Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Some Bruises Don't Fade ❯ Birth of Aethena ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Some Bruises Don't Fade
by Lady Amber

NOTE: CandC go here at amby-chan@sailormoon.com. Thanx. And please, if you must flame, keep it to constructive criticism! Thanx!
WARNING: This fanfic has mature content. Meaning, Belle's mother is a whore, her father is a drunk. And this does cause some problems for her. So, there may be "awkward" situations for some readers who are naive or less than mature. And, on the whole, this is a rather dark toned fanfic. If you can't deal with reading it, don't take it out on me. It's up to you, the reader, to decide what you can or can't handle.
DISCLAIMERS: I do not, unfortunately, own the wonderful world of Sailor Moon. All the Characters from the manga/show or any other franchise belong to the creators and publishers. However, Sailor Aethena, Darkness, and all other new characters/occurrences belong to me, especially how I worked her into the past. I had to think long and hard to come up with this. Please don't use them and please don't take my story. Thanx.
ANOTHER THING: This fanfic takes place when all of the Scouts, the Inner Scouts that is, are in their last year of high school. So that means Amara and Michelle are starting college. OK?
ALSO: I have used dubb names; get over it. I am a dubbie. Amara is Haruka a.k.a. Sailor Uranus; Michelle is Michiru also Sailor Neptune; Hotaru is still Hotaru, Sailor Saturn (duh); Trista is Sailor Pluto or Setsuna. Ok? Ok, that's all for now!

Part I: Birth of Aethena

PreChapter: Friday morning, Kouheino residence
It was still a little while before dawn. The night sky had just started to lighten on the east horizon, barely noticeable, except to one sharp-eyed young woman. She breathed in the deep, still air and shifted, leaning back against the window sill and enjoying the quiet before the day.

To any eye, she was nothing special. She was thin and pale, and many times dark bruises discolored her fair skin. Her hair was a light shade of blonde, almost white, and when let down it fell down to her waist. Usually, however, it was braided and then wrapped around her head. Two curly tendrils drifted down next to the wide, plain face. Thick glasses hid beautiful lavender eyes. Her limbs were long, and graceful, and, surprisingly, well muscled. But then again, no one seemed to notice her quiet strength either.

She wore a simple white nightgown, threadbare in more than one places, but still retaining a trace of its former beauty. She adjusted the thin chain around her neck, her finger playing with the beautiful gold cross hung from the fine chain as she whispered a prayer of thanks to her Father above for this peaceful morning. This quiet moment.

Her alarm clock beeped, breaking into her safe cozy haven and bringing her crashing down into the real, hideous world. 5:00 AM. Time to rise, cook breakfast, dress, get ready for school. Time to rouse her father from the drunken stupor he was more than likely in, feed him some Advil and try not to get in his way. To sweep into her mother's room, oust her nightly customer, drive him from the house and try and convince her mother to actually go to work today.

Sighing the girl started to rise, but then paused, and watched dawn's tendrils creeping up into the sky, watched the stars fade. She took one last deep breath, a fragrant breeze caressing her cheek. Then, trying hard to keep the feeling of peace and contentment she'd found present, she turned back to her duties.


Chapter One: Thursday morning, Juuban High

"Serena! Did you ACTUALLY do your homework?? Let ME see!" Sisaki practically dashed over to her student's desk. Serena sweatdropped as she pushed her "homework" to the edge of the desk, trying not to get in Miss Siskai's way. Miss Sisaki was too stunned to speak.

"Well now.. this is certainly.. done!" Suddenly, the phone rang, and Sisaki hurried over to it, still dazed from the revelation that her worst student could ACTUALLY do homework! It was amazing! She answered the phone, listening for a few minutes. "Uh huh.. yeah.. sure.. Okay Mr. Teyaki." She hung up, and turned to the class.

"Okay class, it seems that I have some business to attend to. You may go to lunch early today.." And from Miss Sisaki's starstruck expression, it was evident that her boyfriend must have called.. The class all sweatdropped as Serena screamed in joy and shot from the room.

"Now we'll have to work on that later." Sisaki muttered to herself as the rest of her class obediently and quietly filed from the room, chattering erupting as soon as they were away from Sisaki's baleful glare.

Sisaki caught the arm of the last girl from the class room. "Belle?" The young girl raised her head from regarding the uninteresting tile floor pattern and looked at Sisaki, not saying a word. Sisaki coughed. "Belle, Mrs. Kayon, the gym teacher, says that you keep coming to class with strange bruises. She says you always have a good explanation, but we both know better than that." Belle looked away, didn't answer, and behind her thick glasses, Sisaki caught a glimpse of,.. tears? It was hard to tell with Belle's expressionless face.

"Belle, please. If someone is abusing you I want to know. We can help you, get you away from them and you'll be given a good home. A home where you're clothed and fed and taken care of. You just have to tell me. Trust me." Belle swallowed. She didn't look at Sisaki.

"No Miss Sisaki." Her voice was quiet, almost trembling. "No one is beating me. Gym.. gymnastics.. I get bruises from slipping.." She said quietly, carefully. Miss Sisaki looked hurt, but then she nodded slowly, standing.

"Alright you can go ahead, enjoy your lunch." Sisaki said tiredly, watching as the girl, silent as a ghost, fled the room. She rubbed her forehead, sitting back down.


Chapter Two; Thursday Night, Jerubaan Theater.
Super Sailor Moon leaped over the beam of light, and kicked the droid viciously in the head. It flew back, smashing into the wall and then slid down into a little lump at the base of the wall.

"Good shot Sailor Moon!" Sailor Uranus said, nodding and smiling.

Sailor Netpune smiled too. "Very good shot. You're doing great. Get ready, here it comes again." Super Sailor Moon nodded, and flashed a smile at Neptune and Uranus, who were standing on the other side of the small theater's stage, both looking very relaxed, but still ready to step in and help her if needed.

Super Sailor Moon looked back at the droid, which was beginning to rise. "Give me your pure emotions!" It rasped. "I need your pure emotions! Give them to me NOW!" Super Sailor Moon rolled her eyes. In the last ten minutes, that was the only thing the droid had said, repeating it again and again. If there was one thing to be said about the Darkness, it was that he was consistent.

The other Scouts were all sitting in the audience, watching their leader getting a work out. They too were primed, ready for action, but the two Outers had wanted only Sailor Moon to tackle this obstacle. "She needs to learn how to fight better!" Sailor Uranus had said. "Darkness is no wimp!"

Super Sailor Minimoon fidgeted, sighing. "Can I PLEAAAAAAASE get up?? I wanna go attack that wanna-be monster! Why does Serena get all the fuuuun???"

"Stop it Reenie! Sit down and be quiet." Sailor Mars said, wagging her finger. "Serena needs to learn how to be a better fighter. We can't always be there for her."

"I know.." Minimoon sighed and fidgeted again, turning her attention back to her mother, just as she attacked.

"RAINBOW MOON HEART ACHE" She called. It seemed to Sailor Mars that the more powerful Sailor Moon became, the longer her attack phrases became. She sighed, and the droid screamed as it was hit by the big heart.

With a flash of light, the small disk that had been infecting it exited the theater actor it had used, and burst into flames, sparks flying from it as it fell to the ground, blackened beyond repair. Super Sailor Moon ran forward and caught the man, laying him down gently.

"Okay guys, we're finished here. Let's get out of here before the tabloids show up. I'm surprised they're not here already." Sailor Venus said, sighing.

Lately the Sailor Scouts had been plagued by newspapers and journalists, who had come from every area of the world just to get a scoop on the Scouts, find out who they were, all about them, and their mission. They'd already had to rescue two crews who'd gotten to close. It was frustrating. One day someone would get hurt, and then it would be blamed on the Scouts.

The Sailors all nodded and within a few moments, the theatre was empty.


Chapter Three; Thursday night, Clock tower.
Darkness looked up at the sky. It was so blue. He'd seen many skies in his travels; but none as blue as the sky on this Beautiful Planet. White fluffy clouds, pure as the snow that fell here in the winter, drifted through the azure sky, a slight breeze ruffling his jet black hair.

Black eyes, empty voids, completely with out any shine or gleam at all, surveyed his soon to be city. It'd soon be his, to do with as he pleased. He smiled. Thanks to the Doom Phantom, he'd been able to leave the beautiful city in the future, for THEY were much too strong then, and come to this much easier to conquer city, one that was no less beautiful.

Beautiful beyond comparison was this planet, a tiny sapphire and emerald covered gem sparkling in the light of the sun, under the watchful gaze of the moon. He wanted it.

He had wanted it since he first had seen it, a planet teeming with life, floating, drifting aimlessly amidst the dark black inkyness of outer space. The loneliness, set adrift against his will, that had plagued him had evaporated when he had first touched the rich, living soil of this planet.

Now he was here. He wanted to learn all he could about human ways. He wanted to know how his future subjects lived. He wanted to see their dreams and ideas. He wanted to experience what they experienced. And he would.

He hummed as he felt a familiar spark. The droid he'd sent had backfired. Probably destroyed by that all too pesky Sailor Moon and her Sailor Cohorts. He sighed. They were going to be troublesome to him. He'd have to learn how to destroy them. Their faults; he'd have to exploit their faults.

He already knew this Sailor Moon's. She was ditzy, and unsure of herself. She wasn't a natural leader; not at first sight. She'd be easy to destroy. Simply isolate her, make her seem the worst she could possibly be. Then crush her.

Sailor Mercury. Her fault was easier to see but harder to exploit. She was non-athletic, but still her brains made up adequately for her lack of strength. How could he do that?

He sighed as the large clock that he had been standing on reverberated with vibrations. It was twelve o'clock. Strange, was the human concept of time. They saw it as everflowing, never ceasing never beginning or slowing. Continuous. Yet they divided it into segments, ruled their lives by the ever decreasing, ever increasing, but never changing segments. He shook his head. Strange, were these humans. But he liked them and their ideas, their culture. He liked it indeed.

Well now.. His eyes were suddenly averted by the passage of one young woman; the same woman he'd been watching for hours, marking her. She was filled with pure emotions, dreams.

He wanted to know what she felt. And, he needed the small seed of darkness locked away in her for power.

"Droid Nightlife. Go get that woman I've been watching. She's marked. Drain her and bring the energy back to me." The droid nodded her understanding. "oh, one more thing." He said, and the droid turned back to him. "If the Sailor Scouts interfere, I want you to destroy them. Got it? Now go."

