Music Selections:
Daughter of the Moon - Adriana Figueroa

One Month
What If?
Alternate Story Line

October 31

***De'Shaun(Metallurgy Knight)'s POV***

"We aren't going to school?" De'Shaun asked as Mamoru and Usagi tugged him into Kenji's office.

"Not today," Mamoru murmured. "Today we have other plans."

"Like what?" he asked, looking at Usagi, who was more likely to spill a secret.

"This," Usagi said. She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, then grabbed Mamoru's hand and before he knew what was happening, darkness took over as they teleported.

De'Shaun blinked. Then blinked again. He was in the laundry room of his house on the military base, all the way across Tokyo. He'd known they could teleport, but he hadn't expected them to bring him home. He still had a lot of training to do. He didn't want to put his family in danger.

"Stop freaking," Mamoru said in a low voice. "Only your parents and siblings know we're here and they won't tell anyone. Plus, Artemis and Luna gave us these." He held up several pendants in one hand and bunch of sensors in the other. "These are distress beacons for your family, and these sensors are going to be put around the house. We know you've been worried. And that you miss your family. So we decided to help."

De'Shaun couldn't help hugging his new friends. "Thank you," he whispered, trying not to cry. They had realized how worried he was and instead of dismissing it, they had gone out of their way to help.

"In a weird way, your family is our family," Usagi said. "You are one of us. That means they are too. I can't wait to meet your siblings. The way you go on about them makes it feel like I already know them."

De'Shaun led the way out of the laundry room and down the short hallway to the living room where his family was waiting, all sitting on the couch. His mom had an arm wrapped around his little brother and his father had both his sisters on his lap. As soon as they all saw him there was a mad rush and soon he was being hugged to within an inch of his life.

When he could breathe again, De'Shaun turned to Mamoru and Usagi. "This is my youngest sister, Stacia. She's seven. And this is Ava. She's eight. And Jerome. He's eleven."

"You guys are so pretty," Usagi said, hugging his little sisters as though she already loved them. De'Shaun realized she probably did. The girl could never meet anyone she didn't care about. "And you look like their big, strong protector," she said to Jerome.

"And these are my parents," De'Shaun continued. "Mom, Dad, this is Chiba Mamoru and Usagi." He grinned. "Usagi, Mamoru, these are my parents, Darnell and Lilly Allen."

"It's wonderful to meet you," Usagi said, releasing his sisters to hug his mom. De'Shaun grinned. He knew the two women would get along wonderfully. In spite of his mother being a warrior Marine, she was all heart like Usagi.

"Thank you for bringing him home to see us," his mother murmured. "You said you could do this every weekend too?" she asked.

"Hai. We can teleport. He hasn't learned how yet, but Mamo-chan said he would teach him. We have others who are still learning too, so he fits right in." Usagi settled into the loveseat, Mamoru silently taking the seat beside her. "Don't worry too much about him. He is learning to protect himself."

"Wanna pretty flower?" Ava asked, patting Usagi's knee.

"I would love a flower," Usagi answered, picking her up automatically.

"Here," Ava said, and she held up her empty hand. For a second she closed her eyes, then handed a little bunch of pretty blue flowers to her. "See?" she said. "I love flowers. You can have these."

De'Shaun stood staring at his little sister, mouth open in shock. He finally snapped his jaw closed and looked over at his mother, who shrugged. "I supposed you have a right to know," she said. "I didn't believe it myself until a few days ago." She let out a little sigh and sat back down on the couch.

"What is goin on mom?" De'Shaun asked.

"My mother used to tell me stories about our people. We came from an ancient tribe in Africa. The Batwa tribe has always considered themselves the keepers of the rainforests. Her great-grandmother was the daughter of a chief. When she was fourteen she was separated from her people and was lost for nearly a year surviving on her own. The guardian spirits of the rainforest helped her, giving her strength and knowledge, and providing her with all she might need to survive. Eventually she was discovered by a family of missionaries. They promised to return her to her people, but when they went to find them, her entire village was gone."

