Children
of the Worlds
"..Um..you
can open you eyes now.”
Chibi-Usa
looked at her blue-haired “sister” with a quizzical look.
It had been almost five minutes since they had folded to their
destination, and Naru's eyes were still closed so tightly that
Chibi-Usa thought she could hear the screaming brain cells as they
combusted.
"Hello?"
She poked Naru. "It's safe. You can, urm, open your eyes now."
"...Am
I dead?"
"What?!
No!" Chibi-Usa blinked. "Why would you think that?"
"Because..you
don't exist. Small Lady, the original daughter of my parents. You
were erased. Destroyed...by my birth..." Naru opened up an eye.
"I .you were erased, right?"
"Erased?"
Chibi-Usa looked up, tapping a finger on her chin. "Well, you're
asking that, I obviously don't live where you live. That doesn't mean
I'm gone from everywhere,
though, since this is my home."
"..What
do you mean, gone form everywhere?" Naru opened her other eye.
"Where...are we, Small Lady...?"
“Chibi-Usa.”
“Huh?”
“Call
me Chibi-Usa.” The girl beamed. “I am Chibi-Usa...and you
are in Tokyo."
The
deep voice that suddenly responded caused Naru to jump up. Something
about it scared her initially, as if it were the voice of a long
forgotten enemy. Turning to face the enemy, however, was another
matter.
"So.."
Naru's eyes opened, then widened, at the sight of the new voice's
owner. "You are Chiba Naru. Welcome, princess to the turn of the
20th
century."
She
was in her mid twenties, and very tall, her height comparable to that
of Naru's father, with thick, tawny hair almost carelessly put into a
loose ponytail. She wore blue jeans and a white button down shirt
over a green turtleneck, the former which was barely covering her
somewhat ample bust.
"Ah,
there you are." Chibi-Usa smiled. "I was wondering
where you went after you turned that machine off."
"I've
been here the whole time."
"You...what.?"
"Don't
be nervous." Purple eyes smiled alongside the face as Naru
stared at her. "I'm so glad we managed to get you here. Tell me,
how is Serenity and Endymion where you're from?"
"...Uh?"
"..Naru-chan?
I can call you that, right?" Chibi-Usa gulped. "Naru-chan??"
"..I
think she's still in shock, Chibi-Usa-chan." Another hand
suddenly waved in front of Naru's face. "Yeah, it hasn't sunk in
yet that she's left her world."
"It's
ok, Venus." Naru heard the name, and turned to see that it was
indeed Venus, albeit as a civilian. "Aah, and she recognizes
you. That's good."
"Heh."
The blonde grinned. "Yeah, it is!"
Naru
looked around for a moment, trying to take in the surroundings. It
was the old Earth she was in, this was true; no crystals lined the
buildings, no palace dominated the landscape. There were trees and
sidewalks and birds singing all around her, and people gathers to the
right of her near a set of swings.
"The
Old Earth."
"It
is Tokyo in October of 1999, to be exact." Naru turned back to
see the older woman bow to her. "It is a pleasure meeting you
here, in a neutral setting, princess. My name is Chiba Tourmaline."
"Chiba..?"
Naru gasped. "But how? My father didn't have a sister."
"He
didn't." The woman looked back up at Naru. "He had a
daughter instead."
"A.."
Naru's
eyes became as wide as saucers at this. She started to back away from
the woman, not sure if the woman was insane or just lying.
My
father...with...with..
"Hooold
it!" She felt the civilian Venus' hands on her shoulders with a
giggle. "It's not what you think, you silly mongoose.
Tourmaline-san is Endymion's daughter from another continuum!"
"I
think that's just a goose, Minako-chan."
"Another..."
Naru turned to Venus with a gasp. "You mean like another
dimension?"
"Yeah,
sure." Venus shrugged. "Whatever it's called."
"Yes,
Naru." Tourmaline stood up. "I am his daughter from another
dimension, just as you are, at least here. We are in the 15th
dimension, where Serenity and Endymion had one daughter, Chibi-Usa."
At this, Chibi-Usa waved to Naru. "You are from the 35th
dimension, and I am from the 62nd."
"Other
dimensions." Naru looked down. "Sailor Mercury told me that
the existence of other dimensions was theoretical at best."
"It
is a fact, Naru." Tourmaline nodded. "It was always
possible. And in my dimension, we have the best means to travel to
other places. That is why I decided to gather everyone."
"Everyone.?"
"The
other children."
At
this, the woman pointed to the group that was to Naru's right, and
Naru turned towards them. She stared for a moment, taking in what she
was seeing. Then, slowly, she began to walk towards them.
