Heeeeeeey! I decided to revise "Obstacles" because, well because it could be better! (A lot better. In fact, I would hate it when I reread it!) So, here it is. Enjoy! Sailor Moon belongs to lots of people, none of them being me, but some of them being Naoko Takeuchi Kodansha, Toei, etc. But this story belongs to me, so don't you dare try to pass it as your own. "Obstacles" by Tess. Revised Edition. Neo-Queen Serenity rushed through the dark halls of the Crystal Palace. She was holding something in her arms. Something cold. She couldn't see, and she could feel her dress pressed against her by her own sweat. "Mamo-chan!," she screamed. "Chibusa!" Right before she reached the bedroom, she slipped and fell on the cold floor. Then she heard a woman giggle. Serenity gasped as she shot up in bed, her heart pounding. "Usako?," asked Endymion in a sleepy voice, opening his eyes slightly. "Is everything alright?" "I'm fine, Mamo-chan," she whispered uncertainly. There was a short pause. "Well, actually..." But the only response Serenity got was a snore. She rolled her eyes and lay back on her pillow. she thought. She decided it was nothing to worry about and soon fell fast asleep. But close by, a tall, dark, figure in the shadows cackled wickedly. **************************************************** Serenity was awoken by sunlight streaming in through the window. She sat up in bed and smiled. Endymion was still snoring away. Serenity lightly shook his shoulder. "Mamo-chan!," she whispered loudly. He opened one eye, smiled at Serenity, and went right back to sleep. Serenity sighed. She glanced at the clock on the wall and gasped. "Mamo-chan!," she exclaimed. He opened his eyes and turned towards her. "That speech I'm supposed to give isn't today, is it?" "Yes," Endymion answered sleepily. Serenity yelped. "It's 10:00, and that's at noon!" She shot out of bed and towards the bathroom. Endymion climbed out of bed and reached for his red velvet robe. He stepped out onto the balcony to look at the rose gardens below. Suddenly, he heard a voice say, "Obstacles, Endymion. There are obstacles you must face." Endymion whirled around, and a shiver of fear ran up his spine as he saw no one else outside. he thought. He had a feeling that they did, and wanted nothing more than to protect her. He stepped back inside to find Serenity dressed and combing her hair at the mirror. He went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "Aishiteru, Usako. So much. If anything ever happened to you, I would never forgive myself." Serenity turned her head. "Mamo-chan, you know I feel the same way, but why are toy telling me this so suddenly?," she asked. "Just because I want to," he replied. Serenity smiled. "Mamo-chan, aishiteru," she whispered. He pressed her lips to hers and they shared a long, passionate kiss. ****************************************************** A large wooden platform had been set up in front of the Crystal Palace for the occasion. There was a podium with a microphone where Serenity would give her speech. Serenity, Endymion, and the senshi were sitting in chairs behind the podium. A giant crowd was forming in front of the platform. Someone in the crowd looked at Queen Serenity with jealous, soulless eyes. On the platform, Serenity held Endymion's hand. "Mamo-chan!," she lamented. "I'm so nervous!" "Usako, you'll be great," Endymion reassured her, and squeezed her hand. Serenity nodded and took a deep breath, then got up and walked to the podium. "Good Morning, everyone!," she began cheerfully. "How is everyone this morning?" She was replied with cheers of "fine" and "great." She hadn't prepared anything in advance, so she smiled while she thought of what to say next. "Um, as you know, these diplomatic relations with-" Serenity was cut off by a loud sound. Then she was aware of the bullet charging straight towards her. She screamed. "Usako!," Endymion screamed in terror. He jumped from his seat and pulled her out of the way with him. The bullet narrowly missed them, zoomed over the senshi, and hit a palace window with a loud crash. Almost immediately the crowd began to panic. "There's a terrorist among us!," one man shouted. In a corner of the crowd by a tree a woman quietly tucked a pistol into her bag and ran off. Up on the platform, Serenity was sitting up with Endymion's arms around her. The senshi were gathered around them, all on the lookout for the attempted assassin. (AN: I still have no idea if that's what you'd say!) Serenity took giant breaths and