Author's note: I know, this is gonna really destroy the whole trilogy effect, but it's my story, so ha! Basically, (if you really must know), I got the whole idea for this while looking at a yin/yang symbol. N E way, read on! Oh yeah, don't forget to send your comments to the author, Prince Darien, at cowboys@wwd.net. And Sailor Moon isn't mine. I wish it were, because then I would be filthy stinking rich, and that would be way cool. But I guess I'll have to settle for pleasing all nine of my fans. :) "There are two sides to every coin, every story, every person, every symbol, and every life. And all hell breaks loose when the balance is altered." -- Liz Parrish and Prince Darien Prologue Rei's eyes were closed. She was sitting upright in front of the great fire. It was blazing with bright reds and oranges. She sensed something was wrong with one very close to her. "Oh great fire, tell me who it is that is in trouble!" Rei opened her eyes. The image in the fire made her eyes widen. "Oh no... Darien..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien sat on his sofa, staring at the television. It was turned off, but at that moment, he did not need any images flashing across the screen. His head hurt. He placed his hands on his temple, and winced in pain. It felt like a war was going on in his mind. Darien got up, and walked to the kitchen. He went over to a cabinet, located above his sink. He reached in, and his hand came out with a bottle of aspirin. He opened the bottle, and put two pills in his mouth, and swallowed. He did not even bother to drink water with them. "I gotta lay down." Darien started to walk to his bedroom, but then the room seemed to be spinning to him. He struggled to keep his balance. And then, when he was in the doorway which connected the kitchen and his bedroom, all became black. He fell to the hardwood floor, and hit his head on it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A knight in white armor drew his sword, which was sparkling of radiant white light. He swung it at his adversary. This adversary was dressed all in black armor, and looked like an exact replica of the knight in white armor. Both had the face of Darien. But the knight in white looked exactly like Darien. The knight in darkness looked like a dark version of Darien, with a black mist surrounding him, and his hair drawn back in a ponytail. The knight in darkness drew his sword. It was the same as the other knight's sword, but it was black, and sparkled with radiant black light. The two knight swung their swords together, clashing with sparks of black and white light. Each knight seemed to know what the other was going to do next, and acted accordingly. "You will never win!" shouted the knight cloaked in darkness. "And neither shall you!" The two knights continued battling... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien shot up in bed. He was breathing hard, and sweating. He looked around his apartment. "What was that all about?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Be Continued... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ooh! I cut off right when things were getting confusing! Don't worry. I'll explain sooner or later.... Chapter 1 "Darien? Are you awake?" Darien looked around his apartment. He knew that voice. It was so familiar, and yet, he did not know who it belonged to. He rubbed his head, which was still in pain. The aspirin had not worked as well as Darien had hoped. < Wait a minute. How did I get in my bed? > "Darien?" That voice again. Why did it seem so strange, and yet so familiar? < It has to be the headache. No way I'd forget a voice like that, even for a second. > Darien looked around. In a few seconds, a raven haired beauty walked into his room. She had legs that were revealed, except for the top portion of her thighs. Her top was a semi loose T-shirt, but it still revealed curves. Her hair was long, and flowed like a river down her back. Her eyes were dark, and concern was in them. < Rei? What is she doing here? > Darien's eyes widened in surprise. "Darien, I came by to see you." < What? Why?! > "I sensed you were in trouble, so..." Rei walked over to Darien's bed. < PLEASE don't sit down. Please don't sit down. Not on my bed.. > Rei sat down at the foot of Darien's bed. < Oh man... > "What's the matter? Darien, are you okay?" < I thought you could sense things like that. > "Uh, sure. Just a little woozy. That's all." < What's going on? I feel so... different... > "You sure? I told Serena that I sensed something was wrong." "What? Why?" "I just thought she would like to know." Rei moved closer to Darien. He could smell her breath. By his guess, she had brushed her teeth very recently. No more than an hour ago. It still smelled like a mint. Rei placed a hand on Darien's forehead. "Hmm.. You don't feel hot..." Rei looked into Darien's light blue eyes. She knew she was doing a good thing, but somehow, she felt guilty for a reason. She just did not understand why. Rei looked down, closing her eyes. < Why isn't Serena here yet? It's not like it's 3 in the morning. It's barely dusk! > Rei felt a finger on her chin. It guided her pretty face to look up. It was guided to the point where she was looking into the eyes of... him. Again. < Damnit! Why is this happening!? > "...Thanks. For... everything. For being there. You're a true friend, Rei." < Friend. Friend. But that's all it CAN be, isn't it? Just... friend. > Rei heard a door open. < Serena! > She turned to the direction of the sound. Serena walked in, and her jaw dropped. < Wh... what the heck is this? > Serena didn't know exactly what was going on, but by Darien and Rei's position, she could guess. "Serena.." "Shut up, Rei. Just shut up." Serena's eyes were full of tears, and her heart was cracking. And soon, it broke. The tears left Serena's eyes. "Serena.." "You shut up too! You two can have each other!" Serena ran out of the apartment. "Serena!" Darien's eyes had tears in them. Rei quickly got up. "I should go, too. Maybe I can explain." Rei ran after Serena. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena slammed the front door of her house. Only her little brother, Sammy, was home, so her parents were not able to yell at her for it. < Good. I don't need them yelling at me right now. > "Serena!" called out that familiar, annoying voice. < Ooohh!! > "What!!?" Serena sounded sad, rather than mad at her little brother. "Hey, why the waterworks? Did you get dumped or something?" Sammy was within an arm's reach now. Big mistake. Serena backhanded him across the mouth, not caring about any of the consequences. "Shut up!" Serena ran to her room, and slammed the door. Her sobs could be heard by Sammy, and by Luna, who had witnessed the whole thing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Luna meowed loudly outside of Serena's door. The door opened, and Luna walked in. Then, the door was closed once more. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Rei, what are you talking about?" "I'm saying she just stormed out, not giving either of us a chance to explain." "That doesn't sound like Serena. Still, with your past with Darien --" "What about my past with him, Lita?!" "Hey, I didn't mean anything!" Lita felt like she was on the defensive. "Just calm down." < No need to get all bitchy on me. > "Sorry." Rei took a deep breath. "It's just... I can't stand to see her upset." Lita looked into Rei's eyes. She could see that Rei was really hurting, or was it all an act. Maybe she wanted to have someone on her side. Maybe Rei really WAS trying to get to Darien. Maybe this was all one big ploy to try to slowly win his heart. The thoughts raced through Lita's mind. "Lita? What's wrong?" "Huh? Oh... nothing..." Lita looked down. < Why did you have to date Darien?! It would be so much easier for me to believe you! > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Luna, it's not fair! *I'm* supposed to be the one with Darien!" "Serena, I'm sure you just misunderstood the whole thing. Rei doesn't even like Darien anymore. Remember?" < Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England. > "Yeah," Serena mumbled. < Sure. Whatever. > "But she was on his bed. And they were really close to each other." "Serena, they dated for a while, and they're friends." "I meant PHYSICALLY close. You couldn't have squeezed a snowflake between them!" "Serena, I really hope you're exaggerating on that." "I am. But not by much. It would have been really easy for them to have been playing tonsil hockey before I went in." Serena's heart thumped, and seemed to work it's way to her throat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena's parents opened the front door, complete with grocery bags in each arm. They closed the door, and Sammy walked up to them. "Need me to help?" "Sure, Sammy." His mother handed him a grocery bag. That's when she saw his face. It was as red as a beet across the mouth. "Sammy, what happened to your face?" < Oh boy. Serena seemed really upset... > "Uh... I got hit with a ball. It was my fault. I didn't see it coming." "You gotta be more careful. And I thought I told you not to leave the house when we were gone." < Oh shit. > "Yeah. But I --" "But nothing. You're grounded for a week, young man." Sammy cursed inwardly, and sighed. < I hope Serena appreciates this. > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien fell to his knees, and grabbed his head. His eyes widened, and he screamed. It was a scream like bloody murder. A black light shot out of his mouth. It flew into the nearest wall, and seemed to just vanish. Darien fell to the floor, completely unconscious. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rei walked into Darien's apartment, which was unlocked. She walked into the kitchen, and saw Darien lying on the floor. He seemed as if he was lifeless. < Oh shit! > Rei ran over to him, and kneeled down beside him. She checked for a pulse. < It's very weak. > Then she saw that his chest was not moving. She checked for breathing. < Oh no!> Rei immediately started artificial respiration. < Come on! Breathe! > She put her open mouth to his open mouth, and continued forcing air through his windpipe. She never noticed Serena standing in the doorway. < Fine. You wanna stick your tongue down his throat, be my guest. > Serena ran down the hall, crying. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Be Continued... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So, how is it? Interesting yet? Lemme know! Just open up your email, create a new message, and type in cowboys@wwd.net to send your comments! It's that simple! Go on. Give it a try. Chapter 2 Serena stood at the edge of the lake, which sparkled in the last hour of sunlight. It was so peaceful looking. Serena just stared out, tears in her eyes. She looked down at her ring. Darien had given it to her, one year ago to that day. "Rei wants him so bad, well she can have him." Serena took off her ring. She was just about ready to throw it in the lake. "Serena!" Serena stuffed the ring in her pocket. Hurried footsteps came closer to her. "Serena!" < Not NOW. > "What?" "Serena..." a hand was placed on her shoulder, and the person behind her caught her breath. "Serena, Rei told me everything. It was all one big misunderstanding." "Lita, don't take this the wrong way, but shut up. I saw them kissing less than a half hour ago." "What?!" "You heard me. I went back to his apartment, because I thought maybe I had misunderstood it, but I saw them tasting each other's tongues." Serena's voice lacked any emotion. "A--Are you sure?" Lita's eyes went wide. One thought ran through her mind, and she couldn't believe she was thinking it. < That bitch! > A different thought ran through Serena's mind, and she didn't care to say it. "That son of a bitch." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien coughed as he shot up, knocking Rei on her behind. He looked around, saw Rei, and his surroundings. "Thank goodness you're alive!" Darien said nothing. He just ran out of his apartment, and was out of the building within a few minutes. "Where the hell is he going?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien ran down the sidewalk as fast as his legs would carry him. He knocked a few people down, but didn't seem to care. He just continued running, not knowing where he had to go. He just knew he had to get there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "They were what?" Mina was surprised by the news to say the least. "No way! Darien wouldn't do that. Would he?" "I didn't used to think so." "But Lita, there's no reason for them to do that." "Oh no? Rei had a really big crush on him, and they did have a flame going. Who says they didn't just make it a blaze last night?" "It just doesn't make sense. Why would they jeopardize the entire future like that? What about Reeny?" "Well, Reeny did kinda have Rei's somewhat bitchy personality. Maybe Rei is supposed to be --" "No! It can't be! It just can't be! Setsuna --" "Setsuna is dead! She killed herself along with Natas. Remember? The flow of time is not hers anymore! And maybe it's supposed to be this way! Maybe because of Setsuna's death, everything is changed! Maybe Reeny doesn't exist! Maybe Crystal Tokyo doesn't exist!" Mina used all of her force to slap Lita across her face. "Shut the hell up! NOTHING HAS CHANGED!!! Darien wouldn't cheat on Serena! And Rei wouldn't do this to her best friend!" Lita felt her face. There was something on it. She held her hand in view. Blood. The taste was now in her mouth. Her jaw was bleeding. Mina's fingernails... "You cut my face... You cut my face!" "Lita, I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to --" Lita lunged at Mina, knocking her onto the floor. "Ow! Shit!" Mina and Lita were soon locked in combat, hitting each other, and rolling on the floor. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rei saw Darien run by the cemetery. She had followed him, wondering where he was going. Rei continued following him. "Where the hell is he going?" Darien continued running. He ran into the cemetery, and soon he was at the heart of it. In the middle of the cemetery was a gigantic cross. < I am here. > He stared at the cross. Just cold, blank, mindless staring. Then, it happened. A swirling mass of black light appeared on top of the cross. It formed into a knight covered in cold darkness. It looked like... Darien? < What the hell? > Rei stood behind a tombstone, and was not seen by the knight. It stared at Darien, and Darien stared right back. Rei blinked, and when her eyes opened a split second later, the knight was gone, along with Darien. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Amy was startled when she went by Mina's house. She saw Mina and Lita outside, going at each other like two professional heavy-weight boxers. Amy also saw the window were smashed out. < Mina just bought this place with her modeling money, and now they do THIS. > Amy walked closer to Lita and Mina. She noticed Mina had a shard of glass in her hand. It was just big enough that it could do some damage very easily. Mina charged Lita, and that was that. Amy had shouted, but not in time to keep any serious damage from happening. Mina had stabbed Lita in the right arm. "Oh my God..." Mina looked on in horror at what she had done. "Mina, go inside and call an ambulance! *****NOW!!!*****" Mina ran inside. Amy took off her jacket, and wrapped it tightly around Lita's wound. "It'll be all right, Lita." Amy hugged Lita, trying to keep her calm. Amy had seen the blood. She had seen that a major blood vessel was hit; that Lita had lost a lot of blood within only a few seconds. "It will be all right..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The knight in darkness watched the scene from a distance. He saw Lita get hurried away to the hospital, and Amy and Mina go in the nearly destroyed house. "The Black Knight is in town." The knight chuckled lowly. "And it is glorious. Already my negative energy has caused havoc." The Black Knight vanished. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Be Continued... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hey everybody! I really enjoyed writing this part! So I'm a little demented. So what? OK, I'm not really like this, I just enjoy writing it. Especially when I can focus on a bad guy. They're always more fun to write. They get to say the cool lines, and for the most par, have a lot more potential for character development. And send those comments to cowboys@wwd.net Here's my ICQ number for those of you interested. 