Dreaming Moon-Part 1 : Serena, Genie of the Moon
Darien Shields was a handsome young man in his late teens. He had just started out his freshman year in college and worked part-time at
the local
arcade with his friend, Andrew. He liked working there mainly
because it
was frequented by the students of the local junior high school
and he had
a thing for young girls.
Darien was just about to call it quits for the day as he cleaned
up the
girls' restroom in the arcade, a task we he took great pleasure
in doing.
He felt very shallow.
Here he was, a great looking guy spending all his free time in
this lousy
game center just so he could live out this stupid fetish he had.
He needed
a real life. Sure, college was okay and the people there were
nice, but
none of the women there really sparked his interest. There was
one nice
girl long blueish hair in his English class, but she turned out
to be a
lesbian who was seeing some race car driver. He wanted to meet a
girl that
was very attractive, but also had that "girlish" feel of
innocence to her.
Darien put his cleaning tools away in the closet and removed his
nametag
and went to say "bye" to Andrew for the day. Andrew saw the
sulking look
in Darien's eye as he was leaving.
"You know, Darien," Andrew said, "there are plenty of women out
there.
You'll find one sometime soon."
Darien put on his wraparound sunglasses as he headed out the
front door.
"I hope so," he said. "I'm getting tired of waiting." He
proceeded
outwards and headed for home.
The area of town his college was in was called Crossroads. Darien
lived in
a small apartment a few blocks from it. He didn't like the school
dorms
because it was always so loud over there and he could never
concentrate on
his studies with all the noise. He made enough income from the
job at the
arcade and from the small inheritence his late parents had left
him after
they were killed in an auto accident when he was just a boy. He
lived
alone, except of course for his cat Luna.
As he made his way up the road to his place, he noticed a new
store that
had just opened up over the weekend. They had a big ceremony for
it with
bunny girls and magicians enticing people to come in. He wanted
to at
first but felt a little embarrassed. It was one of those new age
magic
shops that sold books on witchcraft, tarot cards, pendents,
wiggan
calender, and other bizarre stuff.
Darien decided to give it a shot at last and go in. He entered
and looked
upon the strange assortment of items. He noticed that all the
pretty girls
they had at the stores grand opening weren't normal employees
her. They
were probably hired by some catering service. The only person
working
there now was a short old bald man.
"Greetings," he said from behind the counter. "May I help you?"
"No thanks," Darien said. "I'm just looking."
The old man came from around the counter. He walked up to Darien
and
studied him over.
"Is there something wrong?" asked Darien wondering what the
shopowner was
doing.
The old man pointed a finger at Darien. "You have a problem with
the
ladies, don't ya?" he stated.
Darien felt a little put off by this. "Excuse me?"
"You have troubles with women. You don't feel confident enough to
express
yourself around them the way you want to. Don't worry. This'll
help."
The old man pulled out a small pink gem from his dusty jacket.
"Here," he
said. "Take it. It'll will come in handy."
Darien held his hands up. "Uh, no thanks. I don't have that kind
of cash."
The old man sputtered. "Don't worry. It's free. Think of it as a
free
promotion as part of our good neighbor policy. You live near
here, right?"
"How did you know that?!" Darien demanded.
"I saw you walking by several times during last weekend when we
had our
opening ceremony," said the old man. "Those were some pretty hot
babes,
huh?"
Darien was a little put off that a man of his apparent age would
still be
interested in girls that way. He studied the jem that the old man
was
holding. It almost seemed to be calling to him somehow, like
through some
kind of telepathy that only he could hear. "Release me" it would
say to
him.
Darien couldn't shake the feeling that it was okay to go along
with this
and accept the old man's offer. "Alright," he said. "You talked
me into
it." He took the jewel from the old man's hand, bowed in respect
of him
and his generousity and exited the store.
"Hope he's really the one," the old man said to himself as he
went back to
taking stock.
