The sound of the Star Queen's sapphire-encrusted door slamming echoed around the hallway, and the zodiacs looked at each other in dismay.

"That was pretty nasty..." Aquarius shuddered, and Leo and Virgo nodded solemnly in agreement.

"She doesn't usually lose her temper like that," Leo reflected thoughtfully.

"She's probably stressed about this mission," Virgo replied. "I imagine she's feeling the pressure because of the limited amount of time we're dealing with here."

"All the more reason to go talk to Scorpio as soon as possible!" Aquarius exclaimed cheerfully.

"Aquarius, it amazes me every time how you manage to recover so quickly," Virgo observed, shaking her head in wonder.

"Aqua's right, though," Leo concluded briskly, his forest of golden curls bouncing merrily. "We should pick someone to talk to Scorpio and get it over with."

"So who should it be?" Aquarius inquired, cocking her head to one side, her dark hair sweeping like a curtain across her back.

"Well, what do you think, Virgo?" Leo asked.

"I think it should be you, Aqua," Virgo replied, turning to her best friend.

"ME?! Why me?" Aquarius stuttered, shocked.

"Well, think about it," Virgo began reasonably, "Scorpio doesn't do well with authority figures, so he hates Leo." Leo nodded sheepishly. "And he's always found my fascination with books to be foolish and frivolous," Virgo continued. "And the fact that you two are both sort of wallflowers has always made you closer."

"You and Pisces both love to read, but he can't stand you," Aquarius argued, even though she knew she had already lost this battle.

"True, but Pisces doesn't really like anyone. He's too wrapped up in his own little world," Leo pointed out. "Besides, everyone likes you, Aqua."

"Fine, I'll do it," Aquarius gave in reluctantly. "Leo, what do you think you and Virgo should do while I'm gone? Who knows where Scorpio is? It could take me an hour or more to find him, not counting the time spent talking with him and walking back." Leo pondered this thoughtfully for a few moments, and then said,

"Virgo can study up on what it's like living on Earth in the library. I'll- well, I guess I'll get word around about our mission." Aquarius nodded swiftly.

"Wish me luck finding Mr. Antisocial!"

***

By the time Aquarius had checked Scorpio's room and the Raven Quarters for him, her feet ached and she just wanted to give up on finding him. But she knew she had to go on, so she sighed and reluctantly continued on to her last guess of Scorpio's whereabouts- the observatory. It was at least a twenty-minute walk, so Aquarius hurried off immediately. Before too long, she found herself in the grand glass room fiddling nervously with her sleeve, with Scorpio less than twenty feet away from her.

He was staring out into the abyss with a blank look on his face, looking uncomfortable in his elaborate scarlet and bronze garments. Unlike all the other zodiacs, he did not bear a wreath of stars on his head. His choppy dark hair shadowed his face and Aquarius could only see his profile, but that was enough for her to know this wasn't a good day to ask for favors. Still, she went over and stood next to him without a word. He didn't return her piercing stare. "Scorpio," she begged. "Please at least listen to me." The boy continued to look out at the night sky, instead of at her.

"Why would you think I wouldn't listen to you?" he snarled. There was ice in his voice, and Aquarius could almost feel his frustration settle, like a cold mist, on the hall.

"Never mind," she snapped, annoyed. She hated it when Scorpio got like this, but sadly this was all anyone saw him like nowadays. Aquarius took a steadying breath, and continued as calmly as she could, "I need to ask a big favor of you. It's extremely important, so please just hear me out." Her friend continued to avoid her eyes, but Aquarius could tell he was listening. "You know that old story the Queen always drills into us?" she asked. Scorpio didn't answer, but Aquarius forged on anyway. "The one about the broken flower? Anyway, apparently some of the shard thingies fell to Earth, so we kinda sorta need to go retrieve them. Leo wanted you, so... will you come?"

There was a long silence until finally, Scorpio spoke. "Why would I desire to do anything with that puffed-up prince? I don't particularly want to spend every waking hour with him, you know. What's in it for me?"

"Nothing. You just do it out of the goodness of your heart," Aquarius answered bluntly. Scorpio seemed to weigh this for a moment, then inquired,

"Who else is going?" Aquarius, relieved that he was at least showing interest, responded eagerly,

"Well, it will be Leo, Virgo, and myself." She jokingly gave a little flip of her dark hair, and it fell across her face smoothly, blinding her. Aquarius laughed and flipped the pitch-black curtain back, adjusted her iridescent silver wreath, and looked back at Scorpio. This time he returned her stare. Aquarius smiled internally at the sight of his glittery emerald-green eyes. "So what do you say?" She asked anxiously.