......wow......
There
were kids and adults of all shapes, sizes and genders. Male, female,
short, tall, thin, fat, dark and light skinned. There were hair
colors that Naru had never even imagined, which said a lot as Naru's
own hair was a very wild color on its own. They were amongst the
other sailor soldiers that she knew - Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, even
Pluto - and a few soldiers that Naru didn't remember hearing of.
“Go
on,” She heard Tourmaline's voice encourage her. “Go on
to them.”
"Pretty
cool, hmm?" Chibi-Usa smiled. "They're mostly nice too. A
couple of them are mean, like that one from...where ever he called
it. But...well, what can you do about them?"
"All
of them.." Naru kept walking, awed by the spectacle. "They
are all my parents' children?"
"Yes
and no," Tourmaline responded. "Many of them are the
offspring of Serenity and Endymion in their respective dimensions,
but not all of them. Some just have Serenity as a mother, or Endymion
a father. Like myself."
"Like."
"Tourmaline-san's
mother," At this, Venus paused hesitantly. "Her mother is
Queen Beryl."
"..Who?"
"Never
mind!" Seeing that Naru did not really know who Beryl was, Venus
quickly changed the subject. "Anyways, go meet your brothers and
sisters! They've all been waiting for you."
"I
don't know......"
"Heeeeeey!"
Before Naru could finish her protest, Venus waved to the large group.
"Heeeeey, here's another one!!!"
The
entire group stopped what they were doing to look at the newcomer.
Naru felt herself turn bright red when she saw all the eyes, every
different color and size, staring right at her, waiting for her to
say something. She was still in shock over the whole affair of other
dimensions, and could find nothing to say.
"Aaaaye!"
Fortunately, someone in the crowd found words for her. "Hey
there!!"
"H.."
Naru realized she had no choice. "Hello.."
"Wazzaaaap!!!"
A
good part of the throng ganged up on her, immediately pounding her
with questions and insinuations. Naru, on her part, wanted to run
away. It was just a tad too much love from people she had never even
imagined.
"What's
your name? What's your name?!"
"Are
you Naru? My name is Naru too!!"
"So
you're parents were Serenity and Endymion, hmm?"
"Ewww,
another girl! Ewww!"
"Sie
mögen Musik? Ich spiele eine Guitarre."
"..Can
I kill her now?"
"No!"
"Outta
my way, I wanna see!"
"Who
wants to play charades?!"
"COOKIE!
COOKIE NOW!!"
"Amazing.
Blue hair. I like it."
"I
don't."
"Well,
screw you."
"How
old are you, Naru? I'm 12."
"¿Por
qué no estáis un muchacho?"
"But
I want to kill her. Her chin irritates me."
"HELLO!!!!!"
Suddenly,
Naru was bombarded from behind by a bear hug, which sent her tumbling
to the ground. At this, the group stopped, seeing who it was that
attacked, and began to back away slightly.
"Oh
dear."
"Cover
your ears!"
"HI!!!!!!"
The
scream resumed, right into Naru's ears. She turned to see a girl, no
more than eight years old, with lavender hair pulled into two oval
buns, and with wide blue eyes just like her mother. The little girl
had a wide beam on her cookie crumb-caked face.
"HELLOOOOO!!!!!"
Naru swore that her hair was flying back from the force of the girl's
vocal chords being belted out. "HOW ARE YOU?! I'M KOUSAGI FROM
ANOTHER DIMENSION AND I LIKE COOKIES!!!!"
"Ow!!"
"HOW
DO YOU LIKE MY VOICE?!?" Naru's eyes watered from the sound
reverberation. "IT'S REALLY LOUD, ISN'T IT?!? MY VOICE IS
LOUDER THAN ANYONE'S EVER!!!!!!"
"Buuuuuuh..stooooop.."
"IT'S
LOUDER THAN JUDY'S VOICE, SO THERE!!" Naru almost though she
heard a bird squawk as it combusted the moment the girl raised her
voice even higher. "LA LA LA, JUDY CAN'T SCREAM! JUDY CAN'T
SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM LIKE I CAN SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM BECAUSE YOU
SCREAM FOR ICE CRE-"
"That's
enough, Kousagi-chan!!!"
Naru
looked up at the voice; it sounded familiar, just like Venus' had,
only it was younger sounding. She was sure it was one of the
soldiers, and she was correct; a tall, brown-haired girl stared down
at Kousagi, her hands folded.
"Enough
of that, Tsukino Kousagi-chan." Jupiter gave Kousagi an
authoritative look. "What would your mother do to you if she
heard you making this kind of racket?"
