Chapter Three
***
"Waaaaaa! Lita slow down!" Serena wailed in the brunette's ear. Lita
winced, but didn't slow down. She was dragging Serena forcefully to the 
other side of the School, outside the art building, where their scores for 
their recent Math test were posted. Amy came up behind them, valiantly 
trying to keep up with Lita's long legs-and avoid Serena's long flailing 
streamers of blonde hair. Some other kids laughed as they watched the 
three pass. Amy blushed redly in embarrassment. Really, sometimes, Lita 
and Serena were too much!

"LIIIIIITA! I don't wanna see!" Serena shouted as they reached the art 
building. Lita stopped abruptly, Serena and Amy almost bashing into her 
back. The brunette grunted with disappointment. 

"Looks as if you get your wish Serena" She commented. Serena glanced 
around her and saw that the area around the wall was crowded. Okay, so all 
the students scores were posted here from the whole school. 

"We could...come later?" The blonde said hopefully. Both Amy and Lita 
grabbed her arms before she could sneak away. Serena found herself dragged 
to the back of the crowd, while Amy tried to squint at the board. 

"Amy, can you see what it says? The writings too small for me" Lita asked 
her friend. Amy got on her tippy-toes and squinted also. She had good eyes 
but there the crowd of students was at least 8 people deep in front of 
them. She could make out anything.

"No, unfortunately, I can't. Though my eyes are perfectly 20/20-" Amy 
began. Lita rolled her eyes. Serena scowled at the board. She glared at it 
hard, her eyes automatically seeking out Amy's score first. As usual, she 
sighed, the blue-haired genius had come 100 %.

"Congratulations Ames! You came first, not that I didn't think you would" 
Serena said eagerly to her friend. Amy and Lita stared at her, then as 
one, they turned to the board. Then they looked back at her.

"What are you talking about, Serena. You can't know that" Lita scoffed. 
Serena glared at her indignantly. Then glance at the board. Lita was taken 
aback as the blonde smirked openly at her.

"Naughty, naughty Lita" Serena said teasingly, wagging a finger before 
Lita's face. "Someone didn't Stuuuuuudy. Miss 42%!"

"Whaaaa?" Lita demanded. Her green eyes glared angrily at the board, 
though she still could not make out where her score was. "Now way! I did 
study!"

"Serena!" Amy chided. "Don't joke with Lita that way"

Serena stared at them both. "I'm NOT" She protested. "You have nothing to 
worry about Lita, anyway. I only got a 22" 

Again, Amy and Lita stared at her. They glanced at each other. "Nah" Lita 
muttered, shaking her head. 

Serena looked at the floor, eyes filling slightly. Why didn't they believe 
her? What was wrong with them. She glanced up at the board again and saw 
the answers clearly. Was it possible that Lita and Amy really could see 
the board? They seemed like they were telling the truth and why would they 
lie-it wasn't like them to tease her. Her Scout friends were the first 
close and real friends she had ever had. Other than Molly of course, but 
it wasn't like she could discuss Senshi business with the red-haired girl. 
Serena felt a gentle hand on her back and looked up to see Lita's 
compassionate eyes.

"It's okay, Serena. I believe you" The girl looked angry at herself that 
she had upset Serena. "I just never knew your eyes were so good"

"Maybe it has something to do with the Scouting?" Serena suggested 
tentatively, as they headed for the Netball courts. The two girls flanked 
her, keeping close as they thought about the possibility. Serena 
personally wondered where she had even gotten the question from. Since 
when had she turned into an Amy? The blonde giggled under her breath. 
There had to be an explanation for this.

***

"If there's an explanation for this, I'd like to hear it!" Darian muttered 
under his breath. He stood under the high wall of Juuban High...for the 
second time that day. And truth be told, he hadn't the foggiest idea what 
he was doing there! He looked around carefully, not seeing anyone. Darian 
had deliberately chosen the side of the School that was near an oval. Not 
near the street. That way, less people could see him. "I mean, come on! 
How many average, normal Collage students in Tokyo do you see trying to 
sneak into a Juuban Middle School?" Darian shouted. Immediately, he 
realised how loud he has said it and looked around huntingly. 

"Stealth Dar. Remember?" He growled to himself. He took a step back and 
leapt upwards, hands grasping for the top of the wall. When he pulled 
himself up easily, he blinked in surprise. Since when had he been so fit, 
anyway? Darian crouched on the edge of the wall and realised he was right 
near the Netball Courts. At that moment, they were almost empty. Except 
for a teacher, setting up. Darian saw a tree near the inside of the wall, 
close to the courts and made his way swiftly towards it. The teacher never 
looked over and he made it to the tree. He frowned as he climbed up the 
branches. What was he DOING? Since when did he feel the urge to ditch 
classes to watch an annoying blonde, anyway. Was he going CRAZY?! He 
really didn't know.

The sooner he found out what drew him to Serena like a moth to a flame, 
the safer his sanity would be! Darian quickly settled into the branches 
and waited. He didn't know what for-but still-he felt drawn. All there was 
left, was to wait. And he didn't have to wait too long. Moment's later a 
class of giggling girls emerged, along with a familiar set of blonde 
meatball's. Darian found himself really looking at her, puzzled by the way 
his heart almost jumped out of his chest when he saw her. His blood was 
racing. His blue eyes swept over her long hair, the delicate line of her 
neck and her slender body. Finally, he settled on her face. The frown on 
his face intensified. The face was the same as always. The same annoying-
though pretty, he had to admit-face that he saw all the time. 

His eyes swept over her body again, nose involuntarily twitching. He could 
almost...smell her. Her scent like flowers and the sunlight, but also the 
night. Darian looked down at his clenched hands, a vein throbbing in his 
forehead.

"What is happening to me?" He whispered.

***

"It's possible, I suppose" Amy said doubtfully. Thinking hard. Lita and 
Serena waited patiently. They let the blue-haired genius think all the 
time they were changing into their gym clothes. As they went outside, Amy 
finally spoke. She drew the three of them off to the side, as the game was 
set up. "I think that perhaps it is a definite possibility, you two. 
Perhaps Serena, having been Sailor Moon for much longer than the rest of 
us has developed more acute hearing abilities. We have after all, entirely 
different powers from each other according to our Planets and distance 
from the sun"

Lita and Serena's eyes had glazed over during this discussion. Lita was 
first to recover, while Serena stared silently up at the sun. Was that the 
reason for their powers? But Jupiter was more powerful than Mercury and 
Mercury was closest to the sun. Not that there was a Sailor Earth...maybe 
she would have been the more powerful of them all? Was this girl maybe the 
Princess. Serena frowned, thinking hard. Hadn't Luna said this Princess 
was of the Moon? Now, what was Amy saying. Ah, that the good sight was 
because of her being Sailor Moon!

"Right" Lita looked pleased that they had found an answer. Serena was even 
more pleased than her friends. She'd really began to worry-Serena suddenly 
stiffened, every nerve in her body coming to life. Her skin began to 
tingle, her heart racing and it thundered in her ears. Her blue eyes 
looked around sharply, seeking...something-A scent was suddenly apparent 
to her. She raised her face, half-closing her eyes. It was almost like a 
scent of the night air, warm and inviting-

"Oh no, this isn't happening!" a voice wailed. Serena's concentration was 
abruptly broken. She looked around, but no one was near enough to her and 
Lita and Amy to have sounded that close.

"What did I do to anger Miss G anyhow? I have to have that-that DITZ on my 
team?" Serena finally recognised Sarah Mckellar's voice. She stared, eyes 
turning slowly in the direction of the girl...who was right across the 
other side of the court. Serena slowly blanched white as she realised how 
far away the girl was.

"Serena, you okay, girl?" Lita asked worried. Both her and Amy had noticed 
her sudden lack of colour. Serena knew her hands were shaking. She sat 
down abruptly, on the edge of the courts. Lita knelt beside her in concern 
while Amy checked her pulse.

"It's a little slow" The blue-haired girl said doubtfully.

"Look at that, she fell over!" Kelly sneered from next to Sarah. Serena 
looked across the courts reluctantly to see both pairs of eyes staring at 
her scornfully. Sarah waved mockingly, not realising that Serena could 
actually hear them. The blonde's eyes filled with tears as she stared at 
them.

"What a baby, where, like, doomed" Kelly went on. Both girls turned their 
backs on Serena, who was suddenly as furious as she was upset. She was 
trying! She WAS! But even Luna didn't realise that. Serena gasped as a 
rage hit her, but it didn't entirely feel like her own anger. Was it?

"I don't see why Miss G wants her to do Netball anyway, she's SO 
uncoordinated" Sarah bewailed. She looked down at her nails and gave a 
little scream. "I broke a NAIL!"

"Oh no" Kelly looked down at the nail sympathetically. "How are you going 
to go on that date with Brett now?"

"I'll-have to get a fake one" Sarah said swiftly. Serena stared across at 
them, eyes burning. She could feel her tears slowly making their way down 
her check. She was so confused. A burning was in her chest and it was 
almost as if she could sense her anger being echoed-somehow. A whistle 
suddenly blew, signifying the start of the game. Sarah and Kelly turned 
back. Sarah sighed, glancing again across at Serena. 

"Maybe we can swap her or something? Brigit likes the klutz better anyway"

Serena's mouth trembled. She couldn't take any more! With a cry of anger 
and shame, the blonde jumped to her feet and ran away. She didn't know 
where she was going, but anywhere away from there would be heaven!

***

How could those girls be so mean? One minute abusing Serena, the next 
talking about a date-and fingernails? Darian was filled at disgust. His 
blue eyes darkened in rage, hands clenching at his sides. Serena suddenly 
bolted to her feet, blue eyes glaring like blue beams of fury and tears. 
Before her friends could do anything, the blonde had raced off the courts 
and disappeared around the corner of the building. Darian hesitated. His 
fingers tightened on the tree branch, till the blood circulation was 
almost cut off.

"Those bitches" He snarled, eyes burning with fury. If looks could kill, 
the Sarah and Kelly would be nothing but ashes right then. Serena too, 
looked as if she had been waring between fighting them or crying.. As 
Darian slipped down the tree to the ground, he knew in his heart that the 
small blonde was probably crying her heart out right now. He didn't like 
Serena, but he'd be damned if she was going to be alone in this! Darian 
strode around the edge of the School Gate, then slipped inside. He 
immediately looked of a sign of blonde hair, but could see nothing. He 
searched for a while, not daring to actually go inside the School. How he 
was going to explain what a Collage student was doing on Middle school 
grounds was not something Darian wanted to do. After 10 minutes, he 
finally gave up, returning reluctantly to his motorbike in the street. 
Serena had completely disappeared. 

A tingling feeling invaded his body for a moment, familiar and warm. Then 
it was gone, leaving Darian wondering what it could have been. He almost 
felt a loss, when it was over. It had been a feeling of intense joy. 
Darian hesitated for a long moment, before putting on his helmet. It might 
have just been his imagination, but Serena had seemed to almost...sense 
him. Her eyes had closed and her face turned towards him. Then those girl 
had started to talk. Darian started the motorbike, revving it wildly. Then 
he took of down the street, mind in chaos.

***

Serena ran blindly, only seeking to get away from the horrible words. What 
was worse, they were true! She was a klutz and she knew it. But people 
didn't have to constantly throw it into her face. Even Luna. 

["When will you ever grow up and be responsible Serena. One day you'll be 
the Protector of the Moon Princess. Her life will be in your hands!"] 
Serena skidded to a stop as she remembered what Luna had once said to her. 
It was true, she needed to be more responsible. But right now she needed 
to feel loved, to feel wanted-to feel free! The blue eyes widened. When 
was the one time she felt truly free? Serena raced out of the School and 
up the back staircase to the top courts. They were deserted, as always. 
After only a slight hesitation, she reached for her Moon Broach. Holding 
it above her head, she felt the tears slipping down her cheeks slowly.

