Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any of the canon characters. The non-canon characters are merely figments that have escaped from my imagination.

Author's Note: This story does not take place in the same universe as my other trilogy. There may be some familiar characters, but this is a different universe, and they will be a little different as well. Now, on with the new Sailor Moon story!

Chapter One: Begin Again

He stumbled through the dark caverns, shivering in the cold. His green jacket provided little protection against the Artic cold, but he dare not use his henshin rose. Not when he was sure Beryl could use it to find him.

"There's got to be some way out of here. I have to get back to Tokyo, back to Serena," he muttered through chattering teeth. "She needs my help."

He pressed on, checking ever door he came across. These, however, seemed to lead only to rooms filled with motionless youma.

"She has a whole army stored up here. Lucky for us, she's never decided to use all of them. The Scouts and I would never stand a chance."

Footsteps echoed down the hall behind him. Dread filled his midnight blue eyes. He ran down the cavernous passage, now bereft of doors. On and on he ran, hoping to escape his pursuer. He bit back a groan. The end of the passage loomed ahead of him, a dead end. Desperately, he looked around for a door, any door. He'd even hide in a room full of youma, if necessary.

He spotted one, hidden between two large protrusions from the wall. It was a rather narrow door. He'd be hard pressed to squeeze through it, but it was his only hope. He ran to it, only to find it locked.

"No," he muttered.

He stepped back, his foot sending something skittering across the floor. Looking down, he found a pewter key, topped with an ivory skull.. He pounced on it, fitting it into the door's lock. He didn't even bother to look before he ran through, palming the key and shutting the door behind him.

He blinked, temporarily blinded by the brightness on the other side of the door. He was no longer in the icy Artic tunnels that served as the base for Queen Beryl of the Negaverse. Instead, he stood in a sunny park. Trees separated him from the laughing children he could hear only a few feet away. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a large shed, used for keeping tools.

"Where am I?"

The key was dropped into his pocket as he moved away from the shed. The sunlight abruptly dimmed. Looking up, he saw rain clouds moving in to block the sun.

"Just great."

Peering through the trees, he saw parents gathering the children together. Several of them were sending wary glances at the ominous clouds.

He slowly emerged from the trees, looking around for some clue as to where he was.

"You seem a little lost, Prince Endymion."

He whirled to face the speaker. A thin, pale boy, about fourteen years of age, sat on a wooden bench. Despite the clouds, he still wore a pair of mirrored sunglasses. Straight black hair fell to his chin. A golden retriever sat beside him, trussed up in an odd-looking harness. It took him a few moments to recognize it as a harness for a seeing eye dog.

"Who are you?"

"You don't recognize us, your highness? We've been waiting, you know, waiting for you to call us. But, I suppose, your memories might not be intact. Reincarnation is a tricky business, I've been told. Come on. We'd better get inside before this storm hits."

The boy wrapped his hand around the handle of the harness before standing up. He started down the path out of the park. When the man didn't follow, he looked back.

"Are you coming or not, your highness? I promise, we won't hurt you. We only wish to help." The boy stared a him. "You can trust me."

Reluctantly, Darien Shields followed the boy out of the park.

"She's such a flake! She couldn't even make it to the fight!" Sailor Mars complained. "We're lucky you could destroy that youma yourself, Venus."

The blonde scout frowned. "Maybe something happened to her."

"Yeah, she probably tripped and woke her parents with her wailing," grumbled Mars.

Jupiter nodded. "All too likely, unfortunately."

None of them saw the blonde girl, hiding just around the corner of the building. None of them saw the tears that fell from gentle, blue eyes. They didn't see her walk away, a slight limp in her step and bruises up and down her arms from the youma that had ambushed her on her way to the battle. They didn't hear the whispered farewell as she was swallowed by the night.

But, just as they did not hear her, she did not hear the declaration that fell from Mercury's lips.

"You're far too harsh on her, Mars! She's trying her best, giving everything she has! Loosing Darien just about destroyed her! Besides, she didn't get the training in the Silver Millennium that we did! She was never supposed to fight, and you know it! So, cut her some slack!"

The three other scouts stared in amazement at the usually mild-mannered, blue-haired scout.

Serena sat on a bench in the middle of Juuban Park. In her lap rested her Star Locket and the Crescent Moon Wand. Carefully, she removed the crystal from it's base in the wand.

"Sailor Pluto, I need to speak with you." Her voice trembled and she drew a steadying breath.

Mist crept around her. Rising, she walked forward, until she reached the Gate, standing in the middle of nowhere.

The green-haired guardian of time turned to face the Moon Princess. "What can I do for you, Serenity?"

"I can't stay in Tokyo anymore. None of the scouts believe in me. They think I'm a failure as a scout. None of them even consider that I might be facing youma without calling them, just to give them a semblance of a normal life! They don't ask about the unexplained injuries! They just call me a flake, a coward. I can't take anymore! Please, Pluto, help me!" Tears poured freely down the young girl's face.

Without dropping her staff, Pluto stepped forward and wrapped the princess in a tight embrace. "There, there, Serenity. I will do what you ask. I will send you someplace far away from Tokyo, someplace where Beryl can't find you. You'll be alright."

Slowly, the blonde girl managed to pull herself back together.

"What will I do with the Silver Crystal?" She looked up at the older woman. "I can't leave it with any of the scouts. I can't go back long enough to do that."

"You'll keep it with you, protected." Sailor Pluto explained.

From out of the mist she drew a silver bracelet. There was a silver star, just large enough to hold the silver crystal, set on a wide silver band, with intricate lacework.

"Thank you, Pluto," whispered Serena, settling the crystal in it's new home. "Will you look after the wand for right now?"

"Absolutely. All you're going to have to do is walk through the gate. Everything on the other side will have been taken care of for you, your new life awaits."

Smiling sadly, Serena stepped through the gates, leaving Tokyo and her fellow scouts behind. Sailor Pluto watched her leave, her time staff in one hand, the Crescent Moon wand in the other.

"Good luck, Serena. May you find happiness in your new life." The sailor scout of time whispered, as the doors closed behind the girl.

Alright, so the first chapter of my newest Sailor Moon story is up! I wasn't planning on starting this one so soon, but it kept bugging me. Wouldn't leave me alone. So, I decided, why not? I'll go ahead and start working on it. Thus, you have the first chapter of Elemental Secrets. Care to tell me what you think? Of course I want to know! I don't care if you like it or hate it, just tell me! Yes, this may seem similar to other stories, right now, but I have my own little twists planned! Just you wait! So, please, review?

Reposted to fix a formatting error.