A very special thanks, as always, has to go to my (self- labeled) editor extraordinaire Bianca "I-still-hate-Sailor-Moon-but-I- like-Darien" Koester for a great job nitpicking this fanfic. I very willingly admit that if not for her help, this part would have been a real mess.

As always, I am open to any comments/criticisms/suggestions. Guess what? These characters still aren't mine. :)

Oh- I almost forgot. I have a home page! The URL is http://www.oocities.org/Tokyo/Towers/6844. There's not much there right now, but I have a Sailor Moon page that links off of it that's a lot more interesting. Come and visit! I post all my fanfic here, but that's by no means all there is. Feel free to check it out, and please sign my guestbook.

Oh, and since I forgot last time, a very, very special thanks to Naoko Takeuchi for creating this wonderful world for us to play in. So, on with the story!

By the time the other girls got there, most of the people in the street had already recovered from the attack, and were shakily getting to their feet. Raye looked around grimly, her suspicions confirmed. "Definitely a youma. But where is it? Better yet, where's Serena?"

"Look," Mina spotted her. "She's over there, hiding behind that building."

They quickly made their way over to Serena who by this time was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. "Serena!" Amy said. "What happened?"

The girls had to wait a few moments before Serena stopped crying long enough to choke out, "She's gone- just now- it came-"

"Serena," Mina said. "Slow down. You're not making any sense."

Serena took a deep breath to try and calm her shaking, but to no avail. The tears continued to fall as she whispered, "Renie- the youma just took her-"

"Renie? What? What do you mean it took her?" Lita demanded. "What did it want with her?"

"I don't know," Serena sobbed. "He just grabbed her and disappeared. He said something about her being worth a good deal, but I don't know what he meant by it. Oh, Renie!!" she cried. The four girls looked bewilderedly at each other, trying to puzzle out the scene that had taken place. Finally, Mina spoke.

"You guys, there's nothing we can do tonight. I'm going to take Serena home. She looks like she needs some sleep badly."

"You're right, Mina," Amy said. "She wouldn't be much help to us in this condition anyway."

Mina walked over to Serena and put an arm around her for support. "Come on, Serena," she said gently. Serena looked tearfully up and Mina felt the fear in her friend's eyes- fear for her daughter- strike her deeply. Half-supporting the other girl, Mina slowly led her away. The others watched with concern as their forms were swallowed up by the darkness.

"I sure hope she's going to be all right," Lita said apprehensively.

"I'm sure she'll feel better in the morning," Amy tried to assure her. "She just needs a little rest."

Raye quietly spoke up. "Who's going to tell Darien?"

They all looked at each other silently.

Back at Darien's apartment, the phone rang.

"Darien?" Raye said when he finally answered. "It's me, Raye."

"Raye," he said, feeling that something was wrong. "What's happened?" Somehow, he could always tell.

"Darien, the scouts and I need to talk to you. Now. Something's happened to Renie."

So it was. "Where should I meet you?"

Not fifteen minutes later, the scouts saw Darien's car pull up. They stood under the faint glow of a streetlamp, having reverted back to their normal selves.

"Where's Serena?" Darien asked immediately when he got there.

"We sent her home," Raye said impatiently. "Mina took her."

"She was pretty shaken up," Amy put in.

"Anyway, listen..."

Back at the Tsukino house, Serena was not sleeping well, as had become the habit lately. Mina had taken Serena home and put her to bed, in the hope of letting her sleep some of the shock off, but it didn't look like it was doing much good. "Luna, she can't keep going like this," Mina whispered to the black cat. The two watched as the girl in the bed tossed and turned fitfully, crying softly in her sleep.

"Don't I know it," replied Luna. <Poor thing.> With all that Serena had been facing, and all she had yet to face, Luna was afraid that pretty soon the girl would crumble under all of the weight. <It's not fair,> she couldn't help thinking, <for a fourteen-year-old girl to have to go through so much.> The guardian cat looked sadly at Serena, this girl she had come to love as a daughter. Serena clutched Renie's Time Key to her as she slept, as if clinging to the last link she had to her future daughter. And in a way it was. Luna watched her helplessly, for once at a complete loss of what to do. Serena had gotten herself into some pretty tough scrapes before, and as her guardian, Luna had always been there to help her through them. But she had no idea how to reach her after this kind of shock. Besides, she was grieving too. She had grown to love the little pink-haired munchkin much in the way she had Serena. They were so alike...

