Title:  Welcome To Reality

Chapter Title: What? You don't think Sere-ko and I met by chance do you?!

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: 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, Hikawa Shrine, Tokyo~

Serena walked slowly towards the Shrine, the exhaustion of turning into Sailor Moon twice, and performing a difficult attack getting to her. Especially seeing as they were attacks that Selene had shown her, and since they weren't specifically hers, they were very hard to control. The entire group traditionally performed the one she'd used to kill Invisible-Man, with Sailor Mars focusing it since she was the Scout tied to the element of fire.

As a result, she was absolutely knackered, and light-headed all over again. She staggered inside, and went straight to her room, curling up on her futon and going to sleep.

"I FOUND HER! SHE'S IN HERE!" Were the words Serena awoke to the next morning. She sat up, pushing her hair out of her eyes, and looked around groggily.

"Hel-kun?" She asked.

"Hai, Sere-hime. Asa o genki desu ka?" {Yes, Princess Serenity. How are you feeling this morning?} Helios bowed low as he stood in her doorway.

"Fine, Hel-kun. Please, can you talk in English? I'm still feeling a bit strange."

"Of course, Princess. My apologies." Helios bowed again, just as Rini and Hotaru walked in.

"Hel-chan? Nani o kitte imasuka?" {Helios? What are you talking about?} Rini asked.

"Dame, Rini-hime." {Nothing, Princess Rini.}

"Hel-kun, English? Remember?" Serena prompted.

"Oh! I am so sorry Princess Serenity!"

"Princess Serenity?" The pink haired adolescent repeated, suspicion in her eyes.

"Yes, Princess. Didn't you know that Serena-"

"-Is very tired." Serena interrupted, "And doesn't need any undue stress, ok, Helios-san?" Helios flinched at the sternness in her tone.

"Of course, Your Highness. So sorry." Helios bowed out, and Serena buried her head into her pillow in frustration.

"What was he talking about, Serena-san?" Hotaru asked softly, her dark eyes serious. She walked over to Serena, and sat down on the side of her mattress.

"I don't think you really want to know." Serena said honestly.

"Please, tell us. Oba Trista-chan is worried, and I want to know why."

"Hmm…" Serena reached out to the stationary beside her bed. It was a creamy colour, with silver etching. Quickly, she wrote a short note telling the Scouts to meet her outside the Shrine at 5pm tomorrow, leaving it unsigned. She handed it to Hotaru. "Give that to Rei-san. All will be revealed tomorrow. And not a word." Both girls nodded, and they slipped out of the room. Sighing, Serena got up, and climbed out the window.

~The Next day, Hikawa Shrine, Tokyo~

Serena hid behind a building, watching as everyone turned up. She tugged her hair nervously, which, for once, wasn't in the usual style. Instead, it was in a long plait that went all the way to her knees, ending in a pink hair-band. A white cotton sundress caressed her slender body, showing the small scar on her collarbone, and her feet were bare.

She had concentrated hard for hours, and the crescent mark on her forehead glowed softly. Quietly, she stepped out, and walked over to them, yet none of them noticed her until she stood right in front of them. A breeze had blown up, whipping her dress and hair around her gently.

"Hello." She said serenely, looking at the Inner and Outer scouts, and Darien and Rini. "I was not sure if you would show. I'm glad you did."

"Who are you?" Trista, or Sailor Pluto, demanded, her red eyes gleaming.

"I am Serena Warren, descendant of the Moon Goddess Selene, Princess Serenity of the Moon, and Sailor of the Moon. And you are Trista Meiou, Princess of Pluto, Guardian of the Time Gates, and Sailor of Pluto. Correct?" Serena smiled slightly, still standing in front of them all.

"Liar," Mina snarled, "Serena Tsukino is descendant of the Moon Goddess Selene, Princess Serenity of the Moon, and Sailor of the Moon. You are an impostor."

"I beg to differ, Princess Mina. I am indeed who I said I was. You see; Sere-ko and I needed what the other had. We exchanged lives, so to speak."

"You're the reason she died." Amara said suddenly. "Bitch! She-devil! Demon! Nega-Scum!"

"I suppose I am indirectly responsible for her demise." Serena's eyes glowed with tears. A single crystalline drop spilled down her cheek, and Darien followed its progress, entranced. "I did not mean to. Sere-ko was in many ways my best friend. She and I shared a soul. But now I have that soul. Sere-ko wanted nothing more than to be normal. Did any of you know that? I suspect you did, Luna. Not that you cared.

"You tore her away from her version of normalcy, forced her to be something she did not wish to be. I was her only confidante. Unfortunately, we lost touch. However, we found each other again. Sere-ko and I switched. My normal life for her abnormal one. We were both willing, in fact, I was more than willing, considering I desperately wanted to meet the people she talked about so passionately. And now I see why she did."

Serena's eyes were warm. "I couldn't think of anyone who deserved a friend like Sere-ko…but perhaps you did…although I'm not quite positive than any soul was ever deserving of her friendship." She added thoughtfully. "But anyway, I'm getting off topic. I am now Sailor Moon, and, as you saw last night, I am fully qualified to kick some Nega-booty."

