Part 2: "A Strange New World" Sailor Moon held up the Lunar Pen and grinned widely. "We'll use the Lunar Pen!" she exclaimed, proud that she had thought of it before anyone else did. The others weren't so sure of the idea. Luna shook her furry head, "I'm afraid that won't work, Sailor Moon. Its power is only temporary AND it can only work on one person at a time." A flicker of irritation crossed Sailor Moon's young face. "It'll be long enough, Luna!" she retorted, "We only need a place to talk and figure out what happened." She thought for a moment. "I'm sure I can explain you guys to my parents somehow so let's go!" The rest of the Scouts agreed that they didn't really have much choice in the matter and followed their leader home. Once the Scouts and cats were out of sight of the curious, they ducked into a handy alley and detransformed back to their normal identities. They noticed immediately that their clothes had also changed to those appropriate for young children. Mina was dressed in an adorable orange jumpsuit with a picture of Mickey Mouse on the front. Amy wore a blue skirt and matching top with the Sesame Street logo on the front, while Raye, to her horror, was dressed in a jumpsuit of a light red with "BARBIE" across the front! Lita wore a green skirt and top that matched Amy's exactly, and lastly, Serena wore a skirt with Bugs Bunny grinning from the matching top. She also wore a cute little backpack with the image of a pink bunny on the back. Raye looked at everyone and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh brother!" she said in disgust, "These clothes go WAY beyond cute and into insane! I can't BELIEVE any of us would be caught DEAD in this stuff!" Mina smiled. "I don't know," she commented looking at her own outfit, "I kinda like them." Raye covered her eyes with one hand and sighed. "You would," she muttered under her breath as they exited the alley and continued on their way. "Well," Luna said as they all stopped, "Your house is just down the street," she looked around the area carefully, "No one is nearby. Serena, now is as good a time as any to use the Lunar Pen." Serena nodded and reaching up, pulled the Pen from her subspace pocket. "DISGUISE POWER!" she cried, "Turn me into a fourteen year old girl!" There was a bright flash of light, and when everyone could see again, Serena stood before them, looking the same as she did when she had left the house earlier in the day; the little pack had become her usual bookbag, with the bunny of course. Serena looked down at the others and giggled. "Awwww," she cooed as she bent down, "You all are just SO cute!" Raye's face turned red as her temper ignited. "Why don't you just shut up and get going, Meatball Head?!" she retorted. Serena's eyes filled with tears, but to everyone's surprise, she fought it off and led the way to her house. Serena stumbled and just managed to keep from falling on her face. she wondered as she stumbled again, Giggles came from the others as they noticed her problem. Lita and Amy seemed to find it especially amusing. With another giggle, Mina began to skip ahead of the group while the others exchanged confused glances. Amy wondered. Judging by the expressions of her companions, her friends were thinking the same thing. She shrugged and continued with the others. Reenie was sitting by the front window of the Tsukino home when they approached. Her eyes widened with worry as she failed to see the one person she was waiting for. Reenie got up and ran from the house. "Serena!" she cried. Serena looked up at Reenie's call and sighed in exasperation. she thought, Reenie ran right past the disguised Serena much to her surprise. As she ran past Serena noticed the Time Key dangling from around Reenie's neck; the others also saw the Time Key dangling from Reenie's neck so they gave a sigh of relief, but the surprises weren't over yet. Reenie came to a stop, while looking around frantically. she thought in concern, She noticed the teenager standing with the girls and walked up to her. "Hello, Miss," she said politely, "I'm Reenie Tsukino. Would you happen to know where my little cousin, Serena, might be?" Serena looked back at Reenie in surprise. She was just about to repeat her indignant thought out loud when she saw her mother come out of the house with a VERY worried expression on her face. "Where's my little Serena?" she asked worriedly, "Why isn't she here? What's happened to her?" Confused, Serena didn't answer as she tried to figure out why her own MOTHER didn't recognize her. At a tug on her skirt, she looked down to see Amy trying to get her attention. She leaned down to listen to her friend. "They seem to expect you to be a little girl, like us." Amy whispered, "Somehow, reality must have changed as well. Leave, undisguise yourself, and then come back." With a slight nod, Serena straightened up and turned to her worried mother. "It's all right, Mrs. Tsukino," Serena explained trying to sound natural, "Serena just forgot