Time Warp Chapter Two: All in the Family

The alarm clock chirped, repetitively and shrilly. A groan escaped the girl who lay in the bed beside the clock and it's table. Slender hands gripped the yellow pillow under her head, pulled the edges to her ears, and rolled over. But still, the clock persisted. Bee-bee-bee-beep. Bee-bee-bee-beep. Her nails dug into the case of the pillow and she let out a low growl before flinging the pillow. The soft fluff and hard plastic made contact, and both hit the floor with a soft thump as the clock landed button-first on a second pillow. Finally, the room was silent, though now she lacked the proper support for her head. She cursed herself for even setting the alarm in the first place. But it was habitual.

It was summer break. Only three days earlier had she and her friends been released from the torturous chamber that they called "school". And as Sunday night had rolled around, she'd pushed to button out of old habits. Now, as she opened her eyes to look for a pillow she could grab off the floor, she discovered the bright light that was seeping through the vertical blinds, splashing off of the light purple walls and matching comforter.

She groaned again, and pulled the comforter up over her face. The world seemed overly intent on dragging her out of bed at the crack of dawn. But there was nothing that could move Ms. Takanera Moshi from her bed, and she was going to prove it.

And then she thought about breakfast. Images of pancakes, sausage, waffles, eggs and toast danced through her head, teasing her. And then her stomach growled. Finally, defeated by her own stomach, she kicked back the covers, and pulled herself to a sitting position. Purple pajama's clung to her body, and her thick, dark hair stuck in multiple directions. She rubbed the sleep from her violet eyes and fumbled for the brush on her bedside table. After a good fight, she managed to rake the tangles out of her dark locks. Then, she grabbed the violet ribbon that laid folded on her nightstand, and tied it all up into one, thick, wavy ponytail. She stood up, stretched, and walked out of the room, leaving her bed unmade.

Now Moshi, while perfectly in the mood to eat, was not in the mood to cook. Oh no, that was Mamoru's job. She crossed the hall to Mamoru's bedroom, and peered inside, expecting to find him sleeping peacefully in his bed, perhaps even sprawled in an awkward position. But there was nothing. Only a set of rumpled blankets and a haphazard pillow.

"Must be up already." she mumbled, and she made her way out towards the kitchen.

Strange... She didn't SMELL any food cooking, but what else could he possibly be doing. Her stomach lurched as she thought, perhaps, he'd just had a bowl of cereal. Her stomach growled in protest. She rounded the corner, and walked through the living room.

"Ohayo Ru-chan--" She began.

The site before her took a few moments to set in. There, on the couch, was Mamoru, sleeping as he should have been in his room. But that wasn't the odd thing. The Odd Thing, was that there a dark haired child, no older than eight years of age, asleep in her arms.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Moshi exploded.

Moshi's voice was loud enough to wake the dead, and both people on the couch jerked awake. suddenly. Mamoru fumbled around clumsily, and managed only to fall face first onto the floor. The dark haired child had jumped, and immediately hid behind the couch.

"Midget, what was that for?!" Mamoru exclaimed.

"RU-CHAN!" Moshi shouted, completely enraged, "I knew you liked them young, but THIS!" Moshi pointed at the tiny head peaking up over the edge of the couch, "THIS is CRAZY!"

The child's head promptly vanished behind the couch with a tiny squeak.

"That's...THAT'S.... I don't even know what the F--"

"Midget! no cursing in front of the kid!" Mamoru struggled among the blankets he'd become tangled in on the floor, "And you've got it all wrong!"

"'The Kid'?! She doesn't even have a NAME?"

"I don't know. All she does is squeak...I called her Chuu."

Moshi heard a squeak form behind the couch. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought it was a mouse. Moshi smacked the palm of her hand to her forehead.

"How in the h--"

"Midget." Mamoru scolded her.

"How in the name of Gaia did she get here?!"

"She...ah..." Mamoru stumbled to his feet, untangling himself form the blankets, "She fell in through the ceiling."

"And you didn't TELL me?!" Moshi fumed.

Mamoru bent down and gathered the pillow and blankets in his arms, "I Tried, but you were sound asleep. I think your snoring blocked out my voice."

"I do NOT snore!" She yelled.

Chuu, deciding to be funny, began to badly imitate Moshi's snoring noises. Moshi shot her an icy glare. "Watch it Kid."

Chuu jumped, squeaked, and disappeared behind the couch again. But slowly, the top of her head rose up again, only her eyes and distinct hairstyle exposed over the top of the furniture. Her bright blue eyes blinked innocently at Moshi. She felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she watched the child's dark lashes flutter like butterfly's.

