Star Locket, Love Star Darien and James arrived at Serena's house at 3:30 in the afternoon. Darien closed his eyes. He saw the rose in his vase dying. He felt weak. He opened his eyes, and knocked on the door. Serena answered. "Oh, hi Darien! Raye just left. Who is this?" Serena asked, referring to James. Darien quickly entered her house, and found refuge from the sunlight. "Serena," he said as he gasped. "This is James Bond." "The British secret agent?" "No, the doctor," Darien said sarcastically. "Of course the British secret agent!" "Come on in," Serena said politely. James entered Serena's house. The three began a discussion about the Love Star. "Serena, let me see your star locket," Darien said. Serena said nothing. She simply placed the locket on the coffee table, and Darien picked it up. He then handed it to James. James compared it to the Love Star picture. It was a perfect match. "It matches," James said. "Now all we have to do is figure out how to use it." "You mean that my star locket is the Love Star?" "Well, it matches the one in the picture," James replied. "But what if it only LOOKS like the Love Star!?" "We can do some testing at Q Branch," James said. "But how do you know what results will match with the Love Star?" Serena asked. "Not that kind of test. This test will determine if it is a weapon." "What will you do if it is?" "Nothing," Darien said. "If it is destroyed, so is all love, and the world will be consumed in hatred. Possibly start a third world war." "So it's a no win situation," James said. "Unless, of course, this turns out to be a normal locket." "In which case we will have no idea where to look," Darien said. James laid down a watch on the coffee table. "Here. This is a communicator watch. I'll contact you once I get the results," James said. He then left. Darien put the watch on. "What now?" Serena asked. "I don't know." Darien said with a sigh. "I just don't know." Serena got up, and headed toward the kitchen. She could not stand it anymore. The waiting, the not knowing. Not to mention the fact that she could see Darien, and talk to Darien, but not even feel his face. It was driving Serena insane. Serena opened the refrigerator door, and got the milk out. She poured herself a tall, cold glass. She then downed it. It refreshed her, but only slightly. She put the glass in the sink "What's wrong, " Darien asked, sensing that his love was hurting. He could sense these sort of things; he was an angel. "Nothing," she said, trying to hide the hurt. "Come on, Serena. You can tell me." "I just can't stand not knowing what to do." Darien knew that this was not all that was bothering her. "Somehow, I get the feeling that there's more to it," Darien said, concerned. "Darien, well...please don't take this the wrong way, but..." "What?" "It's you. This whole angel business is just too much. I mean, I can see you, hear you, and talk with you, but I can't even touch your face! Not to mention the fact that you don't have very much time left on Earth!" "Serena, I've got about 25 more days--" "That's not enough! I want you to be here forever! I don't want you to leave me," Serena said, the tears starting to show. "Serena," Darien said as he moved closer to her. "I will never leave you. You know that. As long as I am in your heart, I will always be with you." "I know," Serena said with a sniffle. "Serena, things will work out. You know that, right?" "Yeah..." "Good. I have to go now, but I'll be back. See ya." Darien faded away. Serena began to cry her eyes out. * * * Mina and Lita had just finished shopping at the mall. Mina had bought a gold bracelet, and Lita had bought a new pair of shoes. They were having a lot of fun, despite the fact that their overall moods had been the pits lately. They, as well as the rest of the Scouts, were all distraught over the death of Darien. Still, they had to carry on. "Lita, what do you think will happen now?" "What do you mean?" "With Serena." "Oh. I don't know. I know she's gonna be upset for a while--" "Oh gee, ya THINK!?" Mina nearly shouted. "Hey, don't bite my head off. Geez. Anyway, We really need to be on our toes. It's very likely that a new threat will try to take over the world, or destroy it, or something to that effect." "Yeah, I know. Why can't any new beings come here to HELP us. This is just getting tiring." "And boring. Every time, it's the same old crap. Take over the earth. Destroy the Earth. Blah blah blah." The two girls laughed. They were certain that nothing