn't been so wonderful, we would have been able to just kill you. This is all your fault." Marie said accusingly. She was near tears now. "You were a great son Darien. I wish I could have been your father, your real father. I hate to do this to you, to hurt you. It's so hard for us, but we have to. We have no choice." Dustin said. "Everyone has a choice. And you, you who claim that you love me and care for me, are making the choice to abandon me. You could never be my parents." Darien said darkly. Serena was asleep, dreaming dark, terrifying dreams where Darien was ripped away from her. In her sleep, she moaned slightly. Luna and Reeny watched her as a single tear made its way down her face. "She always dreams about the same thing." Reeny said, watching Serena with compassion. She knew how hard a time Serena was having. She was sad too, although she wouldn't let it show. "I don't understand how the nega-verse could have taken him before he went to his parents house." Luna said. "At least he never made it Dustin and Marie's. I'm glad they're safe. They must be so sad though, to have just found him and then to have lost him again." Reeny said. "And how are you taking this?" Luna asked, nuzzling the girl's leg. "I'll be OK. It's Serena I'm worried about. She's so sad. She's not supposed to be sad." Reeny said, glancing at Serena again. "I know. But she's a lot stronger than we give her credit for. She just needs time." Luna said. "You're probably right Luna, but I still worry. What if-," Reeny began, but was interrupted by something loud, a sharp metallic zing sound. "What was that?" Luna asked, as the ground began to shake. It didn't feel like an earthquake. Reeny ran to Serena's side, shaking her in an attempt to wake up. "Not now Mom, five more minutes, I promise." Serena mumbled before turning her back on Reeny. Reeny started pulling on Serena's arm, trying to get her up. Something caught her attention, a huge metallic robot with long silver arms and legs was heading straight for them. Reeny screamed in terror. "Get them away!" she screamed loudly, waking Serena up. "What's the commotion about spore. Can't a girl get her . . .oh my God!" Serena said, noticing the thing outside. "Keep them away from me. Don't let them get me." Reeny said, huddling into a little ball against Serena. Serena put her arms around the girl. "What are those things Reeny? Do you recognize them?" Serena asked. "They're those things that attacked my parents. It grabs you in it's arm and it starts to glow and you disappear. And then it chased me. It's horrible." Reeny said, crying a little. Serena looked down at the poor girl and stroked her hair. "I won't let them take you Reeny." Serena promised. She held up her brooch. "Moon Crystal Power." She cried, and transformed. "Do you know how to take them out." Sailor Moon asked. Reeny shook her head. "I'm sorry." She said. Moon knelt down so she was level with Reeny and gave her a hug. "Don't be sorry. I'm gonna try and stop this thing, all right. I promise I won't let it get you. All right?" she said. "Kay." Reeny meekly replied. "Good. Now go and hide. I'll be back in a flash." Sailor Moon said as she walked towards the window. "And Serena," Reeny said as Moon was about to jump out her window. Moon stopped and looked back at the girl. "Yeah Reeny?" "Be careful" she said. Sailor Moon could feel her emotions rising again, but choked them down. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Now you better hide and I'll kill this thing." She said, and hopped soundlessly down to the ground. Sailor Moon ducked behind a shrub and used the shadows as her cover, trying to get closer to the metallic robot without being noticed. She quickly darted her head around a tree, then, seeing that the thing wasn't looking at her, she hid behind a tree near the base of the robot's leg. She jumped in front of it. "Hey, you up there, whoever's running that thing. I think you need a license for that thing." Moon cried. "So if you could just go back to wherever you came from, everything will be cool." She said, hoping her odd logic would work. It didn't. The robot shot out a long silver rope with a huge clamp on the end. It was aimed for Sailor Moon, but she jumped out of the way, barely missing a tree. She grabbed onto the tree and hid behind it. "Moon Scepter Elimination." She blasted it with her wand, but it bounced harmlessly of the body of the robot, not even scratching it. The thing was completely unfazed and continued trying to catch her. The robot fired again, but missed, taking out the part of the tree directly above Sailor Moon's head. She screamed and ran from her hiding spot across the yard. The robot stood in one spot, it's head twirling around on its axis. It continued to try and hit her with its arms, but missed, only catching her footsteps. Moon looked behind her at the lumbering robot. It was slow, and she could probably outrun it. As she was glancing at the robot, she didn't notice the rock in front of her, and tumbled over it, landing roughly on the ground. The