She is sorta cute... She kinda looks like a mouse with those loops of hair and round eyes.

And then she squeaked again. Moshi slapped her forehead in exasperation. "Good god."

"What is it now?" Mamoru asked as he finished putting the blankets back into the linen closet.

"We only have enough FOOD in this place for two people!"

"Thinking with your stomach again?" He asked, and sighed.

Moshi's stomach decided to speak for itself, and let out a low growl. Moshi pointed at her stomach, "How can you argue with that?"

It was then that a second, much quieter rumbling was heard.

"Okay, okay, I got the point the first time." Said Mamoru, sweat dropping as he headed for the kitchen.

"Ru-chan," Moshi began, "that time it wasn't me."

Squeak.

Moshi looked at Chuu again. The little girl was looking at Moshi with big sad eyes. She squeaked again. Mamoru seemed to be paying little attention to Chuu as he went about fixing breakfast. Chuu looked so lost. It almost looked like her loops of hair were drooping. Moshi sighed.

"Can we at least feed the kid? Maybe that'll oil her stomach and stop the damn squeaking!"

"You were the one who just said we only had enough food in the apartment for two people."

The look on Mamoru's face plainly said he didn't understand Moshi's sudden switch in attitude.

"I wish you would just make up your mind, midget." he added, as he finished frying the eggs.

"Well, we can't very well have cute kids starving, now can we?" Moshi smirked in Mamoru's direction, "I'm sure you can pick something up later!"

"What? I do the cooking, and I don't get any?"

"We're both growing girls. It's only fair!" Moshi replied, and she smiled at Chuu.

"C'mon Chuu-chan. Lets eat! Do you like eggs and toast?"

Chuu blinked, and her eyebrows rose higher on her face. She nodded vigorously and slowly stepped out form behind the couch. She smiled at Moshi, her blue eyes glimmering. then, she jogged the rest of the way over to Moshi and gleefully took her hand. Mamoru muttered quietly under his breath.

"Not only is my girlfriend crazy, but so is my sister." he sighed, and just as he was putting the eggs onto plates along with pieces of toast, Moshi crept up behind him, and took both from his hands.

"Arigatou Ru-chan." She said cheerfully, and she set the plate in front of Chuu.

Moshi wasted no time in digging into her food. She cut the fried eggs with the side of her fork, and shoveled the pieces into her mouth. She glanced at Chuu from the corner of her eye, watching ate child ate with manners like she had never seen in such a young girl.

"So, Ru-chan...You said she fell out of the ceiling?"

Mamoru nodded as he looked through the fridge for something to put in his stomach. They were long past due for trip to the grocery store, and all he could find was a half-full jug of orange juice. He grabbed the jug, and closed the door.

"So, where do you think she came from?"

"I called Usako last night." he said as he poured the citrus drink into a glass, "And apparently, Chuu isn't the only visitor."

"Whaddaya mean?" She asked through a mouth full of toast.

Mamoru took a swig of the juice, "Chibiusa dropped in at Usako's."

Moshi's eyes bugged out, and her eyebrows shot nearly up past her hairline.

"Ch-Chibiusa-chan?!"

Mamoru nodded, "We're meeting at the shrine this afternoon, so you'd better hurry up."

Moshi choked down the rest of her food, "You act like this is no big deal!"

"Until we find out everything from Chibiusa, there's really no sense in being upset about it."

Moshi frowned a bit, "Suppose you're right."

Moshi glanced over at Chuu, who was looking at an empty plate.

"All done?"

She nodded, and Mamoru took the plate from her. Chuu let out a tiny squeak that almost sounded like "gouchousama." Moshi eyed her, "Did you say something?"

She squeaked. Moshi sighed, "Guess not."

"Better get cleaned up. We're supposed to be at the shrine in two hours." said Mamoru as he placed the dishes in the dishwasher.

And everyone in the room became silent and still. Mamoru and Moshi's eyed locked, and then both sets of eyes darted to the closed door down the hall. Chuu cocked her head in confusion. Then, Moshi grabbed her hand, and darted for her room, with Mamoru going into his own room. Moshi grabbed up the clothes that were laying folded on the floor, a towel, and darted out of the bedroom, with Chuu in tow. Mamoru seemed to be heading in the same direction.

BAM! WHAM! THUD! Moshi shot inside the bathroom, and slammed the door behind her. Mamoru's speeding form promptly slammed into the closed door, and fell backwards onto the floor.

"Midget!" He yelled with annoyance.

"Mou, I'll only be a little while!" She replied as she started the bath water running.

