The forgotten disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon!
Note: The first word of every new scene in the story is put in bold, because I don't know how to separate them otherwise. I hope it helps you!
The next morning came quickly and full of new light. Darien raised his arms over his head and let out a large yawn, whereupon he noticed the empty bed. He scratched his head and made his way to the kitchen. What he saw there was phenomenal.
Rini sat on a stool at the counter chomping merrily away on a very large stack of pancakes. Serenity stood behind the counter, oven mitt in hand, flipping several others on the stove.
"Serena…?" Darien wondered aloud. Rini looked up, a beautiful glow in her face.
"Papa!" She yelled before hopping down from the stool and sprinting to meet her father. He embraced her lovingly, as if there were nothing to it, and set her down gently.
"Darien! Here, I made you some breakfast." Serena presented him with a full stack of pancakes that, he had to admit, looked absolutely delicious.
"Try them, papa, they're really good." Rini encouraged. He did and they were.
"What are you two doing up so early?" Darien asked through his food.
"Well," Serenity began, "I had so much nervous energy that I decided to wake up and take Rini to school." She hopped enthusiastically.
"I'm so happy you guys are here. I've missed you." Rini smiled widely: an angel's face.
"We've missed you too, Rini." Serena said softly, her heart melting at the small child. "Now go get dressed, or you're going to be late for school!" Rini sprinted off, happy to have her real mother telling her what to do.
"Since when are you excited for school?" Darien asked his girlfriend. She stuck her nose in the air.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She sniffed. He smiled slightly and went back to the pancakes this strange, new Serena had prepared.
"Mama," Rini complained. "School is the other way!"
The new family walked down the empty street to Serena's house. She needed Rini to hypnotize her parents, and sooner was better than later.
"I know Rini, but we need you to do this one little thing, and then you can go to school." Serenity told her daughter. The young girl huffed. At this rate, there wouldn't be any time to show off mama and papa to her friends!
Ding dong.
They were standing at the door now, and could hear the pat pat of feet on the other side. The door opened.
"Yes…?" Serena's mother answered. Her father was standing behind her with a suit on and a briefcase in hand, ready to go to work. They looked awestruck at the tall couple.
"Hi!" Rini said brightly. "I wanted to say goodbye before I went with mama and papa."
"We're Rini's parents." Darien said.
Serena watched closely as her parent's faces changed. Oh, she was going to miss them a little over the next few… however long it took to fix this problem. She just hoped this hypnotizing thing worked.
"You remember us, don't you?" Serenity asked pleasantly. Rini, who had gotten her umbrella out, swirled it, forcing the older couple into a dazed, trance-like speech.
"Oh, yes, I remember you. Rini was such a pleasure to have. You should send her over more often."
"Thank you for taking care of her. We hope to see you more in the future." Serenity said, sincerely hoping that she would.
"Of course. Come back soon." The trio started back down the steps and into the street, Rini waving happily behind. Serenity gazed soulfully into her parent's eyes before the door separated and severed their last link.
"Now come on! School's about to start!" Rini called, running down the street.
"Rini, wait!" Serenity called, but the girl kept running. Serenity and Darien were left to chase after their daughter, huffing in the brilliant sunlight.
Serena was no longer enthusiastic about school. Rini had forced them running all the long way to her school, no easy feat for someone as physically un-adept as Serena. She was clutching her ribs and breathing hard by the time she caught up to the fast moving youngster. Even Darien was panting slightly.
And school didn't start for another ten minutes.
"Rini, what did you-" Darien began, but she was off again! Heading towards a small group of four (presumed) friends across the playground.
"Meet my mommy and daddy." Rini said proudly. The group looked up in awe at the tired parents.
"Wow…" One child sporting a short cut remarked. Rini beamed.
"If you want, you can all come over afterschool today and my mommy can make us all some sweets. She's a great cook!" Rini told her friends.
"Uh, Rini, I don't know if that's the best-" Darien started to say, but the kids enthusiastic yells stopped him.
"Yeah!" The short-haired kid said. A girl about Rini's height jumped a little at the idea. The other two high-fived.
Darien and Serena groaned, Serena almost whimpering. More kids were the last thing they needed at a time like this!
Across town, Luna and Artemis were sitting fully awake on Lita's couch as they watched her speed across the room to get ready for school.
"I'm really sorry to be rushing like this, guys." Lita apologized as she struggled to put on her right shoe and balance three textbooks at the same time. She hopped toward her school bag. "There's lots of food in the fridge, so feel free to take as much as you like. The TV should be working, though I'm not so sure about channel three. I'll try to make it back home as soon as I can." She grabbed her bag and stuffed a piece of toast in her mouth while moving out the door. She waved with her free hand with a muffled,"g'bye" before the door clicked closed.
Artemis sighed. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. I think I'll help myself to that food Lita was talking about."
"Oh, Artemis." Luna said, rolling her eyes.
"What?" He asked.
"We have bigger issues to concern ourselves with." Luna, now a beautiful woman, stood up and made her way to the door. Artemis was momentarily taken by the way Luna's dark, long wavy hair shone in the fluorescent lighting of the apartment. He wondered briefly what it would look like outside. "Right now the girls need our help, and it is our job to do it." She finished dutifully. Artemis looked put out.
"Fine, fine, where should we start?" The man asked. Luna turned to him and couldn't help but silently note the nice way his deep eyes looked up at her.
"I think we should stop by Darien's. They are most likely to be there." Luna said. Artemis stood up and made his way to the door, which Luna had already exited and left behind.
Serenity and Darien waved at the last glimpse of Rini before the doors to the school closed and blocked the couple's view. Serenity turned around to face the street.
"We should go to Lita's, where Luna and Artemis are. Maybe they already have something figured out." Serenity said hopefully.
They set off down the street, arm in arm.
How was it? Please let me know if anything sounded shaky or off beat to you; I really want this to be as good as it can be!
Adding to that, please review! It makes me so happy to see your comments/concerns.
Oh, and as to the next chapter, we'll be seeing a few new characters.