"Oh, that's horrible," Usagi whimpered, reaching out to pat his mother's hand.

"It was. Eventually she was taken to America and was adopted by a wonderful family. But her time alone had changed her. It wasn't until years later, when she was protecting her son from older boys who didn't like people with black skin that she realized she had powers. She was connected to the elements of the earth. She could control metal, make things grow, even cause the earth to split open. Her son never showed any signs of the ability, and neither did any of her other decedents, until you. Now both your sisters seem able to make things grow, and your little brother has the ability to find water deep in the earth. I had no idea any of this would happen, or I would have told you sooner."

"So what happens now?" he asked, uncertain and afraid. He didn't his brother and sisters in danger, and from his experience, he knew that powers brought people who wanted to use them for their own gain.

"For now we want the little ones to keep their abilities secret. They aren't old enough for the responsibility quite yet," his father said, his voice stern. Then he softened, looking at little Ava who appeared to be on the verge of tears. "They need to be trained. We hoped, since Usagi and Mamoru said you could come home on the weekends, that you could train them."

"We'll help," Mamoru said, smiling. Then he held up his hand and several little pink roses appeared in his palm. He handed them to Ava and Stacia. "We have a couple of people who are drawn to the element of water," he added.

"Thank God," his mother murmured. "We weren't really sure what to do."

"I think you might be right about them being too young for so much responsibility," Usagi said softly. She smiled at the girls. "But trust me when I say they might just surprise you. I think all of us were a bit young, but we've learned control. And one day they can help their big brother."

***Minako (Sailor Venus)'s POV***

"Is everything ready?" Minako asked, looking up at Kunzite.

"Hai. Usagi and Mamoru gave me the suitcases. The car is ready. This is very exciting."

"It's a good idea," Minako said. "They need this. And when they come back, everything will be all ready for them. With so many of us to get it all done, the house should be finished."

"Don't forget, Usagi and Mamoru have a trip of their own planned," Kunzite said, looking out the window. "They should be back any minute."

"They're pulling in now," Minako hissed, pointing to the car Kenji was driving up to the house. Ikuko was sitting next to him and they were talking animatedly.

"Hurry up," hissed Usagi, peeking in from the other room. "They're here. Let's go!"

"We're coming!" Kunzite answered.

They followed her out into the main entryway and Minako grinned at the others, who were lined up on either side of the door. Ikuko and Kenji thought they were only at the new place to pick up paperwork. Instead they were being given a gift all of them were very excited about.

"They're walking up the path," Rei hissed. "They're about to open the door. Get ready."

As soon as the door swung open the entire group shouted "Surprise," to the shock of the couple standing in the doorway. The room had been decorated with leis and tropical themed lanterns, drinks, and tablecloths.

"What?" Kenji asked. He closed his mouth, shook his head, and tried again. "What?" he asked a second time, making them all laugh.

"We wanted to give you a gift for everything you've done for us," Usagi said, grinning as she moved to pull her parents into the house. "It was Minako's idea. She said we should send you to paradise for a week. So we are."

"You're going to Hawai'i!" Minako shouted, unable to hold herself back any longer.

"Hawai'i?" Ikuko breathed. "I've always wanted to go there."

"Well, now you are. Actually, not until tomorrow morning, but you get the point." Mamoru laughed as he handed them plane tickets. He swung his arm wide to show a table that had been set up with some of their luggage. "You get the whole package," he continued. "A full week of doing nothing but enjoying yourselves."

"But," Kenji started, looking worried.

"Don't worry Daddy," Usagi interjected. "I already talked to your boss. The other editors will cover for you this week. They all wanted to do something for you too. So they set up a tour to visit several of the volcanoes on the islands and a whole bunch of other things. You can pick and choose what you want to do and where you want to go. Isn't it exciting?"

"Very," Kenji murmured. Minako could see he was overcome with emotion and hurried to bring him a drink of the punch she and Usagi had made.

