Adventures of the ChibiScouts III Chapter 21 Reconciliations, a sailor moon fanfic

Adventures of the Chibi-Scouts III
Crossroads to the Future
By "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl and Doug "Candle Light Author" Helm

This story and our other stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction . com domain. Comments are encouraged!

Chapter 21 "Reconciliations"

After her bath that Friday evening, Reenie Tsukino dressed in her pajamas and left the bathroom. She made her way upstairs to return her bath things to her room. Once done, Reenie stepped across the hall and into her future mother's bedroom. She had wanted to talk with Serena as soon as they had gotten home but her aunt had had other plans for them.

Now was her chance. She went to her mother's door and knocked. "Come in!" came the voice of the meatball-headed blonde. She opened the door and peered inside. "Hey pumpkin," Serena greeted her. The teen was sitting at a low table apparently doing the homework that Molly had left earlier.

"Can I come in?" Reenie asked. When her "cousin" nodded, the child came into the room closing the door behind her. She padded across the carpet and glanced down at the papers in front of her mother. "Is it hard, Serena?"

"Yes and it majorly shouldn't be, Reenie," Serena replied with a sigh. She had made significant strides in her school studies during the past two years due to her friends' active encouragement. "I have like zero concentration, and stuff I know I should know doesn't seem to be sticking. Part of me keeps saying to go play with my stuffed bunnies instead. I hope it's gone by Monday."

"Why?" Although part of her understood very well wanting to play.

"I have a Home Ec test then," the blonde remarked. "Speaking of Monday, how's that poster coming?"

The girl squirmed looking distinctly uncomfortable for a moment. "Pretty good. I need to go to the craft store tomorrow though... if Aunt Ellen lets me. Reenie..." she admitted cautiously, "Got a good start on it."

"Good, maybe I'll go with you," Serena remarked, nodding her head. She began to stretch only to pause. "You finished your bath?" she observed before glancing at the clock on her nightstand.

"Yeah!" Reenie chirped and lifted her foot to show Serena as she observed, "I even put dry socks on. See Mommy." She giggled as the teen gently swatted her foot.

"Brat!" Serena retorted lightheartedly.

Grinning, Reenie sat down and commented, "Well, I got lots of experience being one."

"Pardon?" the seventeen year old asked, an eyebrow cocked inquiringly.

"I had lots of practice being a brat." Remembering her first two trips to the past. "How'd you put up with me?"

"You weren't a brat, Reenie," her cousin disagreed. "At least that I remember."

"Oh come on, Serena," Reenie argued. "How about when I first came here? Or during the entire time we were fighting the Daemons?" 'I can't believe I kept saying Daddy was my boyfriend!'

Serena only blinked and then shook her head. "I dunno... Mom didn't seem to have any problems with you and I pushed your buttons as much as you did mine." She smiled then in fond memory. "Poor Darien didn't know what to do when we started in on each other. He couldn't win no matter what he did." She sighed a little. "And I bet I majorly confused him last night."

"Why?" Reenie questioned.

"I kept calling him 'Uncle Darien'," she admitted with a blush and a giggle.

The pink-haired ten year old snickered. "Yeah, well at least I had some company." She smiled as Serena stuck her tongue out. The two girls then sat quietly with Serena returning to her homework while Reenie watched. 'Wow! It looks majorly hard.' She was about to ask Serena what kind of stuff they do for a high school Home Economics test when Serena began speaking.

"Reenie," she began, looking at her daughter's happy expression, "I'm really sorry for what I did last night. I know I wasn't myself but that's no reason I should've gone off on you." 'I acted like a spoiled brat. Big Sis would've been so disappointed. She wanted me to be the bestest big sister in the world to my Reenie. And here I...' Tears started to form at that thought.

"Serena!" Reenie interrupted her thoughts, "It wasn't your fault. I heard something bad had happened and instead of thinking about it, I just threw a tantrum." She paused. "And I'm sorry about that. It wasn't very mature of me."

Serena snorted. "You might hate me for saying this, but you're only ten. I don't have that excuse." 'Thanks Reenie.'

"I don't hate you," Reenie said softly. "And I know how old I am." She gave her future mother a serious look. "I wanna grow-up someday but I know what happens when I try to rush things." She shook her head thinking about her transgressions as Black Lady and almost losing Pegasus when she switched ages with Serena. "I know you love me, and I love you." She smiled then. "And I look up to you, Serena, not as my future mom or the Leader of the Scouts but just... like a big sister. I never had one until you..." 'I have to try to be as good a big sister for the new baby.' Her smile grew when her mother shifted around and hugged her tightly. She returned it. "It's kinda confusing sometimes but Mommy... Neo-Queen Serenity can't be my big sister. She needs to be my mom. And you can't be my mom, Serena, but you WILL be. I know it's weird but..."

"Makes your head hurt, doesn't it?" Serena remarked, loosening the hug but not letting it go. When the younger girl nodded, she added, "You know I learned a really interesting lesson when the other Reenie was here."

