Ceremony of New Senshi

Chibi-usa sat on her canopy bed and watched out the large palace window and watched the raindrops run down the glass. She stood and quietly walked over, staring down at the quiet city beyond. It was June 30th, and Chibi- usa was turning 15-years-old. This was the birthday she would no longer be called Chibi. This would be the birthday that she became a soldier of love and justice, like her mother once was. With a long sigh, she stumbled out of her room and walked down the hallway, the cold marble floor burning her hot feet.

"Princess!" She heard a squeaky but quiet voice whisper behind her. She turned around and smiled, her gaze averting to the floor. Standing there was her guardian cat, Diana, who was now about 4-years-old.

"Good morning Diana," she responded as the gray kitten leapt onto her shoulder. Chibi-usa continued walking.

"Should I call you Usagi or Chibi usa?" Diana asked as they stumbled through the dining room of the castle and up to the kitchen door.

"Try Usa. It would be great if people could still tell me apart from my mother." Diana nodded solemnly as Usa swung the doors open. "Good morning!"

A brown haired female turned and smiled. It was Makoto.

"Good morning! And how are you?"

"I'm in a cooking mood.cooking cookies!"

"How about cake?" Makoto asked her as she tromped over.

"Chocolate marble cake with vanilla ice cream and Happy Birthday written in Strawberry icing?"

"Yes ma'am!" Makoto laughed and handed the pan to Usa. The girl placed it into the oven and then departed over to the refrigerator with the former Sailor Jupiter.

"Is Mako up?" Usa asked her.

"Yeah, she is. Where she is I'll never know. She's armed with water balloons this morning, so I'd be very careful if I were you!" Usa nodded and ran from the kitchen, eager to awaken the other princesses.

"Mako!" She called out, her voice echoing in the open hallways. "Mako, I know you're awake!" She continued to charge around until she was out of breath and she finally stumbled out into the gardens panting. Suddenly: SPLAT. "Ah!" Usa screamed and wrapped her arms around her once heated now frozen body. With teeth chattering, she turned around and looked up towards the balcony directly above the gardens. The balcony belonged to her mother and fathers bedroom. Serenity and Momaru were standing there, and Mako was in between them. She stuck out her tongue and then disappeared.

"Why that little!" Usa growled as the girl fled. Usa stumbled over to the water fountain and sat down, splashing the heated water onto her face. Underneath was cold though, and the results weren't pleasant. She picked one of the roses and being careful not to prick herself, tucked it into one of her pink buns.

"Good morning Chibi-usa!" she heard someone cackle. Looking up, Usa growled. It was Mako.

"At least it WAS!" She sighed. Mako couldn't help but laugh.

"You wouldn't be so mad if you had seen your expression! I love that glare you give me when you're mad!"

"I highly doubt that," Usa said with a smile, cocking her head in Mako's direction, "and my name is Usa."

"Well, you're no longer Chibi, are you?" Mako asked. "Anyways, I don't know about you, but I'm starving! What about your birthday bash breakfast? Is mom.I mean.Lady Jupiter done yet?"

"Give her a break! She's been up since 4:00 pre-pairing it, no thanks to you!" Mako shrugged.

"Good morning guys!" The two of them looked up. Coming towards them was Mina, Amy, and Raye.

"Hey!" Mako called out. Usa just sat there and stared at her complexion in the water.

She couldn't believe the beautiful, pale face she was seeing in the water. It seemed just yesterday that they were playing in a nursery.in a sandbox.pulling each other's hair. With a cough, she stood.

"I'm going to say good morning to mama." The other girls nodded, and she departed.

"Do you think she's okay?" Amy asked, pulling her nose away from the book she was reading. Just like her mother, Amy loved to read and never seemed to stop. Mako nodded.

"I'm sure she is. Probably just surprised like the rest of us. You know, it's hard to believe we're all finally reaching the age to become Sailor Senshi.and this is the day that the Amazons Quartet is released."

Usa found her way to her parent's room easy enough and rapped quietly on the door. The door was pulled open by a black paw very close to the floor, and she pushed it open the rest of the way, entering and shutting it behind herself. Her mother was sitting on the bed, speaking with Momaru.

"Good morning mama, papa," she said with and exuberant and quite cheerful smile, wandering aimlessly over to them.

"Good morning dear, happy birthday!" Her mother said with a smile, hugging her daughter. For the first time, Usa noticed lines of age. Now that she was aging regularly, her mother's time on earth was coming to an end, and it was finally time for her to begin growing older as well.

"Yes, happy birthday!" Her father cried out, joining in on the group hug. Usa pulled away from both of them.

"So, you promised. Will you make it happen?" Usa asked. Serenity nodded.

"The Amazons Quartets time has come, as well as the other Senshi. You'll be seeing Haru, Michi, Hotaru, and Setsu there to."

"I can't wait!" Usa cried out. Suddenly, they heard the breakfast bell ring about the whole castle and the family stood, clambering out the door and towards the dining room.

A magnificent feast was awaiting them. The table was set for 19 people, and 16 of those people were already seated. Plates of food lined the table and a huge three-layer cake sat right in the center with 15 candles surrounding the edge. With a smile, Usa took a seat between Hotaru and Amy. Lady Mercury cleared her throat and stood.

"This is an honor, being able to have the entire Sol family together. Let's us wish Serenity Chiba a very happy birthday!" Everyone burst into applause and as Lady Mercury resituated herself, the clapping fell silent and the room was filled with the merry laughter and conversation of the adults and children.

The end of the meal came to soon, and the cake was devoured in two rounds about the table. Now it was time for the presents: for all of them. The girls stood in a line, mumbling to each other, and fell silent as Serenity stood in front of them.

"We Sol Senshi have vowed to protect this universe forever. Your parents have retired from their time as Sol Senshi, and now it is your turn. First, I'd like to applaud each of you for coming so far in your training. Now, we will start with Serenity Chiba! The princess of earth and future queen, who is now Sailor Neo Moon!" Everyone applauded as the princess stepped forward and received her Moon Prism from her mother. Then, her mother continued. "Amy Mizuno, Sailor Neo Mercury! Raye Hino, Sailor Neo Mars." The ritual continued until each girl had received her planet prism. Finally, Hotaru was called forth. "My daughter, please step forward." Serenity concluded. Usa obeyed and stood before her mother, who held out her hand. Four different colored balls were hovering above it. They began to glow, and four girls appeared kneeling before Usa. They stood and smiled.

"We have long awaited the day we could see you again, Chibi-usa," The girl with green hair, JunJun, stated with a smile.

"But you are no longer Chibi! Do they call you Usa?" ParaPara asked. Usa nodded, tears flooding her eyes.

"I haven't seen you guys since.since.gee, the time I spent with my mother during the 19th century!" She dove forward, hugging JunJun, who was standing in the center of the girls. "I missed you guys!"

"It truly is good to be back together," CereCere finally piped up as JunJun released Usa. Usa faced her friends and they all smiled.

"Well?" Mina asked. Usa balled her hands into fists.

"We are Sol Senshi! Moon Prism Power!"

"Mercury Prism Power!"

"Mars Prism Power!"

"Jupiter Prism Power!"

"Venus Prism Power!"

"Saturn Prism Power!"

"Uranus Prism Power!"

"Neptune Prism Power!"

"Pluto Prism Power!"

"Juno Star Power!"

"Ceres Star Power!"

"Pallas Star Power!"

"Vesta Star Power!"

"Make up!" The girls cried out in unison, and bright lights flooded the room as the new Solar Senshi were born.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Copyrighted 2002 To SaturnGirl2oo2