shook in Endymion's arms. He stroked her hair. "It's ok, Usako, it's ok," he murmured. "You're alright. Thank kami you're alright." Sailor Venus began to speak, "Your highness, I don't think it's safe for Usagi-chan to be out here." Endymion nodded and pulled Serenity up from the platform. He helped her to the palace with Sailor Saturn behind them as a guard. Once they were inside, Serenity began to cry. Endymion hugged her and whispered in her ear, "It's all over now, Usako. Everything's ok." "Everything is not ok!," Serenity sobbed. "Mamo-chan, somebody just tried to kill me out there! Does everyone hate me that much, where they just want to kill me? Maybe I should just kill myself and save everyone the trouble!" Endymion gently sat her down in a chair. "Usako, how can you say that? I love you. The senshi love you. Everyone in the world loves you" "Obviously not! They all want me to die! You probably want me to die, too!" Endymion looked at her with hurt eyes. "Usako, don't ever say that. I love you more than my own soul. I would rather die a thousand deaths than see you go through one," Endymion said quietly. "You don't mean that! You know you don't! You're just telling me that to shut me up!" "Usako, you're just hurt. Hurt and shocked. You should go to bed. You *are* going to bed!" "Are you insane? Do you really think I'm going to be able to sleep after someone just tried to kill me!" "No, but we can give you medicine to help." Serenity stood up from her chair, her face read with fury. "Oh, medicine? That'll just fix everything, now won't it?," she shouted sarcastically. She started to rush down the hall. Endymion started to follow her. "Usako!" Serenity turned around. "Mamo-chan, just leave me alone!," she shouted, then turned again. That comment hit Endymion like a knife in his heart, but before he had a chance to respond, he noticed Serenity's knees beginning to waver. He rushed to her and caught her just before she would have fallen on the cold marble floor. "Obstacles, Serenity. There are obstacles you must face," was the last thing she heard before everything went black. ********************************** The King rushed into the conference room and sat at the head of the mahogany table where all the senshi were waiting. "How is she?," asked Sailor Mars, a worried look on her face. "She's ok. Once we were inside, she fainted from the shock and...well, I gave her a sedative and she's asleep now.," Endymion replied. "King, How are you coping with this? Your eyes...they have a hurt look in them," Sailor Neptune asked. "Honestly...Usako told me that I didn't love her and that I wanted her to die...I know she's just upset...but...," Endymion trailed off, putting his head in his hands. "I understand completely, your highness. Don't worry, I'll set Usagi-chan straight!," reassured Sailor Venus, trying to cheer him up. Endymion looked up and cracked a smile. "Arigato, Venus. But it's ok. She was just upset." "Nothing personal, king, but Usagi-chan is ok, so we should look for the culprit," Sailor Uranus interrupted. Neptune kicked her under the table. "Sorry...," Uranus said sheepishly. "That's ok, Uranus. You're right.," Endymion said. He stood up. "Whoever tried to kill Usako is going to pay!" He crashed a fist on the table for emphasis. "They're going to get way more than they bargained for!" *********************************************** She was watching her. Watching her sleep in her majestic bead after escaping the fate meant for her. ************************************************ Neo-Queen Serenity sat in one of the lush gardens outside the Crystal Palace. She breathed in the deep scent of flowers and sighed. She could stay like this forever. Suddenly, she heard a voice from above. "Mama, Mama!," Chibiusa shouted happily from the balcony above the garden. "Look at me, I'm taller than everything!" Serenity looked up and smiled at her daughter. "Hi, honey. Be careful, ok?," she told her daughter. "Of course I'll be careful, mama!," Chibiusa laughed. "But I want to show you something!" She put one leg over the rail. "Chibiusa!," Serenity scolded, her voice rising from fear. "Go back inside now!" "Oh mama, you worry too much. I'm careful," Chibusa reassured her, and started to put her other leg over the railing. "See, I can do thi-mama!!!" Chibusa had lost her footing and slipped. "Chibiusa!," Serenity screamed in terror as she watched her daughter fall from the balcony, screaming the whole way down. "Chibiusaaaaaaaaa!" Serenity held out her