Mamoru sighed, "That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

Mamoru tapped his foot impatiently. He glanced constantly back and forth between his watch, and the clock on the wall. After Moshi had showered and washed Chuu's hair, Mamoru had only two minutes before the shower water ran cold on him. Now, dressed in a blue shirt and a pair of khaki's, he waited impatiently for Moshi to finish grooming.

"C'mon!" He yelled, hoping to snag her attention.

"Coming!" She replied, and she emerged from her bedroom, with Chuu in tow.

Moshi wore her favorite purple jumper, and violet ribbon tied around her ponytail. Chuu was smiling sweetly, However, she was no longer clad in her little blue nightgown. Now, she wore a pair of pink shorts and a purple shirt that Chibiusa had evidently left behind. Obvious, because on the front of the shirt was a cartoon-ish, white rabbit head. Her hair was clean and shiny, loops of hair tied with violet ribbons at their bases. Mamoru couldn't help but smirk through his annoyance.

"Corrupting the kid with purple now are ya?"

"Absolutely." Moshi replied proudly.

And on that note, they hurried down to the parking garage, climbed into Mamoru's red sports car, and drove off towards Hikawa Jinja. Chuu sat quietly in the back seat, swinging her legs absentmindedly, despite the lack of leg-swinging space. Moshi glanced over her shoulder, craning her neck around from the passenger side front seat.

"Ya know, I just can't figure out why it is she reminds me of a mouse."

Chuu looked up immediately, blue eyes blinking and tiny button nose twitching momentarily. Mamoru chanced to glance at the child in his review mirror. "Could be the hair."

"Or the nose." Moshi added.

Chuu squeaked.

"Or, that."

Mamoru chuckled, while Moshi continued to study Chuu. Chuu watched Moshi with unblinking eyes, mouth formed in a tiny O shape. Suddenly, the blank look on her face vanished, and she smiled. Moshi, however, was still scanning her up and down.

Black hair... Fell through the ceiling...knows Chibiusa... Moshi suddenly choked.

"Anou...Ru-chan?"

"Nani?" Mamoru replied, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Could Chuu-chan...be another one of MY kids?!" Moshi exclaimed.

"Another one?!" Mamoru replied, momentarily loosing focus on the road.

Moshi further craned herself around the car seat, knocking shoulders with Mamoru as she did so. The car swerved and Mamoru gripped the wheel tightly. Chuu squeaked, and sunk back into the seat cushion.

"Midget, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Getting a closer look."

"Closer look at what?!" Mamoru exclaimed, fighting to correct the steering wheel. "Sit in your seat right!"

But Moshi wasn't listening as she loomed over Chuu, analyzing every inch of her face. Chuu blinked and pressed herself back away from Moshi, further into the cushion. Her glimmering blue eyes were nowhere near the shade of Moshi's violet ones, nor were they close to Hoshi's emerald green.

"Nope, not mine." said Moshi, a tone of relief in her voice.

"Fine, now SIT DOWN!" Mamoru exclaimed, grabbing Moshi by the back of her shirt collar and pulling her back to her seat.

Moshi did as she was told (and somewhat FORCED) to do, and glanced at Mamoru. His knuckles were white, fingers wrapped tightly around the wheel, and she could have sworn that was a VEIN popping out on his forehead. She sweat-dropped, chose to remain silent, and went back to staring at
Chuu via the review mirror. Chuu remained sunk back in the seat, eyes wide.

"Ya know...she sorta looks like..."

For what seemed the umpteenth time that day, Moshi choked.

Kami-sama, she looks like Ru-chan!

"Like what?" asked Mamoru.

Moshi laughed nervously, "Eh? Ah, nandemo nai!"

* * *

"Your highness..." she called gently to the queen.

Neo Queen Serenity did an about-face, "Pluto, have you located them?"

The dark-haired woman sadly shook her head and watched as the queen's expression dissolved into panic and despair. It had been nearly 24 hours since the young princesses had disappeared from their room. Neo Queen Serenity grabbed The taller woman by the hands, clenching them for dear life.

"Please, Pluto! Isn't there anything that can be done to find my daughters?" she pleaded.

"I'm afraid I've done all I can to estimate their location via the time stream. But with warp holes, this is nearly impossible. I can only estimate they have arrived in one frame of the 21rst century."

"So they're back in our past?" Endymion inquired.

"Not precisely."

"What do you mean?" asked Serenity.

Pluto gently pulled her hand from the queen's grasp and rested it on her delicate shoulder, "I'm afraid there is far more to it than that."

Endymion and Serenity paused in silence, and Pluto gently slid her hand from the queen's grasp.