"Are you surprised?" Shingo asked. "We really wanted you to be surprised. It's our best prank ever!"

Ikuko laughed and hugged Shingo. Then she made her way around the to the rest of them. "We are very surprised. I can't believe you did all this and we didn't even notice."

"We had help," Ami said. "My mom went and got the tickets for us. We had to hurry to pack your things, but Usagi and Minako went shopping too. They made sure you would have all the right things. And Makoto found this," she handed over a package.

Ikuko tore open the paper to find a brand-new digital camera. "Wow," she breathed. "This is amazing."

"I also packed some notepads for daddy in case he got inspired to write a story and I found that romance series you were staring at last week," Usagi added.

Minako couldn't help grinning. She had also found Ikuko an incredible bikini, but she wasn't about to show her in front of the others. Everything seemed to be falling into place. They needed the time to relax and not worry about their kids saving the world.

***Shingo (Blue Moon Knight)'s POV***

"Come on!" Shingo urged, tugging on Hotaru's hand. "We're already late for the party."

Hotaru stuck out her tongue at him. "I know," she said. "I just wanted to make sure my costume was perfect. Lets get inside and see what Motoki has cooked up."

Shingo laughed and hurried to the door, pulling her inside with him. The arcade looked nothing like he remembered. The games had all been pushed into a U at the back and the tables had been pushed together along the front windows. Some of the chairs were around them, but most had been removed. Instead there was a large space for dancing and talking.

The walls were covered in what looked like spattered blood. The floors had blotches of red that looked like puddles of blood. There were fake spiderwebs everywhere with little plastic spiders giving him the creeps. The food table was a delight. He saw names in front of the different snacks and drinks. Vampire blood. Ghoul intestines and eyeballs. Witches fingers.

"This is awesome," he said, pointing to where Usagi and Mamoru were already dancing. They were dressed like a fairy prince and princess. Mamoru had a sword at his hip and his dark blue wings matched his eyes. Usagi's wings were pink and she had flowers all through her hair.

"This has been a great day," Hotaru said, leaning against him. "Your parents looked so happy."

"They did, didn't they?" Shingo asked. He had enjoyed seeing them so surprised and excited. "We did good," he added, feeling a bit of pride for his part in the secret.

"We did. Where is Haruka-papa? I want to show her my costume."

Shingo scanned the crowd to find the ogre, and pointed Haruka out. Next to the ogre was a beautiful witch with aqua hair, so he knew it was the right one. "There," he said.

Together, they hurried over to the others. Haruka and Michiru turned, then both gasped. Eventually they both started laughing. "Well don't you two look good," Michiru said, grinning.

Shingo looked down at himself, from his shiny dress shoes, to the tuxedo he wore and the rose in his lapel. He could feel the white domino mask on his face and the hat on his head. He swung his cape and bowed. "Tuxedo Kamen at your service," he said, laughing.

"Sailor Moon at your service too," Hotaru added, grinning. "We saw them and couldn't resist," she explained, laughing at Haruka's horrified expression. Shingo grinned. The costumes were good, but not perfect. They really didn't look like Usagi and Mamoru at all, just themselves in costume.

"Have you shown your sister yet?" Michiru asked.

"Nope," Shingo answered, laughing. "I wanted to surprise her."

"Here's your chance," Haruka added. "Don't turn around yet." She waited a moment, smiling broadly, then whispered, "now!"

Shingo and Hotaru turned. Usagi's eyes widened and she gasped, then started laughing. "Oh you guys look great!" she yelled over the crowd. "These are perfect! How did you make them?"

"We didn't," Hotaru admitted. "We went to the costume place. They had costumes for all of us," she added. "A whole section for the Senshi, Shitennou, and Hogosha!"

"Wow," Usagi breathed. "I didn't know."

"Well," said Motoki, who was dressed as a vampire, "you're all heroes, and everyone knows it. Why wouldn't they make costumes?"