Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon or any of the canon characters. Derek, Drake, and the others are my creation, however.
Author's Note: This is set during the Sailor Moon R break-up, when Darien is having the nightmares and breaks up with Serena. However, I have decided to make Rini a little older. She's now about ten years old, instead of four, just because of the plot line. Also, the other scouts are older, as everyone is now in high school except Hotaru. But, hey, this is AU. Also, when I refer to the five divisions of Terra, I refer to them by their direction from Elysian, thus North and South America, being to the East of Elysian are the Eastern Division, Africa and the Middle East are the Western Division. Europe, Russia, Greenland, and Iceland are all the Northern Division, while Australia, Antarctica, and the Pacific Islands are the Southern Division. The rest of Asia would be Elysian.
Chapter One: Things Change
Serena burst through the front door of the house, tears pouring down her face. She barely managed to kick off her shoes before tearing up the stairs and throwing herself on her bed, sobbing.
Irene Tsukino entered her daughter's room and sat down beside her, stroking the golden bangs away from Serena's forehead.
"What's wrong, Serena?"
"Darien…Darien broke up with me!" The blonde girl wailed.
"I suppose," her mother began. She paused and then continued, "I suppose it might be for the best."
Serena looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Serena, we are moving to America in the morning. We've been debating about the best way to tell you, Sammy, and Rini for weeks."
"We're leaving? But I can't leave! Can't I stay here with one of my friends?"
"I'm afraid not. We're going to Le Lune, in California. You'll be near your favorite cousin again."
"What about Rini?"
"She'll be coming, too," her mother assured her.
"We've already transferred your records to your new school. We just need to finish packing," commented Ken Tsukino, stepping into the doorway. "There are boxes outside your door."
"I'm sorry, Serena," her mother added, solemnly, standing up and walking out of the room.
As her parents walked away, Rini came bouncing into the room, a wide smile across her face.
"Serena, are you alright?" she asked, noticing the tears still streaming down the blonde's face.
She shook her head, "We're moving to America, and Darien broke up with me!"
The tears grew stronger as Serena wailed.
Rini crossed her arms and stared down at the weeping blonde.
"When are we moving and to where?" the pink haired girl asked.
"Tomorrow morning, to Le Lune," answered Sammy, poking his head in. "I won't get a chance to tell Mika good-bye."
"Le Lune, isn't that where your cousins on your mom's side of the family live?" Rini demanded.
Sammy nodded, "All three of them."
"Serena, Sammy, Rini, you all need to get packing!" Serena's father yelled up the stairs at them.
Groaning, Sammy turned and grabbed a stack of cardboard boxes out of the hallway.
"They won't miss me anyway," stated Serena, wiping away the last of her tears. "Raye won't be able to pick on me, anymore, and Darien can feel free to find someone better than me."
Rini frowned, "What about Amy, Mina, Lita, Molly, and Melvin? They're your friends, too, Serena."
Serena shrugged, "Amy will have more time for studying, now that she won't have to tutor me. It's so long, crybaby Serena Tsukino."
She walked over and grabbed a stack of boxes. Suddenly, Luna P jumped up in the air.
"Luna P, kitty magic!" yelled Rini.
Serena's clothes and other possessions were sucked into a large vacuum that was once the floating cat head known as Luna P. Everything was emptied neatly into the cardboard boxes and two pink duffle bags that rested beside the closet. The only things left untouched were the pajamas and sheets still on Serena's bed.
"There's also still one change of clothes for tomorrow in the closet," stated Rini, looking around the now almost empty room.
Serena nodded, "It feels so much larger, now."
She knelt back down beside the bed and once more burst into tears.
"Flight 257 from Los Angeles now arriving." The announcement echoed around the almost empty airport.
Seven people waited near the large glass window, three blondes, one brunette, one silver-haired, one with dark grey hair, and one with aquamarine hair. The shortest of the blondes, a sixteen year old boy, glanced up from his copy of a high school biology textbook. He frowned at the slightly taller blonde woman.
"Relax, Amara. Everything's going to be fine," he assured her.
The eighteen year old only curled her lip in a snarl. The aquamarine haired woman looked up at her from the sheet music she was trying to read and gave the blonde woman a faint smile.
"Zack, you know she's not going to listen right now."
Another blonde sixteen year old boy, only slightly taller than Zack, reclined in a near-by chair. With his right hand, he juggled three small rubber balls, painted to look like they were made of fire. His blue eyes sparkled with merriment as he considered launching one of the balls towards the three other members of their group.