Darien entered the front door of his apartment. Luna, his cat,
greeted him
in same way she always did by pointing at the small animal she
had caught
and killed for him which was usually lying next to the welcome
mat. This
time it was a small white mouse.
"Luna!" yelled Darien. "Bad kitty!" He went into the kitchen,
grabbed a
small plastic scooper and shoveled up the rodent corpse and
tossed it down
the garbage chute.
"What's with you?," he asked Luna. "How many times do I have to
tell you?
I don't want you killing any more vermin. I'm not letting you out
again
until you learn that lesson.
Luna meowed in contempt. Darien sometimes wondered if Luna saw
him the way
all cats see their owners. She was always trying to be extra nice
to him
for some reason. She would constantly be rubbing up against his
leg,
licking his hand when he fell asleep in his chair, curling up in
his lap
when he was trying to read. He could even swear that one time she
tried to
actually kiss him on the mouth while he was in bed.
Darien went collapsed on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He
felt around
in his pants pocket and took out the pink crystal he got at the
magic
shop. It sparkled in an almost hypnotic way as he held it up to
the lamp
on his nighstand.
It did look a little tacky he thought. Why did he bother to
accept this
stupid thing from that old man? Maybe he could sell it on Ebay
for a few
bucks.
It wasn't until a few minutes later while Darien lay on the bed
that he
noticed that Luna had jumped on the bed too and was nuzzling her
nose to
his neck.
"What do you want know?" he asked. Luna meowed back and jumped
down off
the bed and looked up at him.
"Hmmph," Darien said. "It figures that the most luck I have with
women is
my cat." He petted Luna on the head and she started to purr very
loudly.
Darien noticed that the jewel looked a little smudged after being
in his
pocket. He went into the bathroom and got out a piece of Kleenex
to clean
it off. Then, an explosion of light charged out of the jewel.
Darien was
blinded by the flash. The jewel's aura became brighter and
brighter with
each passing second. Soon, the whole bathroom was filled in an
intense
envelope of pink light.
He ran out of the room and rubbed his eyes. He could see fine
aside from
that little residue of light that always stayed in the corner of
the eye
that one gets after looking at a flashing light. Darien stared
back into
the bathroom and saw that the pink light was dying away. Within a
few
seconds, the glow had completely disappeared and all that was
left was a
silhoutte of something coming from behind the shower curtain.
Darien got up to his feet and stared into the bathroom. He still
had
little pieces of light dancing around in his eyes from the blast,
but he
could make his way into the room well enough. He could make out
that the
shape in the shower was definitely human. "Did someone sneak into
my
apartment to take a shower while I was being blinded by that
weird light
show?" he thought to himself.
He tore back the curtain to reveal a short blonde girl with her
hair in
small pigtails ornmanted by what looked like small fezes. She
wore a sheer
blue and red harem costume that Barbara Eden would have been too
shy to
wear. She stared up and looked a Darien. She was young and perky,
and not
bad on the eyes either. A great figure that her scantily clad
outfit help
make her seem even more desirable. He gazed into her gorgeous
blue eyes.
Darien was so mesmerized by her beauty the he couldn't remember
how to
speak.
The strange girl still in the shower got to her knees and kissed
Darien's
hand. In doing so, her body radiated with a small pink haze that
disappeared after a few seconds. She raised her head. "Master,"
she said.
"Wha?" stammered Darien.
She rubbed Darien's hand against her soft cheek. "Master, thank
you for
finally releasing me."
Darien was overwhelmed by a sensation of undeniable warmth and
comfort. He
gazed at the strange girl lying kneeling before her. She was
young,
vivacious, and had that cute innocent look that he had always
been looking
for in a female. He was almost willing to let his agressions get
the
better of him and just go and kiss her right here and now no
matter who
she was or where she came from. But to his suprise, the girl got
up and
wrapped her arms around his head to give him the most passionate
kiss a
man could ask for.
Her mouth tasted like every single sweet piece of fruit under the
sun.
