Aimee's Moment of Insight: Does anyone else out
there realize that if Darien took up music or artwork,
he'd be "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince?"
Hmmm...

Resist or Submit--Chapter Two
"Stolen"

by Aimee--bunny80@webtv.net

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Deep laughter sounded from the rooftops. There
stood two figures, watching the Scouts argue and
walk off in separate directions.

"How utterly amusing," one of them said. "The
Sailor Scouts are fighting amongst themselves!
Dear me, little Miss Moon looks all tuckered out.
And what's this? Crying as well? How lovely...
pathetic, but lovely, none-the-less. Perhaps I
should go cheer her up..."

"But Rubeus," said the other figure, in a skeptical
tone. "She'll attack you. Didn't you see what she
just did to your youma?"

"You're not thinking, Prisma. She thinks
the battle is over. In a few moments she'll
detransform," said Rubeus, his eyes never
leaving the young girl standing on the streets
below him.

"Detransform?" asked Prisma, unfamiliar with
the term.

Rubeus sighed in annoyance. Like her other
three sisters, Prisma was naive of many things.
But with the loss of Berti and Catsy, she was
now the oldest, and therefore his first in
command. He would have to be patient and
teach her what he knew...even if he couldn't
stand the sight of her. "To detransform means
to change back to one's original self," he began,
in the calmest voice he could muster. "Think of
'Sailor Moon' as a costume. There is a
completely different person underneath. If my
theory is correct, she should become much
more vulnerable and weaker in this other state
of being, since she will lack the power she holds
as Sailor Moon."

Prisma nodded slowly, trying to take in this
newly gained knowledge. "So when she, uh...
detransforms, we'll attack?"

"That's the general idea, yes."

"But what if she transforms again and attacks
us instead?" Prisma asked, not particularly
looking forward to the searing heat of Sailor
Moon's Scepter.

"Not likely," Rubeus mused with a smirk.
"She's emotional--a common human weakness--
causing her reflexes to be slightly dulled. She
won't know what hit her."

Prisma shifted uncomfortably. "What are you
going to do? Kill her?" she spoke, trying not
to let her voice waiver.

Rubeus almost smiled--but not quite. "No, I've
got something else in mind. Something that will
prove much more entertaining than watching her
die."

"May I ask what?" Prisma inquired.

"Something that dark-haired Scout said caught
my attention...that as long as the Sailor Scouts
were on the child's side, nothing would happen
to her. That gave me an idea. With Sailor Moon
on our side, we'd have no problem getting what
we want..." Rubeus smirked. "The Rabbit."

"And how do you intend to get her on our side,
pray tell? If you haven't noticed, she's quite loyal
to the child."

"Simple...I'm going to brainwash her."

Prisma rolled her eyes. "How clich鮮."

Prisma tried very hard not to show how uncomfortable
Rubeus was making her. She was loyal to him, of course.
He was her leader, after all...but, unlike him, she wasn't
a killer. The very thought made her shutter. Rubeus spoke
of death so coldly--so detached from it's meaning. It
scared her sometimes. Perhaps if Sailor Moon could
be turned to their side, her death would prove
unnecessary.

Rubeus didn't hear her flippant comment...his attention
was on Sailor Moon, who was still standing on the
street below, obviously in deep thought.

After her friends had departed, Serena had silently
watched them disappear into the night. She was
completely unaware of the conversation taking
place on the rooftops above her.

Her head hurt. Badly.

Everything hurt, in fact. Her feet ached--why the
heck did Sailor Moon have to wear high heeled
boots anyway? Her bottom was no doubt forming
a lovely bruise from landing on it after she had
dodged the youma's attack. All this, and then there
was her wrist--the wrist that Darien had taken out
his frustrations on. She rubbed it tenderly. Though
his grip on her had been strong, Serena had to admit
that it honestly wasn't that painful in a physical sense--
Darien could have done a lot worse if he had wanted
to. Still, the emotion pain his attack on her had dealt
was staggering.

Serena wasn't angry at Darien--she knew she should
be, but it was so obvious he was hurting inside that
she just couldn't bring herself to anger. Instead, she
almost found herself pitying him...she viewed Darien
as a little lost boy, scared and alone, but trying to
act brave and independently. She knew a lot of that
had to do with his childhood, but there was something
else that was bothering him. She couldn't figure out
what. Darien wasn't exactly helping her either--he
wouldn't open up to her enough to tell her anything--
he just pushed her further away. She was lucky if she
got a 'Hello, how are you?' out of him these days.

