Can Love Betray? Intro I don't know exactly when this story takes place in the Sailor Moon continuum; I have only seen what has been aired on Cartoon Network and am not a real enthusiast on the show. But I am writing this because I know a friend who writes fanfics in this period of the show (somewhere in Sailor Moon R, I think) and I am just writing it because.. well... because I think the show's cool and I feel like it. All I know is this story takes place between the time of The Sailor Scout's first transformation of their original powers and Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon starting their love interest. Oh, and please; no one send any hate mail. I am not a huge Sailor Moon fan so please excuse my mistakes. Also, I have refrained from using the names Usagi Tsukino, Mamoru Chiba, and whatever other names the Japanese version may call the characters. I think that every Sailor Moon fan reading this first developed their interest in the show with the names Darien and Serena. I also use the name Darien Shields because that is his name in the manga version. And one more thing; I based this story on what I had read of a Sailor Moon fanfic very loosely (where Serena gets a letter to go to a park and finds Darien there) but that's because I'm a lazy and unoriginal guy. Sorry, you know who you are. And if you find any mistakes, please email me at Touga987@aol.com DiScLaImEr Sailor Moon does not belong to me. It belongs to the lovely folks at DiC entertainment, atleast the American version. And I, along with every anime fan reading this, probably can't wait for Sailor Moon, SM R, and SM S movies to get their well-deserved domestic release later this year. Thanks and have a good time. Serena sighed, wondering about all the things that had happened in her life. She reflected back on the moments; the moments when she first had seen Luna, had first realized and took control of her powers, met the other Sailor Scouts and met Tuxedo Mask. She wondered if she had changed at all. Sure, she was still the naive and brash kid that she had always been; an obvious appetite for anything junk food, her same laugh and smile and temper, her same laziness for schoolwork. But underneath all of that she had discovered something more, something deeper; the dependability of true friends, true love, respect and honor. The Negaverse had not completely consumed her life; and thinking back she pondered if whether this threat to humanity had actually enhanced her; made her a better person. She sighed again, tired, losing her thoughts and drifting away to day-dreams only a peaceful day could conjure up. They were beautiful dreams, dancing with Darien; Tuxedo Mask, her dream man. She wanted him to love her oh-so-much, but revealing her true love of him to anyone was simply out of the question at the moment. The very thought of this bursted Serena's bubble and hurled her back to reality. She looked forward, shook her head a bit to clear up the fuzziness in her eyes, and took another sigh. She hadn't realized she wasn't in her bed; only in such a private place could she normally think of such intimate thoughts. She looked around. She was sitting on the front steps of her house. Sitting next to her was Luna, apparently on her way to a dead slumber herself. What were they doing there? They normally wouldn't be sitting on the front porch, in the middle of the evening, doing absolutely nothing. Serena paused, trying to think it over. When she absolutely couldn't figure out what was going on, she decided to wake up her fuzzy little feline friend. "Luna, wake up." No answer. "Luna!" She started shaking the cat back and fourth, not only waking her up but startling her too. "Wha-" Luna paused, "what is it, Serena? Why did you wake me up?" "That's what I want to know, Luna. What are we doing sitting on the front porch? It's cold out here..." Serena began rubbing her shoulders, though it wasn't cold enough to do so, it still visualized what she had just said. "Hmm..." Luna said. "Oh my! I am sure it is because of the..." "...Negaverse?" Serena said. They both laughed. "No, what were we really waiting here for?" After another long pause, Luna jumped out of her tired frenzy as she realized what was going on. "Oh yes, Serena. You had us waiting out here in the dark to wait for a letter." "Oh yeah! Molly said that someone was gonna send me a letter." Serena bounced off of the steps like a wound-up slinky, and hurdled to the mailbox. "Do you think they sent it while we dozed off?" "Well, I would think that if that person was going to send you a letter at all they would have sent it at an earlier time, wouldn't you agree?" But even as Luna said this, Serena was already on her way to the mailbox. "Oh, Luna. You always have to wreck my fantasies. Ohh, and what fantasies they are!" She squeezed her cheeks into a smile, and began laughing. "Please, Serena. Don't tell me." Luna walked away from on top of the steps. Serena dashed to the mailbox, opened it, and stuffed her hand inside like she was searching for an antidote that would save her life. "Huh??" She pulled out a letter, with a drawing of a heart, and a rose. "'Dear Serena, come to the Rose National Park as soon as you can.' Yes, I knew it! Oh, it's my dreamboat Tuxedo Mask. Oh, I hope he is still there and we didn't wait too long.." "Oh, I'm sure Darien would wait. But... I wonder why he wants you to go there?" said Luna. "I don't know but I'm going to find out" Serena said in her typical, shrieky voice. She bolted off. * * * * * The park had a dead silence to it. Usually here, even at night, you could hear the owls hooting and other wildlife chirping, making noises, going about their typical instinctual habits. But not this night. Something was wrong. And when something's wrong in this crazy screwed-up world, the Negaverse usually is the direct cause. "W-where's my Darien?" Serena began to cry. They could both hear