Role Model
Disclaimer: I don't own the Sailor Moon characters. Naoko Takeuchi does. But I do own the idea, as well as the second generation of Scouts that I created, and this excludes Rini/Small Lady/Serena because I didn't create her. ^_^ Got it?
Notes: This is set right after the season where Helios shows up. I will use American names and spellings because I don't know the others. And to further confuse you, I'm gonna call Rini Serena from chapter 3 until the end. (O.o) If you can't keep up, I'll switch it back.
Warnings: Character death. I'm not sure if there are any more, except for maybe language and some violence. Usual couples...including Amara and Michelle. And, of course, some Serena (Meatball head Serena, not cotton-candy head, as Rini is so lovingly referred to) bashing. ^_^ Oh, and I hope this doesn't come up but maybe some OOCness.
Chapter 6: Strong Hearts, Strong Wills
"Woah, I didn't know that there were so many Scouts," Serena muttered.
"There should only be ten," Luna disagreed. "You, the inner Scouts, Mini-Moon, and the outer Scouts."
"But earlier we saw mini-Scouts for Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Neptune…and Neo Moon," Serena explained. "I wonder where they all came from."
"Who knows?" Raye asked.
"Hey, Rini said that they were friends of hers, so she probably knows who they are!" Amy pointed out.
"Ohhh, good point," Serena said. "I'll go ask her." So she left her room, where the inner Scouts were meeting, and went up to Rini's room to talk to her. She found the young Scout talking to her own friends in hushed voices. The young blond-haired boy was saying,
"But it's not fair! I don't see why we can't-"
"Hey…" the black-haired girl interrupted. "Someone's here." Then she pointed at the doorway, and Serena. Rini looked up and exclaimed,
"Serena! What are you doing here?"
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Serena muttered. "But I need to talk to you for a minute, okay Rini?" Rini shrugged and followed Serena outside.
"What do you need?"
"Well, earlier today…you said that you were friends with the other mini-Scouts that showed up. I was wondering if you could possibly tell us who they are…" Rini shook her head.
"I can't," she said.
"Don't you know who they are?"
"Yeah, but I can't tell you." Serena opened her mouth to ask more questions, but Rini stopped her. "Please Serena, trust me. If I tell you anything it could jeopardize the whole future."
"Well, when you put it that way…" Serena muttered. "What about Neo Moon?"
"I have no idea who she is," Rini answered.
"Are you sure? Did she seem the least bit familiar?"
"Other than looking kinda like you? Nope. Now, is that all you wanted to know?"
"Well, yeah but-"
"Alright then. I'll see you later, Serena." Rini went back into her room and shut the door. Serena shrugged and returned to her own room, where the Scouts were anxiously awaiting her findings.
"She couldn't tell me who they were," she explained, seeing the look of anticipation on her friends' faces. "She knew, but said that she couldn't tell us."
"Weird," Mina muttered.
"Yeah, really," Lita agreed. "Maybe we can get the information some other way…"
"I dunno, guys," Serena said. "Rini said that if we knew who the mini-Scouts were, it could really mess up the future."
"Are they really that important?" Raye asked. Serena shrugged.
"They must be."
"Then we should leave it alone. I have a feeling that we'll know sooner or later."
~*~
"What did she want?" Allen asked as Rini returned.
"She waned to know who the mini-Scouts were," Rini explained quietly.
"You didn't tell her, did you?!" Carmen shouted.
"Of course not!" Rini snapped. "I couldn't betray your trust like that."
"Thank you," Anna said, looking up at Rini.
"Yeah, it was a real favor," Celia agreed. "I know how hard it must be to keep a secret from Sereni- uh, I mean Serena." Rini nodded.
"It is," she agreed.
"Well, as I was saying…" Allen said. Celia sighed. From the decorations and weather, it was near Christmas. There was a tree set up downstairs in the living room, and decorations were set up everywhere…especially outside in the yards and buildings. It was usually Celia's favorite time of year, but now it only brought back memories…
~*~
Seven years ago, Christmas, the palace on Mars…
They always came home for Christmas. It was a tradition for so long, no one remembered who started it. But everyone knew that Mars's royal family, no matter where they were, would return home for Christmas. And for the past few months they had been visiting friends on Earth.
The queen's husband was from Earth, and he always found himself missing the planet after staying anywhere for too long. No matter how much he loved his wife, he was always bound to the Earth…and the queen never minded paying visits to the planet. After all, she had once been one of its children, until Neo-Queen Serenity had come into power. It was at that time that she knew what she must do: take her place as the queen of Mars.
People awaited their arrival in the streets. They were always so warm and kind to their people, never acting high above them or rude in any sort of way. If they had been raised as the future rulers, though, things might have been different.
Now, a warm crimson light flowed through the streets as they appeared. The king has his arms around his wife, who had her arm on the shoulder of their four-year-old daughter, whom they had named Celia.
The queen waved at the crowd, who now cheered and applauded as if a celebrity had just arrived. Young Celia smiled and waved shyly, burying her face in her mother's dress.
"Come," said the queen, "I guess we should get settled in for the holiday."
~*~
Celia stared at the fire, smiling at its warm glow. She knew that this Christmas would be special; he could feel it, but she didn't know why…
"Celia!" her mother called from the other room. She looked up from the fire and at her mother, who was stirring something in a large bowl. Celia smiled; it was time to bake cookies again!
