Disclaimer: Never will, never have, owned Sailor Moon.
AN: Heheh. Well...I wanted to get the next chapter as soon as possible. Nothing else to say about it! Read on!
ffgirlmoonie: Nah. I understand. At least it's good to know that you'll keep reading. I'll -try- not to make too much characters. But there will be some minor ones in the future. Ahem. That's all you're getting out of me.
sakurawolfblossom: No offense taken! I actually prefer that you all critic me. Thanks. I'll keep that as a side note. And since I can't see the flaws of my chapters, since I wrote it, I need all the critic I can get for each chapter and I'll update it to make it understandable. Chapter 2 will be updated as soon as this chapter is up and running.
Dertupio: You're welcome. D
GoOutBlazin: I'm assuming this chapter will answer that question of yours. Yush!
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Legend:
'Thoughts'
"Normal"
-Dream sequences/Flashbacks-
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Chapter 11 to Dreams and Wishes
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"And that's what she said?" A nod. Silence. "You sure?" A sigh, but another nod. "Where would they be?"
The young teen wringed her hands together and looked at them. "That's what I don't know." She fidgeted under the gaze of the future rulers, as well as the cats, with the exception of Diana. "I can usually feel their energy signature since we're family, but…"
"…But?" prodded Serena.
"There's nothing. I'm starting to worry about them." Diana nuzzled her charge and smiled as Rini calmed down just a bit. She unconsciously rubbed the gray cat's head. "I think we should look for them. Now." Her ruby red eyes turned fierce. If they didn't know her, they would have frozen under her gaze.
The twin's, as they gathered, were only four years old, almost five. They had their fair share of traits from both parents. Rini was not allowed to say more than that, so they went back to discussing what Pluto had told her. "She said that there will be one last group of visitors from my time and that's all that she could afford to send. She didn't want to disrupt the line as it has already been."
Darien leaned against the balcony, looking out at the now powered up city. It had returned just a few minutes ago, a few hours after it had gone out. "Did the last group happen to be the twins?" Rini shrugged. She didn't know, Pluto never mentioned anything about how many she was actually going to send.
"Perhaps she has something important to keep from us." Serena glanced at the two guardians. "Luna? Artemis? You've been quiet as of late, is something the matter?"
The two glanced at each other then to the people around the room. "We think…we may have had a memory of the Princess."
"About Abby? I thought…"
Luna shook her head. "We thought that as well." Artemis continued for her.
"It seems that we knew her in our…human form."
"Human form?" Darien moved from his spot to the couch and stood behind it. "I, we, didn't know you had another form. Why haven't you used it from the day we all met?"
"As you know, your full powers won't be unlocked unless you find Princess Abby, and you're limited to the powers you've earned up until now." She paused. "And it's not enough to defeat Orb, as you remember."
"While that limits you, it seems that it limits us from into using our human forms." Artemis looked around the room. Rini looked like she wasn't listening, as if she heard it all before. Serena had her face scrunched up in frustration. And Darien? You couldn't tell. He was obviously still peeved about their first battle upon arriving.
"Maybe it would be better to show them, Artemis." He nodded. "Brace yourselves." A moment of silence as their crescent marks glowed, engulfing everyone in the room.
-
Swords clashed against each other. Though wooden, it still made a rather loud sound when they hit. "Good." And then shuffles of feet before another clang of the swords, followed by a huffing sound from the adult.
"How was that, Sir Arty?"
"Better." A giggle erupted from his opponent as he ruffled their hair. "But why were you holding back?"
A gasp was heard as another figure made itself known. It was Luna. At this, his opponent coward behind him. "...Because of Lady Luna."
Artemis chuckled and brought up an explanation. "It's not what you think, Luna." He received no response as she pulled the child out from behind him, checking for any injuries. "We were only using wooden swords, no harm done."
"NO harm done?!" She crossed her arms in a huff, pulling the child away. "How can you teach a child to handle a sword?" Luna dropped her gaze down. "Teaching the PRINCESS no less!"
He flinched at her tone of voice. "It wasn't as if I would teach her with no purpose."
"It's still not right to teach an heir such things!" Luna was obviously peeved.
"Lady Luna…" Stopped her ranting and paid attention to the child. "…I want to learn so I can protect all of you."
Luna's heart softened at the proclamation. "I'm sorry, child, but a princess, let alone a girl, is not meant to fight with a sword."
The Princess scrunched up her nose. "Then why do the history books always describe female warriors with swords? And some were even rulers of their country?"
Luna was caught in a corner. Artemis chuckled once more. "She's got you there." Thus, receiving a glare in response.
"Please? It's the only thing I can think of to protect…." She pulled Luna down to her height. "…my family."
