Destiny Thwarted Part Four By Charma & Jana (pekkle3779@aol.com) "Is everyone ready or what?" Lita asked impatiently. "Or what!" Mina wailed from behind the bathroom door, struggling to pull her dress over her head. "Mina! You didn't even put your dress on yet??" Ami asked incredulously. "And we still have to put the flowers in your hair! C'mon, Mina, what's taking so long?" Anya asked, her pale blue eyes flashing impatiently. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't get the zipper down, and now it's stuck on my head, and I'm going to make us so late... WAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Mina finished her sentence with a full-fledged wail that would have done Serena proud. Anya sighed, and said, "Mina, I'm coming in!" She pushed the door to the bathroom open to find Mina on the tiled floor, surrounded by layers of pale orange silk. Her blue eyes filled with tears, and she opened her mouth to let out another wail. Anya clamped her hand over her mouth, and whispered, "Do you want everyone in the banquet hall to hear you wail like a three year old?" Mina shook her head, and Anya removed her hand. "Okay, get up, sister dear. We're going to get this dress on you and the flowers in your hair in less than ten minutes. Am I making myself clear?" Anya asked in her bossiest voice. Mina wiped her eyes and nodded warily. She stood up and stayed still long enough for Anya to fix the zipper on her dress, straighten it, and put up her thick mane of golden hair with pins and orange posies. "There!" Anya cried after a bit. "You look simply ravishing, dah-ling, and in only eight minutes!" "Okay, that's all well and good, but if we don't get our butts down to the banquet hall in like two minutes, we are going to miss the opening ceremony... which we are supposed to begin!" Rei shouted through the door. The girls ran as quickly as they could down the hallways, and down stairs, looking for all the world like a colorful, if blurred, rainbow. They were stopped by two burly men in front of the large, heavy oak doors that led into the ball room. "Princess Serena and her court," one of the guards said insolently. At this implied insult, Serena stood tall, and straightened her flowing white gown. "Yes," she replied with the most dignity she could muster. She stared right into the eyes of the disrespectful guard and would not back down until he was forced to look away. She nodded at the other guard, who apologized profusely for the disrespect shown to her and the young ladies of her court by his fellow guard. Serena smiled, and replied softly, "It's okay. No offense taken." The guard thanked her for being so kind (he seemed to be a nervous sort of fellow), and handed her six boxes, each with the name of a princess on it. She handed them out, and when her friends opened them, they oohed and aahhed. On the beautiful, dark red velvet lay a silver filigree crown with a precious gem imbedded in the center. There was a ruby on Rei's, a sapphire on Ami's, an emerald on Lita's, a topaz on Mina's, an amethyst on Charma's, and an opal on Jana's. The guard then handed a box to Serena with Anya's name on it, and inside of that was a plain, silver circlet to crown her fuschia curls. And finally came the box with Serena's name on it. When she opened it, there lay, next to a crown of silver filigree with a diamond embedded in the center, two pearl hairpins. The pearls winked and glimmered with an inner beauty, and Serena pinned them in front of her buns with care. "There," she said, surveying her friends with pleasure. The princesses looked transformed from their usual appearances. Each was radiant, and glowing with unprecedented beauty and spirit. "I think we are ready." The guard then pulled a gold cord, and a silvery bell tolled. Music started drifting towards them, and the heavy doors opened. "Ladies and gentlemen, her royal highness, the Princess Serena of the Moon Kingdom and her Court," a booming voice declared as they filed in, one by one. The crowd hushed as they watched the display of confident, strong, and exquisite princesses grandly promenading down the royal red carpet to the equally exquisite Queen. As they sat on their royal thrones next to Queen Serenity, the guests wondered about the infamous Sailor Scout training and how such lovely princesses could be training to be defenders of the Moon Kingdom. "Darling, what took you so long?" the Queen whispered to her daughter mildly. Serena flushed pink, and leaned towards her mother. "I'm so sorry, Mother. We didn't mean to keep you waiting-" There the Queen interrupted her, and replied, "I didn't ask for an apology, dear. Just a reason." "Oh," Serena whispered, and flushed a deeper shade of pink. "The zipper on Mina's dress was stuck, and that took a long while to fix, and then we had to get all the way from our chambers to here, and then the guard had to give us our tiaras." "Oh, yes, your tiaras. Do you like them?" Queen Serenity inquired softly. She glanced down the line of girls on both sides of her, and was pleased to see such refined young ladies. "Oh, we love them!" Anya replied ecstatically. She touched her tiara as she said this, sort of silently thanking Queen Serenity for including her as well. