Hello everyone. Sorry this chapter took so long to get out.

I hit a bit of writer's block, and you know how that goes.

I'm back on my feet now with new ideas. If you have any

suggestions or comments, please write! I love hearing from

each and every one of you! >^..^<



Resist or Submit--Chapter Three

by Aimee--sailor_moon89@hotmail.com



?Height??



?Around 5?1.?



?Hair and eye color??



?Long blond hair, blue eyes. Here?s a recent school picture.?

Irene Tsukino?s fingers fumbled nervously as she handed the

police officer the photo. A young girl, probably no older than

15 or 16, smiled up at him. She was a pretty thing, with the

rare look of innocence in her sapphire blue eyes that the officer

considered quite rare in her generation. He genuinely hoped

that nothing had happened to her that might steal that sweet,

fresh look from her forever.



?I?ll keep an eye out for her, Ma?am, but your daughter won?t

be considered officially missing for another twelve hours.? Ms.

Tsukino?s eyes revealed the look of devastation and helpless-

ness that the officer had grown accustomed to in cases of

missing children. ?You said there?s a search party out looking

for her??



?Yes,? the worried mother replied. ?Her father, brother, and

a few of her friends.?



The officer nodded, writing down a few notes. ?Ma?am, you?ve

done all you can for now. I?m sure your daughter will turn up

very soon. In the meantime, I suggest you keep the phone lines

open, and get some rest.? With that, the officer departed, leaving

Serena?s mother alone with her fears.



*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*



Mina and Lita emerged from the arcade, leaving a concerned

Andrew in the doorway. ?If I see her, I?ll let you know,? he

assured the two girls he recognized to be Serena's friends.



?Thanks, Andrew. We?ll call if--uh, I mean *when*, she turns

up,? Mina smiled half-heartedly, not bothering to mask the sad-

ness in her voice. Artemis, who was draped across one shoulder,

purred comfortingly in her ear.



?Hey look,? Lita said, pointing across the street. ?There?s Ami

and Rei--maybe they?ve had some luck. You?re not still mad at

Rei, are you?"



The blond shook her head. ?No, we both apologized for arguing

last night. We?re all right. It was a silly fight, anyway." Mina spoke

sadly as they crossed the street toward their two friends. "How

about you and Darien? Are you still angry?"



?Let?s put it this way...? Lita explained carefully. "If I see him...

he will die."



?Hey guys,? Ami called to them, waving shyly.



?Any sign of her?? Luna quickly inquired from her place in

Ami?s arms.



?None,? Mina sighed. ?We asked Molly, Andrew, and even that

little weird guy with the glasses, but no one has seen her.?



?We checked the park and every fast food place in town.? Rei

frowned, her gaze falling to the ground. ?No luck.?



Luna?s eyes closed sadly. ?This is so unlike her. Where could

she be??



?Do you think maybe she ran away?? Lita wondered in a

worried tone. ?She was pretty upset last night.?



?No,? Rei said quietly. ?Serena may not be the brightest person

on God?s earth, but she?d never do anything that stupid.? After

a moment of thought, she added, ?Besides, she?s got too much

loyalty in her. Just look at the way she won?t give up on Darien.?

Lita audibly growled at the mention of *that* name.



?Speaking of Darien, has anyone told him yet?? Artemis inquired. 



?Not yet,? Ami said. ?I suppose we should call him. Rei, do you

think you could do it? I mean...seeing as you know him better

than any of us, it would be most appropriate."



The entire group silently glanced at Rei for conformation. After a

quick nod, the raven haired girl walked to a nearby pay-phone

with a feeling of dread in her heart. "I don't know how he's going

to take this..."



*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 



Darien placed the phone on the receiver slowly. His eyes were

open, but he saw nothing. Through his dulled senses, he could

vaguely make out the voice of a child, and a soft tugging on his

pant leg.



"Did you hear me, Darien?" Reenie spoke insistently. "What's

wrong?"



"Serena's missing," was the empty reply.



The child's eyes widened slightly. "She didn't come home last night,

but I thought she was just with one of the girls."



"No," Darien said, his eyes stayed on the floor, avoiding Reenie's--

they reminded him too much of Serena. "None of her friends have

seen her. We need to go help the girls search for her."



"Hey! I know where she is," the child exclaimed happily, running to

find her shoes. "She has a secret place in the park that she goes to.

It's behind the trees near the fountain. I followed her there a couple

of times, but she never sees me. Last time I was gonna drop a water

balloon on her, but she looked kinda upset, so I saved the balloon

for later."



