Konnichi wa, minna-chan! Lianne here! Welcome to my BRAND NEW story that is NOT related to any other stories that I've written! Hurray! O.K., for an outline: this is a Serena and Darien romance story, and yes - I'm using the DIC names for this, which may seem strange considering this is based on the manga, but I don't want this story to get caught up on Usagi and Mamoru's continous name-for-each-other development (you know, he called her Usako, and she WANTED to call him Mamo-chan but held back, etc.). Besides, I don't think that would fit very well in this story. So ALL DIC names, including attacks and the like, are used, except Zoicite is a man that is not gay, which he was in the manga (he was only gay in the anime). Just to tell you now, this story barely has any of the Scouts in it besides Serena. Truly, she and Darien are REALLY the main characters. But this story's got quite a bit of action, so it's not like some of my previous, more mushy fanfiction (who remembers "Rose in the Moonlight?" ^_-). I'd probably rate it PG though, no swears, and no hentai, just violence. And as for TIME PERIOD of this story - it takes place somewhere in Act 8 of Manga 2, BEFORE the epidemic at the Tokyo Tower where Darien was kidnapped. I consider it to be a few weeks after Serena found out who Darien was (all of you not familiar with the manga, know this - Darien found out Serena was Sailor Moon fairly early on, before Jupiter had even appeared, and she found out he was Tuxedo Mask a short time after. For a period, they liked each other but wouldn't really admit it - at least, she didn't give it away as much as he did ^_^ - and didn't tell the other scouts or Luna they knew who each other were). For anybody that hasn't read the manga, you may want to start, because I even prefer it to the show! In the manga, Mamoru ACTUALLY has a big part, and doesn't just pop in for stupid speeches and to roll his eyes as Usagi attatches to his arm. He has a personality in the manga, and shows his love for her more. Although I wouldn't say the manga is very good for younger kids - it's not as clean as the show, especially the DIC verson of the show, and contains more violence, blood, drama, very EVIL people (when Mamoru got brainwashed, he didn't have any of this "I don't want to hurt innocent people," stuff like in the anime; he zapped, brainwashed, and seduced innocent people to get what he wanted) and some hentai. Just to warn anyone getting into the manga. Of course, it's not NEARLY as bad as a lot of the other comics out there so don't be TOTALLY frightened off, but read with some caution if you're a little young. Not saying anyone HAS to read the manga (God, those things are EXPENSIVE! ^_^;) but I personally think it's better than the anime. But don't worry, this is a clean story. And I know in "Usagi and Mamoru's Love: Blossomings" Part 3 I said this story would be called "Surfacing Loves," but I've decided to change it to "Surfacings." Please no one cry. Oh dear, long author's notes, huh? Sorry. You can read now. Arigato! ^_^ -Lianne (eclipse@ntplx.net) *Sailor Moon and all its characters are copyright Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha Ltd./Toei Animation, Co., Ltd. and the English adaptation is copyright 1995 DIC productions, LP. This story is copyright Lianne Sentar, September1997. **DOWN WITH DUB-BASHING!!! *Surfacings* Part 1 "Serena!" Luna was on top of the sleeping girl, her face close to hers, scowling. Serena moaned and put her pillow over her head, covering her ears. "Just leave me alone, Luna." "I certainly will not. It's almost noon!" "So?" Serena's voice, though slightly muffled, was clearly exhausted and exasperated. "It's *Sunday!* I should get to sleep in as much as I want!" Luna gripped the pillow in her teeth and yanked it off the girl. Serena groaned. "I don't care if it's Sunday," the cat replied. "It's not normal for someone to sleep all day." "For me it is," Serena mumbled as she glumly sat up. She yawned and stretched her arms. Luna hopped off the bed. "I'm going downstairs," the cat said. "Get dressed and come and eat some breakfast so you can get your day going." She trotted out of the room. At the mention of food, Serena brightened. Most days of the week, she had hardly anything for breakfast, considering that usually by the time she got out of *bed* she was already late for school. She had noticed that it was hard to eat while you ran at top speed for Crossroads Junior High. She got out of bed and put on some casual clothes - a pair of blue jeans and a tee-shirt - and clunked down the stairs. Luna was already sitting on top of the breakfast table, reading Serena's father's newspaper. Serena got a box of cereal and a bowl and set them down