Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the canon characters. Miyako, Cleo, Lia, Harper, and Owen, as well as a few others, are only figments that have escaped from my imagination.
Chapter Two: Time Travelers
"Who are you?" Usagi demanded, staring at the pink-haired girl. "And where did you come from?"
The child couldn't have been older than five, but there was such anger in her eyes. She obviously wasn't dressed for the winter weather, in a thin, long-sleeved white t-shirt, a short pink skirt, and white sneakers with red and pink laces.
"Put me down!" The little girl demanded. "Put me down this minute!"
"Let Rini go!"
Usagi and Miyako turned to see two more little girls emerging from the snow bank. They both had to be the same age as the girl they called Rini. The girl on the left had brown eyes and hair that was very obviously magenta, pulled back into matching thin braids that fell past her waist. The knees of her jeans were ripped, and scrapes could be seen on her knees. Her purple sneakers were scuffed. Dirt covered her short-sleeved purple t-shirt and the hands that fisted on her hips.
The other girl at least had a jacket, a denim one, which was better than the other two. But she wore a light blue sundress underneath it, which ended just above her knees. Her white sneakers had silver and blue laces threaded through them. But, while her hair was a normal ebon black, rather than the unusual colors of her companions, it was styled into two star-shaped odangos on either side of her head. Usagi frowned at the sadness that was visible in the pale lavender eyes, eyes that were a far too familiar lavender.
"Why don't we all go someplace a little warmer, and we can talk?" Miyako suggested. "I'm sure you girls would all like a cup of hot chocolate."
She slowly lowered Rini to the ground. Rini looked over at the other two. Most of the attention was fixed on the girl with the magenta hair, who fiddled nervously with the ends of her two braids.
"Alright," decided the magenta haired girl. "We'll go with you."
The little ones turned and collected the three book bags that had fallen along with them. Unsurprisingly, Rini's was pink, the magenta-haired girl's was purple, and the ebon-haired girl's was light blue.
Usagi and Miyako guided all three girls into Melanthios Books and Café. While Usagi followed the girls to a table, Miyako walked up to the counter. She quickly explained the situation to Andrew and put in their order.
"So, where are your parents?" Usagi asked.
The girls looked at each other, nervously.
"They're not here," stated the girl with the star odangos, eventually. "They sent us away."
"Sent you away?" Miyako slid into the seat next to Usagi.
The magenta haired girl nodded. "They said it wasn't safe."
This time, it was Usagi and Miyako's turn to look at each other. Something about this didn't seem right. But, they didn't press the issue. If the girls could trust them, eventually, they might get to the truth.
"Do the three of you have a place to stay? Someone waiting for you?" Miyako asked, having already guessed the answer.
"No," said Rini, slowly.
The girl with the star odangos added. "There wasn't time to tell us where to go."
Usagi turned to Miyako, lowering her voice. "You want them to stay with us?"
"Who else? Besides, I have a feeling we should be keeping an eye on them." She shrugged. "Do you know what I mean?"
Oddly enough, the blond did. "First things first, we need to get them some proper winter clothing."
Just then, Andrew walked over with a tray, holding five steaming mugs.
"Here we go. Be careful with that hot chocolate. It's still pretty hot," he cautioned, setting the three smaller mugs before each of the little girls. "And one peppermint mocha latte for Miyako and a white chocolate caramel hot chocolate for Usagi. Now, I haven't seen you girls in here before. I'm Andrew. And you three are?" He gave them one of his easy-going, friendliest smiles.
Rini looked up at him, returning the look. "I'm Rini, and this is my sister, Aki," she pointed to the raven-haired girl, "and that's our cousin, Takara," she announced, pointing to the magenta-haired girl who sat in the middle.
"Rini, Aki, and Takara, those are all very pretty names," observed Andrew.
"Well, why don't we go do a little shopping?" Usagi asked, once you've finished your hot chocolate? Since you'll be staying here awhile."
Aki grimaced. "I don't know…"
"You'll stay with us," declared Usagi. "We have room for you all. Besides, we can't just leave you to wander around. I'm sure Trista and Cleo would agree."
Miyako nodded. "Absolutely."
Besides, Usagi wanted to get them over there so she could ask Trista about them.
So it was, a few hours later, that Miyako and Usagi ushered the three girls into the house. They found Cleo, sprawled out on the sofa, flipping through the short list of basic cable channels.
"And where have you been?" She demanded, not taking her eyes off the screen.
"Out and about," replied Miyako, hanging up the brand new coats in the hall closet, along with her own.
Suddenly, Rini dove behind Usagi. The blonde turned to see Trista standing in the doorway. The Time Guardian was staring at Aki and Takara, an unhappy look on her face.
"Come out here, Small Lady. I know you're here, too."
Slowly, Rini stepped out. "Hello, Puu."
Usagi frowned. No one called Trista 'Puu' except for her.
