DISCLAIMER: Blah, blah, blah, you know the drill...I own nothing but my plot, Carmen Geum, Basil Kobalde, and the All-Seeing-Eye, and, drum-roll please... Eazy Grow!!! Yes I own it!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! *Readers wonder nervously why the hell she is getting so excited about this crap hair product that she just made up* ahahaha!! Little do you know! *Smiles mysteriously and evilly*

TO MY REVIEWERS: Thank you sooooooooo much to Carlie, Kitsune-chan, avalon, cacter, Mei Leng, Da-xia Nariko, Hermione Weasley and foaly, I love you all!!!!!

Anyway, just to clear the subject raised in the review by Hermione Weasley...the All-Seeing-Eye is not Arty, I'm afraid. Arty can be just slightly nice at times, but this one ain't. He's 'orrible. As far as I know, Artemis isn't gonna come into this story - it's a fairy thing really.

*Artemis leans over slime's shoulder to read what she's written*

Artemis: WHAT!!! And why, may I ask, am I not in the story?

slime: *sticks tongue out at Arty and pinches him on the nose* 'cos your not a fairy, genius. Now buzz off and go terrorise someone else!!!! Kitty and I know what you've been up to!! *glares at Arty and fingers her hair cautiously to make sure it's not being evil*

Artemis: *winces* you know about that...darn! That was my secret plan to take over the world, hair, by tree, by pasta!!! (A/N: alright, ok, that's a little joke that only Kitty Rainbow and I will understand...we think Arty has control over the hair, the trees, pasta and AOL - they are all evil!!)

A/N: Carmen's surname, 'Geum' is a garden plant that has papery red/pinky petals. She's an elf, so she has to have a plant in her name, you see. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone cares. Can we get on with the story already?

*****

POLICE PLAZA:

Foaly was fiddling with some gadget or other, when he saw a familiar figure walk past the open door of the operations booth. Seeing who it was, he called out to her.

"Hey, Holly? What are you doing in so early? Doesn't your shift start in an hour and a half?"

Holly stopped walking, and stepped into the room.

"Morning Nosy. I decided to work an earlier shift so that I'd have plenty of time to get ready for tonight. If I'd worked my regular time slot, I'd barely have an hour and a half to do everything. This way I get six."

Foaly raised an eyebrow. "You need that long to get ready? I mean, I know you're female and all, but I didn't think it took that long! Where are you going to get a dress anyway? It's not like you'd have anything suitable."

Holly pretended to be offended by this remark. "Oh?" she asked, 'surprised'. "And what makes you think that I don't have just as many dresses as any other girl? How do you know that I don't have a secret store of glittery jewellery, makeup, and all things girlie?"

Foaly snorted. "Whatever. So, where are you gonna find a dress?"

Holly smirked. "I asked Carmen if I could borrow one of hers. She said yes, and offered to do my hair and makeup as well, as I am supposedly, and I quote, 'Completely incapable of telling mascara from eye-shadow'! Honestly! I have no idea where she got that from."

Foaly hid a smile under his hairy hand. "Sure, whatever. I'll see you tonight. Oh, and send Carmen my love. It's been years since I saw her...really must arrange something sometime..." He trailed off, and Holly, seeing what time it was, headed for the door.

"Later, centaur. Can't wait to see you in an evening suit!" She winked at him, before heading to the East Bank of Haven, where Carmen lived.

*****

OUTSIDE THE HOUSE OF CARMEN GEUM:

Holly stood on Carmen's doorstep, and knocked on her door, trying to remember the last time they'd seen each other. Too long ago, that was for sure. It was just that they'd both been so busy lately, what with Carmen having to run her salon all on her own, and Holly always having something to do for the LEP, and they had just never gotten round to it. Maybe this ball business had advantages after all... Holly quickly stopped thinking along that track - if she kept going the way she was, she might start to actually see this thing in a good light - and that was definitely something she didn't want to do, though why that was, she couldn't quite fathom.

The door was opened by a dark-haired elf, with dark brown eyes, and a decidedly Latino look about her. Her mother had been from somewhere underneath Spain, and her father from somewhere underneath Latin America, so she had inherited the dark hair and eyes from them. Her clothes also reflected this - she was wearing a striped wraparound skirt with a simple, red, non-sleeved top. Her black hair flowed down her back, and she had pinned a fabric flower into it - Carmen liked her fabric flowers. She was quite pretty, and almost exactly the same age as Holly. They had gone to school together, and had been best friends for a very long time. Too long, as Carmen sometimes pointed out. They had been through a lot together, though not all of it had been fun. But they had both been trying very hard over the years to forget that, and now they no longer concerned themselves with the past. It was all over, end of story. There was no need to feel that pain again.

