To Last A Lifetime Part 5: Before the End

By: Angelstar1014 and Mee mee

E-mails: [email protected] and [email protected]

Disclaimer: We certainly don't own Sailor Moon, some big-wig executives do. Suing us will not gain anything, since we probably have about twenty bucks between us. So sit back and enjoy.

Darien is busy trying to find some information on Derek with his laptop, while Mina was busy raiding his refrigerator.

"Find anything yet?" Mina says as she pears over his shoulder with a piece of toast and jam in her hand.

"Could you please get that away from my laptop?" Darien asks. "I don't want it to get jam into its circuits. It's kind of expensive."

"Oh, sorry!" Mina laughs nervously and puts the toast down.

"And I thought Serena was a ditz." Darien mumbles.

"What did you say?" Mina asks, sitting down on the couch.

"Uh nothing!" Darien says, Mina shrugs and closes her eyes, obviously worn out from her spying attempt.

Darien sighs in relief and continues working.

"Hey, what's this?" asks Darien with a frown.

Mina, who's sitting on the couch, half asleep is now fully awake and at his side.

"What? Where?" She asks.

Darien sweat drops at her sudden change. "This, there's something about someone with Derek's name." Darien says. And then he frowns.

"What is it?" Asks Mina.

"This is too strange." He whispers.

"What is it!" demands Mina, who now looks annoyed.

"It says that a French guy name Derek, aged 14 disappeared mysteriously about two weeks ago." Darien reads.

Mina sits and reads too. "A 14 year old French boy mysteriously disappeared from his Paris home. Police investigation couldn't come up with a single clue of the boy's whereabouts. Investigators believe that this is not a runaway case, for there were signs of a struggle inside the house. The odd thing was, there were no signs of forced entry and none of the neighbors saw anyone near the house." Finishes Mina. "This is very strange. The guy's even got Derek's last name, Roi, and all." Mina adds.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Asks Darien in a low voice.

Mina nods. "Yes, Derek's actually from France and he's runaway to find Serena!" Shouts Mina.

Darien falls out of his chair. Mina looks at him strangely.

"What are you doing on the floor?" She asks.

"Not important. What I meant was that our Mr. Perfect seems to have some connection with this missing French boy." Darien explains.

"Oh! So he's not French at all! See! I told the guys about this! I'll bet his name isn't even Derek!" Mina shouts and flashes a V-for-Victory sign. Darien sighs and shakes his head.

"I knew it!" Mina gloats. "The others wouldn?t believe me, but I knew that there was something wrong with that guy!"

Darien looks on with one hand supporting his head. "Are you finished?"

Mina turns red and calmly sits down next to him.

"Yes."

Darien rolls his eyes and sighs. "Anyway, let's continue. We know that this guy's a fake, and we can probably convince everyone...except Serena, of course."

"No kidding!" Mina says. "I swear that girl is totally oblivious to everything! Just the other day there was a youm-uh never mind!"

'Eek! Serena and the others will kill me if I give away our secret identities!'

"A what?"

"Nothing! So, how ARE we going to expose Mr. Wonderful?"

"Hmm..." Darien ponders for a moment. "I think that bug idea of yours might work."

"But it got destroyed and I can't buy another one because I spent all of my allowance on that one!"

"Just show me the shop you bought it from, and I'll buy it."

"Oh that's right, you have a job and make a bunch of money!"

"I wouldn?t call it 'a bunch'. But I am pretty well off."

"Great!" Mina says pulling Darien onto his feet and out the door. "Let's go!"

**********************************************************************

"Serena, can I talk to you?"

"Oh sure Mina, what's up?"

Mina looks at her friend nervously, "It's about Derek..."

"Derek? What about Derek?"

"Well, you see..."

'He's a youma that stole the identity of a French kid and came over here.'

"I don't think his family knows where he is."

'Mina knows something's wrong. Could she know? I have to protect Diamond!'

"Don't be silly Mina! I just met his parents! They're wonderful people."

"You've...met...his parents?"

Serena nods her head and looks at her watch. "Oh no! I'm supposed to meet Derek in five minutes! I've gotta go now Mina, see you later!"

Before Mina can say anything, Serena runs off in the other direction.

'I don't believe it! Serena's hiding something from me!'

**********************************************************************

"Derek!" Serena says running up to him.

"Oui, lapinne?"

"We need to talk."

Derek and Serena walk through the park, Derek notices that Serena's upset.

"What's wrong?"

"Diamond," Serena says looking up into his eyes. "Mina?s getting suspicious about you. I need you to be careful."