"What?" the preteen wondered. 'That she's better than me?'

"That as much as I love her, she isn't my daughter. She could be my big sis but she's not you..." She paused, clearly remembering something, before continuing, "I must've given her quite a shock that first night."

"Why?" Reenie asked curiously. ''Though I guess it'd be weird if I met a Serena littler than me.'

"Oh... See at first, I didn't know it was the other you and she started being..."

"A brat?" the pink-haired girl offered.

"Yeah sorta, but different," the pigtailed blonde agreed and then blushed, "Which really should've clued me in. She was used to an eight year old me. Anyway, I told her I wasn't gonna put up with the same crap. I was your mom and like it or not, I was going to be it and if she wanted to make a big deal out of it, that I'd spank her little derrière."

"And then she's rude to Molly..." Reenie asked in a disbelieving tone while thinking, 'Molly's nice.' Serena nodded. The youngster was silent for several seconds and then shook her head while saying, "I guess she didn't take you seriously, huh Serena?"

The teen quirked an eyebrow. "And you would have?"

"Se-re-na," Reenie whined in a plaintive tone.

Serena regarded her daughter tenderly. After a moment, she said, "I'll let you in on a secret, Reenie."

"What?"

"I much prefer you, even when you're being overly bouncy." She grinned and tightened her grip momentarily. "Brattiness or not." Reenie giggled. "Can we say we both made mistakes last night and forgive each other?"

"I'd like that, Big Sis," Reenie replied and snuggled closer to her mother. Seconds passed and then she asked, "Can I ask you somethin'?"

"What?"

"Is my derrière really 'little'?" Serena giggled, which turned into a laugh as her future daughter tickled her.

"Oh, you know this means war!"

"Yeah, yeah," the preteen remarked and reached her for the older girl's ribs.

Later, as Ellen Tsukino was headed off to bed, she paused outside of her niece's room and found it empty. Frowning a little, she eased her daughter's door open and found both girls cuddled together on Serena's bed fast asleep. She smiled a little, got a blanket out of Reenie's room, and spread it over the pair. Kissing each gently, she turned the light off and closed the door behind her. It looked like things were getting back to normal.

- - - - -

Amy Anderson glanced at her watch that early Saturday morning and the shook her head as she tried to find a comfortable position in the international departures area of the Frankfurt International Airport. 'Watching the clock won't make time go faster,' she knew. The young woman had already spent an hour on the train from Heidelberg. 'I wish I could have booked an earlier flight.' There were none available that would have made any significant difference in her arrival time. She made a face and looked once again at her ticket. She had a full day of flying ahead of her. First to Paris before the long flight home to Tokyo. 'Damn! I won't be home until 10:55 AM Sunday.'

She sighed and rubbed her neck while closing her eyes. 'Maybe I'll be able to sleep on one of the flights.' She was tempted to call Mina but once again firmly pushed that resolution aside. 'There's nothing she can do. And I don't even know if Lita has a communicator... I miss her so much. Serena shouldn't have encouraged Lita to stay...' She remembered that day as if it was yesterday. 'Damn it! It was LITA'S decision... Serena could've... I won't go there. Sis wouldn't be happy with me for pushing Serena away though.' Not to mention, seriously considering resigning from the Sailor Scouts. She sighed a little.

The blue-haired teen opened her eyes and for a moment watched as a mother tried to sort out her three offspring, each of whom claimed the other had done something to them. 'If Lita and I had grown up like real sisters, I bet we would have done that?' She tried to picture it. The image of them both as carefree young children brought a smile to her face. 'I wonder how Lita's taking the hospital?'

Lita, before her last trip to the other universe and decision to stay, had regarded hospitals, and doctors in general, with disdain as something to be avoided. Of course, Lita had treated Dr. Mary Anderson with the upmost respect and genuine liking. This was especially true after she found out that the physician had adopted her younger counterpart. 'I hope she's all right and doesn't give the doctors too much trouble.' She grinned. 'But if she's eight... Maybe Mom's gotten her to behave some.'

- - - - -

Raye Hino raised her face toward the midmorning sun that Saturday morning. The sky was marbled with white puffy clouds and the sun was strong and warm. She was out inspecting the Cherry Hill Temple grounds to see if anything needed to be taken care of.

"Raye!" The raven-haired teen lowered her face, opened her eyes, and smiled as she saw her friend Molly Baker and her younger sister Jenny topping the temple steps.

"Hey!" she called, waving at them. When the pair got closer, she asked, "What are you two up to?"

"We're going out shopping, Raye," Jenny replied. "We thought you might wanna tag along."

Raye considered and then nodded. "Sure, Jen, I need to change my clothes first but it won't take long." She turned towards the private quarters. "Come on inside."

"You talk to Serena this morning?" Molly asked as the Baker girls fell into step beside the priestess.

"No, Mol, not since we got back. Have you?"

