Dark on the Outside - Chapter 10 by Ari --------------------------------------------------------------------- DARK ON THE OUTSIDE (insert disclaimers here) "All these mixed emotions we keep locked away like stolen pearls; Stolen pearl devotions we keep locked away from all the world. -Darren Hayes of Savage Garden Lyrics from "Tears of Pearls" =====CHAPTER 10: DARKHEART SCARRING DARKER STILL===== "H...how," Sailor Moon stuttered. "how can this be? Darkheart is really...Owen Teei?! This is impossible!" But it wasn't impossible. It was. The greatest rival to the Sailor Scouts so far was indeed someone they thought was their friend. It was strange how they couldn't connect the two people, especially since Owen's pendant and the symbol of Darkheart looked the same. But, they wondered, what could cause him to turn to the Negaverse? He laid there still in his Darkheart form, but his face told every one of his secrets. "I..." Mercury stammered. Needless to say, everyone was at a loss for words. Especially Amy. "Why? Why did he do this?" "Wait!" Mars said. "He's coming to!" Darkheart's eyes were still closed as he moaned and grunted as he regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes - not only did the others notice they turned a dingy shade of purplish-gray instead of their dazzling gold - he saw the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask standing in a circle over him. "Unnhhh..." Darkheart mumbled. "Wh, where am I?" He struggled to open his eyes. "What happened?" "Everyone else left," Sailor Moon said. We're the only ones left." Darkheart sank his head back on the ground. "They betrayed me..." he said. "They said I could trust them; I was their friend..." "Queen Beryl said that?" Jupiter asked. He nodded. "How could you trust them?" "I dunno...." By now, he had the strength to get to his feet and powerdown back into Owen Teei. "Anytime I was in that form, I lost control of myself...I didn't know what I was doing. But now that I'm no longer enslaved for the most part..." Owen then looked Sailor Moon straight in the eyes and became overcome by d骡 v?Where have I seen that face before?} "What's wrong?" Sailor Moon asked. "Why are you look-" "Hey wait a minute...!" He squinted his eyes at her in confus- ion. He figured out where he saw Sailor Moon before. "S...Serena?" "Wh-what did you call me?" she said, stunned. Had he figured out the true identity of Sailor Moon? "Serena Tsukino, is that you?" He did. For a moment, she went to see if anyone was around, and when no one was looking, reverted to her human form of Serena. "I guess you figured us out, huh?" Serena asked. Then, one by one, the other Scouts reverted as well. Owen was surprised to see that the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask were really Darien, Lita, Mina, Raye and.... "Amy?!" Both of their hearts sunk at the realization that they were fighting on opposite sides. "Why were you fighting us?" Amy asked. "I dunno," Owen started. "When Kefka first turned that freaky beam on me, I lost part of myself, I guess. I was in his control, but somehow he let me run my life normally." After that, he started to walk away to where he hid his car. He got in and turned on the engine. "Where are you going?" Serena asked as they rushed over to his car. He had a look on his face that spoke of sadness, contempt, confu- sion, and revenge. "I'm going to get my life back on track," he said. "I gotta go somewhere to think." But then, he had a more serious tone of voice. "Plus, the Negaverse still knows who I am. They'll surely come after me; and probably you guys too." It was clear that nothing they could say our do to get him to stay. But they could at least try to talk to him. "Wait, before you go," Darien started. "You don't have to go down like this. We could use someone like you." "Thanks," he said as he turned to look at them for a moment. "I'll keep that in mind." And with that, Owen's silver Mercedes pulled away and out of site, leaving the others standing there alone. "Where is he going?" Raye asked. "Well, wherever he is, mom won't know," Amy said. "Some medic- al emergency came up and she was summoned to California to help out or something like that. She'll be several days." "But he's so depressed," Mina said. "Who knows where he's go- ing or when he'll be back?" SOMEWHERE IN JAPAN SOME TIME LATER Owen's mind was a big, cloudy mess as he drove his car down the highways of Japan, not sure where he is headed. It was just now coming to him that he was being controlled by the forces he detested from his days of the Achievers back home in America. During his drive, he went off and on the highways, up and down the main island, and through the major cities: Tokyo. Osaka. Kyoto. Hiroshima. Along his journey, he met several of the same types of peo- ple as him; lost souls, broken hearts, the depressed, and the like. He helped out whenever he could. In particular, he lent a hand to several homeless people. On the third night of his trip, and exhausted from his trip, getting no food (due to a lack of appetite) or sleep, he finally decid- ed to take a rest in his car. He parked the car so it was on a cliff just off the road, overlooking the ocean. He looked at the digital clock on the car's CD player. 