Nightlife nodded and disappeared.

Darkness returned to his post over the city.

The young woman walked on, unaware.


Chapter Four; Friday after school, Shopping center
Belle pressed her hand against the shining material, sighing. She shook her head wistfully and then turned back to the rack behind her, away from the pretty dress. Music pounded in the background, playing one of the stations she liked to listen to. She smiled; she liked this song: "Sky child" by Cloud9.

She fingered another shirt, humming. She liked this one; and it wasn't too expensive. She pulled it off the rack. Next she needed pants. She quickly found some regular tapered ones.

She moved to the register, paying for her clothes. She needed new ones; the ones she had were looking worn and frayed, much like everything else she owned. As she waited for the cashier to finish ringing the money in, she fingered a necklace dangling from a chain next to the cash register.

She jerked her hand from it. 'Why do I do this? I know I can't have it, why do I keep imagining it around my neck?.. I just wish I could have something so pretty.. No, I'm not going to think about that. I'm fine with what I have. I don't need that.' So, to keep her hand from fingering it, she stuck it in her pocket, pulling out the grocery list she'd written up earlier today.

Sliding her bag onto her arm, she left the store. Quickly she walked down the road, her eyes hid by the thick glasses that acted as a shield between her and the world around her.

Suddenly, someone slammed into her. "Oh I'm so sorry!" Belle pushed herself up, to meet the eyes of a tall young woman, about her age. Two sparkling blue eyes, clear and breathtakingly beautiful, met her own, as a gentle hand reached down to help her up. "I didn't hurt you did I? I'm so very very sorry. It's just I was looking across the street and I didn't see you at all. You're not hurt are you?" The girl was chattering nonstop, saying the same things over and over again. Belle blinked. Golden hair, shining and long, was pulled up into two odangoes, sweeping down into two pigtails that almost brushed the ground. She wore a pink jumper skirt and a white shirt with small heart earrings. A black cat hovered at her feet, a gold crescent moon sign over its ruby eyes. Belle recognized the girl from her class, it was Serena Tsukino. Serena suddenly stopped, her eyes wide. "Oh no I didn't cause that bruise did I??"

"Oh!" Belle gasped, pulling her shirt sleeve down, over the hideous black and blue bruise, thanks to another of her father's drunken stupors. "No, I got that from gym class. Really, I'm alright, thank you." She said softly, cutting in on Serena's tirade. "It's OK, really I'm not hurt."

"Oh good.. I'm so sorry.." Serena giggled, a high pitched, rather annoying sound. Belle couldn't help but smile at it; it was so infectious. "See, Luna and I, Luna's my cat." Serena said, pointing at Luna. "Luna, say hello to um.." Serena sweatdropped.

"Annabelle. Call me Belle." Belle said softly, picking her bag up and sliding it over her arm again, settling the loops in the crook of her elbow.

Serena smiled. "Hi Belle, I'm Serena. Say!" Serena snapped her fingers suddenly. "You're in my class aren't you? That's where I remember you from! You're just always so quiet!" Serena giggled. "You should be more friendly, you might make some totally awesome friends like me or Ami or Lita or Molly!" Serena smiled.

Belle shrugged. "I don't have much use for friends." Serena stared at Belle, her eyes wide. "Wha-?" She asked softly. Belle smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to do some grocery shopping." And with that, she brushed past Serena, and Serena caught a glimpse of lavender eyes behind the thick glasses she wore, almost like she wanted to hide.

Serena and Luna watched as the girl broke into a run, disappearing in to the crowd. Serena blinked as Luna leaped to her shoulder. "Wow.. that was fast. Almost like she was scared.." Luna frowned as Serena's eyes grew wide. "And did you see that bruise? I'm sure it wasn't from gymnastics. Didn't you see it?"

"Yes. It looked like a hand print." Luna sighed, frowning. "She's not one to get in fights. I hope she's not being abused. But why would anyone hurt that girl? She's so pleasant..." Suddenly there was a scream.

"Uh oh looks like Sailor Scout time!" Serena said, dashing off towards the scream, and touching her watch to call the other Scouts.


Chapter Five; Friday evening, shopping center

Belle ran as fast as she could from Serena. 'What does Serena know? She's beautiful, friendly. Everyone loves her; she has tons of friends. Miss Sisaki loves her, even if she does have to yell at her all the time. I bet she's never ever been alone. She's like a pampered house cat. She doesn't know what it's like, out in the wild jungle of the real world!' Tears stung her eyes.

'I should be more friendly...' She laughed bitterly. 'As if that'll get me any further than where I am now!.. And I doubt that she could stand being my friend for more than a while. She'd choke on her words and run away from me... Ditch me.'

Suddenly, a brilliantly colored gloved hand shot out from the crowd, and grabbed her arm, squeezing hard. Belle cried out as she was brought to her knees by the force of the pressure.

"GIVE ME YOUR PURE EMOTIONS! I WANT YOUR PURE EMOTIONS GIVE THEM TO ME NOW!" The thing screamed. Belle looked up, right into the eyes of the most hideous woman-thing she'd seen. "NIGHTLIFE!" The thing yelled. Belle screamed and recoiled.

No one stayed. Everyone turned, screaming and fleeing from her. No one even tried helping her; she'd have to help herself. Lavender eyes narrowed as they filled with a righteous fury and she turned, using her weight to flip the freaky woman/thing over her body.

She scrabbled away from Nightlife, her hand out groping. She suddenly came in contact with an umbrella someone had dropped in the ensuing panic that the droid's appearance had caused.

She brought it around in a vicious swing just as the droid leaped at her. Nightlife screamed and grabbed her ugly, painted face as a long red scratch appeared down her cheek from the umbrella tip.

Belle scrambled to her feet, holding the umbrella out in front of her like a shield, chest heaving. Nightlife rose to her full, ugly height, opening her hand, with quickly formed into a sort of drinking glass, like one you'd see at the night clubs.

"Have a DRINK!" Nightlife yelled. "And give me your pure emotions!!" A wave of ugly brown sludge flew from the mug, rushing at Belle. She turned and tried to run, but the stuff was like tar, surrounding her and weighing her down. Belle straining, fighting, trying to get away from the sludge. "Time to give me your pure emotions!" Nightlife walked forward, a small, black jar forming in her hands.

Belle glared at Nightlife, straining against the sludge, away from the droid, but to no avail. "NOW GIVE ME YOUR PURE EMOTIONS!" Nightlife screamed, and a beam of light formed from the jar to Belle's heart.

Belle screamed as coursing pain shot through her, and a tingly numbness spread through her limbs as a glow formed around the black beam connected to Nightlife's jar and her heart. She screamed again, and the glowing sparkles started towards Nightlife's jar. Nightlife was laughing maniacally.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" The voice cut through the noise of the confrontations. Nightlife "hu?"ed and turned to the rooftop in the direction the voice flew from. A slim form appeared, the daylight reflecting off her lithe form.

Sailor Moon leaped from the rooftop, landing easily, and took a step forward, pointing at Nightlife. "You give that girl's emotions back to her! They are meant for her to enjoy, and I won't let you take them and turned her into a mindless droid for evil purposes. I'm Sailor Moon, and I fight for love, and I also fight for justice too! Justice will be served, and I'll punish you cause you're.. um.. evil!"

Luna sweatdropped. "Smooth transition Sailor Moon.." She sighed.

"SSSH Luna be QUIET!" Sailor Moon told the cat, and then turned back to Nightlife. "Time for you to be MOON DUSTED!" A scepter appeared in her hand.

"MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!" Sailor Moon yelled, and Nightlife screamed in reply as the gigantic red heart hit her. She collapsed to the ground. A small chip flew out of her, burst into flames, and fell to the ground as the woman it had been inhabiting gasped with relief and fell into unconsciousness.

"Quick!!" Luna cried, and Sailor Moon plunged forward, catching the small black jar containing Belle's emotions before it hit the ground. She sighed in relief.

Belle was laying on the ground; the sludge had disappeared at the droid's demise. "Oh no Belle!" Sailor Moon gasped, running over to the girl and supporting her head. "Here we go, this will fix you up." Sailor Moon said quietly as she opened the jar and poured the contents onto Belle's chest.

The deathly white pallor on Belle's face retreated, and she started to breath normally again. Sailor Moon smiled. "Thank goodness. You're alright now aren't you?" She smiled as Belle's eyes fluttered open. "There you go." Belle sat up suddenly, staring at Sailor Moon with wide eyes.

"Are you Sailor Moon?" She gasped, eyes widening slightly. Sailor Moon nodded.

"Yep that's me!" Suddenly, a black shadow fell across the ground between them. They both gasped as if on cue, raising their heads to look at the shadow caster.

He wore a half face mask over the top of his face, black with silver lining. Jet black eyes stared out from underneath them; eyes filled with hatred and malice. He wore black armor; black cape too. His long black hair waved in the soft breeze. His hand rested on the pommel of a large sword sheathed at his side.

"So. You're Sailor Moon." He addressed Sailor Moon with a frown. Sailor Moon blinked, and then yelled "Hey!" angrily as he turned, dismissing her. His gaze took in the woman who'd been Nightlife just a few minutes ago. "Hmm.. So, you took care of Nightlife did you?.. No matter, there's a lot more where that came from." Then his eyes fixed on Belle.

She stared at him with fire in her eyes. He gestured, and the light from the sun dimmed, and he caught a glimpse of the eyes behind the thick glasses she wore. "Gods.." He muttered softly. He'd no idea there was such a beautiful soul on this planet. She was like a tightly curled flower, almost ready, a plain bud right now, but soon she'd open, become the beautiful rose he knew she'd be. And just like a rose, she had thorns. He snapped out of it quickly.

"And who are you? Hmm... Nightlife didn't get to take your emotions, did she? Never mind, I'll get you some other, more convenient time." He turned from her back to Sailor Moon, smirking with satisfaction at the girl's slight gasp of indignancy.

Sailor Moon stood, her hair whipping in the breeze as she stared defiantly at him. "Are you the Darkness that is sending the droids?" She asked, angrily, and he started at her rebellious streak. Hmm.. She'd be trouble; she was so stubborn she'd try to spoil any plans he had. But then again, that was used to an advantage.