It seemed a tradition that every year the queen made cookies. No one knew why –after all, there were plenty of servants around who could cook- but she insisted on it every year. She told Celia the story some times, too.
"Mommy, why do we do this every year?" Celia asked, hoping that her mother would tell the story again. And so she did.
"It's something that I did when I was a little girl," answered her mother. "On Christmas Eve, every year, my friends and I would go to one of our houses and bake cookies. Lita suggested the idea and we continued the tradition since we were seventeen," her mother said.
"Was Lita a good cook?" Celia asked.
"She still is. One of the best."
"Who were the others, mommy? Who else helped you bake cookies?"
"Well, Lita did most of the work. The rest of us just tried to keep Serena from burning herself."
"But who were the others?"
"They were Amy, Mina, and Serena. Amara and Michelle occasionally visited, and they brought Hotaru with them, but that was only every few years." Then she sighed. "I can't believe it was that long ago…"
"Now I get to help you," Celia said with a smile.
"You're one of the best helpers I could ask for." The queen ruffled her daughter's short black hair.
"Mommy, guess what?"
"What is it, honey?"
"Serenity braided my hair yesterday, but then I had to take it down 'cos Serena messed it all up."
"Well, I wish I had been able to see it," the queen said. "You probably looked so beautiful."
"Oh, the timer beeped!" Celia suddenly cried. Her mother rushed over to the over and pulled out a hot pan with cookies on it. They were very dark around the edges, but neither she nor Celia seemed to mind. After all, the state of the cookies wasn't important.
"Why doesn't daddy ever help us?" Celia wondered. Her mother grinned and replied,
"Because daddy's a worse cook than I am."
~*~
The next day…
"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up, it's time to open presents!" came a loud cry from the king and queen's bedchamber. Their daughter was standing over them triumphantly, her hands on her hips.
"She looks just like you, Raye," the king said to his wife.
"Watch it, Chad," Raye muttered. "Alright Celia, we're coming."
"Hurry UP!" Celia squealed.
"It's not like the presents are going to disappear," Chad said with a grin. "Well, not unless you go watch them. If any of them try to move, grab them." Celia leaped from the bed and charged into the room where presents were stacked under the tree.
"You're not leaving while I watch!" she yelled at the wrapped boxes and bags. And minutes later, her mother and father stood in the doorway. She hugged her mother and grinned. "I didn't let any of them escape," she said.
"Good for you," Raye said. "Now, let's see what's inside them!" Celia immediately ran towards a box that was almost as big as her, with her name written across a tag.
"Can I open this one first?" she asked.
"Go ahead, sweetie," Raye told her. She ripped off the gold paper and threw it aside, inside was a large dollhouse with a family of dolls to go with it. She squealed in delight and looked carefully at the three dolls. Her mother knelt beside her and said, "That one's me," pointing to the woman with black hair. "That's your father," pointing to the man. "And that's you." She pointed at the child doll held delicately in Celia's young hands.
Celia carefully sat the dolls down in the house's living room and charged at another gift, a smaller box that looked like it held clothing. She opened it more slowly, not as excitedly as she had opened the first one. Under the paper was a white box.
"Probably clothes," she said, wrinkling her nose in disdain. But as she opened the box she got quite a surprise. Inside was a silver chain. On the chain was a round pendant with the symbol of Mars on it. Also inside was a strange-looking wand and something that looked a lot like a watch. Celia held up the necklace and turned to her parents, confused.
"Raye, are you sure-" Chad began, but Raye only nodded.
"Mommy, what are these?" Celia asked.
"Put that on," Raye said, pointing at the necklace. "And never take it off."
"Not even when I take a bath?" Celia wondered.
"Not even then. Make sure you always know where the want and communicator are."
"The wand and the commu-what?"
"The wrist communicator. You'll be able to talk to the other mini Scouts with it," Raye explained.
"Does this mean…?" Celia trailed off, but Raye just smiled. Then Celia threw her arms around her mother's neck. "I'll be a Sailor Scout just like you!"
"Merry Christmas, darling," Raye whispered. "Merry Christmas."
~*~
Back in the present time…
"Celia, are you listening to anything I've said?" Rini waved her hand in front of the raven-haired girl's face, but got no response. "Hey! Earth to Celia!" She looked at the others.
"She's totally out of it," Farrah muttered.
"Hey!! The house is falling down! Celia, watch your head!" Rini teased. Celia covered her head with her hands and gasped, then heard the others laughing and looked around.
"So the house isn't falling down?" she asked.
"Of course not! You were just dazed," Rini said.
"So you decided to make fun of me!"
"No, not exactly, but…"
"You're so mean Sere-" Rini clamped a hand over Celia's mouth.
"Don't call me Serena when we're here. In the past, it's Rini."
"Oh, okay…uh, Rini."
"Now, did you hear a word that I said?" Rini asked.
"Uhhh…no." The others facevaulted, and Celia sighed.
To be continued…
Long one. It didn't have much in it besides the flashback...sorry. The next one will have some information about Sailor Neo-Moon, I think. I hope you liked this one, it was fun to write. ^_^ Oh, in chapter 7:
Marenda appears again! This time she's brought some goonies to destroy the Scouts, and can she succeed? Why are the mini-Scouts feeling so sick? And who is Sailor Neo-Moon? Find out in Role Model 07: A Friend Not Lost!