A/N Okay, here we go. This is the prequel to What If : A Sailor Moon R Twist, and is my wacky retelling of season one. This will tell my version of the fight against the Dark Kingdom and the events that led up to the final battle against Beryl and Metallia in which Serena lost her memories. Of course that is where What If picks up. Just to remind everyone, Serena and the girls are sixteen and Darien and Andrew are seventeen. They all go to Azabu High School together. In this version, Serena has already known Darien for two years and is friends with all of the girls before they find out they are sailor scouts. There will be some major changes from the original storyline as we get farther into it, but this is what I have for now.

ENJOY!

Rekindled : A Classic Sailor Moon Twist

Chapter 1

The Day to End All Days

"Oh! That's just great!" fumed sixteen-year-old Serena Tsukino as she looked around hopelessly at the scattered books and papers that were lying on the sidewalk. Her schoolbag hung uselessly in her hand with its bottom split wide open.

She stomped her foot in frustration. "Honestly! This has got to be the worst day of my life. I knew I should have paid attention to that feeling this morning that told me that I should just stay at home. But no, I dragged myself out of bed anyway and walked right into a day straight from hell. Ugh!"

She bent down and began gathering her belongings, silently cursing in her mind whatever unlucky star she had been born under that would grace her with the kind of luck she'd had today.

First off she had discovered that they were out of her favorite cereal when she went down to breakfast and had to suffer through her brother Sammy's teasing her about being cuckoo for Coco Puffs while she begrudgingly ate Apple Jacks instead.

And it only got worse from there. On her way to school she had found some boys tormenting a cat. She chased them off before going to check on the poor animal. The small black feline had a couple of band aids plastered to its forehead, and wanting to make sure that it hadn't been injured, she pulled them off.

Well that cat must have been schizophrenic or had a brain tumor or something, because it went absolutely batty the moment the bandages came off, clawing its way up her chest before leaping out of her arms and somehow bouncing off the top of her head in the process. It had landed on the roof of a parked car and stared at her with such a human like expression on its face that it had sent shivers down her spine. The crescent moon bald spot on its forehead had only lent credit to the idea that the cat was most definitely possessed.

The sound of a school bell ringing a block away had caught her attention and had her glancing down at her watch to see that she was late for school. She took off running, briefly debating whether or not to just go back home and pretend to be sick, but she knew that her sharp eyed mother would never fall for it.

So she trudged slowly the rest of the way to school. She was already late anyway, so what did it matter? She accepted her detention slip from Miss Haruna, wondering for the thousandth time how she got stuck with that woman every year. She had thought that she had finally escaped that dragon lady when she had left middle school behind, but oh no, Miss H. decided that she wanted to transfer and teach high school. So the torture continued.

She continued her day in a daze, barely staying awake in her classes. She'd kept having strange dreams the night before that woke her up several times. She couldn't really remember anything about them except that there had been this guy in them that been dressed in a tuxedo, but she couldn't see his face.

She had brushed it off. Prom was months away since it was only November, but she figured it was never too early to start dreaming about being asked to it. Of course she was only a sophomore, so that meant that an upperclassman would have to ask her, but she wasn't too concerned about that. One of her best friends, Andrew, was a junior, and she knew a lot of his friends. Maybe one of them would ask her. It wasn't hard to imagine walking into prom in a beautiful dress on the arm of Asanuma or Kobyashi, or perhaps even…

No! She had put that thought out of her mind before it even entered. No matter how good looking she thought that jerk was, there was no way that she would even consider thinking about what it would be like to attend prom with him!

"Get a grip, Serena," she muttered to herself as she finally got all of her stuff together and continued walking. Normally she wouldn't be making this trip all by herself, but her friends had other plans for the afternoon.

Amy Mizuno was the shy, soft-spoken member of her little band of friends. She met the blue haired genius halfway through freshman year when the girl transferred to Azabu High from the elite private school she had attended all of her life. Amy's mother, a well respected doctor, had agreed to let her daughter try public school in hopes that Amy would make some friends and increase her nonexistent social life. The only downside was that Amy had to attend cram school three afternoons a week and that sometimes prevented her from being able to hang out at the arcade with the others.

Not long after Serena met Amy, they got another transfer student, the beautiful, mysterious Raye Hino. Raye lived at a nearby shrine where her grandfather was a priest and she served as a priestess herself. She was high-spirited with a temper that matched the fire that she liked to meditate in front of. She and Serena had completely opposite personalities and butted heads a lot, but in reality they were as close as sisters.