"Fine, I'll go," he finally gave in, shrugging indifferently like he didn't think it was that important, which of course it was. "I'll do it for you, Aqua," he continued. "Not for Leo or Virgo or Polaris, but for you. Just because you've always been kind to me." There was a long silence, and his words hung in the air.

"Thank you," Aquarius replied at last. "It means a lot to me. And Leo and Virgo. And I'm sure Polaris too, although she doesn't show it." Scorpio nodded absently and returned to gazing intently out at the stars. "We should probably go tell Leo and Virgo now," Aquarius went on, a little awkwardly. "They're going to be wondering where I am." Scorpio pushed away from the wall in reply and turned to look at his friend.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

***

Five figures stood silhouetted against the night sky, standing in Polaris' study. The four zodiacs, plus the Star Queen herself. "Now that we are all finally here," Polaris stated with a tone of authority, throwing a pointed glance at Scorpio, who looked away, "I can inform you more of the details of the mission." The four teens straightened up, knowing she was about to review important pieces of information. "According to the calculations I conducted, at least one fragment has landed in Starlight Bay, Massachusetts."

"Where's that?" Aquarius asked dumbly. Polaris frowned at her lack of diplomacy but answered without comment,

"It is on Earth, naturally. In a realm the inferior-to-ourselves humans who inhabit it call 'The United States of America.' They have their own culture, customs, way of speaking and doing things, etcetera. I imagine this will take some getting used to, but I expect you four to assimilate rapidly."

"And what is our final goal?" Virgo inquired.

"Recover the star fragment. Or fragments. As many as are down there. And don't let two touch- if you do, disaster will strike. It could destroy a good section of the universe. That is why I asked you four to go on this mission, instead of some lowly servant. I trust you will make good decisions, and not fail me. Good luck." Polaris waved the zodiacs out, and they bowed quickly and left quietly.

"Mother told me some things we have to discuss," Leo said. "Let's go to the library; there are sure to be minimal distractions in there."

The four zodiacs hustled to the musty-smelling room filled with old tomes and scrolls and seated themselves comfortably in some armchairs. Virgo looking quite pleased to be back within her walls of knowledge. Leo disappeared into the labyrinth of books for a few moments and returned shortly with a book bearing the title Common Names for Humans and Their Meanings. Leo explained quickly, "We're supposed to look over this and come up with fake names for ourselves. Apparently, celestial naming is a little different from human naming, so... yeah."

He flipped open to a page with a header reading Female A Names, and pushed it towards Aquarius. "Read these names and their meanings, and decide on one you like." Aquarius studied the book for a few minutes, then pointed to something on the page and said,

"How about Aria? It means air and lioness and has something to do with music too. Some term for an opera song, I don't know."

"Perfect!" Leo exclaimed, and turned to another page. "Here, Virgo, you look at this..."

***

Some time later, after a lot of poring and discussing, the four zodiacs had each chosen a name they thought was suitable. Virgo would be Vera, which meant "true", Scorpio would be Sebastian, which meant "revered", and Leo had decided to just remain Leo after he discovered it was a common human name as well.

After that, the teens went back to Polaris' study one last time, as Leo had said she had instructed for them to return before making the grand descent. Polaris had laid four neat stacks of clothing on the spotless glass floor. "These are to be the clothes you will wear on Earth," she explained. "You may come across other garments, since apparently--according to my extensive research on the planet, that is--humans change clothes very frequently, often daily. So do whatever you must to fit in, but you will descend wearing these."

The zodiacs picked up the soft clothing and looked it over with doubt, looking at Polaris questioningly for more information. "Go on, get changed! Be back here within ten minutes!" she ordered. They all hurried out and returned soon equipped with their new garments. "Well, what do you think?" Polaris asked impatiently. "I had them hand-tailored to your exact measurements." Her eyes darted amongst her four charges and raised her eyebrows in anticipation of their opinions.

Leo had on a button-up dark brown shirt, along with a dark green loose-fitting sweater, khaki pants, and brown oxfords. "It looks... okay," he spoke tentatively. Scorpio, on the other hand, had on a black t-shirt, a black hoodie, black skinny jeans, and shiny black boots. He shrugged indifferently and muttered,

"They look fine..."