"Moon Prism Power!" She shouted. Serena felt the power envelope her, 
surging through her veins even as the ribbons surged along her limbs and 
formed her Sailor suit. With a last burst of intense joy, she threw her 
arms out, welcoming the cool feel of the golden tiara forming on her 
forehead. Then the power died out and Sailor Moon stood there, the tears 
dried on her pale skin. But still, the joy and freedom she had felt in the 
transformation remained. Sailor Moon sighed, then leapt onto the fence 
around the edge of the courts. The ground was far below her, but she had 
no fear of the heights. She had no doubt she would heal, as always, if she 
should fall. Tuxedo Mask was always there to rescue her anyway. Sailor 
Moon's eyes glazed slightly as she thought of the handsome guy-not that 
she had ever seen his face, she frowned. Only his eyes, his wonderful deep 
blue eyes. The eyes that always seemed so familiar to her.

A movement caught her eyes and she glanced down to see a tall figure 
moving in the shadows to the School building. A guy, from the way he 
moved. But oh, so graceful. Sailor Moon watched intently, wondering if he 
were a threat. But the guy seemed to be seeking someone, not lying in wait 
for a girl. If that had been so, then the man below would have seen Sailor 
Moon's fury. She looked with startled eyes as the man emerged into the 
sunlight, walking slowly towards the back wall. He was familiar. That dark 
hair, the familiar black turtle-neck sweater. Darian!

"What? Darian" Sailor Moon murmured. What on Earth was HE doing in her 
School? She watched, infinitely more interested and rather annoyed. He 
made his way to the back wall and jumped up, hands grasping at the top. 
She saw as he leapt gracefully down the other side and walk along the 
path. Her vantage was great from the courts, she could see him the whole 
way as he walked smoothly, with an almost animal grace to the car park. 
His tall body was really perfect, she thought as she watched him. Her head 
would rest right below his chin-Darian stopped at a motorbike and pulled 
out a set of keys, drawing her attention back from her dreamy state.

"I didn't know he had a motorbike" Sailor Moon exclaimed, somehow 
thrilled. The jerk suddenly didn't seem so stodgy. "But still a jerk" She 
added. She watched how the sunlight shone on his dark hair and brought out 
the blue highlights. Somehow, she could even see his slender fingers as 
they tightened on his helmet. He was angry about something. Sailor Moon's 
eyes faltered on his back. Could it be that Darian had seen those girls 
taunting her? Had seen Serena run away like a baby, crying. Sailor Moon 
clenched her gloved hands as she watched him put on his helmet and finally 
ride away. Her blue eyes were staring blankly into space, thoughtfully. 
She finally moved, realising she could be caught up there. How would she 
explain what Sailor Moon was doing in Juuban High? Sailor Moon de-
transformed, her mind on Darian and what he had been doing in her School. 
Again, she was distracted by the memory of his graceful body...his hair. 

Serena shook her head, glaring at the wall in frustration as she made her 
way down the stairs to the ground. "I don't care how beautiful his hair 
is! What was he doing here?"

***

The blue eyes looked upwards assessingly. Amy watched as Sailor Moon stood 
there, her long blonde hair trailing in the wind. She'd been worried when 
the blonde ran off and had followed her. Moments later, Sailor Moon leapt 
back down from the fence and disappeared from sight.

"Oh Serena" Amy murmured, clutching her books to her chest tightly. "What 
is happening to you?"

The blue-haired girl stood there for a moment, ignoring the end-of-period 
bell that signalled everyone from gym class was to go back inside. Lita 
would be waiting for her too. Amy started to walk back towards the netball 
courts, her feet barely moving. Her mind was in turmoil. There was 
something terribly wrong with Serena. Even the blonde had more sense than 
to transform where others might see her. And yet, Serena had done so. 


Lita saw her and ran over, her pony-tail swaying wildly. She skidded to a 
stop a foot from Amy, green eyes worried. "Did you find Serena? Was she 
okay?" Lita demanded.

Amy nodded, reaching out for the brunette's arm. She pulled Lita close, 
turning their backs on the rest of the gym class, who were moving inside 
to change back to their School clothes. "I found Sailor Moon" Amy said 
significantly. Lita's eyes widened.

"Sailor Moon. You mean Serena transformed?" The brunette lowered her voice 
even more, till she was almost hissing into Amy ear with urgency. "Was 
there a Monster? Zoisite? Why didn't she call us?" 

"Calm down Lita" Amy said, soberly. "There was no Negaverse activity in 
the vicinity at all. Serena just...Transformed"

"Just...Transformed?" Lita echoed, confused.

"The bell meant for ALL the students to get inside and change before next 
class, Miss Kino!" The Gym Teacher bellowed from across the courts. Amy 
and Lita started nervously, turning to face the Teacher. Miss G-Short for 
Gertrude-was collecting the stray Netballs from around the court. Lita 
waved, then dragged Amy towards the School building.

"I really don't like her attitude" Lita almost snarled, green eyes glaring 
at the ground. "Notice how she said Miss KINO. Not Miss MIZUNO!"

"She didn't mean anything by it Lita" Amy soothed. Lita nodded in 
understanding, a lopsided grin forming on her lips.

"Oh, of COURSE not Ames." She said sarcastically. "Who do you think 
started the rumour of 'the karate maniac? The Teachers of course!"

"I think you're over-reacting Lita" Amy noted, as they entered the School. 
Lita snorted. The two passed through the girl's change room door and into 
the room. The room fell slightly silent as the girls saw Lita's thunderous 
face. Lita suddenly grinned wickedly. She turned towards a small girl, 
tying her shoes.

"You...Come here" Lita ordered. The girl looked terrified. She started up 
from her bench, clutching one shoe to her chest.

"M-me?" Sarah squeaked. She looked around to see if there was anyone 
behind her and saw with horror that Lita had meant her.

"Yeah you, Sarah" Lita beckoned, throwing a 'I told you' look at Amy. 
Sarah approached cautiously, her eyes wild.

"Y-yes, Lita?" She stammered. Lita smiled.

"You're in my math class right. I seemed to have forgotten what was for 
homework"

"Oh" The girl looked relieved. "It was chapters 5-6 in the algebra part"

"Great, thanks" Lita said warmly. Sarah backed away uncertainly, then 
hurried from the room. Lita and Amy looked around and saw that practically 
the entire room had watched the exchange with baited breath. One looked 
form Lita's green eyes, had them all turning away hastily.

"You see?" Lita said sarcastically. Amy nodded. She really hadn't thought 
the problem that big. The two girls got back into their School clothes and 
walked from the room. Students were rushing in all directions to get to 
class, ignoring the two slowly walking girls.

"About Serena" Amy began again.

"Hey guys" The object of their discussion abruptly appeared, coming from 
the left. The blonde's face was strained, slight evidence of tears visible 
in her red-rimmed eyes.

"You okay, Serena?" Lita asked quickly. Serena gave them both a look that 
said she had no idea what they were talking about. Her blue eyes 
seemed...Glazed.

"Ready for the English test?" Amy cut in smoothly. Serena gave her a look 
of complete horror, all traces of unhappiness gone from her pretty face.

"TEST?!" She shrieked. "There's a test? In English"

"Yes, Serena" Amy murmured in resignation. Did the girl never study? 
Sometimes Amy truly thought fate was playing a game with them. That this 
girl-terrible in every class-was the Leader of the Sailor Scouts. It was a 
miracle. Amy slapped a hand to her mouth in guilt.

"You okay, Amy?" Serena asked doubtfully. She peered closely at the blue-
haired girl. Amy went even more red-faced under the scrutiny.

"I'm fine, Serena. Uh, I need to go wash my face" Amy stammered, moving 
quickly away from them, in the direction of the girls toilets. Lita gave 
Amy's fleeing form a narrow-eyed look. She turned to the confused Serena.

"I'm going to check on her, you go to class, okay?"

"Er, right. Class" Serena muttered. Her eyes were again panicked. Lita 
dashed after Amy, crashing through the toilet door. Three girls looked up, 
startled. The brunette gave them a look and they swiftly filed out the 
door, leaving Amy and Lita alone. Amy was bent over the sink at the far 
end, wiping her face with a wet cloth. She glanced at Lita as the girl 
approached.

"Why aren't you in class?" Amy asked neutrally. Lita glared.

"Okay, what gives Amy? You've been acting as weirdly as Serena!" Lita 
accused. Amy looked startled.

"Oh, I see." She sighed, leaning back against the sink. Amy turned and 
dropped the cloth into the waste-basket almost thoughtfully. "Oh Lita! I 
was thinking horribly of Serena" The blue-haired girl said in a guilt-
stricken voice. 

Lita looked at her incredulously. "You?" She managed, staring at Amy. 
"Nah. You think the most of Serena. You were her first friend out of all 
of us Scouts"

"It's true" Amy covered her face with her hands, shaking slightly. Lita 
moved closer, laying a comforting arm about Amy's shoulders.

"Tell Aunty, Lita what the problem is" Lita urged. Amy giggled, pulling 
her hands from her face. 

"I don't KNOW what it is Lita. Serena is acting so strange. I mean, she's 
never been the best leader. She klutzes out all the time. Tuxedo Mask 
always has to rescue her from Zoisite or a monster" Amy stared sombrely at 
the wall, absently noting the cracks in the off-white paint. "And yet, 
when I think of her warm heart, her unselfish acts of kindness towards 
others. I know exactly why Luna chose her as Leader of the Scouts"

"I know what you mean" Lita removed her arm and hitched her pony-tail up 
nervously. "But destiny, you know...It works in strange ways"

Amy turned her head to ask Lita a question, when suddenly, their 
communicators beeped simultaneously. The two exchanged a glance. Amy 
reached into her bag, taking out the small communicator. The light for 
Mars was lit up red. Amy pressed the small button and Raye's face popped 
up onto the screen. The raven-haired girl looked...Almost harried.

"Guys, about time!" Raye snapped, her purple eyes filled with worry. 
"Where were you?"

"What do you mean, Raye?" Amy asked, perplexed. Raye ran a hand through 
her long dark hair in annoyance. She glanced around, seeing if she were 
alone. Her face moved closer to the screen.

"I MEAN that I've been trying to contact you for about 10 minutes now!" 
The Priestess-in-training snapped in irritation. Amy and Lita looked at 
each other and then back at Raye.

"This is the first time we've heard the communicator go off, Raye" Lita 
offered. Raye stared at them both, disbelieving. 

"That can't be. I've had my finger on the all-call button for ages!" She 
looked slightly ashamed. "Except for Serena's, that is"

Lita and Amy looked alert. "Why not Serena?" Amy asked calmly. Raye looked 
down, her eyes hidden by her long lashes. 

"I've been having weird vibes all day. In fact, since the battle the other 
day" She admitted to them. The screen abruptly flashed and the yellow sign 
for Luna came up. Before Raye could say anything more, Luna's face came 
onto the screen.

"What are you girls doing? This is not a phone-line! This is for Scout 
emergencies only!" The cat snapped in irritation. Amy coughed low, 
embarrassed that they had been caught.

"Luna! We weren't chatting." Raye came back on the screen, looking even 
angrier than the cat. "Something is seriously wrong with, Serena!" 

Luna looked startled as she came back on. Amy discretely pressed a button 
so that the screen split. Now both Luna and Raye could been seen. "I-I've 
noticed her strange behaviour also" The cat admitted. "The other night, 
she woke up screaming"

"She ran off during Gym-class. When she came back, we could tell Serena 
had been crying" Amy told them all. Raye's eyes flashed for a moment with 
an indefinable emotion.

"Crying?" She murmured, lips firming. "Who made her cry?" The question was 
so fierce that the other three were startled.

"We don't know" Lita scratched at her head, confused.

"What is more important are the strange changes" Amy cut in. Raye and Luna 
stared at her inquiringly. "Her eyesight seems to have improved, her 
emotions seem more...Unstable. And from what Luna has said, she's not 
sleeping well either"

"This calls for a Scout meeting" Raye ordered coolly. They nodded. Lita 
looked suddenly chagrined.

