I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this story. It's for entertainment purposes only, and I'm making absolutely no profit whatsoever. Enjoy!
This Time Around
Chapter 3
"Serena," the figure repeated. She slowly nodded her head as she walked towards the person. As she stood in front of him, a smile broke out on her face, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Kento," Serena exclaimed as she threw herself into his arms. She hugged him tightly, not noticing as the girls came out of their hiding places and joined them. "Kento, what in the world are you doing here," she asked as she finally released him.
"I should be asking you the same thing," he replied as he wiped away the tears on her face. He then hugged each of the other girls. "It's really great to see you all again," he said.
"Same here," they said in unison.
"This is amazing," Mina exclaimed.
"How did you girls get here? I thought I'd never see you again," Kento said as he made eye contact with Serena. "I didn't think I'd see any of you ever again."
"Well, it's a long story," Rei began. "Are the others . . ."
"Yeah, they're here, too," Kento replied as Rei allowed her voice to trail off. "I'm sure they'll be as glad to see you as I am. God, how we've missed you!"
"The feeling is mutual, Kento," Amy said. "It hasn't been the same without the five of you."
"Then why are we still standing here," Lita asked as a smile lit up her face. "Take us to everyone else, Kento!"
"I can't wait to see them again," Mina added. "Where are they anyway, Kento?"
"Not too far from here, actually," he replied. "I guess you want to see them?"
Rei punched him in the arm lightly. "And you had to ask," she stated sarcastically. Kento smiled and then pointed in the direction he had come from.
"Just follow me, then," he told them. "How do I know this isn't a dream?"
"Well, it would be more like a nightmare," Mina said. "And one all six of us are sharing. It would be horrible to dream about meeting you guys again, and then realizing it was just a dream."
"Do you feel this," Serena asked as she pinched Kento on the arm.
"Ouch," he screeched. "Yeah, I felt it alright."
"Good, then we're not dreaming," she replied, satisfied. She linked arms with him as they continued walking. Rei, Amy, Mina, and Lita shared a smile as they followed behind the two.
Meanwhile, the other Ronins, White Blaze, Mia, and Yuli were in front of Mia's house. Mia was reading a book while the Ronins were playing tag with Yuli.
"Ha! You're it, Ryo," Yuli shouted as he tagged the teenager. "Get over by Mia and count to twenty before you come and get us!"
"You were just lucky, Yuli," Ryo said. "Ok, to twenty, right? One to twenty, here I come!"
"Hey, that's not fair, Ryo," Yuli objected. "You didn't count to twenty!"
"You better just run," Rowen said as he picked the young boy up. For fifteen more minutes, the five continued playing their game. They then decided to take a break, so Yuli and the Ronins were lying on their back, staring up at the clouds.
"That one looks like White Blaze," Yuli said as he pointed to the cloud he was talking about.
"That one looks like a boat, sort of," Rowen pointed out.
"Yeah, and that one looks like Kento stuffing his face," Sage stated, causing everyone to laugh. Mia had been half-listening to their conversation, and she looked up towards the boys.
"Speaking of Kento, where is he," she asked as she set her book down.
"I don't know," Sai replied. "He left about half an hour ago." The Ronins, Mia, and Yuli all looked at White Blaze as he began to whimper and pace in his spot.
"I've never heard him crying like that before," Ryo commented as he stood to stand by his pet. "What's wrong, White Blaze?" He put his hand in front of White Blaze's snout, and the tiger licked his hand.
"I hope he's not sick," Yuli whispered. "Ryo, what's wrong with White Blaze?"
"I don't know," Ryo replied. He looked up as Kento rounded the corner of the house. "Oh, hey Kento. Wow, White Blaze must have really missed you! You should have seen how weird he was just acting."
"Hey. Oh man, do I have a surprise for you all," Kento said. "But you've got to close your eyes and turn around first. You too, Mia and Yuli." After his six friends had done as he asked, Kento motioned for the girls to stand next to him. White Blaze bounded towards the girls, and knocked all five of them down.
"What's going on over there," Sage asked as he heard suppressed laughter. "What are you doing, Kento?"
After Kento had somewhat restrained White Blaze, he cleared his throat. "Ok, guys. You can turn around now." As the six very curious people turned around, the four Ronins gasped.
"Aren't those the girls from that picture you have, Ryo," Yuli asked. Ryo slowly shook his head.
"Yeah, Yuli, they are," Ryo replied. He and the other three Ronins half ran, half walked over to the girls and stood in front of them.
