Chapter 1: The Ceremony
A week later, Serena and Jacey sat on their Princess Thrones on the stage where the ceremonies were about to take place. What was happening was still a blur to both of them. All either of them knew was that they weren't participating.
"All rise for the great Queen Serenity!" the trumpeteer shouted as Serenity entered the court. All of the spectators stood and bowed at the great sovereign. "Please remain standing for the arrival of the other rulers!" he shouted again. "The Queen Mercury and her daughter, Princess Ami! The Queen Venus and her daughter, Princess Mina! The Queen Earth and her son. . .son?" he choked out. Serenity nodded and he cocked his head, "All right, son, Prince Darien! The Queen Mars and her daughter, Princess Raye! The Queen Jupiter and her daughter, Princess Lita! The Queen Saturn and her daughter, Princess Hotaru! The Queen Neptune and her daughter, Princess Michelle! The Queen Uranus and her daughter, Princess Amara! And the Queen Pluto and her daughter, Princess Trista!" As their names were called, they each walked out, mothers beaming with pride, the children with quizzical looks on their faces. Only Darien knew what was happening.
Jacey turned to Serena, "Serena! Why is my brother up there and not me? What is going on?"
Serena looked at Jacey and shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me. Why am I not up there either?" But Serena did have an inkling. She remembered her mother telling her stories about these ceremonies, the Passing of Power. It went from the women of each generation to their daughters, but that meant she and Jacey should have been up there. The Earth seemed to be the exception to every rule, each sovereign was to have one daughter as their only child, but Darien was born first and Serenity pushed her dear friends, the King Jamin and Queen Jennifer, to try again for a daughter for the Passing of Power. Serena didn't want to say anything to Jacey about it because she was afraid she'd feel neglected by destiny.
"All rulers and princesses on stage, turn and face each other!" Serenity shouted for everyone on stage and in the audience to hear. All the mothers turned to their daughters and smiled, the girls, still clueless looked at Serena and Jacey for some answers, but they just shrugged back at them. "Queens, take your daught. . .I mean children's hands. We are now ready to begin the Passing of Power!" Serena was catapulted from her seat with her eyes wide and tried to get the attention of her mother.
Serenity noticed her daughter flailing her arms at her when she turned to the audience and gave a nervous giggle. "That is my Serena! She loves to be the center of attention." Serena all of a sudden realized what she was doing and waved nervously at the crowd. She came to when she felt Jacey yanking at her white dress. Serena quickly sat down. "I think Serena has just given permission for us to go on," Serenity said. Serena nervously nodded her head and shrank down in her seat.
The children began to giggle in spite of themselves but the Queens quickly glared them down. When everyone quieted down, Serenity thought it was time to continue. "Mercury, you go first," Serenity said.
Princess Ami and her mother closed their eyes and began to concentrate until a blue aura surrounded the queen. She opened her eyes and said "Mercury Powers Pass!" and the aura went into Ami's body. Without even realizing it, Ami could hear herself saying "Mercury Power!" A blue pen with the symbol of Mercury on it appeared in her hand and transformed her into Sailor Mercury.
When the transformation was complete, Queen Mercury hugged her daughter and all of the other princesses watched in awe. Darien just looked at Jacey and Serena who glared menacingly back at him, they knew he was partly the reason that they weren't up there.
"Next will be Venus!" Queen Serenity said giving Princess Mina and her mother a nod.
Queen Venus closed her eyes and began to concentrate her power, but she didn't feel Princess Mina's vibes in synch with her own. She opened her eyes to find her daughter staring wide eyed in amazement at Ami. "Mina!" the queen hissed. Mina snapped back to reality and began to focus her energy. An orange aura surrounded the Queen and she shouted "Venus Powers Pass!" and the aura disappeared into Mina's body. Mina shouted "Venus Power!" and her orange pen with the symbol of Venus on it appeared in her hand and transformed her into Sailor Venus.
A nervous Darien looked at his sister and girlfriend, then to Queen Serenity, then to his own mother. The Queen Jennifer nodded at Queen Serenity and she spoke up. "Now, I know that customarily the daughter of the ruling family obtains the powers of the Scouts, but, there has never been a situation like this," Serenity said to the crowd. "Prince Darien is the eldest, so he will take over as the guardian of the Sailor Scouts."
Jacey, infuriated, stood up. "And who's idea was it to grant Darien the powers and not me?" she said glaring at her older brother and mother.
"Mine," Serenity said. "And I chose not to pass my powers on to Serena either." Jacey looked as if she was about to cry and Serena stared dejectedly at the ground. "One day you will understand," she whispered hoping they heard her.
Jacey sat down and folded her arms across her chest. Serena laid a hand on her knee and Jacey straightened up for her friend's sake.
"There will be a slight change in procedure because of the circumstances," Serenity announced. "So I will talk you through the passing." Queen Jennifer and Prince Darien nodded at Serenity. "Take each other's hands and close your eyes. Concentrate all of your energy!" A blue and green aura surrounded the Queen. "Now say Guardian Rights Passage!"
"Guardian Rights Passage!" Queen Jennifer shouted and the aura turned a blood red. Then it took the shape of a rose that imprinted itself in Darien's forehead. A red rose then appeared in Darien's hand and his armor turned into a tuxedo.