15511705 Have a nice day. Chapter 3 Serena arrived at the hospital only minutes after she had received word of the situation. And, just like at the Sailor meetings, she was the last one there. She was not permitted to see Lita, as she was not family. She was, however, allowed to wait in the waiting room with the rest of the group. "Serena! Glad you could make it!" < Rei, you of all people should just shut up. > Serena faked a smile. "Uh, glad to see you too." Serena knew not to cause a scene in the hospital. And besides, she was thinking more about Lita, rather that Rei and Darien. "Thanks for calling on my communicator, Amy. What exactly happened?" "I think I should tell you this." The blond-haired girl stood from her sitting position on the floor. "But not here, with all these other people around. Can I see you outside?" Serena nodded, and she and Mina were soon away from the group. "Rei, is it true?" "Amy, what do you mean?" "Well, Mina told me what the argument was that caused all this crap, about the rumor that you and Darien were kissing." "Amy, I was giving him mouth to mouth! He wasn't breathing, and I sure as hell wasn't going to let him die." Amy was silent for a minute. "Well, why didn't you tell Serena that!" "I didn't know she was watching. But now, when I try to tell her, she just tells me to shut up. She won't listen to reason." "I hope to GOD you are telling the truth. Because if you're not..." Amy moved closer to Rei, and whispered in her ear. "I'll kill you myself." Amy walked out of the waiting room. Serena and Mina came back in, to find Rei staring at the floor. "Rei, what's wrong?" Mina asked. "Huh? Oh... nothing. Just hoping that Lita's gonna be OK." Tears were in Rei's eyes. She had been so hurt, and felt so abandoned. "Uh.. Serena?" "What?" There seemed to be no emotion in her response. "Can I... see you outside...?" < What is it with me and outside? > "Sure, but make it quick." Serena and Rei went outside. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Serena, what you saw --" "What I SAW was that YOU were kissing my boyfriend. No, I take that back. My ex-boyfriend." "Serena, I was giving him artificial respiration! He was unconscious and had quit breathing. If it weren't for me, he'd be dead right now!" Serena's eyes widened. "What? You were... saving his life...?" "Yeah Serena." "Oh... I-I'm... sorry. I guess I just saw you two like that --" "And automatically assumed that we were making out. You gotta learn to trust me more Serena. I'm your best friend. I would NEVER put you through so much pain." Rei put her hand on Serena's shoulder. "So, friends?" "Friends." The two girls smiled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien saw the two girls, and had heard the entire conversation. He was glad neither of them had noticed him. Darien started running toward the girls. "Hey there, sweet cheeks!" Darien gave a full fledged lover's kiss to the nearest girl. Rei. "Last night was awesome!" he said as he held her close enough that he could have smothered her. "Darien --" "Shh." He kissed her again, and his tongue was trying to pry into Rei's mouth. He broke away, and started running again. "See ya, honey! See ya, Serena!" He continued running. Serena looked at Rei, with fire in her eyes. Rei stared at Serena. "Let me guess. He needed saving again." Serena slapped Rei so hard she knocked her down. "If I ever see you again, I'll kill you, you bitch. You could've at least been honest with me." Serena stormed back into the hospital. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien continued running until he was out of sight. He then slowed to a normal walking speed. A swirling black light enveloped him, and then he was in his true form; the Black Knight. "That was fun." The Black Knight vanished into thin air. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena's tears were visible to Mina, even from across the room. She got up, tears in her eyes, as well. "Serena, what's wrong?" "Lita was right. And so was I. Darien IS having an affair with Rei." "Oh... Sorry." "What's wrong with you?" "Well... the doctor told me the news about Lita." "...What is it?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 days later.... The scene was simple, yet pretty. And very sad. It was a church, with the whole group there. Everyone was dressed mostly in black. Serena, Rei, Amy, Mina, Darien, Andrew, Molly and Ken. The preacher began. "Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of Lita Kino." The preacher droned on and on. Serena glared at Darien, who had sat next to her. Rei had made the good decision to sit far, far away from them. < Who does he think he is? He doesn't even act like anything happened! > Serena tried to edge her way away from him. < Damn, why is she doing this? Most people WANT to be comforted. > The tears that came from Serena's eyes were from mixed emotions. She felt so sad about Lita, so hurt by Darien, and so betrayed by Rei. "And now, a close friend of the dearly departed." The preacher stepped down, and Ken walked up to the podium, in front of the casket. "Lita was a good friend of mine... And I'm sure she was a close friend to all of you. I know we will all miss her very much. But we must remember the good times, and not go on crying and moping around for months. She wouldn't want that. Lita would want us to carry on, and remember the good times. Because as long as we remember her, she will never truly die." Ken stepped down, and found his seat next to Rei. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The funeral procession seemed to take forever to Serena. She was riding in the same car as Darien. She thought it best not to do anything bad to him, especially at a time like this. For some odd reason, however, she felt different. Different than the day he had kissed Rei, right in front of her. Almost like... he was a different person. "Darien?" "Yes, meatball head?" "...... Why did you..." "Why did I what?" He glanced over at Serena, who was staring out the window. He had no idea of the pain she was in. "Why did you kiss Rei?" "Uh... Serena, what the hell are you talking about?" "Don't play coy with me, Darien! You know exactly what I am talking about!" "No I don't. What gave you that idea, anyway?" "What the hell do you THINK gave me that idea? I saw you! You ran up to Rei, and kissed her like you USED to kiss me. And I was only standing three feet away." Darien glanced over at Serena. Her reflection was in the passenger side window. Darien could see the tears streaming down her face. He was crushed. The words that his love had spoken hit him worse than a million shards of rock. He didn't remember ever kissing Rei. Why would he? Sure, he found her to be attractive, but he did not have any feelings toward her. "Serena, I don't remember --" "Darien, you don't have any fucking amnesia to get you out of this one. You know you did it, and you know that you want her. I wouldn't be surprised if Rei was the true mother of Reeny!" "Damnit! I don't know what you are talking about! But I did NOT KISS REI!! I DON'T WANT HER!! THE ONLY PERSON I WANT IS YOU!!" "Well, you'll just have to settle for Rei then. Because you're not having me. I don't put up with two-timers." The rest of the trip, neither of them said a word. When they got to the cemetery, they all gathered in front of the casket. The preacher read some things out of the bible, and then the casket was laid in the ground. Everyone threw a few flowers on the casket. Then, the dirt was placed on the flowered casket, and soon, the ground was solid once more. The people got into their cars, and slowly drove away. Serena did not ride with Darien, or anyone else. All she wanted to do was be alone. As the last car disappeared from sight, Serena stood at the foot of Lita's grave. She kneeled down. "Goodbye, Lita... Sailor Jupiter.... I will miss you..." As Serena wept, the crescent moon on her forehead glowed slightly. A gentle breeze blew, and as her tears fell to the ground, the sunlight made them sparkle like crystals. Finally, Serena stood, and stared up at the sky. "I won't give up. I won't stop caring. You will live on in my heart, for all eternity." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Nobody said life is fair, we've all got a cross to bear When it gets a little hard to care, just think of Jesus hanging there." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Be Continued... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So, nice and gloomy, huh? I know that a lot of people read these notes before they read the story. So, I'm not gonna re-state what happened in the story. If you read it, good for you. If you're not on the verge of suicide, good for you. So, how'd ya like it, anyway? I really wanna know. cowboys@wwd.net You all know that's my email, right? Ya think there might be a reason it's there? Hmm.... Hi!!! I'm rating this part PG 12, cause I think that's what it deserves. Chapter 4 Two days had passed since Lita's funeral. None of the Sailor Soldiers had adapted to the fact that she was no longer with them. And Serena had even more things on her mind, with Darien and all. She just lied on her bed, and stared at the ceiling. In her hand was something Lita had given her less than a week before her untimely death. It was a friendship ring. Serena just clutched it close to her heart. Not crying, or even breathing hard. Just staring at the ceiling, with that ring clutched in her hand. Serena then felt something rub her outer thigh. It felt like it was in her pocket. She reached in and pulled out another ring. It was the ring Darien had saved for to buy her. She looked at it for a moment, and she kept remembering that day, outside the hospital. "Damn you, Darien. Damn you to hell." She placed the ring on the nightstand next to her bed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rei sat in front of the Great Fire. She was deep into meditation. She wanted to find out what was going on. Nothing made any sense to her. It was as if logic had been thrown completely out the window, and chaos was consuming the city. "Oh Great Fire, tell me what it is that is causing all of this chaos and torment!" Rei opened her eyes to see if the Great Fire could tell her anything. She stared at it, concentrating, for a long time. Finally, an image appeared in the fire. It was an image of Darien. It changed into the White Knight, and then it went to all black. Suddenly, the fire enlarged, and showed the White Knight and the knight in black fighting. "Oh shit." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena heard a knocking at her front door. < Go away. > The knocking only persisted. < Oh, all right. I'm coming. > Serena got out of her bed, and walked downstairs. She opened the door. "Mina, hi! What are you doing here?" "Serena, I wanted to apologize for not being at Lita's funeral. I just didn't think it would be right, seeing as how I caused everything." "Mina, why don't you come on in?" "Nah, I got something I have to take care of. I'll see ya later. I just wanted to apologize --" "Mina, don't worry. It's OK, I understand." Mina faked a smile. "Well, I gotta go." Mina hurriedly walked away, toward the south end of town. "See ya around!" Serena called. Mina just kept walking, not looking back. < No, you won't. > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mina stood at the edge of the cliff. Her hair blew in the breeze as she stared out at the horizon. She guessed that the cliff was about 100 feet high. She guessed wrong; it was 150 feet high. < Everyone, please forgive me. > Mina said the Lord's Prayer, and then she did what she had came there to do. The air rushed around her as she fell over the cliff. She never screamed, and never felt any pain. She died on impact. Her torment was over. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rei knocked on Serena's door furiously. < Serena, you are going to listen to me this time. > Rei continued knocking on the door. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, and after Rei's knuckles had turned red, the door opened. "Serena, about time." Serena started to close the door, but Rei stopped her by pushing against the door. "Serena, you are going to listen to me. Whether you want to or not. We are both Sailor Soldiers --" "Well, unless this is Sailor business, then I have to tell you to leave." "Serena, I'm not sure, but it could be Sailor business." Serena stared into Rei's eyes. Seriousness was in them, and there was no other emotion that could be seen. "All right. You can come in. But, I'm home alone right now, and I don't know where Luna is. So, if you say one wrong thing, don't be surprised if you're suddenly gasping for air because my hands are around your throat." "Is that a threat?" "It's a fair warning." Serena opened the door more, to let Rei in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Serena, this is about Darien. I think he's in danger." "You can help him. You seem to be really good at that." "Serena, will you shut the fuck up for one damned minute? I was doing a fire reading, and I think that we haven't seen the last of the White Knight." Serena's eyes grew wide. "What?" "Serena, I think there are two knights now. One of them is evil, and the other one is good. And they both look just like Darien." "Do you know anything else?" "Well, yeah. The evil one is shadowy, and the good one is still inside the real Darien." "Well, I saw a non-shadowy Darien kiss you. So I guess you have to make up a better excuse than that, don't you?" Serena stood, seemingly with no expression on her face. "Now, get out of my house." "Serena, will you stop that? I'm not making this up!" "Just get out." "Serena, Darien is --" Serena slapped Rei across the face, cutting her off. "Darien is no longer my concern. He's your concern." Rei got up, feeling where Serena had slapped her. "Now, please leave before I do anything more to you." Rei stormed out of the house. < I swear, that bitch needs an attitude adjustment. And they say *I'm* the cranky one! > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena's thoughts were interrupted by her communicator beeping. She fished around in her pocket to find it. She took it out, and saw Amy's face. "Oh, hi Amy! What's up?" "Serena, have you seen Mina?" "Not since earlier this morning. Why?" "Well, she was going to come by an hour ago, but she never showed. I think something's wrong." "OK, Amy. Well, maybe she's just late." "No. I know Mina can be late once in a while, but not this much. That only happens with you." "Hardee har har." "Serena, I think we should look for her. Maybe she's at Rei's." "OK. You check there, and I'll check around in a few other places she likes to hang out." "OK. We'll meet at the arcade in 2 hours, and tell each other our luck." "Sure." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Nope, I haven't seen her. Not in a couple of days." "Well, OK Rei. I just thought maybe she had been by here." "Sorry, Amy. If I see her, I'll call you though." "OK." Amy turned around, and started walking down the temple's front stairs. Something told her to circle around, and walk around back. And she did. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Black Knight made Mina's decaying corpse appear behind the Cherry Hill Temple. He looked around, before disappearing into thin air. He disappeared just before Amy peeked her head around the building. "Oh my God...." Rei stepped out back, and immediately saw Mina's half decomposed corpse laying on the ground. She then saw Amy, who had already turned to her. "Oh, Amy, this isn't what it looks like." "Oh, you just don't know how this got here, do you? Rei, I swear, you will pay for this. May you burn in the fiery pits of hell!" Amy stormed out away, leaving behind a speechless Rei. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Black Knight appeared behind Rei. His radiating negative energyimmediately engulfed her, and he immediately started filling her mind with memories. Memories of killing Mina, and then memories of kissing Darien. He then disappeared. Rei still had the memories, and a new personality. "Now, for another victim." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Be Continued.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OK Ch 4 is finally done! Man, it was hard. But it was fun. Well, send comments to cowboys@wwd.net Chapter 5 Serena saw Amy coming toward the arcade at the fastest pace she had ever seen Amy walk. Serena knew immediately that something was wrong. Amy NEVER walked that fast unless something was wrong. Amy came up to Serena, and whispered something in her ear. Serena nearly jumped in surprise. "A-Are you sure? I mean, she's a man stealer, but," the next part was only lipped, "a murderer?" "Yes. I saw what I saw." Serena whispered something to Amy, who then nodded. The two girls started walking back to Rei's temple. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena and Amy checked to make sure that no one was around them. The coast was clear. "Mercury Star Power!" "Moon Crystal Power!" With a flash of light that illuminated the immediate area, the two girls had become the Sailor Soldiers of love and justice. "Let's go, Mercury." Sailor Moon took the lead, heading towards her destination. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Black Knight stood on the center of the roof of Cherry Hill Temple. He watched the two Sailor Soldiers come toward the temple. He was cloaked by his own magic, so as not to be seen by them. His eyes turned red, and began flashing. "Now!" Sailor Mars appeared out of nowhere! She flew down toward the other Sailors, and landed in front of them. She immediately began attacking. "Mars Celestial Fire Surround!" The rings of fire sped toward Mercury and Moon. Mercury was the one to react. "Mercury Ice-Storm Blast!" The ice chilled the fire rings so that they had as much effect as a frisbee. "Sailor Moon, you will die, and the fiery pits of hell shall consume you. And this world will become a barren place of nothingness." Mars spun around, kicking at Mercury's head. She made contact, and Mercury flew to the ground. "Amy!" Serena ran to her fallen friend. She saw where the high heel had made contact. There was a cut across the right side of her face. Blood was spilling out of it. "Your fate will be much worse, Sailor Moon!" Sailor Mars unleashed her Celestial Fire Surround, this time hitting Sailor Moon head on. The fire blasted her back, and she slammed into the ground. Back on the roof of the temple, the Black Knight's eyes turned back to white. "Enough! I will finish from here!" Sailor Mars suddenly disappeared. The Black Knight appeared on the roof. He jumped down, but floated a few feet above the ground. "Hello, Sailor Moon." Sailor Moon looked at the Black Knight, and stood on her feet. "You..." "Are you surprised, Sailor Moon? I am the Black Knight. And I have the identity of Darien. And it was me who kissed Rei. Not your pathetic boyfriend, Tuxedo Mask." "You know about him?" "I have all of his memories. After all, I am part him. Since the White Knight was needed, I was also needed. The White Knight is the goodness, but not the fighter. I am the fighter. And now, I have broken free, and have no goodness to hold me back. So prepare to die." The Black Knight drew out his sword, and sent a blast of dark energy toward Sailor Moon. She thought for sure she was a goner, but the energy was cut off by a little red rose. Tuxedo Mask jumped down from a lamp post, and immediately got between Serena and the Black Knight. "Sailor Moon, your boyfriend has shown up. But it's not gonna do you any good. It's just gonna take me a few seconds longer to kill you." The Black Knight stood, waiting for Tuxedo Mask to charge. He knew it would happen; he could read Tuxedo Mask's thoughts. The charge came in only a second. The Black Knight threw out his sword. Tuxedo Mask screamed, as he felt the blade fly through him. He fell to the ground, and his blood started spilling out of him. "Tuxedo Mask. You were brave. I like that." The Black Knight summoned another sword, and blasted him with a beam of dark energy. "You can let me heal you, if you promise your allegiance to me!" Tuxedo Mask groaned. "Never..." His body went tense, and then it was limp. Tuxedo Mask was dead. "Moon Scepter Elimination!" The positive energy flew toward the Black Knight. He dodged effortlessly, and saw Mercury moving again. He sent a beam of negative energy toward her, hitting her with full force. It knocked all the life force out of her. Within two minutes, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Mercury had died. "I just came here to talk with Rei, not have everybody get killed!" The Black Knight summoned Sailor Mars. "Finish her off. And don't fail me." He turned to Sailor Moon. "Oh, and the only way you can break the spell I cast, is to kill me. But, my death also results in hers. So, it looks like you have to kill her if you want to live long enough to fight me." The Black Knight disappeared, leaving Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon to fight to the finish. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Be Continued... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well, I was gonna put everything here, but Chapter 6 will be the last one. That will be the last battle between good and evil. So, next chapter will finish this series up, and there will be NO MORE SEQUELS. So, don't ask about them. And don't flame me for it, either. I worked really hard to create this. So if you flame me, I'll just do it to you. And if you steal this, I will probably kill you (OK, not really, but I'll feel like it). Peace! OK, I'm rating this PG-13. So, have fun. Rest of stuff @ bottom! The Final Chapter (seriously this time) Sailor Moon stared at Sailor Mars, and vice versa. They did not move, or speak. They only glared at each other, as if trying to win a staring contest. Sailor Moon clenched her fist. She didn't want to kill Sailor Mars. Not now. Not since she had heard the truth. "Sailor Mars, it doesn't have to be this way. We can fight together." "No! You must die!" Sailor Mars unleashed her Celestial Fire Surround. The rings of fire sped toward Sailor Moon, who dodged at the last possible second. Sailor Mars sent out another attack, and this was dodged, mostly. Only the last ring hit Sailor Moon, causing her right leg to get burned. "Sailor Mars, you're one of the good guys! Don't make me do it..." "Shut up and die!" Sailor Mars sent another fiery attack toward Sailor Moon. She dodged it, and sent an attack of her own. "Moon Healing Activation!" The positive energy of the Silver Crystal had no effect on Sailor Mars. Sailor Moon heard the Black Knight's voice. "I told you, one of you will die in this fight. There will be no running. If you run, you will die instantly. Now fight." Sailor Mars charged towards Sailor Moon. A fire sword appeared in her hand, and she threw it ahead of her. It blazed through the air, racing toward Sailor Moon. It seemed to make the air molecules ignite as it sped toward its target. Sailor Moon jumped over the sword, and did a diving kick, hitting Sailor Mars in the head. Sailor Moon landed on her feet, while Sailor Mars landed on her back. Blood was coming out of her forehead. "Sailor Mars, I don't want to do this... Please don't fight me anymore..." Serena's eyes were filled