"Mina, I think you had better go home and tell Artemis what's happened," Luna whispered, not trusting her voice. Mina nodded her understanding, and with one more glance back at her friend, she left.

Luna turned to Serena now, noticing that the girl had finally settled down, the tracks of tears drying on her cheeks. "Oh, Serena," she whispered, feeling the heavy silence that surrounded her. "What are we going to do?"

That night, no one slept well.

Serena woke up the next morning a bit disoriented, confused to find herself still in her school uniform. She gazed blankly at the ceiling, trying to think. To remember. Something had happened last night, that much she recalled. Something bad. Serena shook her head, trying to clear the haze that had settled in as she slept. Feeling something poking her uncomfortably in her back, she reached down to knock it away. Her hand brushed over a familiar shape, and she moved to inspect. Serena could feel that the object was a key, the cool metal curving in lacy patterns against her palm. As soon as her hand closed around it, the events of the previous night came rushing back, threatening to engulf her in sorrow as the pain settled in once again. She pulled her hand out and looked at the golden key she held, with it's undulating patterns and heart-shaped head. Closing her eyes, she held it close to her, wishing from the depths of her soul that it was her daughter she was holding instead.

Serena shifted her position and suddenly noticed a dead weight lying across her legs. She sat up quickly, and saw Luna at the foot of her bed, making weak whimpers as she slept. Serena's gaze softened as she realized the toll these past few hours had taken on the cat, and she reached down to gently scratch behind her ears. Luna sighed in her sleep, but didn't wake up.

Serena echoed her in sighing, feeling not quite ready to face the world, and yet knowing that there was no way she would be able to get back to sleep. After debating with herself for long moments, she realized with a sense of finality that she couldn't put it off forever.

She rose from the bed carefully, so as not to disturb the still sleeping Luna, and headed toward the bathroom to get ready, steps slow as she braced herself for the long day ahead.

Serena walked among trees and flowers, sunlight reflecting in the morning dew that still clung to the plants. Tiny droplets of water rested on delicate leaves and petals and shone like prisms in the early light of day. Serena studied the sparkling jewels, breaking the light into a million tiny rainbows, and sighed. She had come to Juuban Park, thinking that perhaps some time to herself, allowing herself to think, might be good for her. But instead, everywhere she went she saw reminders of herself and Renie, playing at the playground, picking flowers, romping in the grass. The memories cut deeply into her, and rather than prolong them, Serena turned to go home. As she did though, to her surprise she spotted Darien. He was sitting on a bench, making a valiant attempt to concentrate on a book, but failing miserably.

Needless to say, he had been incredibly shocked by Renie's disappearance the night before. Serena nervously walked up and stood before him, her hands clasped tightly together. "Darien? Can I talk to you?"

Numbly, Darien nodded his head and put the book aside. Serena sat down next to him, but both remained stiff. They stared at each other uneasily, unsure of what to say. Finally, it was Serena who broke the silence. "Darien, I-" She faltered, realizing that she had no idea what to tell him.

Darien gazed at her, an odd look on his face. Finally after what seemed an eternity he asked in a strained voice, "What happened, Serena?"

Serena stared at the ground, unable to face that expression on his face- one of pain, and disappointment, and grief, and- what was it? Blame? "I- I don't know... It all happened so fast... I tried to save her, Darien..." she pleaded softly.

Darien didn't say anything, merely watched her. Yet it was just as awful as if he had accused her outright. <Say something,> Serena begged silently. But he remained frozen in that position, that awful look on his face. What could he say that didn't sound like an accusation?

"Darien-" Serena said, a sob welling in her throat.

"I think I need to be by myself for a while, Serena," Darien cut her off quietly.

Serena nodded, willing herself not cry, and stood up. She started to walk away, tears that she refused to let fall clouding her vision. After only a few steps however, she began to run. Faster and faster. Trying to outrun the pain. Trying to outrun all the voices in her head which continued to taunt her.

"He hates me," Serena sobbed to her friends and the two guardian cats later that day. She had just finished telling them about her encounter with Darien.

"Oh, Serena. No, he doesn't," Mina tried to comfort her. "He's just in shock, like you are. After all, Renie is his daughter too."

"But it's my fault that she's missing now. If anything happens to her, he'll never forgive me. And I won't blame him either. I should have done something!" Serena wailed.

"Serena," Luna said in a gentle reprimand. "From what you told us, it sounds as though there was nothing that you could have done."

"There must have been something." Serena continued to sniffle.