Darien could feel his defenses slowly giving way as he began to
kiss her
back. "What am I doing?" he thought to himself. "This girl breaks
into my
house and now I'm kissing her? Stop it, Darien! Stop it!"
Darien reluctantly pulled himself away from the girl's embrace.
He was
about to get very upset at her, but gazing into her pure blue
eyes again
made him feel very calm and relaxed. "Okay," he said. "That was
nice. But,
who are you and how did you get in to my place?"
The strange girl came out of the shower and gave Darien a warm
hug. "I am
the spirit of the moon," she said. "I existed only within the
world of the
moon gem you possess. I was created to serve its master and give
them any
pleasure they wish. My name is Serena. That is the only thing
that is
truly mine. Everything else I have is yours."
"Serena?" said Darien. "That's a nice name." Darien was suprised
at how
easily he seemed to accept everything this girl had just told her
as the
truth, as if there was no need to question it or deny it. "So,
are you
like a genie or something?" he asked her.
"Yes," Serena replied. "I am a guardian spirit. My kind are often
referred
to as genies. We're created to bring love and peace to the
world."
"Sounds more like you're some kind of super hero," Darien said.
He looked
around at the crowded bathroom with the two of them in it. "Uh,
maybe we
should move to different room."
"As you say, Master" said Serena. Darien kinda liked it when she
said
that.
Serena was on her way out of the bathroom when she saw the mirror
on the
wall. "Oh no!" she exlcaimed as she saw her reflection. "I'm so
hideous!
All that time in the crystal world and I've turned into an old
hag!"
She turned around to Darien. "I'm so sorry you had to get stuck
with a
genie as ugly as myself, Master." Serena started to cry loudly in
dispair.
Darien was taken aback by Serena's sudden outburst. "Man," he
thought to
himself. "She really is a crybaby!"
"Serena!" Darien said "It's okay! You're actually very
beautiful."
Serena looked at Darien with delight. "Master, do you mean it?"
"Of course I do," he answered. He paused and scoped her out from
head to
foot. "You're just about the most desirable girl I've ever seen."
He
wondered why he was be so honest with her all of the sudden.
The genie leaned forward and gave Darien a little peck on the
cheek. "That
one is for your kindness, Master," said Serena.
Darien actually started blushing. He felt like a young boy
getting kissed
by an attractive older woman. "Th..thank you," he said with
hesitation.
Serena took Darien's hand and led him into the bedroom. Darien
was still
dumbstruck over this whole experience.
"So, I'm your master now?" Darien asked Serena. He wanted to
found out all
about her.
"Yes. You were the one who was destined to free me. I lived only
for the
moment you would release me by rubbing the crystal. Now, I am
here to
please you and help you fulfill your destiny." Serena batted her
eyes away
shyly "It is also my duty to love you too."
Darien blushed. "Wait, do you mean you have to love me whether
you want to
or not? That doesn't sound very fair."
Serena reassured him. "Oh, don't worry, Master." She paused. "I
am very
happy to be with you. I would love you even if I weren't bonded
to you."
She walked over to the bed and sat down. Darien crouched on the
floor next
to it. He thought for a moment about what she previously said.
"What do you mean by helping me with my destiny?" he asked.
Serena blinked at the statement as if it weren't obvious. "Why,
to help
save the world of course."
Darien nodded. "Save the world? Me? I'm just a college student."
"No, Master. It is written that whoever is the one who frees me
shall be
our saviour."
"Our saviour?" asked Darien. "You mean there are more genies out
there."
"There are more of my kind," said Serena "But they are not all
genies."
She got up and stared out the bedroom window at the city skyline.
"They
are my sisters. I must find them. They are out there somewhere,
confined
like I was."
Darien felt a little concerned. "I'm sorry, Serena. I didn't
know. So,
your sisters are in jewels like you were?"
Serena faced Darien. "Yes, and we have to find them. You must be
the one
to release them and contain their power. Only you can be trusted
with it."
