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Misperception by Papirini

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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....



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