"Kousagi?"
"THAT'S
EASY!!" Naru threw her hands onto her ears as Kousagi screamed
out a reply. "SHE'D SEND ME TO MY ROOM WITH NO DESSERT-"
"Lower
your voice." At this, Mars suddenly appeared, a frown on her
face. "Charleston Judy-chan already forfeit the screaming game
to you."
"WHEN?"
"Ten
minutes ago." The authoritative look disappeared, and a small
smirk appeared on Jupiter's face. "But you were too busy
screaming out 'Automatic' to even notice that, right?"
"..I
was?"
"Yes
you were."
"..Oh."
The girl whimpered, tears forming in her eyes. "I..I didn't
mean..I."
"It's
ok." With a smile, Rei took Kousagi by the hand and lifted her
off of Naru's back. "Come on, let's go get that ice cream, hmm?"
"..ICE
CREAM!!!!! YAAAAAY ICE CREAM!!!!" The screaming suddenly
resumed. "ICE CREAM-"
"Kousagi-chan."
"Oh.
Sorry." The little girl giggled as she waved to Naru. "Nice
to meet you!.....Rei-onee, I want three scoops of chocolate ice cream
with sprinkles and nuts...and fudge..and marshmallow...and peanut
butter..vanilla."
Naru
marveled as the two walked off, her memories conjuring up the sight
of Sailor Mars walking away from her, empty-handed and with a frown
of disappointment. It was still strange to see the sight of a happy
Mars, let alone a happy Jupiter.
"Sorry.."
Naru took the hand held out by Jupiter and pulled herself up. "So
you're Chiba Chibi-Naru, from the, uh, 35th dimension? Nice to meet
you."
"Well,
I." Naru looked up at Jupiter in surprise. "I...It's nice
to meet you too, I guess."
"Hmm."
Jupiter nodded. "I'm guessing you're a bit surprised by all of
this. The different dimensions and stuff. Don't worry; I'm still kind
of stymied myself as to why and how all this happened!"
At
this, the civilian Jupiter laughed, something which Naru had also
never seen her Jupiter do. Her head went down, her face red.
"Well."
Jupiter's green eyes suddenly shifted about. "I'd better be
going. There're a few more like Kousagi-chan that need tending to and
ice cream to placate them with. So...if you'll excuse me..."
With
a pat on the back and a smile, Jupiter left Naru by herself to
collect her thoughts. She looked over at Jupiter as she left,
silently watching as several little kids gathered around her and
cheered at the prospect of ice cream.
So
happy.... Naru looked down. So happy with those different
kids. Not like....back when I was younger....I guess this is another
dimension.
At
this, she looked over and saw Chibi-Usa, her face beaming as she
talked to a young boy with a moon sign on his forehead. Behind her,
several other children were running around the park, tumbling in the
grass and laughing, as if they had somehow known each other their
entire lives.
"It's
sick, isn't it?"
Naru's
head turned at the sound of the low, raspy voice, expecting a tall
man. She had to look down to see her new companion, but the effect
was still the same; she felt a chill go down her spine at the site
that she beheld.
"Greetings,
newcomer." A shadow surrounded whomever was talking to her. "I
see you are a pure spawn of the moon couple, like I am. Not like half
of these rats, who have some random floozy
or shirt-chaser that contributed to their meaningless existence."
"Meaningless
existence?" Naru's eye twitched slightly at the phrase, which
brought back unwanted memories. "That's harsh of you."
"Oh,
have I offended your weak-hearted sensibilities?" Two red eyes
flashed in the fog. "Well, that's just too bad for you,
newcomer."
The
fog cleared, and the figure beneath it appeared in plain view of
Naru. Instinctively, Naru reached for her pocket, as if to fish out
her transformation pen. It was clear to her that the person in front
of her was no friend of hers, and his dim red aura was nothing short
of evil.
"For
I am Vazgorth, royal moon prince of Xaxalax, formerly known by the
ugly name of Earth." The boy couldn't be any more than ten years
old, but he wore all black, and had obsidian eyes that glared evilly
at Naru. He raised his hand up. "Now that I have your attention,
newcomer, allow me to demonstrate to you how I shall slaughter the
weakling masses on this pitiful neutral Earth in the name of my
mother and father, Tyrant Seranezar and Tyrant Enzayamadon, merely by
lifting my pinky finger. Then, these false children shall cry for
their gods as the rebellious people of Xaxalax cry for mercy-"
"Oh,
no you won't."
