Title: Only Mine

Disclaimer: see other chapters

Special Thanks To: Karla, angel, jamesstutz, angelicremix, SMAngel21190, shorteemoi and Purple Psycho.

AN: Ok, I can't believe that it's been a little over 3 and a half years since I last looked at this fanfic… I take full responsibility for neglecting this poor fic and hope that this chapter makes up for the past three and a half years of not writing... however, keep in mind that I'm writing this at work during my down time :)

Only Mine – Part Three

Serena was quiet as she got ready for school, and for the first time in forever, Luna didn't even have to wake her up. Nor did she have to yell at her once. This led Luna to believe that something was severely wrong with her. Watching her suspiciously from her perch on the bed, Luna could no longer hold back the questions that were all but bubbling out of her mouth.

"Who are you and what did you do with Serena?"

The woman in question looked up, their gazes meeting in the mirror. A faint smile touched her lips before being replaced by a withdrawn, solemn look. Concerned, Luna asked, "What's wrong?"

Serena, quiet for the moment, continued with the monotonous brush strokes before replying in a quiet voice, "I had a dream last night. Well, more of a nightmare then a dream. It was just flashes of horrific images but I know for sure that evil has struck again."

Luna leapt off the bed and made her way over to Serena's feet. Laying her brush aside, Serena scooped her long time friend into her arms, holding her close to her bosom. "Oh, Luna. It was the most horrendous thing. There were these hooded figures. The girl, the poor girl, they killed her. Then they tasted her blood."

"They tasted her blood? How odd. I have known the Negaverse to do some very evil things but to go as far as what you have told me makes me wonder. Serena, we may have a completely different battle on our hands. This may not be the work of the Negaverse."

Serena cocked her head to the side. "But if it isn't them, then who can it be."

Luna shook her head and grimaced. "I'll have to go over it with Artermis. But for now, I have absolutely no clue. And it's the not knowing that scares the living daylights out of me."

"Are you sure Serena wasn't just having a nightmare?"

"I'm quite sure, Artemis. It seems to be that there has been another victim of those brutal ritual killings. We need to get to the bottom of this before the killings escalate."

"I understand, but for one thing, we don't even have a clue where to start looking. I've never seen anything like this before and my gut tells me that the negaverse aren't behind this at all. Not to mention the fact that the authorities are baffled about this mystery as well. All the local cults in the area have been checked and there seem to be no hits on any of those organizations."

"Well, I can't just sit around and do nothing, especially now since Serena's being plagued with these 'dreams' of hers."

"Well, why don't we hit the streets and start looking around?"

"You ready?"

Serena took a deep breath and looked up into the brown eyes of the one that she loved so much. Taking his hand into her hand, she squeezed it before lifting it up and cradling it to her cheek. "I guess, though with you beside me, I'm ready for anything."

Moved and humbled by her words, Darien framed his beloved's face with his hands and dropped his forehead to hers. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

A smile touched Serena's lips before it trembled and disappeared all together. "Well, we better go in and see what my parents say."

With her hand in his, they entered into the Tsukino household, making their way into the living room where Serena's parents sat waiting for them. Serena chanced a quick look at her father and winced at the stern look on his face. The silly smile on her mother's face, however, reassured her nerves somewhat.

The couple separated and seated themselves on the two available arm chairs that were positioned at an angle to face the couch indirectly, though on opposite sides of the room. Without Darien's comforting presence beside her, Serena shivered with cold, not to mention with the loss of contact between their bodies.

Silence enshrouded them for a few moments before Ken Tsukino spoke up. "Exactly how long have you been seeing each other?"

Serena and Darien shared a glance before turning back to face the parents. Darien answered Ken's question. "Officially, it's been almost a year. Just shy of two months."

Ken's eyebrows rosed a notch. "And unofficially?"

Serena gave Darien a dazzling smile and answered for the both of them, "it seems as if it's been forever."

Ken cast a concerned glance at his daughter before turning to his wife, Ellen, who seemed to be oblivious to the obvious dangers that his daughter was now in. "Clearly, our daughter has been brain washed."

Two outraged gasps filled his ears, before he felt his loving wife pinch his arm. "Ken! Really, how rude can you be?"

"Elle, what else am I suppose to think when my daughter acts like some love-sick puppy over a guy that she has never introduced us to, and for all that we know, is something other than he has lead our daughter to believe?"