"Would you stop it, Serena?" Raye yelled. "We have important things to discuss!"

"You mean to say Renie isn't important?" Serena demanded angrily.

"I was talking about Renie," Raye said indignantly. "Namely, how to get her back."

"Right," Lita cut in quickly, trying to avoid a fight. "Well, the first thing we need to figure out is where this youma came from. And who he's working for."

"I just can't get any readings on him. I need more information," said Amy from across the room, madly typing equations into her computer.

"Serena, is there anything else you remember about him?"

"You guys, I think we're forgetting one important thing here," Artemis broke in. "Crystal Tokyo?" Everyone's eyes bugged out at the suggestion.

"Artemis!" Mina gasped. "How can we even think about that now when Renie's missing?"

"Mina," Artemis returned. "If you'll remember, Serena did say that Renie told her to go help the future scouts, even though it was obvious she wouldn't be there. She gave Serena her Time Key. I think it's important now that we obey her wishes. Anyway, we don't have any idea of what to do about this youma, so it wouldn't do any good to waste what little time there is."

"Artemis is right," Luna said. "You girls are getting nowhere fast, as it is. Who knows, maybe we'll gain some insight in Crystal Tokyo from Neo-Queen Serenity. After all, the two situations are probably connected."

"You're right, Luna," Mina conceded. "I just know this attack has something to do with Metallia's twisted plot to take over Crystal Tokyo."

"It does," Serena said quietly. All eyes shifted toward her.

"Just before the youma disappeared, I realized that I knew him. He was there the day the Moon Kingdom fell, working for Metallia. He was one of Beryl's generals, and he attacked me while you guys were busy fighting the rest of the army. It was a hard fight, but my mother and I..." she paused for a moment, and then continued, her voice suddenly hollow, "...destroyed him together. Before he disappeared, though, he told us that this wasn't the end of the fight- one day he and Metallia would find a way back... I guess they did." All were silent for a moment, recalling the events of that day. Then Raye spoke, breaking the tension.

"Couldn't you have told us this earlier?" Raye said, giving Serena a look. "I mean, gosh, Serena, it would've made this meeting go a lot faster!" Sweatdrops appeared on everyone's head.

"Raye, you're so mean!!" Serena whined, jerking out of the trance. "Why are you always picking on me?"

"Because there's so much to pick on!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, pthbthbthbthb!!!" Serena stuck her tongue out at Raye.

"Right back at you!! Pthbthbthbthb!!!"

The two girls turned their backs on each other, and everyone sighed. Things were definitely getting back to normal.

"De dum de dum da dum de da dum dumm," Serena hummed along with the melody of her star locket. It lay on her nightstand, the top flipped open, so that she could listen to its soothing song as she worked. Despite the horrible scene at the park with Darien, the quiet music still brought her comfort. And she needed it now. At the moment, Serena was half buried in what seemed to be at least fourteen years' worth of mementos, as she tossed item after item out of her closet. She sat back on her heels and sighed. She had been searching for two hours now, trying to figure out what this thing that Neo-Queen Serenity had spoken of was. Serena looked at the huge pile of junk that she had tossed carelessly behind her. Then she looked at the dwindling pile of junk remaining in the closet. This was not going well.

Serena slowly waded out of the mess, walking over to her bed and collapsing on it. She felt completely wrung out, and she closed her eyes, planning to rest for just a moment. After searching for the last two hours, she was still coming up empty, and was getting very discouraged.

<Something that only the princess could own... Maybe that's the problem,> she thought dismally. Serena opened her eyes and rolled over to stare out the window, letting her mind wander. Before long, she found her thoughts drifting back to the Moon Kingdom. Always back to the Moon Kingdom. In her mind's eye, Serena watched as images of her past slowly came into focus- images of a prince, a kingdom, and a girl long-forgotten...

Serenity was not happy. The princess of the Moon Kingdom stood on a balcony, her hands clasped, as she gazed longingly outward at a bright spot in the night sky- the planet Earth. As of late, it seemed that she was always looking outward, to a place where she could live out her dreams in peace- and Serenity never tired of looking here, for this was the place which held many of her dreams, one in particular which she held dear to her. His name was Endymion.

The two had met when he and representatives of many other planets had been called together by her mother Queen Serenity to work out an intergalactic peace treaty. As the Earth's champion, it was only natural that Prince Endymion should be the one to represent his world at such an important affair. So he went, and there he met the princess of the Moon. Instantly they had fallen in love, so the story went. It was a topic much doted upon by the lovestruck romantics of the Moon, as it helped distract from the darkness that loomed menacingly before them.