robot must have been smarter than a normal robot, because it took full advantage of Sailor Moon's predicament and shot it's tentacle at her, grasping her tightly in its enormous clamp. Moon screamed, her arms pinned to her sides, her legs kicking beneath her ineffectually as she rose into the air. The robot began to hum, then glow, as the pulse traveled down the tentacle to the clamp, then transferred the energy into Moon's body. She screamed in pain as the energy surrounded her, making her glow a dark purple. Sailor Moon could feel her energy declining, and through drooping lids could barely see the outline of four people, all in sailor suits, and dimly heard the chime of energy bouncing back off the metal of the robot. Every inch of her body ached, and she felt so tired. Sailor Moon just wanted to give up. She hurt, her body, her soul, her heart. She couldn't make it, not with this steady flow of excruciating energy coursing through her. 'Where are you Darien?' she wondered silently, for just a moment. Sleep would be so nice about now. Darien's head ached. Serena was in trouble, not just the plain old transformation that let him know she had transformed, but something much worse. He could feel her slipping away. "Fight Serena." he mumbled, wishing that there was some way for her to hear him. "It's not working guys." Sailor Jupiter yelled. She let off another blast that bounced off the metal harmlessly. "Well try again!" Sailor Mars screamed, avoiding looking at Sailor Moon. She had already failed Darien. She would let Serena down too. "Mars Celestial Fire Surround!" she cried forcefully, praying that it would do something, anything. Her effort was rewarded with a long tentacle streaming out towards her, and she just barely made it out of the path of its arm, cursing the stupid high heeled shoes she wore. Whatever person did shoes for her was a complete moron, she concluded. Her blast however, didn't do anything. Mars looked at Sailor Mercury. But for once, Mercury had no idea what to do. Serena was floating, a cold darkness, when she head it. Soft, whispers, dancing on a still breeze. "Fight Serena. Fight Serena Fight Serena Fight Serena Fight Serena . . . " echoing for eternity. It was his voice. She could recognize it anywhere. She couldn't give up, not now, not yet. He wanted her to fight. "For you Darien. I'll fight for you." she whispered. Suddenly, the scene shifted, and as her eyes flew open, and her legs began to kick defiantly again, she saw the scouts, her friends, trying to get her free, each barely getting caught themselves. She was back in her yard. Sailor Moon looked at the robot, as if staring at it for a while would give her some incredible insight as to how to kill it. She now totally understood why Reeny had been so afraid. The thing was almost unstoppable. But that was what she had to concentrate on, the 'almost' part of it. She only had to find a weakness. Only?!!? "Let me go you oversized trash can reject." Sailor Moon yelled, hoping to get its attention. It did, and a single probing red eye glared at her. She could almost see a swirling world of ice and air and mist behind the fragile scarlet tinted glass, the only part of the robot that was not made of that metal. "Guys," Sailor Moon called, hoping that her hunch was right. She was already beyond exhausted, and was unsure as to how she had managed to retain consciousness. Her energy, she knew, was already dangerously low. But, if her idea was right,. 'wouldn't that show Rei?' she thought , giggling a little at the image of Rei's incredulous face . . . if it was indeed right they would be able to beat that thing. "Aim for it's eye." Moon yelled, nodding her head furiously towards the eye so the Scouts would have some idea where to shoot. "Mercury?" Venus asked. Mercury typed a few numbers in her computer, before smiling broadly. "That should work. I do believe Serena's just had a brilliant idea." Mercury said. Mars snorted. "Well, let's just see if it works first." Mars said, although her own smile was by far the largest of all the scouts. Jupiter stood in front of it, her eyes shut in concentration. Her tiara crackled with her intense power which was just waiting to be unleashed. But, Jupiter hesitated. "I can't." she said. "I'll hit Sailor Moon." The power she had amassed fizzed. "Let me try." Mars said, but moments later, when she was ready to fire, she too couldn't. "Incoming." Venus warned as a tentacle flew past them, crashing into a mailbox. Mars let her flame loose on the tentacle, which seemed to merely absorb the heat. "I'll fry her. It's too small." Mars said sadly, shaking her head.. "None of us can hit a target that precisely." Venus lamented. "So what do we do? WE can't just let that thing kill her." Jupiter said. Something shattered above them, raining red sprinkles over them. They all stared sharply up in the sky, at the robot, which had stopped moving and seemed dull and lifeless. The eye had been destroyed, shattered, a red rose perched in the hole. "Tuxedo Mask?" They all asked. Sailor Moon