on the table. "Where *is* everybody?" she asked, noticing none of her family was in sight. "Your father needed to go to work today because he took a day off earlier this week," Luna replied, not looking up. "Your mother went shopping for a few hours, and Sammy's at a friend's house." Serena opened the refridgerator and pulled out the milk. "Looks like we're alone for a while." She went back to the table, fixed herself a bowl of cereal, and began munching on it. "So what d'you think we should do today?" she asked through a mouthfull. "Don't talk with your mouth full, Serena," Luna calmly reprimanded. "I have to go with Artemis today and work on some new devices on Central Control." "Hmmm..." Serena mumbled. "I'll have to think of something to do today, I guess. For once I don't have any homework." Luna gave her a sarcastic look. "Don't have any, or not going to *do* any?" Serena glared at her. "Don't start with me, Luna." The cat looked back down at her paper. "Anyway, the girls all decided to go out to the mountains to do some training for a few hours. They *did* call earlier to get you to come, but you were still asleep." "What a shame," Serena mumbled sarcastically as she frowned at the realization that she had eaten all of the marshmallows in her cereal. She began to search through the milky depths of her cereal bowl on a new quest for any remaining ones as Luna sighed. "Oh, Serena," she said. "Can't you *ever* get your act together? You of all people should be doing more training. Zoycite is not someone to be trifled with. He's a powerful enemy, and you need to be prepared!" "Don't cough up a hairball," Serena said, popping a pink marshmallow into her mouth. "Just relax. I'm not the only Scout, right? Besides, I'll train some other day." "Wish I could have that in writing," Luna muttered. She jumped off the table and headed towards the door. "Anyway, I need to get going. I'll be back in a few hours." She was heading out the door when she suddenly said, "Oh! By the way - the Sailor Scout communicators aren't working right now, so don't bother trying to use them. We'll have them fixed in a few days." "Alright," Serena called as her pet left. She finished up her cereal, put her stuff away, and hopped upstairs. She whirled around in her empty room as she said, "No one's around and I have the whole day ahead of me. What should I do?" She looked at all her comic books on the shelf - nope, already read them all. Her paper and drawing pencils - nah, she didn't feel like drawing. The TV - nothing good on Sundays. She sighed and lounged on her bed. She looked at the telephone on her bedside table. she wondered, but she quickly remembered she was out of town until that night. she thought. The Scouts were all at the mountains, Melvin was absolutely NO fun on the phone...Thinking about telephone numbers she suddenly remembered Darien. She slowly got up and opened her desk drawer, pulling out the small, folded piece of paper she had tucked into the corner of the drawer. She unfolded it and stared at it. Darien's phone number. He had given it to her a few days before; he told her any time she felt she might be in danger or needed his help on anything related to Sailor Moon she should call him. She stared at it and sighed. Darien. She hadn't told anyone, not even Luna, that Darien was Tuxedo Mask. Serena and Darien had decided that maybe they should keep their knowing of each others' identities a secret, at least for the time being. She ran a finger delicately along the phone's receiver, thinking. She wondered if he would mind if she called him, just to...talk. She had had a crush on Tuxedo Mask - just about *everyone* had known that - but when she found out that Darien, the guy whom she absolutely could not STAND, was the superhero of her dreams, she thought she would be depressed for YEARS and have to find a new crush. But her reaction to finding out who he really was was surprising, even to her. She actually wasn't disappointed - in fact, she kind of...liked finding out it was him. She had no idea why. And that wasn't the only thing that was strange to her - her feelings towards Darien were very confusing. She had had numerous crushes before, and she knew just what a crush felt like: she got all excited, her blood rushed, her heart pumped, she got chills all throughout her. That was the way she had felt around Tuxedo Mask. But now, with Darien, she was getting feelings she had never felt before - it was kind of like the feelings she got with a crush, but they seemed to be deeper in her heart, and...truer, somehow. She didn't really get *excited* around him, but she did get filled with an overwhelming joy that seemed to fill all of her, and warmed her heart. She found