"It appears that when the warp hole was opening, it weakened the walls between the alternate timelines."

Serenity clapped a hand over her mouth, aghast at the prospect. Endymion studied Pluto silently.

"So..." Endymion began, "Are you suggesting that...?"

Pluto nodded, "It is highly possible that the Princesses may have passed into one of these parallel timelines."

"So they could be in a timeline where none of us exists?"

"That may be the case your highness, however unlikely. The Sailor Senshi exist in nearly every realm of the universe. Sokujiro is currently studying the structural status of the timeline barriers, so we may be able to narrow down the location of your daughters."

Serenity appeared relieved in the very slightest. But it was not to last. A loud banging resonated from the closed door.

"'Kaasama!" A male voice called from the other side.

Endymion rushed to the doors and pulled them open, and a dark-haired young man fell into the room.

"Sokujiro!" Pluto exclaimed, "Why aren't you at the time gate?!"

Sokujiro struggled to catch his breath as she pulled himself off the carpet, "I tried...but...I can't..."

"Sokujiro-kun, slow down." Endymion urged him, grabbing him firmly by the shoulders, "Now, what's happened?"

"I can't get to the gate." he gasped, "There some sort of barrier...it won't let me through."

Pluto inhaled sharply, and dashed over to the young man, "Your highnesses, if you'll excuse me."

And with that, both of the guardians left, the door closing behind them.

* * *

A certain lofty, peaceful silence surrounded the Hikawa Jinja during the early summer afternoon. Outside, the cherry blossom petals littered the ground, the trees themselves somewhat bare. Yuuichirou was spending his time sweeping up the carpet of petals, though he would have rather been inside with the girls. Yes, it seemed that even with the peace an quiet, it was not quite so inside the living quarters of the shrine.

"I can't believe you're Chibiusa-chan!" exclaimed Rei, "You're nearly as tall as Usagi-chan!"

"What, you think I don't grow?" she asked, looking slightly embarrassed.

"No, it's not that, it's just such a surprise!" said Makoto.

"Last time we saw you, you were eight years old." added Ami.

Ever since they had arrived, Chibiusa had been shown and over abundance of attention by the surprised Inner senshi. Well, the inner senshi, save for Minako, who had not yet arrived. Usagi sipped her soda from the straw in her can, and made an annoying slurping noise as she reached the bottom.

"Usagi! where are your manners! you sounds like a pig!" Exclaimed Chibiusa, and she smacked Usagi on the back of her skull.

"Itai!" exclaimed Usagi, and she grabbed the back of her head.

Usagi clenched her teeth and glared at Chibiusa, who nibbled innocently on a rice cracker. Rei resisted the urge to laugh.

"Why you little--"

"Both of you, behave for once, please..." said Luna, and she sadly shook her head.

The girls laughed.

"It just never changes with you two does it?" Asked Makoto.

Usagi huffed. "Now I remember why I wanted you to go home!"

"Now, Usagi-chan, be nice." Said Ami, trying her best to suppress a giggle.

It was clear that the giggles could not be held for long, nor could Usagi's annoyance. But suddenly, all attention was turned away from the subject when the door slide open. the girls turned around, and there stood Minako, Artemis lying over one shoulder, and a gray cat lying over the other. Chibiusa's face lit up with a bright smile as she jumped to her feet.

"Diana!" She exclaimed.

The eyes of the gray cat lit up as well, and she leapt down from the height of Minako's shoulder. Chibiusa dropped to her knees, arms extended as the cat leapt into her embrace. Chibiusa gently stroked the cat's soft fur, and Diana nestled her head against Chibiusa's face.

"Well, isn't this a happy reunion--" Minako began, but she stopped short.

Minako, like the other girls, had quickly taken note of Chibiusa's maturity and growth.

"Have you found her yet?" Asked Diana.

Chibiusa nodded, "She's with Mamo-chan."

Diana glanced around at the girls. Sometime during their conversation, all eyes had become focused on them. Chibiusa sighed, and her smiled melted away as she stroked the cat's soft fur. Her eyes remained only on Diana. Usagi blinked at her sudden change of mood and stepped closer to the young teen. Gently, she rested a hand on Chibiusa's shoulder.

"Are you alright, Chibiusa-chan?"

Chibiusa nodded, but did not look up, "I just hope Mamo-chan isn't scared..."

Everyone in the room seemed confused.

"Why on earth would Mamo-chan be scared?" Usagi half-demanded.

Chibiusa stood up, cradling Diana in her arms, "Just forget I said anything."