"Why do you say that?"

"She's been asking around about you, and she just practically suggested to me that you ran away from home or something." She hugs him, looking away. "Please, be careful, I don't want to lose you."

Derek takes her chin and turns it up so she's looking him in the eye.

"You never will." He lowers his head and kisses her.

**********************************************************************

Mina and Darien see that Derek is sitting by himself.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Asks Darien. Mina nods and smiles.

"Of course! There's nothing Minako Aino can't do!" She exclaims, a little too loudly. Darien groans.

'You mean besides keeping your voice down, being serious and actually thinking from time to time? Oh yeah, you're perfect Mina.' Darien thinks as he rolls his eyes.

"Fine. But don't overdo it, OK?" Darien says, trying not to growl.

"Who? Me?" Mina asks innocently, as she walks away.

Darien groans again. "We're doomed." He mutters.

Mina 'casually' walks over to where Derek is with a too cheerful grin on her face. Derek looks at her warily. He took Serena's warning very seriously.

'Mina must be up to something.' He thinks.

"Hello Derek!" Says Mina, as she sits down right beside him.

"Er, bonjour." Derek says uncomfortably.

"Right back at ya!" Says Mina, still smiling and acting as if she knows what it meant. 'What the HECK did he just say?' She thinks.

"So Derek, you like Tokyo so far?" Mina asks with a smile.

"It's OK I guess." Derek says.

"Really? I think this place is too boring. I prefer London. Now THAT city was so awesome! I love the shopping, the night life, the people.." Mina says as she thinks, 'The youmas, the crimes and the crime fighting.'

"That's great." Derek says, eager to get away from her.

As he tries to get up, Mina whacks him on the back. What he doesn't know is that Mina had just planted the bug on his shirt.

"Where are you going?" She asks.

'Think of something, fast!' He thinks.

"To the....Park! Yeah, I'm meeting a...friend there." He says quickly and walks out of the arcade.

Mina smiles triumphantly.

Darien, who's watching from a corner looks surprised.

'I can't believe it! It actually worked!' He thinks.

"The world's ending." he mutters.

'No duh! You're working with Minako Aino, of course the world's ending!!!' Shouts a voice in his mind as he winces.

**********************************************************************

Derek walk into the park and admires the view of the lake.

"It's so peaceful here." He muses out loud.

"Derek! Hold still! There's a big icky bug on your back!"

Derek holds still as Serena takes the object off his back and throws it into the lake.

**********************************************************************

Darien and Mina take the receivers out of their ears as the static filters through.

"Well," Mina says. "At least we know he's not French. For a second when he spoke he didn't have an accent."

"That's nice." Darien says sarcastically. "A perfectly good plan ruined by Meatball head."

"This is worrying me Darien." Mina says earnestly.

'Woah, she sounds serious!'

"What are you talking about Mina?"

"Well, after we bought the bug I decided to talk to Serena about Derek."

Darien keeps his expressionless face.

"I see. Exactly what did you tell her?"

"I said that his parents may not know where he is, you know, suggesting that he ran away from home."

"And what did she say?"

"Well, she told me that I was silly, and that she met his parents."

"Well, that takes care of that theory, doesn't it?"

"That's what worries me Darien. Serena was lying to me!"

"Lying? How could you tell?"

"She just does this thing when she lies, it's really subtle, but I caught it just before she ran off at full speed claiming that she was late for a date." Mina looks up with tears in her eyes. "She's never lied to me before,"

Darien was at a loss for words.

'What do I do now? I don't know how to comfort her, I'd better remind her about our little mission.'

"Mina, don't over-react. We need to expose Derek for the fraud that he is!"

Mina wipes her eyes. "You're right I guess." Suddenly she perks up. "You know, you never DID tell me why you're helping me."

Darien suddenly wishes that she was crying again.

"Um well..."

**********************************************************************

"Serena?" Diamond asks as Serena walks towards the lake. "What was that about?"

Serena picks something out of the water and shows it to him.

"This. It's a bug, used for listening in on conversations. Someone's out to learn more about you."

"Mina slapped me on the back just before I left the arcade."

"Mina?" Serena's eyes widen. "Lord knows what she's thinking now! You'd better disappear for a while. I need to throw Mina off the trail."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Diamond asks. "That may make her more suspicious."

Serena shakes her head.

"It might, but I who knows what she has on you already? I can throw her off the trail. Don?t worry about that, just lay low."

"What excuse can I use?"