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Moon would like to welcome our Earth visitors..." the big, booming voice announced. The girls fidgeted as the voice droned on and on and on... "I can't believe that they are naming every single nobleman and noblewoman who is visiting!" Rei whispered. The girls nodded their heads in agreement. "Well, this ball is in honor of them, you know," Ami replied, always and forever more the reasonable one. "Lady Beryl..." the voice droned. The young woman that Serena had met earlier elegantly, yet confidently came down the aisle. She was so graceful that she didn't look as if she was walking, but more like she was floating. "I met her today, when I was going to get the flowers," Serena whispered to her friends. She caught Beryl's eye, and winked. Beryl smiled back, showing two rows of even, white teeth. "She's so pretty," Jana breathed admiringly. "She's really nice, too!" Serena whispered back. "Prince Endymion..." the voice still wasn't done. A tall, young man came down the aisle, his dark head held high. Serena gasped, and blushed rosy pink as he caught her eye. Thank goodness all of her friends were too busy checking him out to notice her discomfort. "Oh my," Rei said softly, startled. "I wonder what kingdom was blessed enough to have him for prince," Charma thought aloud with a dreamy smile on her lips. "Oh, he's sooo cute," Lita murmured. Her green eyes were riveted on his retreating back, as he stepped onto the platform across from them. "He's not just cute, honey," Mina said. "He's the butter on my bread!" "But since you don't like to eat bread," Anya began slyly, "I guess you're out of the running for his affections." Mina opened her mouth and then closed it again, unable to think of a retort. "Shut up!" she finally whispered, gently shoving Anya away from her. "He looks way too old for us," Serena intervened hastily, wanting to get the princesses to stop talking about a man who made her heart uncomfortable, much to her consternation. "Anyway, we should settle down since we are in display for practically the whole world to view. When the guests are finally finished being introduced, we can let our energy out by dancing, okay?" Serena pleaded. The girls gave Serena strange glances, but followed the Moon Princess's order and behaved like model princesses with no further mention of Prince Endymion. After what seemed like hours later to the princesses, the droning voice stopped and the music began to play lightly in the background. Couples entered the dance floor and the princesses gazed in awe at the elegant, stately dancing. "Oooh, I want to try. Mother, may we join our guests?" Serena asked with practiced refinement. "Of course," Serenity replied, rewarding her daughter with an approving smile. "I would rather like to join you girls. There might actually exist a man who would like to dance with an old woman like me," she added with what almost looked like a grin. "Mother!" Serena exclaimed, shocked at the mere thought of a man in their lives. "I'm only joking, sweetheart," Serenity soothed. When Serena looked away, however, she continued absently, "But who knows?" Queen Serenity gave the signal for the others to stand by standing herself and she lead the way down to the dance floor. "Enjoy yourselves," she told the girls with a smile as she walked away to talk to some guests. "Oh, we will," Lita promised with a wicked smile after Queen Serenity had left. "Look at all those cute boys! All just waiting for us! Who wants to come ask some to dance?" "I will," Mina, Charma, and Jana exclaimed in unison and then wafted off with Lita. "Look at them go," Rei said with a wry grin. "Look, they all got dance partners too!" The remaining princesses looked on with interest as Lita, Mina, Charma, and Jana waltzed with the best of them. "Wow, they're pretty good," Ami complimented. "It doesn't look too hard. Oh, there's Jeremy!" Ami smiled in the direction of her fellow schoolmate/genius. "I think I'll go ask him to dance." Watching Ami walk away, Rei commented, "And then there