Sailor Chibi Mercury is off on her very first mission to prove herself as a senshi! While the set-up is prearranged, she'll have to do her best to impress her evaluator, Sailor Neptune. When Chibi Mercury finds herself facing a difficult decision, will Neptune be able to assist while still remaining an impartial judge?

Sailor Chibi Mercury played by Sailor Seren
Sailor Neptune played by Miss Moon Rose




Set the scene (before the mission starts? After the mission has begun? At the crux of the difficult decision? ((btw difficult decision up to you to create!)) your pick!) and begin!

Awaki raised her transformation wand above her and shouted, "Mercury Power, Make Up!" She instantly transformed into Sailor Chibi Mercury pushed her goggles up to rest on her head. Chibi Mercury bounced up to Neptune and beamed up at her. Today it was planned for her to be going on some sort of solo mission, and she'd be accompanied by the older woman. Excitement was bubbling in the pit of her stomach, although she wouldn't deny that she was also extremely nervous at the thought of screwing up and making an embarrassment of herself in front of a senior. She tried to push back her anxiety and flashed a confident grin, "I'm all set to head out, now."

Sailor Neptune leaned against the doorframe, waiting on Awaki to transform and join her. Michiru had waited quite some time for her chance to take one of the chibi senshi on their first official mission. She was glad to have Sailor Mercury's daughter, since their powers were similar and Michiru had always taken a liking to the senshi of wisdom.

"Alright, let's head out. We have two days to complete the mission given to us by the queen and return successful. I'll brief you on the way, alright?"

As they left the palace, Neptune explained to Chibi Mercury that rumors had come to the palace of a group of bandits terrorizing families in Crystal Tokyo. They had been stealing from shops and homes, wreaking havoc, causing damage to public property, etc. It was their job to find these bandits and take control of the situation by any means necessary. However, your mother also detected some negative energy sources from a forest region to the west. That is where you and I will be heading. Sailor Venus seems to think that these two things are connected. We will find out soon."

Chibi Mercury listened to Neptune intently as they walked together. At the sound of "bandits", Chibi Mercury could feel the nervous knot in her stomach growing tighter. How was she gonna manage to face off against bandits? Especially with the knowledge that Neptune would be keeping a sharp eye on her during the whole trial. The whole thing scared her, to be honest. But she knew these criminals had to be stopped, and now, or else they would continue to wreck havoc and could harm innocent civilians.

Chibi Mercury's eyes glistened brightly in determination, as she nodded quickly. "I can handle it, ma'am."

Sailor Neptune smiled. "Good. Then we're all set."

The two girls walked side-by-side through Crystal Tokyo, past the kingdom's boundaries and to the forest region Neptune had previously mentioned. The forest was thick and full of greenery, but also dangerous plants and creatures. Neptune hoped that Chibi Mercury would be able to handle the dangers of the mission.

As they continued on, Neptune began to ask Chibi Mercury basic questions.

"So, I take it your training with the other chibi senshi has gone well? I've heard from Lady Serenity that there were some issues between the four of you in the beginning. I hope you all have become closer since then. I have to admit, I regret not becoming closer friends with the original sailor senshi in the past. It is something I would take back if I could, but I am glad we are all close now. Tell me, Mercury...how much do you know about your true power?"

Chibi Mercury had wanted to relax at the sight of the forest and its beautiful scenery, but tensed up at the thought of how it was probably full of potentially dangerous fauna and flora, as well as those bandits that were on the loose. She began mentally preparing herself to be ready for an attack at any moment, but quickly became distracted at Neptune's questions.

"Ah.... yeah, I guess me and the other girls get on much better then we used to." She had thought of when they had first became a team, and all of the silent, awkward walks to school they had suffered through. She could feel herself cringe over it. When she heard Neptune question her about her powers, she began to fiddle with her hands, nervous.

"Um, well. I can kinda sense what others are feeling, yet.... most of the time all of these different emotions become so overcrowded, and I have trouble concentrating. I'm not really sure how useful they can be at this stage honestly."

Neptune smiled, twirling her Deep Aqua Mirror between her fingers. "Hopefully, you will discover the true meaning of your emotions on our mission," she said, a small smile on her lips. She continued to walk through the woods, stepping over branches and being careful to avoid any poison ivy that was on the ground. She glanced back to make sure Mercury was doing alright, and in doing so, Neptune stepped over a patch of leaves. 

But they weren't just leaves.

They were leaves covering a ditch. With a gasp, Neptune fell through the pile of leaves, landing on her butt at the bottom of the ditch. She shook her head slightly, trying to process what had happened. She looked around for Mercury, but it seemed like the younger girl hadn't fallen through like she had. With a quiet groan, Neptune stood and brushed off her fuku. 

"Mercury? Are you up there? I need you to find a way to get me out of here!" Neptune shouted, her voice calm but filled with a hidden panic. The ditch was definitely too steep for her to climb out, and there was no way she could jump high enough. It was up to Mercury to find a way to get her out, now. "You need to hurry - I'm sure this trap was put here for a reason."

Neptune's words of encouragement made Chibi Mercury smile, and she quietly nodded in reply. The two continued to walk through the forest, Chibi Mercury slightly trailing behind in an attempt to avoid tripping over any branches or coming into contact with poison ivy. She immediately froze in her tracks, when she focused ahead and witnessed Neptune fall down into a hole.