"How do we stop Serena from finding out we're having a Scout meeting 
without her?" The brunette asked. Raye smirked.

"Detention of course, Lita. The ditz has it everyday. Right?"

"Yeah" Lita rolled her green eyes. "She has it this afternoon"

"Then the meeting should be right after School today" Luna said calmly. 
"Raye, I'll meet you there when you get home. Lita and Amy, get here as 
soon as you can after School"

The three Scouts nodded in determination. 'Right!"

Amy suddenly looked horrified, her blue eyes wide. "Oh my god! The English 
test!"

Lita looked similarly horrified. "She's right!" Lita sank back, closing 
her eyes. "We're totalled!"

"Oh girls" Luna shook her head. "Whatever you do, don't forget this 
afternoon!" The cat pressed her paw to the communicator and disappeared. 
Raye frowned.

"Who does she think we are?" She muttered darkly, resenting Luna's words. 
"Serena?"

***

Serena walked out slowly from class, hair trailing on the ground. She 
bombed on the test. Been like a fish out of water!

"How'd you do, Serena?" Molly said, quickly catching up to the blonde in 
the hall. Serena gave her a weak smile.

"Uh, good. I guess" She stared at the ground, absently avoiding the other 
students in the hall. The last bell had gone and everyone was headed home. 
Except Serena. Molly picked up on Serena's mood and smiled brightly.

"Want to go shopping, Serena? I hear the Mall had some great sales on at 
the moment!" The red-haired girl said enthusiastically. Serena groaned.

"I CAN'T" She almost wailed. "I have detention again!"

"Oh. That would put a damper on it, all right" Molly noted. Her blue eyes 
were filled with disappointment for a moment. Then they cleared. "Well, 
maybe we can go together this weekend?"

"Yeah. Sounds good" Serena cheered up quickly. She stopped in front of the 
Detention room, a hand on the door-nob.

"Well, see you around, Serena!" Molly called, walking away. Serena watched 
her go, blue eyes filled with disappointment. Her skin tingled suddenly. 
Her eyes widened and she spun around to see Miss Haruna walking up 
quietly. The Teacher looked almost disappointed.

["Because she wanted to startle me?"] Serena wondered in surprise. Miss 
Haruna DID always seem to be popping up from nowhere and scaring Serena. 
It made her stare at the woman in a slightly new light.

"Ah, Serena" Miss Haruna seemed put off. She reached Serena and stopped a 
foot away. "You'll be happy to know that I've been...Pulled away by an 
urgent appointment"

"Oh" Serena tried to play it down, knowing she had just escaped a few 
hours of detention. Miss Haruna smiled slightly, almost bursting with 
happiness. The red-haired woman's smiled turned slightly sour.

"As I'm sure it will get all over School by tomorrow anyway" Miss Haruna 
paused, running hand through her long hair. "I have a date. With a 
prominent figure in the computer industry"

Serena stared at her teacher wide-eyed. Miss Haruna didn't usually come 
right out and admit she had a date. Melvin usually had to dig around for a 
while to find out. "Er, right" Serena stammered.

"So, you can go now" Miss H gestured with her right hand, eyes far away. 
Serena turned away and quickly walked down the hall, unable to believe her 
luck. Miss Haruna's voice stopped her just as she was about to leave the 
School.

"Oh and Serena" The Teacher's voice was annoyed. "Tell Melvin to keep his 
nose out of my draw!"

"Right!" Serena called back, escaping swiftly through the front doors. As 
they closed behind her, she pulled her bag onto her back and stood there 
for a moment. Was it her imagination, or had that been a really weird 
experience? She walked down the steps and into the sunlight. There was 
barely anyone left in the School Yard as she crossed it, heading for the 
front gates.

"Why, if it isn't the beautiful, Serena. And all alone too. My good 
fortune!" Melvin's voice came from outside the gates. Serena's steps 
paused for a moment as she looked around for him. Unerringly, her blue 
eyes swung upwards and saw the annoying boy in a tree above the gate.

"Melvin. What are you doing in a tree?" Serena looked at him as if he were 
nuts. Which he probably WAS. Melvin scrambled down a branch ungracefully. 
Then he lost his balance and fell the rest of the way to the ground. His 
pad and pen fell onto of him a moment later. Serena just looked at him, 
rolling her eyes. Melvin scrambled to his feet, brushing leaves from his 
unruly hair. He held his pad to his chest as if they were the crown 
jewels.

"Ah, just checking around for gossip" He muttered.

"In a TREE?" Serena asked in amusement, heading down the path away from 
the School. Melvin fell in beside her without asking.

"Well. Not in the tree exactly. More in the upper level of the School" 
Melvin opened his pad and scanned the contents. "Room 2c to be exact. I 
just observed Miss Haruna applying an large amount of make-up to her face"

"And?" Serena looked at him strangely. Melvin thrust up an hand in the 
air, face triumphant. "From evidence gathered...And the fact that you have 
been released from your detention. I would surmise that Miss H-"

"Yes?" Serena said wearily. She was suddenly incredibly tired. Her steps 
slowed slightly.

"Miss Haruna has a date!" Melvin almost yelled. 

"I know" Serena said softly, eyes closing slightly. Was the sun brighter 
than a minute before? Melvin stopped dead, reaching out to grab Serena's 
arm.

"Serena!" He almost whined. "You KNOW Miss H has a date. Have you been 
holding out on me?"

"Get a life Melvin" Serena told him, wrenching her arm away. Melvin stared 
after her, making no move to follow as she walked off. Serena remembered 
something and turned her head back towards him. "Oh, Miss Haruna said to 
keep your nose out of her draw!"

Serena kept walking, relieved that Melvin was no longer following. She's 
almost reached the corner when she heard Melvin's words clearly.

"How did Miss H know about that? I'm SURE I was careful" Melvin muttered. 
Serena whirled around, eyes wide. She expected to see Melvin behind her, 
but the boy had not moved at all. he was meters away from her, where she 
had left him. Too far for her to have HEARD him so clearly. Serena's blue 
eyes widened as panic again hit her. It was like earlier, with those 
girls! She couldn't possibly have heard them OR Melvin so clearly, but she 
HAD.

"This is not happening. It's so weird" Serena murmured, walking away fast. 
She headed instinctively for the Arcade, wondering if Lita was still 
there. The girl enjoyed Andrew's place as much as Serena did.

["AND Andrew. He IS a cutie!"] Serena thought with a smirk. A vision of 
the red-haired guy entered her mind. It was abruptly replaced with a 
vision of Tuxedo Mask. Serena nodded, a wide smile on her lips. ["Okay. 
Tuxedo Mask is DEFINETLY more handsome than Andrew is!"]

Serena gasped as a feeling suddenly hit her, overwhelming. Moments later, 
she crashed into a soft, yet firm body. Warm arms came up to steady her. 
Serena automatically put her arms up to stop herself from falling. Her 
palms met the black shirt and the warmth beneath. Her fingers tingled. In 
fact, her whole body was tingling. Especially from where she was being 
held by strong hands. 

"Oh, excuse me" Serena said, embarrassed. Below that feeling was chaos. 
And an indefinable feeling that she knew this person. Serena raised her 
head at the same time as a familiar voice spoke from above her head.

"Are you following me around?" Darian asked sarcastically. Serena glared 
up into his dark blue eyes. Trying to ignore the sensations in her body. 
It was like a thousand fires were moving through her blood. Her veins 
burned and tingled with the strangest feeling. Like an electric jolt. Her 
fingers involuntarily clenched into his black shirt. Darian's eyes went 
abruptly blank. Then his fingers tightened on Serena's shoulders. She 
suddenly realised that they had been standing there for five minutes, 
holding onto each other tightly.

Darian seemed to realise it at the same time. They simultaneously let go 
of each other. Serena weirdly felt...Almost as if she'd lost something 
when she'd lost touch with Darian's body. They stared at each other, a 
foot away and Serena could see her own confusion mirrored in Darian's 
eyes. Their eyes locked. Serena's hands clenched at her sides, unable to 
drag her eyes from his. The tingling had receded when she had no longer 
had contact with him, bit it was still there. She felt light-headed, her 
mouth dry. But her body had never felt so alive. 

She wasn't sure who moved first, but Darian's face was suddenly closer. 
She could feel the warmth radiating from his body. There was only half-a-
foot between them now and Serena had to tilt her head back to look at his 
face. She saw his eyes darken. Her heart thundered in her ears and she 
felt her eyes dilate. A car horn beeped loudly, sounding like a gun-shot 
to Serena. She and Darian leapt away from each other as if burnt. With a 
half-meter between them, they stared at each other. Both of them were 
panting lightly. everything swum in Serena's vision for a moment, before 
her head cleared. Her heart slowed. She blinked dazedly.

["What just happened?"] She whimpered inside, horrified. It was DARIAN! 
Darian. The guy she loved to hate. Serena couldn't take the tension a 
moment longer. The air was thick with it. She backed away, edging around 
till her she was facing down the path towards the Arcade. Vaguely, she 
could see the lights outside the Game Centre. Darian watched her silently, 
seeming bemused. Nothing at all was said as Serena swiftly turned and 
walked away from Darian. She could FEEL him though. All the way till she 
reached outside the Arcade, she could feel his eyes on her back. Knew he 
was watching her. The glass doors swished open as she stepped towards 
them. Serena stopped, freezing. She stood there for a moment, then her 
head turned towards the left. Back to where she had crashed into Darian.

Serena's eyes clearly picked his tall form out of the crowd. He was 
standing where she had left him, not having moved. But he was looking her 
way. She could feel it. As she looked at his indistinct form, something 
seemed to happen. Her eyes blurred over, objects seeming to pass her at an 
enormous speed. When her eyes cleared, she was looking directly into dark 
blue eyes. She could even see the flecks of silver in them. The dark 
lashes surrounding. The slight creases from laughter at the corners of his 
eyes. Her body began to tingle as their eyes again locked. She KNEW he was 
seeing her as clearly as she was seeing him. There was a confusion and 
anger in the blue depths of his eyes. But also a longing and an 
uncontrollable hunger...

Serena gasped and fled into the Arcade blindly. Anything to get away from 
that look. It had almost seemed to devour her on the spot. She didn't 
understand what it meant. Why he was feeling those emotions. Why she had 
been able to read them in his eyes. Hands caught her smoothly. Serena 
almost fainted in shock, thinking irrationally that Darian had somehow 
followed her. But no, the hands evoked no feelings in her at all.

"Are you okay, Serena? You look Kinda pale" Andrew's voice said in 
concern. Serena glanced up, her head still thundering. She had too many 
shocks in the last day than she had had in her life.

"I'm-I'm fine, just a little weak" Serena said weakly, leaning into his 
warmth. It felt different. Safer for one thing. Serena's eyes drifted 
close for a moment, trying to sense. Being in Andrew's arms felt safe and 
calm. He radiated concern. But that was all. 

"Serena?" He asked, his voice full of concern and embarrassment. Serena 
realised how it must look-her clinging to him in the centre of the Arcade. 
Everyone must have been watching! Serena was about to pull away and 
apologise, when she heard the doors to the Arcade swish open. There was a 
silence. Immediately, she gasped as a feeling of danger flooded her 
senses. It rolled through her like a tide. She stiffened up like a board, 
the hair on the back of her neck standing up. She knew exactly who was 
standing there.

"Darian. Buddy" Andrew said. His voice was full of embarrassment and 
bewilderment. And a slight fear.

["Fear?!"] Serena's eyes flashed open. She could sense Andrew's slight 
fear acutely. The white of his apron came into focus. She released her 
death-grip on his arms and turned her head sideways, seeking the source of 
Andrew's emotions. Darian stood there, just inside the doors. His face was 
impassive, cold. It was his eyes though, that Serena knew was making 
Andrew afraid and confused. Darian's blue eyes were so dark that they were 
almost black. They seemed to almost burn though, with an incandescent 
fury. Absolute fury, barely concealed. And it was aimed at Andrew. His 
eyes locked on his friend's. 