new would happen. If only they knew how wrong they were on that. True, the new villain would want to do the same things that were getting so boring, but also something that would be very new. * * * Katarina was talking to her commander/lover. He was not pleased with the progress of their mission. "Katarina, we must not let the Love Star become functional again. If it does, then--" "I know. Believe me, I know." "We must not allow that to happen," said the man in his normal rough voice (not quite like Nephlite's, but close). "We must succeed." "We will." "We had better." * * * Raye was sweeping the steps to her temple. She had a bad feeling for some reason. She felt it had something to do with Darien, but she did not quite know why. All she knew was that she had a bad feeling. Raye continued sweeping the steps. As soon as she was finished, she heard footsteps coming her way. She looked up to see Lita and Mina. "Hey, Raye," Lita said. "Hey, guys! What's goin' on?" "Just got done shopping," Mina said. "Yeah. I can see that," Raye said while looking at the shopping bags the two girls were carrying. "So why are you stopping by?" Before either of the two girls could answer, another woman's voice was heard. "So they can meet the same fate as you!" The three girls looked up at the roof of the temple. They saw a woman. Raye recognized her as Katarina. Before anybody had time to react, Katarina thrust out her right hand, and made a ball of Dark Energy surround her. "Dark Energy, TRANSPORT!" Katarina shrieked. The ball of Dark Energy disappeared, taking Raye with it. Lita and Mina were still in shock when they were consumed by Dark Energy, and transported to another dimension. "Those pathetic little girls! They never thought that I knew about their alternate identities. And that Sailor Moon is going to hand over that Love Star, or her friends will die!" Katarina laughed a high pitched laugh, then disappeared in a cloud of gray smoke. * * * James Bond was waiting for the results of the testing being done on Serena's star locket. If it was the Love Star, then he would have to help protect it for as long as he lived. After several minutes (tests never took long at Q Branch), James was told of the results. Serena's star locket was definitely a weapon. It was a deactivated weapon, but a weapon nonetheless. James was glad to know the results. He took the Love Star, and left for Tokyo, but only after being outfitted with special gadgets. They were a detonator, used to detonate the remote mine; a grappling hook/belt; and a bomb defuser. He could carry two guns, a silenced PP7 and a sniper rifle, which was broken into three parts. As always, he had his Laser Watch, which was also a watch magnet. Also, the one gadget that would prove invaluable, was a door decoder. Let's get this over with." * * * James showed up at Serena's house just after she finished lunch. He knocked on the door, and Serena quickly answered. "Hi!" she almost shouted. "Serena, right?" "Yeah." "Here's your star locket." James handed the golden thing over to Serena, and found himself thinking of when he faced The Man With the Golden Gun. "Is it...?" "Yes. It is definitely a weapon in the deactivated state. I would like to speak with Darien. That is his name, right?" "Yes, but he isn't...here...right now. Maybe I can help you." "If you can provide me with lodging, I would be grateful. I need to keep a close eye on this thing." Before Serena could respond, the heard a voice above them. "It is mine!" Katarina drifted down to James. "Thank you so much," she said as she hit him so hard that he was knocked immediately unconscious! Katarina then turned to a shaky Serena. "Now, hand it over, little--" "Noooo!" shouted a voice from behind Katarina. It was Darien, and he threw his infamous rose at Katarina. It hit her in the back, stunning her. Darien, who was now as Tuxedo Mask, floated over Katarina. "Fine," Katarina said. "I'll just kill your friends, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, and Sailor Mars!" "You're bluffing!" Serena shouted as Katarina faded away. "Serena, I think I know what we have to do," Tuxedo Mask (whom I will call Tuxedo Angel from now on, unless in dialogue) said. "What?" "We have to activate the Love Star. It is our only hope." Serena nodded, then went to help James Bond. Serena knew that the fight ahead would not be easy. As a matter of fact, it would be harder than when she fought Natas. And, as far as Serena was concerned, that was tough enough.