The three girls had become fast friends and were nearly inseparable for the rest of their freshman year and the following summer. Then at the beginning of the current school year they added two more to their ranks.

Lita Kino was a tall, amazon looking brunette with a brash attitude that she used to hide her sweet, sensitive side from the rest of the world. She had been orphaned at a young age and had spent years being tossed from one children's home to another before winning her emancipation and getting her own place. It had been a hard life that had forced her to fight for everything, but with her new friends she was able to be herself. She was fiercely protective of them, especially Serena, who had been the first person to talk to her like she was normal.

And last, but definitely not least was bubbly, blonde Mina Aino. Mina had been born in Japan, but had moved to London with her parents when she was ten. She already had a successful acting career under her belt playing the victorious heroine Sailor V in a few movies. But for all of her flighty ways she was a great friend. She had wanted a chance at a normal teenage life, so she had moved back to her family's house in Juuban while her parents pursued their diplomatic duties.

"Get over yourself, Serena," the golden haired girl grumbled as she staggered toward the Crown Arcade. Inwardly she was praying that Andrew was done with basketball practice for the day. She needed a shoulder to cry on. She also hoped that this was one of the rare days that he decided to skip coming by the arcade.

She sighed as she walked through the doors, automatically scanning the arcade for her nemesis. Her heart sank as she spotted the raven-haired boy that was currently deep in conversation with Andrew,

'Great! Just what I need!' Serena though as she trudged to the counter and took a seat on a stool a couple of seats away from her mortal enemy.

"Hey Sere! The usual?" Andrew asked as she plopped down on her seat.

"I don't think even one of your milkshakes will be enough to turn this day around," she moaned as she buried her head in her arms on the counter. "This has been the worst day of my life and I just want it to be over!"

"Aw sweetie, I'm sure it hasn't been that bad of a day," Andrew said sympathetically as he patted the top of her head fondly. "Now pick that head up and let me see your pretty face and you tell Dr. Drew all about it."

Serena raised her eyes to meet the concerned hazel gaze of the boy who had always been like an older brother to her and promptly broke into tears as she flung herself across the counter and into his waiting arms.

"Oh Drew!" she wailed. "This has been a day from hell! Everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong today. I feel like I must be cursed or something. I have to be the unluckiest person ever born!"

Andrew held her for a few minutes and let her sob out the horrific events of her day on his shoulder until she was cried out. Then he set her back in her seat with a smile. "Feel better?"

She returned the smile. "Yeah, I think I do."

He ruffled her bangs. "Great! Now how about that milkshake?"

She nodded eagerly and Andrew walked off to make the sweet treat. She sat there on her stool and looked around the arcade in every direction except to her left. The last thing she wanted was to get into it with him today. But it was inevitable.

She heard the sound of a throat clearing and then that voice, that deep, husky, amazing sounding voice. "So Meatball Head, what are you doing in here having a nervous breakdown all alone? Shouldn't you be hanging out with your friends, gossiping and acting childish like you always do?"

Serena heaved a sigh before turning to him warily. The sight of those intensely dark blue eyes tried to mesmerize her, but she held her composure. "Hello, jerk! Shouldn't you be off somewhere torturing children and small animals instead of tainting this wonderful family establishment with your presence?"

A smirk appeared on his arrogantly handsome face. "But I am torturing a child. Isn't that what you are? There's not much difference between you and a five year old."

Serena's face turned bright red as she began to fume. She was about to lay into the smug bastard when a white knight came to her rescue.

"Damn, Darien! Can't you lay off of her for one day?" Andrew scolded his friend. "The poor girl has had a bad day and she doesn't need to hear your shit right now."

Darien snorted into his soda. "Well excuse me if I offended her highness. I didn't realize she had a champion ready to defend her."

Serena stuck her tongue out at him before attacking the milkshake Andrew had just put in front of her.

Her dark haired tormentor rolled his eyes. "Real mature Meatball Head."

Andrew jumped between them in hopes of stopping another argument between the two. "So Serena, where are the other girls today? It's unusual to see you by yourself."

She swirled the straw in her glass. "Amy had cram school. Raye had to help her grandfather at the temple. Lita's taking another cooking class. And Mina had a photo shoot for the upcoming promotion of the new Sailor V game. So it's just me."

