Edited 7/2/13

In the two years since I started this story, my writing has drastically changed. Like… a lot. To the point that I can't believe I actually wrote some of this stuff.

So, here I am to edit! *grins*

The palace of Sparx was peaceful. Servants were cleaning the palace until it shone like the sun of Solaria. Well…not literally. Everyone would go blind then.

Noble men and women milled around the palace, all with the serious intent of talking with the King and Queen of the planet; they exchanged glares all around, daring for anyone else to challenge them.

Yup. Peaceful.

"RUBIN! GIVE IT BACK TO ME!"

A young boy with orange hair burst into the throne room, laughing. His skin was a pale peach color, with sky blue eyes. He was slightly scrawny, but that would be fixed in a few short months.

Several moments later, a girl, almost an exact copy of him, also burst into the room, her eyes practically spewing fire. She was chasing after the boy, Rubin, with obvious murderous intent.

"I say," a noble woman muttered to her husband. "Are those the children?"

"What's the matter, Ruby?" Rubin taunted. "Too slow, sister dear?" He gave a mocking laugh.

Grinding her teeth together, Ruby narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll kill you!" she seethed angrily. Pressing her hands together, she concentrated, and soon enough, a small ball of fire appeared in her hands. Grinning, she lifted her hand, as though preparing to throw a baseball.

Her brother's grin faded, replacing with slight fear. He gave a nervous laugh. "Calm down, Ruby. I was only kidding. I'll give it back to you…just don't fire at me!"

"Too little, too late!" she snapped. She threw the fire ball at her panicking brother, who was scrambling away. This was not unlike their usual arguments; in fact, some people were used to it, while others…

"The child is attacking her brother!" the same noble woman from before screamed. It was obvious she had never been to the palace before.

Ruby ignored the woman, sending fireballs after her brother. Finally, he fell down, and he looked up, seeing a fireball go flying directly towards him…and just when his burns from the last argument had finally healed…he shut his eyes, bracing for impact.

The pain of being hit with a ball of fire never came. Rubin opened his eyes slightly. He was greeted with the sight of an older woman dressed in a simple blue gown, orange hair braided up. In her gloved hand was the fireball that had been aimed at him. The older woman turned to look at him, her face set in a scowl. He ducked his head, smiling sheepishly.

"Mom," Ruby said, surprised.

The woman squeezed the fireball, and it extinguished in her hand. "Ruby, Rubin," she said sternly. "What did I say about fighting?"

"Only on the training grounds," the two siblings muttered.

The woman gave a firm nod. "Exactly," she said, satisfied. "I should probably keep you two here as punishment…"

"No!" the two cried.

"I've been waiting for this for years!" Ruby cried desperately. "You can't take it away now!"

"Me too!" Rubin added. "Only I have something to look forward to! Red Fountain is the only way to go!"

"Please! My school is full of girls that can kick your butt easily!"

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah, I do, actually!"

"You two!" the woman said coldly. The twins froze and turned to look at the woman.

"Sorry, Mother," they mumbled, sending glares at each other.

The Queen of Sparx rubbed her temples. "Honestly, I'm getting too old for this." She turned towards the crowd of amused and horrified noble men and women. "My husbuand is willing to speak with you all in the throne room. Jackson," she turned towards a butler, "would you be so kind as to escourt these lovely people into the throne room?"

He bowed deeply. "Of course, Queen Bloom."

Once the crowd was gone, Bloom turned to her two children, glaring at them with full force. "How many times do I have to tell you two to stop fighting in front of the guests?! Do you remember what happened last time?"

Ruby ducked her head. "We almost set the Duke of Eraklyon on fire," she mumbled. "But I didn't nearly behead his wife!"

"It's not my fault she looked like you!" Rubin complained.

"She's one hundred and twenty!"

"What's the difference?"

Ruby gritted her teeth. "You little...!"

Bloom held up her hand. "Rubin, what did you do?"

"Why is it always me that gets the blame?" Rubin whined to his mother.

"Because no one makes Ruby mad like you do," was his mother's responce. Rubin smirked with pride, but it instantly disappeared when his mother gave him an angry glare. "Now, what did you do?"

"He took it!" Ruby said instantly. "He took it!"

Bloom raised an eyebrow. "Really? Rubin, that was your sister's birthday present! Her good-luck charm! Give it back to her!"