"Well, are you just going to stand there and gawk at us, or are you going to say something," Rei asked. Her words seemed to set everyone into motion as hugs, kisses, and even a few tears were exchanged between the Ronins and Scouts. Mia and Yuli soon joined the group.
"You must be Yuli," Serena said as she knelt down eye-level to the little boy.
"Yes," he replied. "You're all just as pretty as in the picture."
"Thank you, Yuli," Serena said, ruffling his hair. "And you're just as sweet as the guys described you."
"And you must be Mia," Amy added.
"Yes, I am," she replied. "I'm Mia Koji. It's nice to finally meet you all."
"What do you mean finally," Lita asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, the guys talked about the five of you constantly over the last few months," Mia replied. "It seems like I already know you well already. I think they missed you all very much." The Ronins blushed at her statement.
"Wow! I never thought I'd see the day something would make you guys blush," Mina exclaimed.
"What Mia says is true," Rowen began. "We really missed you a lot."
"How in the world did you get here," Sai asked. "It's impossible, isn't it?"
"We're here searching for someone," Serena began. "A little girl named Rini was lost in the streams of time, and we were sent to find her."
"Only we had no clue we were being sent here," Rei stated. "It was a stroke of luck!"
"Streams of time," Sage asked. "What do you mean the streams of time?"
"Well, how about we talk over dinner," Mia suggested as the girls seemed to be at a loss for words. "I'm sure you all have some catching up to do."
* * * * *
"I really wish that I hadn't erased Akira's and Ms. Yoko's memories of me," Rini said as she hugged Luna-P tightly. She ran down the street some more, and as she was running, she tripped and fell. Her ball flew out of her hands and began to roll away. "Wait, Luna-P! Come back," she yelled. She picked herself up, and ran after her toy. Seconds later, a piece of a statue fell down in the spot she had fallen down in. Rini picked Luna-P up with shaky hands, and gasped as its eyes began to glow.
"Hello, Small Lady," a voice spoke out. Luna-P's eyes seemed to work like a screen as a picture of a woman appeared.
"Sailor Pluto," Rini exclaimed.
"Yes, it is I," Pluto replied. "Although I could not stay with you, I can help protect you in some ways."
"You knew that statue was going to fall, didn't you," Rini asked.
"Yes, I did," Pluto replied. "And now you must keep moving, Small Lady. Do not rest until you find your mother's younger self."
"I don't like it here," Rini said as she began to cry. "I'm scared, and I want to go home. Can't you please bring me home?"
"You must stay in order to help your mother," Pluto said. "It's important for you to find that crystal."
"But this city is so huge," Rini whined. "I'm never going to find it here. Please, just let me come home!"
"I'm sorry, Small Lady," Pluto responded. "Under different circumstances, I'd be glad to bring you home, but you must retrieve that crystal."
"No, please don't go," Rini cried as the image of Pluto began to fade and disappear. "I won't ask to come home again, I promise!" She shook the ball to try to make Pluto reappear, however she was already gone. "I'm scared," she whispered as tears fell down her face.
"Well, you certainly are a hard one to track down," a voice said. Rini stood quickly to look for the owner of the voice.
"Who said that," the little girl demanded. She gasped as a woman emerged from a shadow. She was wearing a long dress with a slit on both sides. She had on a matching silver necklace, bracelet, and earrings, and dangling at her side was a dangerous looking sword. Her black hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, but it still cascaded down her back. Long bangs also framed her face. Her most noticeable trait, however, was the black crescent moon on her forehead.
"I did, Rini. I've come to help you, child," the woman said.
"Who are you," Rini asked as she began backing away from the stranger. "How did you know my name?"
"My name is Kite," the woman responded. "And I know a lot about you, Rini. I've come for you and the crystal you possess."
Rini's mind screamed for her to move; however, she was too paralyzed with fear. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, tears once again forming in her eyes.
"We shall see," Kite replied with an evil grin.
* * * * *
"So you guys finally defeated the Dynasty," Mina asked.
"We sure did," Rowen replied. "It's been a couple of months since our final battle with Talpa."
"Wow, I can't believe the Warlords ended up on your side. They were all so evil," Rei added. "I never once sensed any good in any of them."
"It was a big shock when Anubis joined our side, and became the Ancient One. But the biggest shock was the truth about Lady Kayura," Ryo said.
"None of us would have guessed she was the last remaining member of the Ancient bloodline," Sage commented.
"And she would have been on our side the entire time if she hadn't been under the control of Badamon and Talpa," Sai added.
Serena blocked out the rest of the conversation as the others continued to talk. She returned to gazing out the window, and didn't notice as Kento sat down beside her. 'Just who are you, Rini,' she thought to herself. Finally, Kento broke the silence between them.