Holly and Carmen grinned at each other for a moment, before hugging each other. It really had been far too long. Holly followed Carmen inside, shutting the door behind them.

"Do you want a drink, Holl?" asked Carmen as they sat down in her bedroom, where they had sat so many times before. "I've got water, nettle smoothies – I know you like them – fruit juice – "

Holly shook her head, smiling. "I'm fine, thanks. So, how is the salon going? Last time you told me, everything was just starting to kick off. Is everything going well? You haven't suddenly gone bust in the last month have you?"

Carmen laughed. "Nah, I'm still in business, and everything is going really well! We're getting loads of customers, and I'm hoping that soon, we should get a bit of financial security. Then we won't have to keep getting loans all the time, which will be nice. I'm really sick of having to suck up to accountant-type people all the time to try and convince them to give me enough money to stay afloat. It will be really great to become independent at last." A dreamy look came over her face, and she said in a wistful tone, "Oh, the joys of not having to be nice to stuck-up know-it-alls who think that you are below them, and not having to eat baked beans on toast every single day, just to save money. I swear Holly; I will kill myself if I ever see one more baked bean! They're evil! Honestly! But anyway, how's everything going with you at the LEP? Is Beetroot still on your case about being female and around?"

Holly grinned. "Not so much anymore. Ever since Fowl kidnapped me, he more-or-less stayed off my back. When we were in the Arctic, he was even slightly nice to me at times." She snorted. "That didn't exactly last very long though. He's back in his 'Anti-Holly-Short' mode...though he's not as bad as he used to be. I'm not quite his favourite person, but at least he 'likes' me a bit more than he used to, if you could call it that. I think he respects me a bit too, even if it is a very little bit." She sighed. "Apart from that, everything's going pretty good. I'm nearly out of the LEP's bad books, so soon I won't have to be on my best behaviour all the time. At least I don't have Chix Verbil to deal with much anymore!"

~

Holly and Carmen talked for over an hour, before they suddenly remembered what Holly had come for.

Carmen looked at her moonometer, and, seeing the time, jumped up from the bed. "D'Arvit! We've only got three hours left!" she exclaimed, pulling Holly to her feet. "There's just so much to do!"

First, Holly tried on some of Carmen's dresses, until they found one that fit, looked good, and that Holly was prepared to wear. She refused to be seen in something short, black, and revealing, or pink and sparkling, or too tight, or too lose and flowing, or...the list just went on and on. When they had finally chosen a dress, Carmen whisked Holly away to the bathroom, where, she was told, Carmen would 'sort out her hair'.

"Oh come on, Car!" protested Holly. "My hair's fine! Root isn't expecting a miracle, you know. I'm sure if we just shove some sparkles in there, it'll look fine!"

Carmen gave her a look. "When I'm done with you, 'Captain', the dear commander will think it is a miracle. Now hold still."

Holly decided not to argue. Carmen would have her way, even if she had to knock her out, do her hair when she was unconscious, and lug her all 10 klicks to the ball. There was no point in resisting.

To start with, Carmen washed Holly's hair, and Holly protested loudly that she could wash her own hair, thank you very much, until Carmen swiped her with a towel, and told her to shut up. Holly growled unintelligible things at her, but did as she was told.

Next, Carmen took out a bottle of 'Eazy Grow' and began to apply it to Holly's short, auburn tresses. Holly glanced suspiciously at the fluorescent green liquid, wondering what evil chemicals Carmen was exposing her to. Carmen caught the look, and reassured her that it was all natural, and not at all poisonous. That didn't tell Holly what it was going to do to her though, and she was horrified to learn the answer.

"Don't worry Holly! It will just make your hair grow very, very quickly, so that you can have long hair for tonight!" Carmen explained, hoping to put a stop to Holly's tirade of complaints.

This, however, startled Holly even more. "What?" She shrieked, jerking away from Carmen's hold. "You can't be serious! I don't want long hair; it will just get in the way! It's a pain to look after, and I won't have time to cut it, and-"

Carmen put her hand over Holly's mouth so that she wouldn't be interrupted. "Calm down! It only lasts 24 hours, and after that, you can just wash it out! Trust me; it will look really good, and you won't have to do any of the looking after, because I'll do it all. All you have to do is keep still and stop arguing! You can be a right pain sometimes, do you know that?"