The room fell silent. An odd, and rare occurring situation among the inner senshi. Minako scratched the back of her neck.

"Okay, now I know I missed something."

"Join the club." said Makoto, and she picked up her cup of tea.

It was in this awkward pause that the bedroom door slid open for what seemed the umpteenth time that day. All heads turned simultaneously and Minako stepped away from the door. Usagi's face lit up in a smile.

"Mamo-chan!"

Mamoru smiled and waved. But before Usagi could tackle him in a warm embrace, Moshi stepped up beside the tall man.

"What, don't I get a welcome?"

"Hey Mo-chan! Glad you guys could make it."

Through this seemingly normal exchange, Chibiusa watched the dark haired girl with the utmost confusion across her face. But when Moshi's eyes locked with Chibiusa's, Moshi blinked.

"Kami-sama! Is that Chibiusa?!" exclaimed Moshi.

It took mere moments for Moshi to register the image of the girl standing before her. Why, she was nearly as tall as the other girls! Her hair cascaded down to her waist, tied is her old rabbit-ear odango style. Her figure had changed as well. But there was one thing that shocked her, and everyone else, even more than her physical appearance. Slowly, her lips parted, and she spoke.

"Who are you?"

"Nani?!" everyone cried simultaneously.

"Chibiusa, what are you talking about?" Usagi demanded, annoyance lacing her voice, "You've met Mo-chan before. Remember?"

Chibiusa shot Usagi a look that clearly said she thought she was crazy. "I've never met her before in my life!"

"You don't remember me?" Moshi asked, a quizzical look pasted on her face.

Chibiusa shook her head, "Can't say that I do."

Needless to say, this brought surprise and shock to the gathered Senshi. But before any of them could ponder it further, a dark haired child wedged her way between Moshi and Mamoru, her eyes focused on Chibiusa. With her arms extended, she ran to Chibiusa.

"'Nee-chan!" she exclaimed, clinging to Chibiusa like socks in a dryer.

Well, at that moment, every jaw in the room dropped open simultaneously.

"'Nee-chan?!" they exclaimed.

However, neither of the girls seemed to notice. Chibiusa took the younger girl by the shoulders and began to scan her up and down, searching for any sign of injury. "Daijoubu, Mamo-chan?"

Again, the crowd exclaimed simultaneously, "MAMO-CHAN?!"

Finally, the two girls looked up at the people surrounding them. Everyone stared at them, and a tense silence filed the room. But, keep in mind Moshi was there, and because of this it was not last.

"What the H--"

"Mo-chan!"

Moshi winced inwardly, "Well, aren't you wondering too?!"

Usagi nodded in agreement, and slowly everyone came back to their senses. Usagi turned her eyes on Chuu, and pointed a finger accusingly, "Why did Chibiusa call you Mamo-chan? And why did you call Chibiusa 'nee-chan?" She demanded.

"Usagi-chan, don't be so rough." said Rei, putting a hand on Usagi's shoulder.

"There's no use asking her anyway, Usako." added Mamoru.

"All she really seems to do is squeak." Moshi finished.

True to the statement, Chuu let out a tiny squeak and pulled herself tightly to Chibiusa. Chibiusa pouted.

"Be nice! You're scaring her!" she exclaimed.

Usagi turned her eyes on Chibiusa, "Maybe you'd like to explain?"

Chibiusa's pout turned to a scowl.

"I should think it would be obvious! Why would she call me her Onee-san if I wasn't?!"

The entire room fell silent, and only then did Chibiusa realize just what had slipped out of her mouth. Chibiusa looked horrified.

"I thought we weren't supposed to tell!" She herd her little sister whispered squeakily in her ear.

"We....weren't" she mumbled in reply.

"Puu-san's gonna be maaaaaad..." Chuu squeaked

Chuu looked over her shoulder at her would-be future parents. she still kept her arms firmly clamped to Chibiusa. But the blonde girl and the black haired man wore identical expressions. Which was pretty amazing, considering it was an odd combination of shock, embarrassment, and daze. The other girls looked just as shocked. All accept for Moshi, that is, who looked more smug than anything. Usagi and Mamoru looked at Chuu, who just blinked. Usagi twitched.

"Mamo-chan...?"

Mamoru was fighting the urge to pass out.

"H-hai?" He stammered

Usagi twitched again, "She has... Your eyes."

Mamoru leaned forward to get a closer look at Chuu. She blinked, and smiled, still hugging on to Chibiusa. A stupid grin that seemed a combination of irony and insanity crossed his face.

"So she does..."

And without further warning, Mamoru fall face forward onto the ground in a dead faint.

To Be Continued...