arms to catch her, but missed, and Chibusa fell to the ground with a loud thud. Serenity was sobbing and screaming as she picked up Chibiusa's unconscious form. She rushed into the palace, her dress clinging to her by her own sweat. She could feel blood on her hands, but couldn't see in the dark hallways of the palace. "Mamo-chan!," she screamed. "Chibiusa!" Serenity reached the door to their room and heard an unfamiliar woman giggle. "Oh, but Mamo-chan, wouldn't your wife be upset?" "I don't care. I really wish the bullet just would've hit her so I wouldn't have to deal with her." Endymion said in a cold tone of voice. "Besides, you're the only one for me." Serenity gasped. She put her pain aside for a moment, remembering Chibiusa, and entered the room. A woman Serenity didn't recognize was standing on the balcony, with Endymion's arms around her. "Mamo-chan?," Serenity whispered in a shocked voice, stepping out onto the balcony. In a flash of violet, Endymion whirled around and stared at Serenity. "What do you want?," he asked in an annoyed tone. Then he looked at Chibiusa in Serenity's arms. "So, did something happen to the little brat?," he snorted. "It's not like I care, so go away, Usagi." "Usagi? Mamo-chan! What's wrong with you! Chibiusa may be dead, and you act as if you don't care!," Serenity sniffed. "You said it, I don't care. So the brat's dead. Good thing! I wish you were too!," Endymion shouted, and pushed Serenity inside, slamming the balcony door in her face. Through the window, she could see Endymion pull the woman to him, then press his lips against hers. Serenity fell to the ground, sobbing. "Mamo-chan! Doushite? Chibiusa! The two people I love the most are gone! Doushite? Doushite?" **************************************** Serenity shot up in bed for the second night in a row, shaking, with tears running down her cheeks. It was pitch black outside, but Endymion wasn't in the room. "Maybe he does hate me," Serenity whispered to no one in particular. "You're right," said a familiar voice. "He *does* hate you!" Serenity gasped, recognizing the voice as the woman from her dream. "Who are you? Show yourself!," she demanded. The woman cackled evilly. "Who I am is of no matter. What matters is that no one wants you around! Your so-called friends, your husband. They don't really care about you! Why don't you just end your misery, and everyone else's Don't you think that if you're beloved 'Mamo-chan' really loved you, he'd be here right now, comforting you? Or at least he'd actually care that someone tried to kill you today" "Damare!," Serenity shouted, putting her hands over her ears. "Damare! I'm not listening to you! Just go away! He does love me! You can't scare me with stupid dreams! Just go away!" But her own words didn't convince her. "I'll make you a deal, Serenity," the voice said. "You go out on the balcony, and I'll leave you alone. You'll never hear from me again!" "Ok, fine," Serenity said shakily, not wanting to go out because of the awful dream she had just had. "I can go out there. Not a problem. Especially not if you'll leave me alone!" Serenity got up out of bed and opened the door to the balcony. A cool breeze blew, and Serenity wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Ok, I'm here, now will you leave me alone?" "Go to the railing," the woman commanded. Serenity hesitated. "Why?," she asked, "You're not going to try to knock me off, are you?" "Why Serenity, of course not!," the voice said in a mock tone, "I just want to see if you were lying when you told me dreams couldn't scare you." "Of course they can't scare me!," Serenity lied, and stepped up to the rail. She looked down at the gardens below, and her heart flip-flopped. Suddenly, she started to feel weak, as if she was about to faint. The woman took advantage of Serenity's weakness. ""Nobody loves you. Nobody cares about you. Everyone wants to get rid of you. Why don't you spare them the trouble and do it yourself. You saw how Chibiusa did it. Jump. Jump and forget about anything. About everything," she hissed. A small tear coursed down Serenity's cheek. Serenity thought, Serenity let out a sob as she put one foot on top of the railing. "I'm sorry you didn't love me, Mamo-chan!," she whispered into the night air. "Go on," the woman's voice coaxed. "Put the other foot up." Serenity obeyed. Then she took a deep breath and jumped. The woman's evil cackle echoed through the night. **************************************** Endymion walked into the room to go