Lita's New Year's Cookie Scramble Chapter 3 Venus: Champion of Youthful Lo, a sailor moon fanfic

Lita's New Year's Cookie Scramble
By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction .com domain. Comments are welcomed and encouraged.

Chapter 3 - Venus: Champion of Youthful Love!

Mina Aino watched as her friend Amy shifted in her chair for what seemed like the thousandth time. "What's the matter, girlfriend?" she asked while continuing to keep a watchful eye out for any attractive looking guys strolling by the booth.

"Nothing..." Amy wiggled in the metal fold-up chair. "I just can't seem to get my robes to sit right. I know they're supposed to be somewhat loose fitting." She shifted them a bit. "I get them into one spot, and they slid off of me. Perhaps, I grabbed Lita's by mistake." 'Ironic Reenie and I making the same error.'

"Y'know, Amy, I think Raye grabbed whatever sizes she had lying around and left them out for us," Mina commented while adjusting her own robes, "I'm having the same issue." She giggled. "It's like the Navy -- nobody gets the right size uniform at first. Lita's probably squeezed in one Serena's size and..." Her attention was caught by a group of young men who were making their way towards the booth. "Hi!" she greeted cheerfully, "How can we help you?"

The young man in the lead who looked about sixteen stopped, blinked, and asked, "Hey cutie, where's your big sister?"

"I don't have a big sister... Why?"

"Oh, sorry. My mistake. I thought I saw an older girl running around here that looks like you."

Mina smiled while Amy sighed internally. "That was probably me. Can I interest any of you guys in some cookies to benefit the temple?"

"Sure, I'll take a half dozen of those," he replied pointing to a tray of raspberry coconut cookies. Happily, the ribbon-wearing blonde started filling his order.

"Hey, my name's Mina and I'm almost ready for a break. Wanna stroll around together?"

"Mina..." Amy hissed but her friend ignored her.

"Uh... I guess." She was still a cutie even if she wasn't the high school girl that he had mistaken her for earlier. "Name's Dave," he replied while handing the money to the blonde's companion. "How long?"

She looked at her watch. "Maybe ten minutes?"

"Sure, I can wait that long." Mina gave him her sunniest smile. The rest of the guys took the hint and left.

- - - - -

While Mina was flirting with teenage boys, Molly, Serena, and Reenie were wandering around the grounds looking at the different booths. The seven year old was mentally grinding her teeth at the imposed requirement of holding Serena's hand. Why couldn't Serena act more like her friend instead of her mother?

"Cheer up, chipmunk," Serena commented to the little girl at one point.

The youngster gritted her teeth. 'I hate that nickname! And I can't even blame Serena for it...' She scowled. 'I'm gonna get Sammy back for calling me a chipmunk! At least, it's better than "pink spore".'

"What's the matter, Reenie?" Molly asked. The youngster's eyes flicked to Serena's hand and her ears went bright pink.

"You getting tired?" Serena asked and then noticed that her charge was regarding their clasped hands. "It's not that bad."

"Says you," the child grumbled but didn't say anymore.

Serena sighed. Molly looked to her friend and then blinked. "Y'know, Serena... you grew some."

"I did?" Serena asked disbelievingly. She stopped and looked down at her feet and then back up at Molly. She was surprised to discover that indeed, she was taller. "Boy... I guess I didn't really notice it but I'm a little bit taller than you now." 'Thank God, the Puberty Fairy finally visited me!' She always hated being teased for being the smallest in their eight grade class, not to mention amongst the Sailor Scouts as well. 'Maybe I'll fill out soon.' Her mom told her more than once not to worry because she had been a "late bloomer" too. The teenager shifted slightly. 'Boy, I didn't notice how majorly tight this outfit is...' She frowned. 'I just had it on a few days ago...' She glanced at Reenie who was looking both bored and annoyed. 'Did Mom let Reenie do the laundry?' The blonde made a sour face. 'It wouldn't surprise me if she had...' She tugged on her blouse. 'I can't wear this thing out in public. That's way more Raye or Mina's style.' While Serena wasn't as conservative as Amy was when it came to clothing, most of Raye and Mina's attire left Serena somewhat uncomfortable, especially given her relative lack of curves.

