Chapter 9: When Everything Changes

Serena woke up with a scream. "I'M LATE AGAIN!" she shouted. She got up and started racing around her bedroom, throwing on her school uniform. "MOM! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME?!" she shouted.

"I did, you told me you were up," her mother answered.

"And you believed me?!" Serena exclaimed.

Serena grabbed her lunch off the table, pulling on her shoes. "BYE, MOM!" she shouted as she dashed out the door.

The young woman yawned as she walked down the street. "I just wish I could get a little more sleep, why doesn't school start at a more decent time?" Serena asked yawning. She suddenly heard kids laughing.

"Hey, hold it still I wanna feel its tongue!" a kid exclaimed.

She looked over to see a bunch of boys torturing a poor little cat. "HEY!' she shouted. The boys looked up and took off running. "Leave that cat alone!' she snapped as she ran them off. She saw the terrified black cat curled up in a ball on the ground. "Were those kids hurting you?" she asked as she picked the cat up and it started freaking out, "It's okay, they're gone now." She saw a big bandage sitting in the middle of its forehead. "Let's take this bandage off huh?" she asked. Removing the bandage, she let out a gasp. "Is that a crescent moon?!" she exclaimed.

The cat suddenly jumped out of Serena's arms, bounced off her head, and landed on a car staring at her. "Uh…okay…I gotta go now kitty," She told the cat as she got up and took off running to school.

Everyone else was standing out in front of the school waiting for Serena. "Where is she?" Lita asked as she leaned back against Sage.

"You know Serena, she's probably just waking up," Rowen answered with a slight smirk.

"You got quite a girlfriend there, Rowen," Kento commented before stuffing a doughnut into his mouth.

Rowen raised his brow when Serena raced up the block. "I'M HERE!" she shouted.

"Always fashionably late," Rei commented, rolling her eyes.

As Serena reached them, she let out a shriek when she tripped over the last step, but Rowen acted quickly, catching her. "You know how to make an entrance," he quipped, making her blush as he set her back up on her feet just as the warning bell ran off.

"Hey, Ro, you studied for that chemistry test right?" Kento asked.

"I'm not sitting next to you so you can copy my answers, Kento," Rowen replied.

"Aw come on man, I had a late night," Kento insisted as they walked through the halls.

"And that was?" Rowen asked.

Kento cleared his throat. "Not important, come on man help a friend out," he insisted.

"I'm not letting you copy my answers," Rowen answered.

They stopped in the hall and Rowen pressed a kiss to Serena's cheek. "I'll see you later," he told her.

"Bye," she answered as she watched him rush off to his class with Kento chasing him.

School was boring, as usual as she just sat in her classroom listening to her teacher prattle on about information she didn't think would be useful. Instead, she was doodling in her notebook, her mind going off in a daydream.

A garden, a large garden filled with beautiful flowers. She was sitting in the field, smiling as she was enjoying her time alone when someone stood beside her. She looked up and a flower was held out to her. A yellow rose. "A flower for a princess," a deep, familiar voice told her.

"It's beautiful," she answered, "But we don't have these flowers here."

"I know, I returned to Earth to retrieve it," the person answered.

"Oh, Touma, how sweet," she said smiling.

Suddenly Serena was jolted out of her daydream. "Touma? Who's Touma?" her friend, Molly, asked. Serena's cheeks flushed pink when she realized she had said his name out loud.

"No one," she replied.

"Hey! Serena, are you and Rowen having troubles?" Melvin asked.

Serena looked at the nerd of the class, Melvin, who had a huge crush on her and Molly. "In your dreams, Melvin, we're fine," Serena answered, "In fact, we're going to our favorite place after school today." Serena just beamed at the idea of spending time with Rowen.

"I think your plans are going to run short, Serena," the teacher said suddenly, making the teenager look up.

"Huh?" she asked.

The teacher slapped a test down on her desk. "There's no reason why you failed this test, Serena," she scolded the girl, "Maybe if you spent more time studying than thinking about boys you'd pass my class." Serena looked at the test with wide eyes. She received a 30% on her test.

"My mom's going to kill me!" she gasped.

"Hey, Serena, did you want me to help tutor you or something? I only got a 95% and I didn't even study, my parents are going to kill me," Melvin commented.

"I have a boyfriend who can help me, Melvin," she answered, "He's going to have to if I'm going to keep myself from flunking out."

Serena gave him a small smile before she got up and rushed out of the classroom when the bell rang.

Rowen was walking down the hall to his next class when his girlfriend crashed into him. "WHOA!" he shouted as they both flew into the nearest wall.

"Ouch, that one looked like it hurt," Kento commented when Mina rolled her eyes and swatted him on the back of the head, "Ow!"

"You okay?" Rowen asked Serena.

"Yeah," she replied, "My mom's going to kill me!"

"Why?" Rowen asked.

She showed him the test and Rowen stared at it. "Why didn't you tell me you had a test?" he asked.

"I didn't want to spend most of our time studying," she pouted.

Rowen rolled his eyes as Ryo walked over and helped him stand up. Turning around, Rowen pulled his girlfriend to her feet and she gave him a soft smile. "You do know this means we're going to the library and actually studying today right?" he asked. Serena pouted and he just chuckled as his arm went around her shoulders.

