Hi! I'm back with a new part of my *very own* story! No co-authoring here! I just wanted to clear some things up about it... First, this takes place during the first season of Sailor Moon. There's only some stuff in the first part that's related at all to the anime, though, and the rest is just pure imagination. I've written it so that Serena's slightly more mature. Also, Mina hasn't arrived yet into the story, so it's just moon, mercury, mars, and jupiter (and tuxedo mask) who are fighting the negaverse. Okay, that's it for now! Hope you like. Missed Opportunities Part 2 By Charma (neomoonies@hotmail.com) "Where is Serena? If she's going to be our leader, she should learn how to be on time to meetings! Just wait till I get my hands on her," Rei grumbled. "Give her a break, Rei," Lita said in defense of Serena. "Rei, calm down," Ami said patiently. "She'll show up. I'm sure she has a good excuse for being late." "Doesn't she always," Rei shot back sarcastically. "Hey guys! Sorry I'm late!" Serena's high voice suddenly filled the air as she made a breathless entrance to the temple. "A new store just opened and it has tons of Sailor V stuff, so you know me and Molly just had to go check it out!" Luna, herself huffing and puffing after trying to keep up with the energetic Serena, sighed despondently over Serena's irresponsible behavior. She remembered with a wry grin the first night she spent with Serena and how she conjured up fantastic dreams of a peaceful world with a courageous Sailor Moon fighting for justice. It turned out that Sailor Moon had a ways to go before she matured into the heroine of Luna's dreams, but she had done a fair job so far, considering. Sailor Moon never encountered a youma she couldn't handle herself, but when things began to get tough for her, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter made their appearances. The four scouts worked rather well as a team, and Luna was confident of their ability to defeat the Negaverse. "Serena, I can't believe you're late AGAIN!" Rei screeched. "When will you ever get your clutzy act together??" "I am NOT a clutz!" Serena shouted back and then burst into loud tears. "Why are you so mean to me?" With another sigh, Luna covered her ears with her paws and braced herself for the impact of yet another Serena versus Rei screaming match. "Gee, it's too bad that Rei couldn't come with us to get ice- cream," Serena said after the meeting at the temple adjourned. As she spoke, she cheerfully slurped her ice-cream cone, and was actually not at all sorry. "What's her excuse, anyway?" "She has a date with that guy again, remember? Darien somebody?" Ami answered. "Yes, she has been pretty interested in him lately," Luna observed. "She spends a lot of time with him." "No, she spends a lot of time chasing him around," Serena corrected snidely. Deep inside, though, she felt a small but painful tear in her heart. Why did she suddenly have this feeling? What was it-jealousy? *But what should I feel jealous about? So what if Rei has a boyfriend?* Serena scoffed to herself. "He's pretty dreamy," Lita said with a soft smile. "He reminds me of my old boyfriend." "Lita, you're hopeless!" Serena said with a laugh. "Hey, guys, do you hear that?" Ami spoke up suddenly. "Hear what?" Lita asked in confusion. Almost in response, screams, cries, and a mighty roar which could only come from a youma echoed from a distance. "Oh, that." "It sounds like scout business," Luna informed the girls. They quickly transformed and hastened to the battle scene. Darien looked out the window of the pizza place in boredom, successfully tuning out Rei's ceaseless chattering. He wondered how he ever managed to get trapped in Rei's company in the first place. He'd been minding his own business, talking to Andrew in the arcade, when Rei found him and conned him into taking her to the pizza parlour. He groaned inwardly when he realized that the bill was going to be higher than he expected, judging from the numerous dishes Rei had ordered. "Hello, earth to Darien!" Rei said, slightly annoyed. "Have you heard a word I said?" She frowned and a wrinkle creased her brow, a sure sign that her temper was flaring up. Darien noticed this and attempted a smile. "Yeah, sure I've been listening," he lied. Rei instantly melted under the warmth of his charismatic smile. She smiled back at him and smoothly resumed her one-sided conversation. Then, without warning, Darien was overcome by a strong headache. Rei's chatter faltered when she saw Darien's tense frame. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked in concern. "Yeah," he mumbled, holding his head in his hands. "Just a headache." He knew exactly what it was. It was some sort of strange signal that told him when the Sailor Scouts were fighting the Negaverse. He also knew that he was Tuxedo Mask, and that it was somehow his duty to respond to this sign and to go to the Scouts to assist them, if they needed his help. But they never did. For months, he was the silent, unnoticed witness to every fight the Sailor Scouts had against the Negaverse. He saw countless deaths of youmas and the defeat of more than one Negaverse general, and through it all, he never threw a single rose. Never did the occasion arise when the danger was so great that Tuxedo Mask's help was in dire need. So, he held back, figuring that it was better for no one, especially the Negaverse, to know about him until the right time came. *Why bother to go this time? It's not like they'll need my help or anything,* Darien mused, and decided to ignore his headache and to not let the Sailor Scouts interrupt his day this time, even if he wasn't having the best time with Rei. *It's time to start being normal again.* "Look at this place!" Sailor Mercury exclaimed as the three Sailor Scouts arrived at the place of attack. She surveyed the area worriedly, taking into account the number of bodies lying unconscious on the floor. No sign of the youma, however, could be found. "But where--?" Mercury's thought was cut short when an extremely large, muscular youma suddenly materialized in front of the unsuspecting scouts. "Why, hello," it greeted them with a menacing smile. Without further ado, it shot a stream of needles at the scouts. They barely managed to dodge the dangerous spray of mini knives. "This thing is unbelievable! Look at all the people it was able to drain energy from! I hope we can get through this one unscathed!" Sailor Moon whispered vehemently. "Did anyone reach Mars?" "I tried, but I think she left her communicator at the temple!" Jupiter answered with a frown. "I don't think we'll have her help with this one." "Fine," Mercury said briskly. "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" She released her defensive attack and this enabled the scouts to position themselves for attack. The fog that was created, however, was gone as soon as it appeared. "What happened??" Sailor Moon screeched. "How-" She was interrupted when she saw another stream of needles head her way and then the quickly dove for cover. The youma made a loud slurping noise. "Hmmm, foggy bubbles. My favorite dessert." "It inhaled the fog!" Mercury shouted in disbelief. "Better enjoy that treat while you have the chance," Jupiter snarled. "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" She expertly shot beams of lightning at the enemy, but the youma easily deflected the blast. Jupiter gaped at the youma's resilience. "Mercury! Where's it's weak spot?" Sailor Moon questioned urgently. Mercury did a quick scan with her visor, a frown marring her face. "This can't be possible! I don't see any weaknesses! Not one!" Thinking quickly, Sailor Moon shouted, "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" and sent her tiara to the youma's feet. Like she desperately hoped, the tiara tripped the youma. "Jupiter, Mercury! While it's still down!" Sailor Moon called as she watched the monster fall to the ground with a loud thud. "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" The two attacks converged, struck the youma, and was absorbed into it's fallen body. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" The tiara flew to and lodged itself into the unmoving youma's chest. Then, an ominous silence hung in the air as the scouts waited for something-anything-to happen. *Please be dusted, please be dusted, please be dusted,* Sailor Moon prayed silently as she crossed and uncrossed her fingers. To the scouts' alarm, however, the thing began to move slowly. It reached over and carefully plucked the offending tiara out of it's heart, and then flung it away disdainfully. Laughter rumbled in its chest as it stood up slowly. "Fools! You brats can't stop me! Thanks to your stupid tiara, I have even more energy than I did before! And now I can use it wisely... and kill you once and for all." "How many times do we have to attack this thing?" Jupiter yelled in frustration. "What do we do now? You know our other attacks won't do any good." "If only Mars were here," Sailor Moon muttered under her breath, promising herself to give that girl a piece of her mind when they found her. *If we can live through this...