Molly nodded. "Yeah, we'll have to swing by there before we go home. Rumor has it that she and Reenie are baking cookies."

"Uh..." Raye began and then shook her head, "I'd eat Reenie's, not sure I want Serena's."

"Why?" Jenny wondered.

"They looked great," the brunette explained, remembering the last time she tried her pigtailed friend's baking. "On the other hand, they tasted horrible. Even Serena wouldn't eat them." The younger girl whistled. Raye nodded. "Exactly. Reenie's was the opposite." She glanced at Molly and asked, "What inspired them baking anyway?"

"I haven't got a clue, Raye, but Serena did sound better today. That talk with Mina must've helped."

'Well, that's something,' Raye thought. Spotting Chad, she gave an evil grin. "You know, Jenny, Chad's available."

"Raye!" Molly squawked. Her sister was too young to be thinking about that sort of thing. Jenny started to laugh.

- - - - -

It was Sunday afternoon, and rather than being sunny, as the local TV weatherman had predicted, it was cloudy and cold. Moreover, the weather was apparently contemplating what it should do to the inhabitants of Tokyo. It would begin to snow and just as quickly stop.

In her bedroom, a ribbon-wearing eighteen year old blonde ignored most of this preferring to concentrate on the knitting before her. She looked up from her knitting as her bedroom door swung open, seemed to pause, and then swung shut. "Fuzzy?" A moment later, Artemis appeared on her bed and padded his way across the bedspread. "Just get back?"

"A couple of minutes ago," the white cat replied and then added in a very serious tone, "By the way, Mina, would you please tell your mother to stop buying that horrible tasting cat food?"

"You are a cat," Mina pointed out. "You realize that, don't you Artemis?"

"Well, of course, I do," Artemis argued, sitting down and frowning, "But you're mom used to buy that really nice stuff and then she switched brands. Couldn't you tell her to go back?"

"Just don't eat it," his charge suggested with a shrug. "She'll figure it out. You aren't a kitten anymore."

"Mina," the white lunar cat pleaded in a pained voice, "I tried that. She says that either I eat it or I'll go hungry." He gave her a pleading look. "Can't you ask her? For me? Please?"

Mina sighed and shook her head. "Listen, why don't you explain it to her yourself, Artemis?" When her guardian stared at her incredulously, she continued, "You can blame it on tainted cat food when Luna demands to know if you've lost your mind." She grinned as her friend snickered. "Speaking of your fiancée, how's it going over at Serena's?"

"Luna's back to normal," he replied. "She's relieved but it was fun for awhile too..." The lunar cat got a silly grin on his face. "Serena is slowly returning to what Luna calls 'a proper teenager'... According to Luna though, she's still in a funk although not as bad as Friday."

"Think it would be safe to talk with her, Artemis?" Mina wondered. "I'm not so ticked at her now, 'though I still say you could've given me a heads-up."

"I'm sorry about that, Mina," he again offered. "It's just... Well, we were hoping Serena would forget about it."

Mina nodded. "It's a good thing Amy wasn't there..." Her genius friend might not have forgiven Serena so quickly. She frowned. "I wish I hadn't promised NOT to call her."

"Oh?" The feline had his own frown.

The blonde shifted position and nodded. "I understand. I mean Amy couldn't DO anything from Germany or an airplane anyway. She still has stuff to do, important stuff, and with Serena in such a tizzy..." She turned her glance to the floor in consideration. "I hate to see Amy to get blindsided like I did but calling her wouldn't do much except stress her out more."

"Mina," Artemis began and waited until she was looking directly at him. "I'm truly sorry." His tone was very serious. "I would have told you... It's just... well... things just got ahead of me."

"I know, fuzzy," his charge replied and leaned over to scratch his ear. "Serena apologizing helped. I know we need to have a sit down and hammer it all out but at least, she knows I don't wanna quit forever. I just want to take a few months off before the Great Darkness ruins everything." The white cat nodded.

"When will Amy be back?"

She frowned a moment. "As far as I know, she's still due in anytime. Amy's mom's picking her up at the airport. She'll probably be too tired to call me until tomorrow. I know I had serious jetlag after flying in from London."

The pair was silent for a minute or so and then Artemis wondered, "Mina, what do you think about Serena's concern about losing the magic?"

The beribboned teen took in a deep breath and blew it out again. "As immature as Serena was acting, I guess I sorta see her point. If Amy's REALLY quitting, the Sailor Scouts would need a replacement for her, but I don't know who could do the job." She grabbed her chin in thought. "Mercury's a specialized role. She's got some offensive but it's more defense and intelligence work."

"Yes, any suggestions?"

"Melvin?" Mina quipped. Artemis blinked and then started to chuckle.

"Sailor Googly-Glasses?" Chuckles turned into outright laughter.

She joined him as the image of the geeky teen in Sailor Mercury's Scout uniform appeared in her mind. "Oh I needed that!" 'That's better than when Serena told me about "Tuxedo Melvin".'

