Adventures of the Chibi-Scouts II
By "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl and Doug "Candle Light Author" Helm


Those characters that are original and the story "Adventures of the
Chibi-Scouts II" are copyrighted (c) 2000 by Will Wolfshohl & Douglas
Helm.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at
http://rivendell.fortunecity.com/traveller/861/

Send comments to: "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl (wwolfshohl@logicon.com) or
Douglas "Candle Light Author" Helm (dhelm@log.on.ca)


Part 5  "Children Unmasked"

       Shortly after finishing off the Lemure, Reenie and Serena bid
their farewells and headed for home. As they walked, Serena began
humming. She felt very happy, then thoughts about her friend she left
behind dampened them. <Poor Lita. I wonder what she's doing now? Well if
it's like the last time, then she won't even remember us going.>
Perhaps, that was for the best. Feeling her hand in Reenie's, Serena
turned and gave the older girl a smile. <I understand, Reenie, even if I
don't like the way you tricked me.>
       "What?" Serena asked as she noticed Reenie giving her a very
strange look.
       "Serena... I'm really sorry for taking off last night."
       "That's okay, Reenie."
       "You aren't mad?" Serena shook her head. Nothing else was said
for several seconds before Reenie continued, "Can I still spend the
night with you?"
       "Sure," Serena chirped and then added, "I'm hungry!" Her tummy
rumbled as proof of this statement. The little girl's eyes widened with
delight as she saw a sign ahead of her. "I want ice cream!"
       "I don't got any money, Serena," the older girl fibbed. Serena
gave her daughter a dirty look before plunging her hand into Reenie's
skirt pocket. Despite the older girl's protest, Serena produced some
money and waved it at Reenie. "Okay... okay..."
       <Maybe I shouldn't. It's too close to supper time.> Her tummy
rumbled angrily at that thought.
       "We can't get ice cream or else Aunt Ellen would be really mad
at me."
       <She's right. Mommy would be angry.> "Sorry," Serena squeaked
and handed the money back to Reenie.
       "Now come on or we'll both get in trouble for bein' late."
Serena allowed herself to be guided past the ice cream shop but kept
casting longing glances over her shoulder.


       Amy watched with apprehension as her mother came into the room
looking as if she was prepared to do battle. "Lita," Mrs. Anderson
announced, "It's time for your bath."
       "'Kay Mommy," Lita agreed before getting up and putting away the
toy horses she had been playing with.
       <Mom looks like she wasn't expecting that response.> Indeed, her
mother appeared almost stunned.
       "You know Amy isn't going to have a bath with you. She'll have
her bath after yours." Mrs. Anderson turned to her other daughter and
asked, "That's all right, isn't it Amy?"
       "Uhuh."
       "Can I have a bubblebath?" Lita asked looking rather
disappointed.
       Amy, who had been watching both her sister and her mother
carefully, noticed that Mrs. Anderson was even more shocked by Lita's
acquiescence, though it was quickly hidden. <That surprised her.> Pieces
of the puzzle were starting to fall into place.
       Before she could really consider the implications of Lita's
obviously strange behavior, her mother asked, "Would you like a
bubblebath too, Amy?" After briefly considering the matter, Amy nodded.
"Well then, you might as well share with Lita. No sense wasting all
those bubbles." Both girls smiled. After getting the girls' bathrobes,
she added, "You get changed and I'll go run the water."


