I wish I'd thought of Sailor Moon first, but I didn't.

The Countdown! Plus a Birthday Party!

"Can I open my eyes yet?" Usagi whined.
Rei giggled behind her but kept leading her soul mate blindly around Tokyo. Every now and then, she checked to make sure the blonde wasn't peeking from underneath the bandana that was tied over her eyes. She was flailing her free arm wildly as if expecting to fall at any moment.
"Calm down Usagi," Rei rolled her eyes, "Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I trust you, Rei. I just don't trust my own feet!"
"Well, we're almost there. The last bit is quite a climb; are you going to be able to do it blindfolded?"
"No!" she wailed, "Can I have a piggyback ride!"
The miko grumblingly let her friend scramble onto her back and started up a long set of stairs. When they reached the top, Rei dumped the odango onto the soft grass.
"Hey! What's the big idea?"
Rei was trying to catch her breath, "S-sorry. Either I'm
really out of shape or you need to lose some weight, Usagi."
The shorter girl took off the blindfold so she could more properly give the violet haired girl the evil eye. Looking around, she realized where they were.
"Hey, this is just home. I thought you were going to take me someplace special," she pouted.
"You took off the bandana too early. Come around back with me," Rei added mysteriously.
Excited, the blonde hurricane pulled her girlfriend after her towards the back of the shrine. When they rounded the corner, a loud shout of "Surprise! Happy birthday Usagi!" rang from the cheerily decorated garden.
"Yeah! A surprise party! I haven't had one of these in forever!"
Paper lanterns and streamers and flowers were everywhere, luminous in the early evening light. A long table was set with scrumptious food and a beautiful cake centerpiece obviously made by their own Mako-chan.
"Thanks you guys," she hugged all her friends in turn, tears in her eyes, "This is the best birthday ever."
"I helped make the cake Usagi-chan!" Minako gushed, "Mako-chan finally let me help!"
"It looks great you two. Everything looks great," she beamed at her friends.
"What did you do to keep her away all day, Rei-chan?" Haruka asked as she handed the couple some sodas.
Rei laughed, "Well, I thought it would be fun to torture her, so we went window shopping and I didn't buy her anything?"
Usagi stuck her tongue out, "Yeah she was real mean."
"Fine then, if you feel that way, I won't give you the present I got. I'll keep it for myself."
"No, no! I'm sorry Rei! I didn't mean it!"
"Anyway, then I blindfolded her and led her around town to get her all confused. She wouldn't climb the stairs herself; she made me give her a piggyback ride! And here we thought she was all mature now."
The group was now sitting down to the meal and Usagi had already piled her plate high with food and begun stuffing her face.
"I am mature," she insisted, "It's just my birthday and I get to be queen for a day!"
After the wonderful dinner, the candles were lit and the cake was cut following a loud singing of Happy Birthday. Then the group fell to karaoke and a hilarious rendition of "YMCA" was performed by the whole party. Minako then declared that they should split into teams and play charades and everyone collapsed on the ground in
laughter as Setsuna attempted to act out 'prostitute' much to her embarrassment.
"Who made up these clues anyway," she grumbled as the laughter died down.
Everyone looked to Minako and she pretended not to notice. Instead, she headed over to the gift table and started piling the gifts in front of Usagi with the help of Ami.
"Present time!" she announced, "Open mine first!"
"And mine last," Rei added.
Usagi pulled a pretty orange bag onto her lap. Digging through the voluminous yellow tissue, Usagi pulled out a small box. She rolled her eyes at Minako's obsessive wrapping and opened it. Inside was a certificate for a free day at the Tranquil Sea, the most exclusive spa in Tokyo.
"We get to spend a whole day together!" Minako was positively mad with excitement, "They have a gym and a make-over station and everything!"
Usagi hugged her blonde friend, "Thanks so much Mina-chan. A whole day to relax, boy do I need that."
She went through the presents from her friends one by one. Ami gave the usual books, but they were on government which Usagi had, strangely enough, become intensely interested in upon entering college.
Haruka and Michiru's present was a giant hammock.
"We know how much you like sleeping," the aqua haired girl smiled, "Haruka's got one at home and she's quite fond of it. If I can't find her, she's usually out there snoring."
Haruka glared evily at her girlfriend, "I do not snore!" she insisted, but she just laughed in return.
Makoto, much to Usagi's delight, gave the odango a box containing all of her favorite recipes so she could cook them for herself.
