Takeuchi Disclaimer goes here.

Mark Berger goes here.

Married Life Chapter 3: Moon Storm Rising, Part 1: Unexpected Help.

        Three months have passed since Serena discovered her pregnancy.
The Chibas made the down payment on a new house with a loan and very
significant help from Serena's parents and Darien's trust fund, and
moved in, making preparations for the new baby.  Serena, Rei, Amy, and
Mina continued their college educations, Lita continued to run her
restaurant, and the Outers continued with their lives.  Sailor Mars has
taken over command of the Sailor Senshi causing intense speculation in
the newspapers and tabloids as to the disappearance of Sailor Moon and
Tuxedo Mask.  Surprisingly, the National Enquirer and its ilk printed
very few 'I'm carrying Tuxedo Mask's love child' stories, which Darien
could only laugh nervously at.

---

        Serena's baby kicked.  Surprisingly hard, for only four months
along.  Since she was in the middle of a lecture, she ignored it.
*Great,* she thought, *not even born yet and already this kid's making me
wish I'd never started in on this venture.  Oh well, the price we pay.
Besides, it *will* be worth it.*  She made the mental statement as an
article of faith.  She wished she could ask her future self for advice
on how to keep her child quiet.

        Class let out, and one of Serena's classmates asked, "Is
something wrong, Serena?  You looked like you were in pain or
something."  The girl was a year younger than Serena, and looked
surprisingly innocent, much the way Serena herself had looked a year
before.

        "Yeah, my baby's acting up.  Did Professor Sourpuss mention
anything important that I missed?"

        "Nope.  I wonder what happened to Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask,
anyway.  The last time they were seen in battle was about a month ago,
and ever since three months ago, Sailor Moon hasn't been leading
anymore."

        "What about that test that we have on Wednesday?" asked Serena.
The topic shift successful, she continued to chat in a different
direction.

        As soon as the classmate left, she began to hum one of her
pieces for voice lessons, half for herself and half to the baby.  She
had taken to wearing her backpack whenever feasible, as it eased the
strain that was beginning to develop on her spine.  Her feet led her
down to the pier where Reenie had originally appeared.  Suddenly,
tumbling down out of nowhere, came a pink-haired girl, who landed on her
behind.  "Owww. . ."  Tears of pain and shock leaked from Reenie's eyes
as her nervous system reacted to the suddenness of the impact.

        Serena rushed over to her future daughter, "Reenie!  Small Lady!
How did you get here again!?"

        "I wish I knew!"  When last Serena had seen her daughter, the
girl had been on her way back to the future three years previous.  She
remembered hearing her future self telling her that, 'It's time that I
got to know our daughter better, in my time.  Otherwise, she might
decide that you're her 'real' mother.'  Now, Reenie looked quite a bit
older than she had been leaving, about eleven or twelve where she had
been just days past nine when she left.  "One minute I'm on the bus home
from school, and the next minute I'm tumbling through space and back in
the 1990s!"

        "Kami-sama, this is definitely going to be one of those days."

        "What do you mean, Mom?  Aren't you happy to see me?"

        "I'm always happy to see you, sweetheart, but it's just that
this is some difficult timing."

        "You're pregnant?"  Serena nodded in response.

        "I better not tell you anything about her then. . ."  Reenie
held her hand over her mouth, mortified.

        "It's going to be a girl. . .  I'm going to have another
daughter.  Reenie, I don't know why you're here, but I need you to do
something important for me, maybe even the most important thing you've
ever done for me."  The little girl's big red eyes stared into her
mother's crystalline blue ones.  "I need you to lead the Sailor Senshi
for me.  Rei's been doing a great job, but Alex and Michelle are
beginning to chafe at being ordered around by her.  I need you to be
Sailor Moon for me, so that the others don't start to rebel.  Can you do
this for me?"

        "Sure, Mom!  I finished the first part of my training last
month, so now I'm Younger Sailor Moon instead of Sailor Chibi-Moon.
When the two of us fight together, they call you Elder Moon and me
Younger Moon to tell us apart verbally, and I wear your old uniform, the
one you were wearing five years ago."

        "Huh?"  Serena wasn't sure - five years, from her daughter's
appearance, could have either been the star brooch, the heart brooch, or
even Super Sailor Moon.