"Well that's a shame," Andrew said with a smile. "But I have to say I'm kinda glad to have some time with you alone. This makes it feel like old times again, doesn't it?"

Serena grinned and nodded, thinking back on all the days before she had met her friends when she had sat here just like this, laughing and joking with Andrew after school. Occasionally their friends Molly and Melvin would join them before they had been split up when they started high school, Serena and Andrew were attending Azabu High while Molly and Melvin were sent to Juuban, but most days it had just been Serena and Andrew at the arcade.

That had also been before Andrew had befriended the sinfully handsome pain in the ass, Darien Shields, the bane of Serena's existence. She had tried her hardest to befriend the aloof upperclassman, but he had blocked her every time with his cutting words and cold personality.

The doors to the arcade slid open, admitting a fairly large group of kids, so Andrew left the pair to go wait on them. Serena remained sitting on her stool, happily sipping her milkshake and doing her best to ignore the boy to her left.

But her hopes were dashed once again when that smooth voice intruded on her thoughts. "Is that how you always treat your school things Meatball Head?" Darien asked, gesturing to the untidy pile of books and papers that she had sat on the counter. "You know, you might do more than just squeak by in school if you kept your things better organized."

'Don't pay any attention to him, Serena. The jerk's not worth it!' she told herself as she kept her gaze adverted and ignored him.

But Darien wasn't to be swayed by her actions. "Seriously Meatball Head, this is high school, not kindergarten." He reached for one of her papers.

"Hey! Give that back!" she snapped as she saw him snag her current Algebra II test. She tried vainly to grab it back.

He avoided her seeking hands and looked at the paper. "Hey! You actually passed this one," he said as he saw the red 73. "Barely, but it's still a pass. Now if you would just pay more attention to Andrew when he's trying to explain this to you instead of drooling all over him like an adolescent fangirl, you might be able to pull a C out of your back pocket."

Serena finally managed to get the test wrangled from his grip and sat back in a huff. "I don't drool over Andrew, you jerk! We've known each other our whole lives! He's like my brother. Only a pervert like you would read more into it."

Okay, so she'd developed a small crush on Andrew when they had been in middle school, and it had made a brief reappearance when her new friends had all professed undying love for the blonde haired hottie, but it had passed quickly. Darien didn't need to know about that.

Darien laughed derisively. "Now what does a toddler like yourself know about anything dealing with the world of perversion? They don't teach that in daycare."

The stress from the day finally caught up to Serena and she snapped. She abandoned her milkshake and quickly gathered her things. "You know what, Shields? I've just had an epiphany. I don't give a rat's ass what you think about me. So you can go straight to hell!"

She spun on her heel and walked toward the door, hoping to make a triumphant and graceful exit. But with the way her day was going, that wasn't what happened. Someone had spill some soda on the floor, and it was inevitable that she would step in it and slip. One second she was marching with a purpose toward the door, the next she was crashing to the ground in a heap of tangled limbs and schoolbooks.

"Serena!" Andrew exclaimed as he hurried over to check on her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she grumbled as she allowed him to help her up and collect her belongings. Her face flushed with embarrassment at her situation until she locked eyes with her mortal enemy.

Darien didn't mean to laugh, but the whole scene was just so comical. He knew that the little Meatball Head wasn't hurt. He would never laugh at someone else's pain. But the sight of her sprawled out on the floor like a character from a Saturday morning anime was too much for him too take. He doubled over at the waist as laughter rumbled deep in his throat.

Tears burned Serena's eyes as she glared at him. "I hate you, Darien Shields!" she screamed at him. "I wish I had never met you! Go ahead and laugh at me now, but we'll see who laughs last. One day I'll be beautiful and glamorous and have a strong boyfriend that will protect me from bullies like you. And while I'm off enjoying my happy life you'll still be sitting here on your stool, lonely and bitter."

Without another word she tossed one of her pigtails over her shoulder and stomped angrily through the sliding doors.

Andrew shot his friend a murderous look. "Way to go, jackass! I know you get some kind of sick, twisted pleasure from picking on her. But did you have to kick her while she was already down?"

Darien hung his head as guilt rushed through him. He had seen the tears that had shimmered in her bright blue eyes and felt like the lowest scum of the earth for making her cry, again. He didn't know why he picked on the blonde sophomore so much. He just seemed to go on the defensive whenever she breezed through the doors with her happy go lucky attitude.