"Me too," the white cat seconded, a smile placing across his face, "And who's that for, Mina?"

Mina smiled. "I'm not sure yet, Artemis. Maybe Raye." She lifted the knitting up and regarded it critically. "I suppose I should decide for sure before I make it any bigger."

"What about Serena?" Artemis suggested. When his charge frowned, he continued, "You could put a bunny on it."

"That's a thought..." the teenager commented looking thoughtful. 'I've never put an animal on a sweater before...'

- - - - -

Dr. Sandra Baxton regarded the two people (one of whom she knew) entering her office that Monday morning. Her colleague Dr. Mary Anderson appeared fresh and alert. Her companion though, an adolescent woman, was presumably her daughter Amy. The teen looked fatigued and anxious. "Hello, Mary and..." Dr. Baxton greeted them.

"How's Lita?" the young woman blurted out.

"She's fine. Please sit down."

"Sandra, I don't believe you've met my daughter before. This is Amy," Mary Anderson added by way of introduction. Dr. Baxton noted that Amy blushed a little. "Amy, this is Dr. Sandra Baxton, our top psychiatrist."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Baxton," the blue-haired girl apologized and bowed, "It's just... I never... I haven't seen Lita in so long."

"That's quite all right, Miss Anderson," Sandra assured her, shaking hands before reseating herself. "I've heard so much about you from your mother... and Lita that I feel like I know you, Amy. May I call you Amy?" Amy nodded. "I understand that you are interested in following in your mother's footsteps, and was in Germany to pursue that goal?"

"Yes, I've wanted to be a doctor ever since I was a little girl." Amy scrubbed at her face. "Pursuing my studies at Heidelberg Medical School should be an interesting challenge."

"They have quite an impressive repertoire. Was it a long flight?"

"Very..." The teenager gave a crooked grin. "A very long trip, Dr. Baxton. I didn't get much sleep during it."

"I'm sorry. Did you just get in, Amy?"

"Yesterday afternoon..." Amy smiled a little. "I wanted to come right over but..." She shrugged. "After I got home, I didn't think I'd sleep but I did."

Dr. Baxton nodded. "Before I let you see Lita, I wanted to talk with you for a few moments. First, has your mother told you about Lita's current mental state?"

"Generally, she's exhibiting symptoms of traumatic regression." The woman across the desk from Amy nodded. "I understand that she also believes that my mother is her mother and we're eight year old twin sisters."

"In a nutshell, yes," the psychiatrist agreed. "She also believes that her current physical appearance is thanks to some sort of magical age progression. She has no memories at all of her abduction, her whereabouts, or anything else before her arrival at your apartment last Thursday." She paused and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Furthermore, Lita believes she is a Sailor Scout... Or a 'Chibi-Scout' as she calls them fighting something called 'The Negaverse'."

"Oh..." Amy commented, frowning slightly, "She told you that, doctor?"

"Yes." Sandra regarded Lita's case file in front of her and then asked, "Amy, was Lita ever involved with role-playing games or fantasy novels? Did she dabble in the occult?"

"No, doctor, Lita wasn't into role-playing games, or the occult. I don't even think she owned a video game. She wasn't much of a reader either. Lita was more interested in cooking, floral arrangement, and occasionally ice-skating. She was helped by the Sailor Scouts though on several occasions."

"So she believed in the existence of the Sailor Scouts even before her disappearance?" Dr. Baxton asked with her pen poised over paper.

"As do I. You would too if you'd met them, doctor," Amy replied sounding almost irritated. "As for magic... Magic is simply a form of science that we haven't currently learned to understand."

Dr. Baxton blinked and then glanced at Mary who was studiously looking neutral. "Possibly, but I thought the Sailor Scouts are believed to be young women of junior high or high school age."

"Yes, they are, doctor, but what does that have to do with Lita?"

"Lita believes they are all eight 'like her' other than their leader. As I explained, Miss Anderson, we just want to see what she was like before she vanished to help determine the best course for treatment," Sandra lectured calmly. "These types of events change people in dramatic ways, but it's helpful to know what perceptions and beliefs were there albeit hidden BEFORE the trauma took place, which may now have been brought to the surface."

Amy sat quietly digesting that and then she blew out a breath. "Yes, I understand, Dr. Baxton. I'm sorry... It's... been rough a few days and Lita coming back so suddenly..." She shrugged helplessly.

"I quite agree," her mother interjected.

"I understand completely. Amy, I need to know, can you go along with Lita? Will you be able to keep from challenging her belief that she's eight years old?" Amy nodded after several seconds, which relieved the therapist. Apparently, the younger Anderson had given the question some thought rather than emotionally agreeing.

"Dr. Baxton," the teen asked tentatively, "What will happen to Lita? Where will she live? I mean..." 'Sorry Sis.' "She can't live on her own like she did."

