Thorny Remembrances

CHAPTER TWELVE

	Back at his apartment Darien woke from a dream that he couldn?t 
quite remember.  He got up and fixed some coffee.
	He thought about his brother, he?d been able to think of little 
else since he left the temple.  He remembered what Serena had said 
about finding him and losing him all in the same hour.  He wondered 
if he?d really lost him.
	It was so confusing, as if Damien?s memories were somehow inside
him.  They?d been twins, after all, he reasoned.  He tried to 
remember something from his brother?s past.  The task was simpler 
than it should have been.
	He remembered Rose, how soft her lips had been, how inviting 
her arms had felt.
	Darien shook off the memory, but inside the yearning welled up.  
He felt anger.
	?Is this Damien?? he wondered.
	He sat the hot coffee on the table and lay on the sofa for a 
moment.  He tried to imagine what might happen if he gave life to 
this other set of memories, feelings.  He could see himself as his 
brother, rushing to Rose?s side to protect her?and hold her.  Looking 
at his hands, they seemed almost foreign.
	Darien knew he couldn?t risk taking on Damien?s role.  He 
couldn?t hold Rose the way Damien had.  His arms knew only Serena.
	He heard a voice, almost a whisper in his mind, saying ?No, 
not yet.  Be patient.  There will come a time when I will be with 
you.?
	Darien ran into the bathroom and looked into the mirror.  He 
recognized his reflection, but for a moment the eyes seemed narrower 
with an unfamiliar gleam.
	?But Serena, Rini?? he asked aloud.
	The voice in his head whispered a response.
	?Have I not always protected your heart?s desires?  You must 
protect mine.?
	Then there was silence and calm.  Darien looked into the mirror 
with a sense of peace and stillness.
	His brother?s essence had retreated back into his subconscious, 
or wherever else it might have come from.  But, he could still feel 
Damien?s confidence and strength.
	?Hadn?t it always been this way?? he asked himself.  ?Hadn?t 
his brother always been there for him like this??
	
	?It?s cold, couldn?t we have met her in the mall,? whined 
Serena.
	All five girls scrunched together on a bench throwing crumbs 
to the birds, waiting for Rose Mason to meet them in the park.
	?This was your idea,? Rei reminded her.  ?Besides it?s not that 
cold, the sun is still up.?
	Serena surveyed the sun and then her watch.  
	They had a few hours before it would set and the temperature 
would drop.
	Lita was the first to spot Rose.  She waved across the park to 
her.  Rose waved back and crossed the grassy field between them.
	?I?m glad you decided to come,? said Lita.
	?Well, I didn?t want to, but I?ve been thinking about what 
Darien said last night.  I don?t want to hurt people.  It seems 
that?s all I do anymore,? she said looking at her feet.  ?But don?t 
try anything.  I?ll fight right here if I have to.?
	?No one wants to fight,? said Serena.  ?We just found out some 
information today.  It was stored in some computer that our guides 
found.?
	?We found out that you?re not alone.  You have a cousin here 
on Earth, a cousin from the past,? said Ami.
	Rose looked skeptically at her.  ?Is this some sort of trick??
	?No,? replied Lita.  ?I?m your cousin.  Think about it.  You?re 
from Europa and I?m from Jupiter.  The royal families were related.?
	Rose smiled a little at Lita.
	?See, we?re not trying to hurt you.  We are trying to find out 
what?s going on and help you,? said Lita earnestly.
	?I believe you, Lita,? said Rose.  ?But what if we find out it 
doesn?t matter?  What if we?re still enemies??
	?The only thing that would make us enemies,? started Rei, ?is 
if you hurt the people of this planet.?
	Ami explained their theory about the positive and negative 
energy.
	?I already told Darien, I need people to share their energy 
with me, or I?ll die.  I?ve always absorbed a little energy here and 
there.  So has Kite.  He even absorbs energy from me sometime.  It?s 
never caused anything bad to happen.?
	?How do you explain what?s going on?? said Mina accusingly.
	?I?m sure I don?t know.  Kite suspects you all are causing it,? 
Rose shot back.
	?There?s the problem,? added Lita.  ?You need to get away from 
Kite.?
	?No.  He?s proven himself to me.  He is my friend.  He loves 
me.?  Rose defended him.
	?Are we finished here?  You?ve said what you came to say??
	?Yes,? answered Serena.  ?Please believe us.  Consider what 
we?ve told you.?
	Rose turned and walked back across the park.
	?Should we have told her about Prince Damien?? asked Lita.
	?No,? said Mina.  ?We may need Darien to play that card later.  
He may have to act like he?s him in order to stop her.?
	The other girls gasped at the idea of using this deceptive 
strategy, but knew it might be necessary.
	They were starting to walk towards the gates of the park when 
they heard a young boy yelling for help.
	?Please, it?s my brother.  He?s fallen into the pond.  He can?t 
swim.?
	The girls bolted through the trees towards the young voice.  
When they reached the clearing they could see a form floating face 
down in the water.  Mina was the first to kick off her shoes and jump 
into the shallow pond.  
	The water was only about five feet deep, but was cold.  She 
reached the body and rolled it over.
	Kite smiled back up at her.
	?Hypothermia will set in soon,? he said grabbing her and 
forcing her under the water.
	Cold and weighted down by her clothes, Mina wasn?t able to 
resist.  She was beginning to numb in the icy water.
	Rei was already waist deep in the pond.
	?Mars Star Power!? she exclaimed.  Not only did the she change 
into Sailor Mars, but also warmed the lake with her fiery 
transformation, helping Mina keep conscious.
	On the shore the others followed suit.
	Sailor Mercury called out, ?Shine Aqua Illusion!? filling the 
area with a dense fog.
	Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter leapt into the water and swam 
towards Mina.  In the confusion of the fog, the rising heat of the 
water and having to fight all three girls, Kite was forced to retreat 
to the shore.
	Minutes later all five scouts stood together on the banks 
across from Kite.  The fog began to clear.
	 ?Why do you fight, Sailor Scouts?  The war is already over,? 
taunted Kite.  ?Her power is growing.?
	?We will fight for what we believe in.  We can?t stop until 
we?ve drawn our last breath,? Serena called back to him.
	?Then do so!? he yelled as an enormous blast of light emitted 
from his right hand.
	The blast threw all the scouts back into the tree line.  They 
were scattered.  Trees around them were singed and broken.  
	?Jupiter Thunder Crash!? as Sailor Jupiter was the first to 
her feet.
	Once the smoke had cleared, Kite stood unaffected by the 
attack.
	Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus combined their attacks.  He still 
stood motionless, smiling at them.
	?You might as well get used to the idea that I am eternal,? 
he laughed.  ?I am the same as Beryl.  I have consumed enough energy 
to surpass her one hundred times.  This tiny world will be crushed 
under it?s own evil weight and you will all be destroyed along with 
it.?
	He laughed as he delivered a second blast.
	?Moon Tiara Magic!?  Sailor Moons tiara deflected a portion of 
the powerful energy, but the girls were still knocked back for a 
second time.
	Kite seemed confused that her tiara could deflect the attack 
at all.
	?I will not waste my energy here.  Go home.  Tend to your 
injuries, Sailor Scouts.  Say your good-byes, and then come to me 
prepared for battle.  I will consume you and end this game.?
	With that declaration, Kite disappeared into the dusk.
	Dripping wet and freezing, scraped and bruised, the girls 
transformed back into their street clothes.
	Serena cried quietly as they walked back.
	?Don?t be a baby, Serena,? said Rei.  ?We weren?t prepared.  
We?ll get him.?
	?That?s not it.  I?m just sad about what we?re going to have 
to do.?
	Lita looked at her.  Mina nodded.
	?She?s right,? said Ami.  ?We?re going to have to fight Rose.  
To win, we?ll probably have to destroy her.?