"It was just a joke!" Rubin insisted. "Besides, I wasn't gonna do anything! Just get her blood a little pumped before we leave, you know?"

"Rubin." There was a warning in her tone, one that promised punishment. And, being one of the most powerpuff fairies in the Magix Dimension, it never failed to scare her children. Quickly, Rubin reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver locket, placing it in his sister's outstretched palm.

"Thank you, Rubin," Ruby said smugly, clutching the locket tightly and slipped it over her head, where it rested on her neck.

"Whatever," he growled.

Bloom shook her head. "And look at you two! You don't even have your bags!"

With a wave of her hand, there were four bags, two of them red, two of them blue. Rubin grabbed the blue while Ruby snatched the red.

Their mother smiled. "Have fun, you two!" With another wave of her hand, the two vanished, leaving the woman alone.

Bloom let out a sigh. "Maybe some peace and quiet will help my headache..."

"Turn that music down, Melody, or I'll come in there and smash that radio!"

A young girl stopped dancing around her room, scowling at the door. "Whatever, Dad!" she snapped. "Ruin my fun, why don't you?" Blowing one side of her bangs out of her face, she jumped down and turned down the dial on her radio, glaring at the door. Her dad had been cranky all afternoon. What was with him?

She looked over at her purple colored bags, a huge grin spreading on her face when she realized where she was going...again.

Oh, yeah, this was going to be great.

Racing over to her beds, she ransacked her empty closet, checking to see if she had left anything behind. There was no way she was leaving without anything she might have missed!

"Melody!" a female voice called. "Are you coming?"

Combing out both sides of her side bangs, Melody checked herself in the mirror, adjusting her magenta shirt. She had to look nice for today! "I'll be right there, Mom! No need to worry!"

The door opened, and an older woman's head popped in. "Oh, there you are. Stop grooming yourself, or searching your room! You have everything you need for this year. I wish you wouldn't make such a fuss about it."

"I can't help it! The feeling about being trained to kick evil butt is awesome! I get to do so many things, learn things to do with my powers I've never learned! I can do things that most others won't be able to do. Well, obviously they will, 'cause it's a..." her voice trailed off as she noticed her mother's amused expression. "Sorry."

"No, no, don't worry about it. I remember my first day, too. Seemed like it only happened yesterday..." her mother said wistfully.

Melody giggled. "You mean your first year when Dad had a crush on that witch? And you kicked her butt later? That's kinda like doing, 'Hi-ya, this is for trying to take my husband away from me! Go to the Omega diemension where you belong!'"

The woman, Musa, snorted. "Not quite like that...but yes, maybe I was the teeniest bit jealous...not too much, though. He was a real grump back then."

"I heard that!" her husband yelled. Melody burst into laughter.

"Hush, Riven!" Musa snapped back. "Your daughter is about to go to Alfea! Be happy for her!"

There was a low grumble from the other room.

"My little baby is growing up! Oh, I'm so proud of you!"

"Don't meet any boys!"

Melody stuck out her tongue at the door. "Oh, c'mon, Dad, I'm only interested in the magic! Who cares about some guys? I'll worry about that my second year!"

There was a dead silence in the other room.

"Maybe we should send you off," Musa chuckled. "I don't think your dad can take it. Let's go, quickly! Do you have your mat?"

"Ready in my room, ma'am!" Melody joked, giving her mother a mock salute. Musa nodded with satisfaction.

"And?"

Melody blinked, looking confused for a moment. "Oh, right!" she exclaimed a few moments later, relization dawning on her face. She dug into her shirt and pulled out a silver locket, pressing a side button, revealing a picture of her mother from several years ago. "Thanks for giving me a picture of you," she joked. "Now I'll never forget your face."

Musa ruffled her daughter's hair affectionately. "Don't get sarcastic with me. It's a good luck charm. You never know when you're gonna have an adventure."

Melody gave her mother a small smile. "Yeah. An adventure," she said wistfully. The tales she had grown up with, the tales of her mother fighting the forces of evil with her friends...there was no way she could live up to such a legacy.

"Is it safe to come out yet?" a servant whispered fearfully.

"No, not yet," another whispered. "They haven't come to this section of the palace yet. Honestly, I've never seen the young princess so angry! It's frightening! More than usual, even!"