Andrew sighed as he watched a series of conflicting emotions play across his friend's usually stoic face. It looked like it was time for Dr. Drew to step in with some much needed advice.

He walked back behind the counter and went to lean against it across from the brooding, black haired boy. "Look Dare. I'm not trying to interfere in your life or anything, but would it kill you to try to be nice to Serena for a change? She's really a great girl, and she would be a wonderful friend to you if you just gave her a chance."

Darien's fingers clenched tightly around the soda glass in front of him. "I don't need you to tell me what kind of person she is. Anyone with eyes could see that. She just rubs me the wrong way. How can somebody be that cheerful all the time? It's not natural."

Andrew grinned. "It is for Serena. Trust me. I've known her all her life and she's always been the same. The only time I've ever seen her sad was when her grandfather passed away when she was in fifth grade, and she bounced back from that pretty quick. She said that she knew that he wouldn't want her to spend all her time grieving for him. So after about a week she was back to smiling and laughing again."

Darien shook his head in amusement. "That sounds like her. The girl is a total enigma."

Andrew eyed him smugly. "And that's why you like her."

Darien spit out the soda that he had just taken a sip of. "I do not like the Meatball Head!"

His sandy haired friend chuckled and passed him a towel to mop up the mess he had made on the counter. "You can't fool me. You've been hot for her since the first time you met her two years ago. The love doctor knows all."

Darien snorted. "I thought only bartenders were supposed to play amateur psychologists."

Andrew shrugged. "Just because I don't serve anything alcoholic doesn't mean that I have less knowledge than my older, beer serving colleagues. You can deny it all you want, but I know you have a crush on Serena. In fact, you're probably only one step away from falling deeply and madly in love with her. You're just too dense to do anything about it."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Darien said as he stood and grabbed his book bag. "But you are dead wrong this time. I'm not saying that Meatball Head is a bad person, but I just don't feel that way about her. I'm outta here. I've got a Trig test to study for."

Andrew's hazel eyes danced merrily as he watched him leave the arcade. "Oh we'll just see how long you can keep lying to yourself, my friend. I've got a feeling that a certain blonde bombshell will soon bring you to your knees."

"Lights out, Serena," Ilene Tsukino said as she popped her head into her daughter's room. "It's after ten, and you have school tomorrow. So get some good sleep."

"Okay mom," Serena answered from where she was sitting on her bed with her Literature book in front of her.

"Goodnight, dear," Ilene replied as she eased the door closed again.

"Night, mom," Serena chirped as she watched her mother leave. When she was sure the door was completely shut, she pulled out the manga that she had been hiding behind her schoolbook. She carefully marked her place and set it on the nightstand.

She returned her book to the bag that her mother had repaired for her before walking into the adjoining bathroom where she changed into a short, pink baby doll nightie before washing her face and brushing her teeth. As she unwound her hair from its buns, she stared in the mirror at herself and thought about this afternoon's events.

"Stupid, arrogant jerk!" she muttered to herself as she pulled a brush through her knee length hair. "Okay, make that stupid, arrogant, sexy jerk. He makes me so mad. If he would just keep his damn mouth shut so I could enjoy looking at him instead of fighting with him, everything would be fine."

She sighed deeply. As much as she detested Darien's constant picking on her, she couldn't deny that she had a huge crush on him and had been suffering from it from the first day that she had walked into the arcade and saw him talking to Andrew. One look into those deep, ocean blue eyes and she had been hooked.

She had it so bad for him that she had almost considered strangling her friend Raye when the raven-haired priestess had gone out on a few dates with Darien. Luckily it had been short lived when the two admitted that they didn't feel anything other than friendship for one another.

As a matter of fact, all of her friends had done their share of drooling over both Darien and Andrew. Even shy, reserved Amy wasn't immune to their handsome good looks, and neither were the rest of the girls in their school. Both boys were stars on the basketball team and could usually be seen with a gaggle of giggling girls following them.

Not that either one of them noticed it. Andrew had been in a fairly long term relationship with a girl named Rita, and he was still nursing a broken heart that he had suffered when she had moved away this past summer. And Darien was just oblivious. In the two years that Serena had known him, she had never seen or heard about him being with any girl other than the short time he dated Raye. Some of the gossip around school had people wondering if maybe he swung the other way, but Serena didn't believe a word of it. She knew from watching him that he was just a very private person that didn't let many people get too close.