"Why me?" he asked. "What's so special about me from every other
guy out
there. I have no real signifigance."
Serena put her hand on Darien's face. "Everyone is signifigant.
Mortals
have trouble realizing that most times. But you are different.
You have a
very pure spirit."
Darien backed away. "I'm not that pure. I fantasize about younger
girls. I
got a job in an arcade only so I could be around them more. I'm
just a
letch."
He could feel Serena's arms around reaching up his back. She was
doing it
again, that aura of comfort and calmness she had was entrancing
it again.
He wanted to resist for some reason, but deep down he knew he
could trust
her.
"It's okay, Master," she said. "What you feel is a fondness for
females
who aren't as mature as you. Almost like a big brother. There's
nothing
wrong with that. You have just misplaced your feelings for them."
She
turned Darien around and held him tight. "I will help you realize
your
true potential and bring out your real emotions."
Darien laughed. "No you can't!", he demanded in a silly tone of
voice.
Serena seemed a little suprised by this. "Why not, Master?"
"Because I haven't WISHED for it yet," he answered. "Aren't you
supposed
to get my permission first?"
She giggled. "Very well. After all, I am your servant now." She
held up
her hands in an Hindu fashion as if she were preparing to do
something in
an official genie style. "What is your first wish."
Darien shrugged. "Well, I guess that thing about you helping me
get my
potential or whatever would do for now."
"As you wish," said Serena. She made a bizarre gesture with her
hands. It
reminded Darien of those old Magical Girl shows he used to watch
as a kid
when the heroine would show up and make a stupid speech before
fighting
that week's bad guy.
The air around her suddenly turned into a shaft of light. It was
a mild
but semi-brilliant haze that was a little hard to stare at
directly. Then
is fizzled down into nothingness.
"That's it?" asked Darien. "Does that mean I'm better now?"
"Oh no, Master," answered Serena. "That just means I officially
granted
your wish to help you. A persons' feelings and perspective on
life can't
change through magic. They must do that of their own will. I
merely made
it more of what you would call a contract with you with my
powers."
Darien was perplexed by all this. "So what about this saving the
world
business? Are your sisters in that much danger?"
"Yes," said Serena with a tone of seriousness. "An evil sorceress
named
Beryl has been searching for the jewels on her own for the last
several
hundred years. If she finds them and claims their power, all is
lost."
"Hundreds of years?" queried Darien. "She must be pretty old
looking by
now."
"No. She signed a contract with the demon Chaos when she was a
young lady.
Since then, her physical appearance hasn't changed one day. Beryl
was also
given hideous powers to find the gems so she could rule the
world."
"She sounds very determined," said Darien. "Are we in any danger
right
now."
Serena shuddered. "Not at the moment, Master. We are safe for the
time
being. From what I heard Beryl cast a spell and sealed herself
away
somewhere not to be awakened again until the power of the jewels
was
released into the world once more."
"You mean like just now when I released you?" asked Darien.
The genie paused. "Yes, Master. I'm sorry to have brought you
this kind of
misfortune."
Darien smiled. "Hey, if getting a gorgeous girl like you as a
friend is
your idea of misfortune, then keep it coming."
Serena smile back. She held him in her arms. Darien hugged her
back. To
him, it was as if she was some girl he knew from a previous life
who had
come back to him. Even though he was supposed to be her master,
he felt
like it was his job to protect her too.
He released her from their embrace. "So now what? What do we do
to start
looking for your sisters?"
Serena yawned. "If you would be so kind, Master, I would like to
regain my
strength some. Being released from the jewel took alot of effort
on my
part. Can we wait until tommorrow to do it?"
"That sounds fine to me," said Darien. He had a thought. "Um, I
hate to
point this out, but I only have one bed here."
"Oh, and how is it a problem?" asked Serena.
Darien started to blush. "Well, I mean, where did you think you
were going
to sleep?"
"With you, Master," Serena said bluntly. "Won't that make you
happy?"