were three." "Oh my god. I can't believe Ami just did that!" Serena said in shock. "It's so out of character for her, but I'm glad she did it." "They look cute together too," Anya added. "You know, this whole dancing thing is kind of scary," Serena confided. "I mean, you know what a clutz I am! What if I make a fool out of myself here? Or worse, what if no one asks me to dance?" "Serena, you don't have a thing to worry about. And, I must admit, you are not as clutzy as you used to be," Rei reassured Serena with a slight smile. "Princess Serena! Hello!" came a voice from outside the girls' little circle. "Lady Beryl! It's nice to see you again," Serena responded. "You haven't met my fellow princesses yet, have you? Princess Rei of Mars and Princess Anya of Venus, meet Lady Beryl of Earth. The other princesses have attended the ball today as well. They are, however, out enjoying themselves presently." "An honor to meet you," Beryl said with a low curtsey. "This ball is amazing. So many people having a grand time! Your palace is beautiful, by the way. We don't have many buildings like this at home on Earth." "Thank you. You know, we've never been to Earth before," Serena said a bit wistfully. "It's amazingly different from here, that much I can say! Earth is not as... exquisitely perfect as the Moon is. But I love it there. It's my home," Beryl explained simply. "I know what you mean," Rei said appreciatively. "The moon is a wonderful place to live and all, but Mars will always be my true home. Whenever I go back there, I feel a calm and peacefulness I've never known anywhere else." "The Moon has become my home now. Funny thing is, I've never felt very attached to Venus," Anya said. "I know someone who felt the same way about his home planet. But he's gotten older, and grown up, and has come to appreciate his place of origin. Speaking of which, here he comes now. I'd love for you to meet him," Beryl enthused, waving her friend over to the circle. A handsome young man Serena's age suddenly appeared at her elbow. "Princess Serena, would you like to dance?" he asked, winking mischievously. "Bart, what are you up to now?" Serena groaned with a laugh. She turned to the girls. "Excuse me. I'll return if I ever make it out of there alive!" She let herself be pulled away by the prankish boy, although she was disappointed over having missed the introduction to Beryl's friend. "Okay, here's the plan," Bart whispered to Serena when they got to the dance floor. "Just follow my lead." He walked over to the orchestra to ask the them to play a particular song, Serena guessed. While she stood waiting, she glanced over at Rei, Anya, and Beryl and was astonished to see that they were talking to the infamous Prince Endymion. So that's Beryl's friend! Serena thought in surprise. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably never get to see him up close. Not that I'd want to. Just looking at him from a distance makes me feel strange inside. I wonder what seeing him face-to-face would do to me! Serena suddenly found herself face-to-face with Bart, who pulled her close to him. "Remember-just do what I do," he laughed impishly. "This is gonna be fun." "Oh god," Serena moaned in fearful anticipation as she heard an upbeat song start playing. "What kind of music is this?" "Oh, you've never heard of it? It's some Martian culture thing called the tango. I learned it while studying abroad over there. Just trust me, okay?" he asked, seeing the anxious look on Serena's face. "We're gonna be a hit. Ready?" Serena nodded slowly and the dance began. Bart led her through the tough steps until she got the hang of it and was having so much fun she didn't notice the growing audience around them. This tango was like nothing Serena had ever done before. It was wild, unrestrained, and sexy. Serena blushed to even think the word, but there it was. It was probably the most adult thing she had ever done in her life, and she was reveling in the fact. To the crowd watching the pair, Serena and Bart were a treat to the eyes. They were blonde, beautiful, and watching them dance struck a chord inside. Some of the more conservative people were rather shocked by the Princess's behavior, but others thought Serena a vision to behold-untamed but graceful, sensual but pure in her white dress. More than one heart fell that night to Serena's charms. When the music stopped, Serena, flushed and vibrant from her recent exertion, curtseyed to Bart, laughing with delight all the while. The music and applause rang in her ears as she tried to catch her breath. "Bart, that was wonderful! I loved every minute of it. Thank you." "Oh, don't thank