"Um.. Let me check." He looked at his wrist. "Yep, right now I'm still Darkness. Hurry up Moonface, I've got things to do, and they don't include sitting around and listening to a little girl yak my head off." He sighed. "Now spit it out."

"Listen to me right now Darkness! We've had plenty of people come here and try and take over this world, but we've beaten them plenty of times! Galaxia, the Doom Phantom, the Dead Circus. You name them, we beat them. And we'll beat you too! I won't let this world be taken over by a monster like you!!" She yelled angrily. "Why can't you evil people just leave Earth alone? It's never going to be yours so why even bother?? Believe me, I've seen the future and it doesn't include YOU." Darkness stared at her for one moment, and then burst out laughing.

"Nice speech Moon brat. Don't worry; the future isn't set in stone; it can always change. And it has changed; poor you. The future you saw isn't the future that's going to be. Just ask your little friend, the time Guardian." He smirked at the surprised look on the Sailor's face, and then snapped his finger. The chip and jar that Nightlife had used rose from their positions and flew into his hands.

"Well, I'm outtie now. Enjoy your respite Sailor Mooner, it will be brief." He smiled, and then disappeared in a black flash of light that made Sailor Moon, Belle, and Luna cover their eyes. When they opened them, he was gone, and so was everything that might have been evidence of his existence.

Sailor Moon stood, opened her arms to Luna, and turned. "Take care Belle." She said, smiled and winked, and then leaped up to the top of the building she'd just descended from. Belle watched her go.

Then, silently cursing her luck, she rescued her new shirt and pants and headed to the grocer's.


Chapter Five; Friday Night, clock tower
Darkness hmmed, and reclined in his chair, relaxing, the black jar Nightlife had used to hold Belle's emotions floating in front of him. He hmmed again, and then reached out and grabbed it.

Opening the top, he stuck his finger in and drew it around the sides and the bottom of the jar. He pulled it out, looking at the sparkles on his fingers with a smile before popping his finger into his mouth and licking the sparkles off.

Almost immediately, an unbelievable sadness filled him, weighed down by oppression and constant pain. Loneliness like the kind he never thought any but him could feel stung his tongue, and he felt tears in his eyelids. There weren't really any points of sweet happiness, though the girl had many brief moments of soothing peace that rolled over his tongue and comforted him, made the pain worth bearing. He also felt a kind of tangy tartness in the back of his mouth. She had strong beliefs, and loved her God and truly felt that He loved her in return. Yet she was not loved by any on Earth. The lack of human love, yet the girl's hopes and dreams which made her life worth while, amazed him.

'How could any one survive such agony, and still have her dreams and hopes intact?' He thought bitterly of his own unyielding childhood, how he had turned out. Yet this girl seemed to be doing the right thing, despite the obvious lack of love in her life.

She was an enigma, a thing he'd never encountered or even believed could be.. 'I want to touch this. I want to feel this enigma. I want to know her. See what makes her go, what gives her her dreams and hopes and aspirations.. I want to explore her mind.'

Suddenly, a searing pain shot through his mouth, and he almost gagged. And then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone. The flash of power he'd felt was gone, like a whiff of something on the breeze, gone before he'd realized what it was. Another thing to add to this paradox: She was powerful. Her power was sleeping, dormant, but sure enough she had strength, might. The ability to do things, to go far.

He sat alone in the dark far into the night, pondering. Just pondering.


Chapter Six; Saturday Morning, Kouheino residence.
Belle raised her head, the bright Saturday sunshine streaming in. She blinked rapidly. She was awake again: the dream had come again and still she couldn't remember it.. Tears were on her cheeks, she'd awoken in a dead sweat. What was so terrible to make her so shaky? And why couldn't she remember it? She wasn't one prone to nightmares.

Her mother staggered into her room, her shirt slipping over one bare shoulder. She had nothing else on. She blinked red rimmed blue eyes, rubbed the grit out of them, and coughed, ruffling her mousy brown hair. "What are ya doin'? Yer gonna ruin mah business screamin' like that.. SHUDDUP.." With that, she threw a half empty bottle of beer at Belle, and staggered back out of the girl's room, back to her own room, ignoring the cry of pain from Belle.

Belle watched her go, nursing her side, where the bottle had hit her. It hurt bad. She hoped her mother hadn't broken any bones. She was going to have a hard time explaining this to Mrs. Kayon. "wonderful.. Thank you mother for a beautiful good morning." She laughed bitterly, shaking her head at the greeting.

"Hello weekend, good-bye freedom." She sighed and stood, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. If her mother was busy with a customer and her father was in another one of his drunken stupors, she'd be able to get away for a while this afternoon, maybe go to the gym and work on her back flip. Or maybe go to the park with her lunch, do some sketching. Or maybe if she couldn't get away, she'd just go up to the roof and attend to her garden; she hadn't watered it in a while, but the rains had come several times so she wasn't worried.

She pulled on a white, short sleeved knit sweater, with a jean skirt, doing her hair up around her head and tying it with a bright blue ribbon. Even if her mother and father looked like the whore and drunk they were, she didn't have to. All of her clothes were threadbare and worn; it wasn't often she got new clothes.

Her father was slumped in a chair by the table when she came down in the small room they used as kitchen and dining room, not that they ever dined together. More often or not it was cluttered by beer bottles and small scattered articles of clothes, her mother's and otherwise. She gave him a wide berth, knowing far better than to try and wake him to make him move. That would only serve to get her hit. She fried an egg and grabbed some milk for her breakfast. She didn't cook her mother or father anything. For one thing, they never said thank you. And for another, they never did anything for her so why should she do something for them? They only made her life more miserable. She was surprised, with her mother's active sexual life, that she wasn't surrounded by trillions of kids, but her mother took antipregnancy pills pilfered off the hospital staff in return for.. favors. She snorted, and ate her breakfast quietly.

Suddenly there was a snorting sound, and her father's eyes opened blearily. Belle froze. She recognized the murderous look in those brown orbs. He'd had a bad night; more than likely the local prostitute (her mother and his wife) had turned him away. He sat up in the chair, all the time leaning heavily on the table, his angry gaze on her.

"Wot are yew doin'? Ainchew sposed t'be at that schewl y'go ta all the time?" He stared at her hard. He had never had schooling as a boy; he'd worked on a farm all his life, and saw no need for it. Therefore the fact that Belle went to school and that the taxes took a large dent out of his beer money was a major pet peeve of his. She swallowed.

"Father, it's Saturday." She didn't dare say anything more. Her father rose, moving towards her to tower over her. He stared at her ponderingly. She lowered her eyes from his.

With a sudden move he slapped her across the cheek, sending her crashing into the table, off her chair to sprawl on the ground. Moving fast as lightning, he stepped forward and kicked her hard. She felt a rib crack as she cried out in pain.

"That'll teach ya t'be mouthy t'ME y'brat.." Laughing uproariously at his little 'joke' he moved from the room, into the living room where he flipped the TV on and sat, smoking, in front of it. Belle lay on the floor, shuddering with pain, tears falling down her face to form a small puddle on the floor.

She didn't cry in pain. She cried in rage.


Chapter Seven; Saturday morning, Cherry Hill Temple
Serena sighed, leaning back on the cushion she was sitting in. She'd just told the others about the droid in the park, pleased when they all complimented her on not needing any help. She'd told them all she could about Darkness, and then settled back to listen to their discussion, her mind not really there..

"I don't like this guy. He's too cocky, too selfsure." Lita said, frowning as she tapped her lower lip thoughtfully. All of the other Scouts, including Amara and Michelle, were relaxing in various positions in Rei's room. Mina, Lita, and Ami sat on the bed, Rei and Serena on cushions on the ground, and Amara and Michelle leaning against the wall. Luna and Artemis sat on the table in the middle of the room.

"None of us do, Lita. But you heard him, the future is always changing. So, he may be wrong. We can defeat him and save the future." Luna said factually.

"Yeah, but we don't even know what his true motives are, Luna." Mina added.

"Oh yes we do." The cat replied. "He wants to take over the world and rule it. Last time we saw him, he called the city his don't you guys remember?"

"Oh yeah, I remember. He said, 'I never thought you Scouts would be protecting my city.'" Rei said, snorting with rage. "As if this city is his yet, yeah right!"

"We have to find his base of operations, then we can attack and really take him out!" Lita said, smacking her fist into the palm of her hand. Everyone sweatdropped.

"Don't be too hasty Lita. We don't even know if he has a base of operations." Michelle warned, and the girls sweatdropped.

"Everyone's gotta have a base of operations Michelle! That's a rule!" Mina said.

"Says who, Mina?" Artemis asked, sweatdropping already.

"Says um.. um.. the evil head guy book of rules!" She laughed embarrassedly, and everyone sweatdropped this time. Suddenly, Serena sighed.

"Guys, who knows Belle? I think her last name is Kouheino." The girls all looked at her, and Luna sweatdropped.

"Serena we're talking about DARKNESS not some girl you ran into at the mall!" Serena sat up suddenly, scaring everyone as she pounded her hands onto the table, eyes blazing.

"LUNA! Don't you have ANY Feelings? You saw the bruise on her arm just like I did! It was in the shape of a man's hand!! Someone grabbed her, hard, I know it!!" Everyone turned to her, blinking in surprise and shock.

"Belle? The one who sits in the back of the class who just transferred to this school last year? Belle, who has a grade average just below Ami's? That Belle?" Lita asked. "Someone's abusing that poor girl? How DARE they!!"

"We should find who ever is doing it and show them that the Sailor Scouts don't approve!" Rei said hotly, balling her hand into a fist and raising it into the air. The other Inners were quick to agree, even Luna.

"Stop it! Stop it all of you!" Amara burst out, and everyone turned to look at her. She was staring at the ground, not at them, and even Michelle was looking away. "We can't bother ourselves with such TRIVIAL matters!"

"Trivial matters? TRIVIAL MATTERS?? Really Amara, don't you have ANY heart at all? Doesn't some part of you ache for that girl?? How dare you call that a trivial matter! It's the most important matter we've talked about!!" By now, Serena was yelling at the top of her lungs. Amara stared at her, eyes hard.