She knew that he had his reasons. After a particularly bad fight that had sent her running from the arcade in tears, Andrew had come after her and had told her, after swearing her to secrecy, Darien's story.

Her heart had cried for him as she heard about his past. He had been orphaned at age six in a car crash. Both of his parents had been killed instantly, but by some miracle he had survived. He had woken up in the hospital with no memory of his family or even who he was. There had been no other family members to take him in, so he had been sent to an orphanage to live. When he had started high school, he had petitioned the government for his emancipation and won. His parents had left him with a trust fund that he drew a living allowance from, enabling him to live comfortably in an apartment of his own. But he was alone.

"Stop thinking about him, Serena," she scolded herself. "You have tried and tried to be nice to him. If he wants to be a brain dead idiot, let him. It's his loss."

She examined her reflection critically. Was Darien really missing out on anything? She wasn't darkly exotic like Raye, striking like Lita, or graceful like Amy. Mina was almost her twin, but even she possessed a classic beauty that men seemed to covet.

She studied herself, weighing the pros and cons. She was short, much shorter than most girls her age, but her hair was the color of the sun. A lot of women spent big bucks at salons to achieve what she had naturally. Her eyes could rival a summer sky, but they were large and round, almost too big for her small face. And don't even get her started on the dusting of freckles across her nose that she absolutely abhorred.

But even while focusing on what she thought to be imperfections, she didn't think she looked bad. There were some things that she would love to change, and she had never been vain about her looks, but she thought she looked okay. But then again, had two totally opposite people ever existed? He was tall and dark with a brooding personality while she was petite, fair, and tried to bring happiness to those around her. She had always heard that opposites attract, but this might be pushing it too far.

"I've gotta stop thinking about this," she grumbled. "I'll go crazy if I don't."

She went back into her room and crawled under the covers of her bed before clicking off her beside lamp. As she snuggled down into her pillow and prepared to slip off to sleep, she vaguely wondered if the tuxedoed man that had starred in her dreams the night before would return. Her dream self had felt safe and comforted in his arms. Which was a good thing since the dreams had gone from being like a fairytale as they danced to more like being a nightmare as a battle waged around them. The details were fuzzy in her mind.

She closed her eyes and was just beginning to drift off to sleep when she thought she heard a rustling sound near her open window. She ignored it, figuring that it was just the wind blowing through the tree outside. A few seconds later she sat up with a start as she felt something land on her bed. Looking around, she saw the same psychotic cat that she had saved from the bullying boys that morning.

"O…oh! Hello kitty," she stuttered uncertainly. How had the cat found its way into her room? Had it been following her all day since she had rescued it? She knew that it would be easy enough for a cat to climb the tree and slip through her window, but it seemed like too much of a coincidence that the cat just happened to pick her room.

Then the unthinkable happened. The cat opened its mouth and spoke. "Hello, Serena. My name is Luna, and I have been looking for you for a long time."

"Holy crap! A cat that talks!" Serena shrieked as she jumped off the bed and landed in a heap on the floor.

"Please, don't freak out on me," Luna said, looking over the side of the bed at the girl on the floor. "I know this is a lot to take in, but I have reason to believe that you are one of the sailor scouts that I have been searching for."

Serena scrambled up onto her knees and rested her chin on the edge of the bed. She figured she was dreaming, so she decided to play along. "A sailor scout, what's that?"

Luna sat and curled her tail around her. "The sailor scouts are warriors that once lived on the moon a thousand years ago. They were the protectors and companions to Princess Serenity, the heir of the Silver Millennium."

"And you think that I'm one of these warriors?" Serena asked with a laugh. "Now I know I'm dreaming. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly warrior material."

The black feline stood back up, the crescent moon on her forehead glowing slightly. Now that she thought about it, her friend Mina's white cat, Artemis, had a similar symbol on his forehead. That was weird.

"You're not dreaming, Serena," Luna insisted. "I wasn't sure at first, but after watching you today I am convinced that you are a sailor scout."

"Riigghht…" Serena drawled. "I knew I shouldn't have had that third slice of cheesecake for dessert. But it was so good."

Luna sighed. "I see I'm just going to have to prove it to you." She jumped into the air and flipped. There was a glittery poof and she landed back on the bed next to a round, golden brooch. "This is for you."