with tears. Sailor Mars jumped to her feet, preparing to attack again. "No Sailor Mars! Don't do it!" Naturally, Sailor Mars did not listen, and proceeded to attack. Sailor Moon dodged, and did the only thing she could do. "Moon Scepter Elimination!" The attack sped toward Sailor Mars, and hit her with such force that it knocked her through the air, and into the temple wall. But Sailor Mars had died before her impact with the wall. Her body fell to the ground, limp, and the dark energy that had possessed her so strongly flew out of her, and vanished. Sailor Moon ran over to her fallen friend. "Sailor Mars... I'm sorry... I didn't want to do it..." Sailor Moon sobbed over her fallen comrade's lifeless body. "Now, Sailor Moon, prepare to die!" The Black Knight appeared as he fell to the ground, landing on his feet. He spun around, making the surroundings change to darkness. The area was completely changed within seconds. It seemed to be a black sphere, with a floating platform in the middle. It was 20 feet long, and 15 feet wide. Spikes grew from the bottom of the sphere. "We will have a battle now, and the victor will be the one who survives. In other words, time to die, Sailor Twit!" The Black Knight charged Sailor Moon, with his sword pointed straight at her. She rolled out of the way, nearly falling off the platform. The Black Knight spun around, and sent a blast of dark energy at her. She rolled back to avoid the blast, which collided with the sphere's inner edge, and disappeared. The sphere shrink a little. "Did I mention that every time the inner edge of the sphere is hit, the sphere will shrink by 2 inches? If it gets hit too often, you will be crushed. And I can escape before it crushes me!" The Black Knight's little speech gave Sailor Moon time to get up. "You will not win. As long as there is still good in this world, evil will never win." "Shut up and fight!" The Black Knight sent an energy blast toward Sailor Moon, who dodged. The blast collided with the wall just before it vanished, and the wall shrunk another two inches. Sailor Moon rushed toward the Black Knight, and did a flying kick. She made impact with him, knocking him back. But she landed on her side, not on her feet. The Black Knight recovered in only a second, and raised his sword. He struck down at Sailor Moon, but she dodged by rolling back toward the center of the platform. The Black Knight was now on the edge of it. "Sailor Moon, you will never win!" "So you just expect me to just give up?" "No, but I do expect you to die!" The Black Knight threw his sword at Sailor Moon. She dodged, but it still scraped her right arm. Blood started coming out of the open wound. "Aww... Poor little Sailor Moon got a cut on her right arm..." The sword circled back around, and headed straight for Sailor Moon's back. She sensed it, and dodged again, but this time her left arm received a cut. The Black Knight caught the sword. "There, now both arms are once again equal, Sailor Moon." < But I am getting tired of her having so much room to dodge my attacks. > The Black Knight plunged the blade of his sword in the platform. "DARK SPHERE PLATFORM SHRINK!" The platform shrunk to 10 feet wide, and 15 feet long. "What the..?" "Now, the stakes have been upped, Sailor Moon. I must say, it will be fun to see your sorry ass go down onto those spikes. < I just want all of this to be over! > The Silver Crystal began to glow. The Black Knight sent a beam of dark energy at Sailor Moon, who jumped over it, and kicked the Black Knight in the head. He recovered quickly, and charged Sailor Moon. He held out his arm, and performed the clothes-line move. Sailor Moon fell on her backside. Her vision was hazy for a few seconds, but then cleared. She got up, and turned around. She saw... Tuxedo Mask? "Oh, Tuxedo Mask... is it you?" "Sailor Moon, why did you let me die? It's all your fault that I am dead!" "No... NO! You can't be my Tuxedo Mask!" "Yes I am, but you let me die, and for that, I can never forgive you." "I'M NOT LISTENING TO YOU!!!" Tuxedo Mask grinned evilly before turning back into his true self, the Black Knight. "You're not so stupid after all." The Black Knight pointed his sword at Sailor Moon, and held the tip of the sword at her throat. "Now, back up, and just fall onto the spikes. I don't want my sword to get all bloody, but if I must, I will slice you open in a heartbeat. Now, kindly let yourself fall, so I can be rid of you once and for all!" Sailor Moon stepped back, and felt herself start to fall from the platform. < It CAN'T END THIS WAY! I JUST WANT IT ALL TO BE OVER WITH!!! > The Silver Crystal began glowing, and as Serena fell to the spikes, the Crystal emitted a brilliant light, and positive energy flew everywhere, bouncing off the inner edges of the sphere. The sphere shrunk so quickly that no one could even blink. The sphere just close at lightning speed, crushing everything inside. Including the Black Knight, and Sailor Moon. The sphere was gone, and the area was returned to normal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Upon the death of the Black Knight, and of Sailor Moon, everyone forgot about the Sailor Soldiers. To the people of the planet, they never existed. Neither had their human counterparts. There has never been any of the monsters, and no fighting. For the battle between Sailor Moon and the Black Knight had been the final battle between good and evil. That battle had decided the fate of humanity. That day had been the end of it all. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well, the story is finished! And no more sequels! HAHAHAHA!!! Well, now that that's over with, let the comments, flames, and whatever come. Bring 'em on! cowboys@wwd.net