"Well, it's not like we hang around much no more," Molly remarked offhandedly and then winced at the stricken look on her best friend's face. "I didn't mean it like that, Serena. It's just..."

The pigtailed teen grimaced and shrugged. "I know... I feel bad though, Mol." She smiled and the redhead relaxed. "I'm just majorly busy with stuff and when I do wanna drop by the store and see you, stuff just seems to crop up." She gave a meaningful look towards Reenie who was looking as if she'd just eaten a lemon.

Bending down, the teenager lifted Reenie, and shifted her to a hip, much to the seven year old's chagrin. 'Ugh... These clothes are getting tight. Perfect excuse for a mall trawl! New after school clothes!' The thought of a good trawl through the mall warmed the cockles of Serena's heart. She just loved spending money; a Scrooge she was not.

"I know how to walk," the pink-haired girl announced.

"You don't wanna hold my hand..."

"Jeez, Serena, when did you get all parental?" Reenie questioned but then said with annoyance, "Fine, I'll hold your hand..." Then continued under her breath, "So you won't get lost."

The teen allowed her young cousin down and took her hand after rumpling the girl's pink hair. "Come on, Mol. Let's go buy this young lady here some candy."

'And you...' the redhead silently added but smiled. Serena seemed to have gained some maturity with her height.

Sometime later, as they pulled along side one booth, Serena paused in her exchange of gossip with her friend when someone called out to her.

"Serena!"

"Oh... Hi Carrie!" the pigtailed blonde greeted. The five year old was standing with a woman who Serena took to be her mother. "How are you?"

"Okay," Carrie replied. "Is Mina here too?"

"Manners, Carrie," her mother inquired, "Who's this young woman?" She regarded Serena.

"Oh, this is Serena, Mommy," the little girl answered, "So is Mina here 'cause I haven't seen her in a WHOLE week?!"

"I'm Serena Tsukino, a friend of Mina's, ma'am," Serena explained politely, shaking Carrie's mother's hand, "And this is Molly Baker. She's in my class... And of course, Reenie."

"Hello Reenie," Carrie's mother said, "Do you know Mina too?"

"Hello," Reenie replied, trying to be polite, "I know Mina too..." The younger girl was looking put out at having her question ignored.

"My name's Patricia." She shook Serena's hand. "You have such a cute little girl..." Molly snickered at the implication.

"Yes, she is very cute... 'though she can be a real handful sometimes."

'She's so young...' "I know exactly what you mean, Serena," Patricia agreed and then added to said cute girl, much to her bewilderment, "Are you in Carrie's class?"

Before the pink-haired youngster could say anything, Carrie burst in, "Do ya know where Mina is?!"

"Yep, she's selling cookies," Serena responded with a grin.

"Can we go see her, Mommy? Pleeeease!" Carrie squealed to her mother.

The mother rolled her eyes. "I guess that we should go see Mina before we head home or else I'll never hear the end of it. Happy New Year."

"It was nice meeting you, ma'am," the blonde commented. Molly agreed. On the other hand, Reenie was rather dubious about the honor but did manage a polite sounding goodbye before the hyperactive child dragged her mother into the thickening crowd.

"I'd watch it, Serena," Molly commented softly, "Or you'll start to get a reputation."

"For what, Mols?"

The redhead rolled her eyes and asked, "Honestly, are ya that naive?"

"'Bout what?" Serena asked and then glanced at Reenie.

The pink-haired girl wasn't about to admit that she didn't have any idea what Molly was referring to either, so remarked, "Don't look at me. I'm only seven and I get it."

Molly snickered again then grinned when Serena turned back to her with a mild look of exasperation on her face. "You really didn't catch on?" When her friend gave her an annoyed look, the redhead shook her head slightly, put a hand on her shoulder, and explained, "Serena, Carrie's Mom thought that Reenie was your daughter!"

"WHAT?!?!" both Tsukinos screeched.

"I bet you thinks you're my teacher or something..." Molly gave the blonde a smirk. "Imagine what Ms. H will say if she hears that!"

- - - - -

Lita Kino sat up, yawned, and rubbed her eyes. She squinted around the room but didn't see much due to the gloom. 'Nice of the girls to let me nap in peace.' Shifting about to a sitting position, she frowned. 'Maybe I should've eaten something more. I feel funny.' She normally had more than just cookies for supper. Yawning again, she stood up or tried to anyway.