        "I'm eleven now.  Remember, 'Smoochy-moochy Meatball Head'?" The
two laughed.

        "Oh, you mean the one with the star brooch.  Hey, I've got
nothing left to do today - come on and I'll treat you to a hot fudge
sundae. . . Small Lady!"

        Over their sundaes, Serena said, "So, Reenie - I'm fighting
again in the future."

        "Oh, you never stopped."

        "What about when Rubeus said, 'I've seen the future and you're
not in it'?  I always took that to mean that Neo-Queen Serenity didn't
fight as Sailor Moon."

        "You do.  He was just trying to bluff you."

        An hour later, Serena and Reenie pulled up at Serena's house.
"You can move in here with us, squirt.  How much do you have to wear?"

        "What I've got on my back, and my gym clothes."

        "I can fix that pronto!"

        While Serena was calling her mother, Reenie looked around and
into a packing box marked, 'keepsakes.'  On the top, she saw an old
outfit, the pants, and pink sweater she'd worn at age eight.  Reenie
felt a small lump form in her throat as she realized how badly her
mother had missed her in the intervening three and a quarter years since
she had last left the past.

        She turned around and saw Serena, tears streaming from her eyes.
The pregnant woman gathered her future-daughter into her arms and said,
"Oh, Small Lady. . .  I didn't think I'd see you again for another
millennium! Not a day passed that Darien and I haven't missed you with
all our hearts, our lives just don't seem quite normal without you!"

        Reenie couldn't tell Serena that the future had changed: because
of the unfolding of certain events, the long period of the world's
dormancy that would allow nine hundred years to pass before the creation
of Crystal Tokyo was swept away; everything was still there but the
changed date: the 22nd century.  As far as Serena knew, and could be
allowed to know, it would still be the thirtieth century.

        Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang and Serena answered.
"Ready to get Reenie a new wardrobe, Serena," asked Ikuko.

        "Yep.  Oh, and I found out that my child is going to be a
daughter."

        "A girl?  But I thought Reenie wasn't going to be born yet for.
. ."

        "It isn't Reenie - she told me she has an older sister.  Even
though she wasn't supposed to."

Hours later. . .

        Darien looked up from reading a novel to see Serena and Ikuko
walk into the room, laden with shopping bags.  "Hello honey, hi Mom!"
Darien now thought of Serena's parents as if they were his own.  He was
shocked as a pink-haired eleven-year-old ran into his arms, yelling,
"Hi, Daddy!!"

        "Reenie!?  I sure am glad to see you, munchkin, but what's
happened to Serenity and Endymion?"

        "Nothing!  I was just on my way home from school this afternoon,
when all of a sudden I was falling through the air. . . again!  If that
was Puu, she's got a really nasty sense of humor, not to mention lousy
aim."

        "It was not me, Neo-Princess Serenity," said Sailor Pluto from
the doorway, "not this time.  You were sent back in time by no less than
your mother herself, because of the difficulties being faced by the
currently leaderless Senshi."

        "Leaderless?  What about Rei!?" asked Serena.

        "Rei is a competent fighter, but leaves much to be desired as a
leader, Serenity-sama.  Your daughter must take on the mantle of Sailor
Moon."

---

        "So what was this meeting about, Serena?" came Rei's voice from
the doorway.  Chad was bringing up the rear, carrying a rather fussy and
stinky Naoko and a diaper bag.  Serena's nose wrinkled and she said,
"You can use the bathroom to change her, Chad.  Second door on the left
once you get upstairs."

        "Sorry," said Chad, "We just got in your driveway when she
started to smell."

        "Rei, may I introduce Younger Sailor Moon," said Serena,
pointing at Reenie.

        "Reenie!  How are you doing, kid?  What's this about you being
'Younger Sailor Moon,' though!?"

        "Exactly that, Rei.  Puu says I have to take over leading the
Sailor Senshi while Mom's out."

        "WHAT!!?"

        Serena said, "Apparently, I, or rather, Neo-Queen Serenity, in
the thirtieth century, thinks you aren't doing a good enough job as the
leader of the Sailor Senshi.  However, since I'm the Queen *now,* it's
my say on how I take this advice.  Rei, you'll continue to lead the
Inners, but you'll take orders directly from Younger Moon, unless," she
directed at Reenie, "you prove that you aren't ready to lead.  Got it?"