"You will now be known as Tuxedo Mask, friend and protector of the Sailor Scouts!" Queen Serenity said. The crowd gave a cheer and Jacey and Serena just sat there giving an empty round of applause. The ceremony continued until the other six girls recieved their transformation powers. "These powers enable the princesses to fight in any wars that threaten the peace of our kingdom. Hopefully, they will not be called on any time soon, but just in case Luna and Artemis will train these girls in the ways of the Scouts." The black and white cats leaped up onto the stage and purred.
"We will train the princesses well, to protect the Silver Millennium!" Luna, the black cat, said to the audience. Artemis, the white one, just kept waving his paws at the crowd.
Two black, orange, and white calico cats jumped into Jacey's lap. "It is not fair!" Apollo said to Jacey. "Why are we not training any Scouts?"
"Simple," Jacey said, "I was not a recipient of the powers and you are my cats." She stroked Apollo's fur and Athena jumped onto Serena's lap.
"How come you are not up there Miss Serena?" She said purring as Serena scratched under her chin.
"Darien and my mother no doubt. They do not think that I would cut it as a Sailor Scout," Serena replied angrily.
The trumpeteer once again blared his horn and the Queens and new Scouts, and Darien, began to walk off stage. Jacey, Serena, Apollo and Athena slipped out through the red velvet curtain that acted as a back drop to the ceremony. "I am going to give that brother of mine a piece of my mind!" Jacey said gathering her aquamarine skirts and dashing off into the palace.
***
"She is really mad!" Serena said to Raye and Ami after the ceremony. "I have never seen her on such a rampage. If you see Darien or anyone, I would advise them to stay out of her way until she cools off!"
Ami shook her head, "I did not think she would react like this! She is usually so level headed."
"I know!" Serena said. "I just do not understand it. But, since she is the youngest, she hates to be left out when Darien is included. This seemed to be the ultimate being left out. This was a woman's event!"
Raye looked concernedly at Serena, "Are you sure that you are all right? You did not receive the Scout Powers either. The two of you did not look too pleased on stage earlier."
Serena giggled, "I was a little upset, that my mother does not believe in me. But then I realized, I do not have to fight or train! Your lives are changed, but mine remains the same!" At this she burst out laughing.
Ami and Raye rolled their eyes at her. "You are terminally lazy Serena!" Raye said turning and walking away.
"We have to go start to train, Serena. I will come and see you after dinner, all right?" Ami said hugging the still laughing Serena. She then picked up her powder blue skirts in her left hand and waved for Raye to slow down with her right as she dashed off.
Serena wiped the tears of laughter out of her eyes and yelled a good-bye after them down the hall. Then she turned and left to find her mother, her boyfriend, and her best friend.
***
Serena found Jacey in her room crying her eyes out into her pillow. "I thought that was my job," Serena said to Jacey, pointing to the pillow.
Jacey couldn't help but giggle. "Sorry, I could not find you and he happened to be the closest thing." Serena sat down on the bed next to Jacey and laid Jacey's head on her shoulder. She quietly sobbed and hugged her best friend while Serena stroked her hair. Jacey quickly sat up and wiped her eyes, checking in the mirror for any red puffiness. "I feel better now, thank you Serena."
Serena stood up, took Jacey's hands and pulled her up after her. "Let us go find my mother and Darien. As long as you promise not to inflict and bodily harm to either of them!" Jacey giggled and nodded. She took a tissue and blew her nose before taking Serena's arm and walking down to the training base.
Serena and Jacey were walking by the tactics room when they heard the familiar voices of Darien, Queen Jennifer, King Jamin, and Queen Serenity talking with some of the guards. Serena and Jacey decided not to interrupt, so they stood outside the door with their ears straining to hear every word.
"It has appeared a few light-years away from Pluto. That is not a safe distance," one of the guards said.
"I know, I know," Serenity said pacing around the room trying to think straight. "What can we do? The Scouts just recieved their powers today, we cannot call on them now."
"How much time do you think we have before they attack?" Darien asked.
The guard took out a calculator and entered a few numbers. "At their current rate of speed, I would say around a month. That is if they do not attack any of the kingdoms between Pluto and the Moon."
"I doubt they will," Queen Jennifer said. "They will want the strongholds."
"That means Earth and the Moon!" Jacey gasped. Serena's eyes grew wide.
"That damn Beryl!" Serenity yelled slamming her fist down on the table. "I thought my mother had put her away for good!" She breathed in deep and clamed herself down. "We have to intensify the Scouts' training immediately and get ready for battle."
Jacey and Serena slipped through the crack between the doors unnoticed by the adults. Jacey coughed slightly to get their attention. Darien turned and saw the two first. "Serena, Jacey, what are you doing here, this is a private conference room!"
"Be quiet Darien!" Serena said calmly. "I am the next ruler of the Silver Millennium, I have a right to be here, and Jacey is a sovereign of the Earth and my confidante, she has a right to be here as well."
Jacey walked over to Darien and her parents and hugged them. Then she turned to Queen Serenity. "I want to fight, to protect my home and family."