"Puu? Trista, what's going on?" Cleo demanded, finally turning away from the TV and spotting the three girls.
"These girls are from the 30th Century. Unfortunately, I can't tell you more than that," replied Trista, garnet eyes narrowing. "At least not at the moment. They shouldn't even be here."
"Please, Puu, don't send us back," pleaded Aki.
Takara nodded fiercely. "It's too scary to go home!"
Miyako caught Usagi's eye and nodded. One more bit of information.
Trista's gaze slid from one girl to the next. She let out a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, it is too dangerous for me to send them home just at present. Though, I'll have to go speak to your parents."
Three heads dropped and three pairs of eyes stared at the floor.
"Then they'll just have to stay here, with us," decided Usagi. "Until it's safe for them to go home."
"The three of you must promise to be on you're very best behavior," cautioned the Time Guardian. "You listen to Miyako, Cleo and Usagi. No running around. No causing trouble."
All three of them bobbled wobbly curtseys. "Yes, Puu."
"Kyle won't appreciate us putting them in his room," mused Cleo.
"Takara can share my room," offered Miyako.
Usagi nodded. "And Rini and Aki can share with me."
"Rini's a blanked hog," warned Aki, earning a glare from her sister.
-8-
It took a while to get the girls settled. Room was made in the closets for their clothes. And the small book bags had to be unpacked, too. Rini's hadn't contained much, since most of the space was taken up by a large toy cat head she called Luna-P. The rest of the bag had contained candy bars and fruit snacks, probably Rini's idea of nutritious food. Aki's, however, had a couple of thin chapter books, ones Usagi recognized from the new children's display at Melanthios, and a handful of clothing, all more summery than she'd be able to wear at the moment. She, too, had a toy cat head, though it was smaller than Rini's Luna-P, and, instead of reminding Usagi of Luna, it was more like Artemis, white with blue eyes, probably part of the reason she found it funny he was called Arty-Q.
Takara had probably been the most prepared, according to Miyako, with her bag full of clothes, including a few that would work for winter, and bags of dried fruit mixed with various nuts. But she didn't have a single toy in sight.
At last, Usagi curled up in the middle of her enormous bed, long blonde hair in a braid. Rini curled up with Luna-P, already fast asleep, on her right. Aki sprawled out on her left, Arty-Q tucked under her out-flung arm. And, sure enough, Rini had pulled one of the blankets over, so it was only hers. Pulling up the second blanket, Usagi covered Aki and herself, smiling at both of them, before letting herself drift off to sleep.
-8-
Miyako looked over at the small form huddled in the blanket next to her. The girl had been fine, until Miyako had crawled in next to her. Then, still asleep, Takara had rolled over and latched onto Miyako's arm, like it was her favorite teddy bear. While it was uncomfortable, she couldn't bring herself to risk waking the girl by moving her arm.
Tomorrow night, I'll find something else for her to cling to, she thought, closing her eyes.
-8-
The ringing of the phone was what woke Miyako the next morning. Only half-awake, she reached out and grabbed the cordless phone next to her bed.
"Hello?"
"Sorry, Miyako. Did I wake you?"
The voice on the phone had Miyako wide awake.
"Darien! Yeah, you did, actually. Give me a couple of seconds, here."
She managed to extricate her arm from Takara's sleep-loosened grip. Pulling on her fluffy bathrobe, she moved out into the living room as Usagi drifted down the stairs.
"So, what's up?" She asked, before pointing to the main phone and mouthing 'Darien' to the sleepy blonde.
"Not much," replied Darien. "Still no sign of Zoicite, but we'll keep looking." He paused as he heard the click of another phone being picked up. "Morning, Serena."
"Morning, Darien. Still nothing, huh?"
"No, nothing. We'll be moving on to Germany, later today."
"You know, it would help if someone remembered where you met Zoicite," grumbled Usagi. "After all, Kunzite woke in Cairo, and that's where you met him. And Terrarose was built on top of the site where you met Nephrite, wasn't it?"
Dairen laughed, dryly, before he answered. "Yeah. Problem is, I can't remember where I met Zoicite, and no one else was there with me. All I can remember is meeting him after getting separated from the others, due to a storm. But, that still doesn't help." His frustration rang across the phone lines.
"Hey, you'll find him, alright?" Miyako declared. "So, Germany next, huh? Don't forget, I'm expecting a souvenir from each country you have to visit."
"I won't forget." The frustration faded into another laugh.
"Alright, I'll let you and your princess talk for a while, while I get started on breakfast." Miyako walked back to her room and hung up her phone.
Takara sat up on the bed, wiping away tears.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Miyako sank down next to her.
"I want my mommy and my daddy and my puppy," she whimpered.
The ebon-haired girl wrapped her arms around Takara. "You'll see them again, as soon as it's safe for you to go home. I promise. In the meantime, you want to help me make breakfast?"