"Oh yeah? Well if you're Princess Serenity, who am I?" Rini asked. "Your cousin, right?"

"Incorrect. You're my daughter, Princess Serenity the second. I was Princess Serenity, named after my mom, Queen Selenity, then I had you, and you were named after me. I became Neo-Queen Serenity, and you became Princess Serenity, or Princess Rini. However, right now you are posing as Rini Tsukino, Serena's cousin.

"You first arrived about a year or so ago, and demanded the Silver Moon Crystal. And might I just mention that it's a very good thing you didn't get it, because you'd have most likely ruined things so that you were never born anyway, so you wouldn't have been able to go back in time, in which case you would have been born, meaning that you would have gone back in time, and stopped yourself from being born…ok, I'm getting a headache." Serena shook her head. "But as I was saying, you're posing as Sere-ko's cousin. So…are you living with your dad or something?" Rini nodded, seeming unable to lie. "Ok. Well, anything else you want to know?"

"There's a lot we want to know." Lita began in a rather growly tone, but Serena held up her hand.

"It'll have to wait." She said simply, "Jeez, when those Nega-brats get going they never stop, do they? ETERNAL MOON POWER!"

Exchanging glances, the rest of the company followed her example.

"MERCURY STAR POWER!" Ami yelled.

"MARS STAR POWER!" Rei's hair swirled in the sudden wind, and Lita gave Serena final glare before adding her own incantation.

"JUPITER STAR POWER!"

"VENUS STAR POWER!" A golden light surrounded Mina instantly.

"MOON PRISM POWER!" Rini tossed her hair, glaring at Serena.

"PLUTO STAR POWER!" Trista's staff appeared in her hands, and the small, dark haired Hotaru followed suit.

"SATURN STAR POWER!"

"NEPTUNE STAR POWER!" Michelle gripped Amara's hand tightly, as they said their transformation incantation in unison.

"URANUS STAR POWER!" Sailor Moon lounged against the side of the building, waiting for the rest of the Scouts to catch up. Eventually, they were all ready, even Tuxedo Mask, who, with a swirl of his cape and a red rose, became the man she had known and loved for as long as she could remember. Even before she'd begun dreaming there'd been something missing.

"We ready to go?" She asked. The rest of the Scouts nodded dumbly, obviously more used to Sere-ko's 'follow-everyone-else' personality. "Great." She knelt down slightly, gathered her muscles, and sprang, like a cat, directly onto the roof. She then leant down, gripping Sailor Chibi Moon's hand, and Sailor Saturn's and yanking them up. She began to run, leaving everyone else to follow however they could…

"Machi Nasai!" {Stop right there!} Sailor Moon yelled at the Nega-Monster. The snake-like woman turned around, and her yellow-eyes flashed.

"Eternal Sssailor Moon." She hissed in English. "I thought you were dead."

"Sorry to burst your bubble," Sailor Moon said sweetly, enjoying the small flash of disappointment in the monster's eyes when she spoke English as well. "Who are you?"

"Hebako Sssenshi." {Lady Snake Warrior (Senshi being the Japanese word for warrior, but hey, she hisses, so her 's' is drawn out ~.^)} The snake-lady said; sounding confused at Sailor Moon's manner. Obviously, they had met before.

"Cool. Nice to meet you. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong side, so I'm gonna hafta kill ya now." Sailor Moon smiled sweetly, and thwapped Hebako Senshi over the head with her Kaleid Moon Scope. Hebako Senshi fell to the floor, just in time for the rest of the Scouts to arrive. "Glad you could make it." She said sarcastically, then looked at the Kaleid Moon Scope, deciding to use Sailor Moon's original attacks, before realising that she couldn't remember them. "Er…how do I kill her? Coz although this is good for hitting the snaky-bitch over the head with, I don't think that'll be fatal. I 'spose I could try…"

After staring at her blankly for a few moments, Luna managed to translate. Everyone else was still staring blankly as Luna instructed Sailor Moon on what to say.

"Say Moon Gorgeous Meditation." The black cat said.

"Oh yeah. Moon Gorgeous Meditation!" Hebako Senshi shrieked, as she exploded into dust. "Pretty." Sailor Moon said, her lips twisting into something that slightly resembled a smile.

"Sailor Moon, look out!" Tuxedo Mask cried, just as one of the snaky-bitch's minions leapt onto her, and pushed her to the ground.

"Ouch, that hurt." Sailor Moon said, bucking her hips, and causing the monster to go flying.

"Mars Fire Dragon Explosion!" Sailor Mars said, and the monster burst into flames.

"Anyone else want a piece of me?" Sailor Jupiter growled, looking around at the remaining monsters. Said monsters took one look at the piles of dust at the brunette's feet, and disappeared. All except one who seemed to have trouble remembering how, a direct repercussion of Sailor Chibi Moon's strange attack. He was quickly dusted by Tuxedo Mask's cane.

Sailor Moon turned to all of them.

"Well, that's it." She said, mock-saluting. "Thanks guys, it's been real." She turned around, and disappeared into the night.

Oba Trista-chan: Aunt Trista