The Return of a Princess

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters except for Serendipity. I am simply a fan, who loves writing SM stories.

Summary: Rini Aino is a normal teenage girl, who goes to school, hangs out with her friends and holds a part time job. But one day, all that changes when her family is attacked and her mother sends her through a portal to a whole new world. Rini finds herself in a place called the Dark Moon Kingdom and discovers that the Kingdom was once ruled by a good and kind Queen named Serenity, but that she had been overthrown by a sorcereress named Serendipity. Rini must journey through the darkness to save the moon kingdom and restore peace to the land. (based loosely on Tinman, the sci-fi miniseries)

Chapter One

"Rini, over here!" Rini smiled as her friend Rika waved her over. It was lunchtime and the cafeteria was crowded, but as usual, her friends had saved her a spot.

"What's up, fire-eyes?" Hiro asked. Hiro was a tall stocky guy, with a handsome face. Rini groaned at the nickname. Her friends called her fire-eyes because of her unusual red eyes.

"Do you have to call me that?" She retorted, sitting down.

"Yes" Everyone at the table said at once. They all burst out laughing. Rini shook her long pink hair out of her face and began to eat. After school, Rini pulled her waitress uniform, out of her locker and made a quick change before heading to work. Work was okay, but what Rini really wanted was to get away from Tokyo for awhile. She had lots of friends, but she just didn't think she'd ever fit in. Pink hair and red eyes certainly stood out in a crowd. She didn't feel as though she belonged in Japan. Her father was Japanese, with his long black hair and olive complexion, and her mother was japanese too, though she had blonde hair, Of course, blonde was not as outlandish as pink, and a lot of actresses had blonde hair, so Rini figured it was fashion in the acting business. She often wondered if she was adopted, but she was sure that her parents would have told her if she was. After work, Rini headed home and collapsed onto her bed, taking a short nap.

~Dream Sequence~

Rini was walking down a dark corridor when a woman appeared before her. The woman looked familiar somehow, though Rini had never seen her before. Her long blonde hair was done up in an odango like style and she was wearing a beautiful white gown. A crecent moon shone on her forhead.

"They are coming for you" The woman said. "You must hurry and save the kingdom"

"Who's coming?" Rini asked. "What Kingdom?" Suddenly it felt like she was falling, falling, falling...

~End of Dream Sequence~

Rini awoke with a start and shook her head.

"What a strange dream" She muttered to herself. She hauled herself out of the bed and hurried downstairs, where the smell of food was wafting through the house.

"Good evening sweetheart" Minako Aino said, kissing Rini's cheek. "I'm making you're favorite. Spaghetti" Rini grinned and grabbed a soda out of the fridge.

"You're home early" She said, opening the can. "Did you finish the shoot?"

"No" Minako said. "We're finishing it tommorow. A storm is brewing up, so they sent us home" Rini nodded.

Meanwhile, A young woman with long black hair in a single braid, was staring at a screen. A man knelt before her.

"Sorceress, we have found the source of the light" He said. The sorceress turned to look at him, with cold gray eyes.

"Extinguish it" She said gruffly.

"The light is on earth" The man replied. "It's not likely..."

"Not likely to what, Safir?" She asked coldly. "Not likely to disrupt our kingdom" She shook her head a little. "Do not question me again. Go to Earth, capture the light, and bring it to me"

"Yes, Sorcereress" Safir said, leaving the room.

Rini was setting the table when her father burst into the door.

"They're here" He said gruffly. Minako dropped the pan of spaghetti and it splattered. She grabbed Rini's hand.

"We have to hurry" She said.

"What's going on?" Rini asked. "Mom, why are you trembling?"

"Listen to me" Minako said, pulling Rini into the bedroom. She snatched a small necklace off of the dresser and clasped it around Rini's neck. "I am sending to a place where I hope you will be safe. Once there, you must try to find a man named Jadiete, he will help you." Before Rini could respond, there was a flash of light. When the light was gone, Rini was standing in the middle of a forest.

"Where am I?" Rini wondered aloud. She leaned against a tree, and closed her eyes, trying to piece together what was going on, but she couldn't figure it out. Shoving her hands in her pockets, she began walking, wondering how she was even supposed to find this Jadiete person.

"Halt!" Came a stern voice. Rini stopped in her tracks. "Who goes there?" Rini didn't see anyone, but she wasn't going to take any chances.

"My name is Serenity Aino" She called back. "I am called Rini by my friends" She waited for a few moments, but there was no response. She took another step, but a fiery arrow flew and hit the ground in front of her. She jumped back. A woman stepped out of the shadows. She had long black hair, and was dressed like a Japanese priestess, even though Rini was pretty sure she was not in Japan anymore.