"Serena, we have to look at the big picture! We can't concern ourselves with just ONE GIRL'S problems when the WHOLE WORLD is at stake! Look, maybe we can help her after Darkness had been defeated, but until then, we have to focus on him and him alone. Besides, you don't even know if that bruise WAS from someone abusing her! Maybe someone just grabbed her a bit too hard, maybe it was unintentional. I'm sorry Serena, but we CAN NOT HELP her!"

Silence fell in the room, and the emotions ran high, tense. For a moment, no one moved, and then, Luna said, very quietly, "She's right Serena. We can't help her."

Serena stared at them, too stunned to move, and then suddenly seemed to give up. Her shoulders slumped, and she stared at them with disappointment and betrayal plain in her eyes. When she spoke, her voice was soft, full of pain.

"Alright.. alright fine. I can see when I'm out numbered. I.. I just thought.. The Sailor Scouts are here to protect.. and.. and out there, one young woman is being abused, hurt. Her dreams are being crushed, and.. and.. I just thought for once.. Just for once we could stop worrying about the world, and worry about one girl's life.. Just once.. But.. but I guess.. hey.." She laughed bitterly. "Hey! What's the price of one girl's dreams against the FUTURE.. yeah I see where you're coming from." She was silent for a moment.

And then, she burst out, "I see it but I don't agree! But then again I'm just a stupid meatballhead, who cares what I think!" And then she ran from the room, tears flying from her eyes. The ones left in the room were silent once more.

That was, until Mina said, very meekly, "No Luna... Serena was right."


Chapter Eight; Saturday morning, Tokyo suburbs
Serena walked quickly away from Rei's temple, running almost, tears on her cheeks, only one goal on her mind. She ran towards the Park, not knowing where else to go. Searching quickly, she didn't find what she was looking for.

Ten minutes later, she'd collapsed against a tree in the shade, her head in her hands, trying to fight the deep depression that set on her after her rapid departure. Suddenly, she raised her head. Of course! Everyone was always talking about the gymnastics teacher, and how his teacher's pet was Belle!

She rose, purse in hand, and practically flew from the temple, running, scorning the bus, instead stretching her legs, running as fast as she could, just for the feel of running. She'd never been so desolate. She couldn't believe what they'd done to her.. What they'd refused to do! Couldn't they understand? Couldn't they see?? What was wrong with them! The world, the Darkness, could wait for just one night..

She slowed as she approached the Gym, walking slowly but quickly inside, heading towards the gymnastics area. Belle wasn't there. She slumped in defeat.

There was a soft touch on her shoulder. "Excuse me Miss, but are you looking for someone?" She turned to meet brown eyes, clear wide ones. She smiled.

"Um, hi Mr. Kekaru! I'm looking for Belle Kouheino. Is she here?" Kekaru frowned, running a hand through his short brown hair as he blew out thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry Serena, but she hasn't been here in a couple of days. If you're looking for her, I could give you her address, and maybe if you visit her sometime, tell her we miss her here OK?" Serena smiled enthusiastically at Mr. Kekaru.

"That'd be really great Mr. Kekaru, and I'd be happy to deliver a message to her." Serena sighed with relief, and nodded happily as Mr. Kekaru handed her a slip of paper, Belle's address sprawled on it hastily, but still it was readable.

She glanced at the address, trying not to let a horrified expression come over her. She knew this address, this was one of the streets of the poor sector of Tokyo, where only the sleezeballs lived! If Belle's family was that poor, no wonder her clothes were always threadbare, and no wonder she was always so shy and quiet all the time. She looked up.

"Thank you Mr. Kekaru, Maybe I'll see you sometime, bye!" Serena called as she dashed out the door, golden pigtails floating out behind her. Mr. Kekaru watched her go.

'I don't know how well you know Belle, Serena, but I hope you can help her. She needs all the friends she can get. She's a wonderful girl, really she is.. She just has been hurt too many times in the past. Please help her Serena.. If anyone can do it, you can.'


Chapter Nine; Saturday morning, Kouheino residence
Belle ran from her house blindly, her tears blinding her. Her mother had come down and found her on the ground, nursing her side. And she'd refused to take Belle to the hospital, instead slapping her daughter for "impertinence".. Something came over Belle, and instead of cowering again, Belle had straightened, stared her mother down and then slapped HER.

And now, she was running, thrown out from the only home she had, shunned by the only family she'd known. Her eyes felt like they were going to burn up, tears were running down her cheeks like rain. She headed for the only refuge she knew: the park.

She curled up beneath the large trunk of a sycamore tree, crying what seemed to be her heart out. What was she going to do now? How could she return home when she'd just ruined any chance of living there in peace??

Suddenly, a roar interrupted her sobbing, and she sat up, curiosity shoving her tears aside for the moment. A wolf-beast leaped through the bushes, its ugly red glowing eyes focusing around the small glen. Belle melted into the shadows, trying not to draw any attention to herself, trying to make her breathing as shallow and unnoticeable as possible.

"Beautiful Warrior.. Where are you, beautiful warrior?" It rasped, looking around, and Belle's heart caught in her lungs. Time slowed, stopped.

Those were the words! Suddenly, her dream thudded into her mind. She was running, running from something. Screaming. And then suddenly she turned. 'Beautiful Warrior greet thy death!' The voice cried, roared, but suddenly, she wasn't herself. She was someone else! She cried something out, and something unbelievable, some hideously awesome power shot from her hands. She felt the threads of the world around her shatter and tear, destroyed utterly. Darkness slipped over her, a void she'd felt before. Nothing,.. utterly nothing.. Except the whispered voices, weeping, for what they had lost. And she added her own voice to those of the Beautiful Warriors before her.

"There you are!" And Belle screamed, because suddenly the wolf was on her, over her, claws digging into her shoulder, blood spilling forth as she was flung back against the tree. She screamed in pain, feeling faint as her ribs cracked again. Shuddering, she stared at the wolf, and then, suddenly, anger took over her.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" She cried, stretching the syllables out until it seemed to be a keening dirge, and the wolf stared at her, stared at her with the force she was screaming. "STOP HURTING ME!!" And with a sudden pulsing energy, the reality around them shattered, and the wolf beast roared in pain as the threads shut around it, destroying it utterly.

Belle collapsed to the ground, weeping in pain and fear.


Chapter Ten; Saturday morning, Crystal Skies Park
"Belle? Belle oh my god Belle!!" Serena appeared in the clearing, having heard the screaming. Belle was laying on the ground again, blood rushing down her shoulder, glasses askew, a long crack running down the lens of one. Wisps of white hair drifted down around her pain wracked face, her eyes were shut tightly.

She was shuddering and weeping, holding her side and shivering. Serena fell to her knees beside the prone girl, smoothing her bangs. "oh god, what happened here?" She turned, and screamed, "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

And then suddenly, there was a young man beside her, looking at Belle with something like concern in his eyes. Serena stared at him, and he turned to her. Total black eyes met hers, and she flinched at the intensity she found in them. "What happened to her?" His voice was steely, quick and hard. He was obviously used to being in control. She blinked rapidly, and then swallowed.

"She was attacked by a youma! It must have been scared off by my arrival!" She frowned. She didn't even believe this story. Maybe it was true though; she'd heard Belle screaming, and the youma's roar. But the roaring had stopped long before Serena had arrived. The man ran his hands carefully over Belle's midriff.

"Her ribs have been broken in several spots.. She must have taken a mighty beating. Look, there are bruises on her arms, plus the scratches on her cheeks, and the claw marks on her shoulders. No wonder she's passed out." The man said, horror in his voice. Serena stared at him. 'He acts almost like he's met Belle before, or at least knows who she is. But I'm sure I've never seen him before in my life. Not ever in Tokyo! Those eyes, his hair.. I'm sure I'd remember him at once if I ever saw him..'

The man carefully scooped Belle into his arms, gentle as if he was handling a tiny new born babe. He softly whispered some nonsense words to soothe her when she half awoke, whimpering with pain. Serena stared at him, her eyes softening. 'He's so gentle.' And then his eyes turned back to her, and she saw the very same hard glint in them that went missing whenever his gaze fell on Belle, but seemed to abound whenever he looked away from him.

"Well? Are you going to just stand there or are you coming?" His voice was hard, scornful, not at all the gentle tone he'd used when talking to Belle. Serena was bit by anger and maybe a little bit of jealousy.

"Of course I'm coming! Belle is my.. friend, unlike you!" She smiled with satisfaction at his startled expression. "Don't try and fool me, you've never met her before in your life, I doubt you've ever even been to Tokyo! So don't try and convince me other wise, because I know better!"

"That's not important. Do you want to get this girl some help or do you want to stand around here yakking because a stranger offered to help you??" He rolled his eyes, scornfully turning from her, and her eyes widened at his dismissive attitude. She was sorely tempted to start wailing, but Belle's slight moan of pain brought her crashing down into reality. For right now, the stranger was the only one who could help her. She'd better not blow it.

"Alright then let's go." She said, sighing unsuredly. Suddenly, she sweatdropped when she realized the glen was empty and he'd already left, halfway down into the streets.

"Can you drive?" He nodded at a sleek black Ferrari. Serena stared at it, wide eyed, but then nodded. He sat in the back, Belle still cradled in his arms, and Serena turned the car on slowly, her eyes sparkling at the thought of being able to drive the Ferrari.

She drove carefully, trying not to hit any potholes, avoiding the really bumpy streets, edging slowly around the corners, but revving it on the straight-aways. She was glad there weren't any cops around; she was violating basically every law Tokyo had. 'That doesn't matter.' She told herself sternly. 'All that matters is getting Belle safely to the hospital and getting that stranger AWAY from her. I don't trust him. I don't trust him at all.' She glanced at him in the rearview mirror, but his long hair had fallen over his eyes and was hiding his eyes from her.

He stared at Belle, stroking her hair comfortingly. Her face was pale, taunt with pain and fear, and there were dark circles under her eyes, as if she stayed up late worrying.

'How could the people of Earth do this to such a beautiful soul? My tiny rose, how could they? Now I know more than ever, I'm going to take over this planet, and I'll destroy those who were hurting you. I swear it to you Belle. I promise you, I'll do everything in my power to ease the pain in your heart. Kami.. How dare that wolf attack HER of all people! When I find that droid, I am going to slowly dismember it inch by inch. I'll make it scream.'

