A/N Hey guys! Here I am with another chappie for you. I'm thrilled that you seem to be enjoying it, and I'm going to try my best to have weekly updates. I do have a couple of other projects I'm working on as well, but I'm trying to make this story my priority.
I also want to take a moment to thank any of my readers out there who followed What If for all of their wonderful support and reviews. I wanted to respond personally to each one, but that just didn't happen. I am planning on doing the other seasons and have already started on the prequel, Rekindled, which will be my wacky retelling of season one. I also have begun the outline for Stolen Hearts, a twist on the S season. So hopefully I will be able to continue that storyline soon.
Anyhow, back to this story. There's quite a lot happening here in this chapter. I'll let you get to it in a moment, but first I need to give out my hugs. BIG HUGS TO:
tiny2008
Seredhiel05
LBricker88
SailorMercuryROCKS
Luthien Morgon
amaramichelle
Atem's Sister Atea
rainbabie
Silvermoonlight9 – (I missed you! Welcome back!)
KageNoNeko – (I missed you too! Glad to see you back!)
GoldenDragon326
anime-lover10
CharmedSerenity3
My Veggie Burger
nileena
Stashed Away
ange de l'aube
ElisabethBoleyn
Okay, enough out of me. On with the show!
ENJOY!
The Galactic Trinity
Chapter 6
Covert Operations and Alien Abductions
"Ouch, Pluto! Do you think you could try to soften up that landing a little bit?" Katie complained as she stood up and rubbed a hand over a sensitive area that was now stinging from its impact with the ground.
"Yeah, no doubt," Alex and DJ both agreed as they both picked themselves up and dusted off their clothes.
"Sorry," Pluto said in a distracted voice. "Making time jumps takes some getting used to." She stared into her garnet orb muttering to herself, "Please let us be in time."
"So where are we? Or I guess I should say, when are we?" DJ asked as he looked around. Everything looked pretty much the same as the time they had just left. The Tokyo skyline was the same and so was the secluded grove in the park they were standing in, the same grove that Pluto had transported them to when she had first brought them to the past.
"We've gone back about eight years," Pluto answered in that same detached tone. Then a big smile of relief appeared on her face. "Yes! We made it to the right time. That's a relief. I was scared that I might not be able to pinpoint the exact day."
"But that shouldn't be a problem for you," Alex said in dismay. "I mean you can see the exact time that anything happens, right?"
Pluto shook her head. "Normally I could. But I have no access to the time gate right now since Discord has stationed himself there and it clouds my vision. The garnet orb can help guide me, but with the turmoil that time is in right now it can be a little unpredictable."
"So what do we need to do?" DJ asked in a terse tone. Tension was evident in every line of his body. "You said he was going after my mom, right?"
"That is what I have foreseen," Pluto answered. "In this time Serena is only twelve years old. She hasn't met Luna yet, so she has no idea about Sailor Moon or being the moon princess. None of the other scouts or Tuxedo Mask have been awakened yet either, so she is completely defenseless."
"Cowardly bastard!" Katie snarled. "Attacking a helpless child is just sick. I don't see how this would help him anyway. If he kills Serena and alters the future to where Crystal Tokyo doesn't exist, there will be nothing for him to conquer."
"That's not entirely true," Pluto replied. "If this time stream changes like he wants it to, the world will become a different place. The Dark Kingdom will eventually attack. Luna will find and awaken Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter. Venus will join them later. Without Serenity's soul to call out to him, Endymion remains asleep inside Darien, so he never turns into Tuxedo Mask. Beryl succeeds in capturing all seven Rainbow Crystals, but of course cannot summon the Silver Crystal since it was locked away inside Serena's body. Instead she unleashes her seven shadow warriors on the world. The scouts try to fight against her, but without Sailor Moon they are easily defeated."
"So what does Discord stand to gain if Beryl and Metallia take over the Earth? He still wouldn't have it," DJ mused.
"True," Pluto agreed. "But in reality it would make it much easier for him to take over. Discord exists in this time too, hiding away up in the mountains as he plots the world's demise. That's why he sent somebody else here to do the job for him instead of coming himself. As you know, two of the same person can't exist in the same place at once, at least not for too long. He's trying to rewrite history. His power surpasses Metallia's ten times over. His past self would be able to defeat her easily, and thus take over then planet now in this time instead of waiting to make his move."
All three sets of eyes widened at the implication of her words. Talk about a drastic change in history.
"Now," the time guardian said as she powered down to her civilian form. "The middle school is just a couple of blocks away and will be letting out soon. You should have no problem locating Serena there. I want you three to go find her and keep her in your sights. Be alert to anything suspicious that you see around her. It is uncertain as to when the attack will actually happen. Try to keep a low profile though. The less people that see you, the better." She turned and began walking away.
"Hey! Where are you going?" all three yelled after her.
She looked back with a grin. "I'm going to get a cup of tea. I think you three can handle this without me. Think of it as a training exercise. You three do need to keep up with your training after all. I'll be back when you are finished."
They stared after her in disbelief for a moment before shrugging and making their way toward the middle school to hunt down the future queen's adolescent self.
Darien tilted his head back as he drained the glass, savoring the taste of the smooth, mellow rum mixed with bubbling cola as it slid across his tongue. As a doctor used to being on call, he didn't really have the opportunity to drink much. He had to be ready at all times to answer an emergency call. But this was his weekend off; damn it, and they better not try to call him in. Besides, he had more pressing issues to deal with, like hoping that his fiancé would live.
He looked over his shoulder from his position on the balcony to watch the blonde woman who was asleep on the couch. She had been a high-strung bundle of nerves after Trista had disappeared with DJ, Katie, and Alex. She had paced the floor until he swore he was starting to see a rut being carved into the carpet by her tiny feet. Finally she had exhausted herself and had curled up on the couch to wait for any news.
Faint music could be heard from a nearby window. Rini had retreated to her bedroom with the lame excuse that she had some homework that she needed to complete. But he knew that it was just an excuse for her to be alone. She had been slightly pissed when she had asked Pluto if she could go with the others and had been turned down.
"Make way! I'm coming over," a quiet voice spoke up to Darien's right, and he moved away from the railing. A few seconds later a figure landed silently next to him.
He grinned ruefully. "You know, some day you're going to give some old woman a heart attack if they ever happen to be looking out their window and see you jumping ten feet from one balcony to the other while being twenty stories up."
Andrew snorted. "Screw them! I couldn't give a shit. Anyway, it's faster than walking down the hall and coming in the door. On top of that I didn't want to disturb Serena." He eyed the glass in Darien's hand. "Got any more?"
Darien pointed to a small table that held a bottle of rum, a bottle of cola, and a second glass already filled with ice.
Andrew grinned. "You were expecting me?"
"Of course," Darien said as he moved to top off his own drink. "How's Jess doing?"