to sleep when he noticed the bed was empty. He immediately panicked and rushed to the window, hoping that she had just stepped out to enjoy the beautiful night. He got there just in time to see a sliver of blond hair disappear over the edge of the balcony. "No!," he screamed in terror, and rushed outside. He looked down to see Serenity plunging from the air. "Usako!," he screamed and didn't hesitate in jumping over the balcony after her, hoping that he might reach her in time to save her. ***************************************** Plunging through the air, Serenity screamed, realizing the insanity she had just committed. She had seen Endymion jump after her, and it given her the strongest proof of the love he had for her. "Why, why did I do this?," she screamed. "I don't want to die! I want to be with Mamo-chan, and with me friends! Why did I fall for that witch's trap?" Suddenly, Serenity heard a soothing voice inside her head. "Serenity, there *are* obstacles you must face, but no matter what, together you and Endymion and your friends can get through them! Concentrate everything on the fact that *you* are queen of the earth and nobody, *nobody* can change that!" Serenity nodded. "I will win!," she shouted determinedly. "I won't let that witch have her way!" Ivory colored angel wings appeared from the back of her nightgown, and a golden glow surrounded her. She turned around, floating, and looked up at the balcony and at Endymion plunging through the air towards her. As he reached her, Serenity caught him by the hand. The golden light surrounded him also, so he was freely floating in the air with Serenity. He raised a hand to her face. "Why, Usako? Why?," he murmured. The look in her eyes told him she would explain everything later. He nodded, and they began to float up towards the balcony. A tall woman with shoulder length midnight blue hair that had small crystals scattered in it as if they were stars, (AN: Well, Ami has blue hair and Setsuna has green hair!:) dressed in a short black skirt, knee high black boots, and a midnight blue spaghetti strap shirt also with glittering "stars" on it stood cackling on the balcony. She jumped back in shock when she saw the couple, Endymion's arm around Serenity's, float up to the balcony and over the rail, bathed in a golden light. "I demand to know who you are!," shouted Serenity. "I-I-I," the woman began, confused and nervous. Suddenly, she regained her composure. "My name is Mori- I am from the future of Crystal Tokyo. The first time I saw the king, I was smitten. I didn't understand what could make him want *her* instead of me. So I devised a plan. I could just kill Serenity and innocently move in on the king. But there was one problem. Your daughter, Chibiusa, would take over as queen, not me. So I decided to travel here, to the past, and get rid of Serenity now, before I'd have to deal with the little pink-haired brat. I tried just shooting Serenity this morning, and that didn't work, so I had to get to her through her mind." Endymion's arm tightened around Serenity's waist and his eyes blazed with anger. "You will *never* hurt Usako to get to me and I swear to you for trying that you will regret ever even *thinking* about it," he said furiously. "But-But-But, Serenity never, she didn't even-," Mori began to stutter, but was cut off by Serenity. "That's *Queen* Serenity to you," she ordered fiercely. She closed her eyes and the light around her and Endymion disappeared, along with her wings. She weakly crumpled to the ground. Endymion knelt down next to her. "Usako? Are you alright?," he asked worriedly. She nodded weakly. "Mamo-chan," she whispered, her voice trailing off, "the senshi are on their way. I called them...." Then Serenity fainted. At that exact moment, the senshi rushed out to the balcony. Uranus and Jupiter grabbed hold of Mori and teleported to the prison cells. The others rushed to Serenity and Endymion. "King!," exclaimed Sailor Saturn, "What happened?" "It's a long story. But the important part is that we found the person who tried to shoot Usako this morning," Endymion replied. The senshi's eyes widened. "That woman?," asked Sailor Venus in shock. Endymion nodded. "But why?" "She tried killing Usako to get to me," Endymion said simply. The senshi gasped. Sailor Mars looked down at Serenity in Endymion's arms. "And Usagi-chan?," she asked worriedly. "What's wrong with her? She's not....dead....right?" "No....thank kami. She just fainted from shock and use of the crystal. I'll stay with