"Serena," he said softly, causing her to jump. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's not your fault," she replied. "I should have been paying attention."
"Is something wrong," he asked her.
"No, I was just thinking," she said. She looked over at the group and smiled. "I haven't seen the girls this cheerful in a long time." She paused slightly as her eyes rested on Mia, who was steadily staring down at her hands. "But what's wrong with Mia?"
Kento looked towards the woman as she stood up and went into the kitchen. He frowned slightly and looked back at Serena. "Mia had a really hard time dealing with Anubis' death," he replied. "This is the first time we've really talked about his passing out in the open like this. I think she was falling for him… After he turned to our side."
"I know what she must be feeling right now," Serena said. "Losing someone you love is a difficult thing to go through."
"Are you talking about Darien," he asked. She nodded her head slowly.
"And I know talking about it is even worse than the emptiness you feel inside," she said as she looked in the kitchen and studied the woman.
Kento clenched his jaw, and cleared his throat. "How is Darien doing?"
Serena returned her gaze to Kento, and smiled. "He's doing great," she replied. "He regained his memories shortly after I healed Alan and Anne."
"Hey you two," Mia interrupted as Kento was about to ask Serena a question. "The tea is done. Of course, I'm sure you would have heard me if you hadn't been over there whispering." The two blushed as they joined everyone at the table.
"What were you two talking about anyway," Rei asked.
"Alan and Anne," Serena replied as she took a sip of her tea. Rei had a skeptical look on her face, and Serena smiled. "Don't worry, we were listening to what you guys were saying, too. You were talking about the Dynasty."
"Alan and Anne," Mia asked. "Who are they?"
"They're the last enemy we faced. They were aliens that came to Tokyo in search of energy for their Doom Tree," Lita said.
"They were corrupted by evil as children, and so that's all they knew," Amy added. "They were tough opponents, and in the end, the Doom Tree tried to kill them. Their love for each other showed them the right path, and they allowed Sailor Moon to purify their hearts and minds of all evil."
"It was a little strange," Mina said. "The Doom Tree was a living being, in a way. It wanted Sailor Moon to heal it, too."
"After that, Alan and Anne took the seedling of the Doom Tree, and started their life all over," Serena finished. "At the same time, Darien regained his memories of us." Mia had a confused look on her face, and Serena smiled. "I'll tell you about it later, Mia."
"Now we're facing a new, more powerful foe," Lita said as she twirled the contents of her mug.
For the first time that evening, the mood and atmosphere of the room turned serious. "You're here searching for someone, right," Ryo asked.
"Yes," Serena replied. "She comes from our future, but we don't know who she is. She was supposed to be sent to our time, but somehow, she got lost in the streams of time."
"And we only have a description of her to go by," Mina added.
"What exactly are the streams of time," Sage asked for the second time.
"Well, you all already know a lot about us," Amy began, "so I don't see why we can't tell you this as well." She paused to think about her answer before she continued. "You see, the five of us are not the only Sailor Scouts. There is another Scout we were introduced to recently, Sailor Pluto. She is the Guardian of Time and Space, and she has control of time itself. That's how we were able to land in the same realm as Rini."
"That's amazing," Rowen exclaimed as he and the other Ronins were surprised at the revelation.
"Now that I think about it, Sailor Pluto never really did say just why Rini was traveling through time in the first place," Lita said thoughtfully. "I wonder what was happening in the future?"
"Good point, Lita," Rei replied. "And what was Rini sent to find? I guess we can ask her once we find her."
"Well, we'd be glad to help you look for her," Rowen stated. "Now that the Dynasty is defeated we…"
"Hey you guys," Yuli yelled as he burst inside the house. "There's a really strange light coming from the city!" The girls looked at each other, and then ran outside, followed closely by the Ronins. As the ten warriors, Mia, and Yuli gazed up at the sky, they gasped.
"That has to mean something," Amy said. Off in the distance, in the center of the city, was a beam of silvery-white light coming down from the sky. Amy pulled out the Mercury-computer and began to scan the city. "That energy is definitely coming from a pure source," she confirmed. "That's got to be Rini!"
"Hey, what's wrong with Serena," Yuli asked. They all looked at her, and saw that the brooch on her bow had started to glow, and her golden crescent moon had appeared on her forehead.
"Princess," the girls asked hesitantly.
"No," Serena said softly. "Not quite, but I'm not myself, either." The brooch stopped glowing, however the crescent moon remained on her forehead. "I have a bad feeling Rini's in trouble."
To Be Continued . . .