Andrew sighed and took a long sip of his drink before answering. "The same as she always does when she gets pissed about something. She ranted and raved for about a half hour, threatening to go back up into the mountains and open the seal on Discord herself just so she could have the pleasure of dragging him out and stomping the living shit out of him. Then she finally calmed down a bit and got into her zone. Now she's in her studio trying to keep herself busy."
Darien nodded slowly. "I don't blame her. This waiting is killing me. It's hard to know who the enemy is and what they are doing, but be unable to confront them. Instead the fate of all our lives rests on the shoulders of three sixteen year old kids. I just hope they can pull it off."
Andrew clasped his friend's shoulder. "I think they can. They seem like good kids. And Pluto said that they were good fighters. We just have to have faith in them."
Darien knocked back some more of his drink. "I guess you're right. After all, they are our kids. Hopefully our future selves have bee smart enough to teach them well."
"Drew," Jess's voice floated over from the next-door balcony. "Are you out here?" Her voice sounded stuffy, like she had been crying.
"I'll be right there," Andrew called back anxiously. He drained the last little bit out of his glass and set it on the table. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked Darien.
Darien waved him off. "I'm fine. Go see about Jess. She sounds upset. I'll let you know if anything happens."
"All right, I'll see you later," Andrew said as he climbed onto the railing and then jumped through the dark night to land on his own balcony.
Darien's cell phone began to ring in his pocket and he cursed. "That better not be the hospital," he growled, pulling the phone out and checking the caller ID. Sighing in relief, he flipped it open, "Jed."
"Hey man," Jadeite's voice came over the line. "How are things going?"
"As well as can be expected I guess," Darien answered vaguely. "What's got you calling so late?"
"Weeell," Jadeite drawled uncertainly. "It was Raye that wanted me to call you. It seems that she saw something in the sacred fire about Serena that shook her up pretty good. She tried to call her, but all she got was her voicemail. She wanted me to check with you and make sure everything was all right."
Darien sighed. He really didn't want to start a panic among their friends, but Raye and Jadeite were the spiritualists of their group, and having them around might be a comfort. "We do have a little bit of a situation going on," he confessed. "Can you and Raye slip out without the others knowing? No sense in concerning everybody just yet."
"Yeah sure," Jadeite replied immediately. "It shouldn't be a problem. We're not at the apartment anyway. We're at the temple. Raye wanted to meditate after meeting your surprise guests earlier. We can be there in about fifteen minutes."
"Thanks. See ya soon," Darien said as he flipped his phone shut. He slid open the doors and walked inside where he got down on his knees beside the couch and the sleeping Serena. He brushed her bangs back from her face and was surprised when her eyes opened and she smiled at him.
"Raye and Jadeite are coming over?" she asked sleepily.
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Are you eavesdropping on me?"
She yawned widely. "Not exactly." She tapped her temple. "Your mind was wide open to me. I couldn't help but hear what was going on. I even heard what you and Andrew were talking about."
"Oh," he mumbled sheepishly.
"Hey," she said, taking his hand in hers. "I would tell you not to worry, but I know you will anyway. But try not to stress so much. I have complete confidence in the kids. And DJ is so much like another you that I'm not too concerned about my past self. I know he'll do everything in his power to protect me. I believe they all will. I've sensed the power that they carry, and they are way stronger than I was at sixteen. I think that if they were given a chance they could probably take down Metallia, Doom Phantom, Pharaoh 90, Nehelenia, and Chaos with their eyes closed. So I'm not really all that worried."
"Well I am," Darien ground out. "This is your life we're talking about, Serena. No, it's everyone's lives on the line here. Do you realize that if something happens to you that it will affect everyone on this planet? The Earth is depending on that little girl that Discord is targeting to become Sailor Moon and save the planet countless times. Without her, there is no future."
"I know," she whispered. "But it's out of our hands. Now stop being such a grump and give me a kiss before Raye comes in and ruins the peace and quiet."
"Good grief! How much more can one little girl possibly eat?" Alex muttered. "I've always known that Serena had an appetite, but damn!"
"Ow Tinkerbell! That was my eye that you just stuck your elbow in," DJ growled.
"Well excuse me!" Katie snapped. "It's not like we exactly have a lot of space to work with. Just be thankful that I haven't booted you out on your ass yet. But that still may happen if you don't shut the hell up!"
"Why are we up in a tree anyway?" DJ complained. "We could have just as easily kept an eye on her from the ground."
Alex sighed in frustration. "Because, genius, Trista told us to keep a low profile. This is a fairly quiet neighborhood, and I'm sure somebody would notice the three of us scoping the place out. This gives us a great vantage point. We can see the entire house and the surrounding area from here."
DJ leaned close to whisper in Katie's ear. "Your brother's starting to scare me, Tink. I think he's taking this undercover spy thing a little too far."
Katie jumped a little at the feeling of his breath against her ear, but covered it with a hasty nod. She whispered back to him, "All of those covert operation video games must have warped his brain cells."
"I can hear you guys, you know." Alex said loudly, pushing his face between them.
Katie shot back wobbly and would have pitched headfirst off the branch she was perched on, but luckily DJ's quick reflexes kicked in and he snagged her around the waist and hauled her back up. She blushed bright red as she realized that he had pulled her into his lap.
"Uh, thanks," she stuttered and began to crawl off of him.
His grip on her tightened and held her in place. "Just stay here. It's a better use of the limited space we have. Not to mention that I can't heal you if one of you gets hurt. I've only recently begun to be able to heal myself. I know you heal faster than normal because you are a scout, but not that fast."
"Fine," she huffed and crossed her arms across her chest, trying to ignore the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, and turned her attention back to the white, two story house across the street that belonged to the Tsukino's.
They had caught up with the young girl quite easily when the middle school had let out for the day. Her unusual blonde hairstyle made it easy to spot her, even in a sea of rambunctious preteens rushing out of the building to start their weekend.
They had followed her and her friend Molly to the Crown where they had climbed up on the roof of a neighboring building to keep her in their sights. They watched as she downed two milkshakes, a burger, a plate of cheese fries, and an order of onion rings before she flounced off to play video games. Once she had run out of money, she had returned to the counter where she talked to a young Andrew and his mother, Kathleen, Katie's namesake, for several minutes before she left for home.
They had followed behind her at a respectable distance until she had reached her house. From the tree they did have a good view of everything. They had been able to see into Serena's room when she had gone up to drop off her school stuff and gather a change of clothes. Luckily she had spared them all the embarrassment and had gone to the bathroom to change. DJ had already muttered under his breath several times that he felt like he was invading his mother's privacy.
Now they were watching through the dining room window as the whole Tsukino family was enjoying dinner. Serena was already on her third helping of whatever Ilene had concocted for her family.
"Man, she can pack it away, can't she?" Katie said in awe. "I always knew Aunt Serena could out eat anyone, but damn! She's a regular little glutton."