me. I thank you. If you weren't so good at this, it wouldn't have been half as fun. I'm beginning to think that you might have actually shown me up. Me, the master of tango!" Bart teased. Rei walked up to Serena, Anya right behind her. "Serena, when did you ever learn how to tango? I remember wanting to take lessons when I still lived on Mars, but Mother would always tell me I was too young, which I probably was, being only eight years old. But anyway, you were amazing!" "Someone else seemed to think so too," Anya murmured, gesturing towards Beryl and Endymion, who were leaving the ball. "They had to leave because they're going back to Earth tonight, but Beryl told me to tell you that she thinks you're 'quite a find' and that she enjoyed your dancing very much." "And although Endymion didn't leave us any message for you," Rei cut in, "he did seem rather interested in you." The room suddenly seemed too hot and confined for Serena. She pulled at her dress which, when earlier had seemed appealingly clingy, now was constrictingly tight. "I gotta get out of here. I can't breathe, it's too stuffy in here." "We were just about to leave too, and the others left just a minute ago," Anya informed Serena. "Okay, great, I'm leaving with you guys then. Bart, thank you, so much. I'll see you later." After curtseying to him a final time, Serena impulsively kissed him on the check and flounced away with Rei and Anya, leaving Bart with what could only be described as having hearts in his eyes. As the three princesses entered their bed chamber, they were greeted with squeals of "Serena!" and "That was so daring!" and such. Serena smilingly recounted her dancing experience while the other girls listened with rapt attention. "Bart is so cute," Lita sighed, her eyes getting dreamy as she remembered the tall, blonde haired boy. All the other girls groaned in unison, and Charma replied, "Oh, you are so hopeless, Lita!" Lita became a little huffy at that, and Rei decided to change the subject. "So, Serena, too bad you didn't get to meet Endymion," she said, a little sly smile curving her full lips. The room fell silent. She, and every other princess, knew how uncomfortable Serena got whenever she heard his name, and was anticipating how Serena would try to change the subject. "Yeah, too bad. But I had more fun dancing with Bart, anyhow," Serena replied easily. If she had learned anything in the four years she had lived with Rei, it was how to play her games. But Rei could see right through Serena. Discomfort was evident in her blue eyes, and Rei continued. "He had the best manners of any boy that I have ever met, not to mention those eyes!" Rei gushed. "He certainly was well read, too," Ami supplied. Everyone looked at her, surprised, and she blushed. "What?" she asked defensively. "So I talked to him. It wasn't a big deal." Serena looked glad that the attention was off of her until Jana spoke up. "He was pretty interested in you, Serena. He wanted to know who the 'spirited girl flying around on the dance floor' was." Serena looked around anxiously, and laughed a nervous, high giggle. "What else did he say?" she asked in what she hoped was a careless tone of voice. She desperately wanted to know what he had said, but she wasn't about to tell anyone that. "I don't really remember, to tell you the truth... this guy was looking at me, and I was concentrating on telepathically sending him a message to come and ask me to dance," Jana replied. "So, did he?" Mina asked. "Yeah... but not before I had to go over and actually ask him to ask me. I think my telekinesis was affected by the volume of people in the room divided by the total surface area," Jana said matter-of-factly. "Did anything she just say make sense?" Charma asked Ami skeptically. "None whatsoever." "Thought so." Serena had been growing more and more impatient with this conversation as it went on, until, finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. "ARE YOU POSITIVE HE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ELSE?" she shouted. Her friends looked up, astonished at her outburst. She had been abnormally quiet all night, and all of a sudden, she was shouting. "Ummm...umm... I really don't remember, Serena," Jana said, panicking. She looked like she was about to cry, and Serna felt so bad that she apologized sincerely and gave her a hug. "Someone has a crush..." Lita muttered. Fortunately enough for her, no one heard. "I'm so sorry... I don't know what got into me. Really," Serena appealed to the girls who sat staring at her. No one said a word, and she ran out of the room. The girls all stared after her, and Rei got up to calm her