The moment seemed to stretch out for Serena. Vaguely, she could hear 
everyone in the room. Laughing, talking, ignoring the three frozen near 
the door. Not sensing the barely restrained violence in the air. Serena's 
numb finger's unclenched from Andrew's t-shirt. She stepped back slowly, 
eyes on Darian. For a moment, his eyes swung in her direction. The look in 
the made her falter back a step in actual fear. It wasn't so-much the rage 
in them, but an ill-concealed hunger and possessiveness that flashed into 
their depths for a moment. Serena wrenched her eyes away and quickly 
stepped in-between Andrew and Darian. It felt like she was moving through 
water. She realised quickly that she was too short to block Darian's eyes 
from Andrews. The look in Andrew's eyes was glazed. 

["Almost like he's being hypnotised"] Serena thought incredulously. She 
resisted the urge to glance back at Darian. Instead, she reached up and 
lightly slapped Andrew's face. It shocked him out of the trance and he 
glanced down at her as she had wanted.

"Serena?" He almost pleaded, trying to understand what had just happened. 
She opened her mouth, then closed it, not sure what to say. She placed a 
hand on his arm, not really knowing why, but with the uncontrollable urge 
to comfort. Undo whatever damage Darian had done to his friendship with 
Andrew.

"Andrew, get me a drink?" She asked, voice faint to her own ears. It 
sounded as if she had not used her voice in years. FoRayegn even.

He blinked at her, then slowly a smile spread over his face as she 
continued to look at him with calm. Serena almost stepped back as a 
slightly glazed look came over his face again. The scary thing was...He 
was looking at HER this time.

"A drink. Right" Andrew looked up from Serena, to Darian. "What would you 
like to drink, Darian?"

Serena almost gaped. It was like Andrew had completely forgotten what had 
just happened! Her blue eyes fell on the hand still resting on his arm 
gently. A hand she had raised to calm him.

The doors swished open again, before Serena could even glance back at 
Darian. "Darian!" Raye sounded almost panicked. "Are you alright? Serena?"

Serena whirled around, wrenching her hand from Andrew's arm. Her eyes 
widened with alarm as she saw Raye, Amy and Lita standing just behind 
Darian. The fury in his eyes intensified for a moment. Serena saw Raye 
flinch. The girl had always been sensitive to emotions. Raye reached out 
almost hesitantly to touch Darian's back. As soon as her fingers brushed 
his shirt, she reeled back. Her purple eyes were wide, as she stared at 
him. Darian's face went blank. He turned, reaching out with a hand to 
catch Raye's. Something strange happened then. Serena was watching Raye's 
face as Darian touched her. The raven-haired girl's face went 
expressionless. 

Serena reeled as she felt something. It swept through her like a tidal-
wave, burning through her blood. It was almost like when she transformed 
as Sailor Moon, but different somehow. And familiar. Haunting familiar to 
her! 

"Thanks Darian, I thought I was going to fall for a second" Raye laughed, 
her face relaxing. Serena stared, mouth open slightly. 

"What?" She gasped. Lita cut between her view of Darian and Raye. Amy 
joined her a moment later, both girls stopping near Serena and Andrew. 

"Hey Andrew. Anything happening around here?" Lita asked casually. Serena 
saw her green eyes sweep the area warily though, as if seeking something. 
Andrew scratched at his arm, in exactly the place Serena had touched him. 
She glanced at the skin and saw that it was white. Pure white skin, 
amongst the profusely freckled skin of the rest of his arm. He stared at 
it for a moment, then shrugged and walked away to the counter.

"Nothing much happening around here Lita" He answered her question of a 
moment ago. Andrew smiled at them all as Raye and Darian joined them. The 
two stood next to Lita. Darian looked calm and relaxed as Raye leaned her 
head on his shoulder, looking happy. Everyone ordered drinks, then Andrew 
looked at Serena.

"Chocolate shake, Serena?" He asked knowingly. She nodded, feeling as if 
she were waking up from a nightmare. Darian had not looked as if he wanted 
to kill Andrew. He had not looked at Serena as if he'd like to...

"Chocolate. A triple, with whipped cream" Serena said coolly. Her eyes 
firmed, a determined smile spreading over her face. Andrew nodded. Lita 
took Serena's arm and led her to the side slight as everyone else headed 
for a table. Darian's arm brushed hers and Serena almost leapt out of her 
skin. Jer looked down at her momentarily as he passed, eyes glinting. She 
couldn't read his expression though. Lita's voice got her attention back. 
Serena moved her head closer to the brunettes.

"Did anything happen here? A monster? Zoisite?" Lita hissed. Serena's eyes 
widened.

"No. Nothing" She swallowed, feeling bad about lying. But really, what was 
she supposed to say? Darian had suddenly changed into something infinitely 
dangerous? If so, then why was no one else seeing it. Sensing it.

"At ALL?" Lita asked, incredulous. Serena shook her head as Andrew walked 
over to them, a large tray in his hands.

"Go sit down girls. Drinks are up" He said cheerfully. Lita pushed Serena 
gently towards the table. She sat down next to Amy as Andrew began to 
serve the drinks. Serena saw that there was two chairs left around the 
large table. One was on the other side of Lita and one...Next to Darian. 
For a moment, complete panic consumed her. Darian's eyes met hers 
knowingly. Serena stopped dead. Lita looked at her understandingly and 
pulled Serena into the chair next to hers.

"Sit next to me Serena" She said loudly. Andrew took the tray back to the 
bar, collected his drink and went to sit next to Darian. Serena watched 
carefully, but neither Darian nor Andrew gave any sign of what had 
happened earlier. What was going ON?

"So Darian" Raye began smoothly, moving her chair closer to his. "I hear 
the boat rides are really romantic at night"

Darian looked down at her, smiling slightly. "Yeah, so did I" 

Serena held her breath, eyes suddenly glued to the two. Her blue eyes 
swept over Raye's hand, fingers splayed over one of Darian's arms. Even 
through the green jacket, she could see the lightly muscled arm. 

"Well?" Raye said, hinting. Serena heard her voice from a long way off. 
Her attention was held solely by a fascination in Darian's jacket. Her 
blue eyes swept over the green, seeing every detail. Even the loose thread 
near the middle button. The blue moved upwards, over his chest. The 
muscles were evident there too. Serena wondered why she had never noticed 
before, how fit Darian was. His chin had a slight cleft in it, his 
mouth...Serena's eyes skittered to the right. His skin was smooth and 
lightly tanned, laughter lines at the side of his mouth. The dark hair 
fell over the dark blue of his eyes, which Serena carefully avoided.

["His hair looks so soft. Dark like a raven's wing"] Serena thought 
absently. Her blue eyes swept downwards again, over his broad shoulders. 
["Familiar"] She mused blankly, mind wondering. Where had she seen those 
shoulders before?

"But not tonight, Raye" Darian's voice cut abruptly into Serena's 
thoughts. Her eyes swung upwards in surprise. Darian's eyes were fixed 
firmly on her. Not Raye. And in his eyes was a knowing look. Also 
something darker. Serena's heart began to beat faster. Darian broke their 
gazes, turning to Raye. "I've got something to catch up with tonight"

Raye looked disappointed. Her eyes flickered over him, then Serena. The 
blonde stiffened, turning her face away. Her eyes fell on Amy, then on 
Lita and Andrew. They were ALL looking fist at her and then Darian. Serena 
felt her heart freeze. They had NOTICED! They had seen the way Darian and 
Serena had been staring at each other. 

["Oh Gods"] Serena panicked. Her hand tightened on her thick shake glass.

"Maybe another time, then" Raye said, trying to hide her disappointment. 
The raven-haired girl again stared at Serena and then Darian. A loud noise 
made everyone jump, as Serena's glad exploded into chunks. She opened her 
fingers slowly, letting a large piece of glass drop to the table. Blood 
dripped down with it. Serena stared at the piece of glass with 
fascination, noting the blood on the sharp edges. Her hand remained 
suspended above the glass, just watching as the blood dripped 
continuously, steadily onto the table.

"Serena!" Andrew gasped in horror. He ripped his apron off swift.

"Oh god!" Raye gasped simultaneously. She reached out for Serena's hand, 
but a larger one beat her. Darian wrapped his slender fingers around 
Serena's wrist and turned the hand till the palm was facing upwards. 
Serena gasped at the tingling sensation. It swept along her arm and into 
the rest of her body.

["Like getting an electric shock"] Serena murmured in her mind. She tried 
to take her hand from Darian's, but his fingers tightened almost 
painfully. She tried to ignore him as Andrew and Raye bent over her and 
examined her hand. Serena glanced indifferently at it. There was a long 
cut along her white palm, looking jagged.

"I think she needs stitches" Andrew noted with worry, picking out the 
smaller pieces of glass gently. Serena winced, biting her lip. All the 
while, intensely aware of Darian's grip upon her wrist. She felt as if his 
hand had been burst into her skin. 

Andrew wrapped his apron around her hand, bandaging it as best as he 
could. Darian let go. Serena refused to look at him, even though she knew 
his eyes were on her bent head. She felt both relieved and strangely 
bereft, when he was no longer touching her skin. 

["What is WRONG with me?"] She cried inwardly, suddenly close to tears. 
Raye and Lita took it the wrong way, thinking that Serena was finally 
going to give into the wailing tears that were so common of Serena. A 
single tear made it's way down her check, seeming to burn. But Serena 
wouldn't cry. It just didn't seem...Necessary any more. She frankly 
couldn't think why she always used to cry so much over such little things.

"Darian, do you have your car?" Raye was asking. Serena's eyes widened 
with horror as she KNEW what Raye was going to ask. "Can you drive her to 
the hospital?"

"I'll come" Lita said firmly. Serena's eyes met Darian's, wary as she saw 
a sudden amusement in their blue depths.

"I'm sorry Lita, but I couldn't fit all of us" He told them all, a smile 
in his voice. "I brought my bike" He explained smoothly. Serena's eyes 
widened in horror. She's have to RIDE with him? Hold onto his waist. Be 
NEAR him.

"I'm fine" Serena blurted, shifting her chair backwards. Darian looked 
silently at her, an eyebrow raised. His expression was almost challenging. 
Serena's eyes flashed fury at him for a moment, the old dislike coming 
flooding back.

"That cut was deep" Andrew said admonishingly. Serena wiggled her fingers 
absently, feeling an itching sensation on her palm. She frowned lightly. 
When the other's turned to talk to Darian, Serena lifted the edge of the 
apron and peered at her palm. She quickly pulled it back, going pale. 

"You know what. I'm feeling sort of queasy. I'd like to walk. Raye, Lita, 
come with me?" Serena asked swiftly. Her friend's frowned at her, angry 
and concerned.

"Look Serena, I know you and Darian hate each other" Raye began heatedly, 
ignoring Lita's gasp. "But you NEED to get stitches. So go with Darian NOE 
or so help me. I'll-"

"Fine" Serena said abruptly. She'd startled them all. Even Darian. That 
gave her a feeling of triumph. Serena looked at him from under lowered 
lids, a slight smile on her lips. He looked down at her, eyes shuttered, 
face expressionless.

"Lets go" He told her abruptly. Cool as a winter storm. 

"Try not to kill each other" Lita called. Serena followed Darian out. He 
turned to the right and Serena realised they were headed back to where she 
had bashed into him earlier. She flushed bright red as she remembered 
acutely how they had stared at each other. Her eyes spotted his bike, 
parked on the side of the road. She must have smacked into him just as he 
got off his bike. Of all the luck! Darian got onto the bike, then looked 
up at her motionless form as she stood on the curb.