Just then, loud footsteps echoed throughout the room. It sounded heavy and foreboding. The two servants cowered behind the pillar in which they were hiding in.

"Where are you, you annoying twits?" a gruff female voice growled.

The servants froze in place, not daring to breath. They held still for several moments, waiting for something, anything to happen...

"Found you!" There was a low muttering in a strange language, and then a sudden BOOM! Shrieking, the two servants scurried away and out of the room. Their appearence didn't faze the girl, a curly-brown haired sixteen year-old with an angry scowl on her face. She stared up at two boys, slightly younger than her, grinning from ear to ear.

"C'mon, it's just a little trinket," one of them teased, a boy of fourteen with dark hair. In his hand swung a little chain. "'Sides, I thought you didn't like this kinda stuff. Isn't it for sissies?"

"Our sis is going soft on us!" the other mocked, a twelve year-old with sandy-colored hair. He sat Indian style in mid-air, arm resting on his knee. "How sweet. What's next, a dress?"

"Maybe we should get the royal tailor to replace all her clothes with high-heels!" the first one added

"Get rid of all her favorite combat boots."

"Send in the girliest girl we know to do our big sis's shopping for her."

The girl was growing angrier and angrier by the moment. "You little brats!" she hissed. "Ryan..." she glared at the fourteen year-old. "I swear, if you don't give it back to me right now...!"

"You'll what, girly girl? Shop me to death?" the boy, Ryan, laughed.

There was another muttering, and an explosion occured right next to the boy's head. Startled, Ryan lost concentration and fell onto the marble floor, groaning as his back made contact with the ground.

The girl muttered a low curse under her breath. It was supposed to happen in front of him, not next to his head!

Her magic would be fixed, though...she would learn how to control it.

"I'm warning you, Ryan, Jake," she said, sending a glance at the youngest of the three, Jake. His grin had frozen in place. "If you don't give it back to me...well, I've been practicing."

"Too bad your magic is still unstable," Ryan mocked. "You never had a proper hold of it, Angie!"

"That's 'cause I'm more powerful than you are!" Angie shot back, blowing a strand of her hair out of her face. "And by the time I'm done with the school year, I'll be able to do things that most wizards can't!" She gave them a triumphet sneer. "Maybe I'll even have the power to turn you brats into ugly toads! Not that it would make much of a difference..."

Ryan snorted. "You're not going to Cloud Tower, Angie. Mom would have your hide! Your going to Alfea."

"School for fairies," Jake added, his tone somewhat mocking.

"Oh, did you happen to forget about your mother? You know, the one who's a fairy, and has helped protect all of the Magix dimension more than once?" a new voice asked. The three froze in place, turning around slowly to see an older woman with her arms crossed, a playful grin on her face.

"Sorry, Mom," the boys muttered. Jake floated down to the ground and stood next to his brother, looking at the floor solemnly. Angie took the chance to step forward and snatch the object clutched in her brother's hand. He didn't even try to grab it back.

"What are you two devils doing, keeping your sister here? She'll be late at this rate. And we wouldn't want that, now, would we?" Her tone was challenging. Shaking their heads, the boys quickly scurried away, not glancing at their older sister.

"Hmmph! Little brats!" Angie muttered. "I oughta..."

"You aren't touching them, magic-wise or physically," her mother inturrupted. "Understand?"

"But..."

"Angie."

The girl frowned and crossed her arms. "Fine. Whatever. I won't hurt the brats. But still, they deserve it!"

The woman sighed. "The pains of sibling rivalry. I'm glad I'm an only child." Taking a deep breath, her mother smiled. "Come on, you need to go now. You can't be late on your arrival day."

Angie sent a longing look where her brother's exited, clearly wanting to send some kind of energy beam at them or something. "Okay."

"It won't be bad, Angie," her mom whispered. "I promise."

The girl gave a small smile. "I know, Mom." With one movement, she slipped the object she had taken back from her brother around her neck. "I know."

"Mmm, summer dress or the summer set? The dress is more casual, for sure, but..."

Twirling her brown hair, the girl stared at her nearly empty closet with questioning amber eyes, tapping her foot against the ground. "Oh, I just can't decide!"

