Hola! AN:I know that a couple of you are probably wondering why Usagi didn't just tell Endymion that she was the reincarnation of Serenity… Again, please bear with me, *there's a method to my madness* :) Here you go! Enjoy! ***************** To Exist… Chapter 4a By April Rayne ****************** Serenity flinched as the room shook slightly from the clash of the doors. Regaining her composure, she looked the Duke straight in the eye. "You can play your games, but this is something I'm going to win." "By yourself, little princess? You seem to have forgotten that your baby-sitters aren't here." She clenched her fists in anger, and let the comment slide. "I'm warning you…If you don't return Endymion to me this instant, you're going to regret even *thinking* about betraying the Moon Kingdom" 'Play upon his weakness…' the princess thought to herself. 'He doesn't know what I can *really* do…' "You want me to return that *fool*?" he sneered. The Duke hurled a black fireball at her, and she dodged it, screaming in fear. She collapsed to the ground, fake tears readily making their way to the corners of her eyes. She had never realized that he had so much negative power. Dust and debris began to fall from the battered ceiling. A quiet sob escaped her throat. "Can't take the heat, princess?" he scoffed. "Try this on for size!" Serenity dodged another fireball twice as large, sending her sprawling to the ground. "Ittai!" She cried out and grabbed her ankle.Feigning pain, she half sat up and gave him a pained and angry glare. He continued with his twisted laugh, and Serenity could feel her insides squirming as the wicked sound echoed across the wrecked room. "Why?" Her eyes, once angered and determined, became soft and sympathetic for a creature such as the Duke. At the same time, she told herself that she had to buy time, and gather her energy. "Why are you doing this?" He looked at her with disgust. "Simple. Power. This ridiculous Era of Peace…What good is a judge if there are no criminals to convict, no court to rule over? I want power. I *need* power!" His voice raised with his anger. "And this new dark power…it's given me more than that idiot title of Duke in this forsaken kingdom. The end of this kingdom and the rise of the Dark Power is eminent!" He laughed hysterically, and Serenity realized that he was insane. "Oh, God…What did you do to Endymion, you madman?!" The Duke decided that enough was enough, and drew from his side a clear vial. In it, a pulsing light existed, changing drastically from it's original white to a deep black core. Serenity froze. "That's…" "Oh, this?" he laughed. "The vortex came in pretty handy lately. You see, that foolish boy, all in the name of justice, came here thinking that 'justice' would be served." He grimaced. "He didn't know what hit him until it was too late." Serenity's eyes widened in horror as the news set in. She had to move fast. If she was right, he thought that she was helpless, and had used enough of his energy in his tirade and attacks to be considerably weaker. Now if she could conjure her power… "Light of the Moon, aura of protection and love, grant me the power to vanish this evil." She chanted the mantra under her breath, channeling her energy while he unsuspectingly thought she was injured, and mindlessly babbled about 'justice'. A bold white aura began to form around her. Duke Arlan finally noticed his mistake, and immediately levitated the vial in front of him, ready to make her share the same fate as her loved one. She stood up, slowly bringing her hands in front of her. The vial opening faced towards Serenity. The light around her began to glow with even more intensity. 'May your soul find peace.' "Moonlight Spectra!" Serenity called out. A torrent of blinding white energy was emitted from her open palms, and in a massive move, surged at the unsuspecting Duke. After the light faded, all that could be seen was the glass vial, unopened, falling to the floor, but landing softly as Serenity used her power to lower it to the ground. "The last thing you ever want to do, Arlan, is to underestimate your opponent." A shadow of a woman,hidden behind a column, hissed quietly, and disappeared. 'Another day, Serenity…Another day I will…' "Princess!" familiar voices cried. Serenity turned around to find the four guardian senshi rushing to her side. "What happened? Queen Serenity felt the disturbance and we came back as fast as we could…" Mercury's voice drifted off as she looked around the nearly demolished room. She had not noticed it as much as when they had entered the dark through the stained glass arch windows. Now that the lights had reappeared though.... "Eh…I'm guessing that we missed out on the fun?" Jupiter laughed a little. Serenity sent her a slight smile, but then her mouth set itself in a straight line. "Duke Arlan made his true self known. He took back a pledge of allegiance towards the Moon Kingdom, and dedicated himself to…a Dark Power." "Eh?" "I don't know…I can't explain it. He was so bent on obtaining power…I couldn't save him, for he absorbed Dark Power of his own free will." Turning around to look sadly upon the spot where he once stood,she noticed the vial and quickly remembered what he had said. "Endymion!" Without thinking