"If the Queen hears about this…"
"She won't unless we keep it a secret." Artemis inclined.
"That's not right, keeping something like this a secret."
"Lady Lunaaa! You should understand…" The Princess had hopeful eyes. "…you're part of my family and you wouldn't want anything to happen to a family member, right?"
Again, Luna was cornered. Artemis seemed mildly amused by this interaction. She sighed, this was not right, yet she couldn't deny the Princess' wish.
"I pinkie swear that I will tell Mama when the time is right." The Princess held out a pinkie. For a child that was five, she held much wisdom. Luna could only link her finger with hers. She knew this child would keep a promise such as this.
"On one condition." They both looked at her. "Beat Artemis."
"Hey! Thanks for the vote of confidence, Luna!"
The Princess giggled.
"But before the servants notice, we must get you back into bed. It is well past your bedtime." Luna knew the Queen was going to make her late night rounds on checking in on her daughters.
The child nodded. "Nighty night, Sir Arty!" Gave him a quick hug and followed Luna out the room.
He chuckled one last time and looked back at the doorway they used to exit the training grounds. "Well I'll be…" He shook his head and placed one of the wooden swords back in place. "Guess I'll have to get a replacement." His was cracked at the handle, something he had failed to notice.
-
"And that's all we've managed to acquire. There are others, but it is not as clear as this particular memory." Luna agreed with Artemis' statement.
Serena nodded. "That means not much can be accomplished until we retrieve our full memories."
"Which means we have to find Abigail as soon as possible." Darien contemplated.
Rini was silent after she saw a younger version of her aunt. They really DO look like her…
"Hey, are you okay?" She looked up. Everyone's attention was on her.
"I'm just…worried." Rini paused. "Where would the twins be?"
A knock on the door interrupted them. "Who would that be?" Serena glanced at the clock. It read 9:47 PM. She walked towards the door, taking note that everyone was just as curious as she was. She met a pair of dark brown eyes. "Steph? Is something wrong?"
"Sorry to bother you so late…but…is it okay if I, um, borrow some scissors?" She was a bit jumpy, but still calm.
"Sure, but what for?" Serena led her inside and into the living room where the others were. "She's come by to borrow some scissors. Where'd you put them?" The question was directed at Darien after she explained, turning her attention back to the girl.
"Well…it seems that Tina misplaced them and I can't find them. I need them for a project I need to hand in tomorrow." She shifted so all her weight went on her left foot, hugging herself as if to warm herself up. It was summer, why would she be cold? It could just be nerves.
"It's in the top right drawer in the dining room." Serena nodded and went to go seek out the said scissors. "And you have to hand in a project on a weekend? Isn't it summer holidays?"
"It's not so much for school." She paused, wondering whether or not she should continue. "I do volunteering and I promised I'd hand it in tomorrow when I dropped by." Steph wasn't very specific as to what she was to hand in. "And something came up during the storm, so I kind of lost some time on it."
"I see…" He was starting to think something was up, but didn't pry into it. They still had a lot of time to get to know her. Artemis sidled up to Steph and purred at her feet.
She smiled and bent down to pet his head. "Why, hello, Arty." She didn't notice him falter at the nickname, and continued to scratch him behind his ears. The others in the room noticed it, but didn't make any notion that they did.
Serena slipped into the room at the moment, Steph stopping her treatment, and handed her the scissors. "Here you go, hope you finish your project soon."
As she was about to step out of the door, she stopped, turning to face them. "Hey, if you guys hear anything about a family looking for some children, tell me, okay?"
Rini blinked. "What do you mean?" Steph stared back at her. "Oh, I'm Rini. Serena's cousin."
Steph nodded, not bothering to point out the fact that they looked alike. "Stephanie, pleasure to meet you." She placed the scissors in her other hand. "It's just that there were two girls down in the lobby during the storm. I was making sure everything was okay down there."
"Girls?" Rini repeated.
"Twins, to be exact. They're currently sleeping in my bed." She tilted her head to the side. "I should probably get back to them, they might wake up and find me gone and freak out or something." She took their silence as a sign. "You can come by tomorrow before I take them to volunteer with me. Just to see if you recognize them?"
"Oh, yes, we'll drop by. Won't we?" Darien answered, receiving a bunch of nods from the room.
And with a small smile. "My door's always open, just at the end of the hall. So come around 1 o'clock. And thanks for the scissors, I'll give them back asap. Night!" And she left, closing the door behind her.
Silence erupted for a good five or so minutes. "You don't think…" Serena drifted.
Darien sighed. "…I think so."
She nodded "Yeah."
"I think…she has my cousins safe and sound."
"But can we really trust her?" Luna stated, more like asked.
Another round of silence followed until Serena continued.
"We don't know unless we start."