falling leaves and the movement of brush all around them. Suddenly, from within the darkness surrounding them, they could see many multi-talented, big-breasted bimbos gathering all of the energy and powers that they could. "Luna.. I remember all of these people... they are the Negaverse badguys I have already faced!" Serena gasped, taking a step back. "But didn't I already kill them all off?" She looked around, frightened, as they all walked forward in a sluggish, zombie-like manner. "Even with my new powers I still can't beat all of them!" "Oh, Serena, you showed up!" A faint voice echoed from beyond the darkness. A soft breeze enveloped the villains in a light mist, and they suddenly disappeared. "Darien?" Serena yelled. "Where are you? Darien?" Serena looked around her, spinning in a dizzying furry to find out who and where the caller was. Luna shouted, looking above them "Serena, look out!" She looked up, but could only see a glistening black boot hurling toward her. Serena was flung forward; her face dirty, bruised, cut-up. She landed straight on the ground. She yelled. Never before had she been so physically assaulted on the job; usually it was ice, or fire, or some other form of magical ability. But this was plain and simple; fist fight... foot fight... whatever... This wasn't a game. None of her fights were games, obviously, but she had always come out of a fight generally un-injured. Now she would probably need stitches for a month. How was she to explain this to mom? She looked up. Though she expected to see an evil villainous in tight latex laughing at her, she didn't. She cried a simple tear. It was her love, Darien Shields! * * * * * Darien was wearing his Tuxedo Mask outfit. Somehow, it looked quite different, though. The edges of the costume were pointed; sharp. His costume was torn and battered. His mask had the look of pure evil, it wasn't simply black, but it almost created a sense of aura, a sense that Serena couldn't point out. He was very remote.. distant. Not only in his voice but his face, his walk, and his simple gestures. "So, Serena, you did show up." He laughed a cold, bitter laugh. "Now.. my dear... you will die!" "Darien? What are you doing?" She had her hands near her face. She was bleeding. Her hair was crumpled. He paused. "Come now. Won't you do anything?" He removed his face mask, showing his plain, dark face. "You can't kill your own love, can you?" His eyes were a pale, dark, icy blue. She shivered. "Serena! That isn't the Darien you know! He works for the Negaverse!" Luna yelled from a distance. "You should believe the feline..." Darien looked at the cat, then looked away. He stared into her eyes. He laughed. Again, it was heartless and cold. "...Sailor Moon!!!!" Serena gasped. She had just realized the impact of this. "Luna, if he works for the Negaverse how does he know I'm Sailor Moon??" Tuxedo Mask looked away. He snickered. "Maybe I do work for the Negaverse, Sailor Moon." He lifted a finger. The Negaverse goons from the past came crashing up from the ground. Rock and debris flew everywhere. A layer of smokey dust covered the park. He swiftly turned around. "You should have believed the cat!" He took the lifted finger, threw his hand straight forward, and pitched his arm and hand into a fist. "Now you will die!!" "Serena! He can't be the Darien you know! Transform into Sailor Moon!" Serena, her face batted and torn, sniffed and sobbed for a short moment. Then without hesitation she transformed into Sailor Moon. "Moon... Crystal... power...!!" Before she had a chance to do one of her Sailor Scout-patented moves, the Negaverse villains grabbed her and held on. They were ghastly and ghostly images of their former selves, and they sparatically went translucent to opaque every few moments. "Help! Luna!!" She cried. She was held tightly by the villainesses. Tuxedo Mask started walking leisurely towards her. Serena refused to look up. Her eyes burned with hot tears. She was hunched and her face was near the cement. She could even feel the spiney tip of long grass from the ground stab her face. "Well, aren't you going to look up at me?" "No.. you're not the Tuxedo Mask I know!" She yelled, eyes still shut closed. Luna ran swifty near her. "No, Sailor Moon! Look up!" Serena could hear the beat of the drums, the whistle of the saxaphone. She looked up. Above in the trees was the real Tuxedo Mask! * * * * * A firm rose glided down and gashed the fake Darien's mask out of his hand. "Oh, Tuxedo Mask!" Serena yelled. "Am I late?" Yelled Darien, bouncing off of the tree. "Tuxedo Mask, I thought you were taken over my the Negaverse!" She said, still being held onto by the Negaverse zombies. He landed swiftly, a few meters from Sailor Moon, his cape moving to-and-fro in the darkening night. "Sailor Moon, believe in yourself! Believe in your powers, only then can you vanquish these villains." "If I'm with you I can.." She said, and with the sluggish smile on her face, the Negaverse zombies turned to dust. "What? No!" The fraudulent Tuxedo Mask yelled. "How could I have failed?!" "Because," Darien said in a low but firm voice, "love can not betray." Sailor Moon began her chant. "Moon...." The phony Darien gasped. "...Sceptor...." Tuxedo Mask grinned for a moment, hidden from everyone in the envelope of light Sailor Moon was creating. "...ILLIMINATION...!!!" The fake Tuxedo Mask began glowing radiantly, and disappeared. "Oh.. Darien!" Sailor Moon collapsed, her knees hitting the cement. "Sailor Moon, you did well." Tuxedo mask walked up to Sailor Moon, kissed her forward, and twirled around. "Tuxedo Mask, don't go!" But before she could even stand up, he had walked off into the darkness. "Remember, Sailor Moon, love can never betray." And with that, echoing from the distance, he was gone. With the simple fantasy thumbing through her mind, Serena knew that Tuxedo Mask... Darien Shields.. would be her love one day! The End