Meanwhile, Virgo was wearing an indigo off-the-shoulder t-shirt, black jeans like Scorpio, and simple black, flat-heeled boots. "Perfect," she proclaimed, smiling widely. Aquarius, in comparison, had on a turquoise long-sleeved tunic top, a floaty fuchsia vest, icy gray leggings, and snow white boots.

"I love it!" she exclaimed happily. Polaris nodded formally.

"I'm glad you all are content," she said, drawing everyone's attention back to her. "Humans also, of course, look different from us. So I have taken the liberty of asking one of my craftsmen to make a locket in four pieces, and leave room for a bit of magic inside. The locket was just finished today, and I infused each quarter with an enchantment that will make you all appear human. You will still recognize each other, but it will be a fairly drastic change. As long as you wear your locket quarter, you will look like a human. If for any reason you are separated from it, you will appear in your celestial form. We absolutely cannot afford to have that happen, understand?" The zodiacs nodded and each one stepped forward to receive their quarter of the locket.

"Aquarius will have the northernmost quarter of the locket because she comes from the air element. Virgo will have the southernmost, Scorpio will have the easternmost, and Leo will have the westernmost. You are never to switch locket quarters, or take them off at all." The four nodded again and clasped their lockets around their necks. Instantly, they all transformed into very different people, at least on the outside.

Virgo had brown hair the color of bitter chocolate and dark, nut-brown eyes, with olive skin. Aquarius had her same long jet-black hair, but it had lost some of its glow, and her eyes were now a blue-green hue. Leo had curly blond hair with medium skin and light green eyes. Scorpio was the only one who remained more or less unchanged. The only subtle difference was that his skin was the tiniest bit less pale than it was before.

Polaris surveyed the zodiacs critically and nodded in approval. "Good, good," she said. The now human-looking teenagers, on the other hand, looked at their reflections in the glass-paneled room and each other's eyes and gasped in horror.

"But we look so- so ordinary!" Aquarius exclaimed, distraught.

"Bland..." Virgo murmured sadly, shaking her head. The boys said nothing, but both clearly had half-concealed opinions of their own. Leo gulped and tucked his locket into his shirt.

"You will get used to it with time," Polaris assured them, but nobody felt especially assured. "There is one more thing you should know about the locket," she continued, now speaking softer. The zodiacs leaned in, listening closely. "If you get into trouble--and I mean big trouble--holding all four quarters of the locket together will activate all of its magic, and just may save you. But be warned- do not waste the magic by using it prematurely, because it may only be activated once, and after activation, the locket will break." The zodiacs gulped, all wondering what sort of horrible situation it would take to use that store of magic.

"I am sure you will use it well," Polaris went on, her tone brighter. She had switched back to a normal speaking voice. "You will not be packing more than ONE item to take on this journey. It must be something easy to carry. It may not be anything obviously celestial because that will arouse suspicion among the humans. I will give you one hour to collect this item, and say your final goodbyes to anyone whom you deem worth your time. I will meet you in the portal room in exactly one hour. Hurry now, because wasting time is a luxury that we can no longer afford."

***

An hour later, the zodiacs met Polaris in the portal room, clutching one precious belonging each. It was a room forged from stardust, the strongest known substance in the universe, and very rare. Obsidian doorways filled with swirling cosmos lined the walls-portals to far-off places-places too far to walk or fly. Youngsters had never been allowed in the portal room-ever-so the four zodiacs realized that this was a big deal.

The Star Queen stood by the portal opposite from the door where the four had entered. A sign above the portal read Starlight Bay, Massachusetts in gold calligraphy. "I had it made just for this purpose," Polaris explained, trying to hide the slight tremor in her voice. Nervously, the foursome stepped up to the magical doorway, and stood there for a few moments, sending sidelong glances at each other. Suddenly, Scorpio spoke, surprising everyone in the room.

"Polaris?" he said.

"Yes?" she responded, tentative.

"How will we get back to the Celestial Plain if something goes wrong?" The room became excruciatingly silent, so much so that Scorpio thought he could hear his heart pounding.

"Be careful, and nothing will go wrong," Polaris finally replied, her voice shaking from the lie.

So the zodiacs grasped hands, looked at each other and the Celestial Palace one last time, then at the Star Queen. "Go on," she urged. The foursome took a deep breath, cleared their minds of intrusive, negative thoughts, and leaped into the portal, into cosmos and time and space. "Please be careful, zodiacs," she murmured to herself.

~Sarita/SilverOwl125