"Really!" Serena exclaimed as she grabbed the piece of jewelry and examined it. "Ooo, I bet this would look great pinned on the front of my uniform." She rushed over to her closet door where her school uniform for the next day was hanging. She held the pin up against the red bow and admired the effect.

"We don't have time for that right now," Luna admonished. "That is no ordinary brooch. It will allow you to turn into Sailor Moon. Now hold it up and repeat after me. Moon Prism Power!"

Serena looked at her bewilderedly, but thrust the hand holding the brooch into the air and cried, "Moon Prism Power!"

She felt a rush as flashing lights and swirling ribbons surrounded her. When they faded, she looked down at herself and let out a startled squeak. "What the hell just happened?"

She was dressed in a uniform that was similar to the one she wore to school, only with major modifications. The skirt was shorter than anything she had ever worn in her life, and paired with the elbow length gloves and knee high boots, she felt slightly hookerish.

Luna abandoned her place on the bed and jumped up on the dresser where Serena was busy staring in shock at herself in the mirror. "I knew it! You are the champion of love and justice, Sailor Moon. The world is in terrible danger, and you must help protect it. Together we will find the other scouts and then we will be able to recover the princess and the Silver Crystal."

Sailor Moon slid to the floor helplessly. "I'm really not dreaming, am I?"

Luna landed next to her with a soft thud and nudged her arm with her head. "I'm afraid not. I know it's a lot to ask of a teenage girl, but this is your destiny. I'm so glad I finally found you. I've been searching for quite some time. But when you came charging to my rescue this morning I knew you were the one. You are a very special girl, Serena."

A tremulous smile appeared on Sailor Moon's face. "Too bad no one would ever believe me if I told them. I know Mina would flip. She became famous by playing Sailor V, but now I'm the real thing."

She froze as suddenly every hair on her body stood on end and a shiver raced down her spine. The ornaments that adorned her buns that had magically reappeared when she transformed began to vibrate and she heard a faint voice calling for help.

"That sounded like Molly!" she exclaimed as she jumped to her feet.

"Shoot!" Luna muttered. "It must be a youma attack. I had hoped to have time to train you before the Dark Kingdom began attacking, but it looks like that's not going to happen. It's up to you to go stop the youma."

"But I don't know anything about fighting monsters!" Sailor Moon wailed. "I'm just an ordinary schoolgirl!"

Luna's tail bristled. "Not anymore. You are Sailor Moon, leader of Princess Serenity's imperial guard. It is your duty to protect this planet and its inhabitants from the Dark Kingdom. If you don't go and stop this attack now, your friend Molly may die."

Those were the magic words to say to galvanize her into action. She ran to the door only to pull up short when she remembered the predicament she was in. Not only was she dressed up like someone who should be hanging out in the red light district, but also her father was the lightest sleeper ever born. She was surprised that he hadn't already come bursting in with all the noise she and Luna had been making.

"What am I going to do, Luna?" she moaned. "There's no way I'm getting out of here. My dad will bust me for sure and ground me. I'm already in hot water for almost failing an Algebra II test. If I get in anymore trouble I may not see freedom again until I'm forty five."

"Then we'll take my way," Luna told her as she jumped out of the window and into the branches of the tree.

Sailor Moon looked out the window dubiously. "No offense, Luna, but this tree and I have a history. I fell out of it and broke my arm when I was eight. So I sure don't want a repeat of that."

The feline rolled her cinnamon colored eyes. "You can make it without climbing down the tree. Part of being a sailor scout means that you can jump long distances without being hurt. You're also stronger and faster than when you are in your civilian form."

The blonde scout shuddered. "Are you kidding? If I jump from here I'll end up being a pancake on the lawn."

"You're just going to have to trust me," Luna insisted. "Now hurry so we can go save your friend."

Sailor Moon looked down at the ground that seemed farther away than usual. She heard Molly's terrified voice call out for help again, so she did the only thing she could. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and jumped.

The dream started out the way it always did. He found himself standing in the middle of a swirling fog looking up at the hulking shadow of a large building. He could see the faint outline of a woman standing on a balcony. None of her features were clear, but he could make out her long hair and the floor length dress that rippled in the gentle breeze. But tonight the dream was different.

"Find the Silver Crystal," her voice floated down to him.

"What?" he asked in confusion. He'd dreamt of this princess many times over the years, but this was the first time she had ever said anything about a crystal. Also, her voice was usually happy, but tonight it was heavy with sadness.