Chibi Mercury rushed forward, panicking. She gazed down and noted that the ditch was way too deep for her to just reach down and pull the older woman out with her bare hands. She took a deep breath, trying to keep some composure, "I'll find a way out!" She quickly scanned the surrounding area, searching for something she could use. She spotted a thick vine hanging from a nearby tree, and gave it a hard tug, but it wouldn't give.

She closed her eyes and hovered her hands in front of her, "Mercury Arctic Bolt!" A large, sharp icicle shot out and cut off part of the vine. She picked up both the vine and icicle, and hurried over back to the ditch. She speared the icicle into the ground and tied a end of the vine around to it. Once she ensured it was tight enough, she threw the free end of the vine down into the hole. "Here, use this!"

Neptune smiled when Chibi Mercury returned, throwing a vine down for her to climb. The girl was smart, and a quick thinker. She knew how to use her resources and combine them with her own powers.

Quickly, Neptune climbed up the vine and out of the hole, smiling at Mercury and patting her on the shoulder. "Thank you, that was very impressive," she said, starting to move forward through the forest.

Neptune continued to walk through the trees, all the while paying attention to her companion's actions and behavior.

Chibi Mercury beamed at Neptune's praise, giggling softly and rubbing the back of her head. "Ah, it was nothing, really."

They continued through the forest, silent. Chibi Mercury found it odd that there had yet to be any sight of the bandits. She could feel her goggles begin to slip off her head, and she quickly grabbed them and pushed them down over her eyes. She looked up ahead past Neptune and immediately stopped in her tracks. Off to the side of the trail, she could see an intense red, warm aura protruding. She suddenly felt as if they were being watched.

Before she could yell and alert Neptune of the incoming threat, a group of black figures jumped out and grabbed her. So these were the notorious bandits! Chibi Mercury got into a fighting stance, which only seemed to ignite a laugh from what appeared to be the leader.

"Hahaha, you silly girl! You stand no chance against us." The leader said, in a deep artificial-sounding voice. Chibi Mercury gritted her teeth at this, infuriated about being called weak by a lowlife bandit. She took note of the death grip they had Neptune trapped in, and before she could take another step toward them, she heard the leader's command:

"If you want Sailor Neptune to come out of this ordeal unscathed, you'd best let us into the palace."

Chibi Mercury scowled, but kept her mouth shut. Were these bandits mad? Would they think she would simply let them waltz into the palace? But... what if they really did do something to Neptune? She studied the group intensely with her goggles, but wasn't picking up much of anything off of them. It was almost as if they were blocking her abilities with magic. And the way the leader referred to it as an "ordeal"... something was definitely off.

Neptune was taken completely by surprise when a strong pair of arms grabbed her from behind, holding her hands behind her back and pressing a sword against her throat. Neptune recognized the sword immediately, but resisted the urge to smirk. This was Mercury's test. She couldn't blow it.

The singular hand that was holding her wrists was gripping rather tightly, and Michiru hissed, "You're supposed to touch me gently." There was a quiet chuckle.

"Later. When we're alone," the person responded.

Neptune pretended to struggle against her captors grip. "Don't listen to them, Mercury! Get out of here and warn the queen! Leave me!" she yelled, her eyes wild and her voice commanding.

Neptune squirmed again, but the attempt was futile. "Go, now!"

At the sight of the sword against Neptune's neck, Chibi Mercury froze in fear. Maybe their threat actually was serious. But she couldn't shake the thought from her head that something was very off and fake about this whole entire situation. She heard Neptune's pleas to flee, but her legs were frozen to the ground. What if they hurt the older woman while she was gone? What if everyone pitted the blame on her, for allowing such a thing to happen? The mere thought terrified her.

Chibi Mercury closed her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths. Her face stretched into a scowl as she raised her hands slowly up toward the bandits. "Let her go..." She said, in almost a chilling whisper. She started off with slow steps, until she broke into a sprint toward the villains. "Let her go, let her go! Mercury Arctic Bolt!" Instead of the normal set of a few small bolts, a large icicle formed and shot toward the group, neatly zooming past Neptune and hitting her assailants.

Neptune was shocked when Chibi Mercury sent an attack towards the attackers, causing her captor to let go and jump back. The attack was strong - stronger than anyone had deemed the young girl capable of. It was an impressive action, and it had definitely proved the young senshi's strength and capability to handle tough situations.

And she hadn't left Neptune behind. That was the most important part.

Smiling, Neptune tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked back, nodding at the bandit that was previously holding a sword to her neck. Returning the nod, the so-called bandit pulled the black mask off of their face, revealing their identity.

The rest of the bandits followed suit, and soon all of the Solar Senshi stood before them. Sailor Neptune clapped her hands, walking over to Chibi Mercury and smiling. "Congratulations, dear. You passed your trial. You have proven yourself capable of understanding the depth of your powers and using them to your advantage. Most of all, you chose to not leave a fellow senshi behind, and that is the most important lesson of all. You are now officially welcomed to the Solar Senshi team."

Chibi Mercury's eyes widened in surprise to see that these so-called "bandits" were none other then the Solar Senshi themselves. She pressed a hand against her chest, letting out a sigh of relief. Honestly, that attack had zapped a lot of energy out of her, and she wasn't sure what she would have done had the attackers actually turn out to be the real deal. She walked toward Neptune and others, a smile spreading wide across her face.

She couldn't believe the words she had just heard. Was it true? Was she an actual, legitimate Solar Senshi now, her dream? Chibi Mercury tried to fight back tears as she gave a polite bow, "I am most honored."