Carmen pinched her nose playfully, before getting back to work. After she was done with the Eazy Grow, she wrapped Holly's head in a towel, and took her back to the bedroom, so that she could do her makeup. Holly couldn't help just the smallest protest at this, and Carmen threatened that she would gag her and tie her to a chair soon. Holly then pointed out that she would be unable to do her makeup if she had a sock in her mouth, and earned herself another swipe. Irritating Carmen was fun.

"I'm not going to put much on, Holly, so stop worrying about it! I'm just going to tidy you up a little bit, that's all. I'm not going to give you bright red lips, heavily accented eyes and pink cheeks, you know. Just trust me."

After what felt like forever, Carmen was finally finished. Holly put the dress on, removed the towel from her head, and tried desperately to avoid looking into the mirror. She wasn't ready to see herself yet. Carmen sat her on a chair, and put the finishing touches to her unnaturally long locks.

When Carmen was done, Holly could no longer avoid the inevitable. She moaned half-heartedly, as Carmen steered her to the mirror, took a deep breath, and looked.

She had to admit that it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. The girl in the mirror actually looked very good, but Holly could hardly believe it was herself. No-one will recognise me like this at first, she thought to herself. And when they did, they'd probably have a heart attack from the shock of it.

She was wearing a purple dress that came to a few centimetres above her ankles, with a loose, silky skirt, and a small slit on the either side. The dress had no sleeves, and was held up by thin purple straps. The upper-part of the dress had patterns of leaves and vines embroidered in a mauve thread, with small pale pink and yellow flowers dotted around. It fit Holly snugly at the top, and loosened out slightly at the waist. She was wearing a pair of strap-sandals, with small heals, that she had also borrowed from Carmen.

Her hair, which would now have reached well past her shoulders, was piled on top of her head, and Carmen had fixed one of her trademark fabric flowers into it. This one looked like a purple rhododendron flower, and went well with the colour of her hair, as did the rest of the outfit.

There wasn't much difference in her face, apart from the fact it looked more perfect and unblemished by life's cares than usual. It was the hair and the dress that made her look really different.

Holly stared at herself in amazement. She could hardly believe the transformation. In just two and half-hours, Carmen had changed her into this; this girl. It was the only way she could of think to describe it. The elf in the mirror was not the tomboy she was used to seeing everyday.

Carmen grinned, satisfied with her work. Before Holly realised what she was doing, she snatched her camera from the bed, and took a photo of her in all her glory. She wanted photographic proof that she had succeeded in getting Holly in a dress.

Holly glared at her, recovering from her shock. "What was that for?" she asked suspiciously, unsettled by Carmen's gleeful appearance.

Carmen winked at her. "Oh, come on Holly! You didn't really think I'd let this opportunity to eternally record you in a dress, with makeup, and your hair done slip away, did you? This is a once in-a-life-time experience, and I don't want to forget it!"

Holly sighed. She should have known. However, she didn't have time to stand around chatting all evening, because she had somewhere to be, even if she'd rather she didn't. Holly said goodbye to Carmen, thanked her for helping out, and left the house. Using Haven's public transport system, she headed to the Northeast bank of the underground metropolis, where the event was being held. As she went, she tried not to think about how much she hated these formal occasions. Honestly, she really wasn't any good at these things. But thoughts like that weren't going to get the ball cancelled. It will be fine, she told herself. All you have to do is go in there, talk to people, be nice and polite, then leave at the end, and it will all be over. You can go home and forget about it. Easy!

Unfortunately, the fates had decreed that it wasn't going to happen like that. Or, to be more precise, a certain criminal known only as 'The All-Seeing-Eye' had decreed that it wasn't going to happen like that. And after this was all over, Holly would wish that it had.

*****

Dun, dun, DUUUNNNN!!!! Hope you liked my first attempt at a cliffy! Sorry I took so long to update, but I just kept having to stop and start again, and I kept losing the thread of it, if you know what I mean. Well, I managed to make it a bit longer this time, but I'm sorry if it was boring. I hope it wasn't, 'cos I personally like this chapter, and it was quite fun to write.

Well, you know what I'm gonna ask for now, and that is REVIEWS!!!!! PLEASE REVIEW!! I WILL BE SOOOOOOOOOO GRATEFUL!!! You've been very good so far, I've had 25 reviews! *wriggles happily* even though 3 were from myself ('What a sad freak' I hear you cry. Well, as a matter of fact, I am...) and I will love you forever if you do!!! You know I will!!!

But anyway, until next time, my friends...KEEP THE INSANITY ALIVE!!

slime xxx