"I need my Silver Crystal," she told him. "Without it I will never be free and the world will be in terrible danger. Once I have it back I will rid the Earth of the darkness that threatens it and return your past to you."

Darien sucked in a breath. "You can do that?"

"Yes. I can," she answered gently. "I know that you are tormented by the uncertainties in your life. But once my birthright is returned to me I will be able to restore the memories that were taken from you."

Elation swept through him. There was little else in life that he wanted more than to know exactly who he was. "I will find the Silver Crystal for you. Have no fear. But please, tell me who you are." This was a request that he had made countless times, but she had always refused to show herself or share her name.

To his surprise she answered him. " I suppose the time has come. I am Serenity, princess of the moon and heir to the Silver Millennium. I died a thousand years ago and was reincarnated here on Earth, but my powers and my memories have been locked away. Now the enemy that was responsible for destroying my kingdom has broken free of the seal that my mother placed on them. I need the Silver Crystal so that I can awaken and defeat this evil once and for all."

Darien clenched his fists at his side. "I will see you set free, princess. And then I will stand by your side to help you as much as I can."

"I know you will," she said in a voice that was growing faint. "You have a great power inside of you, and it's time for it to come forth. My guardians are beginning to awaken and can be of help to you, but you are the only one who can set me free."

The scene before him began fading, a sign that the dream was ending. "Serenity!" he yelled, reaching a hand toward her as she disappeared.

He jerked awake and sat up on his couch, sending the history book that he had been studying before he fell asleep crashing to the floor. He rubbed a hand over his bleary eyes.

"Well that was different," he mumbled sarcastically as he stood and walked into his kitchen. He bypassed the still hot coffee in the coffee pot in favor of a cold bottle of water from his refrigerator. He carried it out onto the balcony to get some fresh air.

He thought about the dream that he'd just had and how it differed from the others that he'd had in the past. He had begun dreaming of the princess not long after the accident that stolen both his parents and his memories from him. She had always been a source of comfort to him over the years, and he had decided a long time ago that she was more than just a figment of his imagination. He believed that she was real. And if she needed his help, he would gladly give it to her.

He stared up at the moon, another source of comfort for him. And now that his dream princess had told him that she the princess of the moon, it made sense.

"So how do I go about finding this Silver Crystal for her?" he mused. There were millions if not billions of crystals in the world, so how would he find the right one?

He was thinking hard about this new development when a wave of dizziness and a burning sensation in his chest sent him stumbling to his knees. He screwed his eyes shut and waited until it passed.

When he opened his eyes he received a shock. A mask now covered his eyes and he was dressed in an elegant tuxedo, complete with a top hot and long flowing cape. He felt stronger, like he could pull a Superman and leap over tall buildings in a single bound. Was this what Serenity had meant when she said that he had power hidden inside him?

He felt fear that wasn't his own explode in the pit of his stomach and something that felt like the pull of a giant magnet tugging at him. Without a second thought, he leapt up onto the balcony railing and jumped through the air toward the roof of a neighboring building. He whooped in delight as he cleared the fifty foot gap like it was nothing.

Following the pull, he sped off across the rooftops, pausing only a minute later when the feeling led him straight to the Osa-P jewelry store. Serenity's request played through his head. It would be logical to look for the Silver Crystal in a jewelry store. That must mean that her enemies were after it as well.

He jumped down from the roof he was standing on and landed on the ledge of a large open window. Looking in he saw a group of people that looked a lot like zombies along with what could only be described as a monster surrounding a young blonde girl that was wearing a sailor suit of some kind.

At first glance the girl reminded him of Serena. She wore her hair in the same odango style and was petite just like her. When he heard her scream, he looked around wildly for something that he could use as a weapon to help her.

He flinched when a red rose suddenly appeared in his hand; it's thorns almost cutting through the thick material of his white gloves. Its stem felt as strong as steel, so acting purely on instinct he flung it into the path of the monster that was closing in on the wailing girl.

He remembered what Serenity had said about her guardians beginning to awaken. He was pretty sure that this girl was one of them. Her terrified screams and jerky movements told him that she must have only recently come into her powers like he had and was clueless about what to do.

He saw her stare at the rose that was now embedded in the floor and saw her look up with large blue eyes to stare at him in wonder. Once more he was struck by the similarities between this girl and Serena. She had eyes that reminded him of those of his verbal sparring partner and secret crush.