was falling, and there as no one to catch her. She had heard the glass shatter, and knew that someone had destroyed the eye. But she had been too tired to keep her eyes open long enough to see whose weapon had done it. Then, the vice like grip of the clamp had loosened, and she had slipped from its metallic fingers, falling to the ground two stories below. Then, she was in two soft and warm arms. Pleasantly familiar arms, and a soothing voice that she had feared she would only hear in her dreams, or in her nightmares. "You always save me." Sailor Moon mumbled. "Even when you're dead." Tuxedo Mask lightly ran a hand through her hair as he touched the ground and carried Sailor Moon to the others. Behind them, the robot began to turn from a bright silver to dull black, and it collapsed, crashing to the ground before turning into a fine dust. "Are you all right Sailor Moon?" Tuxedo Mask asked. Sailor Moon shifted in his arms, opening her eyes, which grew wide at the sight of him. "Darien?" she asked. He nodded. She screamed. "Ghost! Help it's a ghost." She cried, jumping away from him. Tuxedo Mask laughed and pulled her into an embrace. "How can I be a ghost if I'm not dead." He asked. Sailor Moon cautiously wrapped her arms around him, then, feeling that he was completely mortal, hugged him so tightly that his comeback from the dead would have been short-lived. "Are you sure you're alive?" she asked happily. "What do you mean, 'are you sure?' How could he not know, Moron." Mars said, although for some reason she couldn't stop smiling. Sailor Moon turned her head towards Mars and stuck out her tongue. "You never know." she said, then buried her head against Tuxedo Mask. "I love you too." He said, kissing the top of her head. "Where have you been this whole time? We've been so worried. Especially that one." Jupiter said, pointing to Sailor Moon. "A long story. I'd rather not talk about it." Tuxedo Mask said. "We should go to my place. I'll explain it all there." Above them, it began to rain, and in the distance, the loud rumblings of thunder on the horizon crashed. Sailor Moon shivered and Tuxedo Mask wrapped an arm around her. "I was so afraid I'd . . ." she began, looking up at him. But he shook his head to silence her. "But I'm not. I'm here with you and that's all that matters." He said. "But for how long?" raspy, spider-webs and mildew, spoke behind them. The group turned to face the new voice. "Who are you?" Jupiter demanded, her arms in the defensive position. A man floated above them, his face obscured by his long dark robes. "I do not know how you defeated my servants, and my robobeasts, but you will not defeat me so easily." The man said. He raised his arms and above him, the mist swirled in a rushing maelstrom, and as he pointed his arms towards the Scouts and Tuxedo Mask, the mist followed his example and surrounded them in freezing air. The scouts held onto each other so the rushing winds would not blow them away, while Tuxedo Mask clutched Sailor Moon around the waist. Tuxedo Mask took a step towards the man, but was pushed back. They were all held in place, unable to even move because the wind was so strong. "D-d-d-d-darien, I'm freezing." Sailor Moon said, but her voice was barely heard over the gale. She hugged tightly onto Tuxedo Mask, but something was wrong. She looked down at him, started in horror. His legs had become encased in ice. Her own feet had lost all feeling and she looked down only to find that ice covered her up to the tops of her boots. "Rei, do something." Jupiter said, her teeth chattering. The ice had already made it past the skirt of her uniform. "I tried. This wind blows my fire out." Mars said. "So cold." Venus said drowsily. "Don't go to sleep." Mercury advised them all, shaking Venus to keep her awake. "We can't stop this storm." Jupiter said. Mars glared at her. "Try telling us something that's useful." She said, her voice tinged in horror as she noticed that the ice had already spread to her arms. Sailor Moon was even worse off then her, despite Tuxedo Mask's attempts to shield her with his cape. "What do you want?" Moon asked. Laughter broke through the storm. "I want your soul." he said. Moon gasped. "We can't fight this much longer." Mercury said before the ice covered her mouth. Then, the wind died down to a slight chilly breeze, then stopped altogether. Their icy shells cracked as it came in contact with the warmer night air and they all staggered free. The man in robes stood with his hand in front of him, two dark haired creatures confronting him. "Who's that?" Sailor Venus asked. The two creatures were flung back as the man waved his arm. "We gotta help them." Sailor Moon said, running towards the battle. Tuxedo Mask and the other scouts followed. "Traitors. You have betrayed me!" the man cried. "We have not betrayed the one who counts the most." The dark haired woman said. It was a familiar voice that Sailor Moon recognized. "That sounds like Marie." She said. Tuxedo Mask looked down at her sadly. "I know." he said, before rushing