There was a low chuckle outside the door, so faint that if she hadn't beeen listening closely, she would have missed it. Then there was the sound of light footsteps, until they finally disappeared. Once she was positive that the person behind her door was gone, she bolted away from the closet and jumped onto her bed, jumping up and down while squealing like a child on Christmas day.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! It's happening! It's finally happening!" she squealed. "I know my powers, I know I'm a fairy, I know I'm going to the most awsomest school in all of Magix, and...and..." She let out another squeal.

Just then, the door burst open, revealing a man grinning triumphetly. "Caught you!" he exclaimed.

"Dad," she complained, quickly jumping off the bed and straightening her clothes. "I told you to knock!"

"I knew you weren't over your excitement," her father continued. "You told us you were a mature young woman, ready to go off, but this...this proves it all wrong. Maybe you shouldn't..."

The girl held up a hand, her mouth forming a hard line. "Don't finish that sentance, Dad. Please, do not finish that sentance. I've been waiting for this my whole life. There is no way I'm going to let you ruin it just because you think I'm not mature enough to go."

"Starr," he sighed. "I know I can't stop you. You'll probably sneak out somehow and knock out most of the guards that I have on duty watching you."

The girl, Starr, giggled, twirling her hair while blinking at her dad innocently. "Now, where did you get that idea?"

Her dad rolled her eyes. "Starr, this isn't the time to be innocent, and..." He glanced around the room. "It's oddly empty in here."

"Well, I am going to be living in a dorm, right? I need to pack everything."

"Everything. Right. And how are you going to carry at least thirty bags?"

Starr stuck out her tongue. "Mean! I narrowed it down to five bags, thank you very much." She smirked triumphetly. "See? Mature."

"Oh, five bags. What a difference." He rolled his eyes.

"Brandon! Leave your daughter to finish packing!" a woman's voice called.

"She should be done by now! She has five bags!"

A blonde-haired woman poked her head in, laughing lightly. "Only five, Starr? Please, I had more bags for a one-week vacation alone! Those clothes won't last a month!"

Brandon looked utterly confused. "Stella, I never understood the desire to pack more clothes than you need. I..."

"Don't bother, Brandon." She tugged on his arm. "Let's go." She gave Starr a smile. "Our little girl's going to Alfea. With her little good luck charm."

The young girl rubbed the locket around her neck, smiling softly. Once they left, Starr stood there for a few moments, before resuming to jump up and bounce on the bed, the locket jumping up and down with her.

A few moments later, Stella's head reappeared, grinning from ear to ear. "Done packing, honey?"

"Mom!"

"Come on...I know I can do this."

Cupping her hands, a sandy-haired girl focused her attention on the pile of dirt. Her arms trembled with effort, and her eyes were tired from hours of practicing. The dirt let out a strange kind of glow, before a small green sprout popped up. She didn't dare lose her concentration, instead, focusing harder.

A small flower bloomed on the growing sprout. She allowed herself a small grin, but it instantly faded when the planet whithered and died.

"Dang it," she murmured. She couldn't even get a simple growing spell down! She stood, a sigh escaping her lips. Here she was, the daughter of a very famous nature fairy, and she couldn't even manage a simple spell! What was wrong with her?

Everything, she wanted to mutter to herself.

"Rose," a soft voice called. "Are you ready?"

Letting out another sigh, Rose stood up and dropped the pile of dirt onto the ground gently. She didn't have time. "I'm coming, Mother," she called back, voice just as soft. Disappointment sagged down the excitement in her; she wasn't the type to get frustrated.

An older woman stepped into the garden. No one would have guessed that they were mother and daughter; she had the same colored hair as her mother, but it was shorter and straighter. Her skin was paler, and her eyes a grayish-blue instead of green.

Maybe it's a good thing, she thought sadly. If anyone found out my mother was Flora, and I couldn't even do a simple growing spell...I would be a disgrace to my mother.

"Still working on that spell?" Flora asked gently.

"I can't get it," she muttered. "I can't believe I can't get it! I've been trying to hard! And...and...I'm leaving for Alfea...and...and...I can't do the spell and it's frustrating!"

Flora put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "It's okay. It's like your dad has sad...maybe nature magic isn't what you're meant to do."

Rose winced, hearing the ill-disguised disappointment in her mother's voice. A daughter of a fairy of nature not being able to do nature magic? They'd be a laughingstock! She would never do that to her mother. Sadness clawed through her, and she swallowed thickly.

"I'll be able to do it, Mom," she promised. "By the time I get back from Alfea, I'm sure I'll be able to get the basics down."