	It was after midnight when Rose banged on Darien?s door.
	?Open the door?please!  You?ve got to help me.  I?m hurt!? she 
begged frantically.
	Confused and half asleep Darien opened the front door to his 
apartment.  Neighbors peeked out of their entryways to see what all 
the commotion was about.
	As Darien?s door opened wider Rose almost fell inside.  He 
caught her.
	?Hold on here.  Rose, what?s wrong??
	She was sobbing.
	Darien helped her to stand while pulling the door shut behind 
them.  Holding Rose steady with one arm he turned on the living room 
light.
	?You?re bleeding,? he said shocked at the red smudges on his 
white t-shirt.
	?It?s not bad, but I?m scared.  I didn?t know where to go.?
	?Slow down and tell me what happened.  But first, let?s take 
care of this.?
	?You don?t understand,? she insisted.  ?Kite did this.  Kite 
did this to me.  Why Darien?  Why would he hurt me?? she asked 
between sobs.
	Darien guided her to the kitchen.  He pulled a chair over to 
the sink and directed her to sit.  Eyes still brimming with tears and 
muttering to herself, she sank into the seat.
	He?d expected something like this.  From what he?d learned of 
Kite, he?d known eventually Rose would get hurt.  Darien was relieved 
that the wounds appeared to be superficial.
	Using a pair of scissors he cut the seam down the right side 
of Rose?s shirt and tugged the sleeve of.  Something sharp had 
pierced the fleshy skin under her arm and through her back.
	?What did this?? he asked as he cleaned the holes.
	?His finger.  It was sharp and long like an ice pick.  He was 
aiming here,? she pointed to her neck.
	Darien felt his stomach turn.  He wanted to transform into 
Tuxedo Mask right then.  He wanted to find Kite and make him pay for 
hurting Rose.
	?You?re bleeding pretty bad.  Is there any chance we could go 
to the hospital?  You could say you fell and??
	?No!  No hospital.  He?d find me there.  I can?t fight him, 
he?s too strong.?  She began to cry again.
	?It?s okay,? said Darien kneeling until his face was close to 
hers.  ?I?m going to help you.?
	He placed one hand over the front of the wound under her arm, 
the other on her back where the other hole was.  Darien closed his 
eyes.
	?I feel,? sighed Rose. ?I feel your energy.  My shoulder is so 
warm.  What is this??
	?Shhh,? answered Darien.  ?You?re weak and you need to rest.?  
With that he brushed her cheek with his hand, and Rose?s eyes closed.
	Darien carried her to his bedroom and laid her across the bed.  
He thought how he might explain this to Serena if she were to walk 
in right now; Rose in his bed with only half a shirt on.
	 She tossed in her sleep, ?No!  Stop!? she exclaimed.
	Darien leaned over and whispered in her ear, ?Rose, it?s all 
right.  You?re with me now.  I won?t let anyone hurt you.?
	?Prince?? she asked groggily.  ?Is that you Damien??
	?Yes, and I?ll never leave you again,? he answered to his own 
amazement.
	Rose seemed to quiet down and go back to sleep.  Darien touched 
his lips knowing where the words had come from, and unsure how the 
promise would be kept.
	His thoughts were interrupted by a clatter in the kitchen.  
Expecting to find Serena, he closed the bedroom door behind him.