And then they were there, at the human hospital, and the doctors bustled her away from him. He gave the paperwork to the other girl, she introduced herself as Serena. He didn't reply with his name, to the result of another infuriated gasp. He didn't care what she thought, his main concern was the girl.

He followed her into surgery, standing next to the door for what seemed like ages before the doctor finally came out. He was there, waiting anxiously, while Serena took her own sweet time getting over to them.

"Five of her ribs were broken. Fortunately, they missed the lungs and her heart. There wasn't any internal bleeding, and we managed to patch most of it up. We bound her tightly. She isn't to do any strenuous work for at least a month. I gave her a sedative, she'll sleep for another couple of hours. She'll be hurting later, I'll give you a prescription for that. The claw wounds on her shoulders were deep but clean. I found no poison, and only one needed stitches. Those will dissolve, so don't worry about having to take them out. I'll give you an antibiotic cream to rub on them to help protect against infection. She should come back in two weeks for a checkup, and then in a month for the brace to be taken off. As for the bruises she sustained, they were all very minor and should disappear within a few weeks. Any questions?" Immense relief flooded through both; Belle was going to be fine. The doctor walked away.

"Wait, who's gonna pay?" Serena asked, blinking. The man stared at her, rolled his eyes, and pulled out a wallet Serena had never seen out of a pocket she didn't realize existed. While he quickly paid, she wandered over to where the nurse had wheeled Belle, sitting down next to the girl.

She didn't have long to wait. With a confidence that astounded Serena, the man moved past her, as if she didn't even exist, took the handles of the wheelchair and wheeled Belle out of the hospital. Serena stared at him, and then dashed after them.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" He turned to stare at her, as if he was just realizing she was there. Then his expression turned to exasperation and then scorn.

"Well she certainly can't go back to that whore house she calls her home. And I doubt your shallow little family could, or would, spend the time and energy to take care of her. I doubt they'd let you take care of a total stranger. She's going to need constant attention, and you have school on Monday." Serena glared at him, fury in her eyes, suddenly very suspicious. How did he know all of that? "I'm going to take her to my place."

"NO! I WON'T allow it!" Serena yelled, dashing in front of him and blocking his way to his car. "I don't know what, but something's WRONG with you! I'm not letting Belle go home with a total stranger!" The man stared at her, smirked, and gestured.

Serena flew back, away from the car, as if hit by some invisible force. She turned to stare at the man with anger and fear. He was smirking, looking at her and laughing. "You really think you can stop me little girl? I'll take much better care of this flower than your people EVER did! You've used and abused her, now I'm here to stop it. This girl isn't going to be hurt anymore, not while I'm around. So go back to your shallow little life and leave her to me. Because" His smirk grew "you can't stop me."

And then, he opened the car door, sliding Belle inside, carefully, like a baby. Serena struggled to stand, groaning. 'I've got to stop him! He's evil, I can't let him take Belle!' She had just gotten to her feet when the Ferrari roared to life. She made a half hearted attempt to run in front of it, but the man avoided her, and the car disappeared into the traffic, and she fell to her knees. "No!! Damn!!"..


Chapter Eleven; Co-Z Lodge, Apartment 13, Later that night
Belle moaned, stirring groggily, freezing as lances of pain shot through her. Her hand flew to her ribs. They were bound tightly. The scratches on her shoulders had been bandaged and cleaned. She felt like she'd just woken up from the deepest sleep she'd ever imagined. Her head was spinning.

"Sshh.. Don't move yet. Let the anesthetic wear off first." A deep, soft voice said. She moved her head slightly, to her right. A man sat by her bed, his deep black eyes sparkling slightly. She blinked.

"Do.. do I know you?" He smiled, chuckling as if amused. He leaned forward, and Belle jerked back at the sudden movement. A look of deep concern came over him as he saw the pain reflecting in her eyes.

"Don't worry. My name's Jake. I'm going to take good care of you." He snorted. "A lot better care then you've been receiving. I promise I won't hurt you." He chuckled. "That friend of yours, Serena I believe her name was, was very protective of you."

Belle frowned. "She's no friend of mine." She looked away from him. "I have no friends." A warm, gentle hand on her cheek caused her to look back at him.

"You do now." Belle stared at him, and he smiled. "Don't worry Belle. I won't hurt you." He looked up for a moment. "You could say we both share a common history. I had no one to love me either." The desolate expression on his face cleared, and he looked back down at her, smiling again. "Now. You need more sleep." He grinned. "I suggest falling back asleep before the anesthetic really wears off and the pain kicks in."

She smiled, closing her eyes. Jake pulled the soft down covers she'd been covered with up, tucking them under her chin, lovingly. A warm, peaceful feeling like Belle had never felt washed over her, and she smiled softly, slipping gently into a peaceful slumber.

Jake touched Belle's cheek again, smiling at the peaceful expression on her face. "Sleep my little rose bud. I won't let anything touch you anymore. I will be here when you wake up. I'll be here whenever you need me. That I promise."

He looked up, his eyes suddenly glinting hard. "And I swear that this uncaring world will pay. None of them cared for you, loved you, and that is wrong. I'm going to destroy everything. A world like this doesn't deserve saving. I have no desire to reign over this world any more. I desire to destroy it. And I shall, for you."


Chapter Twelve; Tsukino residence, Sunday morning
"SERENA WAKE UP!!" Serena woke up with a screech, jumping to her feet and throwing Luna off of her. The black cat hit the ground with an annoyed screech.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT, FUNGI?" Serena screeched in equally annoyed terms, turning and glaring at the small pink haired girl. Reenie rolled her eyes.

"Amara called dipwad." She paused a moment, and then added, "So did Ami, Lita, Rei, Mina, Michelle.." She grinned. "I don't think Hotaru or Trista have called yet." Her expression suddenly turned serious when she saw that Luna had left the room. Serena hadn't seemed to notice, or didn't care.

"Thanks squirt." Serena said, and headed towards her bureau, opening it and staring down thoughtfully at her clothes. She picked out a white blouse and short blue jean skirt.

"Serena?" Serena stopped at Reenie's soft question, turning her head slightly to indicate she was listening. "Serena, what happened? Yesterday, I mean."

Serena sighed and settled down on her bed, her clothes in her lap as she leaned on her elbows, thoughtfully staring down at the ground. "I don't quite know yet Reenie. I just hope it was a little spat, caused by being together too much, having to fight so often." She blinked. "Because I couldn't bear it if it became serious." She sighed and fell back on her bed. "I don't know what I'm going to do yet."

She suddenly screamed, a sound of pure frustration, and Reenie jumped at the sound. "DAMN! Where are you Belle? Who was that man? Are you alright? I can't believe I couldn't save you!! Well.. no matter.. I'll save you now. I don't care what the others think. You're important to me. More important than I realized before, I guess."

She sighed, laying there for a few moments, lost in thought, deep blue eyes troubled and full of pain. Reenie walked over to Serena, crawling up on the bed next to Serena. "Moon-momma, do you want me to help you?" Serena edged up on her elbows, staring at Reenie.

"How could you help me? I have to find a girl you've never even met or seen, and she could be anywhere in Tokyo. AND if Jake wanted to hide her, I don't think anyone could find him!" Reenie lay on her stomach, kicking her feet in the air.

"Ooh.. I've got my ways.." She giggled when Serena plopped back on the bed, leaning her chin in her hand, staring at her curiously.

"Ooh Reea-llly.. Mind lettin' ME in on these.. ways?" Reenie thought a
moment, regarding the hungry, curious expression on Serena's face, and then grinned evilly.

"You have to catch me first, Luna-P Block her while I get away!" Reenie yelled down the stairs as Serena scrambled to her feet after the pink haired girl. Serena screeched as the ball hit her square in the face and she fell backwards with a huge crash onto her bottom.

Reenie scampered out the door, Serena thundering down the stairs after her, screaming "GET BACK HERE SQUIRT!!" Sammy and Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino watched as the door slammed, each sweatdropping. "Will those girls EVER learn?" Mr. Tsukino sighed...


Chapter Thirteen; The Time Gates
Sailor Pluto turned to the giant doors she guarded, taking a deep breath, feeling the mists around her welcoming her, embracing her. She was home. But somehow, this time, it didn't feel right. Something was happening, and it meant another visit to Earth might be in store for her.

She turned, taking another deep breath. Gesturing with one hand, the Garnet Orb she guarded glowed a brilliant dark red. She waited for a moment, straining her ears as she listened in the silence, senses alert, body ready for action.

And then, the mists started to swirl in front of her. She took a step back, giving it room to form. Two giant doors, the same color as the Garnet Orb on her staff, with gold etchings and strange designs drawn onto their smooth exterior greeted the eye.

She stepped forward again, pressing her hand against the door. They glowed, once, and then swung open. A brilliant collage of lights of every color in the rainbow spilled out of the door, illuminating the dark Time Gates for one instant. She smiled at the sound coming forth. The endless tick tick ticking of a million, billion clocks, all at different rates yet at the same rhythm. A place of chaotic order.

She entered the Dome of the Time Threads, setting her staff against the doors which shut behind her, ensuring that no one would be able to follow her. She had known of this place for many, many millennias, but had never dared to enter. But now, now with the power of the Purity Chalice in dire danger, it was her only hope.

Threads resembling what human scientists called DNA wound throughout the infinitely large dome, twisting about each other and sometimes even disappearing into thick fog. The threads directly in front of her were crystal clear; these were the threads of the present. They very quickly faded into almost pure nonexistence, thick fog hiding the vaporous strands from view. The ones to her left were clear for a long time, parts of the strands covered or obscured by the same soupy fog until they too faded into virtual nonexistence.

She moved to the front of the small balcony viewing scope, a small door opening in the floor before her. A tiny silver, glowing ball rose from the dark hole, hovering about chest high on Sailor Pluto. Pluto put out a hand and laid it on the ball. And then, it was like she was moving through the threads, bursting through them, swirling crazily around them, but never ever touching them.

She quickly moved to the point in time she was concerned with. It was small, and it took more searching than she'd have liked. But there- there it was.

She viewed the precise instant she'd been looking for with narrowed ruby eyes. The giant gates that were the only entrance or exit to this galaxy were knocked off their hinges. A young man.. no, shadow, shade was frozen in front of them, a maniacal light gleaming in his jet black eyes. His dark black hair was flying around him in a furious light.