She felt as if she were lying. Practically everything she touched died, and all of her mother's talking plants hated her. They refused to talk to her, and when they did, Flora wondered where they even learned that kind of language.

"I know you'll do great," her mother said, giving her daughter a hug. "And I wish you the best of luck."

Rose tugged on the silver locket on her neck, a birthday gift from her mother on her sixteenth birthday. Her personal good-luck charm, and her reassurance from her mother that she wasn't a total failure.

It made her feel like she was worth something.

"Thanks, Mom," she murmured, smiling faintly.

Tap tap tap.

The sound of her typing on her laptop was soothing, and helped her keep a level head. Brushing her shaggy pink hair out of her face, she kept her eyes trained on the computer, readjusting her glasses as they threatened to fall. She could've put in her contacts, but she wouldn't do that until she reached Alfea.

"Tessa."

Glancing up slightly, Tessa frowned at the door, until she realized who the person was. "Dad," she said, confused. "I thought you were getting the portal from the basement."

"I did. It's set up in the living room. Your mom is waiting."

Tugging on the silver chain of the locket, she smiled down at it. It was a good luck charm. It was ridiculous, but it was a nice gesture from her mom. Somehow, it helped calm her nerves.

"Thanks, Dad. I'll be there in a bit." She returned her full attention to the computer.

Tap tap tap.

"Tessa...are you going to pack it up?"

"I will in a bit. I have time, right? I'll just be another few minutes, then I'll head out." She gave her dad a wan smile.

There was a pause. Tessa noted, as she continued to type, that her father had not yet left the room. She looked up, one eyebrow raised. "Did you need something else, or are you just going to stare at me?"

Most people would be thrown off by her bluntness, but as her father, he was used to it. He took off his glasses and cleaned them with his shirt, chuckling quietly. "Just being amazed how fast the years went by. Going to Alfea, meeting new people...I'm really proud of you, Tess."

She smiled softly, powering down her computer and standing up. "Thanks, Dad," she said quietl, taking her computer in her arms and going to give her dad a peck on the cheek. "I appreciate it." She started to walk out the door.

"And Tessa?"

She stopped, looking over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Good luck."

She gave him a grin, tugging on the chain of her silver locket. "I don't believe in luck."

Of all the lies to tell her...of all the secrets that any family could keep from their kid...why hide something like this? Dropping a bomb like this on someone should be against the law!

Flipping a strand of dark brown hair over her shoulder, the young sixteen-year old girl glowered at the pink building, her mood sour. "I can't believe you did this to me."

The woman sighed, and rubbed her scalp, brushing her pink hair out of her face. She had always found that weird; her mother said that her hair was natural, but she always spied the blonde tips at the end of her hair. Her mother's hair always baffled her, and gave her something to think about. Her anger was momentarily replaced by confusion. The scowl quickly returned, however; not even her mother's mysterious hair would take her mind off of this.

"I thought you got over this," the pink-haired woman sighed. "Honestly, Lily, I told you on your sixteenth birthday."

"Which was one month ago! 'Hey, Lily, you're actually a fairy with undeveloped powers, so I'm going to ship you off to some school in another dimension!'" She glared at her mom, seething with rage.

"And this makes you mad?"

"I don't know anything about this place! To them, I'm probably just some stupid girl who doesn't know how to control her powers."

"That's not true."

She gave her mother a hard stare. "Mom. I didn't even know I had any powers until last month. What makes you think I can bring any up now, after sixteen years of being a life without even a lick of magic?" She let out a sarcastic laugh. "

Hurt flashed across her mother's face. "It would have come too much of a shock for you. I had to wait until you were older, ready."

"So you do it one month before?!"

Her mother winced. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. But don't you think that you're overreacting just a little bit? I mean...really, I know I shouldn't have kept this from you until the last minute, but still, kinda over the top, right?"

Lily's shoulders sagged slightly. "You're right," she moaned. "I...I shouldn't be overreacting." She took another look at the pink building, this time in awe.

"Besides, I'll be right here, in your little good-luck charm," her mother whispered. "Go on, go through the gates. I hope you have a wonderful time."

Lily took a few steps forward. "Mom, how am I going to...?" Her voice trailed off as she turned around, realizing that her mother was gone. Probably back at Earth, leaving her daughter in another dimension, ready to start becoming a fairy.