Staring at the bright planet, recalling the wonderful memories it carried, Serenity could almost forget the fear that had become her constant companion as of late. Ever since her people had first learned of the Negaverse, spreading its darkness throughout their world, the fear had manifested itself deeply inside of her. In truth, Serenity knew very little of this awesome threat to the Moon Kingdom that her mother and the rest of the galaxy were forced to fight. But she knew that defeat would mean the end of the peace that everyone had worked so hard to attain. It would mean the end of the Silver Millennium, the end of the universe, the end of their lives.

Yet it was not for these things that she was suffering. As the girl stood wistfully on the balcony, looking out at the night sky, her gaze never left its destination- the far-off planet of Earth. For this was the home of the young prince, the man she loved with a purity of soul beyond even her own understanding. But now she gazed upon the planet, sorrow shadowing her usually bright eyes. Endymion had been planning to attend the ball they were holding- a ball meant to celebrate a delicate peace among the planets that even the Negaverse could not stop them from establishing.

Serenity had greatly anticipated his arrival, rushing around the palace grounds, making sure that everything was perfect- for the ball, and for him. But then the evil forces arose and Endymion had been forced to fight. He had come to the Moon to see her one last time, but had been chased away by the palace guards who suspected all from Earth- the planet from which the Negaforce originated- of being spies. Serenity silently prayed for his safety, as she prayed for all of them. She knew well the darkness that threatened to engulf her kingdom and what might await them in the end. Yet frivolous and selfish though it seemed, more than anything she wished for Endymion to attend the celebration. But it was impossible. No, Serenity was far from happy, and she closed her eyes against the unfairness of it all as she stood, lit by the light of the Earth as it continued to shine.

Serena opened her eyes. <Ooohh, can't I even get through a daydream without thinking of the princess?> She pushed herself up to a sitting position, and tucked her knees under her, thinking. It was strange how often she found her thoughts drifting back to her past life. It bothered her, always knowing how beautiful and graceful Princess Serenity had been- such a far cry from herself now. The youma's words nagged at her. <You're no Princess Serenity.>

Serena cringed, thinking that perhaps he was right. After all, she was klutzy, and whiny, and... She shook her head. <He's not right,> she thought, gripping the bedcovers. <I was the Princess Serenity and nothing he says can change that.> Serena felt tears of frustration again welling in her eyes. It seemed ridiculous that she should be jealous of her former self, but she was. Not eager to linger on these thoughts, she abruptly got up from the bed and stomped over to her closet to continue the seemingly futile search.

"Still playing that dumb locket, huh, Serena?" she heard an obnoxious voice behind her ask. She turned around to find her little brother smirking at her.

Serena fixed Sammy with her meanest glare. "Yes, I am," she snapped. "Not that it's any of your business. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do." She turned back to the closet.

"You know, Serena, I think Dad would be really upset if he saw the way you're always fawning over that locket that some boy gave you. Remember what happened when you first showed it to him?" Serena felt a sweatdrop forming, remembering how her father Kenji had almost crashed the car, so busy had he been interrogating her about "some boy".

"Buzz off, Sammy!" Serena shouted. She stuck her tongue out at him. He ducked out of the room, but poked his head back in a moment later.

"Hey, Serena," he called from the doorway. "What'd you lose, anyway? If it's your brain, I'd give up looking now- especially in that wreck of a closet!" Serena grabbed a pillow from her bed and hurled it toward him. Sammy snickered, easily dodging her terrible aim, then ducked out for real.

Serena turned away in a huff and returned to the task at hand. She could still hear Sammy laughing down the hall. Though she tried not to let his words bother her, suddenly a new fear surfaced. <The item... What if it's lost? Maybe that's why I can't find it...> She stared in fear at the pile in her closet, growing ever smaller. <It couldn't be...could it?> As if to deny these thoughts, Serena began tossing things out at an even faster rate.

"Serena," she heard an exasperated voice behind her. "What on earth are you- mmph!!" The voice was suddenly cut off as Serena tossed a sweater over her shoulder.

"Oops," Serena said sheepishly. She walked over and plucked the heavy garment from the dazed black cat. "Sorry, Luna." Luna stood back up looked around the room in amazement.

"Serena, what are you doing? It looks like a hurricane hit here- or like the last time you tried to clean your room. Remember? You crammed everything into your closet and you swore to me it would be fine."