"So." She spoke for the first time, her voice sounding strangely loud in the lonely room. "So." She said again. "This is the Darkness that they were so scared of." She reached out into the time frame, sensing his power.

She drew back with a gasp. His power was beyond that of all of the defenders of this galaxy combined! How could something such as he exist? She knew, with a deep biting fear, that his power was more than that of the Silver Crystal held by Sailor Moon.

"Gods.." She shook her head, fear biting into her as she longingly looked to the future threads, half wanting to fly through them, but knowing that was forbidden. She had received four ultimadums when she had received the job by Serenity.

And one of them was that future scrying was forbidden.

So, she'd just have to wait. On a quick impulse, she followed the threads as far forward as she dared, watching as they fought. She frowned. She'd have to return to Earth; Hotaru would be needing her guidance in the upcoming fight. And, she dared not admit it outloud, she was lonely. Desolately lonely. She wanted, needed human companionship, especially that of her "family" of the twentieth century times.

So she longingly took her hand from the silver ball, but not before scrying, just once, quickly, the past, happy times she'd enjoyed with her family. 'Soon,' she whispered. 'Soon I'll be back. And I'll take you for a hot fudge sundae, Hotaru, Reenie, my treat. I promise, just wait for me.'

She turned from the ball, and it plunged back into the hole, and reached for her staff, the Garnet Orb glowing once, recognizing her presence, before fading back into silence.

And, she headed to Earth.


Chapter Fourteen; Roof of Apartment 13, Sunday night
Belle gazed up, longingly at the stars above her, twinkling in the velvet sky. Suddenly she turned, gazing at the man who'd arrived like a wraith behind her.

"Jake." She whispered, eyes wavering slightly, unsure of him, of herself. He smiled at her, and turned his eyes back to the stars. She watched him for a moment, remembering his promise. 'I won't hurt you Belle, I swear it.'

Being with him made her feel warm, special. He treated her as if she was the most important being in the universe, going out of his way to make her happy. He was gentle, and kind, caring. She'd never known anyone like him. Yet he lived alone, in a vast, silent apartment, an apartment that had more rapidly become her home than eighteen years in her parent's house had. She turned to him, one hand resting lightly on the railing of the roof top above her apartment, the wind blowing around them, chilly.

She shivered slightly, turning back to the stars above her, unsure of herself, around him. Just his presence sent warmth flooding through her veins. She'd never known anyone to care about her as he did. She shivered again, and suddenly, he'd wrapped his coat around her shoulders.

She looked at him again, and he smiled wider. And then, to his delight, she smiled back at him, shyly, but definitely a smile. Black eyes soft and gentle, he leaned against the railings next to her, breath creating a small puff of white in front of him as he too stared up at the heavens above.

"They look so far away, don't they?" His voice was low, and soft. She turned to him, almost as if to make sure he'd actually spoken and she hadn't been hearing things. He turned to her, something in his eyes that made her ache for him. She had never seen the pain she endured before in any other person, so she didn't recognize it at first.

"Yes, but on nights like this, when they're gleaming above you, doesn't it feel, just a bit, like they're watching over you? They may be far away, but they're watching out for you." She said, and he smiled at her. "What?" She demanded at his amusement.

He turned back to her, and smiled, shaking his head slightly. "Nothing."

"What?? What's so funny?" She demanded, her eyes wide with sparkling mischief. He laughed and she poked him gently in the side. "What is it?" She demanded again.

He gave in, and with a final shake of his head, he laughed again. "It's just that, I've never heard any one say anything like that. You've got such a passion for living.. such a beautiful soul. I've never come across someone like you in all my travels." She blushed, looking intrigued, changing the subject from herself to him.

"Travels?"

He paused. "Yes, travels." He looked away from her, down at the street far below them. It was almost as if, standing here, next to her, the humans down below didn't matter. It was just them, standing here, and if they really reached out, stretched out their hands, they could pluck the stars from their orbits in the sky. He shook the feeling off with a tiny ping of.. fear? No, unease.

"It must be wonderful to travel.." Belle said, her eyes taking on a soft, glazed look, as if she was imagining all the places she could go. "I've never even been out of Tokyo."

He turned to her. "It's not all that fun." At the tone of his voice, she looked at him. "You travel everywhere, but there's no place for you. You're a stranger in a strange land, and there's no one to welcome you when you finally find a bit of shelter. But you always move on, knowing there has to be some place for you, some place out there, but you never find it."

She was shocked to see that same pain in his eyes, which glistened unusually in the light. "But.. there is a place for you. There is." She insisted at his denying glance. "I believe that every person has a place. A spot for just them. Where they're loved and needed, where they're accepted. And, until people find that spot, they wander. That's why they wander, because they're looking for a home." She paused for a moment of thought, collecting her feelings. "And sometimes, that place is hard to find, though it's out there. And the sad thing is, that sometimes, when people find their little niche, the spot where they belong, that they've traveled for so long that they don't recognize it, and move on, until eventually they die."

"But look!" Jake suddenly said, encompassing the whole of the skies with one sweep of his arm. "Look at all the stars out there, look at all the void. What if ONE, just ONE of those stars is your spot. How will you ever find it? There's no way."

Belle looked at him, with her wide, clear, all-knowing eyes, and said very quietly, "There is a way. Because there is a spot, it will find you. You will find it. You just have to be ready to grab onto it when you do find it."

And suddenly, he was speechless. The wisdom, the utter truth in her words astounded him. He looked at her wide, clear face, honesty shining out of her beautiful, deep eyes, and realized that everything she said was true.

He put his arm around her and drew her close to him, smiling. "It wouldn't do for you to get a cold now." She smiled, and, to his surprise, leaned into him, her head nestled comfortably against shoulder.

He looked down at her, and for once, he felt something he'd never felt before: warmth.


Chapter Fifteen; Sunday night, a Tokyo rooftop
"I don't understand it. Luna-P has all the best technology that my Momma and Poppa could find. She should be able to find one single girl without any problem.." Sailor Chibimoon stared down at the black cat ball, which was turning in idle circles, as if confused.

Sailor Moon put her hand on Chibimoon's shoulder. "Don't worry, Chibimoon. We'll find her. He's probably put some sort of spell on her to hide her from us, but he can't hide her forever."

"Right!" Chibimoon said firmly, her fist clenched. "We're the Sailor Scouts! We'll find him."

Sailor Moon nodded in agreement, her blue eyes sparkling with her determination. They would find Belle, .. somehow. They had to. "Now! Let's keep looking. If Luna-P can't find her we'll have to rely on our eyes and pray he hasn't blocked us from seeing her that way."

"Ok. Let's go!" They nodded at each other, then took off, leaping quick as two shadows over the rooftops, searching.. Always searching...


Chapter Sixteen; Friday Afternoon, Cherry Hill Temple
The Scouts were having another meeting. Only one droid had shown itself in the past week, searching for "pure emotions" in the crowd in the mall. The silence was getting to be unnerving.

Ami and Lita had apologized at school on Monday for not agreeing with her, and she'd apologized for storming out. One by one, she made up with the rest of the Scouts. They decided it had just been a bad night, and when it came to the question of where Belle was, Serena admitted they hadn't been able to find her. "Luna-P will let us know right away when it can detect Belle or if she gets into any trouble." Reenie had said factually.

Rei stared at her hands, hmming in thought. The rest of the Scouts were arranged inside the small room, also lost in thought, it being far too cold to be outside right now.

"So.. what do we do now?" Mina asked, shrugging. "What 'can' we do?" She sighed. "We don't know why Darkness is suddenly so quiet. The problem with Belle can't be solved until we find her.. What else is there to talk about?"

"Plenty," Amara said quietly, once again drawing attention back to herself. "Like, how did Jake manage to throw Serena off of him? What is he? How is he blocking Luna-P from finding Belle? Obviously there are more powers than just Darkness at work here. We have to find out whether he's on our side or not, where he's keeping Belle, and where he gets these powers from."

The speech had its desired effect, and Serena bounced to her feet, her fist clenched. "Well I don't know about you but I'm going to find Belle, no matter how long it takes!"

"Meatballhead! You looked all last night! How do you expect to find her if you've scoured the city and missed her??" Rei sniped, but instead of yelling back, Serena sat back down, her brow furrowed in concentration. Everyone looked amazed at her self-control.

"OK.. so, what do we do now?" She asked, very calmly, and everyone stared. She sweatdropped. "What?" Everyone groaned and fell over, sweatdropping up a rainstorm. In the midst of this sat Serena, a bit confused at what everyone was so suddenly gone ballistic over.

"WHAAAAAT?" She whined, still classically clueless.

Chapter Seventeen; Monday Morning, Juuban High
Belle was back in school the next Monday. The three Sailors, along with the rest of the school, were amazed at the change in her. She seemed to glow with confidence, happiness, raising her hand to answer questions, and when they did group studies, she spoke out instead of sitting stiffly, shyly away from the rest of the group. However, despite their attempts to corner her, Belle kept avoiding the Scouts.

"Class, one more announcement." Miss Sisaki yelled over the din. Everyone turned their attention back to her, and away from the clock that showed three minutes until school was out. Sisaki was waving a bright neon orange piece of paper.

"OOH!" Serena and Molly giggled together, each knowing what Miss Sisaki was going to say. The teacher waited for absolute silence to fall before clearing her throat.

"As many of you know, Spring vacation is coming up. And," she paused for a moment as many girls started giggling. Silence fell again under her strict gaze. "It's time, for the annual Senior High Spring Fling!!" She grinned widely at cheers that erupted at this announcement. "Simple rules! One, if you do bring a visitor, they've got to sign in with Mr. Moyarti. Two, NO ALCOHOL." She cast a strict glare about the room, and several people fidgeted. "Third, this is for you, as the students, to have fun. Don't ruin it by say.. spiking the punch." She glared around again. "And if you do act out of line, I will give you detention, cleaning erasers, scrubbing desks and the floor, punching holes in my papers, among other things, so keep that in mind."

The bell rang, and she waved the papers over everyone's heads. "Make sure you all get one!" She handed them out as the students crowded past her, making sure every student, even Melvin and Belle got one.

Belle walked down the hall, staring dismally at the paper in front of her. She'd never gone to a school dance. They were another of her father's pet peeves. So, she didn't expect to go to this one either. She'd be.. home? She looked up then, at the crowds around her. She hadn't asked Jake when he was taking her home, and he hadn't said anything. The truth was, she was afraid to know. She didn't ever want to go home ever again.