"Look who's talking," DJ snickered, making a few oinking sounds.
Katie struggled in his arms, and DJ tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. They both froze when their chests came into full contact with each other's. Their faces were only inches away and both sets of eyes flared wide.
"If you two are through making out over there," Alex said slyly. "We should get back to business. She's on the move."
They jerked away from each other so fast that they both almost went tumbling from the tree before regaining their balance. Katie was still on DJ's lap, but she had turned now so that her back was toward him. She leveled a murderous glare on her brother.
"Me make out with him? Not freaking likely!" she hissed out furiously. "I've seen dog's butts that have held more appeal to me. Get over yourself bro."
"Same here," DJ hastily added. "I like girls with a little fire in them. That way you don't get frostbite when you get near them."
"Uh huh," Alex said in a tone that clearly showed that he didn't believe them as he glanced down to where DJ still had his arms around Katie's waist. "Whatever you guys say. But anyway, like I said, I think Serena's about to go mobile again."
The blushing duo turned their attention back to the house where sure enough, dinner was over and the family had dispersed. Ken Tsukino was stretched out in a recliner in the living room reading the newspaper while Sammy sat in front of the TV playing a video game. Ilene was nowhere to be seen, probably in the kitchen, which wasn't visible where they were.
Serena was in her bedroom stuffing things into a pink bag decorated with little white bunnies. A few minutes later she ran down the stairs to the front door.
"Bye, mom! I'm going to Molly's now," they heard her call out.
Ilene appeared in the doorway, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "Okay honey. Be careful and call me when you get there. And take the long way around. I don't want you walking through the park this late."
"All right, mom. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!" Serena called over her shoulder, already heading down the street.
Once Ilene had gone back in and shut the door behind her, the three James Bond wannabes dropped down from the tree to follow Serena, careful to stay about a half a block behind her.
The young girl paused when she reached the entrance to the park. After a moment of what seemed to be indecision, she raised her chin defiantly and walked in.
"That little idiot," Alex said in disbelief. "What the hell is she thinking? Her mom told her not to go through the park."
Katie shook her head. "Now I see why Uncle Darien and Aunt Raye used to call her Meatball Head. She doesn't have a lick of sense."
DJ groaned. "Please guys! This is my mother we're talking about. Now let's hurry up. It's already completely dark out. And the park is the perfect place for an attack to happen."
"Right!" the twins agreed together as the three of them barreled toward the park.
The park was unusually empty for a Friday night. As a matter of fact, there was no one in sight at all as they rushed down the main path that cut through the center of the park, trying to keep the bobbing golden head in their line of vision as they scanned the surrounding trees for any sign of a threat.
All three gasped as a shiver went through them and every hair on their bodies stood on end.
"A sentinel is near. We need to transform," DJ said quietly to the others.
Since there was no one around, and Serena was far enough ahead of them to not notice, they didn't bother finding a place to hide and activated their transformations right there. In flashes of gold, bronze, and silver, Phantom, Phoenix, and Sailor Eclipse appeared.
They ran after Serena, not caring now whether or not she saw them. Her life was in danger. Eclipse froze when she looked up into the branches of a tree that Serena had just passed and saw a dark, hulking shape and a pair of glowing red eyes.
She grabbed Phantom's arm and pointed. "Up there. Do you see it?"
"I sure do," he said tersely before leaping from the ground and into the branches. There was a muffled thud and a low growl before Phantom and a black puma looking sentinel fell from the tree and hit the ground hard.
The puma leapt to its feet, snarling viciously as it advanced on its attacker. It was preparing to leap on Phantom when a wall of swirling red gold energy, hotter than any fire, sprang up in front of it. It turned toward its newest threat.
"Bad kitty! Go sharpen your claws on a tree or something," Phoenix taunted.
With a growl of outrage, the sentinel sprang at him, the poisonous spikes protruding from its massive shoulders aimed right for the boy. Then in midair, the puma found itself wrapped in ropes of silver energy that swung him around before sending it slamming into a tree.
"Nice one!" Phoenix crowed to Eclipse.
"Yeah. Way to go Cowgirl Eclipse," Phantom ground out sardonically as he joined them. "Do you think you could take it easy with the solar flares Phoenix? You almost singed my eyebrows off. Where did my mom go?"
Phoenix pointed down the path. "She continued on her merry little way. She was far enough ahead that she didn't hear our little scuffle back here."
Phantom turned to Eclipse. "Kat, do me a favor. Follow my mom and make sure she gets to Molly's without any problems. Alex and I will take care of Garfield over there."
"No way!" Eclipse protested. "I'm not going to miss out on this. I want a piece of that sucker!"
"Kat, please," Phantom pleaded softly, turning the full force of his eyes on her. "I'm trusting you to make sure she's okay,"
She felt her insides melt and cursed at her weakness. "Fine! I'll keep an eye on her. But you two be careful. I know its only one sentinel, but those bastards are sneaky."
Both boys grinned cockily at her as she turned and hurried off after Serena. Then they grinned at each before they faced the puma that was regaining its footing after the unexpected impact with the tree trunk.
"Shall we?" Phoenix asked as shimmering solar waves began radiating around him.
A light golden glow encompassed Phantom. "Oh yeah! He's toast!"
Then they flung their energy at the beast.
Sailor Eclipse faintly heard the boom of the combined attack and felt the small vibrations in the ground from the release of energy. She longed to turn back, but she could tell by the bond she shared with her brother that he was fine. Anyway, DJ had entrusted her with Serena's well being, and she planned to see it through.
Serena must have moving faster than she thought because it took her a minute to catch up to the girl. She was almost to the park's exit, and her destination, the Osa-P jewelry store, was right across the street.
The blonde adolescent was about to walk through the gates when Eclipse detected a blur of movement in the shadows of the trees. Kicking it into hyper drive, she rushed toward the dark figure as it began to move stealthily toward Serena.
She barreled into the person, knocking them both to the ground. With a long practiced move, she leapt back to her feet in one fluid motion. A quick glance showed her Serena skipping across the street and knocking on the door to the jewelry store.
Eclipse breathed a sigh of relief and then turned her attention to the person on the ground. It was probably some lecherous pervert that liked to prey on young girls. It might not be the same as pounding a sentinel, but she was going to teach this bastard a lesson.
Unexpectedly, a hand shot out to grab her tightly by the ankle and jerk her to the ground. She felt the air rush out of her lungs as her back slammed hard into the ground. The dark figure was suddenly on top of her, pinning her down.
She gasped as a beam of moonlight found its way between the leaves overhead and illuminated the person's face. "You!"
"Hello, darlin'. Did you miss me?" a harsh voice rasped to her before a pair of lips pressed against hers in a bruising punishment.
"Darien, would you stop that? You're going to wake her up," Raye chided gently.
The reincarnated prince looked up guiltily from where he had been running his fingers through Serena's long golden curls. "Sorry."
