Rei heaved a sigh.

"That was close." She said. "Mina definitely saw me, but at least I'm hidden now. I can't let them see me yet."

"Rei! What'cha doing there?" asked Chad, completely wet.

Rei looked at herself.

"I, uh, was just coming out of the sun to cool off!" She said.

"There's a pool right there though!" Said Chad, smiling. "Come on!"

Chad grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the pool edge.

"Oh Chad, but it's so cold!" whined Rei. "Chad?"

"Cannonball!"

Chad bounced off the diving board and pulled himself into a ball.

"Splash!" went the water. Rei was slightly knocked back from the waves, but then fell forward trying to balance herself out.

"Gotcha!" said Chad, catching Rei in his arms.

Rei smiled for a moment, but then noticed where she was, and frowned.

"Chad! Let go of me! I need some room to move, if you ever want me to swim!" Rei said, squirming.

"Ok, sorry Rei!" said Chad, dropping Rei.

"Ah! You bfffglluppp-" Rei choked as she fell into the water, shocked at how fast Chad let go.

"Oops," said Chad.


Mark looked up from his sketchpad. He paused a bit, as if listening to something. He then nodded slightly and regretfully.

"Something's happening to Rei. I've got to go." He said.

Mark dashed out of the Temple, torn between what to do.


Rei felt something pull her down. The whole world seemed to move slowly, almost at a complete stop. She couldn't breathe. Rei panicked. She tried to kick off whatever was holding her down, but it had a tight grip on her. It kept pulling her down into the pool, until she felt as if she was sinking into the pool itself. No one was helping her. She looked down, but couldn't see too well since the water bugged her eyes so much. Suddenly, she noticed that the thing pulling her down was really pulling her deeper than the pool. She was being swallowed into the Earth.

"This can't be happening." She thought.

Rei tried to scream for help, but everything was almost still. Even Chad wasn't moving.

Suddenly, a blast hit the pool. No one moved but the creature, Rei, and…

"Sailor Mercury!" thought Rei, screaming inside.

Sailor Mercury smiled kindly to Rei as she swam into the pool. The creature had let go of Rei, and Rei swam up finally. She froze before the water ended, and she knew what was happening. Everything was getting dark. She had just drowned.

"Rei!" Screamed Sailor Moon, standing on the pool deck, being held back by Sailor Venus and Jupiter. "Rei! Don't drown!" Sailor Moon had tears brimming at her eyes.

"Sailor Moon! Pull yourself together!" Sailor Jupiter said.

"Yeah, Sailor Mars isn't here to knock sense into you, so now we have to."

Rei's body bobbed to the top of the water. Sailor Mercury soon followed, carrying her out. She laid Rei down on the ground.

"Rei! Can you hear me? Rei!" Shouted Sailor Moon.

Sailor Venus looked around.

"What happened?" She asked.

Sailor Jupiter joined Sailor Venus, searching the scene.

"Yeah, I don't get it. Time has just… stopped."

"Almost stopped." Said Sailor Mercury.

"What?"

Sailor Mercury had her hand held computer out, and was reading from it.

"Time can never really, truly stop. So time has been slowed down as much as possible, by some force unknown to my data."

"So, these people still see us?" asked Sailor Moon.

"In a way. " Said Sailor Mercury. "But it's happening so fast their minds cant register it."

"Wow. Neat." Said Jupiter.

"Yeah, said Venus."

"But what about Rei?" Said Sailor Moon, concerned. "Is she ok?"

Rei sputtered, answering Sailor Moon's question.

"Rei!" Sailor Mercury said, smiling. She helped her sit up and put a towel around her. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, fine." Said Rei. She looked down, not wanting to look at her friends.

"It's hard to come back." Thought Rei.

"So I was right!" Said Venus.

"What?" Asked Sailor Moon.

"I thought I saw Rei here, and I was right!"

"Thanks, guys." Said Rei quietly.

Rei then dashed out of the scene.

"Wait, Rei!" Said Sailor Moon.

The 4 girls ran after Rei, but when they turned the corner, Tuxedo Mask stood there, stopping them.

"Let her be. She need's time on her own. Besides, this was her choice to run, respect that." Said Tuxedo Mask.