Sandra considered the young woman and then answered, "Normally, Miss Anderson, I wouldn't disclose such details, but I feel under the circumstances... A judge has ruled that, as you suspected, Lita is incapable of looking after herself. She was declared a ward of the State. Her aunt..."

"Her aunt?" Amy interrupted. "I didn't know Lita had an aunt."

"Yes, though they are estranged," Dr. Baxton commented after checking her notes. "Lita's aunt does not wish to become her conservator so, Child Social Services will work to find a place we can best accommodate Miss Kino's needs after she is discharged."

Amy sat pondering that information, her mind whirling. 'I can't see Lita in some foster home until she's twenty; that's over two years away. She'd hate it. I'd hate it!' Unlike most countries, the Age of Majority in Japan, at least for the moment, was twenty. 'I know the Diet is talking about dropping the Age of Majority to eighteen...' That was a two-edged sword -- it limited her actions as well. 'Probably better legally that Lita's a minor.' The blue-haired teen started rubbing her forehead and made herself stop. 'I'll need to do some research before I...' She made herself push that thought away. "Doctor, may I see Lita now?"

"We'll go see Miss Kino in a few minutes, but I wanted to get your observations about her friendships before she was abducted. For example, Amy, how did Lita get along with her friends, like Mina and Raye?"

"Lita and Mina didn't have much in common, doctor," Amy answered, "Except hunting for boys. Lita and Raye hung out more, usually to go shopping, working out, and doing normal teen stuff." She considered. "Lita and I were becoming closer friends. We just sort of clicked, I suppose. She doesn't have any family left and I hated to see her all alone."

"And what about Serena?" Dr. Baxton watched as something flickered over the teen's face but it slipped away before she could identify it.

"Serena? Lita would do anything for her, but Serena would do the same for Lita or any of her friends."

"Lita described Serena as being 'like a warm hug,'" Sandra remarked, looking at her notes.

Amy smiled. "She is, doctor. I don't think I could've described her better myself. Serena's weakness is her strength too. She has the ability to feel empathy for anyone. When they first met, Lita wasn't interested in having any friends. She was a delinquent and everybody was scared to be near her including me. Serena set out to be her friend and no matter what Lita did, Serena kept with it. She could tell Lita wanted to have friends. Serena helped me as well."

'This girl I have to meet.' "And yet Lita thinks of you as her sister, Amy, not Serena," the doctor pointed out.

Amy shrugged. "Serena... isn't really able to be a sisterly figure." 'I wish she could be.' "To Lita, or me either for that matter. It's hard to describe. Serena is just... Serena. You'd have to meet her to understand."

Dr. Baxton glanced at Mary who commented, "Academically... Serena doesn't come close to my Amy..." The teen gave her mother a hard look. "Although she has improved." That admission sounded almost grudging. "Nevertheless, if there was a being made up of pure love, it'd be Serena Tsukino."

'You have no idea,' Amy thought sadly.

"Hmmm... interesting." Dr. Baxton made a few more notes. "Well... let's go see Lita, but remember not to push her on how old she thinks she is."

- - - - -

Lita, grudgingly, had to admit that it wasn't so bad in the hospital. She didn't care for the food much and wished she could go out and play but the rest of it wasn't too bad. She missed her friends and school though even though Mommy visited her often. 'But it'll be better when I'm outta here... With everybody checking up on me every five seconds, I can't even use my communicator!' Reenie was quite stringent on when and where their Scout communicators could be used.

The ponytailed teen was sitting on her bed flipping through a magazine they'd given her that had recipes in it. She was looking forward to telling her mother and sister how her reading skills had improved. The accompanying articles weren't total gibberish. In fact, she hoped to try out a couple of the recipes on her family. 'Maybe Mommy will let me cook for my birthday.' Just then, the door to her room opened. Looking up, she smiled to see Dr. Baxton in the doorway. "Hey, what's up, doc?" She mentally snickered at the reference to an old cartoon rabbit.

"Good morning, Lita," Dr. Baxton greeted. "Somebody's here to see you. Would that be all right?"

"Sure!" Lita chirped, "Who is it?" By way of answer, Dr. Baxton stepped inside the room to reveal a young woman behind her. Lita stared for a moment. 'Who is that? Wait a second, isn't that...' And then with a great shout of joy, she tossed the magazine aside. "AMY!" she shouted. She leapt from the bed and rushed headlong towards the door. "Boy, am I glad to see you, Sis!" She flung her arms about Amy and gave her sister a bone-crushing hug.

"L-Lita..." Amy gasped as pain shot through her body from the tall girl's strength.

"Oops!" the brunette remarked, giggling slightly as she let her smaller sister go, "Sorry Sis. Forgot about that." 'I'm still not used to being so big.'

"It's okay, Lita." She gave Lita a hug trying very hard not to cry. "I'm glad to see you too."

"No kidding, Amy. When did you get big? I mean where the heck have you been?" She regarded the two doctors. "Did everything go okay up there?"