"Hop on" Darian said quietly. Serena hesitated, then climbed on after him. 
Her body came alive as she was forced to cling to every inch of his firm 
back. It burned through her School dress. Her heart began to thunder and 
she could hear it even over the sound of the motorbike, as he started it. 
The engine roared to life. Darian revved it, then took off fast. Serena's 
hands clutched at thin air for a moment, before clinging to Darian's shirt 
in a death-grip. She glared at his back, knowing that had been 
intentional! They turned a corner and she almost lost her grip again. 
Darian turned his head slightly to glance back at her.

"You'll have to hang on better than that, Meatball Head" He shouted back 
to her, blue eyes glinting wildly. Serena's glare intensified as Darian 
sped up. Her hand wasn't hurting so bad now, so she flung both hands 
around his waist. Serena's fingers wound into his belt. She felt him 
shiver as her fingers brushed his waist. Serena almost let go in shock, 
not knowing HOW she had felt that. The bike was vibrating from the speed 
they were going, yet she had clearly felt him shiver. Serena closed her 
eyes, feeling tears surfacing. She rested her head against him back 
without thinking, almost sinking into his warmth. What was going on 
lately? Was she going crazy...Was that it? It wasn't possible to be 
feeling all that she was. The things that she had seen and heard. Sensed.

The bike slowed. Serena raised her head, wiping futilely at her cheeks to 
erase the traces of tears. Darian stopped the bike at the hospitals front 
entrance. She waited, but he said nothing. Serena hopped off the back and 
stood there, looking up at him. She opened her mouth, an irresistible urge 
to ask him if all that had happened was just a dream. A nightmare. 
Darian's eyes became quietly mocking as she continued to stare at him.

"Cat got your tongue, Meatball Head?" He asked her, the old Darian back. 
Before she could blink, Darian leaned forwards, an arm shooting out 
swiftly. She felt his strong fingers encircle the wrist of her left hand 
and was jerked forward. She lost her balance, falling against his body and 
half-across his lap on the bike. Serena put up her hands to fend him off, 
but as soon as she touched his chest, an electricity filled her body. 
Darian must have felt it also, for his eyes darkened to a deep blue.

"Let me GO, you jerk" She hissed, wanting to be anywhere but there. She 
hated the way he made her feel...and to be sprawled across his lap like 
this in front of the hospital-

"Don't I deserve a reward for bringing you to the hospital?" He mocked.

Their eyes locked, Serena's with a helplessness and growing anger. ["How 
DARE he do this to me?"]

Darian's head dipped quickly, capturing her lips in a searing kiss.

Every thought in Serena's head went out the window as she felt his warm 
lips against hers. She couldn't believe it! Darian Chiba was kissing-
her... ["That creep!"] Her eyes darkened dangerously. She pushed at his 
chest hard and he fell back. She looked at him, face furious and saw a 
smug expression in his eyes, along with a deep hunger-

Serena's reaction was immediate. Her hand swung out of it's own violation 
and she slapped his face hard. Darian never flinched. His head turned back 
slowly, eyes burning. Serena took a step back, frightened at the look. 
Darian said nothing as she backed towards the doors. She watched as he 
revved the bike and sped off, barely missing a car. Serena watched till be 
disappeared from sight. Then she turned and walked in the opposite 
direction, away from the hospital. She walked through the car park and 
onto the walkway, heading towards home. The sun was going down soon.

As she passed a bin, Serena paused and unwrapped the apron from her hand. 
She stared down at the palm, now completely smooth. The blood had dried 
where the cut had been, but there was no sight of a wound at all. Serena 
threw the apron into the bin, walking away. She looked down at her palm, 
wiggling her fingers. She felt completely numb. She remembered watching 
the shadows form on the ground and under the tree's as the sky darkened. 
The sun slipped slowly down behind the horizon and the sky was lit with 
red's, pinks and golds.

"Mmm. Beautiful" Serena murmured. She stopped near an ally, leaning back 
against the shop window to watch the sunset. There was almost no one about 
and for a moment, Serena felt completely alone. As the colours faded and 
the Moon became visible in the sky, Serena felt a sudden dizziness 
overcome her. Her fingers began to tingle, spreading into the rest of her 
body with a burning sensation. A horrible burning. She felt like she was 
ripping apart!

"Help me" Serena whispered, slipping to the side. She had no control over 
her body as it slid to the ground. The last thing Serena saw was the 
bright Moon in the sky. Then everything went dark.

***

Chapter Four

***

The night was dark, the moon almost hidden behind the clouds. It was a 
beautiful night, perfect for riding along the bluff. The motor-bike was 
almost drowned out by the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks 
below the cliff. Darian rode right up to the edge, till the front wheel 
was resting on the very lip of the cliff. Dirt fell, dislodged and he 
watched impassively. His eyes were unusually sharp, so the lack of 
moonlight was not a problem to him. He could every detail, almost etched 
into his mind. The dark water below, the white foam, the endless sound of 
the sea... 

"Well, who'd have thought" he mused dryly, staring with his blue eyes up 
at the silver moon. "The night and the full Moon bringing out the poet in 
me" 

He continued to stare at the night sky, mind drifting. The day had 
been...Unbelievable. He felt different. So completely different. A breeze 
swept over him, bringing with it a scent of flowers. Her scent. Darian's 
eyes darkened. Serena. She was constantly in his thoughts. He found he 
could barely think of anything else, not even School. Darian looked 
lingering at the moon, almost hidden behind the white clouds lazily making 
their way across the sky. His thoughts went back to a few hours earlier. 
In the Arcade. He remembered crashing into Serena. That's when things went 
crazy. When he touched her. And then, even with a foot of space between 
them, his senses were still going into overload. He hadn't been able to 
breath.

His whole body had been going crazy with tingling and burning sensations. 
He could smell her scent acutely. Overwhelmed by her very presence and 
with no way to break their locked gazes. 

["Not until that car had beeped"] Darian smiled wryly. Lucky for Serena 
that it HAD. Darian had been right on the verge of kissing her senseless! 
Right in the middle of the street. With a fourteen year old, no less! Was 
he going insane?! His hands clenched around the bike handles, till his 
hands were numb. Darian couldn't exactly recall what happened when she 
almost ran away from him. Serena had glanced back for a moment and then 
something strange happened. His senses deepened. The air seemed to blur 
for a moment and he had a sensation of falling. Then...Clarity. He could 
see EVERY detail of her pretty face. It was etched into his brain. The 
blue of her eyes. The innocence in them. A joy of life. The gold in her 
hair. The smoothness of her white skin.

She'd run from him them and Darian had followed before he realised what he 
was doing. Serena had been afraid of HIM. Of them. He halted for a moment. 
Was there a 'them?' Darian strode into the Arcade and stopped dead. Serena 
was in Andrews arms. Being HELD by him. Darian's mind exploded. His body 
felt as if it were on fire. His eyes darkened. His fingers tingled with a 
strange sensation. And he had wanted to KILL. Actually kill his best 
friend. Over a girl he thought he hated. Darian felt an uncontrollable 
jealousy, fury and...Possessiveness. Serena was HIS!

Darian blinked, coming out of the memory for a moment. What had he been 
thinking? Serena. HIS? And she had known what he was feeling. Somehow. 
When she'd looked up, fear in her eyes as she saw his expression. And 
also, something else. It answered the longing he felt. But it was there 
for only a moment. Then she coming between Darian and Andrew's locked 
gazes, as if she were some golden cloud. He watched with narrowed eyes as 
Serena placed a slender hand on Andrew's arm. Immediately, Darian felt the 
rage again. It almost overwhelmed him! If it hadn't been for Serena 
between them, he would certainly have killed Andrew. Merely 
because...Andrew had dared to touch Serena.

"I don't understand" Darian whispered into the night air. He couldn't 
explain the killer rage he had felt, even now. Not completely. But it had 
something to do with Serena. Darian stared down at his hands unseeingly. 
When had things become so crazy? When had control been lost exactly? When 
had Serena become so much a part of his life that he'd kill another for 
being near her. And yet, when Raye had come, Darian had calmed almost 
immediately. Raye was special, he'd always known that. It was why he dated 
her. The Priestess-In-Training. Perhaps Raye was his salvation. 

When they had all gathered at the table, drinking, Darian became aware of 
Serena's scrutiny. She was staring at him so hard that she never noticed 
as he stared back. She had actually seemed to be memorising his features 
unconsciously. But avoiding his eyes. What she saw there obviously 
frightened her. For a moment, jealousy had flashed in those eyes, when 
Raye suggested a boat-ride. And an anger that made her fingers clench so 
hard on her thick-shake glass that it exploded. Darian knew he had caused 
this reaction in her and was pleased. That he had gotten to her. It meant 
that Serena was not as impervious to him as she would like to pretend.

"And I pushed her. To see if she would retaliate" Darian said aloud. A 
smile curved his lips, lighting up his eyes. She was quite a little 
spitfire when provoked. He'd been so surprised when she'd given in, 
agreeing to ride with him to the hospital. And again, he'd pushed. He'd 
driven fast to scare her into clutching him closer, relishing the feel of 
her pressed again him. The electricity between them. Then, he HAD to open 
his mouth and insult her. She actually HIT him! Darian shook his head, 
recalling how her blue eyes had blazed such rage. Something in him had 
responded to that rage. A NEED to....Do something. Something he couldn't 
quite grasp. Something dark beat at his mind constantly now. Especially 
when the little blonde was near.

"I can't think about this now" Darian gritted his teeth, mind in turmoil. 
He started the bike up and spun around swiftly, riding away. Darian 
reached the road five minutes later, the ride becoming more smooth and 
fast. And fast he did go, the wind in his hair making him feel free. All 
worries seemed to disappear... 

"What the-!" he swore, breaking sharply. His headlight had picked up a 
shape in the middle of the road! It had come right out of nowhere. And it 
was too late-Darian pressed on the brake frantically, seeing the brief 
flash of a face, white in the headlights. There came the desperate squeal 
of tires. He felt his wheel slipping to the side from the back and then he 
hit something. A shriek sounded at the same time that Darian was thrown 
from his bike, right over the front wheel. He landed with a sickening 
crunch. Pain invaded his whole body and he knew that something was broken. 
Maybe his neck. He could also feel a trickle down his forehead and an 
overwhelming smell of blood. An explosion rocked the area, sounding 
painfully close. Though Darian knew he had flown a fair way from the bike. 
He HAD been going at a wild pace. The night was lit up with flames from 
his bike exploding. Darian kept his eyes open, knowing that if he closed 
them, he might never wake up again.

Damn, what a way to go! The sound of footsteps came to him, clear even 
over the sound of small explosions and the blaze of fire. Darian felt a 
brief hope as someone staggered over to him, seeming to loom like an angel 
of death. From his position on the ground, Darian could only see a shadow 
against the flames. The person crouched slightly, seeming to hesitate as 
they saw the gleam of Darian's open eyes.

"Ya dumb bastard!" a woman's voice suddenly hissed. Darian couldn't even 
flinch as a foot was raised-booted by the feel of it-and kicked him 
solidly in the side. He felt ribs crack, coughing up blood involuntarily. 
"Why weren't you watch'n where ya were going, huh? Ya could'a KILLED me!" 

Darian couldn't even draw the breath to answer her, or even scream at the 
pain he felt everywhere. Okay-he thought dazedly-this is your reward Dar, 
for all your hard work. Yeah right, studying to become a doctor huh? He 
should have been watching where he was going, he COULD have killed this 
woman.

"Idiot" She sneered, kicking him twice more. Then she seemed to tire of 
the game-since he wasn't fighting back-and left. Darian listened till her 
footsteps disappeared into the night, wondering vaguely how he could hear 
her for so long. Then, he was alone. The smell of petrol and burning bush 
were smelt acutely by him and he knew he was in danger. If the fire 
spread...he'd been thrown clear of the road, lying in the bushes. But he 
also knew...there was no way he could walk, let alone MOVE.