out of her strange mood. "Ughh... I hate math..." Serena groaned. She lay her head down on the thick textbook that she was supposed to be studying out of. It was a little over a year after her first ball and Serena had forgotten all about her plight over Prince Endymion, as had the rest of the girls. Because they all had finals coming up the following week, they were all assembled in the palace library. The library had been completely silent besides the shuffling of papers, or the scritch-scratch of pencils in notebooks until Serena announced her complaint. "Serena, some people are trying to study!" Rei hissed. She glared at Serena, and then went back to her English book. Ami leaned over and asked, "Do you need some help?" "No, thanks. I understand it all right; it's just that I have to review everything we've learned since the beginning of the year, and that was almost ten months ago! We learned so much! How am I going to get through this whole book in a week?" she wailed. "Serena, if you had any consideration for others, you'd realize that everyone else has to go through the stuff that they learned all year, too, and that we need QUIET!" Rei hissed. Serena's eyes grew wide and filled with tears. Ami, searching for a way to keep Serena from letting loose with a wail that was way over the noise pollution level, whispered, "C'mon, Serena. I'll teach you how to study so that you won't forget when the test comes." They gathered their books, and headed to a cubicle. Ami was a wonderful teacher, and had Serena studying diligently in less than half an hour. They decided to stay in the cubicle so that, in case Serena had any questions, she could ask Ami without disturbing anyone. After awhile, Serena found herself looking out the large window at the blue planet, Earth. It was so beautiful and majestic... "Ami, what's it like on Earth?" she asked her friend wistfully, still looking out the window. Ami almost didn't answer, thinking that it was just a plot to get out of studying, but when she saw Serena staring out the window, she knew that her Princess was in earnest. "Well, from what I've read, it's supposedly quite pretty up there, though not as magical as the Moon. It's more of an all-for-the-common- good kind of environment there, and I hear that the King and Queen are very good to their people. Much like Queen Serenity, I suppose," Ami concluded. "But what's it like? You know, what does it look like? What are the people like? Are they good people?" Serena questioned. "I don't know. The only planet that I've ever been to besides Mercury is the Moon. I've never been to Earth, but I would like to visit there someday." "You would?" Serena asked, her eyes lighting up mischievously. Ami looked at her suspiciously, but answered, "Yes, I would. Why?" "Oh, no reason," was Serena's seemingly innocent reply. Though her blonde head was bent over her math book, Ami could tell that she was grinning. She sighed, and felt in the very marrow of her bones that she was going to regret her words. Very much so. The girls were gathered in the bed chambers, getting ready for bed, when Serena tossed out a question to all of them. "Would you guys ever want to visit Earth?" she asked. All of them answered yes, though in varying degrees of enthusiasm. Charma, looking up from her book, asked the question on everyone's mind. "Why? You know that Queen Serenity doesn't want us leaving the Moon until we finish training." "Well, yes, I know Mother told us years ago that it wasn't ... ah ... recommended for us to visit Earth until we complete training, but that was so long ago! We're all grown up, mature, reasonable princesses and I think we're old enough to handle a little trip to Earth, don't you?" Serena asked pointedly. "I don't know, Serena," Anya said uneasily. "Remember what happened when we did that spell a while back?" "Yes, but that was when we were ten years old! It's four years later, and we still don't have any independence," Serena complained. "Are you trying to start a coup or something?" Rei asked warily. "Because I don't think it would be such a good idea. With the problem of those Negaverse people already on Queen Serenity's shoulders, I don't think she needs to worry about you revolting too." "Rei, do you know something about the Negaverse? I hardly know who those people are," Lita said, partly in an attempt to change the subject, partly in curiosity. "I don't know much more than you, but I read from the fire that they were an evil people who should be watched carefully. I felt a sense of foreboding about the whole issue, but I couldn't read any farther than that," Rei replied. "But who are they? How can