"Don't even think about it," remarked the tall, brunette man remarked. "You hit one of us, and I will personally burn your supper."
The blonde haired boy gulped and nodded.
"Try to relax a little, yourself, Nate," stated the grey-haired man. He shrugged into his black leather jacket and straightened the pewter skull he wore on a thick chain around his neck. "He still hasn't finished growing up. Everything alright over there, Mal?"
The tall, silver-haired man stared out the window, a small black camera in his hands. Grey eyes narrowed as he spotted the plane.
"They're here, Amara. Relax. It's just Aunt Irene and her family," he stated, shifting his camera to tuck it back into the black bag he carried over his shoulder.
Amara turned and growled at him. "I know that, Mal. It's the Meatball Head I'm worried about. I'm just hoping Le Lune will give her a fresh start, where she doesn't have to hide."
"Everything will be alright, little sister," Mal assured her. "Jason, put your juggling away, and Zack, pull your nose out of that book."
"Gees, Mal." Jason sighed, dropping the three rubber balls into a small black bag. "You'd think you were sixty, the way you act, instead of the twenty you actually are."
"At least it's better than acting like he's stuck at the age of six," observed Nate, pulling up the collar of his brown trench coat.
Amara managed a slight smile as she walked out onto the tarmac, followed by the aquamarine haired eighteen year old woman.
"Are you sure it's alright that I'm here, Amara?" she asked.
"Of course it's alright, Michelle." Amara grinned. "You're as much a part of the family as Drake or Nate."
She dropped an arm around Michelle's waist and led her toward the plane. Five people stepped out of the plane, loaded down with various bags.
"Welcome to California," yelled Amara, waving with her free hand.
The dark haired man and the blue haired woman smiled, wearily. The blonde ten year old boy happily jumped down the metal steps, making them clatter with each jump.
"Weren't there only supposed to be four people?" Jason muttered. "Who's the cupcake hair?"
Zack's eyes narrowed as he glared over at Jason. "Pay attention, cousin. That's Rini. She's a distant cousin on Uncle Ken's side of the family. And don't call her cupcake hair. Got it?"
He nodded, before heading towards the Tsukino family.
"Hi, I'm Jason Specter, Mal and Zack's cousin on their mother's side of the family," he stated, taking the heavy blue duffle bag Irene carried, as well as the plastic shopping bag she held.
Ken grinned. "You're Adam's son, then?"
Jason nodded, his own smile widening.
"Amara! It's so good to see you!"
Serena dropped her own duffle and shopping bag to run over and throw her arms around her favorite cousin.
"Hey, Meatball Head. It's been far too long," Amara replied. "May I introduce my girlfriend, Michelle Kaioh?"
Serena smiled. "Hi, Michelle. I'm Serena Tsukino, but you probably already knew that."
Michelle returned the smile. "I'm pleased to meet you at last, Serena."
"And you know my half brothers, Mal and Zack," continued Amara. "The two standing behind Mal are his two best friends and our fellow housemates. The brown-haired one is Nathan Zenith and the grey-haired one with the depressing wardrobe is Drake Miller."
"Hi, I'm Sammy," piped up the small boy, struggling to lift his own duffle.
Nathan grinned and took the bag from the boy. "What did you pack in here? Rocks?"
Sammy shook his head, "Nope. Not a single rock."
"And let me introduce you to the newest pain, our distant cousin, Rini," added Serena, motioning to the pink haired little girl.
"I'm not a pain," she muttered, before dipping a slight curtsey, only to be put off balance by the small pink duffle she carried.
She looked up at the seven new faces and something flittered across the back of her mind.
I know I've seen them before, she thought, but where?
"Here. Allow me, little princess," stated a deep voice. Mal reached down and took the duffle from Rini's small shoulder. "Drake has yours, Sere."
The blonde girl gave a half-hearted smile at the nickname, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"The rest of your stuff should arrive in a couple of days," explained Amara. "We've already got the basics in furniture for you."
"I hope you all like it," added Michelle. "Trista and I had a lot of fun picking everything out."
"And making us carry it all," grumbled Jason.
"Trista?" Irene Tsukino asked.
Drake gave a slight smile. "My girlfriend, Mrs. Tsukino. Unfortunately, she couldn't make it today. She has a night class up at the local college."
Zack finally spoke up, "So, Sere, are you up to resuming our challenges?"
A determined gleam appeared in Serena's eye. "You have no idea."
"Yeah, you don't have to hide here," stated Amara, giving Serena a one-armed hug. "Here, you have a chance to really be yourself. There's no Ace Kaitou hanging around to put you down."