The priestess gave him what she hoped was a supporting smile before closing her eyes once more to meditate and see if she could catch any visions of what was happening. The candles burning in front of her weren't the same as gazing into the sacred fire, but she refused to leave her princess.
Next to her, Jadeite jumped up as his cell began ringing. He flipped it open as he walked into the other room to take the call so that his conversation wouldn't disturb Serena. "Hey…no we haven't heard anything yet…"
"Must be Nephrite again," Andrew commented from his seat on one of the couches.
They had been unable to keep the chestnut haired general out of the loop for long. He had called after he had seen the signs of a disturbance in the stars. He had been informed of what was going on, but was sworn to secrecy. The last thing anyone wanted was to have the place swarming with concerned sailor scouts and generals.
Michelle had called as well after she and Hotaru had experienced a feeling of unease. She said her mirror wasn't showing her anything, but that she would call back if she found something. She also promised that neither she nor Hotaru would say anything to Amara. The tall, blonde scout of wind was as protective of Serena as a pit-bull, and nobody felt like dealing with her tonight.
"I wonder how much longer we'll have to wait. This is torture," Jess whispered from her seat beside Andrew. Rini was curled up in a ball next to her with her head lying in her lap.
"I don't know," Darien answered softly. "They've been gone for a few hours now. But Serena is still not showing any signs of fading away, so I can only guess that's a good thing. As long as she's still here, then that means her past self is still alive. What about you, Rini? How are you feeling?"
The pink haired girl shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I feel pretty solid and I don't feel sleepy anymore." She sat up and looked at her future father. "Actually I feel pretty good, better than I have since this whole thing started."
"That makes two of us," Serena's voice spoke up from where she was lying on the couch. "I think the kids must have been successful, because my energy is coming back to me."
She sat up and Darien scrambled up from his spot on the floor to sit beside her and put an arm around her shoulders.
"Do you really feel better?" he asked anxiously. "You scared me there for a little bit. You seemed so weak."
She nodded and gave him a bright smile. "I feel great. I was really tired before, but now I feel like a million bucks."
"Pluto's coming," Raye said suddenly, her eyes popping open.
Sure enough, a few seconds later Sailor Pluto arrived in her usual burst of smoke and light, accompanied by three others that landed sprawled out on the carpet, and one of them was swearing loudly.
"I still can't believe that rotten, no good, sneaky, lying son of a bitch is working for him," Katie shrieked. "I knew I should have just murdered him months ago and chopped his body into kibble and thrown him to the wolves. Even though, now that I think about it, that might be too easy a punishment for him. A long death by slow disembowelment would suit that low down bastard better. I just…ARGH!"
She jumped up from the floor and began pacing back and forth; cussing a blue streak in the most curious mixture of both Japanese and English words that only Alex, DJ, Darien, and Jess could completely understand what she was saying.
"Whoa! What's got her so worked up?" Rini asked. "I haven't seen her this pissed since, well…no I take that back. I don't think I've ever seen her like this."
DJ smirked at her. "It seems Little Miss Tinkerbell received quite a shock tonight."
Katie's head whipped around. "Shock? SHOCK! Oh no! This goes way beyond shock. This goes right off the chart for shock. I can't believe that I was so stupid that I never saw the truth even though it was staring me right in the freaking face. Now I know how that damn guardian knew how to take me down so easily that night. That son of a bitch told them all of my moves. I'm such an idiot!"
At the dumbfounded looks on everyone's faces, Alex said calmly, "Kat just found out that her ex-boyfriend has gone over to the dark side. He was with the sentinel that went after Serena in the past."
"What!" Rini exclaimed as she shot up from the couch. "Jack is working with Discord? I can't believe that son of a bitch! Wait a minute…ex-boyfriend? I didn't know that they broke up."
Katie barked out a harsh laugh. "Yeah. I kicked his sorry ass to the curb the last night I was in Crystal Tokyo for being a dick. And then tonight he blindsided me. To make matters worse he…he…the stupid prick had the nerve to kiss me! I need some industrial strength mouthwash to get that foul taste out of my mouth."
Alex chuckled. "So that's why he was running for his life like a little bitch when we found you. I wondered what he had done to get you so mad. You had him jumping through hoops sis."
Katie growled low in her throat. "I would have done more than that to him if he hadn't jumped through that portal that opened up. Ugh…I can't believe I ever dated that bastard. Come on, Trista; send me to the time gate. I want to strangle that little shit with my bare hands."
Rini looked at her brother, who had been oddly silent through this revelation. "Hey DJ, if Jack is working with Discord, do you think there's a possibility that Sasha is too. I mean, I know she's your girlfriend and all, but do you think she might be involved?"
DJ sighed. "She's my ex-girlfriend. We broke up before I left home. And I had a suspicion that she was involved with all of this, but I wasn't entirely sure until tonight. But if Jack is in this, you can guarantee she is too."
Katie finally ran out of steam and flopped on the floor where she looked in disbelief at the ebony haired prince. "Damn DJ, we know how to pick them, don't we? We really are a couple of loser dorks."
He smirked at her. "Maybe you are. Don't forget that I have a fan club that follows me everywhere. My options are wide open."
Surprisingly, she giggled and picked up a small throw pillow that had fallen from the couch and threw it at him. "You're such a nerd!"
Pluto cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Okay, now that all of the excitement is over for the night, there are a few things that I want to cover. I think the last thing Discord expected was for the three of you to show up out of the blue and foil his plans, so it's a pretty safe bet that he is going to redouble his efforts to find you. That was why I had you power down to your civilian forms before we came back here. I didn't want him to be able to trace your energy signatures. So while you are in this time there is to be no using your powers or transforming unless it's a life or death situation."
"Oh man! That's not fair!" Alex and DJ groaned together.
"Yeah," Katie agreed. "How are we supposed to train if we can transform or use our powers?"
Pluto turned thoughtful for a moment before she turned to Serena. "Do you still have that cloaked clearing near the middle school where you used to train? That would be safe enough for them to practice."
Serena shook her head. "I honestly don't know. I haven't been there in years now. I guess I could check with Amy and see. She was the one that set it up way back when it was just she, Raye, and I. If not, I'm sure she could set up something similar for them."
"Please see about it," Pluto told her. "Not that I imagine that they will need it all that much. If Discord went after the past once, I'm sure he'll do it again. Especially if he thinks that it might draw them out of hiding. So I'm sure they'll be getting their regular workouts."
"Right," Serena muttered. "Darien and I are calling a meeting with everyone tomorrow to explain the situation to them. Will you be able to attend? It would be a big help if you were there to help me keep the facts straight."
Pluto inclined her head. "Myself and the other outers will be there. I have already apprised them of the circumstances, but we need to make sure that everybody is on the same page."
"Where did they come from?" Discord bellowed, his voice echoing across the time plane, sending the groups of guardians and sentinels into quaking spasms of fear.