After school that day, the young couple walked down the street hand in hand. "When's your next test?" he asked.

"Friday," she replied, "Can't we do anything fun?"

"Well let's put it this way, if you fail Friday's test your mom's going to start limiting the time you get with me," he pointed out.

Serena's eyes grew wide at the idea of being separated from her boyfriend. "Then let's go," she told him, gripping his hand as they rushed off to the library.

After dropping Serena off at home later that evening, Rowen went to the mall to get his girlfriend a birthday present. He had been saving up money that he made at the part-time job he held every weekend. With it being her birthday he wanted to give her something special.

Walking into the jewelry store, his eyes were wide when he saw that women were going crazy over the jewelry. "Everything is 90% off! Come on ladies this is your chance getting diamonds, sapphires, and rubies!" Molly's mother exclaimed into a bullhorn.

She looked at Rowen and a huge smile appeared on his face. "Rowen! Hello, dear boy how are you?" she asked excitedly. Rowen bowed to her with a smile.

"Good afternoon, I wanted to pick up the locket I was having engraved for Serena?" he asked.

"Oh sweetie you don't want some silly, old locket. Wouldn't you rather get something more valuable?" she asked anxiously.

She tried to shove a box of rings and necklaces into the teenager's face. "Thanks, but no thanks. Just the locket please," he insisted. Molly's mother looked irritated as she grabbed a box that was behind her and practically shoved it at him.

"One locket," she muttered.

Opening the box, Rowen smiled at the outcome of the engraving. Their initials were engraved into the front of it and on the inside it read:

My love for you is as endless as the stars in the night sky.

Smiling, he went to leave when he realized something was off. Looking around, he saw that many of the women who were so full of energy when he first walked into the jewelry store were acting as if they were going to pass out any minute. In fact…several women were lying unconscious on the floor. Suddenly, he felt it as if something kicked him in the gut. "Is something wrong, Rowen?" Molly's mother asked.

"Uh, nothing, thanks again," he replied as he left the store.

Walking out of the mall, he couldn't help but feel that something was horribly wrong. "Rowen, you must go bac. The Negaverse is attacking the city, out to steal everyone's energy for the evil Queen Beryl," the ghostly voice told him. Rowen frowned, glancing over his shoulder.

"Ancient One, I haven't fought anyone in this lifetime," Rowen murmured.

"Your Armor of Strata will guide you as long as you keep to your virtue, you will be able to defeat this minion," The Ancient One advised.

Rowen reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out his armor orb. "LIFE!" he called out as he tossed it in the air, then leapt into the air after it, "ARMOR OF STRATA!" His sub armor appeared on his body and the teenage ran back into the mall.

Running back into the jewelry store, he saw that everyone had lost consciousness and the minion had transformed into its real form, wrapping its hands around Molly's throat. "HEY!" Rowen called out, "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?!" The minion looked up and a smirk appeared on her face.

"Back again boy?" she said laughing.

She sent lightning at him which he jumped over it and she was suddenly in front of him. He kicked her in the stomach when she grabbed his arm and threw him across the room. Letting out a shout, he landed on his feet, glaring at her. "Alright, you asked for it," he told her. He stood up from the ground. "ARMOR OF STRATA! TAO INOCHI!" he shouted. His armor appeared on his body, and he grabbed his bow, blocking an attack aimed at his head again.

Rowen whipped out an arrow from his quiver, aiming it at her. Several arrows flew by her as she dodged every single of them. The last arrow, he fired, however, embedded itself into her leg. She let out a scream, falling on the floor. She got ready to fire more energy lightning at him. "Hold it right there ugly!" a voice called out making them both look up, "You better give back these people's energies! I am Sailor Moon, champion of love and justice! I protect the world from all evil and that means you!"

Rowen's eyes were wide when he saw who was standing there. "S—Serena?" he said in disbelief. Sailor Moon's eyes went wide when she saw Rowen there.

"Rowen?" she asked seeing her boyfriend there.

"Alright, then take this little girl!" the minion snapped, firing energy lightning at her.

Sailor Moon screamed trying to dodge the attacks. Rowen let out a shout as he jumped up, landing in front of her and blocked the lightning with his energy sphere that surrounded them both. "Luna, what do we do?" she asked the black cat next to them.

"Use your tiara, Sailor Moon, hurry before he runs out of power," Luna answered.

The minion let off her lightning and Sailor Moon removed the tiara on her forehead. "Together," Rowen told her. Sailor Moon nodded as he strung an arrow up into his quiver.

"MOON!" she shouted.

"ARROW!" Rowen shouted.

"TIARA!"

"SHOCK!"

"MAGIC!"

"WAVE!"

The minion screamed as the arrow and the tiara pierced through her as if she were nothing. Rowen swung around, covering Serena with his body as the minion exploded. Once it was over, Rowen looked at his girlfriend in shock. "You're a Sailor Scout?" he asked.

"And you're a warrior?" she asked.

"Well…this changes things," he commented.

"Yea, no kidding," she answered before she hugged him.

Rowen hugged her back and looked at the cat with a smirk. "Hey Luna," he mouthed to the cat, who's eyes grew wide. He remembered!