Yes, he may have lied to Andrew earlier about liking Serena, but he knew that he had fallen for the blonde spitfire, and had fallen hard. But the last thing he wanted to do was taint her cheerful optimism with his gloomy pessimism. Besides, he had sworn his devotion to Serenity, and he didn't think he had the time to juggle school and two women. Well three if you counted the girl that was now staring at him with something akin to hero worship in her eyes. If she was indeed one of Serenity's guardians, he was sure he would be seeing a lot of her.

"Believe in yourself and I know that you will win," he called down to her, cringing at how corny he sounded. But he had been thrust into this world of super hero business fairly quick and hadn't exactly had time to come up with a speech.

He saw her face tighten with determination before she nodded to him. "Right. Prepare to be dusted youma scum. I am the champion of love and justice, Sailor Moon. And in the name of the moon I will punish you."

The tuxedo-clad boy shook his head as he chuckled. This Sailor Moon was as bad at giving speeches as he was. But she did look cute as she struck a pose to match her words. He saw a small black form behind the pillar that Sailor Moon was leaning against and heard a muffled voice. Then Sailor Moon reached up to remove the golden tiara that rested against her forehead.

It began to glow and spin as it hovered a few inches above her palm. "Moon Tiara Magic!" she cried as she flung it at the creature in front of her.

A loud screech filled the store as the…whatever it was, disintegrated into dust. All of the other people fainted and fell to the floor.

Seeing that the threat was over, the masked hero turned to leave. But he stopped when a voice called from behind him.

"Wait!" the feminine voice cried. "Thank you for helping me. I am eternally grateful."

He looked back over his shoulder at her. "You're welcome." Then he turned away again. He saw a blur of movement out of the corner of his eye and was surprised to find the blonde standing next to him. She had jumped up twenty feet as easily as he had cleared the distances between buildings on his way here.

She held her hand out to him. "I'm Sailor Moon, leader of Princess Serenity's Imperial Guard. May I know your name so that I may thank you properly?"

Darien's head spun at her nearness as his brain struggled to work to come up with a name for himself. He certainly couldn't use his real one. "Uh…uh…" he stammered. "I'm Tuxedo Mask," he finally said.

"Well thank you, Tuxedo Mask. I would have been toast if you hadn't shown up when you had." She grabbed his hand and then gasped.

He jerked as he felt an electrical shock run through his entire body. A quick glance at Sailor Moon's face told him that she had felt the same thing.

"Well, I better be going," he whispered as he reluctantly pulled his hand from hers. "Maybe I'll see you around."

"Goodbye, Tuxedo Mask," he heard her say softly as he jumped to the roof of a nearby building. He looked back once and saw her making her way across the rooftops in the opposite direction. He sighed deeply and turned back to the direction of his apartment. It had certainly been an interesting night.

He had barely reached his balcony when he felt a tingling sensation and his tuxedo melted away to leave him standing there in a pair of worn jeans and a t-shirt. He walked inside to his bedroom and flung himself across the bed, still fully dressed, as exhaustion finally set in on him.

He drifted off into dreams where he was haunted by three different women, his faceless princess, his new acquaintance Sailor Moon, and Serena. The three of them seemed to meld together until he couldn't tell one from the other anymore. Needless to say, his sleep wasn't very restful that night.

Not terribly far away, a blonde haired girl tossed and turned in her bed as her dreams turned from those that had her dancing in the arms of the hero that had come to her rescue that night to those that showed her plunging a sword through her heart as a voice cackled evilly in the background and a dark haired man dressed in armor and whose face was obscured by fog lay dead nearby.

Serena jerked awake with the name that she had screamed in her dream running through her head. She felt a slight weight on the covers near her feet and looked down to see Luna curled up at the foot of her bed.

"So it really wasn't a dream," she mumbled as she rolled over to find a more comfortable position. As she gave into fatigue and drifted back to sleep she whispered, "Endymion". Soon after, a golden crescent moon began to glow softly on her forehead.

A/N Well there you have it. What did you guys think? I know it pretty much followed episode one, but I hope I made it different enough to be enjoyable. I will try to update this story as often as I can, but GT is my main focus at the moment. I had so many people request that I do the other seasons when What If ended that I couldn't help but do this. So please tell me what you thought of it. Take a moment to hit the review button and give me your honest opinion. It can be just a few words or a hundred, I don't care. I just love getting feedback from my readers. So I hope to hear from you. Lots of love!

~Sere~