Jack was no exception as he stood with his head bowed. The shiver that raced down his spine was almost enough to bring him to his knees, but he remained upright. "I don't know, sir. There was no indication that they were in that time, and there's nothing to prove that they are still there. It's like they just magically appeared, blasted the sentinel, and then vanished once more. It was definitely unexpected."
"Pluto!" Discord snarled. "It has to be her. She's making time jumps with them just like I suspected. She may not be keeping them hidden in one particular time. She must have foreseen our attack on Serenity and brought them there. But if that meddlesome time guardian thinks that she can stop me so easily, she is sadly mistaken. We will take our time and carefully plan out who and where we will strike next. With any luck, those troublemaking brats will appear again. Then perhaps we will have a shot at taking them out."
He turned back to the time stream and began sifting through it, searching for who would be the next victim. Jack breathed out a shaky sigh of relief, grateful that he hadn't been punished for his failure.
Sasha walked up next to him and raked him with a contemptuous glare, her emerald eyes snapping in fury. "Well, did you have fun tonight?"
"What are you talking about?" Jack asked uncertainly.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" she hissed back at him. "I was watching the whole thing. You kissed her!"
"Oh, is that all," he said nonchalantly. "It didn't mean what you think it means. I meant it as an insult to her, as a punishment."
Sasha's gaze softened and she giggled. "She definitely took it as an insult. I feared for your life for a minute when she went after you. It's obvious that she doesn't have any nice feelings for you anymore."
Jack snorted. "Well I don't have any for her either. I respected her as a fellow musician, but that was about it. What about you? Do you have any lingering feelings for DJ?"
"That nerd boy? Hah!" Sasha scoffed. "Please! All he cares about inflating his princely ego and burying his head in his books. Totally not my style."
Jack chuckled. "You have a cruel streak in you, Sasha."
She smiled beautifully at him. "So do you. That's why we make the perfect team. I can't wait to bust up their little band. It'll be so much fun."
Jack grinned at her. "That it will. We'll make them pay for all the wrong that they've done." He held out a hand to her. "Put it there, partner."
Instead of taking his hand, Sasha pulled his head down and gave him a scorching kiss. When she pulled away seconds later, she smirked at his astonished expression. "That's how a real woman kisses."
Monday morning dawned bright, sunny, and cold over Tokyo. It seemed that the late winter warm spell that the city had been experiencing the last few days had finally gone away, and the early February day promised to be a chilly one.
"Get up, Alex. You're going to be late if you don't get a move on," Katie snapped as she flung open the curtains over the window to the bedroom that she was currently sharing with her brother.
Although Andrew and Jess's apartment was exactly like Darien and Serena's with three bedrooms plus an office, there was only one guest bedroom since Andrew used the office to oversee his business and Jess had claimed the other bedroom as her studio. Luckily the third bedroom was fairly big and had both a bed and a futon, so the teens weren't too cramped for space.
Alex moaned and rolled over to look at the clock. "Are you crazy, Kat? It's 6:30 in the morning!"
Katie shook her head at him. "Exactly! School starts at 8:00. Now get moving and go take your shower and get dressed. Dad's cooking breakfast, but you won't have time to eat if you don't get up now."
'Just give me ten more minutes," he grumbled, pulling a pillow over his head. A few seconds later he felt the whole futon he was laying on tip as he went tumbling to the floor.
"All right! I'm up already! Sheesh!" he exclaimed as he glared up at his sister. But his glare turned to one of shock as he took in her appearance. "Wow, Kat! You look nice."
"Really? You think so?" she asked as she twirled. "I wasn't too sure about it in the beginning since it reminds me so much of wearing a fuku. But it's really not all that bad."
Alex let his eyes travel up the length of her: from the modest black ballet flats on her feet, past the navy blue skirt that fell to just below her knees, to the white sailor style long sleeved shirt with a red bow on the front. She had pulled her long, shimmering hair into a ponytail and tied it with a silver ribbon.
"Oh man! I'm going to have to kill every guy at that school. I can see it now," Alex groaned.
Katie laughed. "I'm going to assume that's weird brother talk for saying I look good and leave it at that. Now come on! Dad's making French Toast." Then she was gone in a blur.
Alex shook his head at her excitement, glad to see that spark of her old self beginning to return. He gathered his clothes and trooped off to the bathroom.
Katie flew into the kitchen and plunked down at the table next to Jess, who was reviewing some notes for a test she had that day.
Andrew set a plate down in front of her with several thick slices of French toast dusted with powdered sugar. "Eat up, kiddo. You've got a big day ahead of you."
"Thanks dad, I mean Drew," she corrected herself. "Man, I've gotta break that habit."
Andrew grinned at her. "I kinda like hearing it. But you're right, it would be strange if somebody heard you calling me dad."
"Is your brother up yet?" Jess asked, taking a sip of her coffee. "I'm sure he doesn't want to be late on his first day."
Katie reached for the syrup and poured it over her toast. "Yeah, he's up. He's just not much of a morning person."
"Knock, knock," Serena called out as she stuck her head in the door. "Is everybody up and decent?"
Jess rolled her eyes. "In here, Sere."
Serena came into the kitchen, followed closely by Rini, who was wearing a uniform that was identical to Katie's. "Good morning everyone. I thought I'd come and see how everyone is doing today."
Rini sniffed. "Bull! Tell the truth. You smelled Andrew's cooking and bolted out the door."
Serena flushed a little. "That wasn't the only reason."
Katie sensed someone standing in the doorway and turned to look, figuring it was Alex. Instead she almost choked on her food when caught her first look at DJ in his school uniform.
The gray slacks showed just how long his legs were and the navy blue blazer did nothing to detract from his wide shoulders. The entire look was pulled together nicely by the white button down shirt and red tie.
'Good grief, are we going to school or a court function?' Katie thought to herself. 'He looks absolutely gorgeous. That jacket makes his eyes seem bluer than usual.'
Then the voice of the new Katie, the colder, more calculating one, broke into her thoughts. 'Get a grip on yourself, Kat! He's off limits, remember?'
Yeah, but a girl could look. And Katie took advantage of the fringe of bangs that fell over her eyes to sneak in covert glances at him. Alex joined them a few minutes later, looking no less dashing in his matching uniform. The girls of Azabu High better watch out, because there were likely to be quite a few swooning today when they caught sight of this duo.
Darien popped in for a moment on his way to the hospital to say goodbye and wish the new students good luck. Serena accompanied him outside for a private goodbye while everyone else finished breakfast.
Finally Rini pushed back from the table. "Are you three ready? I guess we should get going so I can show you around a little bit before class starts."
"Good luck!" Andrew and Jess both called out to them as they picked up their backpacks and slid on jackets as they headed for the door.
"You're going to be late for work if you don't hurry," Rini admonished Darien as they passed him and Serena in the hallway while they were in the middle of a prolonged goodbye.