-8-
Together, the five girls left the Lambert house, later that morning. Cleo had promised to meet up with them, still talking on the phone to Kyle when they left.
"Now, don't let go of our hands," instructed Usagi. "Especially while we're crossing the streets."
They were heading out towards the training barn, where everyone else would be meeting up with them. Well, everyone but Andrew, Lizzie and Isolde, since the three of them were putting in their hours, working at Melanthios Books and Café. But Miyako had promised to stop by later and fill them in.
When they reached the park, however, Usagi nodded to Miyako.
"Alright, you girls can run ahead, but stay where we can see you. We're going to cut through the park," explained Usagi. "Stay close. We don't want anyone getting lost."
The three girls shot forward, laughing and screaming as they ran across the frosty ground.
"Bet I can catch more snowflakes than you!" Aki yelled, as it began snowing, again.
Rini scowled. "Cannot!"
Within seconds, all three girls were chasing after snowflakes and calling out how many they'd caught.
"Twenty!" Aki called out.
"Ha," said Rini. "Twenty two!"
"Aaand, thirty!" Takara yelled, as another one landed on her tongue.
Rini leapt to catch other and fell to the ground. She let out a scream. Usagi was running, even before she saw the crescent moon appearing on the young girl's forehead.
"It's okay. You're alright," soothed the blonde, running her hands up and down Rini's arms. "Everything's going to be fine."
"At last! The little Rabbit!"
Usagi turned, one arm wrapped around Rini. Aki was already dashing around to hide behind her, too. Takara already clung to Miyako's arm.
"And look, the Flower and the Hedgehog, too!" The speaker was a woman, not all that much older than Miyako or Usagi. Part of her dark purple hair was twisted up into pointed buns, similar to the ones Rini wore, though she didn't have the pigtails, her hair falling in waves to her waist, instead.
"Now, why don't all three of you be good girls and come over here, to me?" She continued, stepping farther onto the park path.
Aki shouted, "No! You hurt our Mommy!"
Usagi rose to her feet. "Who are you?"
"Koan, youngest of the Ayakashi sisters, citizen of Nemesis. And I will have what I came here to get!"
She sent a wall of black flames flying towards the blonde and the two girls she protected.
"Royal Star Power!" Usagi screamed, but the flare of light and the henshin didn't come.
"Soul of the Elements!"
She saw the brief flare of rainbow light around Miyako, and then Sailor Element was there.
"Elemental Rose Tempest!"
The flurry of rose petals smothered the flames.
Takara darted over to join Rini and Aki, even as Sailor Element stepped over to stand between them and Koan. The mysterious new young woman sneered and took off, apparently not wanting to fight.
Usagi stared down at her wrist. The bracelet was there. It wasn't like she'd forgotten to grab it before they left the house. So, why hadn't it worked? There was still power in it, she was sure of that. After all, she'd left it out in the starlight all night, every night since they'd fought and defeated Ichirou. If she couldn't become Sailor R, how was she going to protect Rini and Aki?
Sailor Element dropped her henshin, turning back to Usagi. "What happened?"
"I don't know. But not a word to Darien. Or to anyone else. Not until I get some answers. Alright?"
The ebon-haired girl nodded, though she clearly didn't agree. "Not a word. Come on. We'd better get to the barn before they send out a search party."
-8-
And, at long last, chapter two is up! Sorry, my muse took an unauthorized and unplanned vacation. (I told her she could take off in November, but she didn't listen.) So, it may be a while before the next chapter. Besides, I'm only a week and a half away from one of the craziest months of the year. I'm going to try and participate in NaNoWriMo again this year. I managed to make it, last year, so I'm hoping I can again, this year. Unfortunately, that means a lot of my other writing goes onto the back burner until the end of November.
However, until the next chapter, some things to consider. Why didn't Usagi's bracelet work? Are the Elemental Warriors going to get upgrades to their power? Where is Zoicite? I'm sure you can figure out who Aki and Takara are.
By the way, Alex, yes, it is the same outfit as Moonlight Knight, with a few alterations, like the different shoes and his belt is cream instead of brown (which was the original). I had to find some way to bring in that version. And it works!
And for Guest, also known as SerenityMoonRose123, I do have some changes planned for this arc. I'm not planning on any name changes, or anything like that. It's still the Black Moon Clan they're going to have to fight. But, I have some tweaks to make. For instance, if Diamond is still obsessed with Neo-Queen Serenity, would he recognize her as Usagi Moon? (I still haven't decided on that!) And I have someone else who's going to be making her appearance. Though, that won't be next chapter. Or, at least, I don't think it'll be next chapter. It might.
Also, I'm planning on at least one chapter of Tokyo and the Inner Senshi as the beginning of the fourth story, which is when I'm going to have Usagi return to Tokyo. Though, I might consider putting it in, earlier, if I get around to it.
Wow! Probably the longest Author's Note I've ever written! See you when my muse gets back from vacation!