they possibly be a threat to us? Isn't the Moon Kingdom too powerful to be reckoned with?" Mina asked worriedly. "I was in the library a couple of days ago and I heard some of the servants talking about it," Ami confessed shyly, "and they were saying that the people of the Negaverse-I actually am not sure if they're even human-use black magic and obtain their power from the forces of evil. According to the servants, the Negaverse isn't too powerful yet, but they are gaining in both strength and numbers." Jana furrowed her brows. "That's sounds like something we should be worried about." "It is," Serena confirmed. "I've heard Mother speak of it and I've never seen her so distressed before. She won't let the public see that, though, so please don't tell anyone about this matter just yet." "Oh, we won't," Charma answered for all the princesses. "Naturally." "But back to what Serena was saying before, I agree that we should be able to take a trip to Earth," Mina announced. "Thank you, Mina! And thanks for getting us back on topic!" Serena grinned. "And since Mother is concentrating on the Negaverse right now like you said, Rei, I think that we should spare her the anxiety and just go without telling her! I'm sure she won't be angry, and I'm even more sure that her rule that we can't travel to Earth expired long ago." "Serena..." Ami said warningly. "We shouldn't do that." "But she's our princess, the Princess of the entire Moon Kingdom, so we must obey her," Mina returned slyly. "You know, I think Serena has a pretty good idea," Charma began slowly. "I mean, think of all the places we've been since we got here. The Royal Moon palace, the Moon gardens, town (but not without a chaperone, of course), the Royal Moon palace... Guys, we haven't been anywhere! We can learn only so much by living through books but we can't reach our full potential intelligence without being exposed to other places and other cultures-not even you, Ami. We need to expand our horizons!" she finished dramatically. Serena and Mina jumped out of their seats and applauded Charma as she bowed low in an exaggerated curtsey. Finally, Serena dropped down to her knees at Ami's feet. "Please?" she implored Ami, as she seemed to be the chief opposer to the mission to Earth. Ami thought for a minute and then sighed. "Fine. It's okay with me if we go." "Great! And are you guys okay with this?" Serena addressed the other girls. As they nodded their assent, Serena spun around with glee. "This is wonderful! We will have an unforgettable time. Okay. I've thought about this in depth before I brought the subject up here tonight, and I've realized that there is no way we can go to Earth in our regular forms, because then we'd be recognized and, hence, in majorly deep trouble. So, we must disguise ourselves with-" she paused as she produced a pen not unlike her transformation pen with a flourish, "- this. My disguise pen! I received it awhile ago, if some of you don't remember, but I've never had an opportunity to use it until now. After a careful discussion with Luna about its abilities, I have discovered that if we all pool our powers, we all can be disguised! Now, the question of what we're going to disguise ourselves as remains." Lita smiled in growing excitement. "Wow, Serena, you really thought about this." "She probably did when she was supposed to be studying," Rei remarked sarcastically. "I think we should dress as beautiful Earth princesses," Mina cut in quickly, before a fight could start. "No," Ami said. "That would put us in a place to be recognized, and we do not want to be the center of attention on this trip. The more inconspicuous we look, the better." "Besides, I'm tired of being a princess," Charma agreed. "Let's do something different." "But what else could we be?" Jana questioned. "We need to be like everyone else. Normal," Rei put in. "Gypsies!" Anya exclaimed. "Hey, that's a great idea! I love how they dress!" Jana said happily. "And that would be a perfect cover! We can blend in with the rest of the people while we explore," Lita explained. "Wonderful. Then it's settled. We'll be peasants," Serena concluded with a grin. "We'll have to act quickly, though. Mother is going to Saturn with some of her advisors tonight, and she's bringing Hunter along. I already convinced Luna and Artemis to take a trip to the Asteroid Belt-they left just a little while ago-and since everyone will be gone tonight, tonight is the best time to do it!" "Won't anyone wonder why we're not around?" Rei asked dryly. "I've already taken care of that. I've managed to convince Mother to let us go to Jupiter to stay with Lita's parents, and I've