Chapter Two

Serena clicked off the lamp and then sat there in the dark for a few minutes before slowly climbing into bed, dreading the darkness that threatened to eat her whole.

A few minutes later, her breathing was steady and it was known that, inevitably, sleep had claimed her.

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"Huh?" She slowly looked around in confusion when she found herself standing on the moon.

No. Wait. She looked down to what she already knew. She was dressed in a pale pink gown that hugged her curves yet wasn't too frilly. She let her hands drift up to touch her hair and found her silver-streaked golden locks held up once more in the traditional Lunarian hairstyle.

"Serenity," a calm, wise voice called softly.

She spun on her heel to come face to face with her past mother, also the past Queen of the Moon.

"Mother!" she cried, launching herself into the woman's embrace.

The silvery-lavender-haired woman felt tears coming to her own eyes as her daughter began to sob quietly, heartbroken sobs.

"I'm so sorry, my child," she said softly, trying to comfort her loved one. "I never knew that you would have to go through so much pain. I would that I could change this but I am not any powerful being anymore. I am simply a spirit that has not gone to rest yet. Serenity, please listen to me. I have something to tell you."

Serenity looked up at her mother, unashamed of her tear-streaked face. "What is it, Mother?"

Queen Serenity stroked her daughter's silver-streaked hair and smiled sadly. "This may be hard to hear but your Terran mother was not Ilene Tsukino."

"What?" Serenity looked utterly baffled and lost. "What do you mean, Mother? Then who is my mother? Who is my father?"

Queen Serenity continued in a soothing voice. "You were actually born to a loving couple in a different dimension. Your father isn't human either. He is a full-blooded Saiyan, a species that is almost extinct except for two of them who have survived and many human-Saiyan hybrids, their children and grandchildren. You are one of those half-Saiyans. Your name is Son Serena, daughter of Son Goku, the strongest man in the universe."

"I have a family?" Serenity asked frantically. "Can I see them? Will they like me? Will they know who I am? Will I know who they are? What happened? How come I'm not with them? What----"

Her mother stopped her with a finger to her lips. "Listen carefully, Serenity. A long time ago, you were born to Goku and Chi-Chi, but you were born in the wrong dimension and everyone needed you so badly here. Although I knew that you would have been happy in your original dimension, I also knew that the evils the Sailor Scouts faced here would be too much to overcome without your help and that you would be a great friend to everyone here. So, I had Sailor Pluto bring you back when you were just born, unknown to Goku and his wife.

"You see, you were born just a few seconds before Gohan, your twin brother. All Sailor Pluto did was erase Chi-Chi, Goku's, the doctors', and the nurses' memories. She changed a few records so that you never existed and then she brought you back here.

"She never foresaw this outcome and I never thought anything like this would happen. I know how you have been these past few years, Serenity, and it is terrifying me."

At that, her daughter looked down, ashamed. "I know that everyone would probably be mad at me but I just can't get over it. I miss them so much!" she cried painfully. "I dream about them over and over again! I wish it would all go away but it won't! And then my mom died and my father kicked me out when I came home late one night after a mysterious attack at the school! I just want it all to go away!"

Then she started to cry again.

A single tear streaked down the former queen's face and she embraced her daughter. "I'm sorry, Serenity. But, now, maybe you can find a new family. You have the power now as Cosmos. I know that everyone will love you in your real home. You can go home, Serenity, to your father, mother, and brothers."

Serenity looked up at her mother, shocked. "I can? But don't they need me here?"

Queen Serenity shook her head sadly. "No. I regret to inform you that you were one of the reasons why there was so much evil coming to Earth. Everyone wanted the power that you hold in your hands. You can finally go home, Serenity. Though Goku and Chi-Chi do not know it, in their hearts, they know that they are missing something. And that 'thing' is you, Serenity."

Her daughter looked up and then, for the first time in a long while, she smiled. "Thank you, Mother. Oh, thank you!" Then a worried expression came over her. "But, will I still be able to speak with you, Mother?"

The former queen shook her head. "It's all right, Serenity. There is no need for that anymore. I will be going on, now, to Heaven or wherever I should be. I just know in my heart that you will be happy in your home. Leave the past as it is for it has been a great past and I am proud to know that you are my daughter."

Tears poured down Serenity's face, yet she smiled radiantly. "I love you, Mother. I will always love you. You are my one and only mother."

At that, Queen Serenity laughed. "Yes, I will always love you as well. But I am not your one and only mother, I am simply your first mother."

And with that, she and the peaceful world around her began to fade away.

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Serena awoke that morning, touching her lips to find a lingering smile. That was when she knew that the dreams would stop plaguing her and that she would soon move on. After that, she set about busily, passing all her college exams, receiving her diploma and an award from a very important person in Japan for being one of the youngest students ever to graduate from college, and collecting everything she'd need in the new world her mother had told her about.

Looking around at her empty room, Serena smiled sadly one last time before looking heavenward and calling the Time Staff that Pluto had once held in her hands.

A portal appeared before her and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as well as a forward step.

"GOOD BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed as loud as she could when she began to fall.