With a loud THUD, she hit the floor. "Owie! Okay, who's the joker who jacked up the bed?" Lita questioned the darkened room. Grateful her friends hadn't been around to see her fall, she pushed herself up. Man, I should've slept longer but I gotta pee...' Straightening her clothes, the brunette stumbled towards the door. 'Whoa!' She paused and frowned even more. 'What the... ' Her clothing felt completely wrong. Groping for the wall, she hunted around for the bedroom light and flicked it on. "Gah!" the brunette squawked as light painfully shone into her eyes when the overhead light came to life.

"Well... at least I'm not blind," Lita remarked to herself as she pried her eyes open. 'Although things look off...' She considered the problem for several seconds and then glanced down at her clothing. She was walking on the cuffs. That's when things began to really sink in. "Oh crap!" Lita shouted, "What happened to my boob... talents?!" They weren't there anymore. She yanked back her shirt and glanced inside. 'It looks like somebody deflated them!'

She quickly looked the rest of herself over. Her frame was smaller now, tomboyish. It appeared she had lost several inches of height judging by the relative size of the furniture. Her arms and legs were shorter and less defined. She was still fit, although not nearly the degree that she had been earlier. Feeling her head, her hair was relatively the same, at least as far as she could tell without a mirror. Any further exploration was cut short, however when Lita realized that she needed to urgently use the toilet.

- - - - -

Raye Hino hurried into the private living quarters. Her grandfather had taken over her fortunes booth for a few minutes so she could freshen herself up and grab a drink of juice. 'Things are going well,' Raye thought delightedly, 'Serena is behaving herself. We got a good crowd this year and everything's selling!' The young shrine maiden knew, however, that things couldn't remain this good. 'I wonder when the Negaverse is going to attack?' she mulled with a grim smile. She was getting the feeling that something was amiss. Nevertheless, she saw no signs of a problem. 'Things can't remain this calm, can they? Am I just getting paranoid?'

She was just passing the bathroom when the door opened. The priestess paused, trying to figure out who the girl inside her bathroom was. After the initial surprise, familiar features tugged at her mind. "L-Lita?"

"Yep! It's me, Raye," a rather bouncy preteen replied.

"Oh my God! What happened, Lita?" Raye screeched.

"I don't know!" Lita replied in a singsong voice, "I did lose some frontage, not a bad thing given my smaller body." She giggled. "I wonder if Serena has an extra bra I could borrow?" Although even the petite Serena likely had her beat in that department now.

"But... but..." Raye sputtered. Her friend seemed to be taking this pretty well.

"It could be worse, Raye."

"Worse? What could be worse? You're a little girl," the priestess pointed out but before her friend could answer (or dispute she wasn't "little"), she continued, "We need to get the others, pronto. I knew the Negaverse would attack!"

"The Negaverse?" the preteen asked, one eyebrow raised. It made sense. It's not as if normal people suddenly get younger. "Aren't they more ostentatious about these things?"

"Maybe... But I'm going to get the others. Lita, you stay here. We can't have Grandpa and Chad seeing you like that!" Before the brunette could respond, the shrine maiden ran down the hallway.

- - - - -

"Raye," Amy demanded yet again as her raven-haired friend pulled her away from the booth like some errant child, leaving Mina and a complete stranger alone to tend to it. The teenager Mina had been flirting with had been dragooned into helping out by Raye; the fiery priestess wasn't somebody that he wanted to trifle with.

"No time," Raye protested, tugging on Amy's robes nearly pulling them completely off.

"Honestly, Raye, I'm not some infant you can cart around!" Amy snapped. The raven-haired teen was so startled by the uncharacteristic outburst that she stopped. "Thank you," Amy said, retrieving the robes and trying to settle them as best she could, "Now what is it?" When her friend only glanced around, she demanded, "What is the problem?" There was no sign of a Negaverse attack.

"Not here. Come on..." Raye moved off down the hall again.

"What about Mina?"

"They can handle it, Amy," the Scout of Mars snapped. Her pace increased. "I have something more important for you to do."