her until she wakes up," Endymion said. "I'll stay with-," Sailor Venus began, but Mercury clamped a hand over her mouth and whispered in whispered in Venus's ear. "Venus, the king and queen probably have to talk about this situation alone!" Venus nodded, and all the senshi went back inside the palace. Once they were inside, Endymion spoke to Serenity, lying limp in his arms. "Usako, I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this!," he said, and pulled her face to his, stroking her hair. "I'm so sorry, Usako!" Suddenly, he felt her stir in his arms. She slowly opened her eyes. "Mamo-chan," she said weakly. "It's not your fault!" "Yes, it is! If only I had seen it coming...none of this ever would've happened!" "Mamo-chan, no one saw it coming, you're being too hard on yourself!" "If only I had been in the room when you went out on the balcony, if only-" "There is no use in 'if only's'," Serenity interrupted him. "What made you do it, Usako?," Endymion asked suddenly. She stared at him sadly. "I felt as if...I felt as if you didn't love me...I felt as if my friends only protected me because they had to! That woman...Mori...she somehow gave me an awful dream! I was sitting utside and Chibiusa said she wanted to show me something. Then she...then she jumped from the balcony, Mamo-chan! It was horrible!," Serenity sobbed. "You don't have to finish if you don't want to," said Endymion quietly, brushing away Serenity's tears. "No...I will," she replied. "I have to get it out! I picked up Chibiusa, and rushed to our room to find you. You were there, out on the balcony, with that woman. You said you wished the bullet would've hit me, and you took her in your arms. When I told you about Chibiusa you said 'It's not like I care so go away, Usagi'! Then I told you that she might've been dead, and you said you didn't care and wished I was too! The you pushed me inside and I saw you and that woman kiss... Mamo-chan, it was awful!" Serenity threw her arms around Endymion's neck and sobbed. "Usako...I'm so sorry that you had to go through that!," Endymion said softly. "I want you to know that I'd never, ever wish you death, neither would I cheat on you. I love you more than my own soul!" "I know Mamo-chan," sniffed Serenity. "But earlier I was still in shock and it all just added up! When I woke up, I heard the Mori's voice, and she dared me to step out onto the balcony. When I felt like I was going to faint, she told me to jump! She told me to jump and I actually listened! When I saw you jump after me, I realized how stupid I'd been, and didn't think there was anything I could do about it. But a voice inside me head told me there were obstacles I had to face, but with you and my friends we could do it! I felt something inside me, and wings came from the back of my nightgown. Then...well, you know the rest." "Serenity, you were so brave tonight...and thank you...if it weren't for you, we'd both be pancakes in the gardens right now!," Endymion said with a smile. "No, Mamo-chan. Thank *you*," Serenity whispered. "For what?" "For this morning...you saved my life and I never thanked you. Thank you so much!" "Usako, how could I have not saved you? When I saw that bullet and heard you scream, I was terrified! I'm so glad you're alright." "Aishiteru, Mamo-chan." "Aishiteru, Usako." Endymion pressed his lips to Serenity's, and it was there, under the stars on that chilly night, that they realized there *were* plenty of obstacles that they had to face in life. But together, they could do anything. Inside, behind the window curtain, Rei pushed Minako out of the way. "C'mon, Minako-chan! I want to watch, too!," she exclaimed. "Ooh, they're kissing now! How sappy!!!" "Guys, Guys, stop spying on them! It's just like the time we went to those gardens back when we were 14!(AN: In the SMR movie) Stop!," exclaimed Ami! "And just like back then, you want to see just as badly as everyone else, Ami-chan!," retorted Makoto. Ami blushed. "Aha! See, I was right!" "Ok, Rei-chan, my turn!," commanded Saturn. "No way! It's my turn!," exclaimed Uranus. "Mine!" "No, mine!" "Mine!" "No, mine!" The END! Hehe...thought you might need some comic relief after the rather dark plot of that fic. So, what do you think? Better than the original? I think so...a lot! About Mori...it means "bitter" (Special thanks to http://www.takase.com/index.htm for that info!). Appropriate, ne? Well, feedback is always good...and you guys are great with all the nice stuff you write in my book! Bai Bai! ~*Tess*~