This is going to be a fairly short chapter, but it still will help set up things for later in the story, just the same. Those accompanying Serena to Earth will depart for Earth at the end of this chapter, and they will be seen on Earth not long after that happens.

With no further ado, then, seeing as this chapter is so short, I'll close this. TUS out.

Inside Serena's Chambers In The Crystal Palace

Moon City, Moon Kingdom, Moon

June 11, 987

As Serena was getting ready for her later trip to Japan, Luna came into her chambers, in short enough order. For she'd heard rumors that something might be up elsewhere in the Crystal Palace. And she wanted to confirm them to the best of her ability to do so at the current time. She knocked on Serena's door with one of her paws. And she also called out for Serena at the same time as she was knocking on it. Serena soon let her in, of course.

As soon as they both were behind a sufficiently secured door or two, at least, Luna asked Serena, "What's up, Serena? And why are you packing some things here?"

"The girls and I are going on a trip."

"With who, if I may ask?"

"Ourselves and our special friends, whoever they may actually be. It's quite hush-hush right now. Not even the birthday girls know of it yet. And we can't tell them yet. Not even you and/or Artemis, in fact."

"What can you tell me, Serena?"

"Not much, if anything at all. Besides the fact that you two won't be going with us on it. Mother will need you both here with her, while we're all away for at least a little while. She's seen fit to suspend Raye's and my current grounding punishment at least until we return to the Moon, if not even longer than that, seeing as it's quite close to my birthday, Luna. I hope to spend at least part, if not all, of my birthday somewhere on Earth. Though where exactly, I can't quite say at the current time, if I'll ever be able to tell you in my life."

Eventually, Serena finished packing all her necessary things for that trip. And she then told Luna, "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like you to leave me alone again. When I want to see you again, I'll find you eventually. But until that particular time, I'd really like you to leave me alone now as much as possible, please."

Luna soon left Serena's chambers again. And she set off for elsewhere in the Crystal Palace. Most likely to find Artemis, for obvious reasons, of course. Luna found Artemis in another garden on the Crystal Palace's grounds, in fact. And that particular garden was the Crossed Swords Garden, as well.

After Luna had left her chambers again, Serena soon went to her nearest bell chain in her chambers. She summoned Amy, Raye, Lita, and Mina, at least, if nobody else as well, to them. The summoned people soon enough arrived there. Serena then let them into her chambers as needed, of course.

Amy asked, as soon as they were all behind at least one sufficiently secured door again, if not more than one, "How soon should we tell the twins what's going on here?"

"Not until after we all talk to Mother again, I think. We might be able to tell our special friends, of course. But if we do, we must make them all promise not to tell the twins at least until we've talked to Mother for at least a little while again, if at all possible, Amy."

"They'll suspect something's up, Serena, if we don't tell them what's going on here, soon enough."

"Let them suspect and/or wonder, Raye. At least until they're also brought up to speed by us. I know it may not necessarily seem nice of us to make them do so here. But still, do you really want our enemies or potential enemies to know what's going on with us here?"

"No, of course I don't, Serena. But if they're going to be going with us to Japan, they'll need to know that soon enough before we can all leave here in the way that your mother spoke of earlier."

"I realize that's true here, Raye. And they'll both be told about what's going on here, when the time's right for them to be told that. I really don't like sometimes, at least, having to keep certain things secret. But I still do it whenever I have to, and whenever I can, Raye. I believe the same thing's true for all of you, whenever another one of our birthdays actually comes to us during the year."

Lita asked, "If we wait too long, won't they be quite upset when they find out what's going on here?"

"Perhaps they might, Lita. But that's a chance that I'm willing to take here. I don't really want them to be mad at any or all of us, when they finally find out. But if they are, then so be it. I'll take full responsibility here. If anyone must do so at all, if and when they're mad at us for not telling them earlier what's going on here, Lita."

"You better, Serena, if this plan of yours backfires with them, at least," said Mina.

"I will, Mina. You can be sure about that here, without a doubt. I promise you all this, in fact."

Soon afterward, then, Serena left her chambers with her current companions. She at least temporarily left her packed things in her own chambers when she did so with them. Serena then went with them all to each of their other chambers, as needed, in order to be sure that they were all packed in the required manners, before their eventual trip later that evening or night. Then she and the other girls spent the rest of the time between now and the time they'd have to be at Queen Serenity's own Crystal Palace chambers doing whatever else happened to cross their minds, whenever possible.

By local nightfall in the Moon City area, at the very latest, then, all five of them arrived outside Queen Serenity's chambers again. And Serena knocked on the door of them in very short order. Queen Serenity soon let them into her chambers, of course.

When they were all once again behind a sufficiently secured door, Queen Serenity then asked, "Are all of you girls ready for the trip in question now?"

Serena answered, "Yes, Mother, all of us, at least, are ready to go to Japan as planned. Our things are all still in each of our respective chambers, as a matter of fact."