'We're doomed,' Amy thought as she tried to keep up with her imposing friend. 'Things are just not going well. I missed dinner, I put on Lita's robes, Raye gives me a bruise on my arm, my mother's coming by later, and the bloody chair's sinking into the ground... And now, Raye has left a guaranteed moneymaking source in the hands of Mina and some boy she just met.' Amy shook her head. 'All we need now is for Queen Beryl to show up and give manicures.' She internally grimaced. 'My blood sugar must be low...' When she saw Raye looking impatiently at her, she replied with just a hint of testiness, "I can't move around fast in floppy clothing."

"This is serious!" her friend snapped.

Amy tried to control her temper. 'Raye's so serious.' A realization struck her then, 'Maybe Serena's actually right for a change.' Such an improbable thought, especially coming after the idea of Queen Beryl giving manicures, was more than a little disconcerting, 'I wonder if I'm coming down with something?'

Her patience was rewarded when she was presented to a girl who appeared antsy and could pass for her friend Lita's little sister (if she had one).

"Can I go now?" the girl demanded.

"No, Lita, not until this comedian scans you!" Raye huffed.

"Lita?!" Amy got herself under control, regarded her smaller friend, and nearly lost it again, even if the situation wasn't funny. It just felt good to laugh. "Sorry Lita. You look..." She cleared her throat. "So what's the problem?" she asked, trying hard to sound studious.

"Nothing!" Lita commented, "I shrunk some, lost some weight off of my front... which come to think about it is not at all bad. I have loads of energy too. I'm feeling much better now!"

"She's looks like a kid," Raye interjected, scowling, "It has to be the Negaverse!"

"Oh please, they ain't this subtle. The only one of them that we've met with half a brain was Nephrite and he's amongst his stars now," the brunette commented. Although if it wasn't the Negaverse, who could it be?

"When did this happen?"

"Must've happened while I was sleeping. I woke up like this. It didn't hurt... At least I don't remember it hurting." 'I won't mention the fall.'

"Use your visor," the fiery priestess demanded.

"Raye, I can't without being Sailor Mercury. What would your grandfather say if he found a Sailor Scout in here?"

"Fresh meat," Lita supplied dryly. Much to Raye's annoyance, both her friends started to snicker. "Go ahead, Amy."

Amy pulled out her transformation pen. "MERCURY STAR POWER!" And in a moment, Sailor Mercury stood before them. Immediately, she activated her VR visor and began scanning her friend. "Can you transform?" the blue-haired Scout asked. 'I wish I could stay in my Sailor Scout uniform, it fits better than those robes.'

"Let's find out." With that, the former teen took her transformation pen out of her subspace pocket and lifted it over her head. "JUPITER STAR POWER!" Moments later, Sailor Jupiter stood before them. At least, a younger version of her did. "Not a problem," Jupiter replied with a grin. "My uniform even fits." She modeled it for a few moments then she reversed the transformation and back to her oversized civilian clothing.

"We should get the others in here and warn them."

"I don't know if that's necessary," Mercury mused. "I don't detect anything out of the ordinary, nothing harmful. No Negaverse signatures as when the Clock Store youma attacked us. Her power levels are consistent with my last scan of Sailor Jupiter. She just... regressed. Her physical age is 10.37 years."

"But..."

"Raye," Lita piped in more seriously, "I'm fine. This is a big night for the temple. We can quietly warn Serena and Mina to be on the lookout but unless this is some new enemy we don't know about... why spoil tonight?" The raven-haired teen looked stubborn and about to argue. "I know you want things to be safe, and with five Sailor Scouts roaming about, it will be. Besides, we don't want to start a panic for no reason."

Raye grimaced. 'She's right. We do need the money...' "We should do a circuit and make sure that Reenie is okay too."

"She's with Serena," the former teen replied, "Isn't she?"

"Probably, Lita, but then the kid has a habit of taking off when she's mad at Serena." 'Which is usually.'

"Come on, Lita," Amy suggested, "You can help me man the booth."

"Raye?" the brunette asked.

"Oh all right. If we don't find anything," Raye conceded. "I need to go back to the charms booth anyway. Just don't let Gramps see you..." She sighed, "And when you see Serena let her know, okay?"