       <Damn, I really messed up!> Lita thought as she sat in the
bathtub about ten minutes later. <Does the other Lita hate bubblebaths?
Is that it?> That seemed unlikely given her memories of her last visit.
She glanced nervously across to Amy who was sunk up to her nose, eyes
closed in contentment. <What did I do wrong?>
       It would have shocked Lita to learn that her counterpart did not
like baths. Moreover, if she had to take a bath, she wanted Amy to take
one with her. It was a power struggle of sorts and a safe one.
       She was drawn from her thoughts when she felt a set of eyes
looking at her intently. Turning her head, she saw Amy sit up and regard
her. Before her sister could say anything, they heard the voice of their
mother, "Girls, what are you doing?"
       "Nothing!" both girls squeaked.
       "You should wash up first if you expect to play for a little
while."
       Lita sighed, reached for some soap, and started applying it to a
washcloth. As she started scrubbing herself, she said, "What's the
matter?"
       Amy took a deep breath and asked, "You think geography is tough,
huh?"
       Lita blinked and then answered slowly, "Kinda..." She gave Amy a
wary look. <Huh? Okay, now that's just TOO big a word for a little
kid... even Amy.>
       "Then you shouldn't drool over the boys in class, 'specially
that hunky one who sits in front of you."
       "Amy!" Lita exclaimed and then covered her mouth, "Is that
really you?!?"
       "Hiya Sis!" she chirped and gave a wink.
       "Oh Amy, I thought I was all alone!" Lita replied and promptly
hugged her sister. After a moment, she blushed, realizing that was not
the best of moves given their current circumstances. Pulling away, she
queried, "So did anybody else make it back?"
       "All of us," Amy told her with some relief, "I was starting to
worry about you."
       "Really? Won't Serena be surprised!"
       "We'd better not tell her yet. Reenie's likely with her and it
would look funny if we attempted to contact her now. It would be best to
wait until tomorrow at school."
       Lita grinned broadly and teased, "And here I thought I'd have
somebody to hang around with."
       Amy placed her hands on her hips. "And what does that s'pposed
to mean?"
       "Oh, you'll just stick your nose into a book and be meek." Lita
yelped in surprise as soapy water splattered across her face.
       "Meek? I know how to unwind," Amy countered.
       "Sure, ya do, Sis... I saw you trying to sneak that book into
the bathroom." Amy's response was to splash her with more water. "Oh
yeah?" Lita questioned and splashed some water at her sister.
       "Yeah!" Amy replied before counterattacking.
       When their mother came in and tried to break up the large water
fight that ensued, both her daughters audaciously splashed her with
water, soaking her thoroughly.


       While Mary Anderson was trying to settle her children down, Chad
was worrying about Raye. He hadn't heard from her for a few minutes.
"Raye?!" he called into the room where the furo was. "Are you okay,
Pumpkin?"
       When there was no answer, he carefully peeked around the door.
His concern raised slightly when he saw her head drooped and her
shoulders relaxed. The only thing keeping her head from slipping into
the water was the way her arms were sprawled over the edge.
       "Raye?" Chad asked again, coming into the room. As he
approached, he could hear the slow and steady breathing of the little
girl. With a little sigh of relief, he got a towel before approaching
the furo. <Man, no wonder she's tuckered out.> It hadn't taken much
coaxing to get Raye to take a bath either, although she still had wanted
him to stay. <I don't know why though. I keep trying to tell her she's
getting to be a big girl but...> The argument didn't seem to have any
sway.
       Tenderly lifting his sleeping charge out, the acolyte gently
wrapped the towel around her. <I'm glad you have friends like Lita.> He
smiled a little as Raye shifted slightly and wrapped still damp arms
around him. Reaching up, he carefully removed the bathing cap that kept
Raye's long hair out of the water.
       "Come on, Pumpkin, let's go get you changed for bed." Raye's
only response was gentle breathing; she had had a very long day.


       Serena was in awe of her dream. It was so vibrant and real that
she kept forgetting that it was only an illusion. A gentle breeze
rustled the branches of the trees overhead, sending ripples through the
mirror-like lake. She heard the soft plodding sound from behind her.
Slowly turning, she felt her heart warm to the sight before her.
Something of her other self told her that the creature before her was
not to be feared. It was a Pegasus, with flowing wings and a golden
horn.
       "Little maiden," it said.
       Serena had never heard him talk before. "You can talk?!"
       Pegasus seemed to smile, "I have had many conversations with
you."
       "Oh..." She wasn't entirely sure what to say.
       "You are different now."
       "Different?"
       "The same and yet..." He took a step closer, reaching out his
long head to stare at her. "Who are you?" Serena's first reaction was to
panic but she calmed herself. Something about this animal told her it
would be all right to talk with him. "Who are you, little maiden?"
       "I'm Serena Tsukino," Serena replied and then felt compelled to
say, "I'm just visiting here. I didn't mean to take your Serena away.
I'm going to be going home soon." He seemed puzzled by this so, she
explained it as best she could.
       By the time she was done, he was staring at her with grave
concern. "I need your help, maiden, but you must promise me not to tell
anyone of our conversations."
       "Why not?" Serena questioned.
       "If you cannot promise to keep me secret, then I must leave and
find another place... but there is no other."
       "I promise," Serena agreed. <But why do I think I know him?> She
had seen him before but not within her dreams.