something. She'll be here in a minute. I have to go now, but I'll hurry her along!" "Thank you, dear," Mrs. Tsukino said gratefully. She watched as Serena walked away. she thought, She winced as Serena stumbled. Serena disappeared around the corner. As soon as she was out of sight, she undisguised herself. Serena thought. Relieved, she was about to return to the others, when she noticed her backpack lying on the ground next to her. She stared at it, puzzled, then shrugged and picked it up. Serena returned to where the others, along with her mother and Reenie, were waiting. At the sight of her, Reenie let out a cry of relief and ran to meet her. Upon reaching her, Reenie caught her up in a big hug, to Serena's extreme surprise. She looked up, shocked that Reenie was so much taller than she was. "I'm glad you're all right," Reenie said softly, "I was really worried that something bad might have happened to you!" Serena said nothing, her tongue so paralyzed by shock at Reenie being worried about her that she could do nothing else but play along. The relieved look on her mother's face as they walked up, was sobering. "You had me worried, dear," her mother admonished gently, "You really shouldn't go off by yourself like that." Serena smiled at her in reassurance. "You didn't have to worry, Mom," she explained, "I just dropped my backpack and had to go back and get it." Mrs. Tsukino studied her young daughter for a moment. "Mom? You usually call me `Mommy'," she stated as her eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Just what have you been up to, young lady?" Serena assumed an innocent look on her face. "Why, nothing, MOMMY." There was a chorus of giggles from the girls, who were really enjoying Serena's discomfort. Her mother continued to stare at her, then finally smiled. "That's fine, dear, but I'll find out about it eventually you know. Now, come in, children." And following Serena's mother, they all entered the house. Reenie grabbed Serena by the hand and led her in. "C'mon!" she said happily as she moved to the stairs, "Let's all go to your room and play!" Serena looked at Reenie blankly. "Play?" she repeated incredulously, "Waddaya mean...OOF!" Serena rubbed her side where Raye had nudged her. She glared at Raye before saying, "Uh, oh yeah, right. Play," she said unenthusiastically as Reenie pulled her up the stairs. The others were trying not to giggle as they followed. They were passing Sammy's room when he stepped out and smirked at his sister. "Hey, Rabbit Ears," he said snidely, "Did something dumb again, huh? Gee, I sure got the bottom of the barrel when I got a sister! I wonder if I can trade you in for a new model?" He laughed nastily. Serena was about to respond in kind, when to her horror, she burst into tears. Before anyone could say or do anything, Reenie cut loose with all the fury of a she-wolf defending her cub. "Why you little FUNGUS! You SPORE! You DWEEBSTER!!" Reenie cried in outrage, "How DARE you make Serena cry?! How DARE you?! If she's the bottom of the barrel, then YOU'RE from six feet UNDER!!" Serena and the others watched in open mouthed shock, as Sammy backed away under the verbal barrage from Reenie that was reminiscent of Serena at her best. Seeing Sammy get blasted by insults that she had used effectively against Reenie made Serena start to feel a little guilty, but she was enjoying seeing Sammy get routed too much for it to last long. "Reenie, please hold it down!" Mrs. Tsukino said sternly as she came up to investigate the yelling. She surveyed the sight of Serena in tears, Reenie going after Sammy angrily, and lastly, Sammy looking slightly guilty. She sighed wearily. she thought to herself. Having been through this situation many times, Ellen Tsukino had her response memorized. "Children, go on to Serena's room and play quietly," she said gently. She then turned to an apprehensive Sammy. "As for YOU, young man," she said firmly, "To your room! MARCH! We are going to have a little TALK!" Grasping her son firmly by the shoulder, she led him into his room and closed the door behind her. "Please don't cry, Serena!" Reenie begged as she hugged her, "I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you!" To Serena's surprise, her own arms went around Reenie as she hugged her tight. For some reason, she felt MUCH better; Serena liked having a "big sister" guarding her. Serena sniffled, wiped her eyes, and smiled shakily at Reenie. After a moment they all turned and walked into Serena's room. After they entered Serena's room, the girls noticed the difference at once. Serena looked around, wide eyed. Stuffed toy animals, mostly bunnies, lined the shelves. Coloring books, dolls, wallpaper with bunnies and teddy bears were all present. The word `cute' couldn't even begin to describe it. Raye put her finger in her mouth, like she was about to puke, and made a gagging noise. Even Serena looked like she swallowed something, and it moved. "C'mon Serena!" Reenie exclaimed as she skipped