"Upset?" echoed Darien.



"Yeah," Reenie said. "She cries a lot. I don't know why."



Darien inwardly cursed at himself, fighting the blur of tears in his eyes

and the ache that was starting in the back of his throat. He struggled

to shake the image of Serena crying from his mind, and tried to con-

centrate on his new mission.



"Come on, Reenie. Let's go find Serena."



*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*



"It's in here!" exclaimed the excited child, who was running circles

around her older friends.



"Serena?" Rei called out, stepping behind a few bushes to the area

Reenie had indicated to them. It was a small, enclosed hiding place

about six or seven feet across--barely large enough to hold the search

party. Trees and shrubbery hit it from view, providing privacy should

someone choose to rest there. Streams of sunlight shone through the

branches high above them, giving the place a beautiful, surreal appear-

ance.



"Are you in here, Serena?" Mina inquired, peering behind a branch.



"She's not here," Darien mumbled quietly, kicking at the fallen leaves

on the ground.



Ami moved a few branches aside. "Hey look, you guys. I've found

something."



Hidden beside the trunk of a tree was a small box. Upon opening it,

the group discovered a few idle trinkets--hair ribbons, arcade tokens,

a candy bar, ect. Among the more meaningful items in the box was a

dried rose, perhaps given to Serena by the mysterious Tuxedo Mask,

or by her previous object of affection, Darien. Near the rose was a

small wallet size picture of her friends, taken recently. The pose in the

photograph was priceless--Lita held "bunny ears" over Mina's head,

while Mina held up her trademark "V for Victory" sign. Rei looked

mysterious behind her dark tresses, while Ami struggled to maintain

hold of her numerous textbooks. In the back of the group stood Darien,

slightly withdrawn from the group, only a hint of a smile on his lips. His

eyes, however, showed a look of complete contentment. How different

he looked now.



The last object in the box was a small book...a diary perhaps. Ami

opened in to a random page, and read.



	"Sometimes I wonder why my friends are so

	loyal to me. After all, I'm nothing more than a

	klutzy, silly kid who always says the wrong

	things at the wrong times. Sure, they yell at me

	sometimes...but I don't really mind. They just

	want me to do my best, I think. At least they

	care. They really are good friends--they never

	fail to help me out of trouble, or to cheer me up.

	I'm so glad they're in my life. Especially Darien--

	he's what I've been missing all these years. He's

	the other half of me. Just knowing he loves me

	gives me reason to keep trying."



Here, Ami stopped short, glancing at Darien apologetically.



"Sorry," she mumbled.



The words echoed in Darien's mind again, '...knowing he loves me

gives me reason to keep trying...' So what had become of her reason

for trying when he'd told her he no longer cared for her? Had she

given up on life? "Suicide" and "Serena" in the same sentence was

a frightening thought, and in the wake of her disappearance, a deafen-

ing possibility. More than that, it was more than Darien could mentally

take in at the moment.



Turning quickly on his heel, he retreated, deaf to Ami's apologetic

calls and Reenie's pleas for ice cream.



"Oh God, what have I done?" was the only thing he said.



*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*



Cold.



That was the only adjective Serena could think of to describe her

surroundings. As she shivered in the dark corner, she wondered

where she was and what was to become of her.



She was surprised when Rubeus hadn't harmed her. Shocked, even.

Actually, he was almost polite to her. The realization that he might

not know she was Sailor Moon had dawned on her, and she restrained

herself from transforming. But what could he possibly want with her?

Did he need a hostage? Energy for another attack? But what if he

did know she was Sailor Moon? What would he do to her?



She shook her head, trying to eliminate the negative thoughts from

her mind. She had to stay positive--keeping her chin up was the

only thing that had gotten her through the past few months. Trial

after trial had come her way, and she was determined to keep

smiling. Her friends would find her. She knew they were probably

looking for her this very minute. "Everything is fine...everything is

all right..." she whispered in a voice that was barely audible. "I'm

going to be okay."



She hugged her legs, rocking back and forth, pretending Darien

was there with her, holding her tightly, telling her he would take

care of her, kissing her fears away, loving her always.



But Darien wasn't there.



Scared and alone, the young princess wept bitterly until sleep

finally found her.



*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 



Short, I know, but I've been very busy as of late! Thank you

all for your sweet words and comments on this fic. Sorry if it's

a bit depressing, but I'm working on a new fic that will hopefully

be much lighter. ^_^



E-Mail me! E-Mail me! E-Mail me!



Please! Please! Please!



sailor_moon89@hotmail.com