       <I gotta know,> Reenie thought as she lay beside Serena. The
soft noise of the little girl's snoring told her that Serena was asleep.
<But what if it really isn't her?> She didn't want to hurt her little
sister. <I'm sure it's her.> She was scared though. What if all the
things she had seen were flukes? What if what she had thought was true
turned out to be false? After a few more moments of thought, she nodded
decisively.
       Sitting up, she turned to Serena and shook her. "Little Sister,"
she called softly, "Serena, wake up." Serena just continued to snore.
"Serena!" Reenie said more loudly and gave the little girl a firmer
shake.
       "It's dark out... no get up, Mommy," Serena mumbled out and
rolled over to her side. Frowning, Reenie decided that drastic measures
were called for. Reaching over, she found her little sister's ticklish
spot and began tickling her.
       After only a few seconds, Serena sat up with a squeal and looked
around blearily. "What's the matter?" she asked Reenie sleepily.
Yawning, she started to lay back down but Reenie stopped her. "Wha?"
       "Melvin broke up with Molly."
       "Oh poor Mol!" Serena exclaimed, her eyes going wide.
       <Got you!> Reenie thought but to just be sure, she added, "Molly
was cryin' a lot 'n' stuff."
       "Why did that dweebmeister break up with poor Molly? Oh... Mol
was majorly hooked on him."
       "Hi Serena."
       Serena, who was worrying over the plight of her friend, turned
and replied, "Hi Reenie." She turned back to stare at the bed for a
moment before she whirled to stare at her big sister. Reenie had a huge
smile on her face.
       "So when did you get back?"
       "Get back?" Serena questioned innocently. <Does she know?> She
felt panic rising within her.
       "Come on, Serena, I know you're really fourteen."
       "I'm six," Serena countered. She held up six fingers to
emphasize her answer. Then she settled herself back into bed, closed her
eyes, and pretended she was going back to sleep.
       "Okay, so fifteen," Reenie countered. Serena feigned sleep.
"Please, Serena, this is really really important."
       "I'm six, Reenie. I'm not real old like Sammy."
       Reenie rolled her eyes and explained, "Nobody but the old Serena
would call Molly `Mol´ and 'sides, you shouldn't know what I'm talking
'bout." Serena was quiet, too quiet. <Please, Serena, I need your help.
Darien tried but it isn't the same.>
       Finally Serena huffed, "I'm gonna kill me."
       Reenie smiled and reaching down, gave the little girl a crushing
hug. "I'm so happy you're here, Big Sister," Reenie began. "I don't know
what to do 'n' I was so worried you'd get hurt like Lita and..." She
trailed off when she realized that Serena wasn't hugging her back. Then
she realized that she was nearly crushing the little girl. Letting go,
she moved back and stared down at the covers. "Sorry."
       "At least, I can breathe," Serena wheezed out.
       "I'm really glad you're here, Serena. My little sister doesn't
understand..." She sniffled a little then and lowered her gaze back to
the bed. <I love you, Little Sister, but I'm confused. I need her help.>
Serena slipped from the bed and quickly headed for the door. "Where are
ya going?"
       "Bathroom," Serena answered and slipped from the room.