that more and more she just wanted to see him, or hear his voice. She also no longer felt a crush for Tuxedo Mask; instead she felt these feelings. And she was no longer thinking of Darien as Tuxedo Mask, but, rather, of Tuxedo Mask as Darien... She remembered the time not too long ago when she used to bump into him on the street, and he'd tease her and she'd get infuriated. She had absolutely DESPISED him then. But she didn't feel that way anymore - why? She had hated him so passionately; how could her feelings flip-flop like that? She thought about it a moment longer. Well, maybe back then she *hadn't* hated him as much as she thought. She remembered how she'd yell at him for calling her "Meatball Head" or something to that extent. But had she really hated it? Or him? She remembered how, back then, she had had feelings she had kept hidden from everyone - hidden from *herself* - because she didn't understand them. Or want to understand. She used the masque of hating him and being annoyed by him to hide what she *really* felt from everyone, including herself, almost to the extent where she actually *believed* that she hated him. To hide the fact that...she didn't really hate it when he teased her; in fact, she...liked it. And she didn't hate *him* either; she was actually happy every time she saw him. But she had been scared of these feelings, and didn't know why she got them around him. She had never gotten them before. And now, she suddenly realized those were the same feelings she was getting for him now...she had had them all along... She shook her head lightly to clear it, and looked down at the paper again. She once again found herself wondering if he *would* mind if she called for no particular reason. She would have liked just to hear his voice, hear him talk. she thought, Sailor Moon. She sighed. He saved *Sailor Moon,* not her. The only reason he gave her this number was because she was Sailor Moon. He didn't care about *her,* Serena. He only cared about Sailor Moon. She sat down on her bed, thinking. He had told her that he had first found out she was Sailor Moon when she had dropped her handkerchief at the ball. He hadn't been different; he had treated her like he had always treated her before. He was trying not to link his ally superhero with this stupid kid. He wanted to forget she was Sailor Moon, and just pretend they were two different people. He didn't care about Serena, he cared about Sailor Moon. Or did he? Some memories suddenly triggered in her mind: memories that she had never thought about, but had picked up subconsiously at the time, and had been in her subconsious until now, when she suddenly remembered them... A few days after the ball. She was walking down the street after school, heading home. Her mind was so preoccupied with the failed test she had to show her mother when she reached home that she nearly crashed into Darien. "Woah! Careful there, Meatball Head. Gotta keep your eyes open!" She scowled. "Ooooh! I TOLD you - DON'T CALL ME MEATBALL HEAD!" He laughed. "But it's *just* so fitting." She looked at him with vehemence. "I HATE you Darien! I HATE YOU! You are the most anoying, obnoxious, infuriating person I've ever met!" "Thank you." "AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!" She stomped angrily away, barreling past him. He moved aside so she could go. Fuming, she stormed away, in an even worse mood than before, when she suddenly stopped. It felt like he was watching her. She turned around just in time to see him turn around in the opposite direction and walk casually away. But she had caught a glimpse of him before he turned away - she could have sworn she saw him...smile at her... Serena stared blankly for a moment. Could he...actually...care about...her,too? she thought. She folded the paper and tucked it back into the drawer. She didn't want to call him for no reason; not yet, anyway. Maybe if they got to be better friends she would, but for now, she'd only use it when she had to. She trundled down the stairs and looked around her empty kitchen. Sunlight streamed through the open window, while the warm breeze slightly ruffled the curtains. She sat down at the table, bored. Her eyes wandered to the newspaper. She didn't usually read for fun, but, since she had nothing better to do... She shuffled through the paper, looking for the Comics section. As she flipped through the other sections a huge headline on one of them caught her eye. "Amazing Imperium Silver Moon Crystal To Be Shown At Tokyo Historical Museum Today." Serena's eyes shot open. What?! The rest of the paper flew off the table as she grabbed the section and pulled it out. Her eyes skimmed it faster than she had ever thought she could read. "The Tokyo