"Belle! BEEEEELLLE!!" She blinked, and raised her head, looking around. She'd never had anyone call to her in the halls before, and she didn't know what to do. So she stopped, and turned.

Serena, dragging Molly and Ami behind her, dashed up to her, her Spring Fling clutched tight in her hands. "BELLE!" She yelled again, waving the paper like a flag, doubly excited that she'd managed to corner Belle. Belle blinked and sweatdropped at the attention Serena was drawing.

"Hey Belle!" Serena said with that annoying giggle. "So.. are you going to the Spring Fling? I'm going to ask Darien.. He promised me he'd take me.. So now it's just a matter of him getting signed up." She giggled. "AND! Melvin and Molly are going together. And.." She glanced at Ami, who was looking away from the conversation and blushing ever so slightly. "Ami's really happy that it's this Friday, because that means her love interest, Greg, is going to be here! Isn't that great??" Belle smiled fakely and nodded, still not saying anything.

"Oh Serena you're such a dip! Stop going ON like that!" Molly said, shoving Serena way from Belle, ignoring her friend's protesting screeches. "We were wondering if you'd like to go with us Belle. Lita doesn't have a date, so you and her could hang out together when you're not dancing with all of us!" Molly said, her accent plain.

Ami waved her hand nervously. "Oh.. I still don't know if I'm going to go. I need my sleep, and I was going to take that night to study for my Chem. Exam.."

Everyone sweatdropped. Ami blinked at Serena, who'd fallen over.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMI!! You can't stay home and study on the biggest Dance of our youthful lives, that is until the end of the year Prom.. Come ON!.. Sides, you don't want GREG to think you're afraid do you??" Ami blushed.

"Serena please!! Keep your voice down!!" This set Serena off into a fit of giggles, resulting in Molly shoving her again. This time though, Lita caught her before she hit the ground.

"Hi Serena. Having a nice trip?" The girls laughed at this, and for once, Belle smiled, and meant it. It was Serena's turn to blush and sweatdrop.

"Hi Belle. My name's Lita, I don't think we've met, not properly any ways." She stuck her hand out, smiling friendly like, and Belle shook it, a bit shyly. Suddenly, Belle blinked.

"Wait.. aren't you the girl who was kicked out of her last three schools for fighting?" Lita glared at Belle.

"Don't you ever mention that again!" Belle blinked and, sweatdropping furiously muttered her apologies. Molly was laughing at something, and everyone looked at her. Apparently she'd just said something embarrassing to Serena, who'd blurted it out.

"GREG KISSED YOU AMI?? NO WAAAAAAAAY!"

"SERENA!!!" Ami screeched, and hid her face. Everyone within earshot of Serena ( a formidable distance ) turned to look at Ami with amazement. Shy brainiac Ami had a boyfriend AND she'd been kissed? No way!!

"Serena.. I.. I can't believe you did that!!" Ami moaned, but Serena was too busy going gaa-gaa over the news to hear her. Lita laughed at them all. "Oooh now how am I going to face school tomorrow?? Oh Serena I hate you!!"

The way Ami said that made it plain she really didn't, and Serena apparently was observant enough to know this, because she laughed and started 'cheering' Ami up.

"So, are you going to come Belle?" Lita turned back to Belle. Belle wished she hadn't. They were being so nice to her.. She really didn't want to tell them no,.. they wouldn't understand.

"Yeah c'mon Belle, it's gonna be GREAAAT!! whoo-HOO AHAHAHAHA!!" Serena laughed, as they stepped out in to the sunshine. Fortunately, Belle didn't have to answer.

For right then, she caught sight of Jake in his Black Ferrari, parked against the curb and obviously waiting for her. Her cheeks burned. She'd never had anyone wait for her, much less pick her up. He put his sunglasses up, and smiled like he'd just won a million dollars.

"Jake!" Belle waved happily, almost dropping her books. Laughing, she scooped them back into her arms, and dashed off towards Jake. "Bye guys!" she yelled back over her shoulder.

They watched her as she reached Jake, and he hugged her, gently, careful of her still tender ribs, taking her books from her and opening the car door for her. Jake hopped in the other side, put his arm on the back of the seat (and around Belle) and revved the Ferrari. Within a few seconds, they were out of sight.

"Ooooooh.. That's so romantic.." Molly sighed. "Darien's never picked you up has he Serena?" Serena, still caught up in her thoughts, broke into a sweatdrop, blinking.

"um.. No.. Hey, Mol, I just remembered I've gotta be some where. I'll meet you at the Arcade later OK? Come on Ami, we're LATE, remember?" She grabbed Ami's arm and the two sped off. Lita turned to Molly.

"Well, see you Tuesday Molly. Take care." She gave her a peace sign and then rapidly fled. Molly watched them go, mystified. 'Why do they always do that?' But her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Melvin..


Chapter Eighteen; Monday Night, Anderson Residence
"Hm.. what are you going to wear, Ami?" Lita asked, looking at Ami's more than spacious wardrobe. The five Inners were in their PJs, in various positions around Ami's huge bedroom.

"I don't know Lita. I thought that blue one over there." Ami pointed towards the wardrobe absentmindedly, not raising her eyes from the book she was reading. Lita rolled her eyes, walked over to Ami, snatched her book, and said, "Show me." Ami complied.

Serena burst out laughing, and Rei chucked a pillow at her. "Shut up Meatballhead! I'm trying to listen to this, OK??" Serena stuck her lollipop back in her mouth and started sulking.

"Wow, you've even got your own pool Ami?" Mina gasped, from the balcony. Ami nodded, showing Lita one of her emerald dresses. Lita frowned, tilted her head to one side, and then shook her head, taking the dress away from Ami.

"Girls, CAN we get down to business?" Luna demanded, only to have Serena throw a pillow and knock the black cat off her cushion. Luna hit the ground with a protesting screech.

"NO Luna! The idea of this sleep over is to HAVE FUN! We've got major planning to do! Rei, what are you going to wear? Oh, how did the temple meeting go today?" Rei nodded.

"Fine. The Commission decided to increase funding, and Grandfather wants to make some improvements. Chad decided to stay for a while more." She smiled. "Like another couple of years."

"OOh that's GREAT! Hey, you know what?" Serena turned to Mina. "You should come too! Yeah, Miss Sisaki told us we could bring visitors, and I think it'd be awesome if you came with us!!" Serena giggled as Mina looked absolutely starstruck at the idea.

"Ami, what about THIS one?" Lita held up a sapphire, sequin dress. Ami gasped at the sight.

"Where did you find that dress? My father gave it to me, I've never worn it before, it kind of just disappeared!" Serena, Mina, and Rei looked at the gorgeous dress with something akin to envy.

Lita pointed at the stack of boxes at her feet. "It was in here."

"Really? However did it get into those boxes? Oh! Mother must have gone on a cleaning rampage!.." Ami and Lita immediately started digging for whatever other treasures they could find. Suddenly, Mina gasped.

"Guys! Come here come here come HERE!!" Mina waved frantically at the others, leaning over the balcony and staring raptly at something below, in the street. The others slowly drifted over to where she was standing.

"What is it Mina?" Serena asked, following her friend's finger.

Belle was walking slowly down the street, a bag in her hands. She must have just gotten done with shopping. Serena looked down the road, scouring the buildings as if she'd see the apartment Jake lived in. His apartment had to be close to Ami's..

"So? It's Belle. D'you think we should go say hi?" Serena asked. Rei sweatdropped and slapped her lopside the head angrily.

"Serena, look BEHIND Belle dipwad! There, in the shadows! Something's following her!" Sure enough, when Serena peered into the shadows, something flitting through them caught her eye. Belle walked on, oblivious to it. Whatever it was, it wasn't human.

"Guys, I'm getting BAD vibes from whatever that is. I think she might be in trouble. C'mon, let's go." Rei said, her eyes furrowed as she stared suspiciously at the shadow. The other girls nodded.

"MARS CRYSTAL POWER!"

"JUPITER CRYSTAL POWER!"

"MERCURY CRYSTAL POWER!"

"VENUS CRYSTAL POWER!"

"MOON CRISES POWER!!"

"MAKE-UP!"

The five Scouts leaped from the balcony into the shadows, dashing forward into the light. Belle walked on, humming a soft song to herself, oblivious of the danger she was in. Mercury leaped forward first, not at Belle, but directing her "attack" at the shadows behind the girl.

"MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST" she yelled, and a dense fog filled the area. Belle turned at the sound of the voice, her eyes wide as the sight of five Sailor Scouts flooded her brain. She shrank into the shadows.

The beast that had been following Belle stepped forward out of the mist, and Belle tried not to scream. It was the same wolf-beast that attacked her in the park!! No.. no she realized.. It wasn't the same one, this one was black while the other had been a tannish red. This one was different.

"My fight is not with you Sailor Scouts. You have no business interfering with my purpose." Its voice was harsh and grating, hurting her ears. The Sailors seemed to bristle with rage at the sound.

"And what would that purpose be, huh? Draining that poor girl yet AGAIN of her emotions? Give her a break!!" Sailor Jupiter yelled. "She's been through enough, geez.. Darkness sure has a one track mind!" Now it was the wolf beast's turn to bristle angrily.

"The Darkness has no interest in draining her!" The wolf beast yelled. "And my purpose is not to fight you or her, it's to defend her you ignorant Sailor Pimps!"

This seemed to startle the Scouts. "What??" Demanded Mars. "Why would the Da-oh my god!!" She suddenly interrupted herself, staring at the wolf beast. "No way!!"

"What, what Mars? What's wrong, tell us!" Sailor Moon said worriedly, stepping forward and shaking Mars' shoulder. Mars turned to the others, swallowing.

"You remember when we were discussing Her with Neptune and Uranus? And Uranus brought up the point that it was coincidental that the attacks stopped when He took Her in?" The others nodded. "What if HE is Darkness? This just proves it! He set this wolf beast, one of his evil minions, to protect Belle because he's playing favorites! I bet right now there's another youma out there zapping some poor person and that's why Jake sent the beast to follow Belle, to make sure she didn't get hurt!!"

"Jake! Of course, he's Darkness!!" Mercury said. "It all makes sense!"