        Sailor Pluto added, "It was with the blessing of your future
self, Sailor Mars.  And now, I must be going, or I will have a rather
unwanted meeting with my younger self."  She disappeared.

        Amy and Greg were the second and third (by seconds) to arrive.
Amy carried a large tub of popcorn and Greg carried a bag of videotapes.
The smile that played across Amy's lips wasn't so much of a stranger
anymore, since her personal demons had been laid to rest.  She curled up
on the sofa and drew Greg down with her.

        Minutes later, Sonya walked in with Alex, Michelle, and Heather.
"Which Sonya this time?" asked Serena and Reenie simultaneously.

        "What do you mean, Serena-san?"

        "Past, present, or future?" clarified Serena.

        Reenie and Saturn walked over to meet each other and exchanged
hugs.

        "Long time no see, Heather-chan."

        "We've missed you, Reenie-chan."

        "Present.  I take it that 'I' dropped in on you ladies," on
Darien and Greg's wounded cries, she added, "and gentlemen," then
smirked at them.  "You don't live to be ten thousand or so without
learning how to land a cheap shot now and again."

        Finally, Lita, Ken, and Mina arrived.  "I told you we were late,
guys," complained Mina.

        "And *you* didn't spend a full minute kissing Kevin good-bye?"
Lita stopped in mid-tease and did a double-take when she saw Reenie.
"Hi, Reenie!"  Her friendly tone got serious as she considered what
might have happened.  "Why are you here?  Are Serenity and Endymion all
right?  They aren't hurt, are they?"

        "Nope.  At least, not that I know of." The gleam in Reenie's
eyes took on a distinctly mischievous character, "Though Mom tripped
over the steps last month, right in front of half the Cabinet."  A grin
spread across her face.  She had deliberately left out the fact that the
Imperial Cabinet was almost entirely composed of the Sailor Senshi.

        Serena groaned, "Oh come on, Reenie, can't you say anything nice
about me in any time frame?"  Strangely enough, she was smiling as she
spoke.

        "Why should I, if there's nothing nice to say?" The grin on
Reenie's face grew wider, as did Serena's, until the two burst out
laughing.  The mother-daughter resemblance was never more obvious.

        After getting themselves under control, Serena sat down with
Darien on the couch, and Reenie sat down on the floor in front of her
parents.  Serena recapped what she knew, with Reenie filling in the
appropriate details as her mother went along.  Reenie noticed as Serena
did so that the raw potential that had characterized the
fourteen-year-old Serena that she had first known had by and large been
realized.  The older girl was now much more emotionally stable than her
younger self (although still prone to fits of laughter and tears),
better-coordinated (although still a bit klutzy) and better motivated.
There was now no *way* that it would have been possible for Reenie to
ignore the similarities between the adult Meatball Head and her mother.

        As the two finished, everybody nodded.  Lita added, "No offense,
Rei, but I for one won't mind being back under Sailor Moon."

        "That makes two of us," responded Rei.

        Simultaneously, everybody felt a familiar tingle.  One thought
ran around the room, which Serena gave voice to.  "Crap."

        Reenie cried out, "Moon Crystal Power!!"  Her transformation
began as the other Senshi called out their transformations.

        "Mercury Eternal. . ."

        "Mars Eternal. . ."

        "Jupiter Eternal. . ."

        "Venus Eternal. . ."

        "Saturn Crystal Power. . ."

        "Uranus Crystal Power. . ."

        "Neptune Crystal Power. . ."

        "Pluto Crystal Power. . ."

        "MAKE-UP!"

        When the transformations faded, the Sailor Senshi were standing
in place of their civilian counterparts.  Darien brought forth a rose
and transformed into Tuxedo Mask.

        Younger Moon said, "Mom, if anybody comes here, we're counting
on you to protect Chad, Ken, and Grandma." She stepped up to her mother
and gave her a quick hug.

        "Good luck, Fungus," said Serena.

        On the way to the scene of the crime, Younger Moon began to
worry over all the things that could go wrong.  She'd been kidnapped
herself more than once, and she was worried about her mother.  "Alex,"
she said, moving close to the Outers Leader, "I've got a really bad
feeling about something."

        The short-haired woman looked back at Younger Moon.  "You do?"

        "Yeah.  Kind of like Mom's in danger or something."