"I was in Germany, Lita," she answered not understanding the other question. "I thought Mom told you that."

"Yeah, she did... but I thought maybe Luna Ball..." Lita began but was stopped by Amy giving her a hard look. "So you were really in Germany?" Was it near D Point? She had heard of Germany but had no clue where it was other than really far away.

"Yes, I was," Amy answered. "Where did you think I was?"

Lita considered and then supplied, "D Point." She was a little puzzled by her sister's reaction. Dr. Baxton made a note. "Sis, you okay?"

"Yes, I just had a very long flight," the blue-haired teen explained apparently trying to change the subject, "Everything went fine in Germany, Lita. I had to do lots of tests though... didn't get to play the tourist much."

"Play the tourist?" the brunette asked, obviously puzzled. 'What game is that?'

"Yes, look around. You know see the sights?"

"Oh, gotcha, Sis," Lita said with a grin, all the time thinking, 'A-ha! I bet she's speaking in code!' The grownup Serena had displayed quite an aptitude for doing such things during her short visit. "But why didn't I see you before now?"

"I've been traveling since early Saturday, Sis. I didn't get back into Tokyo until yesterday."

"Today's Monday?" She looked to Mary for confirmation who nodded. "Wow..." Lita whistled trying to pick apart this information. "So... Where are the others?" 'Why didn't they just teleport?'

"They're likely in school," Amy guessed. "But I wanted to come and see you instead." She smiled as the ponytailed teen gave her a delighted look.

"I bet I wouldn't fit into my desk like this." She looked down at the pubescent body still foreign to her eight year old mind. 'I'd rather be there than here though.' Lita looked up at her sister and frowned. She sat down on her bed. "So, I guess the magic got you too, huh Sis? Do you know if the others are big too?" She knew what little Serena would look like grownup.

Amy seemed puzzled for a moment and then answered, "Oh, they're seventeen too, Lita."

"Even Reenie?"

"No, I don't think so, Lita," Amy stated carefully.

"Now that would be cool! Reenie being the littlest. She's always so bossy!"

"She's just... energetic," the blue-haired teen countered.

"Yeah well... I'd like to be normal again." Lita grimaced. "I was nearly home when I just... grew up!" She looked down at her bosom. As it was, she knew she was bigger than her mother and her sister. "Frankly, Sis, if this is what I can expect, I'd rather be little." She glanced up at Mary. "That way me and Mommy could cuddle again."

"That's always fun, Lita," Amy agreed, thinking back to her own time when she was a child as well as when she visited the Chibiverse. "And bake cookies."

"Yeah, and that stuff is horrible." She pointed toward a half-eaten tray of food on a small table. "No wonder people are sick here. I could make way better! And I'm just a kid!" Lita considered. "Serena could make better!"

"Oh dear," Amy said with a chuckle, "I didn't think it was THAT bad."

"Well, not worse than Mina's." Lita made a face but then frowned.

"Lita?" Mary asked gently, "Is something wrong?"

"No Mommy... I just... can't remember something."

"Don't try too hard, Lita," the psychiatrist offered, "It'll come to you in time."

"Yeah I guess, doc," Lita agreed with a shrug. She then turned to Amy again. "So how'd you get to Germany? And how's come none of the others went?"

'Well darn it,' Amy thought, 'How am I going to answer that?'

- - - - -

It was just after one o'clock and Amy Anderson was dozing on her bed. She hadn't intended on sleeping but the combination of leftover jetlag and seeing Lita again had drained her. In fact, her mother had practically ordered her to bed. The teen, not needing much prompting, complied and fell onto her bed and was soon asleep. She therefore didn't hear her bedroom window opening. The blue-haired girl shivered as cold air came into her room and turned to her side frowning as the window closed firmly.

"Amy." The voice was soft and familiar. "Amy?"

"Mom?" the teen mumbled.

"No, Amy, it's me Artemis."

Slowly, she opened her eyes to find the white lunar cat before her. "Artemis?"

"Sorry to wake you up, Amy," he explained, sounding very apologetic, "How was your trip?"

"S'kay," Amy answered blearily and yawned. "Is Mina here?" she asked, pushing herself up and looking around.

"No, Mina's still in school," the cat replied. "I wanted to drop by and see if you were home and give you a message."

'Mina likely wants to hook up at the Crown Arcade after school.' That'd give her a couple more hours to sleep, and maybe take a long hot bath. She cupped her chin. 'Maybe we should invite Reenie too... I suppose we could discuss options on how to get Serena back. But with Molly gone...'

"Amy?" Artemis sounded concerned.

The blue-haired teen shook her head. "Sorry, I'm still half-asleep." She smothered a yawn with her hand. "I have some news."

"Oh?" Artemis asked. "Anything Luna should hear too?"

"Artemis," Amy said slowly, "You know... Luna might not be coming back." An unpleasant thought occurred to her. 'Since Molly is Sailor Jupiter now, can Lita even transform?' She had to make a conscious effort to shift her mind away from that interesting puzzle. 'Now is not the time!'