Darien jerked back and looked frantically at his watch. "Oh shit! You're right. I better run. I'll see everyone tonight."
Serena pouted as she watched her fiancé hurry toward the elevator. "Thanks a lot, Rini."
Rini grinned at her future mother. "You'll get over it. Now we are off to learn lots of interesting things."
Serena's expression lightened. "All right, you guys have a great day. And don't forget about the training session with Nebula this afternoon."
DJ, Katie, and Alex all groaned. The day before, during the meeting, Amy had confirmed that the scout's old training area was still secured from any outside interference. Nebula had been present for the meeting also, and she had jumped at the chance to be in charge of their training.
"Great! No matter what, we can't get away from psycho cat," DJ moaned.
The twins nodded in agreement. They had been thrilled to find out that there was a place for them to practice, but they had hoped to go at it alone, not under the watchful eyes of an insane feline that could put most drill sergeants to shame.
They trudged after Rini, off to start their first day of what they had dubbed as being a normal teenage life.
"Okay class," the advanced biology teacher called out over the noise of the class after the bell rang. "Don't forget that we have a test tomorrow. So make sure to review chapters 16 and 17 tonight to prepare for it. Except for you Mr. Shields. I wouldn't expect you to take this test since you are new to the class."
DJ looked up in surprise. "That's not necessary ma'am. I've already covered the subjects that will be on the test and I feel pretty confident that the test won't be a problem for me."
It was true enough. Thanks to the teachings of Amy and Zoicite, he had been pleased to find that he was at the same level as the other students and not behind as he had feared. In some cases he found that he was actually ahead of them.
He stuffed his books into his backpack and left the room for his last class of the day, Calculus. His afternoon classes were devoted to his two favorite subjects, science and math.
Alex had fallen over when he had seen what classes he was taking. "Dude, you're already taking Trig and Chemistry in the morning. Why would you purposefully take more? Are you crazy?"
Alex's afternoon was spent in the computer lab where he could indulge in his passion for all things electronic. He claimed that the technology here in the past was sadly lacking, but he was fascinated by it just the same.
Katie's afternoon classes were scheduled with Michelle, who was the music teacher here. Hopefully those classes would be good for her and help her regain her interest in music again.
"DJ!" he heard a female voice call his name. He turned to find Michelle hurrying toward him. He noticed she looked extremely worried.
"What's wrong, Michelle?" he asked as she reached him.
She shook her head. "Thank goodness. I was hoping to find either you or Alex. Have you seen Katie anywhere?"
DJ felt like the bottom had fallen out of his stomach. "Not since lunch. I thought she was with you. Isn't she supposed to be in your class all afternoon?"
Michelle chewed her lip nervously. "Yes. She was there, but I think I may have upset her somehow. I asked her to play the piano for me so that I could get a feeling for where she was at. She seemed to be really nervous, so I told her that there was no pressure and to take her time. Well she finally sat down, but she didn't play more than a few measures before she suddenly got up and ran from the room. I haven't seen her since, and that was about a half an hour ago."
'Damn! I thought she was doing better,' DJ thought to himself. Then out loud he said, "Don't worry about it, Michelle. I don't think it has anything to do with you personally. I don't know how much of the story you've heard, but Kat has some issues that she's trying to work through."
The aqua haired woman nodded. "I heard some of it, and I understand. I want to help her through this if I can. Music can be very therapeutic, and from the little bit I heard before she ran I can tell she has a wonderful talent."
"I"ll find her," DJ told her. "She probably went and holed herself up somewhere to think."
Michelle handed him a couple of slips of paper. "Here's a pass to excuse you from class. There's one for Alex too if you feel like you need to pull him out to help you look for her."
He pocketed the passes. "Thanks," he said quickly before hurrying away. He was heading for the computer lab to grab Alex when a thought hit him.
"I don't need his help," he muttered to himself. "I can handle finding her on my own. How hard can it be to track down one lone teenage girl?"
He had a feeling that she wouldn't have hung around the school, so he quickly made his way off the campus. Once he was outside on the sidewalk, he turned in the direction of the apartment. That seemed to be the logical place for her to be.
He hadn't taken more than five steps when he felt something, almost like a giant magnet, pulling him in the opposite direction. He paused, looking around to see if he could locate the source for this unusual feeling. He didn't see anything.
Shrugging, he ignored it and started walking away again, but for some reason he felt a ball of unease form in the pit of his stomach, and the feeling grew stronger with every step he took. Frustrated, he stopped again; this time closing his eyes to try and feel out with his other senses the way Raye had tried to teach him to.
The sounds of the city faded away as he tried to concentrate on the feelings of the auras of the people who were rushing around, going about their business. Most of the auras were a calm blue or green, some of them faintly tinged with a little red on the outside from stress, but nothing that would cause this feeling.
Then he felt it, a tiny, dim silver spark. He focused harder on it and almost fell over as the emotions from it hit him like a freight train. Anger, pain, and sorrow slammed into him. His eyes popped open and he scurried off in the direction that he sensed this turmoil. He knew that somehow he had brushed his aura against Katie's, and he latched onto it. He followed it as easily as following a rope.
It led him closer to the middle of the city and into a quiet area filled with large homes. Suddenly realizing what part of town he was in, he hurried down a street that was vaguely familiar until he reached a corner.
Sure enough, there she was, sitting on a low stone wall as she stared at the house across the street. It wasn't exactly the same as it would appear a thousand years in the future, but it was undeniably the same house that she had grown up in.
DJ approached her slowly before quietly taking a seat next to her. She kept her gaze focused straight ahead, not acknowledging his presence at all.
Then…"How did you find me?" she asked. "It felt really weird, like I could feel you coming before you ever got here. What did you do?"
He smiled sheepishly. "I followed your aura. I guess Raye's training finally paid off. I've never been able to do it before, but for some reason I was able to locate you fairly easily."
She glanced quickly at him. "Oh," she mumbled.
He studied her intently. By the feeling of the emotions he had felt running through her, he had been afraid that he would find her a crying, hysterical mess. But he should have known better. This new Katie didn't let out her feelings like that. She kept everything locked up inside until the only way she deal with it was to lash out in anger. That was a big part of her problem, she needed release.
He knew he was going to have to tread carefully. "So do you wanna talk about it?"
She laughed a horribly hollow laugh. "What is there to talk about, DJ? I told Trista that I didn't want to take Michelle's class, but she didn't listen to me. I can't play like that anymore, I just can't!"
She felt the tears burning in her eyes and looked away. How could she explain to anybody how she felt when she sat down at that piano? The moment her fingers had touched the keys, a hundred different memories had flooded her mind. A mint green dress, a white rose, her first kiss, DJ's smile, performing in the palace ballroom, pain, blood, darkness, fear, and doubt had all swirled together in her mind until it felt like she was drowning in that icy water of the bay once again.