further into the room, "Let's play!" She again took Serena by the hand leading her to where some stuffed bunnies were sitting. "We have to talk!" Amy said urgently. Raye stared meaningfully at Reenie. Amy got the point at once. "Can you think of a way to get rid of her?" Lita asked worriedly careful to keep Reenie from hearing. Mina shook her head. "Not without hurting her feelings," Amy agreed, "And after seeing the way she defended Serena, I'm reluctant to do that." The girls pondered what to do next for a few moments as they amusingly watched Serena and Reenie play. "REENIE!" came Mrs. Tsukino's voice from downstairs, "Please come down and help me get dinner ready, dear!" "'Kay Aunt Ellen!" Reenie called back. She put the stuffed bunny down, sighing in disappointment. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Serena," Reenie promised with a wink and a smile, then sighing like a martyr on her way to a last meal, left the room. "Thank you, Mrs. Tsukino," Raye breathed after Reenie had left the room. Lita went to the door to make sure no one was within listening range. Satisfied, she turned back to the others. "What the heck is going on here?!" she asked urgently, "Everyone seems to think that our looking like this, is normal! No one was surprised at all!" Amy reached into her subspace pocket and pulled out her computer which everyone noticed at once had shrunk so that it still fit comfortably into her now smaller hands. She activated the computer and immediately initiated some scans. The others stood around waiting impatiently, except for Serena and Mina. Drawn to the discarded bunnies lying on the floor, the two girls walked over and picked them up. After several minutes, Amy's computer beeped imperiously. At a touch of a button, Amy called up the computer's analysis. "Hmmmm... Interesting," she muttered as she studied the results. "Well?!" Raye demanded. "According to this, a temporal shift has occurred," Amy explained, "Somehow, Prisma's lightning blast caused that Key, Reenie wears, to change us and everyone else." Amy paused for a moment, deep in thought. "Reenie is still wearing the Key," she continued, "So obviously, it wasn't affected. The scan shows that, physically, we are all approximately five years of age." She turned to look at the two kittens. "Luna, Artemis, you are, physically, approximately three months old. Comparing your physiology to normal cats, that is. Fortunately, our mental facilities haven't been affected." Raye looked rather doubtfully at Amy. "Are you sure?" she said as she pointed to where Serena and Mina were playing with stuffed animals. Amy studied the two girls, a perplexed expression on her face. "This is a different reality for us," she continued her analysis, "Everyone here knows and believes us to be five years old. I believe it would be in our best interest if we allowed them to CONTINUE in this belief." Amy shook her head as she thought of all the work she had ahead of her. "This is going to take a great deal of further analysis before I can even BEGIN to suggest a possible remedy for this situation." Amy concluded with her hands raised in a gesture of helplessness. Mina heard the last of Amy's analysis as she and Serena rejoined the others. "Why do we have to act like five year olds?" Mina asked curiously. Amy sighed and turned to Mina, "Mina, if we suddenly started acting like fourteen year olds, everyone who knows us will think something is wrong." Amy explained patiently, "Our parents would likely take us to a hospital, and maybe we'd be put in an institution! Also, if this IS a parallel reality, we must NOT disrupt it or grave consequences could result." Amy looked around at the others, and SHE didn't look any happier with her conclusions than they did. "For now, girls, we are five for the duration!" Downstairs, the phone rang and the girls heard Serena's mother answer it. After a couple of minutes, she appeared at the door. "Raye, that was your grandfather and he'd like you to come home right away," she said, "And, girls, I think it's best if the rest of you head home too. It's getting late." She turned and left the room heading back to the kitchen to finish making dinner. "Late? What does she mean, late?" Raye exclaimed. Since she no longer had her wristwatch and Serena's alarm clock was missing, she looked out the window, "It's still at least an hour before sunset!" Amy leaned over to Raye. "We're five, remember?" she whispered, "Earlier bed times." At that, Raye looked utterly disgusted. "Great, just GREAT," she mumbled, "I KNEW there'd be a MAJOR downer to this `five year old' business!" "Well, girls," Artemis piped up, "I think we'd better do as Mrs. Tsukino asked. There's nothing more we can do today. We'll meet again tomorrow." Everyone agreed as Mina picked Artemis up. Saying their good-byes, Mina with Artemis, Raye, Amy, and Lita headed down the stairs and out the door. End Part 2 Coming up next time... ACS Part 3: "Mothers and Daughters" Be there! ^_-