       As Serena came back from the bathroom, she wondered what she was
going to do. <Reenie's sure glad to see me.> She smiled a little and
thought, <But if she keeps hugging me like that, I won't survive.> When
she entered the room, she found Reenie still sitting on the bed, waiting
for her.
       "Serena?"
       "Yeah?"
       "Can I see what you look like?" Serena stopped and gave her a
puzzled look. Then she turned in a circle. Reenie giggled a little and
then clarified, "No, silly. I mean when you're bigger. I always wanted
to see."
       "Luna won't like it." Neither would Amy for that matter. <She's
going to blow a gasket when she finds out our cover's blown.>
       "Luna's spending the night at Mina's," Reenie pointed out,
"Please Serena?"
       "Okay," Serena agreed. Flicking her wrist, she withdrew the
Disguise Pen from her dimensional pocket. Lifting it into the air, she
commanded, "Disguise Pen, make me fifteen!" The room's darkness was
stolen away for a moment as the magical light of the Disguise Pen
engulfed the little girl. Moments later, Serena found herself in her old
body. "You like?" she asked and started to do a slow turn.
       Even before Reenie could comment, Serena's legs got tangled
together and she fell with a thump on her rear.
       "Shhhh..." Reenie said while making shushing motions, "Do you
want Aunt Ellen to come up here?!"
       "Sorry." Serena looked a little sheepish and slowly pushed
herself up. "I totally forgot about this problem."
       "What problem?"
       "It's this body. It isn't used to being big." Serena had a
difficult time walking the short distance to the bed. She felt very
awkward. When she finally got there, she gave a little sigh of relief.
       "Wow," Reenie remarked in awe, "You're so big... and pretty."
<Just like Mommy.> Sometimes she wondered if little Serena really could
be her mommy. Now, the resemblance was unmistakable.
       "And you're pretty too," Serena replied with a smile. She felt
her heart warm to the little girl before her. Sitting down, the teen
held out her arms. Reenie seemed puzzled for a long moment before she
scrambled onto Serena's lap and hugged the now much bigger girl. "You
want to tell me what happened?"
       The little girl was quiet for a long moment before beginning to
speak, "Lita died." She said it so softly that Serena at first wasn't
sure she had heard her right. "Lita was fightin' a Lemure. It zapped her
and..." She looked at the floor sadly. "She was just... gone. I knew but
they thought she was just hiding. Then she didn't come back." She paused
and looked back up at Serena with tears in her eyes. "I tried to figure
out what to do but I couldn't. Raye really missed Lita. Amy 'n' Mina
don't really get it. Even you... the other you didn't get that Lita was
never ever coming back."
       "Oh sweetheart," Serena said softly while hugging her daughter,
"Didn't you try to talk to Darien?"
       "Mommy, I tried but he wasn't sure what to do either. He said to
use Luna Ball on Amy's mommy and Mina's mommy and daddy 'til he could
figure it out. I was really worried. I thought I'd mess up again and
you'd get hurt too." She sniffled a little. "Then Lita came back. I
thought she was a Negaverse baddie but she gets along with Amy okay."
She lifted her red eyes up to Serena and asked, "How could Lita come
back?"
       "I don't know, Reenie. I know we were reincarnated..."
       "Rein... Reincarnated? What does that mean?" Reenie interrupted.
       "It doesn't matter right now but that took the Imperium Silver
Crystal. I don't think your Serena could have done it."
       "I have the Silver Crystal," Reenie told the teen, "You gave it
to me but you can have it back. I'm a bad leader."
       "No, you're not," Serena soothed, "You're a good leader. I saw
you fight that Lemure and I'm very proud of you."
       "Really?"
       "Really," Serena confirmed and gave the little girl a tighter
hug. "Shhh..." she said soothingly when she heard Reenie beginning to
cry. The child simply buried her face against Serena's shoulder and
cried even more. <All the weight of the world on your shoulders. My poor
little daughter.> She let Reenie cry herself out, constantly worrying
that her parents would open the door. In a way though, she didn't care.
She was more worried about Reenie's news. <I'll have to ask Amy to do a
scan of Lita.> Amy would solve the puzzle of Lita's mysterious return.
       After a while, Serena realized that Reenie was close to sleep.
Carefully and slowly reaching out a hand, she drew back the covers and
settled her daughter into bed. Leaning over, she kissed Reenie's
forehead and said softly, "I'm very proud of you and I love you."
       "Love you, Mommy," Reenie mumbled out.
       Smiling broadly, Serena reversed her change before crawling back
into bed next to her daughter. <You can destroy the Lemures,> Serena
thought as she snuggled up against the older girl, <And I'll do my best
to make you proud of me too.>


       Early Monday morning, a weak sun struggled through thin wisps of
high clouds. A cold wind blew in from the northeast promising to make
the day chilly.
       "Lita!" Mrs. Anderson called, "Lita!"
       "Yeah?" Lita asked as she came out of her room wearing her
school uniform.
       "Oh, I thought you went back to sleep," Mrs. Anderson remarked
while walking over and adjusting Lita's uniform. "Let me take a look at
you." She stood back and stared down at her daughter for a moment then
frowned. "Hmm..."
       "What Mommy?" Lita asked. <I can't be in trouble this soon after
getting up.> Hearing a noise behind her, she turned to discover Amy
coming towards them. That's when she frowned as well.
       "What?" Amy asked.
       "Hey, you're wearin' my uniform," Lita observed. <I was
wondering why mine felt a little tight.> Amy blinked slightly and looked
down at herself.
       "That's right," Mrs. Anderson agreed, "I couldn't figure out
what was odd about Lita's uniform but now I know." Her children gave her
a questioning look, so she teased, "Lita's is too neat to be hers." She
smiled and gave Lita a gentle pat on the head.
       Lita gave her mother a sour look before turning back to her
sister. "Why'd you give me yours, Amy?"
       "I don't know," Amy admitted, then she giggled, "They look the
same."
       "Come and eat breakfast, girls, and then you can switch
uniforms," Mrs. Anderson decided and turning around, headed towards the
kitchen. Lita and Amy followed while holding a hushed conversation.
       "What's wrong with my uniform?" Amy asked indignantly.
       "Nothin', Sis," Lita replied, "I kinda like having the same one
as you and the others. I felt so out of place before."
       "I know, Sis, but you're with us now." She became concerned when
Lita started to look ill. "What's the matter?"
       "Just the way you said that, makes me think I'm going to turn
into a bookworm or something."
       "No chance of that. Look at Serena," Amy replied with a giggle
and then added, "'Sides, she was in one of these things first."
       "Then maybe there's hope for you yet." Amy stopped dead in her
tracks and stared at Lita for a long moment before bursting into tears
and running back to her room.