"What?" Serena complained. "I finally got it cleaned up, didn't I?"

"Yes, but not until your father got that closet door fixed."

Serena was about to yell something nasty back at her, but found she didn't have the strength. So she settled on complaining instead. "Luna," she scowled, "why do you always have to pick on me?"

"Hmph..." the cat muttered. "...All right, Serena, I'll stop. But tell me, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find the item that Neo-Queen Serenity asked for, of course!" Serena replied.

"By tearing apart your entire room?"

Serena shrugged. "Whatever works."

Luna suppressed a long sigh. It didn't seem as if Serena would ever change. The meatball-headed girl saw this look, and turned back to the pile with a pout that announced to the world that she was being treated unfairly. Luna hid a smile. Well, at least she was acting normal again. Maybe this was a good thing.

"Aaaaaaaahhhh!!!" Serena cried as she tripped over the pile. This time Luna didn't bother to try to hide the sigh. Maybe not.

The crows guarding the entrance of the Hikawa Temple screeched at the early evening as Raye, Mina, Lita, and Amy held a meeting of the Sailor Scouts without their leader. "You guys, I'm getting way worried about Serena," Lita told the others.

"Me too," Mina said. "She's getting so quiet. It's really weird having her around and not complaining about how hungry she is, or telling us every detail of what Darien said or did, or any of those other annoying things she used to do." She looked sad for a moment. "I miss it." Raye remained quiet, but everyone could tell from the look on her face that she felt the same way.

"You guys," Amy said. "You know that I'm worried about Serena too. But the fact is that she's going through something very personal right now, and this is just something that she needs to work through by herself. We can't rush it. It was a very wise person that said once, 'there are many battles in life, and some we must face in our own time.'"

"Where did you hear that, Amy?" Lita asked, deciding to tease her just a bit. "Is that from some eighteenth-century scholar that we learned about in school?"

Amy blushed. "Um, no. Actually, I got it out of the new Sailor V manga. Serena was reading it the other day."

Mina shrieked. "What?! You mean it's out already?! ...Uh, anyone interested in checking out the mall on the way home?"

The three girls giggled at the blonde. Sometimes Mina's resemblance to Serena was uncanny. "Okay, Mina," Lita said. "But let's call Serena first to see if she wants to come. If there's anything that would cheer Serena up, it's the mall." Together, the girls left the shrine to find a phone.

To everyone's surprise and concern, Serena turned down the mall proposal. Rather, she chose to stay home and take a break from her search. Tired of excavating the ruins of her room, Serena now lay on her bed with the new Sailor V manga open in front of her. She had hoped that the comedic adventures of her good friend's secret identity would help distract from the seemingly tragic ones of her own. But it wasn't working. Instead of sending her into hysterics as it usually did, the comic merely passed in front of her tired eyes, a black and white blur of people, youmas, and magical girls who could use their extraordinary powers to save the world- but couldn't live out a day without fear of being attacked. <I wish I could just be a normal teenager again, even for a day, just to see what it used to feel like,> Serena thought. She couldn't help feeling slightly resentful of the "normal" girls at school- girls who had only to worry about schoolwork and boyfriends, who lived completely unaware of a small blonde girl who envied them so much that at times it made her heart ache. It was just too much.

Serena dropped the manga next to her on the bed. She stood up and walked over to the window. The sky was already growing dark, a sure sign of the coming of evening. Serena watched silently as the clouds were slowly obliterated from the sky, the darkness consuming everything in its path. <You're no Princess Serenity.> The youma's words rang in her ears, and the darkness seemed to spread over her. She walked to her dresser drawer and dug out her star locket. Serena lay it open on the nightstand again, letting memories of the past block out the ugly incidents of the present as the gentle song played.

She stood quietly for a few moments, merely gazing at the locket. It was difficult even for her to conceive all that this small, precious memento represented. It seemed that everything she loved was somehow wrapped up in its golden melody. Serena stepped over to the window again, feeling more determined now than ever to fight. She would not lose that which she loved. <Renie,> she thought fiercely. <I will get you back, I promise.> Whispered fears of Metallia continued to gnaw at the edges of her mind, but she paid them no heed now. Serena looked up at the night sky. <I have to set things right.>

She stood for a long time, watching as the moon rose and cast its shadows on the street before her. It was a full moon tonight. The soft music of the locket continued to play, and Serena's gaze refocused on the slight form reflected in the glass of the window. She blinked. For a moment, she thought she had seen the Princess Serenity gazing back at her. <Princess Serenity,> she thought with a sigh as images of the Moon Kingdom again began to inundate themselves on her brain. Serena curled up on her pillow once more, trying to shut out the painful thoughts that now ran through her head. <Darien,> she thought. <Endymion...>

The evening of the ball finally arrived, but the event no longer held any joy for the princess. She would almost have preferred to stay in her room and mope, but this was not acceptable under the unspoken law of how Moon princesses should behave. It was quite simple. She had to go, like it or not.