Suddenly,
a tall boy stepped in and firmly grabbed the younger boy's
black-armored arm. With a snarl, the boy tried to pull away, but
could not. The power that glowed from him dissipated in a flash.
"You
dare mess with me, cur?" Vazgorth stared at the newcomer
with contempt. "You have no idea the powers you mess with. Once
my mother and father find that you have taken me from their Citadel
against my will they wi-"
"Your
powers don't work so wonderfully in this dimension." The evil
creature was cut off curtly by the older boy. "All you can do is
turn people into frogs, which doesn't seem to suit a little brat like
you.”
“Why
you-”
“So
why don't you run along and kill some spiders or something?"
With
an angry grunt, and no reasonable response, the younger boy yanked
his arm away and ran off, glaring occasionally over his shoulder as
he did so. Naru felt a sigh of relief come from her mouth as she
looked over to the person who saved her. He had bright red hair,
somewhat shaped into a mohawk, and red eyes that shone like rubies.
"..Sorry
about that." With a slight, awkward smile, the boy nodded his
head and adjusted his dark blue turtleneck. "Vazgorth comes from
the 23rd
dimension, where the two parents are...well, evil."
"Oh....that's
ok." Naru looked down. “Thank you.”
“It's
nothing.” The boy looked down. “So....you must be Chiba
Naru Neo-Lady Serenity.”
“I....”
Naru looked back up with surprise. “How did you know?”
“I've
heard of you.” The boy still looked down. “It took the
girls a little while to contact with your dimension with their
machine.”
“I....see.....”
Naru
suddenly found herself at a loss for words. She wasn't sure what
exactly it was that rendered her speechless. As the boy looked back
up at her, however, she felt a strange tinge of familiarity, of
intimacy. She wasn't sure if it was because they were children of
similar stock, or something deeper.
Either
way, she suddenly felt better to see the boy.
“Yes,
that's me.” Naru felt herself blush slightly as she looked at
him again. “It's a pleasure to meet you, sir......hmmm...?”
“Casper.”
He held out his hand, and she did likewise to shake it. His handshake
was form, though the warmth from it felt retrained. “My name is
Casper.”
“And
your last name...?”
“...My
last name is....unimportant.” The boy gave another slight,
awkward smile. “After all, my parents are the same as yours.”
“Serenity
and Endymion?”
“Yeah,
I guess.” Casper slowly nodded. “Anyways, I....it's a
pleasure to meet you. You look wonderful in....your pajamas.”
“My...?”
Naru
looked down and felt herself turn even redder. She had completely
forgotten that she had entered into the new dimension after being
thrown out of bed, and she was still wearing her top and
bunny-patterned pajama bottoms.
“Ooooh...!”
Naru covered her face in embarrassment. “Just a second....I'll
be right back....Casper...”
“It's
no problem.” Casper nodded again. “Do what you need to
do.”
“Thanks!”
With
that, Naru turned and ran off, past several dozen kids and a soccer
match. She remembered that Chibi-Usa had packed a bag for her;
hopefully, she had packed something to wear in public for her.
Casper.....you
seem very nice. I want to know you better....
----------------
Casper
quietly watched as Naru left his sight. Without a word, he reached
into his pocket and took out a small red handle.
Hmm.
With a snap, a small blade popped out. He ran his finger over the
blunt side of the blade before reaching into his other pocket. So
that was her....that was......
“Casper.”
The boy's head came up at the sound of the voice. “What are you
doing?”
“Nothing.”
Out of his other pocket came a small piece of wood. “I'm just
thinking.”
“I'm
guessing you met the newcomer, Naru Neo-Lady Serenity?”
“Well....”
Casper paused as he turned around. “I....”
“You
should choose your words wisely, Casper.” A girl with
shoulder-length royal purple hair and purple eyes stared back at him.
“We all know about you.”
“And
what do you think I would do to her, Hitoko-chan?”
“...Well.”
The girl looked down. “I'm not sure. What would you do?”
“....Invite
her to our table, of course.” With a huff, Casper turned away.
“I'm not that kind of person.”
“Are
you sure of that?”
There
was a silence at this.
“I'm...sure
of it.” After some hesitation, Casper nodded. “Now, you
go off and tell the others I'll be right back. I'm waiting for
someone.”
“Very
well.” Hitoko turned and walked off. “Don't be too long.
And don't do anything stupid...”
With
that, she walked off, her hands behind her back, leaving the
red-haired teen on his own. He simply looked back towards the
direction that Naru had left, his eyes lowering and his face
darkening as he began to whittle on the piece of wood.
....Princess
Naru....so this is it.....
You're
here....