"What?" he sounded confused, "I'm not following." When she gave him a blank look, he frowned. "Amy, you just said Luna wouldn't be coming back. Where from?"

"I meant from the other universe. Luna and the others may not be able to return. You must prepare yourself for that possibility."

"But..." the white cat began only to stop as Amy shook her head.

"Artemis, Lita's back. Lita came back from the Chibiverse."

"Lita?" Amy nodded. "When? How... How old is she?"

"Last Thursday night, she showed up here." Amy swept her arm to indicate the apartment. "She's seventeen as far as I can tell. I couldn't get a scan on her because they're keeping her under close observation but..." She tamped down her excitement and continued, "If Lita isn't there to power the Time Key..." Her mind offered up the question, 'But could Molly? She probably can't transform there.' She grimaced. 'No, now isn't the time!' "I'm sor..."

"Amy," the white cat cut across her, "You don't have all the facts."

"I do so!" The blue-haired teen argued. "Artemis, I'm sorry but with Lita not there, I don't see any..."

"AMY!" Artemis shouted, "LISTEN!" She simply sat there blinking at him. She couldn't remember a time when he had argued with her. "Amy, Serena and the others are back. They came back Thursday too."

"What?" the blue-haired teen squeaked in a near whisper, her eyes widening as she tried to assimilate the new information. "But they couldn't have."

"I'm telling you," Artemis argued, "If you don't believe me, come to Central Command with me. Luna's there right now scanning D-Point."

"Why on earth is she scanning D-Point?" she asked in alarm. 'My God! Is the Negaverse back?!'

"Come to Central Command and Luna can explain," he suggested. "Then we can meet up with Mina and go to the temple for the meeting this afternoon."

"So, the girls don't know about Lita?" Amy asked.

"No, now do you want me to go get Luna or..." He broke off as she got up from the bed, pulled on a jacket, and headed for the door. "I guess you're coming with me then."

- - - - -

Reenie and Melissa left Southside Elementary School that afternoon. "That was a pretty cool poster, Reenie," Melissa declared to her friend as they crossed the tarmac, "Rachel and Wendy looked impressed."

"It wasn't bad, Missy," Reenie demurred. "I didn't have as much time to work on it as I'd liked though."

Melissa rolled her eyes. "It was fine! Probably THE best El Presidente ever saw! I may even go to that thing."

"It wasn't THAT good," Reenie grumbled but she was clearly pleased. Her grin turned into a smile as her best friend let out a snort of laughter. "Well, okay maybe it was pretty good."

"So, wanna come to my house?" When her pink-haired friend hesitated, she added, "Well, if you don't wanna..."

"No, it's not that!" her fellow fifth-grader protested.

"Still grounded, huh?" Melissa asked. 'I know the feeling...'

"No," her friend countered, "I just... See Amy came back from Germany yesterday and I was gonna go see her with Serena today."

Melissa smiled. "Well, that's okay then..." She paused, her eyes gleaming as an idea came to her. "Hey listen, Reenie, I got a plan!"

"What?"

"Simple really. What about a sleepover tomorrow night? You go home and ask your aunt if it's okay and I'll go home and ask my 'rents. We can call after supper and compare notes."

"Cool!" Reenie replied. "It's a deal, Missy!" She gave Melissa a quick hug. "I bet Aunt Ellen will let me."

"Good. I'm glad to see the pod-person's gone," the lavender-haired ten year old drawled, "Who do I have to thank?"

"Huh?"

"You're back to being normal, Ree-Ree, for you I mean. I thought for a while you weren't the same Reenie I used to know." She giggled as Reenie scowled at her. "So who do I have to thank for curing you?"

"Nobody. Me and Serena just talked is all."

"Ah, details, girlfriend, I need details. I worked on you steady with no luck and Serena pulls it off just like that? I wanna know how."

"Mis-sy," the fifth-grader said in an embarrassed tone, "We just had a good talk is all."

"Ah... I see," her friend said slyly.

Reenie's face abruptly took on a disconcerted look; Missy was obviously assuming that something more had happened. "What?"

"Just Serena and my dad have the same attitude," Melissa offered in a conspiratorial tone.

"Eh?"

"Both of 'em think we aren't too old to spank," Melissa supplied. She grinned as Reenie's face went pink. "See I was right..." She only shook her head when her friend started to mouth a denial. "Come on, Ree-Ree, you're the only one I'd ever tell something like that too."

"I am?" Reenie asked abruptly, for the moment looking completely surprised.

"Sure, we're best friends forever so I know you can keep private stuff private." She gave her pink-haired friend a second or two before saying, "So, spill."

'Aw jeez, now what do I do?' Reenie wondered as Melissa looked at her expectantly, 'Either I totally embarrass Missy and tell her she's got it wrong or I fib.' Neither option was appealing.