That doesn't necessarily mean I can really be myself, thought Serena. I can't exactly let everyone know I'm the Moon Princess or Sailor Moon, after all.
A tall, dark cloaked figure hurried across the grassy fields. Dark copper eyes flashed inside the dark hood as lightning streaked across the sky. The bolt gave him enough light to see his destination.
A small stone building rose out of the middle of the field. In most aspects, it resembled a small mausoleum. There was only one door, made of thick, dark metal. In the stone lentil of the door were engraved the words "For Lunar Earth."
"Finally, I've found it," he cackled, running a gloved finger down the front of the door. "Now, how to open it?"
It was then that he spotted the fifteen shallow depressions that surrounded the door. Inside each cubby was engraved a symbol. On the left side of the door seven cubbies bore the symbols of the planets of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Along the top of the door frame the depressions held the symbol of Venus, the crescent moon of the Moon Kingdom, the small blooming rose of Terran Kingdom, and the winged dragon of the Western Division of the Terran Kingdom. The left held the remaining four symbols, the sphinx of the Northern Division, the phoenix of the Southern Division, the gryphon of the Eastern Division, and a faint skull that looked out at him with its eyeless sockets.
"The mysterious fifth Terran division?" he muttered. "No matter. I will find the way to unseal the Vault of Souls."
With that, he pulled a small orange gem out of his pocket and slid it into the cubby marked with the symbol of Venus. The symbol briefly glowed orange and pulled the gem inside it.
"Excellent. One down, fourteen to go." A thin smirk crossed his face before he disappeared into the night.
The streets were all deserted. There wasn't even a piece of litter to be picked up by the wind that swept the crystal city. The stars, normally so bright in the clear, unpolluted sky, seemed dimmer as they shone on what seemed to be the only living being in the city. A small boy, only about thirteen years of age, in dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and an extremely oversized green jacket ducked into the streets.
Lavender hair curled around the tops of his ears and fell into midnight blue eyes as he ran through the empty streets. He kept looking back over his shoulder, jumping at every movement of shadows, until he found himself at a dead end, just outside the Crown Fruit Parlor.
Turning around, he started moving back up the street when he saw it. At first, the creature appeared human, even if it was a little taller and thinner than normal. That was until he saw the eight spidery legs protruding from the creature's back.
"Nowhere left to run, tasty little morsel," it laughed.
The boy reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small silver key.
"Time Key, please get me out of here," he shouted, lifting the object to the sky.
A pale purple cloud drifted down from the sky and scooped him into it.
Darien stood next to Andrew and cast a wary glance at the sky.
"Thought it was supposed to be raining all day," he muttered.
His best friend laughed, "Weather people almost never get it right, anymore."
Suddenly, a swirling lavender cloud appeared directly in front of the arcade.
"What in the world?" Andrew yelped.
Darien couldn't help but be reminded of the pink cloud Rini had arrived in.
A thin young boy with lavender hair tumbled out of the cloud. He slid to a halt in front of Darien's feet.
"Hi," he managed, as soon as he was able to stand up straight.
Darien stared down at him, his gaze suspicious, "And who, exactly, are you?"
"No time to explain," the strange boy replied.
From out of the lavender cloud climbed the spider-human monster.
Darien quickly glanced around. The only people on the entire street were the boy, Andrew, and himself. Andrew appeared frozen in shock. Sighing, the dark haired man reached inside his own green jacket and pulled out a red rose. Closing his eyes, he invoked his transformation. A split second later, Darien was gone and in his place stood the costumed hero known as Tuxedo Mask.
Andrew bit back another yelp as he realized the secret his best friend had been keeping from him.
"Hello, Tuxedo Mask. I'm sure you'll be even tastier than the boy," the creature stated with a grin, licking its thin black lips.
Tuxedo Mask drew back his hand and threw three steel-tipped roses at the creature. One managed to scrape across the creature's face and the others landed, tip first, in one of the spindly extra legs. The leg trembled briefly before collapsing into dust.
"Argh. You'll pay for that, Tuxedo Mask!" A thin web shot out of the creature's hand and collided with Tuxedo Mask, pinning him to the wall of the Fruit Parlor.
"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"
"Jupiter Supreme Thunder Crash!"
A bright light collided with the creature, turning two more of its legs to dust. It was followed by a crackling bolt of lightning that struck another of its two remaining legs. From a nearby rooftop dropped the orange Sailor Scout known as Sailor Venus and the green Sailor Scout known as Sailor Jupiter.