Historical Museum is planning to show it's incredible Imperium Silver Crystal today for the first time," it read. "The Crystal is a jewel that was found on the moon during the last voyage there. It was brought back and studied by scientists, who found it to have incredible energy contained in it. It is going to go on a world-wide tour starting with Tokyo. In two weeks it will go on to Europe, where it will then continue its travelling to over 25 countries. Today is the first time it will be shown, in the Tokyo Historical Museum. The museum's hours are 9-9, and the unveiling of the crystal will be at 1 o'clock today..." Serena dropped the paper and bolted upstairs. This sounded like the same crystal the Scouts, Zoycite, and Darien were after. She had to tell the girls. She ran into her bedroom and grabbed the telephone. She was about to dial Amy's number when she froze. The Scouts! They were in the mountains today. She picked up her communicator and was about to contact them that way when she suddenly remembered the communicators weren't working. She tried anyway, but the tiny screen was only filled with static. She put down the communicator quickly, her mind racing. Luna and Artemis were over at Central Control, but she didn't have enough time to get in touch with them before 1 o'clock, and she felt it important she be there right when they displayed it. Zoycite might try something, and she needed to be prepared for anything. If she couldn't get in touch with the Scouts, who could help her? Darien. She yanked her drawer out, nearly pulling it out of the desk entirely. He was after the crystal, too, to find out who the girl in his dreams was. But even if he hadn't been, she was sure he would've helped her anyway - this was definately Sailor business. She snatched up the paper and dialed the number as fast as her fingers would move. Holding the phone anxiously, she waited until it had wrung three times, then four times, then five. Why didn't he pick up? She started to worry. What if he wasn't home? She let it ring several more times before hanging up, worry written across her young face. she thought. Serena took a deep breath, then grabbed a piece of notebook paper and a pen. She scribbled a note to her parents saying she was going to see the Imperium Silver Crystal at the museum and she'd be back later that night. she thought. She bolted downstairs, left the note on the table, and quickly left the house, heading in the direction of the museum. ******************* Serena checked her watch. 12:55. Anytime now. She sighed and let her arms dangle, looking at all the people in the Receptions Room. It was here that the crystal was going to be presented, supposedly by the president of the museum. It was mostly adults - no one under 14 was admitted to the unveiling, and few her age were there. Lots of people had come, but she wasn't surprised. She shivered. It was too weird for Zoycite not to have come and crashed this reception by now so he could get his hands on it. she cooly reminded herself. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. That slightly calmed her nerves. She waited around another minute, and then she suddenly heard all the people's chattering settle to a low hush. she thought. Everyone waited for the president to come. The crowd was in strained silence awaiting the man, but he didn't come. An agonizing minute passed, but still he didn't show up. The people started chattering with curiosity. Serena thought worriedly. She was getting a gut instinct that something was terribly wrong. Suddenly, without warning, all the lights in the room shut off. The people gasped in surprise. "What?!" Serena was about to exclaim when she suddenly felt an urgency to leave immideately. Happening to be near one of the big, closed doors in the back, she opened it a crack and slipped out, and into one of the long hallways of the museum. It was strangely deserted, and the lights were dimmed. "What's going on?" she whispered. A slamming sound behind her made her gasp. She whipped around and saw with horror a huge metal wall that had just shot down from the doorway of the door she had just used and reach the ground, acting as a huge barrier to it. A split-second after, three more metal walls shot down in the same fashion over the other doors to the room. They had blocked all the exits. The people were trapped inside. To be continued... -Any good? I know, a little slow, but hopefully it'll pick up soon. Part 2 SHOULD be out the week after next (I'm busy working this week on "Usagi and Mamoru's Love: Blossomings," so I may not have time to update this), but I'll TRY to have Part 2 up for next week, if I have the time. No promises, O.K.? Thanks for reading! Ja ne! -Lianne