"So... *cough* this is how it ends, huh?" he gasped, finally speaking. It 
was so painful that he coughed up more blood, head swimming. God's, wasn't 
anything working for him lately? Where was a guardian angel when you 
needed her? His head sank back into the dirt, the feeling slowly fading, 
taking with it the pain. But Darian was panicking. He was training to be a 
doctor, he knew! The fading of pain wasn't a good thing, it meant...he was 
dying. 

["Mom, dad"] he thought despairingly. ["Looks like I'll be joining you 
sooner than I thought"] Darian waited there, staring silently up at the 
Moon as his senses slowly faded. The smell of blood was suddenly acute to 
him. He could almost taste the coppery liquid...his life-blood. It was 
overwhelming! So much so that even the smell of burning tree's and bush 
was blocked out. "Wha?" He murmured in confusion. Then a horrible languor 
stole over him, stealing the pain away with it. He just...couldn't keep 
his eyes open. He was so tired. Strangely, the last thing he remembered 
was seeming a heart-breakingly beautiful face, super-imposed over the 
glowing silver of the moon. An ethereal, flowing white dress and long 
streams of golden hair-glowing as brightly as the crescent Moon on her 
forehead. "Princess!" He gasped with his last breath, then everything went 
dark. 

***

"Is all well, my guardian?"

"All is well" Pluto answered, a soft smile playing about her lips. The 
woman in her view smiled uncertainly, her beautiful face thoughtful and 
concerned.

"Are you sure? I-sensed something" 

Pluto's smile faded slightly, her red eyes becoming sharp. If Serenity was 
feeling something was wrong...then something probably WAS. But she'd not 
let her Queen know. Nothing had to disrupt the Timeline. Sailor Pluto 
recovered her smile, though it seemed strained, even to Neo Queen 
Serenity.

"Everything is fine, my Queen" Pluto repeated, trying to assure herself in 
the process. The golden-haired woman smiled gently, straightening on her 
throne. The crystal in her hands glowed in response as she stared into it, 
Pluto reflected in it's pure depths like a mirror. Pluto grimaced 
somewhat. She hated lying to her Queen, but there were some things...a 
shimmering in the Time Portal startled both the Queen and her Scout.

"What?" Pluto exclaimed. Neo Queen Serenity looked worried, her crescent 
Moon glowing as she tried to keep the link open. But moments later, her 
vision faded to blackness. Pluto's eyes widened with horror as the Vortex 
shuddered, the Time Gate itself shaking with a violence that was scary to 
see. Abruptly, the spirit of Queen Serenity appeared, flung onto her 
knee's just as quickly.

"What is happening?" The silver-haired woman shouted in fear. "It was like 
I was suddenly sucked into here, I had no will to resist it!" 

Pluto staggered, falling to her knee's beside Serenity. They clung to each 
other as the Vortex shuddered and twisted sickeningly. Finally, it 
stopped. Pluto remained on her knee's beside her Queen, looking slowly 
around. Her red eyes closed for a moment, too horrified to speak. She 
opened them and glanced again, just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. 
But no, they were there as they had been moments before. Never in all her 
millennium at the Gate, had she seen something that gave her such terror. 
The Time Gate had disappeared, the Vortex's-the billions that had existed 
in this place-were cracked. And she and her Queen...were trapped.

***

The Great Fire burned steadily, throwing mad shadows over the small room. 
The heat was almost unbearable, but Raye was used to it. The fire had to 
be hot in order to induce the vision. It was almost like delirium. And 
Raye desperately needed answers.

"Oh Great Fire, show me what I need to know!" She intoned, closing her 
eyes. Her mind swum in chaos. She could quite form a thought. A sensation 
of warning swept over Raye, making her eyes snap open abruptly. In the 
fire was...Someone. Someone strangely familiar, yet Raye could swear she 
had never seen the beautiful girl before in her life.

She was tall and graceful, her long golden hair falling to her feet from 
two buns. Her dress was pure white and silk with golden edging about the 
bodice. Even the slippers were white silk. Her face was haughty and yet 
kind. An innocence radiated from the girl, who appeared to be about 18 
years old. The vision faded, leaving Raye frustrated. Who had she been?

"Who ARE you? What do you have to do with Serena?" Raye asked, irritated. 
She'd asked for help for a friend and gotten a vision of a complete 
stranger. Yet, it had not been the first time a totally frustrating vision 
had appeared in the fire. It usually connected later on. "Thank you" Raye 
whispered. 

She sighed and was about to turn away when the fire turned a blue colour. 
The flames shot up till they almost touched the roof. Raye threw herself 
backwards. Footsteps came quickly just outside the door. It was thrown 
open to reveal Chad and Grandpa. The old man glared at the demon fire, 
pulling out a protection charm. "Evil begone!" He shouted, throwing the 
charm towards the fire. Raye gaped as the paper was consumed. The fire not 
touched at all. That could only mean...That the fire had not been taken 
over by an evil being. 

"What are you trying to show me!" She called to it. A vision suddenly 
appeared in the blue depths. The fire turned a silvery-white. Raye, 
Grandpa and Chad gaped as they saw a wolf. No, two wolves. Black as the 
night. But surrounded by the pure white of the flames. The fire showed the 
vision for a moment longer, before going completely dead. Grandpa stared 
at the cooling ashes in horror.

"The Great Fire has gone out!" He said, taking a step towards the pit. 
Raye reached out and stopped him just in time. From the dead ashes, the 
Great Fire abruptly sprang back to life. It roared up to the roof, glowing 
golden, then sank back to it's normal height.

"Woah" Chad muttered, hanging onto the doorjamb for dear life. His eyes 
were wide under his mop of hair. Raye turned away from them both, leaving 
the room. She headed out to the Temple stairs and stared up at the silver 
moon.

"Two wolves. Dark within, but surrounded by light" Raye murmured to 
herself. Was this a vision of coming danger? Zoisite maybe? "I'd better 
call the other's. We need to have a Scout meeting first thing in the 
morning!"

She raced back inside, the robes flapping about her legs wildly. Raye 
reached her room and closed the door, almost throwing herself at her 
School bag. Her hand fumbled inside and then touched the smoothness of the 
Communicator. She pressed all-call swiftly and waited. Amy was first to 
come on the screen, looking wide awake.

"Raye? What is it, a monster attack?" The blue-haired genius asked 
quickly, dropping her pen. She'd obviously been studying.

"Not yet. It think" Raye frowned, trying to gather her thoughts. Lita came 
on then, yawning.

"What's up guys? Is there an attack....Zoisite?" The brunette demanded.

"No. A vision. Of a coming evil" Raye spoke quickly. Her eyes constantly 
swung down to the symbol of the Moon. Serena had not answered her 
communicator yet.

"Where's Serena? Lita asked suddenly, as if reading Raye's mind.

"Probably asleep" Amy commented, hiding a smile. Raye scowled fiercely. 

"That Meatball Head!" She exploded. "This is just like-"

The screen flashed and Serena's face appeared. Raye stared for a moment. 
The blonde's hair was down, her face smudged with dirt. The screen split 
and all the girls appeared next to each other. Amy gasped.

"Serena! Where are you?" She asked. 

Serena closed her eyes for a moment, their blue seeming...Haunted. "I-I 
woke up and went for a walk"

The tone sounded false, even to Lita. But no one said anything. Serena 
looked pale, the moonlight seeming to bleach the colour from her smooth 
skin. 

Raye was startled, suspicious, then furious. "You idiot!" She shouted. 
"Zoisite is out there and you decide to go for a walk. ALONE?"

"Leave her be, Raye" Amy said quietly. Serena weaved for a moment, the 
screen moving crazily. Raye's eyes widened in fear. She felt uneasy, on 
edge. Something was wrong here.

"I'm fine. I'm going home right now" The blonde said, face coming back 
into view. She smiled weakly, then her picture disappeared.

The three others were quite for a long while. "Do you think she'd okay?" 
Lita finally asked, concerned. Amy nodded, but Raye was not convinced.

"I'm going to find her" She stated in determination. Lita shook her head, 
yawning.

"She'd probably in bed by now, Raye" The Brunette assured her friend. Raye 
hesitated, then sighed in resignation.

"I suppose you're right"

"You can yell at her tomorrow at the Scout meeting" Amy murmured. Her eyes 
widened. "Oh my. Serena doesn't know about it!"

"We'll tell her in the morning" Lita said confidently. She yawned again. 
"I'm outta here guys. I need some more sleep"

"Yes and I need to study some more. Goodnight" Amy disappeared, Lita a 
moment later. Raye stared down at the blank communicator, eyes far away. 
She couldn't shake the feeling that Serena had been in danger.

***

It was dark and wet. Cold. Serena shook her head, trying to open her eyes. 
Something was beeping insistently at her. She could tell where it was 
coming from though!

"Come on, Serena" She groaned at the sound of her own voice. So dry-
sounding. Like she hadn't used her voice in ages. Serena managed to get 
her eyes open, but what she saw was confusing. Something like a forest. 
Sharp needles reaching for the sky. She frowned. That didn't sound right. 
Serena moved slightly, pushing herself onto her knee's. Oh. It had been 
grass. It was then that several things hit her. One, the beeping noise was 
her communicator inside her sub-space pocket. Two, she was in pain. All 
over her body, there were twinges and stinging. Three...She was naked.

"Oh, this isn't happening to me" She whispered, tears flooding her eyes. 
Serena looked around and saw that she was in the Juuban Park. The water in 
the pond shimmered in the moonlight. But even the tree's in the dark were 
familiar to her. She could see them so clearly too. The beeping continued. 
Serena reached into her sub-space pocket and pushed the Symbol for Mars. 
Raye's eyes got wide when she saw the blonde. Serena just hoped she was 
holding the Communicator high enough that Raye could see she was naked.

"Serena, where are you?" Amy asked. Worry was clear in all her friend's 
voices as they grilled her. Serena swayed dizzily, shivering as a wind 
blew through the park. It chilled her bare flesh. She told Raye she was 
going home and switched off the Communicator swiftly. Serena only hoped 
that none of the Scouts would come looking for her. She slipped the 
Communicator back into the sub-space pocket and looked around warily. The 
night seemed so alien. And fearful to a naked girl. Serena stared around 
at the ground. Where exactly were her clothes?

She began to stumble towards home, wrapping her arms around herself for 
warmth. What had happened here? She remembered fainting and then...waking 
up here in the park. Serena was grateful for the numbness spreading 
through her body and her mind. She didn't want to think about this. She 
only wanted to get home! 

It took what seemed forever, but she finally reached home. Serena headed 
around the back of the house and pulled the key from under the mat. She 
snuck upstairs, opening her bedroom door. Before she could go a few steps, 
the light was switched on. Serena almost shrieked, trying to cover her 
nakedness futilely with both hands. Luna's eyes almost popped out of her 
head as she saw her charge.

"S-Serena!" Luna stammered. Her red eyes swept over Serena's for. Serena 
looked down also and saw the scratches and cuts. They covered most of her 
body. "By Serenity...Who did this to you?"

Luna said furiously. Her teeth were bared, eyes blazing. Serena stumbled 
towards the bed, exhausted. "What's the time?" She gasped to the cat.

"It's just after midnight" Luna told the blonde, hoping up next to her. 
Serena was in too much pain to even throw her clothes on. She crawled into 
bed, groaning. "Your parents assumed that you were spending the night at 
Molly's, studying"

"Good" Serena whispered. A shadow fell over her. She looked up to see 
Luna's furious and concerned eyes.

:Who-" She began again. Serena closed her eyes, rolling away.

"I don't know. I fainted and woke up like this"

"Were you attacked...Serena?" Luna said, trying to lift the covers with a 
paw. Serena yanked the covers back. Her tearful eyes stared up at Luna.

"I don't think so. My clothes are gone...But I don't think 
anyone...Touched me" The blonde managed. "I'm just tired"

"Oh Serena" Luna whispered. She settled down next to Serena.