"You bet!" Lita agreed with a grin, "Come on, Amy, I need to burn off some of this energy! But first, let's go find some clothes that'll fit me a little better than these." Raye watched both girls scamper from the room, shook her head, and sighed again.

- - - - -

"Do you suppose Serena brought an extra set of Reenie's clothes?" Lita asked as she and Amy entered Raye's bedroom.

"I would think so," the blue-haired girl replied. She was about to comment further when her cell phone rang. It took longer than usual to find it. "Hello?"

"Amy?" came her mother's voice.

"Hi Mom, what's up?"

"This connection must be funny, you sound off. Anyway, sweetie I think I'll be late. The hospital called and..."

"No worries, give me a call when you can."

"Sure," her mother agreed.

As Amy was saying goodbye, Lita was trying on a T-shirt, which she had found. "Uh, a little tight... I'll take that over loose and sloppy any day."

"I know," the teenager replied while hitching the robes up, "I hope I get a break soon. I'm starving." Amy wiggled and tightened the belt. "Let's hurry before Raye comes storming back in here."

- - - - -

"Mina!"

The ribbon-wearing blonde looked around and saw Raye gesturing to her while Amy and a person that looked somewhat like Lita came into view; both of them were grinning.

"Raye, can I go now?" Mina pleaded as she walked over to her obviously agitated friend. She smiled back at her new acquaintance over her shoulder.

"No," the raven-haired girl replied softly when Mina drew closer, "I need you to transform. Take a subtle look around as Sailor Venus. I'm gonna do the same. If things are quiet, then I'll go back to my charms booth and you can..." She cleared her throat. "Do what you need to."

Mina looked mildly concerned. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," calmly replied the Lita-looking kid along with Amy.

"Who's the kid?"

"It's Lita. She has become younger," Amy stated. "She's physically fine."

"Raye thinks it's the Negaverse, Mina," Lita interjected in a stage whisper. Raye scowled. "Just check Reenie out too."

"Why not call Serena?"

"She's likely knee deep in people," Amy pointed out. The crowd had definitely increased as the big event was drawing closer.

"And if I do this, then I can go?" Raye nodded. "Good." She didn't plan on doing any babysitting. She turned to Dave. "Hey Dave, I need to take care of something, I'll be right back." Dave only looked puzzled as Amy and a kid moved into the booth beside him.

"What's going on?" He hadn't come here to hang out with children.

"Nothing," Lita chirped.

Some minutes later, Mina reappeared. She was looking upbeat. "Nothing," she announced to the others, "Raye says she's set too."

"Nothing what?"

"Oh, little Lita here wanted me to check out something out for her," Mina fibbed then giggled. "So Dave..." She wasn't able to finish or put on her robes because at that point, a large group of customers moved up to the booth and they were all busy.

- - - - -

"Hi Mina!" Carrie called out as she and her mother came up to the cookie booth. She tried squeezing between two people who were leaving but her mother wouldn't let her.

"Hey Carrie!" Mina declared and smiled, "Want some cookies?"

"Yeah!" the youngster exclaimed. Her mother grinned and motioned for her daughter to make a selection. As the five year old was trying to decide what type of cookie to have, she asked, "Mina, is that your boyfriend?" The beribboned blonde only grinned while blushing.

Carrie's mother only shook her head and then looked more closely at child's mentor. 'That dress... Mina looks younger.' She frowned. 'Maybe Carrie was wrong about her being fourteen.' Not that it bothered the thirty-something woman. Mina was a wonderful friend to her daughter and having her be younger just meant she was closer to Carrie's age.

"No, little girl... I'm just helping her sell cookies," he commented. Mina pouted. 'How old is this kid?' He asked Mina, "Your sister?"

"No..." Mina responded.

"I want that one please," the kindergartener requested poking a finger at a chocolate chip cookie.

"Okay, Carrie, I'll get that for you." While Mina was wrapping up the cookies, she could hear familiar voices approaching.

"Oh hi Serena!" Carrie called, "I found her."

"Hi Carrie," Serena replied and then turned back to Reenie who was looking less than happy.

"Uh oh," Lita muttered, seeing the look on Reenie's face. She rolled her shoulders. 'I think I'm stretching these clothes. I hope Reenie doesn't mind.'

