Chapter 2

The next day, Darien found Serena in her bedroom, snoring loudly, as usual. He leaned over and kissed her lips. "Time to wake up, dear," he said.

Serena blinked and rolled over. "Mmm...sleep now, kiss later," she mumbled beneath the blanket.

Darien shook his head and pulled the blanket away. "It's noon, hon. You've missed half the day already." Fortunately, he didn't hear where Serena said he could put his half a day.

Darien sighed and lifted Serena from the bed. She offered little protest this time, he noticed. "You really should go to bed earlier," he said. Serena smacked him with a pillow and padded off to the bathroom. "Where's Reenie?" he asked. His only answer was the slam of the bathroom door. Figuring she would be a while, Darien sat on the couch and dozed off.

He was awakened thirty minutes later by Serena. She frowned and stated, "If I can't sleep, neither can you."

Darien grabbed her arm. "Let's go, we're already late." Serena mumbled something and followed him down to the parking lot. "Remember what we talked about last night?" he asked as he searched for his car keys.

Serena nodded and yawned. "The little girl that needs a home," she said, pulling a set of keys out of her purse and dragging him to her own car. "What's her name again and where's she from?"

Darien plopped down in the driver's seat and said, "Her name's Hotaru, and she's from Tokyo. Andrew says I should be able to relate to her better than anyone else."

Serena smiled and checked her hair. "I always knew Andrew loved kids, but I never thought he'd be running an orphanage. It's a very good cause, though."

Raye stared into the flames, letting her mind become one with them. "Mystic Fires of Mars, I call upon your power," she said. The flames rose higher, responding to her call. "Show me the ones I can trust, in my time of loneliness." The flames answered her almost instantly. The flames took shape, and showed her the Sailor Scouts. Then there was Darien, followed by Reenie. Finally, there was the iron-clad figure from so many of her dreams.

"Show me more of the one called Sailor Earth," she said with a wistful sigh. The fire obeyed, and soon she was staring at the visions she had seen for the past few weeks. "That's enough," she said at last, and the visions stopped. "Thank you, Mystic Fires," she whispered.

"Raye, what are you doing?" the old man asked from the doorway.

"Just meditating, Grampa," she replied, getting to her feet. "I'm done now, though."

"Well, I just came to remind you, one of your friends called earlier today. You know, the one with the meatballs on her head. She sounded very excited about something."

Raye laughed and kissed the old man's head. "I know, Gramps, thanks." She rushed back to her room to get ready.

Amy watched as Reenie admired a picture of Sailor Moon she had just drawn. She wondered how the little girl would take the news. "Reenie," she said slowly, "how would you like to have someone your age to play with?"

Reenie glanced up from the picture. "Only if it's a girl, like me. I hate boys. They have cooties."

"What about Darien?" Amy asked.

Reenie frowned. "Silly Amy! Darien’s a guy, not a boy! He doesn't have cooties, and he's cool!"

"Okay, okay, forget I said anything! I was just wondering how you felt, because you might be getting a new friend today."

Reenie shrugged and turned back to her drawing. "Then I'll show her my picture when she gets here."