Serena's eyes suddenly flew open. "Not a word of this to anyone Luna" She 
warned. Luna looked shocked.

"But Serena-"

"No one!"

"All right" Luna conceded, looking worried.

Serena closed her exhausted eyes, trying to remember what had happened. 
But for the life of her, nothing could be recalled.

***

The room was ablaze with a hundred candles, steadily burning all over the 
vast room. Silken buntings hung along the wall, in silver and gold and 
white. A long table covered almost along an entire wall of the hall, 
adorned with every sort of delicacy you could think of. Serena blinked as 
she stared around, confused as to where she was. The hall-as big as it 
was-was crowded with hundreds of beautifully dressed men and women, all 
wearing concealing masks of silk and lace. Every colour of the rainbow, 
Serena thought, catching her breath at the splendour. She backed away onto 
the long buffet table, involuntarily glancing down at the food. But 
nothing there interested her. That in itself, startled her more than her 
being in this place. Since when was Serena Tsukino NOT hungry?

"Are you going to eat something, or stare at the pate all night?" a voice 
drawled lazily into her ear. Serena started violently, spinning around. 
The person who had spoken was a tall man. He had broad shoulders, fitting 
into his exquisite jacket beautifully. Serena's eyes lingered on his chest 
for a moment, knowing instinctively that her head would fit perfectly 
there...her hair resting just under his chin. The man before her was 
dressed in royal blue and gold, as strangely dressed as any other person 
in the room. 

["Almost like this was another century"] Serena thought wildly. Okay, that 
was the LAST time she sneaked into her mom's room to read cheezy 
historical romances! The man smiled down at her, his deep blue eyes 
glinting with silent amusement. Serena straightened her shoulders 
unconsciously, her chin coming up. She looked him over haughtily, taking 
in his dark hair. The bottom half of his face was the only thing visible, 
a white half-mask covering the top. But his smile...oh, but how it made 
her heart thunder in her ears!

"I see that you have lost your tongue, my Lady" He murmured mockingly. 
Serena immediately bristled.

"I see that the gentleman has lost his manners!" She replied haughtily. 
Serena almost gaped with surprise. Has she really said that? And-and, that 
hadn't even sounded like her voice. well, sort of. But more...gentle and 
cultured. Like the rich English people she sometimes saw on old 
movies...uh, hazard of hearts, wasn't it? A Barbara Cartland novel made 
into a movie? Serena sighed inwardly. Who CARED what anyone said, she 
loved a romantic ending as much as any girl did!

"I apologise" The man said softly, not looking in the slightest repentant. 
Serena gritted her teeth, but somehow summoned a gently mocking smile to 
her lips.

"I'm sure you are sir, if you will excuse me?" She swept past him with all 
the bearing of an empress, astonished inside that she hadn't fallen flat 
on her face. And since when was she so cool around guys...and such a 
gorgeous guy as that one had looked! Serena swept out of the room, past 
the other guest and onto the balcony.

"I feel I have offended you somehow, my Lady" a now-familiar voice said 
from behind her. Serena felt herself stiffen, but admitted to a secret 
delight. She turned when she reached the railing, leaning back onto it. 
She watched as the man approached with all the grace of a stalking 
panther. A slight twitch of alarm made her clutch at the silk of her 
dress. The action made her glance down, realising she had no idea what she 
was wearing. Serena's mouth almost fell open. The dress was GORGEOUS! 
Lucky this was a dream, 'cause there was NO WAY she could ever had 
afforded such a beautiful creation. The golden stitching along the edge of 
her modest neckline alone would have cost a fortune to stitch!

"Lady?"

"I do not believe that we have been introduced, my Lord" She said stiffly, 
mind in chaos. His blue eyes glinted strangely at her as he came closer. 
She moved backwards, but found she couldn't go more than a foot because of 
the balcony railing. The man stopped but a foot away, his eyes locked on 
hers. He seemed to sense her hesitation, her uncertainty at being out 
there alone with him. Serena watched with wide eyes as the man suddenly 
gestured. A gasp broke from her lips involuntarily as he held out single, 
pure white rose. Serena reached out for it hesitantly, certain she would 
break such a beautiful thing. His fingers brushed hers as she took it from 
him and an electric jolt ran down her arm and then the rest of her body. 
When she looked up, he was gone. She was alone on the balcony, staring 
down at a perfect rose, still moist with dew. It looked as if it had been 
freshly cut from the bush. Something clicked vaguely with Serena. 

["Tuxedo Mask?"] she said. A moment later, she realised that her lips had 
not moved. Indeed, she thought with shock, her lips had not been her own 
the entire time she had been in the dream...and yet, the man had heard her 
speak and she had felt her lips moving, but not of her own violation! As 
if to prove the point that she was not herself, the body she was in moved, 
turning towards the edge of the balcony and the grounds below. Serena felt 
light-headed as her eyes gazed upwards. A silent scream erupted from her 
lips as she saw the sky. For it was not the Moon up in the dark sky, 
surrounded by brilliant stars....but the Earth...

"SERENA! Wake up, Serena!" Luna's voice shouted in her ear. Serena bolted 
upright, her heart beating so fast that she thought it might jump from her 
chest. The Earth, in the sky! She felt how wide her eyes were, but she was 
not seeing her room, she was still seeing the Planet in all it's glory, 
the continents clearly visible.

"Are-are you alright?" Luna asked in an unusually soft voice. Serena 
blinked, the vision fading. The black cat was sitting on her legs, staring 
up at Serena, who had apparently bolted into a sitting position when she 
woke up. She felt the air on her bare skin and remembered earlier. So that 
was why Luna was suddenly so nice. she still believed that Serena had been 
attacked.

"I'm-fine, Luna" She whispered. Serena swept her adviser into a hug, 
holding her close. As if she were the last sane link in the world. 

"Serena? You screamed, I thought we were being robbed" The cat attempted 
to lighten the situation with a joke. Serena laughed lightly, fondly and 
released Luna.

"Luna" She asked suddenly, unable to shake the feeling that the dream had 
been real. That she had really met that man...and those eyes..."Where-
did...What I mean is, did the Scouts go to the Moon?"

"Of course! You all lived there with the Princess and her Mother. You had 
to be close to protect her" Luna said somewhat scornfully. As if it had 
been quite obvious. Serena sighed. She supposed it should have been 
obvious, the Princess was from the Moon!

"I had a dream. Is it possible I was remembering?" Serena asked casually, 
settling back. Her heart thundered as she waited for an answer, she just 
had to know if she was going crazy or not! She felt, more than saw, Luna 
frown in the darkness of the room.

"It's-possible I suppose" The cat said doubtfully. "What did you dream?"

"I was at a ball" Serena mused dreamily. "There was this handsome man and 
he gave me a rose...Then he left and I looked into the sky and saw the Ea-
"

"Serena! Now I KNOW you were dreaming" Luna said with some disgust. "The 
handsome man was obviously your crush of Tuxedo Mask. And the rose 
confirms it!"

Serena stared at the cat, seeing how the red eyes were filled with 
resignation. How could Luna dismiss Serena's dreams so easily? It wasn't 
that easy, was it...could it really have been only a dream. Okay, she 
remembered thinking that the man reminded her of Tuxedo Mask. Also his 
eyes, that they had been full of such warmth when he gave her the white 
rose.

"I suppose you're right, Luna" Serena said suddenly, flipping over to face 
the wall. She pulled the covers up to her chin and pretended to sleep. But 
several things haunted her. The smell of the rose was still acute. How the 
scene of the Earth in the sky had scared her so and yet it felt as if she 
had gazed at it a million times before. And also, how her face still felt 
as if she were wearing a half-mask, like all the other masqueraders had 
been. As she drifted off, it suddenly occurred to her to wonder how she 
had seen Luna said clearly, though the room had been so dark. Just as it 
had been when she woke up in the park.

***

Chapter Five

***

Everything had been dim. It had felt as if he'd been drifting in a fog. 
But the, it had become clear...startlingly so. And yet, so much like a 
dream, that Darian was startled. He'd been in a-crash. His eyes blinked as 
he looked around. Everything was bright and colourful. A crowded room full 
of beautifully dressed people. Their clothes were strange though, not of 
this century. They all wore masks, dancing the haunting music of a hidden 
orchestra.

["Where am I?"] he wondered. Even as he tried to sort out his thoughts, he 
saw her. She was standing against the long buffet table, looking lost. Her 
long white dress brushed the floor, but came off of her shoulders, 
revealing slender shoulders and porcelain skin. Her incredibly long golden 
hair was done up in two exquisite bun's, the remaining hair streaming down 
past her ankles. Darian couldn't see her face past the half-mask. But 
then, he never had been able to see her clearly. He had recognised her 
immediately, of course, though she was wearing a different dress. His 
dream Princess. Almost against his thoughts, his body started to move 
across the dace floor towards her. He moved with a smooth grace through 
the dancers. It startled Darian, who had never known himself to walk with 
such a...confidant manner. Like a panther stalking his prey. As he reached 
her, his mouth twitched in amusement, quickly hidden in mockery as she 
turned at his words.

"Are you going to eat something or stare at the pate all night?" She said 
nothing, almost glaring at him. The man who had dared to speak to her in 
that mocking tone.

"I see that you have lost your tongue, my Lady" He murmured mockingly. To 
his delight, her back went up immediately and she responded with the 
spirit he knew she was hiding beneath the gentle air.

"I see that the gentleman has lost his manners!" 

She stormed gracefully away from him and Darian was entranced. To see his 
elusive Princess up close! Before he had thought, he was striding closely 
after her. He watched, almost detached as he offered her a single rose. It 
was then that Darian realised that he was not in control. It wasn't even 
his body, he was merely a watcher...How HAD he summoned a rose from the 
thin air, he wondered with frustration. He watched her delighted face, 
then the dream began to fade. His eyes glanced up to the night sky, almost 
as if drawn and he saw...the Earth! He didn't even have time to gasp in 
fright or shock. Darian's body whirled away as he disappeared back into 
the ballroom, far faster than he would have thought he could 
move...Reality came back with a sickening lurch. Darian gasped for breath, 
struggling to his feet. The Ballroom still swum before his eyes for a 
moment...until he hit something, staggering blindly into a hard object. It 
impacted with his soft skin, brining Darian back to his senses. 

He blinked almost stupidly down at the arm of his sofa, almost expecting 
to see a buffet table. "What? Man, WHAT a dream!" He laughed to himself, 
running a hand through his hair. It had taken him a moment, but now he 
recognised his apartment. Darian shivered involuntarily as a breeze cooled 
the naked flesh of his chest. Naked...

"WHAT!" He almost shouted, rushing towards the wall. He groped around for 
a moment, before finding the light-switch. The glow flooded the room, but 
Darian hadn't really needed it to tell him what he now saw. He was naked 
as the day he was born. AND covered with blood and scratches. His wide 
eyes took in the vicious scratches along his hands, arms, feet and legs. 
They were so deep that blood had sprung to the surface in places. His eyes 
rose slowly as he remembered the breeze. Darian froze as he saw the glass 
window to his balcony. It had been smashed into tiny pieces.

"Oh god's" He groaned, sinking down onto a chair. He didn't even bother to 
slip on any clothes. From what his eyes had seen, the window had been 
broken INWARDS. Which was, of course, impossible. His apartment was 8 
stories above the street! It could only have been him...though why he 
would have done it and...not remember...suddenly, flashes of him riding 
his bike came to him. He had gone to Tokyo Bay to look down at the ocean 
from the cliffs. Darian remembered abruptly. He'd hit a woman, been flung 
to the ground with broken bones and bleeding limbs. How he'd been dying. 
His eyes widened, their blue darkening to almost black as he stared down 
at himself. Almost as if he sensed it, he looked out at the sky and saw 
the night lightening into dawn. The sun was rising. He'd gone for the ride 
just after sunset...so what had he been doing all night?