Darien blushed even more. "Y...yes! It would make me very happy.
B..but we
only just met and I wouldn't want to take advantage of you like
that."
"Why not?" asked Serena. "Am I not good enough for you?!"
"No! I mean yes! I mean...," Darien felt tounge-tied. "I just
don't feel
like it's right to be with a girl in that way who I don't know
enough
about as a person."
Serena smiled. "You see me as a person and not as your genie?"
She kissed
him on the cheek. "That one is for your honor, Master."
Darien almost wanted to kiss her back, but felt it was better to
let her
get away with being the thankful one for now.
"Well, that was nice," he said. "But I guess I should sleep on
the couch
for tonight. You can have my bed."
"There's no need for that, Master," said Serena. "I can just whip
up a
small one for myself somewhere." She again did the weird magical
girl-type
hand gesture and a luxurious but modest looking cot appeared next
to
Darien's bed. "That should do for now."
Hearing all this commotion, Luna wandered into the room and
meowed. Serena
whirled around and was slightlt startled at the presence of the
cat.
"What a cute kitty!" exclaimed Serena. "Is this your pet,
Master?"
"Yes. Her name is Luna. I guess that's kind of ironic that my
cat's named
that and your a moon spirit."
Serena bent down and patted Luna on the head. "Hello, Luna. I'm
Serena. We
both have the same master now."
Darien put his hand behind his head. "Well, except your not a pet
like she
is."
With that, Serena did her little hand gesture thing and
transformed
herself into an exact copy of Luna except with a small
moon-shaped marking
on her head.
"How's that, Master?" Serena asked in her new cat form. She
started too
purr very loudly and caressed his leg with her head.
Darien picked up Serena and stared into her big bright cat eyes.
"Somehow,
I pictured you as more of a bunny-girl than as a cat girl, since
you're a
moon spirit and all."
Serena then jumped to the ground on all fours and did the same
hand motion
again with her small furry paws. A flash of pink light appeared
and Serena
emerged from it in a Playboy bunny getup. Except that instead of
the
little fake bunny ears that normally go with the costume were a
pair of
real bunny-like ears sticking out of the top of her head. Serena
whirled
around to show herself off to Darien. In doing so, she also
revealed that
she had what looked like a genuine bunny tail sticking out of the
costume.
Darien was amazed at Serena's talents. He went to touch her ears
to test
their authenticity. She started to laugh loudly.
"Master!" she said. "Please stop! That tickles!"
He ceased to inspect her ears. He almost had the urge to check
the tail
too, but decided to keep it straight for now.
"Um, could you change back to normal now. I really like your
regular
shape."
Serena seemed happy to hear that. She did her little
routine again and morphed back into her original form.
"Better?" she asked Darien.
Luna meowed demanding some attention. Darien stared at the clock.
"Well, I
guess you'll want to turn in now." He grabbed Luna and left the
room.
Serena stuck her head out from the bedroom door. "Aren't you
retiring for
the night too, Master."
"Not right now," he said as he walked down the hall. "I have some
work to
do for classes. You go ahead and get some rest."
Serena was disappointed by this but complied. "Very well, Master.
Good
evening." She went back in the bedroom and fell asleep on the cot
she
conjured up.
Darien felt a little like a heel. He had to get out of that
situation
though. He knew he would have just taken advantage of her.
Luna meowed. Darien put her down and addressed her. "Be nice to
her," he
said. "She's our new houseguest."
Darien went over to his desk and started working on some of his
geometry
problems from school. After a while he finished, made himself
some dinner,
watched a little television and then prepared for bed.
He crept into the bedroom to find Serena fast asleep on her cot.
She
snored very loudly. He pulled the covers up over her very
revealing outfit
to help himself concentrate on getting to sleep himself. He then
got into
his bed and shut his eyes.
Serena continued to snore loudly. "When she wakes up," thought
Darien,
"I'll have to wish for her to snore more quietly."