The Sailor Scouts nodded, disappointment on their faces.

"…Don't you think that was a bit cheesy?" said Mina, walking back with the girls.

"What was?" asked Lita.

"What Tuxedo Mask just said."

"Mina!" said Serena. "It's a touching moment!"

"Sorry." Apologized Mina.


Lita woke up early the next morning, eager for her run.

"I hope James is there." She thought. Lita then stopped herself. "Wait, is that really why I'm so eager to run? Do I hope that I'll find James there?"

Lita blinked, thinking.

"No…" She said, shaking her head. Lita finished getting dressed and walked down the stair to get a quick breakfast. She popped the piece of toast into her mouth, and started to jog to the track.


Darien tossed in his sleep, as the sunlight hit his face.

"Rei, watch out, he's dangerous!" murmured Darien in his sleep.

There was a dark shadow that fell over a monster in Darien's dream. All the girls were behind him. Rei started to walk forward, trusting the monster.

"Rei, get back!' said Darien.

"I know him, though." Said Rei.

"No, you don't!"

Rei ignored him. Darien ran for Rei, but wasn't there in time. The monster raised the back of it's hand and brought it down on Rei's face. Rei went flying across the room, screaming.

Darien woke up with a start after that. He glanced at his alarm clock.

"Almost 11. Damn." He whispered. He picked up his phone and called Serena.

"Serena?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me." Came a voice from the other end.

"Want to get together, maybe for brunch?" Darien asked. He paused while Serena answered. "Ok, see you then."

Darien hung up. He went to his closet and picked out a nice dark green shirt, and dark brown dress pants. He combed his hair lightly, and headed for Serena's house. As he walked along the side of the road, flashes of his dream kept coming back.

"I know him, though." Rei had said.

"What did she mean by that? How could she have known this… this… monster?" Darien thought.

He shook his head.

"I'll tell Serena about it over brunch."

He rang the doorbell and Serena's mother answered.

"Hi, is Serena ready yet?"

"Ready? For what?" asked her mother.

"Oh, uh."

"Never mind, she's just upstairs." Said Mrs. Tuskino, waving it aside.

Darien nodded and headed upstairs. He opened the bedroom door to find Serena still asleep. Darien decided to just wait and see when she's wake up. He was in no hurry. He sat down on a stool and just stared at Serena's figure, lying in bed. He watched her breath in and out, drool at the mouth.

"Lovely," he though sarcastically.

A sudden flash of the threat about him and Serena flowed into his head.

"I forgot about that." He whispered.

Darien took the photo out of his pocket, where he had kept ever since he got it. He wanted to find out who sent it.

Serena was stirring in her sleep. She began to wake up while Darien was looking at the photo. She slightly shifted herself to get a view of the photo Darien was looking at.

"What is that!" shouted Serena.

Darien was caught by surprise. He folded the photo of him carrying Lita.

"Serena! I didn't expect you to wake up so soon!" Exclaimed Darien.

"So you decided to take out a photo of you and Lita? When was that taken, anyways?"

"You see, I was going for a jog around the track and-"

"You know what? I don't want to hear it anymore. Just leave! Leave!" Serena said, pushing Darien out of the door.

While being escorted out, Darien's eye caught something.

"The photo of Andrew and me? Why does Serena have it?" Thought Darien.

"And I never want to see you again!" cried out Serena, kicking Darien out.

She slammed the door behind him and put her back against it. She slowly slid down to the floor, resting her chin on her knees. Tears brimmed from her eyes, threatening to fall. Serena quickly wiped them away with her hand.

"Why'd you have to do that?" She asked Darien in her mind. "I'm used to kicking you out of my room for small reasons, but not once have I kicked you out of my life."


"It's working." Said a girl.

"Our plan is finally in action." Said the brother. "And it's going better than I thought."

"Brother, go tell our princess about our progress. She should be very pleased with us."

"Yes, sister." Said the boy, nodding.


It feels so good to be alive

Even if a little rain should fall

'Cause every moment

Brings a new surprise to us all

(It's A New Day - Sailor Moon)

A/N: Ok guys, I'm leaving for a while, so I'm posting this story now. Feel free to leave a review while I'm gone:) I'm hoping for a little more support. Come on people, share the love!