"What is going ON?" He whispered, truly afraid. It wasn't the first time 
he'd had black-outs like this. It had happened several times over the last 
few months and it scared him more than he would have admitted to anyone. 
As a medical student, he knew his injuries had been fatal and yet...Darian 
stared down at his badly scratched body with perplexity. 

"I was dying and yet, here I am with nothing more wrong with me than 
scratches" Darian sighed, his mind swimming. A vision formed suddenly and 
he remembered the dream, also, having seen the Princess in the Moon before 
losing consciousness. A smile broke reluctantly over Darian's mouth, 
despite the frightening situation. She'd been watching over him.

"My guardian Angel" He whispered, watching the sun rise. "You were 
watching over me after all"

***

The spirit of Queen Serenity slowly materialised, forming right before 
Pluto like an angel. The pure lights of the soul coming together was one 
of the most beautiful things that Pluto had ever seen. Though she remained 
silent, even after her Queen had materialised fully. The beautiful, 
silver-haired Queen looked at her friend questioningly.

"Pluto, is there something wrong?" Serenity said gently, seeing a look of 
acute pain and desolation in the green-haired Senshi's eyes. Pluto closed 
her beautiful red eyes for a moment, almost as if she could not fins the 
words...or was afraid to utter them. It was this, more than her silence 
that made Serenity's heart suddenly clench in fear. That the Guardian of 
Time was hiding something was clear. 

"Serenity. I want to show you something. I have only just regained control 
of the Time Portals" Pluto gestured, her Time Staff appearing in her 
hands. The garnet Orb glowed brightly as the black wall to their left 
swirled and a vision appeared within. A vision of horror. The Planet they 
stared silently at was desolated. The sky was red and black with toxic 
gases, the earth hard and rocky, red sand blowing across it. Serenity knew 
that nothing could be living on that world. Queen Serenity's beautiful 
eyes widened, the silver in them darkening with horror.

"By the God's Pluto" She gasped, a hand shooting up to cover her mouth. 
"What happened here?"

Pluto was staring with an equal horror, the a strange resignation and 
defeat appeared in her eyes. Her head bowed for a moment. Then, the face 
was raised proudly, hard purpose in the red eyes.

"It-it looks like Mars-but more desolate" Serenity stammered softly. Her 
eyes sought out the barren planet. It looked as if a huge hole had 
appeared in the centre of the world. It covered most of the planet, 
leaving nothing but devastation and death in it's wake. Toxic gases 
swirled across the rocky terrain and Serenity knew there was not a living 
thing on what had once been a beautiful planet.

"It IS Mars in a way" Pluto said grimly. She stepped a little closer to 
the portal, half-reaching up a hand to touch it, but then let her fingers 
fall back to her side gently. "Mars was once like Earth, many Millions of 
years ago, Serenity. Until an asteroid hit it. It was half the asteroid 
that hit Earth and destroyed the dinosaurs"

"What?" The Queen's spirit gasped in surprise, never having heard this 
before. As far as anyone of the Silver Millennium could remember, Mars had 
always been as it was. Her silver eyes turned back to the portal, 
questioningly. "This is what...happened to Earth?"

"Yes" Sailor Pluto's head barely moved. Her red eyes were deep with a 
grief that Serenity could feel in her bones.

"And then, there was an Ice-age...wasn't there? And human's became to 
populate the Earth" Serenity frowned, trying to remember her lessons. It 
was so far in the past-The silence from Pluto became almost palpable. 
Serenity looked at her with a sudden dread. Sailor Pluto's grip on her 
staff tightened till Serenity thought it might snap.

"Serenity...this is the Earth of the future" Pluto fairly whispered, the 
words falling from her lips like lead.

"WHAT?" Serenity almost screamed. Earth-it couldn't be! "What happened 
here Pluto, where is Crystal Tokyo" Serenity swallowed her fear. "Where is 
my daughter"

"I-" Pluto began. She gestured and the vision in the vortex changed to one 
of modern day Tokyo. Queen serenity watched the busy streets and people 
questioningly.

"This is Tokyo, year 2000" Pluto began quietly. As Serenity watched, the 
sky became dark. The sun was blocked from the sky. There was a terrifying 
sound as the entire planet shook from a massive explosion. She could hear 
the screams, the fires, the fear. The sky became visible for one brief 
moment before toxic gases covered it forever. 

"What HAPPENED?" Queen Serenity almost screamed. Her daughter was there, 
with her Senshi and her Prince. Pluto waved her staff and the picture 
again changed. Serenity's throat caught as she saw a loved figure appear. 
Eternal Sailor Moon stood, staring with a grim determination as a noxious 
cloud of gas approached where she stood on a high mountain. Her Senshi 
were all behind her, from the Inners to the Illusive Outers. Even Pluto 
herself was there. "But-" Serenity began, confused.

"It is the future, Serenity" Pluto explained. She smiled slightly and 
shook her head at her Queen's slightly confused expression. "I as at the 
Time Gate as well as there"

"Oh" Queen Serenity frowned lightly, turning back to the vision. As she 
watched, her daughter became the Princess, Endymion appearing at her side. 
Each Senshi also became their Princess Selves, clad in long dresses of 
their planet colours. Prince Endymion put his arm around his Princess, 
giving her such a look of complete love and trust and Queen Serenity's 
throat caught. Each Princess the aligned themselves on each side of the 
Prince and Princess, a hand touching a shoulder until they were all linked 
in power and love.

"Moon Crystal Power!"

"Earth Power!"

"Mars Crystal Power!

"Mercury Crystal Power!"

"Venus Crystal Power!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power!"

"Neptune Crystal Power!"

"Uranus Crystal Power"

"Saturn Crystal Power!"

"Pluto Crystal Power!"

Amazing amounts of power emerged from each girl, coloured brightly with 
all the colours of the rainbow. The brightest was from Princess Serenity, 
who stood bathed in the pure white light from the Silver Emperium Crystal 
cupped in her delicate hands. She raised it above her head until the dark 
sky was awash with beautiful multi-coloured lights from each Princess. At 
the last moment, Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion were consumed in 
the Silver light from the Crystal. When it cleared, the future Queen and 
King of Crystal Tokyo stood there. 

"She's so beautiful, my little girl" Queen Serenity whispered, seeing at 
last, the beautiful Queen her daughter would one day become. Pluto nodded, 
her face just as proud. Though there was a strange sadness in them that 
Serenity could not understand. 

"Millennium Crystal Power, Unite!" Neo Queen Serenity shouted in a strong 
voice. Serenity's attention was taken back to the portal as everything 
exploded in rainbow lights, washing the Earth with it's brilliance. The 
picture disappeared, one appearing from above the planet itself. Queen 
serenity and Pluto watched with awe as the Earth was consumed, turning a 
brilliant blue. A stray light shot from the Earth, a brilliant pure white. 
It consumed the Moon. When it cleared, Serenity saw with awe, that the 
Moon Palace has been completely restored to all it's former glory.

"Pluto! My Kingdom!" Serenity gasped, moving closer. Pluto reached out and 
stopped her, just short of her fingers touching the vortex.

"Serenity!" Sailor Pluto snapped. "Have a care, this is not merely a 
picture, it is a Time Vortex. You will be throw into that Time if you even 
touch the Portal for a second!"

Serenity opened her mouth to apologise when the Earth abruptly ceased it's 
glowing. Her mouth fell open as she saw the unnatural blue and white of 
the planet below. Pluto watched her Queen quietly for a moment and then 
spoke.

"To save the Earth from the damage of the Asteroid hitting, Neo Queen 
Serenity encased the Planet in eternal Ice for a thousand years." Pluto 
swept a hand to the vision of the Moon Palace, where Neo Queen Serenity 
and her King and Court had just reappeared. "Fully half the population of 
the Earth was destroyed by the Asteroid. Serenity encased the Earth so 
that it might heal over the next thousand years. She and her Senshi and 
King lived on the Moon Kingdom until the time, when the Silver Crystal was 
formed to bring about the salvation of the Earth. Crystal Tokyo"

"She truly is the Queen I always wished her to be" Queen Serenity lowered 
her eyes. "A better Queen than I"

Pluto walked over to her Queen, a hand raising to touch her cheek lightly. 
"Serenity, do not think of the past. You cannot change Time." The Senshi 
brushed back her long green hair, staring hard at the vortex that had now 
gone blank. "If not for your sacrifice, Princess Serenity and the others 
would never had survived and brought about the future"

"But-Something went wrong. Didn't it?" Queen Serenity asked. She turned 
her head and gave the Guardian of Time a despairing look. "That is why you 
have showed me this, is it not? I know the rules this much. Time has 
changed so drastically that you were able to reveal it to me?"

"You are right, my Queen" Pluto said grimly, stepping back from her Queen. 
She gestured abruptly and the picture of the barren wasteland that had 
once been the Earth, appeared again. "When the Planetary alignment happens 
in the year 2000. An asteroid belt near Jupiter is disrupted, a long-
immense asteroid-breaking away from the rest. It takes two years for it to 
reach Earth. But by then, it has gathered so much speed that the Terran's 
could not even detect it. The Earth is hit before anyone knows what had 
happened"

"That is what happened" Queen Serenity frowned lightly, her shoulders back 
as she gazed at the vision of destruction. "But as you showed me, my 
daughter saved the Earth"

"That, was how it was meant to be. The proper reality for the Queen and 
her Senshi" Sailor Pluto's eyes flashed with a rage that almost frightened 
Queen Serenity. "THIS, however, is now a very great reality for the Future 
Queen and the Earth. Something changed. Something back in the past, a few 
years before the Asteroid hit" 

Queen Serenity gazed in fear. But it was a fear for her daughter and the 
people of Earth. Was this what she had sacrificed herself for? Was this 
what her daughter and Senshi had died in the fight against Beryl for? 
"This cannot be" She whispered. Her hands gripped together, silver eyes 
determined.

"But it HAS" Pluto said, facing her Queen fully. The Vortex went dark, 
silence Rayegning abruptly. "It has already happened-and to the Princess 
herself. We must quickly discover what it is and aid her"

Queen Serenity gestured helplessly. "But HOW? I can leave this place, but 
briefly. And you cannot leave at all, for a very many years"

Pluto nodded, eyes hesitant. Serenity watched her, slightly confused. She 
had never seen the Senshi act thus. Sailor Pluto was very rarely hesitant 
about anything.

"What is it" Serenity spoke softly. Pluto slowly raised her eyes to her 
Queen's, a bleak determination in them. 

"There is only one option. If the Earth cannot be saved, nor the Princess-
"

"NO!" Queen Serenity cried out in horror, immediately seeing what the 
Senshi of Time was saying. "You cannot do this! It is not the Time and 
perhaps never will be!"

"There is no other choice. This end of the Solar System must never come 
about" Pluto gestured harshly and the picture of the devastate Earth 
reappeared before Queen Serenity's anguished eyes. "There is NOTHING 
living on this Planet. Not even in the entire Solar System or any other."

"My-daughter? Her Senshi...Endymion?" Serenity said weakly. Pluto shook 
her head.

"They are ALL dead, Serenity" The Senshi walked closer, reaching out a 
hand to force her Queen's face up. Here, in this place where all time 
converged, the Queen was a solid matter. Here she could touch and feel and 
keep Pluto company for all eternity. But she had never wanted to see her 
daughters destruction. "You know what I must do"

Serenity's eyes filled for a moment. Her eyes turned towards the Earth, 
seeing the desolation. Her shoulders straightened suddenly, determination 
in her eyes. In them, Pluto saw her Queen, the strong, beautiful woman who 
had guarded over everyone in the Solar system with such love. So much love 
that she had given her life to make sure their worlds would survive. 
Serenity took a deep breath, eyes locked on Pluto's.

"Do it, Pluto. Do what you must...for the future"

***


The End Of Book One

(continued in Book Two)