ahead, throwing his roses at the man. The man stepped back, glaring darkly at Tuxedo Mask. "You were supposed to have taken care of that one." The man spat accusingly. Now, the dark haired man spoke. "We have taken care of him. Just not in the way you expected." Said the dark haired man.. "Jupiter Thunder Crash." Jupiter called as she unleashed her attack. It was an unexpected move, and the robed man did not see it the lightening coming towards him. It crashed into him, knocking him down. The two dark haired creatures stood over the man, who was laying on the ground. "We will not let you harm our son Wiseman." Marie said. The scouts all gasped, and Moon craned her neck in order to get a closer look at the two. "Marie?" she asked. Marie turned her head around and nodded, her eyes still the same brown in her true form as they were in her human one. "Your son?" Wiseman asked, laughing. He stood up, surrounded in a black glow. He began to float. "He is a human and you are a creature of the negaverse. You were never his parents." He said, in an incredulous and amused voice. He continued to laugh a the two, then abruptly stopped. "If you will not kill him, then you will die with him." he said darkly. He raised his hands again, the black glow that surrounded him concentrating around his outstretched fingers. The energy flew towards the scouts and Dustin and Marie, a black ball of pure evil. Dustin and Marie held out a palm, and a wall formed in front of them. The Wiseman's blast hit the wall, which shattered at the force, although it did use up all the energy or the blast, rendering it ineffective. "Everyone scatter." Jupiter yelled. The scouts, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon and Dustin and Marie all ran in different directions as the Wiseman readied another blast. Tuxedo Mask threw his roses, but they were knocked down by the a gale of strong wind that the Wiseman had produced with a sharp look at the sky. He then stared at Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon, who were ducked behind a tree. Smiling, he threw his energy ball towards the two. They ran back, trying to get out of the path of the blast, but it was too powerful, and the energy it discharged when it hit the ground pulsed through the air, knocking the two roughly off their feet. The wiseman, recognizing a wonderful opportunity, threw another ball at them, smiling with the knowledge of his victory, knowing that there was no way for the scouts or Dustin and Marie to stop him. "Darien!" Dustin cried, launching himself towards Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon. He flew through the air, crashing into the dark energy. Dustin screamed as he absorbed the power. A black aura shimmered around him, then pulsed white before returning to black, then disappeared entirely. Dustin knelt on the ground, then slowly pushed himself up to his feet. Staggering forward, he raised his arms. "Darien is my son, and I will not allow you to hurt him." Dustin said slowly. A ball of energy, the dark energy he had absorbed, formed in his hands. Marie stood behind him, and clasped his hands, lending her own strength. Then, they released the power. It raced towards the Wiseman at a killer pace, breaking through the wall the Wiseman had hastily erected and cutting through the swiftly blowing winds. It crashed into him, and the Wiseman screamed in pain, his very body wavering like a mirage. "I will be back, and when I return, you will not be so lucky Sailor Moon." he said, before disappearing entirely into a dark vortex that undoubtedly led back to the nega-verse. Dustin and Marie fell to the ground, their energy entirely drained. Tuxedo Mask knelt beside them, while the scouts stood back behind them. "Dad? Mom?" he asked quietly. Marie opened her eyes. Dustin did not. "Thank you." she said. "Thank you for giving us," she coughed, "giving us . . . love." She said softly, her voice strained with the effort. "No," Darien said, "thank you, for being my family, being my parents. Because you were mine. No matter what, you two are my parents. Now shh, save your strength." Marie shook her head, coughed, the raised her hand. Tuxedo Mask clasped it in his own. "You will always be in my heart. No more darkness." She whispered, her voice barely able to be heard. "Marie? Mom?" he said. Her eyes closed, a smile played across her face. Then, her body began to dissolve, as did Dustin's, in the fashion of any nega-verse creature. But, instead of leaving dust in their wake, the small sprouts of flowers grew. Tuxedo Mask stared at them for a long time. Then he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He turned around. Sailor Moon looked back at him, tears running down her face. "They loved you." she said. "I know." he replied, getting to his feet. He formed a rose, white as the moonlight, in his hand, and laid it beside the small growths of tiny red roses then held Sailor Moon tightly as he felt his resolve fade, his tears falling into her golden hair. 'Here rests Marie and Dustin Areta, beloved mother and father.'