Title:  Welcome To Reality

Chapter Title: Disgust.

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.

*Lita Kino*

~The Kitchen, Apartment 20A,Ryoori Gakkou Apartoo, Tokyo~

Lita bit her lip. An hour had gone past, and no Sere-ko. This wasn't good.

"Serena-san wa shinrai dekinai da." {Serena isn't very reliable.} Mina-chan observed, tipping her chair back.

"It's not that simple," Lita answered in English, "something's wrong."

"Totemo nande?" {So what?} Rei-chan shrugged, "dare no sewaa o suru? Atashi to anata no mondai dekinai da." {Who cares? It's not our problem.}

"Yes it is. Don't you see?" Lita exclaimed, amazed by their stupidity. "She is the new Moon Princess. If she dies, the future never happens. Rini-chan is never born, and you guys never survive the fights Neo-Queen Serenity helps you with, because there is no Neo-Queen Serenity, there is no Crystal Tokyo, and there is all of the troubles we've been fighting against, but without the help of the most powerful Scout of all.

"There's only so many times and ways Trista-san can re-order time, and Lady Selene, the one who let all of this happen, and stopped Trista-san from being able to see who Sere-chan was in the first place, may stop Trista-san from being able to change time at all! Would that please you? Would you like that? To die, knowing that you betrayed the one person you swore to protect with your very lives?"

The shocked looks on the other Scouts faces made Lita realise they really hadn't known. "Gods," she said, "you never think past your hatred for what Sere-chan did to Sere-ko, do you? It never occurred to any of you that Sere-chan might be right. Perhaps Sere-ko really did want a normal life. Heck, I know I do. I want a life where I don't have to worry that each day may be my last, and that one of my friends may die because my other friends hate her too much to help her. The Nega-Verse aren't the monsters. You guys are! Now get out. If you won't help me, I don't want to know you." Lita strode over, and kicked open the door, glaring at the girls challengingly. The next move was their's…

*Serena Warren*

~Even I don't know where they are…Brazil, maybe?~

Serena woke up somewhere far from home. Wherever home was, exactly. Was it the orphanage? Rei's house? Lita's apartment? Marnie's house? Where? But all that was irrelevant. First things first, where was she?

"You don't need to know." A dark voice said. That was how Serena thought of it. A dark voice. Someone stepped out of the shadows, ebony hair, skin the colour of the shadows, and a dress that shifted with her every movement, dark as night.

"Who are you?" She whispered. The woman smiled.

"You don't need to know that, either. All you need to know is that you're never getting out of here…alive."

"What?" Serena whispered. "What do you mean?" The woman came over, and slapped her hard across the face.

"I hate you, you little bitch," she hissed, "it's all your fault that I can't be out there, living my life."

"Wh-what?" The woman's voice took on a story-telling quality.

"Ever since your blasted mother took over the Moon Kingdom, our life down here on Earth has been different." The woman looked dreamy, as though she wasn't all there. "Your lights and your parties, they shone down here…we Shadowmancers weren't important. We faded away.

Then, for a few years, everything was good. The MoonLight went out. Shadowmancers ran free again, melting in and out of the shadows, creating nightmares. Until three years ago. Then it came back. And it's all your fault!" The woman glared at her, breathing harshly. "But I'm going to kill you," she continued, "and then I'll kill your friends. I'll kill them all!" She cackled loudly, head thrown back.

She's insane! Serena thought wildly, I'm stuck here with a crazy person who wants to kill me!

*Lita Kino*

~The Kitchen, Apartment 20A,Ryoori Gakkou Apartoo, Tokyo~

Lita glared at the Scouts.

"Well?" She growled, "do you want out? Because if so, I'm no longer part of the team. You can defeat the Nega-Verse on your own." The Scouts didn't move, obviously because they didn't want to. "Fine," Lita said, feeling disappointed. What great friends. "Fine. I'd say good luck, but, well, Mama always told me not to lie.

"JUPITER STAR POWER!" Sailor Jupiter glared at her once-time friends, before running off to try and help Sere-chan.

*Serena Warren*

~The Shadow Realm, Nothingness~

"Look," Serena said nervously, "you don't want to kill me. Really you don't," at the evil woman's glare she hurriedly continued, "and even if you do, can't we talk about it over coffee or something? I know this really great place…"

"SILENCE!" The evil Shadowmancer roared, "I've got to concentrate!"

"Sorry for breathing." Serena muttered, trying to think of a way to reach her transformation brooch while tied up like this. She wriggled her arms, and was delighted to discover her left one wasn't done up quite as tightly as her right. She wiggled again, and gulped back her cry of triumph when her arm was freed.

"Not happening Princess." A voice sneered, and a rather handsome man with dark hair, skin, and eyes walked out of the shadows. Another bloody 'mancer. This one, however, knew how to tie ropes, and soon Serena was fully bound again. "Shoulda known better than to leave this job to Melanie. Time to make sure you die, and then the Moon will be Out forever!"

"Forever is a long time for mortals to go without the Light of the Moon!" Sailor Jupiter's comforting voice said, "I am Sailor Jupiter, defender of love and justice. In the name of Jupiter-"

"And in the name of Neptune," Serena looked up, startled to see Sailor Neptune there. But if that surprised her, it was nothing to how she felt when she saw the other rebellious Scouts.

"In the name of Uranus,"

"In the name of Pluto,"

"In the name of Venus,"

"And of Mars,"

"We will punish you!"

"Don't forget us! Sailor Mercury, Sailor Saturn and Sailor Chibi Moon at your service!" A young voice cried, and Serena turned around to see Sailor Chibi Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Saturn. The Scouts leapt down from the various places they'd been hiding, and began their various attacks.

"Mars Celestial Fire Surround!" Mars, looking heavenly beautiful to Serena just then, (as she always did during that particular attack…not that she wasn't pretty all the time,) shot fire at Serena's ropes, which quickly shrivelled away from the light source. Serena rubbed her wrists in relief, and transformed.

"Moon Gorgeous Meditation!" She cried, shattering two 'mancers in one go when they both leapt at her.

"You leave my mummy alone!" Sailor Chibi Moon said. Serena flushed, pleased by the pink-haired girl's comment. She was being accepted at last.