"You all actually haven't tried to put anything in your things that you all know that you shouldn't bring with you, have you, Serena?"

"No, of course not. We'll have our uniforms and all the necessary other items, of course, when we go there. As well as at least a few other things, in fact. But nothing that you've definitely been known to reject under normal enough circumstances for us all, Mom. For we've begun to get at least a bit of a feeling about what we can and can't bring with us whenever we're not here in Moon City by now, Mother."

"I have other plans for the night. So I may not have enough time to check them all tonight, Serena. Because of that fact, I'm putting you all on your words of honor that you're not going to try to bring anything to Japan that you shouldn't bring there at all, when you go there, if that proves to be the case, girls."

"Understood. We're not going to try to bring anything there that we shouldn't bring from here on our trip."

"You realize, though, that if I later find out otherwise that any or all of you have done so, there'll certainly be certain consequences for you all, don't you, Serena?" asked Queen Serenity.

"Of course we all do realize that, Mother. And Raye and I, of course, don't want any more time added to our current punishment than we still have yet to serve, if we'll eventually have to serve it later, Mother."

"I suppose you're right. All right, then. You will all be on your words of honor, then. If even one of you messes up, then you all will face the consequences here."

"Understood," said each of them, when each of their turns came for them to tell Queen Serenity that here.

"I have other things to do now. So I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd leave me now again for a while. Just before you leave, I'll find you again and bring you to the necessary place elsewhere on this palace's grounds."

"By when, most likely, Queen Serenity?" asked Mina.

"By no later than an hour before local midnight, Mina. In the meantime, please tell all the needed people to get ready for that trip of yours to Japan. You all should know who they all are by now, I'm quite sure here, Mina. If they really do want to come with you on this trip to Japan, they should all be ready by then, at the very latest, to come with you in the necessary way to there."

Then all five Princesses left Queen Serenity's chambers again. They soon found Destiny and Bethany sitting near each other in the main dining hall again. They told Destiny and Bethany exactly what they needed to then know. And Serena then brought them both back to their respective chambers as needed, so that they too could get ready for the aforementioned trip to Japan here. While Serena helped Destiny and Bethany pack for the trip in their respective chambers, Raye and the rest of the girls had their special friends begin to get ready for it in the required manners. Raye found Solomon and Renaldo elsewhere on the Crystal Palace's grounds. She did this after first notifying Chad of the same trip, and she also told them both of it, of course. They almost immediately returned to each of their chambers in it, and they got ready for that trip as well.

Everyone was ready for the trip in question, then, by no later than an hour before Queen Serenity would need to meet with them again. After they were, they all then went to the Crystal Palace's main ballroom, where a ball was in progress at the current time. They soon found her there, and they told her that they were all ready for the trip. She almost immediately turned the rest of the ball over to Raphael and Daniel, who'd returned by local nightfall to the palace's grounds from their riding excursion elsewhere in the Moon City area.

She went with each of them to their respective chambers. And she then helped them load their things onto some carts, when necessary. After she did so, she quite soon afterward escorted them all to the Moonbeam Garden on the Crystal Palace's grounds. After doing so, she then led them all to another underground cavern for a time, until they were all near a portal of some sort.

After doing so, she soon said, as needed here, "You'll all use this portal to travel between Kyoto and Moon City at least once in each of your lives, if not more than that, people." She said this just as she then began setting all of the needed coordinates on a nearby console. She set those coordinates on that console. Then she gave them each some locator bracelets to wear, if they weren't already wearing any. Destiny and Bethany were now actually wearing such bracelets, in fact. Queen Serenity then activated their locators on those bracelets, if they weren't already activated by then.

No more than ten to fifteen minutes later, at the very latest, then, the aforementioned underground cavern was totally empty, except for Queen Serenity, of course. For she'd had everyone else enter the portal so that they could go to Japan in the necessary way here. Several minutes after she'd had them all do so, then, she received an answer from a similar enough portal device on the grounds of Kyoto's own Imperial Palace, back on Earth. After doing so, she then shut down the portal on her end again. And she left again for her own chambers elsewhere on the actual premises of Moon City's very own Crystal Palace.

Okay, now that the Scouts and their current companions are on Earth, how will Darien and others react to their presences in Japan, once they find out they're now there for sure? Will they be pleased or not, and what will they say and do, when they find out?

To find out, you'll all just have to keep reading on, of course. This story will only cover about three weeks of time, it seems. So there will be plenty more time that will still have to be filled in for this story's timeline, evidently, folks.

And I'm not quite sure just yet how much time Book VII of this story's series will cover either, seeing as that story is not yet completed, as well. It could cover just weeks of time, months of time, or years. But I'm not very far into writing of that story, seeing as it's only about 44 pages long at this point, even many years after I first began writing for it. We will have to see how long it takes for me to complete that story, for sure.

Until the next chapter, then, I'll close this. TUS out.