Elle glanced at Serena worriedly. "Well, dear, your father does have a point."

"Daddy, I know that it was lousy of me to be seeing Darien without letting the both of you know about him or our relationship, but please give me the credit of having the commonsense to avoid weirdos and cult-goers! And I'm NOT brainwashed!"

Silenced reigned for a moment before Darien spoke up quietly, "Mr. Tsukino. I apologise for not making my intentions clear to both you and Mrs. Tsukino earlier, but I would like to make amends and start over new. I would like to take this opportunity to ask for your permission to court your daughter."

Ellen and Serena both looked at each other, squeals of delight piercing the air. With a grin from ear to ear, Ellen nudged her husband meaningfully, letting him know that she agreed whole heartedly to the idea of such a nice and polite young man courting her only daughter. Ken shook his head and muttered under his breath, "You're so easy. A few nice words and you're ready to give your daughter away."

Still smiling, Ellen nudged him again, before rubbing her cheek lovingly against his shoulder. Ken, knowing what she was up to, tried to steel himself against it, but after a few moments, gave into the warm feel of his wife's soothing touch. He leant close to her ear and whispered, "Not fair."

Ellen looked up and smiled, "I know. But you love me anyway."

A look of mirth filled his eyes. "You have no idea how much."

Serena rolled her eyes as she watched her parents make googly eyes at each other. Shaking her head, she cast a rueful glance at Darien, who was watching her parents, a small smile on his face. Her heart moved with a slow thud and warmth filled her inside, making her shiver with the knowledge that Darien was very much on-board with the idea of a loving marriage. A loving marriage with her, perhaps?

Shaking herself out of her fantasy, lovely as it was, Serena cleared her throat to catch her parent's attention, before indicating Darien with a nod of her head. Ken sat up straighter in his seat and cleared his throat as well. "Well, Darien, I accept your apology and grant you permission to see my daughter."

Serena and Ellen beamed with delight before both women went into the arms of their beloved.

They strolled through the park, hand in hand, both elated and overjoyed at the prospect of being able to see each other freely and openly. Looking up into the dark blanket of the night sky, Darien could see the moon shining overhead, bright and magnificent, traits that resembled closely to someone he knew. He grinned to himself as he thought this and lifted their entwined hands to his lips.

Serena smiled and gave a contented sigh, leaning into his side. "That went rather well, didn't it?"

"Yeah, I'm glad you're dad didn't pull out a shot gun after his 'he's brainwashing her' statement."

"Don't worry about Daddy. He's all bluster."

The couple continued their stroll, lulled into a contented silence. They were less than four hundred meters away from Darien's apartment when Serena paused abruptly, her muscles tensed beneath his hold. Darien stopped and looked at her face, noting the look of terror that flitted through her face. Immediately concerned, he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back in an effort to calm her down. "Serena, what's wrong?"

Serena shivered, her neck craning every which way, peering into the dark bushes that weren't illuminated by the park lamps. The hair at the back of her neck stood up on edge, and she couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being watched. "Darien, don't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

Serena was silent a moment, her gaze continuing to dart from bush to bush. "It's here."

Darien quickly searched the surrounding areas. He couldn't pick out anything in the bushes, but who knew better than to doubt Serena's instincts. Ever so gently, he pulled her along, resuming their easy stroll down the pathway, his eyes darting to every possible hiding place. His apartment was a mere three hundred meters away now. All he had to do was make it there and ensure Serena was safe inside before he could come and investigate. He wasn't about to let his guard down.

Despite this, he wasn't quite ready when it sprung.

It was fast, deadly fast. Darien got no more than a quick glimpse of it; enough to tell it was definitely not of this world. Sharp claws swiped at them, and Darien shifted Serena around, so as to protect her from the blow. Pain seared his back as its claws made contact with his back, digging deep enough into the tissue that Darien couldn't hold back a pained groan.

Darien tried to ignore the pain, ignore the burning sensation on his back, ignore everything else that would stop him from keeping Serena away from danger. He turned to face the monster, shoving Serena behind his back. He felt the change in him, powered by the overwhelming urge to protect his mate. It wasn't long before he was staring down his opponent behind his mask.