to say a word, she ran past the senshi out a back entrance. They were about to go in pursuit of her, but froze when they heard an incessant banging at the door. "Are you all right, princess?" voices called out from the other side. The door opened with a crash. The entrance guards, breathless, finally managed to knock over the door. They put their hands on their knees, breathing heavily. When they looked up and saw the demolished room, and the senshi, minus the Moon Princess, they fell backwards. The girls in the room sweatdropped. ******* "Minna, I need you to help me out. Can you please do me a favor?" The four girls in the temple gave each other glances as Usagi's voice rang out over the communicator. Rei nodded. "Name it." Usagi practically whispered, "Call my mom and tell her that I'm going to be pretty late coming home. Better yet, tell her I'm sleeping over at your house Ami-chan, 'cause I need to do some major studying for the next test. " "And if she wants to talk to you?" "I'm sleeping, and I'll call her later." "Usagi-chan, is there something you want to tell us?" Makoto asked. The blond put an arm behind her and began to shake with nervous laughter. "Lil' ol' me? No way guys! Believe me, if there was anything really *strange* and *twisted* going on, I'd tell you guys *first*." The group sweatdropped. "She's worse at lying than she is at math." Rei mumbled. "Okay then, I gotta get going now. I'll probably end up crashing at one of your houses later so be prepared…Bye!" Endymion looked at Usagi skeptically after she shut off her communicator. "Who were you talking to? Is something wrong?" "No, no, not at all." Usagi waved her hands and shook her head. "I just needed to make sure that no one would worry about me later, that's all." A strange look crossed his features as she mentioned the word 'worry'. It soon faded, and they continued to walk down the street, replacing his worried look for one of amazement. He gazed in wonder at the city around him. He looked so…charming, captivating, the way he watched the city with boyish wonder. But no, he wasn't a boy. He was a handsome grown man, a born leader with a pure heart of gold-one that she missed dearly. 'Why don't you just tell him?' She asked herself as she walked. Her logic did not play in tune with her heart. 'I can't,' she repeated over and over again in her mind. She couldn't remember any of her Silver Millennium memories past the time that she found out that Endymion was in trouble…She *could* help him as Tsukino Usagi, or as Sailor Moon even. Besides, telling him wasn't something that had passed her mind when she first realized who he really was. Then again, all she had to do was show him the Silver Crystal, explain everything to him, no matter how weird it sounded. It was simple really. Just tell the whole story, no loose ends, and Endymion would know that she was Serenity. But then what? What would he do? Laugh probably. Would he belive her? To think, him believing that she was a princess? Normal (Okay, not *that* normal) Tsukino Usagi? Besides, what did she expect him to do? Fall in love with her? Or did she *want* him to do that? She shook her head to rid herself of those crazy thoughts. Endymion was still looking around at the buildings and the sights. Usagi walked in front of him, faced him, and began to walk backwards. "Endymion, do you like it?" He looked at her and smiled. "It's different. But it's beautiful in it's own way too." "Really?" She took a look around her and nodded in agreement. "You really should take a look around here, we have some awesome places, like the park, and the shopping district, and of course, you have to go to the game cente-AH!" Tripping over an uneven part of the pavement, her arms began to flail as she fell back. She quickly shut her eyes to brace for the impact. Instead of feeling her back hit the ground, she felt a strong arm across her back, and her body was pulled up. Instead of balancing on her feet, she fell right into his embrace, his arms going around her protectively. They closed their eyes. There was warmth, there was security, there was… There was a spark. Or at least, that's one way of putting it. They both felt it. To Endymion, it was that feeling that he had before, familiar and yet not, only this time intensified thousand fold. He held onto her for countless seconds, and they both separated from each other, Usagi blushing. Their contact left both of them fazed. He looked down at her, scrutinizing her face, her reaction. He noticed the brooch on her uniform and his eyes narrowed in concentration as he noticed one of it's markings- a crescent moon. Why had he not noticed it before? Everything was coming together. The strange feelings, her appearance, her hair, that connection they seemed to have, even her attitude… Their eyes met. Her eyes revealed what he suspected. He'd seen that look, felt that gaze…A long time ago, when he had first met his angel. It seemed impossible, but he couldn't mistake it. Usagi was Serenity. ******************************************************************** startear42@aol.com Feedback is a girl's best friend:) Disclaimer: This wouldn't be *fan*fiction if I wasn't just a fan. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko-sama:)