"Here ya go," Mina announced, handing the cookies to her little friend. She turned just in time to see the guy who was sitting's beside her lock his eyes onto Serena.

"Friend of yours?" he asked softly, not even taking his eyes off of the pigtailed goddess before him. Where had she been all his life? He hadn't seen her at his school. Was she here from out of town?

"Yeah," she replied, looking unhappy.

"Why can't I go with Darien?!" Reenie demanded.

Surprisingly, the meatball-headed blonde didn't explode. Instead, she bent down, whispered softly into Reenie's ear, and then gave the youngster a gentle shove towards the living quarters.

The seven year old took several steps, stopped, and turned. Yanking down one eyelid, she blew a loud raspberry before feeling.

Carrie stood gaping at the older girl. Mina cocked an eyebrow. "What was that about?"

"Just an argument, guys," Serena answered smoothly, "How are sales going?"

"Great," Mina replied, "Can you take over now, Serena? I owe Dave here a walk." She batted her eyelashes at the young man who didn't even notice.

"Yeah, you can help us!" a familiar girl squeaked with a large grin.

"Lita?"

"Who else would it be?" Lita asked. Serena looked nonplussed. Carrie's mother glanced between the blonde and then around the booth area. 'Gracious... Is she minding all of them?' As the young woman looked up, she gave her a sympathetic look. 'Carrie can be quite a handful but to keep an eye on all of them? In this madhouse?' She shuddered internally at the mere thought.

"Sure," Serena shrugged. "Sorry Mol. Duty calls." 'And I want to know what's happening with Lita.'

"No problem. I really should go see if I can find Melvin... See ya later, Serena." Molly turned and walked away, thinking, 'She doesn't look like Lita...' But then again she barely knew Lita.

"Thanks for the cookies," Carrie said, waved, and left with her mother.

"Can you please hold the fort a little while longer, Mina? I need to get my robes..." Serena paused at the pounding of feet.

As the blonde walked away, Lita looked from her new perspective at her petite friend. 'Wow, Serena looks so tall.'

- - - - -

Reenie looked up as the door to Raye's bedroom opened and froze as she saw that it was Serena. She watched as her cousin came into the room and closed the door. In near silence, Serena found and then put on other robes. The pink-haired younger held her breath the entire time hoping that Serena wasn't too sore with her.

When the young woman was finished, she stood and looked to where the little girl was standing. "You can take those clothes off now, young lady. Your PJs will be fine for in here."

"What?" Reenie asked, eyes growing wide.

"I said," the meatball-headed blonde reiterated in a very neutral tone, "Your PJs are fine for now. You're not going back out."

"But..."

"Reenie, you've been sulking all evening. I think you need a timeout and think about if you really deserve to be here or not." Reenie's face started to turn red.

"THAT AIN'T FAIR!"

"You can always go home," Serena replied quietly. Her little cousin crossed her arms and jutted her bottom lip out in a pout. "If you're going to sulk, you can go straight to bed."

"YOU'RE A STUPID MEATBALL HEAD!"

"Pardon me, young lady?" the older girl asked in a stern tone.

"YOU'RE A STUPID MEANIE MEATBALL HEAD!" the youngster shouted, "You won't let me have any fun! Just 'cause you wanna be an ol' stick-in-the-mud..." Why hadn't things gone as she planned?

Serena allowed Reenie to rant herself into silence. "Are you done?" she asked, eyes boring into her cousin who was looking smaller than normal. After several seconds of silence, Reenie gave a jerky sort of nod. "Fine, you plunk yourself into a corner and think about why I shouldn't call Mom to come get you." The seven year old gulped. "And if I hear you EVER call me 'Meatball Head' again, I'll blister your backside!" Reenie winced. "Clear?"

"Yes..." was the sulky reply.

"Corner, now," Serena commanded and pointed. She watched as the pink-haired girl went sulkily to stand in the corner. Again, she started for the door and then stopped. 'These clothes are majorly tight... Maybe I can borrow some of Raye's. Just a sweater or something...' Turning, she headed for her friend's closet only glancing once at her despondent little cousin.

End of Chapter 3

Coming next in Chapter 4 - A Gaggle of Girls