His opponent was a hunched back creature, its skin covered in an abundance of blisters and sores, some open and oozing. It bared its teeth, revealing the fact that his were stained, pointy and had several rows of them. A dark liquid dripped from its teeth, its mouth and dropped to the concrete pavement. Darien stopped breathing as he recognised that dark liquid.

Blood.

The monster cocked its head at him, before it gave a low, menacing growl, a growl which seemed to reverberate throughout the whole park. That was all the warning Darien received before it sprang again, lashing out with its claws.

Darien quickly feinted to the right, avoiding its claws and bent low, shoving his shoulder into its mid section. They fell to the ground, with Darien on top of the monster. It snarled, its claws lashing out again with success, catching Darien both on his forehead and on the side of the neck. Quickly, Darien moved to subdue it, taking hold of both arms and wrestling its appendages down to the ground.

It struggled fiercely within Darien's grasp. Darien held on determinedly, silently figuring out his next move. His hold on the creature wasn't going to last long, and he didn't know what else to do, save from launching an assault on the monster with his cane, which Darien thought was going to go well for all of two seconds.

All of a sudden, the monster reared its head back, and spat a warm substance into Darien's face. He had enough time to close his eyes, before a sharp pain lanced through his skull from his forehead. Disorientated, he slumped to the side, wiping frantically at his face with his gloves, knowing that the monster was now free to attack Serena.

He managed to swipe most of it from his face before staggering to his feet. By the time his eyes focused to his surroundings, his beloved was already facing the creature, the uniform of her skirt swishing in the slight breeze of the night, her sceptre gripped with two hands in front of her, her gaze steady, not moving from the enemy.

No, Darien thought. As much as his mind realised the responsibilities tied to the heavy burden that the sailor scouts and he carried, his heart refused to recognise it, to recognise the necessary dangers that Serena constantly threw herself head long into to keep the citizens of Tokyo safe. He moved forward, intent on drawing the attention of the monster towards himself, to keep it away from Serena for as long as he can so she could get to safety.

At the same time, the monster leaped forward, its claws extended and aimed towards Serena's throat. An outraged yell burst out of Darien's lips, and he sprinted forward, trying to get to his beloved's side. Mere moments before the creatures attack could connect, a bright white light burst forth from the sceptre, hitting the creature square in the face. Darien shut his eyes, turning his face from the radiating light.

Then, almost as suddenly as it began, it cut off, flooding the park into the darkness against, the overhead park lights a paltry light compared to the brilliance of the moon sceptre. Darien opened his eyes to see Serena kneeling on the ground, the moon sceptre lying by her side, seemingly forgotten.

He rushed over to her side and drew her trembling form into his arms. Sweat drenched her body and she was breathing hard, her eyes closed, trying valiantly to regain her energy. Darien pulled her tighter, murmuring into her hair while he rocked her against himself. When it seemed as if her body was finally getting over the strain that it had been through, Darien gently pulled her into an upright position.

It was then that the smell hit them. The acrid smell of burnt flesh filled the air around them. Darien looked around for any sign of the creature that they had been fighting, but could find nothing pertaining to it except for a few ashes on the concrete pavement.

A rustle in the nearby bushes put Darien on high alert again, but sagged with relief when Serena's two guardian cats burst out, quite out of breath. "We got here as fast as we could." Luna panted, drawing near to Serena's die, her concerned gaze taking in her tired form and drowsy state.

"We've been following that creature for a few minutes this evening," Artemis added. "And then all of a sudden, it took off, in this direction. It wasn't until we had cleared the lining of the trees that we could see the fight between the three of you."

He broke off before gazing at Serena with awe. "That was some display of power, Serena. I'm impressed."

Serena gave a tired, small smile. "It hurt Darien. I couldn't let it get away with it."

Darien brushed his lips over her hair, before rising to his feet, bending over at the same time to lift Serena into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leant into his chest, closing her eyes with contentedness. Darien smiled, murmuring, "I think its time I got this lady home. It's not good for her to be out this late on a school night."

"Good idea. Time to get some rest before we let the others know about what happened tonight." Luna agreed.

Artemis looked back at the pile of ashes, ashes that were already being lifted and blown away in the gentle breeze of the night. He shuddered before turning back to the others. "It's definitely time to hold a meeting. We need to prep our girls about this new danger, and we need to do it fast."

Whew. Glad thats done. R R as always guys ;) See you in the next part!