DJ watched her profile, seeing the emotions that flitted across her face. Finally he said quietly, "That's a shame. I miss hearing you play. I always enjoyed listening to you."
She turned incredulous eyes on him. "You're jerking me around, right? You always teased me about my music."
"No I didn't," he contradicted her. "I didn't on that last night you played at my parent's anniversary party. I told you how great I thought you were, and I meant every word of it. You seemed so happy when you played, like you were off in your own world where nothing could touch you. I just want to see you happy like that again."
She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you being so nice? You don't even like me. We're mortal enemies, remember? Why would you care about how I feel?"
His cheeks flushed a little. "I do care, a lot. And maybe I don't want to be enemies anymore. We've been through a bunch of shit together, Kat, and it sounds like there is a whole lot more waiting for us. I don't want to keep fighting with you. I…I…"
'You idiot! Go on and tell her that you love her!' his mind screamed at him.
"I want us to be friends," he said instead, chickening out at the last moment.
Katie sighed. "We're not ten years old anymore, DJ. This is different than calling a truce between us so that we don't get stuck with extra training sessions because we we're fighting."
"I know that," he told her, reaching for one of her tightly clenched hands. "And I want this to be more than just a simple truce. I'm offering a full surrender. I really want us to be friends. I want to be there for you."
He could see the tears brimming in her eyes, about to spill over, before she took him by surprise and threw her arms around him and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He felt the scalding tears on his skin as he put his arms around her shuddering body and held her as she cried.
They stayed that way for several minutes before Katie reluctantly pulled away. Her cheeks and nose were red and her eyes were still a little glassy looking, but she gave him a big smile before she leaned forward and kissed his cheek lightly.
DJ's face went brick red and he felt like his heart was literally going to burst out of his chest at the feel of her smooth lips. But it was over quickly, like the soft fluttering of a butterfly's wings.
Katie giggled, a truly happy sound that warmed his insides. "You know what I wanna do now?" she asked.
He had several ideas about what he would like to do, but none of them were appropriate. "What?"
She jumped up from where she was sitting. "I think I wanna go knock Miss Michelle Kaioh's socks off. What do you say, friend?" she held her hand out to him.
He grinned at her and took the offered hand. "I say go for it."
They walked back to the school in companionable silence, fingers entwined the entire way.
Alex sighed as the last bell of the day rang and he powered down the computer that he had been working at. Granted, the computers in this time were sadly lacking in technology, but having the chance to study the mechanics of the 21st century was fascinating. Now he was ready to find the others and see how they had fared.
DJ he wasn't too worried about. He was always happy as long as he had his science and numbers around him. But he was a little concerned about his sister. She had isolated herself from the music world for months now, and he wasn't sure how she was going to react after being thrown back into it. He had felt some feelings of unease from her earlier, and even some panic, but it had seemed to settle down since then.
He grabbed his backpack and left the computer lab, swiftly making his way through the crowds of students as he hurried down the halls toward where the music room was. He ran into Rini as she was leaving the Home Ec room.
"Hey! How was the rest of your day?" she asked as she fell into step beside him.
He grinned at the princess. "It was great. How about yours?"
She held up a plastic container. "Pretty good. We made fudge today, and I think mine turned out rather well. Of course I'll have to hide it from Serena, Darien too for that matter, they both have a weak spot for chocolate."
Alex batted his eyes at her. "But you wouldn't deny me, would you? Come on, Rini. You spare me just a little bit, can't you?"
Rini laughed and opened the container to offer him a piece. "Of course you can have some. You're one of the few people I know that doesn't inhale food like a black hole."
"Ah, you're the best," Alex told her as he selected a piece and popped it in his mouth. "This is really good," he complimented her after he had swallowed.
They were nearing the music room, and the sound of piano music drifted to them.
"Wow!" Alex said. "Sounds like Kat may have some competition if she ever starts playing again. Whoever that is sounds awesome."
A group of students were huddled around the classroom door, wide eyed and talking excitedly in hushed whispers. The entrance to the room was completely blocked, but thanks to his height, Alex was able to see over them.
"I don't believe it!" he whispered in shock when he saw who was sitting at the piano.
"What? What is it?" Rini asked, hopping up and down, trying to see.
Alex grabbed her arm and pushed his way through the crowd until he and Rini were inside the room. Both of their jaws fell open when they saw they complete scene.
Michelle was sitting on a stool, listening intently as Katie played. The shocker was the fact that DJ was there as well, leaning up against the wall with a big smile on his face as he watched Katie.
Rini arched a brow at Alex. "What the hell?"
Alex shrugged. "Beats me. Do you think something finally happened between the two of them?"
"I sure hope so," Rini replied. "I'm so sick of watching them beat around the bush with each other."
Alex nodded emphatically as the last notes of the song faded away.
"Bravo!" Michelle announced, jumping up from her seat. "That was absolutely stunning! How long did you say it has been since you last played?"
Katie's cheeks flushed pink. "A little over four months. I haven't played since the end of September."
"Well I couldn't tell. You are a natural," Michelle told her.
Alex let out a whoop and ran to congratulate his sister, but before he reached her she was snatched up into someone else's arms.
"I told you that you could do it!" DJ exclaimed as he spun her around.
Katie squealed and threw her arms around his neck. "I'm not dreaming, am I? Did I really do it?"
DJ set her on her feet. "Nope, it's not a dream."
Alex cleared his throat. "Uh, excuse me. Just who are you two, and what have you done to my sister and my best friend?"
Katie twirled with a laugh and flung herself at her brother. "Oh, Alex! Did you hear that?"
He returned her hug. "I sure did, sis. Sounds like you're making a comeback." Over her shoulder he looked questioningly at DJ, but his dark haired friend just stood there grinning like a brainless idiot.
"I think they've been abducted by aliens," Rini muttered. "That's the only thing I can think of to describe why they are acting so out of character."
"Alien abduction? Is that the best you can come up with? Please!" DJ scoffed then lowered his voice where the eavesdroppers in the hall couldn't hear him. "If the guardians and sentinels haven't gotten us yet, what makes you think some little green men from a distant galaxy would have a chance? I'm insulted. We just decided that we were much more suited as friends rather than enemies. Right Kat?"
"Right!" Katie beamed. "I think we better hurry though. We're supposed to be meeting Nebula for a torture session."
DJ smacked himself on the forehead "Oh crap! I forgot! Yeah, we better get moving before she decides to use us as scratching posts." He offered his arm to Katie. "Shall we, milady?"
She giggled and tucked her arm through his. "I would be honored, your highness."
Rini and Alex trudged along after their siblings, trying vainly to figure out exactly what they had missed between DJ and Katie to cause such a change in their relationship.
It was almost 2:00 am when Darien unlocked the door to the apartment and slipped inside. What had supposed to have been a twelve-hour shift had gone on much longer than that when the victims of a multi car wreck had been brought into the emergency room.
