Title:  Welcome To Reality

Chapter Title: Eternal Moon Power!

Summary: Serena Warren, now fifteen, graduates the tenth grade with honours and is offered a chance to go to Japan on a student exchange program. Here, she realizes that the reason her dreams seemed so real is that they were.

Author: Silver Sparklze

Reason For Writing: This story was written as a challenge set by Sage: The Dark Dryad.

Author's Notes: Ack, this is a very short chapter. Only 874 words :-(. Sorry, guys. I'll try to make the next one longer. Here we get our first look at Eternal Sailor Moon; Serena Warren style! ^_^. Also, Serena finally meets Darien. *giggles* I have tried to translate the Japanese next to the words, but even so, anything written in bold will be translated at the end of the chapter if not already translated.

~Front Entrance, Juuban High School, Tokyo~

Serena had her head stuck in her Nihongo book as she left Juuban High, so she supposed it was forgivable that she didn't notice the man until she ran into him.

"Ano ne! Anata ni chuui suru!" {Hey! Watch where you're going!} He yelped.

"Gomen nasai. Mata-janai desu yo." {Sorry. I didn't see you.} Serena said, looking up. She caught her breath; it was Darien! "Darien-chan?!"

"Nani? Nan desu ka? Sere-ko?!" {What? Who are you? Serena?!} Serena sighed, she was forever getting this reaction, but this was the only time she had felt any desire to pretend to be someone she was not.

"No," she said in English, "I'm not Serena Tsukino. My name is Serena Warren. I'm the exchange student from America who is being hosted by Rei Hino. I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't know Sere-ko well, but I did know her, and she was a wonderful person." Darien's face fell, and, still holding Serena close, he asked another question, this time in English.

"Why do you look so much like her?"

"I don't know." Serena refused to allow herself to think about how safe being in his arms felt. Instead, she gently disengaged herself, ignoring the slightly bereft feelings that action produced. "Once again, sorry for bumping into you." She stuffed her book in her bag, and hurried away…

~Serena's Bedroom, Hikawa Shrine, Tokyo~

Serena tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She was exhausted, but her mind was too full of thoughts for her to rest. One face and thought in particular kept coming back. Darien… Serena scowled, got up, and ran outside, unthinkingly grabbing a compact as she went…

Outside, it was raining, but Serena didn't notice. She stood there, in the pouring rain, glaring at the thundery sky, the clouds a deep black that reminded her of a certain person's hair…so soft…

"WHY CAN'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?!" She screamed; her voice drowned out by a sudden clap of thunder. "I DIDN'T WANT THIS! I DIDN'T NEED IT!"

"Correction, you both wanted and needed it, Serena." A quiet, very familiar voice said. Serena whirled around, and glared at Selene.

"What would you know?" She asked, voice cold, "you don't have a crush on a man whose true love died. You haven't shared a soul with someone else for two years, and suddenly found a part of yourself that you never knew existed making you wake up to its existence and pay attention."

"Correction," Selene said, still gently, "I know exactly how you feel. Endymion was not always in love with me, you know. And I share my soul with my two sisters, Phoebe and Hecate. Phoebe is the Waxing Moon, I am the Full Moon, and Hecate is the Waning Moon. So I do know how you feel. And I have followed your life since you were born, Serena. I know your feelings, thoughts, and needs better than you do. So you do want and need this. You just don't know it yet. Now, you have to transform. Become Sailor Moon. The Scouts are in trouble; they need your help. The Nega Moon was not quite as incapacitated as they thought."

"I can't." Serena sobbed. "I don't know how. I'm not strong enough for this, I never was. I was an idiot to take Sere-ko's power, she knew how to use it, and she was brave enough, strong enough. I'm not." She fell to her knees in the mud, burying her face in her hands, tears and rain mingling. She felt someone kneel beside her, and gently take her face in his or her hands. She looked up into the face of Selene, who looked so sad, so loving, so sympathetic, that her tears stopped at once.

"Dear heart," she said, wiping rain and tears off the blonde girl's face, "you are strong enough. You're stronger than anyone, even you, knows. All you need to do is believe in yourself. I know those words sound empty and meaningless, but they are true. You need to do this, to heal yourself, and to heal the others. They need you, love. More importantly, you need them. Will you do what you know is right?" Shakily, Serena nodded, getting up, her nightgown dripping with water and filth.

"Eternal Moon POWER!" She said, her voice getting stronger with every word…

~The Park, Tokyo~

Sailor Moon watched the fighting, her horror and rage growing with every attack against her friends. When the Nega-monster went for Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Moon's fragile control snapped, and she pushed the Nega-monster out of the way with a crackle of pure white power.

"Iie! Tuxedo Kamen!" {No! Tuxedo Mask!} She yelled, kicking the monster in the head. It staggered back in shock, and she thrust her hand up, crunching the thing's nose with the heel of her palm. The fact that it fell to the ground moments later signified that she had sent shards of bone into its brain. Immediately, the Scouts turned on Sailor Moon.

"Anata wa nan desu ka?" {Who are you?} Sailor Uranus demanded.

"I am someone you know, and yet, don't know. I'll leave you to get rid of the minions. Ta ra." Sailor Moon said in English, leaving while the Scouts struggled to translate her words…

Nihongo: Japanese (in Japan, this is like our English lessons. Spelling, writing, grammar, all that crap, as well as, at my school 'clear-thinking' which means we go through persuasive writing pieces and dissect them. It stinks.)

More Author's Notes: I am sooo sorry! I really didn't mean to leave off posting for so long. Because of your patience, you're gonna get…12 chapters. Also, I've finally finished, and I really wanna get posting it out of the way. After this I'm gonna have a little break. I know Hey, Where Are The Kangaroos? is still up in the air, and I'm sorry, but I really need this break. My school work's totally intense right now, and I can't concentrate on both at once.

Anyway, enough of my whinging. Thanks to these reviewers;

Sage: The Dark Dryad: Thank you so much for your faithful reviews, Sage. You've been an inspiration to me (heck, you were the inspiration!) I just want to say that without your ongoing support, I don't think I would have finished this story.

Guardian Dimension: She is, sort of, but not in the same way. She and Serena W now rather share a body, and, although Serena W never really finds this out, Serena Tsukino comes to her aid when she most wants to give up. Thank you for your review, I'm glad you think my story is so good. For once, I'm actually pleased with the ending.

Dreaming Angels, Inc: Yes! I updated! Unfortunately, I've been a bit lazy 'bout the computer, but all that's changing now.

Silver Moonlight81: I'm glad you liked it.

Thought for the week: No matter what, a loved one never dies…until you forget them.