"Enough!" The creature screamed and shot two more webs, trapping the recently arrived scouts.
"Mars Celestial Fire Surround!" called out another voice, as Sailor Mars dropped down from another rooftop, blasting away the remaining three legs with several fireballs.
"Mercury Shine Aqua Illusion!" Mercury's voice echoed down the street as she emerged from a nearby alley, her blue visor pulled across her eyes.
The wall of water she had summoned crashed into the creature, causing it to scream a final time before it dissolved into dust, a small sapphire rolling off the top of the pile before turning into a black rock. The webs holding Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Venus, and Sailor Jupiter also fell away into piles of grey dust.
"Thank you, very much, Sailor Mercury," remarked the boy, dropping a small bow.
"Darien, what exactly is going on, here?" Andrew demanded. "I think I deserve an explanation from my best friend."
Tuxedo Mask sighed. "Why don't we move inside and sit down to discuss this?"
Andrew nodded and disappeared inside the Fruit Parlor.
"How did Andrew find out you're Darien?" Sailor Jupiter demanded, pulling herself to her feet.
"I was sort-of forced to transform in front of him," explained the masked man, before letting his transformation fade. He turned his gaze to the lavender haired boy. "And I'm not the only one with explaining to do."
The boy bowed his head and walked inside, sliding his silver key back into his jacket pocket.
Sailor Venus sighed, "We might as well come clean to Andrew. Besides, how often do Luna and Artemis sneak in here to use the computer to get information? It will just be easier if Andrew knows the truth."
"He can keep the secret," added Darien. "I trust him. I just wish I had decided to tell him sooner."
Sailors Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter nodded before walking inside as well, followed by Sailor Venus and Darien.
Darien stepped up to the counter and accepted the steaming mug of coffee from his friend.
"The best place to begin is probably with us," stated Sailor Venus.
Andrew looked up as the four scouts released their own transformations and turned back into the fifteen year old girls who were his most frequent customers.
"Mina? Lita? Ray? Amy?" he sputtered. "You are the Sailor Scouts? Then, is Serena Sailor Moon?"
Mina sighed. "We can't tell you that, Andrew. What we can tell you is that all five of us who are scouts, as well as Darien, have an extremely important mission to carry out. We've had it since the Silver Millennium."
"The what?" Andrew inquired. "When was that?"
"The Silver Millennium," repeated the strange boy. "It was a very long time ago. The eight planets of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto answered to the royal family of the Moon Kingdom. Back then, Earth was known as Terra or the Terran Kingdom, and it was divided into four sub-kingdoms, ruled over by the four generals, who answered directly to the Terran Royal family."
Raye glared at him, "How do you know all that? And, if there were Terran Generals, where are they now?"
"While I don't know where the generals are, now, it's quite simple how I know about the Silver Millennium, Lady Raye. It's part of my history lessons," the boy explained. "My lessons also covered how the four Inner Scouts were the reborn princesses of their respective planets, chosen to protect the reborn Moon Princess. Also, we covered how the Terran Prince was reborn as Darien Shields, or Tuxedo Mask."
The boy lifted his glass of water and downed a large gulp.
Andrew turned to Darien. "You were a prince?"
"In another lifetime that I only barely begin to remember." He shrugged.
Lita stared down at the boy and crossed her arms. "And who are you?"
"I am Prince Derek of Crystal Tokyo," he replied with a smile. "Thirtieth Century Crystal Tokyo. I came here by accident, trying to escape the youma the five of you destroyed a little bit ago."
"That's right!" A small voice came from the direction of the floor.
A tiny grey kitten wound its way past everyone's feet and leapt up onto Derek's shoulder. Pale purple eyes blinked as the kitten pulled his tail up to curl around his paws.
"Stellis, you're okay!" Derek exclaimed.
The kitten nodded, "I'm just fine, Prince Derek."
"Luna, Artemis, its okay to come out now," called Raye.
The black cat emerged from under one of the tables, blinking her reddish brown eyes. She was followed by the blue-eyed white cat. Both bore the crescent moon of the Moon Kingdom on their foreheads.
"So," stated Artemis, "does the name Rini mean anything to you?"
Derek's eyes widened, "Yes, of course I know Rini. She's a pink-haired ball of energy. Is she okay?"
Luna sighed, "I don't know. I haven't seen her all day. Or Serena, either, for that matter."
"They're both missing?" Darien's coffee mug clattered onto the counter.
Mina shook her head, "I got a call from Serena this morning. She and her family moved to America."