Title: Guardian Angel

Author: codegal

Rating: Pg (so far)

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Sailor Moon.

Summary: After an ambush on the Sailor Scouts that left Rini a prisoner in the negaverse holding, a white haired stranger comes to her rescue, saving Rini from the clutches of evil. And before long, Rini finds herself falling in love with the stranger. But all is not well in paradise, as Rini is met with an endless stream of enemy attacks, which no one can explain except for her lover. Which leads Rini to the question: What goes on behind those bottomless grey eyes..?

Author's Notes: Ok, first and foremost, I just want to thank Kagome for coming up with the idea to write a fic about the couple, the Lord knows I would never have touched them otherwise and for her constant support throughout the whole thing... thanks also to my sister, Queen E a.k.a Chibi-chichan for doing all my research for me cause yes I am a lazy ass... I know I'm being a bad author by starting a new fic every time I get writer's block on my current ones... I'll stop, I promise, just... not now... and finally, its been a long while since I've written an SM fic, let alone anything in quite awhile, so be nice and take it easy on me, I am a little rusty...

--

Chapter one...

They were going to kill her.

They had tied her up to a wooden stake, that stood in the centre of a desolate court yard. Rain pounded down from the heavens above to the ground, the cold seeping into her already numb skin. Her senshi outfit torn and tattered, no longer a protective shield from the harsh elements.

The female shook her head, trying in vain to clear her muddled thoughts. She knew they were going to come back for her, knew that this time it would be worse. She had to get free, she needed to get help.

God, she was sleepy.

She wanted to just lie her head down and sleep for a long time. Everytime she closed her eyes, she could see her mother, her long blonde hair trailing behind her as she ran, laughing. She could see her father, and his infectious smile that would lighten the room. She could see the times that they spent together, happy times as a family.

Odd, but she felt warmer now.

She felt... better. She wasn't shivering anymore. Somehow, the cold weather around her seemed to have no effect whatsoever on her. An overwhelming fatigue suffocated her, making her eyes droop shut. She fought the fatigue, tried to stay awake, but sleep sounded so good...

--

"Oh, God, Darien! Where's my, baby? Where's Rini?"

"Serena, please. Calm down, we'll find her, just... hang on."

Darien wrapped his arms around his sobbing wife, stroking her hair, trying to offer her comfort. He coudn't understand what had happened. They had all gone out on a routine mission to stake out the latest holding of the negaverse, and had been sprung upon unaware. They had fought against the negamonsters, but were quickly overwhelmed by their numbers and were forced to retreat.

No one had noticed that Rini wasn't with them until later.

"Where could she be? I thought she was right behind me when we made our way out," claimed a distressed Mina.

"Some of us can go back and look for her, Serena." Amy offered, trying to comfort her friend.

Both Luna and Artemis shook their heads in the negative. "To go back now after that surprise ambush attack would be suicide. They would capture you for sure and then how better off would we be?"

Lita turned to the white cat. "But we have to do something. Anything. Rini might still be back there, and who knows what they will have planned for her?"

"My, God. Darien, please, we need to go help her! She's just a child--"

"Hush, darling. Everything will be all right. We'll find a way."

"I think we should all just sleep on this for now since it's pretty late. We will all reconvene here in the morning at 7, and then try to map out a strategy on getting Sailor Mini Moon back."

"Luna's right," Raye agreed, "I mean, we're not at our strongest right now, and to go back without any sort of plans would put us in an even bigger disadvantage. We should rest up and kick some more negaverse butt tomorrow, ok?"

The Sailor Scouts and Guardian Cats agreed to meet back up at Darien's house in the morning to formulate more plans. Darien escorted them all to the door, bidding each scout good night before retuning to a distraught Serena.

"Are you going to sleep tonight?"

Serena lifted tear glazed eyes at Darien. "I dont know."

Feeling something shift inside him at the sight of her unhappiness, Darien strode over to the couch and sat down, wrapping her in his arms. "Its gonna be, ok, Serena. Trust me. Whether we like to admit it or not, Rini is a big girl, now. I'm pretty sure she can take care of herself."

Serena buried her face into Darien's neck, fighting the shivers that racked her body. "I didn't want this for her, Darien. Most of my adolescence was spent fighting monsters and being stuck in situations where I thought I was going to die. And it just killed something inside me, Darien. That's why I always act like an immature teenager all the time, because I'm not ready to grow up, yet. I haven't experienced all that I could. And that was something I promised myself not to let happen to any of my children. I was going to protect them from anything that would make them unhappy. Now look what happened! I failed her!"

Tears filled his eyes as Darien rocked his sobbing sweetheart. He didn't like hearing about anything that would make her unhappy. He had vowed earlier on that he would protect her and keep her from feeling any smidget of unhappiness. And he'd do the same with his daughter. But so far, he seemed to have let them both down.

"Shh. Don't cry now. If anything, Serena, I promise to get her back to us, safely. I promise."

---

Rini woke up to find herself in some kind of dark cellar. Blinking her eyes at the dim lighting, she waited until her eyes could readjust. She was surrounded by three walls of stone, and a wall of vertical bars that ran from the ceiling to the floor.

Frowning, she rose from her awkward position against the far wall and tried to lift her arms to rub the crick in her neck but found she couldn't quite reach it. She was chained to the wall. Cursing under her breath, she looked around the cell to get a better scope of her surroundings. The cell was bare, apart from the pile of rats that gathered on the other side of the cell.

It was dark, damp, and depressive, and already, Rini could feel herself getting numb. She tested the chains that were imprisoning her hands, and found she couldnt move more then a few inches in any direction. A wave of despair covered her, bringing tears of helplessness to her eyes.

She shook her head. Stay focused, Rini. You won't get out of here by feeling sorry for yourself.

But despite of her words of encouragement, she couldn't help but feel all alone. She couldn't help the lone tear that fell, sliding down her cheek to stain her already dirty uniform. She couldn't help herself at all.

She curled up as best as she could, to keep her body warmth within her. Closing her eyes, she tried to rest, to gather her energy for her grand escape. She lulled herself to sleep, by humming the melody of her mother's locket, her voice a lonely sound that echoed throughout the cell...