Jupiter growled in anger, the wolf beast forgotten. It melded into the shadows and seemingly disappeared. "I knew I didn't like him! He bumped into me one day on the sidewalk, and didn't apologize! He's a jerk, and it all makes sense!" She smiled. "So.. we take Jake down, we take Darkness down."

"STOPPIT!!" The cry came from the shadows, and the Sailors turned as one to see Belle standing there, hands gripped in anger. "Don't you DARE touch him! Don't you DARE!! I swear, if you do.. I'll.. I'll kill you I SWEAR IT!"

Sailor Moon stepped forward, hands held out, palm up, eyes pleading. "Belle, please. He's Evil.. We have to destroy him or he might take over the world!"

Belle seemed to tense, and her voice held a note of deadly anger. "Don't. You. Friggin. Dare. Touch. HIM!! You're supposed to be the SAILOR SCOUTS, the GOOD GUYS! And here you are, going to kill some guy just because you think he's some evil entity! I'll tell you, he's the kindest, most caring person I've EVER met!! DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

"Belle stop it! You don't know what you're getting into!" Sailor Moon cried, pleadingly.

"Forget her. We'll destroy him if we have to, Sailor Moon. She can't stop us." Jupiter said to Sailor Moon, eyes full of smoldering anger. Belle stepped forward, and slapped Jupiter. Jupiter's hand flew to her cheek and her eyes widened with rage. "How DARE you!! You little-" She flew at Belle, fist clenched.

Suddenly, a blur of black hit Jupiter, knocking her away from Belle. She hit the ground, rolled once, and stoppped, gripping her arm. Jake stared at her, eyes black and hard. "Lay a hand on her and I will personally rip it from your weak little body."

Jake turned to Belle, his eyes and voice soft, caring. "Are you alright? They didn't hurt you did they?" She shook her head, and Sailor Moon was appalled to see a glimmer of tears.

"No.. I'm fine.. But.. but Jake.. please, tell me, tell me they're wrong! You're not evil, I know it.. Please tell me.." She was shaking, starting to cry. Jake reached out and pulled her into his arms, and she buried her face in his shirt, crying.

He didn't answer her question, instead turning to stare at the Sailors, eyes hard. Sailor Moon gasped to see a shadow covering Belle, realizing in the same instance that it was protecting her nothing else.

"What do you want? Do you want to scare her? Frighten her into cooperating with you?" His voice was low, deadly, and Belle looked up at this, lavender eyes on Jake's face, which seemed to have been chiseled from stone, it was so set, so hard. "Leave her alone. You may attack me, try whatever your pitiful little brains say might work, but don't you DARE touch her!"

His arms tightened protectively around Belle, and he angled her away from them, his body between the Scouts and Belle. Sailor Mercury shook her head. "Belle, please.. don't listen to him! He's the enemy! He wants to take over the world, he's said so himself!!"

Belle closed her eyes and turned away from them, and they knew she wouldn't listen. Sailor Moon had never realized how strong Belle could be, how stubborn.

Mars said, very quietly, "Belle, get out of the way," in a voice that brooked no argument. "Darkness, prepare for a one way trip to Hell."

"FLAME SNIPER" She yelled, the arrow streaking towards Belle and Jake. Belle didn't move, instead, she tightened her arms around Jake's waist and laid her head on his chest. Jake looked down at Belle, standing there, putting her own life in danger for him, and then looked at the Sailor Scouts.

"You attack HER? I thought you were supposed to defend people not heartlessly KILL them!" And then the arrow engulfed the two in flames. Sailor Moon screamed.

And suddenly, a black sword cut through the flames, extinguishing them as quickly as a ton of water would. Belle clutched safely away from the flames, against his chest, Darkness walked out of the fire slowly. His eyes were blazing.

"See what you have DONE Sailor Scouts? The heat of your attack has knocked her out. You've hurt her. If I had been just Jake, if you had been wrong; she'd be dead." He snorted. "Your hands are stained red. Red with blood. Innocent blood."

He turned his back to the stunned Scouts, laying Belle down beneath a tree on some cool grass. The wolf beast appeared, sitting between Belle and the battle like a stone sentinel.

"Now we fight."

He leaped with a vicious swing of his sword, clanging on the ground where Sailor Mars had just been. "OAK REVOLUTION" Jupiter yelled, but a swirl of his cape and a thrust of his sword sent the attack spinning uselessly into the air.

"AQUA RHAPSODY" and "LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK" spun into one mighty attack, along with a follow up by Mars of "FLAME SNIPER" He dodged all three attacks, and the combined heat, chill and energy made a gouge in the street the side of a small car.

"He's too fast!" Jupiter cried in frustration as Darkness yet again dodged another attack. "I don't know how many more attacks I can keep up!"

"Ha! You call these pitiful excuses ATTACKS?" Darkness said, and then appeared in front of Sailor Moon, sword held high over his head, vicious eyes gleaming. "Now you die."

Sailor Moon screamed, arm raised. Darkness suddenly cried out as a blood red rose struck his hand. The sword clanged to the ground. Darkness looked up. "Oh.. Capeboy's here everyone.. You may all swoon with ecstasy..." Tuxedo Mask leaped from his perch, his face set hard at Darkness' sarcastic cuts.

"You're a vicious traitor Darkness. You must die for this world to be pure again." He said ominously. Darkness stared at him for a moment and then broke into laughter.

"Is that supposed to frighten me Pretty Boy? Idle threats, rose slinger... Your pitiful attacks are nothing compared to my raw might... Shadows, attack!" He pointed at the Scouts, but what he meant was never found out..

"SPACE SWORD BLASTER" and "SUBMARINE REFLECTION" both hit him in the side. He grunted in pain, turning his head to stare at the three Scouts that appeared out of no where. "DEADLY SCREAM" came from Pluto, and hit him in the chest, causing him to fly backwards against the building.

"Invited by the new epic, I'm the Sailor of the Sky and ground, I'm Sailor Uranus!"

"Lured by the new epic, I'm the Sailor of the Oceans and Seas, I'm Sailor Neptune!"

"Called from my post by the new epic, I'm the Sailor of Time, I'm Sailor Pluto!"

"Hi guys, we certainly could use your help!" Sailor Moon said, and Reenie suddenly ran up, tugging on her fuku.

"Come on, quick while he's not looking!!"

"MOON COSMIC POWER!" They yelled, and both appeared in their Super forms. "OK, I'm ready to rock Moon Momma!" Sailor Minimoon yelled, giving a thumbs up. Suddenly, Darkness started to laugh. He rose slowly, shaking off the dust and debris calmly, as if he'd simply fallen.

The Scouts were horrified. "He.. He's not hurt at all!!" Venus said, eyes wide with shock. The other Scouts tensed as he flexed his muscle.

"Quick, let's hit him while he's unprepared, everyone together!" Sailor Uranus cried. The other Sailor Scouts nodded with a chorus of "Right!"

"FLAME SNIPER" sent and arrow hurtling his way, combining with "OAK REVOLUTION" for a fiery petal storm. "LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK" added an energy heart to the tip of the arrow while "AQUA RHAPSODY" laced the attack with frigid ice water. "SPACE SWORD BLASTER" and "DEADLY SCREAM" strengthened the body of the attack while "SUBMARINE REFLECTION" protected it.

And finally, "TWINKLE YELL!" called forth the power of Pegasus. "MOON GORGEOUS MEDITATION!" gave the attack unbelievable powers. Darkness looked up as the attack hurtled towards him, screaming as the elements of all the Scouts hit him full force.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO JAAAAAAAAAKEEE!!!" A blood curdling scream came from their right, and the Scouts turned to see Belle race past them to kneel next to the prone body of Darkness. Her tears were coming thick and fast, and her small thin frame was being wracked by sobs. "Ho.. how could you??"

Sailor Moon walked forward slowly, putting her arm on Belle's shoulder. "I'm.. I'm sorry Belle. We.. we had to, he was evil and-" Belle suddenly slapped Moon's hand from her, raising smoldering eyes to Sailor Moon's level.

"No you're not.. You don't know what you've just did!! YOU KILLED HIM!! You're the only evil ones around here!! You're.. you're the evil ones, you're the enemy, YOU SHOULD DIE!" As if on cue, the wolf-beast leaped forward.

"SHADOWS ATTACK!!" And suddenly, from every alley way, from every shadow came dozens of the wolf beasts, all a black or dark gray shade. Claws and fangs bared, fur raised, the Shadows advanced slowly, barking and yipping.

"There are too many of them, we'll be overwhelmed!" Mercury cried. "And there are more on their way! The main wolf used some sort of subharmonic pitch that could only be heard by the wolves to call them here. They're purely platonic, but reinforced with dark energy that makes them all too real!!" Her visor and hand held computer were flashing numbers, dots clustering together, showing their current situation.

"Oh no, guys.. Belle!! They must be out of control, they're attacking her too!!" Sailor Moon cried, pointing. True enough, Belle stood bravely over Darkness' form a twisted pipe in her hand. She swung it and sent a wolf flying, and Sailor Moon was amazed at the strength in the girl's arms. But there were far too many; they were going to overwhelm her, and the Sailors, sooner or later.

Suddenly, from the shadows, came the cry, "SILENCE GLAIVE SURPRISE". Sailor Minimoon leaped forward at the cry, a path through the wolves open for the dark Sailor to race through. The pink and black clad Scouts met in a hug before retreating.

"What are they waiting for?" Venus whispered nervously.

"For their numbers to reach their maximum potential, Sailor Venus. There are still some wolves to make it here." Mercury said calmly, but her voice quavered slightly. It wasn't looking good. Wolves packed every space available, growling and rumbling angrily.

"What do we do now?" Mars whispered. "There are way too many of them for us to fight!"

"Simple..." Sailor Uranus said, her voice hard. "We fight until we can't fight any longer." The other Scouts were quiet for a second, minds numb with the possibility of their deaths, but then, they reached a mutual agreement.

"Right. We fight, we die..." Jupiter said calmly.

"WE ARE ALL HERE!" The main wolf bayed happily, and then cried, "SHADOWS FORWARD! AVENGE LORD DARKNESS' DEATH! KILL ALL LIFE ON THIS MISERABLE PLANET, ESPECIALLY THOSE SAILOR PESTS! DO IT NOW KILL THEM KILL KILL KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILL!!"

And then, the Shadow wolves attacked.