talked to James, Lita's brother, and he can cover for us for as long as we need him to. And, everyone thinks that Luna and Artemis dropped us off at Jupiter on their way to the Asteroid Belt," Serena answered confidently. "We're pretending to stay at Jupiter?" Lita screeched. "Wait a second here," Jana intervened. "First of all, how would we possibly be allowed to visit Jupiter and not Earth?" "We can visit Jupiter because Lita's parents are King and Queen! The planet Jupiter is one of our most loyal allies, along with Mars, Mercury, Callisto, Europa, and Venus, so Mother wouldn't be concerned about our safety if we stayed there. I picked Jupiter," Serena continued before anyone could interrupt, "not only because Lita's parents are very easy going and therefore wouldn't mind us travelling around Jupiter by ourselves, but also because James can and will tell your parents that he's seen to our arrival and that we went off in search of adventure in Jupiter's woods-or something. You know your parents wouldn't mind us going off camping by ourselves for as long as a couple of months, Lita, and we could also call them once in awhile just in case they do get worried." "I'm gonna get in so much trouble if we get caught," Lita moaned. "We won't get caught," Serena assured her. "It's a fool proof plan." "And just how were you planning on getting us to Earth?" Ami queried skeptically, while waiting for the answer with interest, since Serena seemed to have thought of everything. "Teleportation, of course," Serena returned smoothly. "What?" Ami asked incredulously. "We don't have nearly enough power-or knowledge-to do that by ourselves yet!" "But we do. Do you realize how far we've progressed in the past few years? We're more powerful and capable than Hunter, Luna, and Artemis ever predicted, especially with the addition of Sailor Flower," Serena said with a smile directed at Anya. "I heard them say so themselves. We have to try!" "I think we should do it," Lita said with determination. "Aren't any of you thinking how amazing it would be if we could actually pull this off?" The girls all smiled at each other, each proud of her strength and all wanting to prove themselves through this mission to Earth. "Alright then," Serena closed the discussion solemnly. "I hereby officially recognize Operation Storm Earth, to be launched at 12 midnight tonight. Let's all get some sleep until then, so we can store up at least a little energy." "Psst!" Jana hissed. "Everyone, wake up! It's midnight!" Groans were heard from the beds as each princess slowly roused herself out of deep sleep. "Jeez, if it weren't for me, we would've slept through the entire thing!" Jana muttered self-righteously, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Okay guys," Serena whispered after the girls had all returned to consciousness. The princesses all held hands in a circle around Serena, who was holding the disguise pen. "Disguise Power!" Serena said strongly, but softly. "Turn us into peasants of the planet Earth!" Glittering light floated on, and, it seemed, through, each princess. The girls closed their eyes to brace themselves for the impact. What they felt, though, was refreshing positive energy flowing through their veins. When the glittering stopped and the sensation ceased, the girls opened their eyes and stared at shock at their transformed friends around them. Lita was the first to speak. "My god! You guys should see yourselves! If I didn't know you as well as I do, I'd never have recognized you!" "You should see yourself," Mina responded with a giggle. "Who'd've thought I'd live to see the day when Lita turned blonde!" The now hazel-eyed Lita clutched at the short blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. "Me? Blonde? No way!" "Way," Charma said, her voice muffled, as she was rifling through her dresser drawer. She produced a hand-held mirror. "Here, pass this around, and prepare to be shocked out of your minds!" The first ones to get the mirror were Charma and Ami. Charma's usually straight, violet, shoulder length hair was now long, auburn, and curly. The hair fell all the way down to her hips, and her purple eyes were now dark blue. She, when she first saw herself, couldn't say anything, but gradually started to smile. Soon, she was grinning from ear to ear, and she said, "I always wanted curly hair!" Ami didn't even need a mirror to know that her blue, cropped hair was no longer blue and cropped. Her head felt so heavy that it was thrown back, exposing her neck. She took the mirror from Charma, and when she saw it, she gasped. Her mahogany brown hair fell in a thick braid down her back, and her