        Uranus gave the kid a reassuring glance, "Hey, it's just nerves.
Your mother can handle herself just fine.  This is Serena - she's gone
through worse stuff before than being pregnant."

        Venus pitched in, "You haven't seen the worst of it, Alex - you
never had to watch her die.  I don't remember the first time she died -
I myself was dead at the time, and disembodied spirits don't remember
all that much - but the second time, whew!  I hope I *NEVER* have to go
through that again!"  Younger Moon blanched.

        "You know, Min," Uranus used only the first syllable of Mina's
name, knowing that the girl would hate it, "Nobody asked you to
comment."

        "Jeez, try to help. . ."  Venus, although she had been Sailor V,
was never as popular as Sailor Moon among the other Senshi - only
natural, since Serena was such a natural people person, as smart and
charming as she was pretty.  No wonder she'd attracted Prince Endymion,
thought Mina, if Serenity was even half as nice as Serena is.  Of
course, come Wednesday night, it's just me, Kevin and a romantic
candlelight dinner for two.

        At the Chibas' house, Serena was talking animatedly with her
remaining guests when a distinct tingle of danger formed at the base of
her neck.  When she had first become Sailor Moon, she hadn't known what
it was.  Now she was certain.  Trouble.  Aimed at her.

        "Guys. . ." Serena saw a shadowy figure rear back its arm and
screamed, "GET DOWN!!"  She dived for the floor herself as the person or
thing hurled a large black shape at the window.

        "SERENA!"  Darien faltered, then turned around.  "Serena's in
danger!"

        "Serena!"  Alex panicked slightly.  Less than thirty seconds'
time had passed since she had told Reenie not to worry, and already she
was eating her words.  And Serena or her unborn daughter might pay the
price.

        Back at the house, Serena looked up from where she had been
lying.  The youma that had hurled the object was humanoid and female, in
the mode of most Nega monsters.  A fine dusting of glass powder made
Serena's hair glisten.  Chad was down with a sharp slice across his
right leg, Ken and Ikuko, scratched and cut, were protecting him.
Serena saw red.

        "Moon.  Royal.  Make-UP!!!"  Where seconds ago Serena had stood,
now stood Royal Sailor Moon, rapier already in her hand, trembling with
barely-contained fury.  The disguise magic, she noted as she saw her
reflection in the hall mirror behind the monster, made her look as
though she weren't pregnant at all.  "Okay, slime.  You and your masters
have threatened my family and injured my friends time and again over the
past six years.  I'm sick and tired of it, and I'm sick and tired of not
being able to do anything except sit and wait for your next attack,
praying that I'll be there before somebody gets killed.  This time
you've gone too far.  This time, in the name of the Moon, I declare war
on the Negaverse.  THIS TIME IT'S FOR KEEPS, BUCKO!  YOU KNOW THAT I AM
Sailor Moon, THE PRETTY SAILOR-SUITED SOLDIER OF LOVE AND JUSTICE.  ON
BEHALF OF THE MOON, I WILL PUNISH YOU!!!  Yeah, you, ugly."

        "My, such bravado," sneered the monster, with a voice consisting
of three separate minor chords, "I am Laimak, champion of the Negaverse,
and I'm here for none other than you.  The others are naught but
occupational bonuses."  Serena grimaced and hissed in pain as the sound
assaulted her ears.

        "Many have tried, all have failed.  Now you die."  Sailor Moon
did a double pirouette, ending with her sword pointed directly at
Laimak.  "Moon. . . Rapier. . . Annihilation!!!"  Even as the beam
lanced out to destroy the monster, three things happened simultaneously:
1) The other Sailor Soldiers burst into the room.  Younger Moon and
Tuxedo Mask kept running toward Sailor Moon.  2) General Quartzite
materialized behind Sailor Moon and grabbed her.  3) Laimak vaporized.

        An instant later, Quartzite and Sailor Moon vanished.

        Two heartbeats later, Tuxedo Mask and Younger Moon raced through
the spot where Sailor Moon had just stood.  Tuxedo Mask tripped over the
coffee table and landed on the couch, losing top-hat and mask.  Mars
just stared, shocked, at the place her beloved friend had just moments
ago stood.  Younger Moon began to weep, and Sailor Pluto moved to
comfort the girl.