It was obvious he still loved her...Serena was sure of
that. Wherever he was getting this 'let's-leave-what-
happened-to-us-in-the-past-alone' crap was beyond
her. Their love was not the love of Princess Serena
and Prince Darien, not the love of Sailor Moon and
Tuxedo Mask, but the love of Serena and Darien. He
knew as well as she did that they hadn't jumped into
each other's arms after the battle with Ann and Alan.
Instead, they had agreed to take things slowly when
they started dating. What came of that was a strong
friendship--a friendship that turned into complete trust--
trust that turned into innocent romancing--romancing
that turned into pure love--love that turned into...Darien
dumping her?

Something definitely didn't compute with his actions.
He was hiding something--Serena could see that clearly
in his eyes. His gaze was a mix between longing, heartache,
and...fear?

'Fear?' Sailor Moon wondered, unknowing of his
tormenting nightmares. 'Why is he afraid? What is it
about me that scares him?'

She worried about him. His appearance was worn
down and tired. No--dead tired. His eyes were
bloodshot with black circles under them. Serena
wondered if perhaps he hadn't been getting enough
sleep. If that was the case, she completely understood
how he felt--since he had broken up with her, she
hadn't been sleeping well either.

Sailor Moon sighed deeply, and decided she had
been brooding long enough. Luna was probably
climbing the walls wondering where she was. It
was time to go home. The stress from the evening
would best be worked out with some rest. Looking
around her, Sailor Moon spotted a poorly lit alley--
a good, concealed place to detransform. She made
her way toward it.

"She's on the move," Rubeus spoke, following her
on the buildings above, watching in bated anticipation.
He mumbled under his breath, "Come on, little one--
show me who you are..."

Upon reaching her destination, Sailor Moon brought
her hand to her broach, but hesitated her detransformation.
She felt suddenly as if she were being watched. Her
breathing quickened, and she quickly looked to her left
and right. She saw no one, but still felt eyes upon her.

Rubeus let a smile pass over his lips as he watched
Sailor Moon search the alley for unwanted onlookers.
'Too bad she didn't think to look up,' he mused silently.

Serena ignored the lingering doubts in the back of her
mind, deeming herself paranoid and muttering something
about cutting down on her X-Files intake. She closed
her eyes, and squeezed her transformation broach.

Rubeus and Prisma were briefly blinded by an unexpected
flash of lights and ribbons. Rubeus' eyes couldn't seem to
adjust back to the darkness fast enough for him--he squinted,
desperately searching the alley.

His eyes focused on a small form...that of a young girl. Her
long blond hair brushed against the back of her legs. The
moon peaked through the clouds, lighting up her tearstained
face for her onlookers to inspect.

"Bingo..." Rubeus hissed, his eyes narrowing.

Prisma was shocked. "She's practically a child!"

"I know," he answered, an amused giggle escaping from
his lips. "Makes it all the more entertaining, doesn't it?"

Prisma felt a tad bit ill.

Switching into serious-mode, Rubeus cleared his throat.
"Come now--let us greet our future comrade."

Following her leader obediently, Prisma couldn't help
but sigh. She didn't like this. Not one bit.

Serena shivered--the night was cold, making her wish
she had thought to bring a sweater. 'That's my problem,'
she thought to herself. 'I don't think, and it's going to get
me into trouble one of these days.'

Lost in her thoughts, Serena failed to see the tall figure
in front of her as she walked out of the alley. She
bumped into it unwittingly, and immediately drew
back in surprise.

"Oh! I'm sorry, sir! I didn't mean..."

Her voice faded as she recognized exactly who she had
bumped into.

"Going somewhere, my dear?"

"Rubeus..." Serena breathed, eyes wide.

Rubeus chuckled. "Oh, you know my name? I'm
flattered! Now do me a favor, little one--don't scream."

Serena screamed. But no one heard.

----------------------------------------------------------

*gasp* Oh no! What will happen next?! What will Rubeus
do to Serena? How will he turn her to the side of the
Nega-moon? How long is a piece of string? Could Prisma
be having second thoughts about Rubeus? Will Darien win
the "Best Dressed Tux-Boy" award again this year? Is it
true that Artemis is really a tap-dancing ecleptomaniac?
Will chapter three prove to be yet another *exciting*
adventure? I'm going to lie down for a few days just in
case.

This is the part of the story where all you lovely, wonderful
readers (no, I'm not kissing up--that's just your imagination)
write lil' Aimee and tell her what you thought of her meager
attempt at a fanfic. Thanks to everyone who wrote last
time...you made me smile! ^_^

Please write to: bunny80@hotmail.com
Please visit my homepage at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Teahouse/4986/