Hotaru's present was a beautiful lamp in the shape of a castle that glowed with a delicate, soft light.
"It's beautiful Hotaru-chan," Usagi looked up amazed, "Where did you find it? It looks just like the palace in Crystal Tokyo!"
Hotaru looked guilty, "I traveled to the future the other day and picked it up. They're all the rage."
Setsuna looked stern, "You went to the future without telling me?"
But Usagi burst in before the teenager could get into more trouble, "How was Crystal Tokyo? Was it okay? Did it seem different?"
Hotaru laughed at all the questions, but looked to Setsuna for approval. The older senshi nodded.
"Well, I've only been there once or twice with Setsuna-mama before the changes, but it seemed exactly the same, as if this was meant to happen. I can't say anymore, I'd get in even more trouble," she winked.
The group laughed and Setsuna looked to Rei and the miko nodded in understanding. Setsuna's present was to go last. She handed Usagi a small box wrapped in scarlet paper and a creamy white bow. The blonde was so excited about unwrapping it that she didn't notice her girlfriend was kneeling in front of her. Underneath the wrapping was a black velvet box.
"Ooh, jewelry!" Usagi squealed, still oblivious.
She opened the case, a sparkling diamond ring lay on the soft fabric. It was a star with two little rubies nestled on either side of it that perfectly off-set the luminous white gold band. With tears in her eyes, she looked up to see Rei smiling shyly in front of her.
"Rei..." she started.
"Shh..." the violet haired girl held a finger to the blonde's lips, "Usagi, will you marry me?"
Usagi looked down, tears streaming from her eyes. She was making a series of unitelligible squeaking noises as the tears continued to flow.
Throwing her arms around the one she loved, she whispered softly, "Yes. Oh, yes, I thought you'd never ask!"
Everyone at the party rose one by one and began to clap. Everyone was smiling and laughing and hugging. Usagi beamed as Rei slid the delicate ring on her slender finger. She drew Rei in for a kiss and the circle around them began to change.
At a signal from Setsuna, the women changed from their party clothes into flowing gowns in the blink of an eye. Luna and Artemis assumed their human forms and the royals waited for the couple to take notice.
As they broke the kiss, Usagi saw that Rei was in her Mars princess dress and moved back to join the circle of her friends. Looking around she saw the others smiling back at her wearing theirs as well. Princess Pluto stepped into the circle, bearing a small golden chest on a purple velvet pillow. She bowed down before Usagi and the rest followed suit.
"Princess Serenity," she began, "The time has come. The countdown has begun. You must now assume your role as Queen. Less than a year now remains to us before the second ice age will cover this earth, this entire system in its frozen crystal. When the time comes to awaken this world once again, you must be ready."
She rose and motioned for Usagi to kneel. Luna came foreward and took the pillow from Setsuna. The guardian of time opened the chest and a pure, blinding light surged forth. The light settled into the form of a delicate silver crown.
"It is now my duty, no, my privilage to crown you Neo-Queen Serenity, Ruler of the Sol System and protector of the sea of stars."
As Setsuna placed the crown on the head of the kneeling princess, a bright flash came from the crown and all present shielded their eyes from its intensity. When they opened their eyes again, Neo-Queen Serenity stood before them.
She was still the same odango, but different, not only physically, but inside as well. She had grown a little taller and her hair was pure white and her eyes held a look of maturity and grace that the princesses couldn't help but look up in awe. The Queen smiled upon all of her friends and bid them to rise.
"My friends, my protectors, my family. You are to be crowned as Queens of your planets and I will be the one to do that. Princess Mercury come forth."
Ami moved toward Serenity and kneeled before her. The Queen summuned a silver crown set with light blue gems and held it high for all to see.
"I hearby crown you Ami, Queen of Mercury and Queen of queens hereafter."
As the crown was settled onto the princess' head, another brilliant flash came and when it dissipated Ami stood before them as Queen Mercury, still the same, and yet as Serenity, different.
One by one, all the senshi received their crowns and the simple birthday party turned into a royal gala. Serenity smiled at her friends and beckoned Rei to her.
"I will rule justly, kindly, and wisely with all of you to help me and with my Rei at my side. Let us be ready to welcome the new era of peace!"
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Soo, what'd you think? You demanded a sequal and here it is! A serial one at that! I'm sorry to anyone waiting for the next chapter of Knight Fire, but this story is a product of writers block for that. I will have that up shortly and more chapters for this as well! Feel free to kick me in the butt to get me going!
Soul~chan