        "Sailor Moon. . ." began Pluto, putting her hand on Younger
Moon's shoulder.  The girl whipped around, blocking Pluto's arm away
from her.  "I am NOT Sailor Moon!  Not yet," cried Younger Moon, "I
won't really be Sailor Moon until Elder Moon retires, you understand!?
I'm a terrible leader.  I let people down.  I let Sailor Moon get
kidnapped right out from under my nose."

        Younger Moon changed back into Reenie.  With the additional
power of Sailor Moon gone, she was nothing but a desperately sad
eleven-year-old girl who wanted nothing more fervently than to have her
mother back.  She ripped the brooch from her shirt and threw it as far
from her as she possibly could.  The brooch clinked off of another
object as it came to rest on Serena's crowded study desk.  The Star
Locket.

        Moving quickly, Tuxedo Mask stood and crossed to where the
brooch had fallen.  He picked up the locket and opened it.  The tune was
different, redoubled an octave above itself.  Two small red orbs,
instead of one, rotated inside the tiny crescent moon.  "Reenie?  Listen
to this."  Above Reenie's sniffling and occasional sob, the newly
altered tune was clearly audible.  "You have to rescue Serena. . .  We
have to save Sailor Moon."

        Reenie failed to acknowledge his words.  Her gaze was fixed on
the locket.

        "Small Lady," tried Darien.  No response.

        He shifted into Prince Endymion.  "Neo-Princess Serenity."

        Reenie shifted into her Princess form, "Yes, Your Highness?"

        Unlike Serena, Darien felt neither necessarily comfortable nor
uncomfortable being addressed in terms reserved for royalty.  "You must
rescue your mother, the Queen.  For that, you must be Sailor Moon.  Not
Sailor Chibi-Moon, not Younger Sailor Moon, for both are
Senshi-in-Training, but you must be Sailor Moon, the Champion of
Justice, sworn on behalf of the Moon. . ."

        "To right wrongs and triumph over evil," finished Neo-Princess
Serenity, "Yes, Father, you're right."  Her voice gained strength, and
she held out a hand toward her brooch.  The object floated off of
Serena's desk and toward the Neo-Princess.  She grabbed it from the air
and murmured, "Champion of Justice. . .  Defender of the innocent. . .
Avenger of all wrongs."  By the end, she was speaking at a normal
volume.

        Neo-Princess Serenity took a deep breath, then shouted, "Moon.
Crystal.  POWER!!!"

The Negaverse

        "What do you want!?"  Sailor Moon was in pain from the stun
grasp that Quartzite had used on her, and her daughter was kicking
vehemently, protesting the injustice of being shocked along with her
mother.

        "You.  Dead," explained Quartzite.

        *No you don't!* thought Imbrium.  With a rush of anger, she
blazed through the hole in her prison.

        Quartzite grabbed her head in pain.  "NOOO!!!"

        "Imbrium," realized Sailor Moon.  She added the power of the
Silver Crystal to her twin's struggle.

        Eventually, Quartzite's dead-looking eyes gained a sparkle of
life.  "Thank you, Serenity.  I owe you a big one."

        "Forget about it, Sister.  Also, my name's Serena now."

        "Welcome to the Negaverse, Serena.  Now, how do we get out?"

        "Well, if I may be of assistance. . ."  Moon's stance went
defensive as she recognized the voice of Jadeite. . .  or was it
Jadeite?  His voice sounded friendlier.

        "Jadeite?"

        "Well, sort of.  It's now Jadeite, as it was originally."
Jadeite's eyes, like Imbrium's, were lively and familiar where they had
once been still and strange.  Memories of her beloved's guardian, the
love of Princess Rei's life, a man full to the brim with love and
laughter, bubbled to the surface.

        "Jadeite," Sailor Moon grinned wryly, "Your timing sucks.  But
two years earlier and you could have stolen Rei back from Chad.  Now,
though. . ."

        "The plan is to wait until Chad and Rei have lived a long and
full life together and till Rei has time to grieve him. . .  then sweep
her off her feet."

        Sailor Moon thought aloud, "Well then.  I'm sneaking through the
Negaverse to try to find a warp hole to Tokyo.  With me are two former
Negaverse Generals who need to defect to Earth in order to survive.
Sounds like that movie, The Hunt for Red October.  Only I don't have
Sean Connery or Alec Baldwin stashed anywhere around here, so we'll just
have to make do."

--