* "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" This time, the tiara didn't even make contact with the youma. Instead, the monster easily caught it and stood casually twirling the glittering headpiece with its fingers. "You," it snarled. "I've had enough of you especially." Ropes came out of its sides and caught Mercury and Jupiter. Then, with a mighty roar, it gathered a monstrous amount of energy between its hands and shot it at Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon stood frozen in place as the dark ball rushed at her. She seemed to have lost all control of her body. *Move, feet!* she screamed inwardly. "Sailor Moon!" Mercury shouted, struggling to free herself of the rope. "Get out of the way!" Mercury and Jupiter shielded their eyes from the white light that was emitted when the ball of energy made contact with Sailor Moon. When the smoke receded and the light faded, the two scouts realized with horror that Sailor Moon was no longer there. "Sailor Moon!" Jupiter screeched. "Where'd she go??" "You're not only a brat, you're stupid too!" the youma drawled sarcastically. "Before I finish you two off, I thought I might enjoy watching your reactions when I point out that I just killed your Sailor Failure." It smacked its slimy lips in satisfaction. "I'd think again, if I were you," a deep male voice contradicted. Mercury and Jupiter swung their heads around and beheld a tall brown- haired man clothed in a white suit, with a white mask covering his eyes. He held an unconscious, but slowly stirring Sailor Moon in his arms. The mysterious stranger gently placed Sailor Moon on the ground, away from the youma, and announced, "I am Lord Arcadia-but you'll probably know me as your worst nightmare." With that, Arcadia threw two white roses simultaneously at the ropes that chained Mercury and Jupiter to the youma, freeing the scouts. Without any further warning, he then threw a rose straight into the eye of the disconcerted youma. The youma howled in pain, clutching its head in agony. Arcadia winked at Mercury and said, "That's its weak spot." Turning to include Jupiter in his comment, he continued, "You two know what to do now." And before either of the Sailor Scouts could open their mouths, he disappeared right in front of their disbelieving eyes. "Who was that guy?" Jupiter exclaimed at the same time Mercury asked, "Is Sailor Moon all right?" The two looked at each other and then noticed the wounded youma in front of them. "Right. First thing's first," Jupiter said with a relieved smile, happy in the knowledge that they would get out of this fight unhurt. "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" The two attacks combined and dusted the youma with ease. Afterwards, Mercury and Jupiter ran over to where Sailor Moon was lying on the ground. "Sailor Moon! Are you okay?" Jupiter asked urgently. "Whaat?" Sailor Moon asked groggily as she attempted to sit up. "Is it dusted?" "Yes, it's gone, but we couldn't have done it without that Lord Arcadia. Who was he? Do you know?" Mercury inquired. "Oh yeah... Lord Arcadia," Sailor Moon said dreamily. "What a hottie!" "Tell me about it!" Jupiter agreed heartily. "He reminds me of my old-" Mercury cut Jupiter off with a look that clearly said, Not that, not now. "Sailor Moon, it's important to tell us anything you know about him. We don't know anything about him, but he seems to know about us, and that could be dangerous." Sailor Moon shook her head. "I know about as much as you two know. Except I know what it feels like to be in his arms," Sailor Moon said with a teasing glint in her eyes as she looked at Jupiter smugly. "Hey!" Jupiter elbowed Sailor Moon and continued with a smile. "Don't worry, next time it'll be me he's carrying." "Guys, how about we get back on topic here?" Mercury asked pointedly. "The only thing I know is that we have to tell Mars about this as soon as possible." "Man! Then she's going to try to steal him away from me!" Sailor Moon complained. "Sailor Moon!" Mercury exclaimed. "We can't keep things from her!" "Yeah, yeah. I know," Sailor Moon replied with a sigh. "Well, it's not like he'd prefer her over me, so I guess I don't have anything to worry about!" "Just you wait till he feasts his eyes on me! Then you'll have something to worry about!" Jupiter teased. Mercury groaned. "Come on guys, let's get out of here before people start waking up. You can fight over this Lord Arcadia later." She led the way to the temple, shaking her head as Jupiter and Sailor Moon continued to swoon over Lord Arcadia. *We'll see him again. And then we'd better get some answers from him,* she thought determinedly. To be continued...