"Um, a sick relative?"

"I think that would work."

"Great. I'll tie up the lose ends and hopefully have this whole mess straightened out."

Diamond gives her a quick kiss on the lips. "You're much smarter then you let on you know. You should get wonderful grades if you applied yourself."

Serena's face takes on a look of mock horror.

"And ruin rare moments like this?"

He laughs and kisses her again.

**********************************************************************

"...And she's really sweet at times really." Darien finishes.

Mina's eyes sparkle. "I knew it!" She shouts.

"You knew what?" Asks Darien.

"You're so in love with Serena!" Mina exclaims.

Darien's eyes widen and he tries to hide his embarrassment.

"What? Me with that Meatball Head? Has everyone gone crazy? Andrew thought so too! Look, I'm NOT in love with Serena!" He exclaims, trying to look angry. Mina smiles knowingly and nods.

"Yeah. Sure." She says teasingly.

"Look, I'm not in love with her!" Darien exclaims.

"OK. You've just got a gigantic crush on her." Mina says.

"No!" Shouts Darien, getting out of his chair to face Mina.

"Fine. I want you to prove it." Mina challenges.

"Prove what?" Darien asks, arms folded across his chest.

"That you don't love Serena. Or at least you don't have a crush on her." Mina says. Darien glares at her.

"I'm not in love with Serena because she's a total Meatball Head who can't stand properly on her feet and always need someone to catch her. She's a total klutz, even though she's got a gorgeous smile and
she's beautiful, she's a ditz! The most promising conversation she's ever been in was between Derek, whom we're trying to figure out, though he doesn't deserve Serena at all. Because why would an angel want with a devil? See, Serena's nothing more than a klutzy school girl..." Darien's voice trails off. It finally hit him.

"...Who I'm totally in love with." He says. Mina's smile is electric.

Darien groans and covers his face with his hand and sits down.

"How am I suppose to face her?" Comes the muffled question.

"By showing her what a creep Derek is and by winning her heart." Mina says.

**********************************************************************

"Okay, Serena always comes into the arcade at 5:00 sharp. It's the only thing she's ever on time for." Mina says as she pulls Darien into the arcade. "Talk to her, and for goodness sakes, at least TRY to be nice. After all you're trying to win her heart!"

"Shhh! Keep it down will ya?" Darien tries his best to keep her silent, but when Match-Making Mina's on a rampage, a nuclear warhead, wouldn't keep her from her target.

"As long as you promise to be nice to her!"

"I promise! Now will you quit acting like a lunatic?"

Mina, still holding on to Darien's hand, starts to laugh nervously.

"Um, sure!" And then takes a booth with a potted plant in front of it to hide from the Meatball Head in question.

**********************************************************************

Raye see Darien and Mina together and immediately starts to get jealous.

'So! Mina thinks she can take Darien away from me? I don't think so!'

She storms off and waits at the corner for Mina to leave the arcade. After all, making a scene in front of the guy you like isn?t the best way to win him over.

**********************************************************************

Serena comes into the arcade with her pigtails dragging behind her.

'Meatball head? What's wrong? Your never this depressed!'

Andrew notices her depression as well.

"Serena? What's wrong?"

Serena's bottom lip quivers and she flings herself into Andrew's arms. "Andrew, Derek's gone!"

"What?" Darien and Andrew say at the same time. Mina leaned closer, those darned branches were blocking her view.

"What do you mean he's gone?"

"His brother died and he had to go back for the funeral, maybe forever!" She blubbers.

'Wow, I'm and even better actress then I thought!' She silently applauds herself.

"Why would he be staying in France if his brother's dead and why isn't his brother here with his family?" Darien asks logically.

Serena glares at him with blood-shot eyes. "Because, Mr. Smarty-Pants, his brother's 21 and wanted to live in France when his parents moved here. Mrs. Roi is going crazy, she wants to stay in Paris now! Oh what will I do if he can't come back?"

"Calm down, Meatball head." Darien, Mina and Andrew feel like smacking him on his head for that remark. "It's not the end of the world!"

"Excuse me!" Serena shouts, "My boyfriend just lost a member of his family, to whom he was very close to and now I will probably never see him again and you're telling me to calm down?!"

"It will all work out, Serena." Andrew says comfortingly. "If it's really meant to be, you'll make it work."

"Oh that's right Andrew. You and Rita. How is she?"

"She's doing great. Although I do miss her, and I'm sure that Derek misses you too."

"Thanks a lot Andrew! I feel so much better! I'm gonna go home and get some rest 'cause I'm beat!"