Car wrecks always struck a nerve with him since he had lost his parents to one when he had been six, and this one really hit home tonight. When he was informed that four of the victims were teenagers wearing Azabu High School uniforms, two boys and two girls, that had been cut out of a mangled Mitsubishi Eclipse, he had gone nuts for a moment. Serena owned a silver Eclipse, and he feared that she might have let the kids borrow the car to go out.
He had rushed to check on the four teens, but they weren't the ones that he had feared them to be. Getting over his shock, he threw himself into the fray. Luckily no one was seriously injured. There were a few broken bones, lots of cuts and scrapes, and one possible concussion, but no life threatening injuries. He had stayed until he was sure that everyone was stabilized and settled into rooms for observation.
He crept quietly into the kitchen where he found a note on the refrigerator.
Hey sweetie - I hope the rest of your night went okay. Rini made a pretty good stir fry tonight, and I saved you some. It's in the fridge if you are hungry. I love you. – Sere
He smiled a tired smile at the little hearts that she had doodled all over the paper. No matter how much Serena had grown and matured over the years, she still managed to retain that childlike innocence that had drawn him to her in the first place. Even though she was almost twenty-one years old, she could still light up a room with her presence the way she did when he first saw her at fourteen.
He opened the fridge, but bypassed the stir-fry for a bottle of water. He wasn't very hungry. He downed the water in just a few gulps and then went in search of his bed. He walked into the room that he shared with Serena to find it flooded in moonlight.
He preferred for it to be dark when he slept. But the nights that he worked late, Serena would open the curtains wide to let in the light of her old home. She claimed that it comforted her when he wasn't there to hold her.
He snuck around to his side of the bed and reached for where he had a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt on a nearby chair. When he turned around, he misjudged the distance and stubbed his toe on the nightstand.
He hissed out a sharp breath as a thousand expletives ran through his mind. As he stood there with his teeth clenched to keep from yelling, Serena rolled over in the bed.
"Dare, is that you?" she mumbled sleepily.
He quickly forgot his pain and sat down on the side of the bed. "Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep." He smoothed some of her hair from her face.
She yawned and sat up. "No, it's okay. I was having trouble sleeping anyway."
He frowned a little. "That's not like you. The only time I've ever known you to miss out on any sleep is when you're stressed about something. Is everything going okay with your classes?"
She laughed lightly. "Leave it to you to think about school. No, my classes are going fine. One of my professors even told me that a local preschool is looking for a student teacher to help out a couple of afternoons a week and that it would count as class credit. I'm thinking of applying for it."
Darien pulled off his tie and began unbuttoning his shirt. "If that's what you want to do, sweetheart, then go for it. It might be good for you to get some hands on experience."
"Yeah, maybe," he heard her say dejectedly as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. "But sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing."
"What do you mean?" he asked her. "I thought you wanted to become a teacher."
She sighed. "That's just it, Darien. I'm not going to become a teacher, am I? Instead of spending my days teaching little kids their ABC's and 123's, I'm going to be busy being a queen. So why am I bothering getting up everyday and going to class? It's not going to do any good anyhow. So why am I doing it?"
Darien eyed his fiancé thoughtfully. "I thought we had agreed to not think about our futures so much and live our lives how we want to. Whatever happens to us in the future has nothing to do with the present."
"Until it walks up and smacks you in the face," she muttered.
Darien finished changing his clothes and then climbed into bed to sit next to her. "Okay, spill. What's got you so worried about the future all of a sudden? We've known about it for years now and it's never bothered you before. Is it because DJ's here?"
She shook her head. "Not exactly. I mean, it does, but not because of him directly. I guess knowing about Rini for so long helped me accept the fact that I'm going to be a mother of two fairly easily. But that's an entirely different subject. I think it's more of the fact that today I finally realized the amount of responsibility that's going to be on me in the future, and it scared me."
Darien yawned. "I think you're putting too much thought into this, Sere. What caused you to have such a revelation about the future?"
"I don't know," she answered. "Maybe it's just a combination of everything that's happened the last few days. I guess it just got me to thinking that I should be focusing on what I need to know to be a good queen that will be capable of protecting her kingdom."
"I still think you're overreacting," Darien sighed as he lay back on his pillow. "We've got time before all of this happens, and it's not like everything's going to be on you when the time comes. You'll have me and all of our friends right beside you."
"But how much time do we actually have?" Serena asked. "Think about it. We're getting married this fall. From what we learned from your future self, we know that I become queen when I'm twenty-two and that Rini is born not long after that. I'm going to be twenty one in less than five months. The clock is ticking."
"Shh," Darien shushed as he pulled her down and into the circle of his arms. "Whatever happens, happens. You're not Neo Queen Serenity yet, and you shouldn't have to worry about that right now. You are Serena Tsukino, and no one else. Just concentrate on what you want in life at this moment."
Serena blew out a nerve steadying breath. "You're right." Then she giggled. "That's why I need you so much, you always find a way to bring me down when I start flipping out."
He kissed the top of her head. "That's what I'm here for. Now get some sleep. Don't you have a test later today?"
She poked him in the ribs. "Once a geek, always a geek. Don't you ever think of anything besides books and school?"
Darien let out a low growl and rolled over so that he had her pinned under him. "A geek am I? Excuse me for valuing a good education. How else could I have become one of the youngest doctors ever at Tokyo General?"
Serena's eyes turned tender and she reached up to stroke his jaw. "I take it back. You're definitely not a geek. You're too damn good looking and ripped to ever be a member of the nerd club."
"That's more like it," he said with an evil grin before he swooped down to capture her lips in a kiss that made her head spin.
She pulled back breathlessly several seconds later. "I thought you were tired."
His dark blue eyes sparkled. "I'm never too tired for you. Don't you know that by now?"
Serena sighed dramatically. "A thousand years later, and I'm still a victim of your overactive libido. I must be crazy to even be thinking about marrying you again in this life."
He smiled her favorite little crooked smile. "I never hear any complaints out of you. In fact…" he leaned down to nuzzle her neck, "I was under the impression that you rather enjoyed my attentions."
She turned her face toward his and whispered, "You are so bad."
"Yeah, but you love me for it."
A/N Yay! They saved the past, for now, and Katie's playing her music again. Damn that DJ! He's such a chicken! Well at least he and Katie are on friendly terms at the moment, but that could change at any time depending on my muse. I felt like making this an angst free chapter. And we had a few awww moments with Sere and Dare too. But who, where, and when will Discord strike next? And will our three young heroes come through it unscathed? Hmmm…I'm not entirely sure. I've used up everything that I had pretyped, so I'm kinda making it up as I go now. I'm at the mercy of the muse goddess. Let me know what you guys think, leave me a review. And if there's anything that you would like to see happen, let me know and I'll try to work it in. Enough gabbing! See ya next update!
~Sere~