       "Now wearing the latest in fashion... Mina Aino!" Mina declared
in a whisper as she strutted across her room to the mirror, gave a
twirl, and strutted back. She was full of energy but she was trying to
be quiet so that she wouldn't wake the Lunar Cats. <I'm in an elementary
school uniform and I bet it's just like the others!> She couldn't wait
to get to school and see her friends. <I wish I could get my parents to
send me to Serena's school, or even Raye's.> She didn't have any real
friends in her own junior high school. They always thought she was too
stuck up.
       Stopping in mid-stride, she walked back to the mirror that was
hanging on her closet door. She inspected the uniform that she was
wearing more closely. It was different than last time. It appeared they
had graduated from kindergarten. It was like Reenie's, although the
shoes were different from what she remembered.
       Separating her long blonde hair, she held it up in a mimic of
Serena's style and giggled. <I wonder what Carrie would say about this?>
The thought of her friend made Mina frown. <Gosh, I hope Carrie isn't
too sore at me.> Any more thoughts about Carrie, or school for that
matter, were overridden by her sudden urge to use the bathroom. <This
has got to be the only thing bad about small bodies,> Mina lamented as
she jogged for that bathroom door. Much to her dismay, someone was
already in there.


       <Was it just a dream?> Reenie wondered as she watched Serena
modeling her uniform. <She's acting pretty normal.> But it had seemed so
real, and that kiss...
       "You're in a good mood today, Serena."
       "Of course!" Serena said, "I just love being in this thing."
       "Why?" Reenie asked.
       Serena paused and then giving the older girl a smile,
elaborated, "'Cause you're wearing one." She wondered how her Reenie
would react to wearing a smaller version of her junior high school
uniform. Giggling, she turned back to her reflection and smiled. "It's
hard to say why." She knew that deep down it was out of sheer love and
respect her other self held for Reenie.
       "So who else came back with you?"
       Serena turned and gave her daughter a serious look. "I can't
tell ya, not until I talk to Luna."
       "But Sere..."
       "No!" Serena snapped firmly. Marching over to the older girl,
she said, "Reenie... I know you've been having a hard time but I just
can't tell you any more."
       Reenie crossed her arms and pouted slightly. Hopping up onto the
bed, Serena gave her daughter a hug before saying, "Big Sister...
please don't be mad. I need to talk to Luna first, okay?"
       "Yeah," Reenie agreed. <I know Luna must've come back with her
anyway.> That explained Diana's complaints about Luna's behavior. Then
she smiled a little. "I like it when you're happy."
       "I'm in a super good mood 'cause of a very special reason
though." Reenie looked at her curiously. "I'm your mom and I'm proud of
you." Much to her surprise, Reenie sniffled. "What's wrong?"
       After a moment, Reenie smiled and stated, "I miss Mommy
sometimes. The other Serena never told me she was proud of me."
       Serena smiled a little bit. "Of course, she did."
       "How?"
       "She was very proud of wearing the same uniform as you." Reenie
looked like she wanted to talk further but Ellen called them downstairs.


       Luna had always thought Artemis was exaggerating when he said
Mina tortured him by going to the bathroom. Now, she understood exactly
what he meant. She had been roused from a very peaceful slumber by a
racket that sounded like a cat caught in a cement mixer. It turned out
to be Mina using the bathroom. Apparently, she belted out lyrics of her
current favorite song while sitting on the toilet to pass the time.
       There had been no reprieve from this musical serenade until
Mina's father had told her sternly to tone it down and get ready for
school. Mina muttered something about music critiques and old farts but
she did as she had been told.
       "Maybe," Diana commented as they sat in the now peaceful room,
"We should get her to sing to the Lemures."
       "Way harsh," Artemis replied, "But a good idea."
       "A good idea?" Luna asked, "Artemis, didn't you hear that
caterwauling?"
       He didn't really know what that big word meant but he knew it
was bad. "Mina's a good singer," Artemis argued.
       "For the dead," Luna muttered out.
       "Come on, let's go for a hunt," Diana suggested, "And then, we
do some checking around town."
       <Finally, I'll be able to show up this old fuddy-duddy.> If
there was one thing she was good at it, it was hunting. Luna hopped off
of the bed and started towards the window.
       "Come on, Luna," Diana urged.
       "Aren't we going hunting?" Luna asked.
       "We are, but we'll go out the front door." Luna rolled her eyes
but followed Artemis and Diana out of the room.

End of Part 5

Coming next in Part 6  "Donning New Masks"