- - - - -

Raye Hino handed Serena a cup of tea and glanced at the other girls around the table. Molly was reading a textbook, history by the look of it. Serena was humming softly while perusing a teen magazine. The glossy cover and almost every page was an eye-watering shade of pink. 'How can Serena even read that stuff?'

"What's the matter, Raye-Raye?" Serena asked using little Mina's nickname for her Raye as she glanced up to see the expression on her friend's face.

Raye was about to answer in kind but was interrupted when Reenie giggled. "Yes, Miss Tsukino?" she asked with deadly sweetness.

"Serena reminds me of Missy," the younger girl explained. "Missy calls me 'Ree-Ree' sometimes." She gave Hotaru an annoyed look as the black-haired Sailor Scout started to snicker.

"Don't mind her, Raye," Serena said airily, "She's just excited 'cause she and Melissa might have a sleepover tomorrow."

"Gosh, we haven't done that in ages, have we?" the priestess remarked.

"Kinda old for it," the redhead put in. Serena suddenly got a wicked gleam in her eye but before she could say anything, the door opened. All the girls turned to see who was coming in. "Hey Artemis, Luna!"

"Hello girls," Artemis greeted.

"We have some serious business to discuss, girls," Luna put in by way of greeting. "Mina and Amy are right behind us." The three oldest girls in the room exchanged worried glances. "Amy has some news." Her tone suggested that she wasn't sure how she felt about said news.

'But at least Amy came,' Serena worried, 'I wonder if Mina told her what I did?' She mentally shook her head. 'Don't be silly. Mina wouldn't do that... no matter how ticked off she is with you... I think.'

Mina arrived at that moment followed by a haggard looking Amy. Raye, Molly, and Serena all got up to greet their returning friend. "Hey Amy! How was Germany?" Serena offered.

Amy looked around the gathered group. Molly was there with Raye, both looking serious. Serena was looking concerned but Amy could tell that her blond princess wasn't angry, nervous, but not angry. 'That's something.' She turned her attention to the younger girls. Reenie was beside Hotaru.

"Ames?" Raye prompted. "Luna said you had news."

Amy nodded, "I didn't think you'd be here... to tell I mean."

Serena frowned, "Well Amy if you're still tired we can call the meeting off." The blonde knew that her friend could get awfully short-fused if she was running on little sleep.

"Yeah, if you're tired..." Molly began but stopped as Amy shook her head.

"Amy, what's wrong?" Serena asked with genuine concern. The others suddenly grew concerned as well. 'Did she flunk her tests?' That seemed very unlikely.

"It's about Lita." Amy closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and then after a moment announced into the worried silence, "Lita came back from the Chibiverse. She showed up at my apartment Thursday night. She's in the hospital being checked out." She waited two heartbeats and then whispered, "My sister's back."

The End

Authors' Afterwords: ("Tuxedo" Will)

Back in 1995 when I came up with the idea for the original Adventures of the Chibi-Scouts, I never thought I'd be here in 2009 finishing the third story of the ACS Trilogy. My friend Doug has made that possible along with many other stories, which we have co-authored together in the intervening years. It took us over a year to write the promised Adventures of the Chibi-Scouts III. I originally guessed we'd be done in 6 months but it turned out we had much to explore once we came up with the initial kernel. ^_-

After ACS II, we received many comments about Lita and her decision to remain in the Chibiverse as a then six year old child. Some wanted her back. Well, she's back although perhaps not in the way that you expected. ;) There is more to explore with our ponytailed teen. Lita's journey (or the others) is not over by a long shot nor are all of the Sailor Scouts on the best of terms. What happened to the Chibiverse? Was Neo-Queen Serenity's baby a boy or a girl? No, it won't be Misako (for those who've read our Tales of Younger Senshi Series). None of this belonged in ACS III though. Doug and I do plan to write a follow-on story eventually to address these and other issues left unresolved. It likely will not be as all encompassing as ACS III is though. Nevertheless, we could not allow ACS III to be done haphazardly either. We hope we didn't disappoint you and that you enjoyed reading the ACS series.

As always, thank you for reading this story especially those who took time to comment. Please go to Shoujo Fiction to see all of our stories. Our international collaboration will continue!

Will Wolfshohl
February 2009

As Will said, I too hope you have enjoyed reading this story. ACS III was a story with hidden depth and the story revealed some issues that we want to follow up on.

It's hard to believe that Will and I have been writing for so long and we have lots more stories to tell too. He's a great friend and a wonderful person to write stories with. It's difficult to come up with a sequel to such a popular story but ACS II accomplished it by continuing the Adventures of the Chibi-Scouts saga. Still, Will and I knew that we'd like to do a third story but coming up with a believable sequel to ACS II was tougher for various reasons. ACS III was the final result of our discussions. We did find however that we had too much good material and so, to ensure the integrity of ACS III, we decided to end the story as you have seen it and write a follow-on as Will has described.

Thank you for reading.

Doug Helm
February 2009