intense blue eyes were now dark brown. She felt so odd when she looked in the mirror. Mina was next to receive the mirror, and she shook her head, not knowing what to do now that her long, heavy golden blond hair was gone. She glimpsed in the mirror a girl with chin length dark brown hair and light green eyes. She looked at the reflection even closer, and couldn't find a trace of her old self. "I don't know if I like myself like this..." Mina said, her voice trailing off. "Oh, it'll be okay," Rei said, taking the mirror from her. All of a sudden, Rei screamed. Thank goodness it wasn't too loud, but it was still a scream. "Omigod! My hair is blond! And it's so short! And I have gray eyes! This can't be me!" she wailed. "I liked my own hair and my own eyes better!" "Listen, Rei. I'm blond too, so get over it," Lita said, none too compassionately. She took the mirror, and fluffed her shoulder length blond hair. Her hazel eyes smiled, and she said, "I like this a lot. Now we know what we would look like with different color hair without having to dye it." "You know, I never thought of it that way," Jana said, impatiently waiting for Lita to finish with the mirror. Jana had always prided herself on being the most unusual of the bunch, with her light blue chin length hair, and her big, yellow cat's eyes. So when she saw her reflection, she almost started to cry. "I look like everyone else," she whimpered. Her hair was long and light brown, with gold highlights. Her big eyes were now greenish-hazel, instead of yellow. "Well, let me see!" Anya pleaded. She was anxious to see what her face would look like now that almost everyone else saw how they looked like Earth peasants. She looked into the mirror with a bit of apprehension, but when she saw, she sighed in relief. "I always wanted black hair and gray eyes," she said. Her eyes were dark gray; darker than Rei's light eyes. "Hey, Serena didn't get to look," Lita said. "Oh, I'm so sorry," Anya apologized. "I feel like such a self- centered pig!" "Hey, don't worry. I'm not so sure that I want to see, anyway," Serena muttered. It was a little world-shaking to see her closest friends look so different from normal. "Well, you have no choice. It would probably be a good idea to know what you look like before you go visiting a foreign country," Ami replied. "I know," Serena murmured, taking the mirror from Anya's outstretched hand. She looked in it, and exhaled. Her formerly blue eyes were wide and dark green, like emeralds. Her thick hair no longer fell to her ankles in a sea of gold, but fell to her hips in a wave of shining, black velvet. "It doesn't even feel like it's me looking into the mirror," she whispered, perhaps a little fearfully. Mina put an arm around her, and said soothingly, "Serena, if you don't want anyone to know who you are, this is the best way." "I know, I know..." "The kicker is these clothes! They're awesome!" Lita exclaimed, in attempt to lighten the mood. She twirled around in her colorful skirts and played with the sheer scarf that covered her hair. Pulling up her layered skirts, she discovered with delight equally kaleidoscopic stockings and comfortable footwear. "You know I don't usually like skirts and dresses, but these I can definitely deal with." "You're right," Rei admitted. "And I shouldn't have made such a fuss before either. This is actually kind of fun. It's like being a new person." "And, amazingly enough, we still look gorgeous!" Jana joked with a grin. "And that's no joke," Charma retorted while pretending to preen in front of the mirror. "Hey everyone, let's go into Serena's room," Anya suggested, and she ran there and had everyone stand in front of the larger mirror. "Okay, strike a pose," she commanded, dramatically posing in front of the mirror. Laughing, the other girls followed suit. "Good-bye prissy Moon princesses, hello wondrous Earth gypsies!" Anya crowed. "I do look rather seductive, don't I?" Ami purred with a twinkle in her eyes. "Ami!" Mina reprimanded with a giggle. "I think it was dancing with an actual boy at the ball last year that pushed her over the edge," Charma quipped. "Hey, shouldn't we be getting over to Earth soon?" Jana asked, bringing everyone back on task. "Right. Okay everyone, are you ready?" Serena asked, looking each princess in the eye. "You know what to do." The girls held hands in a circle and closed their eyes against fear and worry. "MARS POWER!" "MERCURY POWER!" "JUPITER POWER!" "VENUS POWER!" "EUROPA POWER!" "CALLISTO POWER!" "FLOWER POWER!" "MOON PRISM POWER!" And, all together, "TELEPORT!" Not a heartbeat passed before the girls disappeared from sight. To be continued...