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The next morning. "Okay! You're all set." She handed the chestnut haired girl her uniform, but without the belt. "Welcome to the Tag Dojo, Lita."
Lita smiled. "Thank you. So I can just wear my belt from before?"
The secretary nodded. "There's no need for you to start at square one." She paused. "We just need to size you up so we know which section to put you in."
"What does that mean?"
"Someone of your level or higher will be put in a match against you." She stamped the application form. "It's a form of test."
"Lita?" The said girl spun around.
"Ah, Tina, just the person I was going to call." Jessa, the secretary, looked between the two girls. "Seeing as how you two seem to already know each other, will you take her to see Master Kahn and Master Hiro?"
"Will do!" Tina turned and walked away. "C'mon, Lita, let's get you changed." The two headed into the girls changing room. She showed Lita which locker to use and unlocked her own.
Lita decided to strike up a conversation. "So how long have you been here?" She slipped on the garments, tying her 1st degree black belt around her wait to secure it.
She tied her own belt. It was brown with one black stripe. "About six years." Tina went around the room and did some quick running-on-the-spot drill. "And you?"
"Since I was five." Lita placed her shoes in the locker. "So thirteen years."
"C'mon, let's go. Maybe if you're good enough…" Tina held a teasing smile. "…they'll put you in the same group as me."
Lita accepted the challenge behind her words. "We'll see about that, Miss Person-who-thinks-they're-so-tough!" Tina laughed and left the change room, missing the smile that etched onto Lita's face.
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"Ah, so you must be our new recruit."
Tina nodded and pulled her forward. "Lita, this is Master Kahn, the nicer one of the two." She pointed to the man whom had spoken earlier.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" A figure emerged from behind them.
"Oh, Master Hiro, I didn't see you there." Tina had a playful grin plastered on her face as she said this.
"My arse you didn't." Hiro had a fair build. You could tell that he was serious, but the easy to get along with kind of guy. He was in his mid-thirties. Adorned with light brown hair and smoky gray eyes.
Kahn had the kindest look, which he had on at all times. Whether he was angry, happy, shocked, or any other emotion you could think of, you wouldn't be able to tell. He stood over Hiro by two inches, and had a more obvious build. Apart from having the same hair colour as Hiro, his eyes were a light green.
"So let's get your match on the way, Lita." Kahn stated.
His partner suddenly remembered why he had appeared in the first place. "Hey, Kahn, we have our special guest from the other dojo this morning."
"Sensei, that's today?" Tina's eyes sparked with interest. "Could I go up against them? Please?" She begged. It was always a treat for her to fight other from other academy's.
"Not this time, Tina." Kahn simply stated and she pouted slightly. "Let's see how our new student bests up against our guest."
"Me?" He nodded. She punched her hand with her fist. "Bring it." The two sensei's, and Tina, laughed as Lita began to crack her knuckles in excitement.
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I guess they were right about never underestimating your opponent. Lita couldn't believe it. With all her training as a Scout, she couldn't even lay a finger on her. Her, being her opponent. She stared back up into the fighter's eyes. A glamorous shade of blue. Not as dark as Darien's, nor as light as Serena's.
"Okay." Lita breathed and decided to pull off her signature move.
"Winner!"
What? She opened her eyes, which she had not known she closed, finding herself staring at the floor.
"I admire your style." Lita's opponent stood up and offered a hand, which she gladly took. Her voice was gentle, it held a lot of wisdom, as well as a very soothing one.
"You'll be placed in Tina's group." Kahn gestured to their left. About four other's were there, each with brown belts bearing either one or two black stripes.
She glanced at the belt her opponent had.
Brown with three black stripes.
"I must return to my dojo, Master Kahn." Her opponent bowed once. She noticed a dragon-like symbol on the back of her uniform. It must've been the symbol for the academy she attended.
He smiled. "Tell that old man that he didn't have to send you to show how competitive he can be."
She was wearing a mask over her head and mouth. Only showing her eyes and a bit of her nose. (Think hooded Ninja.) She nodded. "Hai. I will make sure to tell him." She bowed once more. "Bye, Sensei." And she left, just like that.
"Sensei." Lita paused. "What was that move she used?" It puzzled her as to how she had been defeated.
"Honestly? It's a new one I've never seen." He gestured to his students to continue their practices.
She looked towards the change room. She couldn't be…could she? Lita shook off all thoughts and headed to her new group. Tina, of course, in the same one. And together, they sparred with each other.
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AN: What could Lita be thinking? And yes, it's been a while since I posted a new chapter. If you have any ideas you'd like to contribute to this story, I'll take it into consideration! And since this chapter is up, I'm going to focus on previous chapters for a bit before heading onto the next.
See you next time,
B-chanz