Like it or not.

She didn't.

Seeing as how she had no choice in the matter, however, Serenity got up from the bed and began to get ready, dressing in the flowing, formal white gown of the Moon princess, and tying her hair up into its signature style- long ponytails streaming from two knots on the top of her head.

As she added the short row of small pearls to her hair, Serenity caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and froze, one hand still on her head. She sighed inwardly, remembering the last time he had been at the palace. The two had spent many an hour strolling the palace grounds, lingering particularly in the royal gardens. The young lovers enjoyed the beauty of the scenery, as they enjoyed the time alone with each other. They would visit the roses specially, for they held a personal significance. <If Endymion were here, he would tell me how beautiful I looked, like he did then,> she thought. <...If he were here...>

But he wasn't. And Serenity could do nothing now but go out to the celebration and play the part of the gracious royal heiress of the Moon Kingdom to please her mother. She sighed as she left the room and slowly made her way down the long staircase which led to the ballroom floor.

As she neared the bottom, she heard a voice beside her, and felt a gloved hand take hers. "Princess, may I have this dance? ...Could be our last one." Serenity turned in wonder to meet the gaze of her beloved Prince Endymion.

"I couldn't leave without having one last dance with you," he added, his eyes speaking far more than his words ever would. Endymion took her hand and slowly led her out onto the ballroom floor. He pulled her in close, and the words echoed in his head like a bad omen.

<One last dance.> Couples already on the dance floor stopped and turned to watch the Prince of Earth and the Princess of the Moon doing a gentle waltz, their fluid movements seeming to capture the very essence of the music.

They smiled at the young couple, so obviously in love. Little did they know, however, that the conversation going on between the two was far from happy. Endymion told Serenity the truth of what was happening to their kingdoms, and of the battle that was fast approaching. He stared deeply into her blue eyes, knowing that these precious moments spent with her could be their last. The Negaverse could attack at any time and he had to be ready to fight at a moment's notice.

But not this moment. For now, he was determined not to let anything stand in the way of their love. As he pulled her in tighter, the gentle Moon princess felt despair wash over her at their helplessness. It appeared that the final fight was approaching much faster than she had realized, and there was nothing she could do to protect either one of them. She wanted to burst into tears and let him comfort her- his arms taking away the pain she was feeling, that she and her love should ever be apart. But she held herself steady by force of will, secure in the knowledge that as inseparable as the Moon and the Earth were, so would Serenity and Endymion be, always.

Serena awoke from her half-doze with a start. She felt herself trembling from the flood of emotions the memories had triggered as well as the ever-present fear for her daughter. She sat up carefully, clenching her hands into fists. Serena didn't even realize she was crying until she saw the tears fall from her cheeks and into her lap, decorating her skirt with their sad design. She let the tears run their course as she hugged her pillow tightly to her chest, and closed her eyes, trying to block out the pain that had begun to grow inside of her. Dimly, she heard the music of the precious star locket playing beside her, and she reached out a shaking hand to close the cover.

"Serena?" a hesitant voice spoke. Serena turned her head slowly, and Luna saw the tears shining in her eyes. <Oh, Serena.> The girl held out a hand to her guardian and friend, and the cat jumped into her lap, allowing herself be hugged and cried upon. <My poor girl. You don't deserve all this,> Luna thought as she nuzzled Serena's head, wanting to bring comfort to the child. Luna could feel the pain seeping into her own heart as she felt Serena shaking with tears. The black cat blinked heavily, feeling as though she too might begin sobbing soon. She knew she must be strong, that Serena was relying on her to keep them focused, keep them fighting. She knew they had to concentrate on Renie, and remember that the battle was only beginning. These thoughts and others tumbled around in her head as she thought about all they had yet to think about, to do. Luna looked up into the girl's teary face and felt her heart wrench inside of her. So much to do. But 'so much' would have to wait for Serena and Luna. Right now, the pain was too much for either one of them, and together the two wept for their losses.

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