9:45. He was too tired. He opened up the moon roof, set the seat al the way back, and went to sleep. It was about 6:30 when he woke up. He put the seat up and was treated to a beautiful view of the sun rising. Instead of driving off right away, he decided to sit on the hood of the car and stare out for some time. A lot was going through his mind. {How am I going to con- tend with the Negaverse? Can I beat them on my own? And...can I trust the Scouts? They were my enemies, but now they're my friends...or so they tell me....} He didn't know just how much time he spent thinking about it - it felt like days - but he had made up his mind. He reached into his car, into the glove compartment, and pulled out his 9mm hand- gun. With the gun in hand, he walked over to the edge of the cliff. He looked long and hard at it; his father gave it to him for protection when his town started to deteriorate and gangs started to run things. He looked out into the sea, and suddenly, the song "Lightning Crashes" came to mind. I can feel it, coming back again, Like rolling thunder chasing the wind, Forces brewing from the center of the earth again, I can feel it. At that, he took one last look at the gun, and threw it as hard as he can into the sea. When he saw it splash down into the ocean, he got into his car, and drove off. One thought crossed his mind. "I'm through doing their dirty work; it's time for revenge." THE NEXT NIGHT ANDERSON RESIDENCE 10:30 P.M. Owen pulled up at Amy's house a little late, but some of the lights were still on in the house. He then got out of his car, and walked up to the front door. But when he pulled out his key to the door, he decided instead of unlocking the door and walking in, he just knocked on the door with the key. With a click of the remote control, Amy turned off the TV and prepared to turn in for the night. She adjusted her robe and walked upstairs. Only she didn't get halfway up the stairs when she heard a knocking on the door. "Who could that be at this hour?" It took her a moment to unlock the door, and when she opened it, she gasped slightly and nearly fell over at who she saw. "Amy..." Owen said as his eyes met Amy's. By the time he got back his eyes weren't still back to their natural shade of gold, but they weren't as dull as they were almost four days ago. Depression and sorrow graced his face. "Before you slam the door on me...I wanna tell you I'm sorry... for what I've done. I know you can't forgive me for anything, and I don't expect you too. But I missed you all; especially you, Amy. And I wanna get back at those cowards in the Negaverse. You have a good heart Amy, I can tell. I also know there's something down inside of you that wants to give me another chance...that's all I'm asking for." For a moment, Amy and Owen just stood there staring at each o- ther. If she said no, or slammed the door on him, Owen wouldn't be too surprised. In fact, some part of him was expecting it. What he was *not* expecting was when Amy threw her arms around him and hugged him the way she did. "Oh, Owen," she said as she leaned the side of her head into O- wen's chest. "It's alright." The only responce he could give was put- ting his arms around her waist. But when he did this, Amy felt heard a strange sound...some kind of rumbling. "What was that?" she said, pulling away from him. "Oh...sorry. I haven't eaten in about three or so days, while I was away." "How about we order some pizza?" "That would be great." LATER "Why did you come back now?" Amy asked, as she grabbed another slice of pizza. "I wanted to get it together," Owen said. "I want to get back at those cowards for what they've done to me. I'm out for blood, if you will." "I understand your pain, but vengence alone won't get you any- where. It's derived from hate, something we don't fight for." "If change is what you want from me, that's what I'll give." He reached for another slice of pizza. "When can I see everyone in one place again?" "We're having a meeting tomorrow at noon at Raye's temple." "Great. Then I can plead my case to the others. I just hope they'll understand." "You saw the looks on their faces when you left, Owen. They don't want you to throw your life away like that." "Thank you so much." The two hugged each other. "Now," he yawned, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight Amy." "Goodnight." As she watched him disappear into his room, she reached for the phone. TSUKINO RESIDENCE "Serena!" Sammy shouted with his hand on the speaker. "What?" Serena asked sleepily. She was on her way to bed when Sam called her. "I was about to go to sleep!" "Sor-ry!" He handed her the phone. "It's Amy." She took the phone from him and waited for him to leave the kitchen before starting to talk. "A-Amy? Serena, it's nearly 11:00! Why are you calling at-" "He came back." For a moment, Serena was puzzled. "Who came back?" "Owen. He came home. He needs to talk to us. Tomorrow." =====TO BE CONTINUED=====