Serena gives Andrew one of her trademark bear hugs and rushes out of the arcade.

"Man, how can she change moods so quickly?" Darien asks in amazement.

"Beats me." Andrew looks like he was about to say more when another hyper-active blond comes out nowhere and proceeds to smack Darien on his ever so thick head.

"OW! What was that for?"

"Derek's gone, you had the perfect opportunity to show her that you weren't a bad guy and what do you do?"

Mina continues to hit him while yelling. "You blew it, Blew It, BLEW IT!"

"Woah, woah, woah," Andrew says confused. "What's going on here?"

"Darien," Mina smacking Darien again, "Is in love with Serena and instead of being a nice guy..."

"He's his usual 'charming' self around her." Andrew finished for Mina, still hitting Darien.

"Exactly!"

Andrew's eyes narrow and he joins Mina in on hitting Darien. "You idiot! She's really vulnerable right now, her opinion of you could've gone either way. And now instead of redeeming yourself, you totally blow it!"

"Could you quit it?! Beating me up won't change the past and the only thing you are going to do is give me a concussion!"

Andrew and Mina stop hitting Darien, who proceeds to rub his swollen head.

"Ow, now I have a headache."

"Well, maybe we knocked some sense into you." Mina says, still upset.

Andrew nods.

"Mina, why don't you let me talk to Darien alone for a little while."

"Oh, okay, but if you don?t get him to behave himself, I'll have to recruit the others, and you know what that means." Mina threatens. Darien cringes as Mina bounces out of the arcade.

"Thanks Andrew. I don't think I could've taken another Minako Aino interrogation." Darien sighs.

"Don?t thank me yet. I want to ask you one or two questions myself."

**********************************************************************

"Mina, what have you been doing with Darien?" Demands Raye, intercepting Mina the second she turned the corner.

"Huh?" Asks Mina, looking confused.

"Don't play dumb with me girl!" Shouts Raye.

"Look Raye, before you pop with all that steam, Darien and I are just friends." Mina says.

"That's what they all say!" Exclaims Raye.

"Geez! Listen to yourself! Why are you so possessive with the guy?" Asks Mina.

"Because he's MY boyfriend! And if I see anyone trying to steal him away from me, I will kill them!" Shouts Raye.

"Raye, we are only friends! You know, pals? F-R-I-E-N-D!" Shouts Mina.

"Look, he's been going around with this love struck look and he doesn't even notices me! And since he's been spending all his time with you, it's obvious he's fallen in love with you! You stole him from me!" Shouts Raye.

"How can he fall in love with me? He's in love with Serena!" Shouts Mina. And then she realizes what she just said and groans.

"What?" Asks Raye in disbelief. Mina bites her lip.

"I found out while we were trying to figure out some things. He's in love with Serena. It's been going on for a while." Mina explains.

"That Meatball Head stole my boyfriend! How could she! I'm going to have a few 'words' with her!" Raye says.

"Raye..." Mina begins. But Raye goes away, fuming silently.

**********************************************************************

Raye goes off looking for Serena when sees someone robing a bank. She's about to interfere when a semi-familiar voice interrupts her.

"Stop right there!"

Raye turns around to see...Sailor Moon gracefully taking out the robbers?

'Wait, her coloring's off. Come to think of it. So's her voice.'

Darien temporally forgotten, Raye runs home to do a fire reading.

**********************************************************************

"No! This is totally unacceptable!" Serena shouts as the scouts hold a meeting.

"Calm down Meatball Head!" Raye snorts, still ticked off because of Mina's 'revelation'.

"I will not calm down! When I get my hands on that unoriginal, line-stealing..."

"Serena!" Mina says, "Calm down."

Serena immediately goes from angry to depressed in 2.25 seconds according to Amy's computer that she happened to have out at the time.

"I'm sorry guys, it?s just, well...I miss Derek."

Raye rolls her eyes. "Oh please. You probably have the next 10 guys you're planning to date lined up."

Serena glares at Raye. "No! For your information, I happen to care about Derek very much. Is it really so hard to believe that someone as klutzy as me can find someone as nice as Derek?"

"Serena, that's not what she meant..." Lita starts but it's too late.

Serena storms out of the temple on route to the park.

**********************************************************************

"The things I have to put up with!" Serena huffs as she's on her way for a quick talk with Diamond in the park. She notices Darien sneaking off.

'What's he up to?' She wonders as she follows in close pursuit. She gasps at the sight that is before her.

"Zoysite."