Author's Notes- This is the 5th. Chapter of Adventures In Cosplay, and it, once again, features Japanese Cosplayers Barbie Tsukino & Kaie Tada, Cosplayer & Costume Designer Tristen Citrine, the people of Sailor Jamboree as well as my friends Andrea, Nicole, Kerri & Brandie.

Remarkable Changes
By Dale Speer

Dale woke up the next day after sleeping soundly through the night. Her thoughts were on the letter and the package she got yesterday from the one all of them affectionately know as Naoko-sama.

"Why did Naoko send me the 2 gifts and not send them to Maureen?" she asked herself, "It is beyond me to get gifts from someone else... especially when that someone else is the one who leads us all with her creations." It was a question that plagued her through the morning as all of them gathered in the Team Room to discuss plans for them.

By this time, the others brought in all of their costumes and had them hung out. When Dale arrived, Barbie had already put together the necessary components of the EternalSailor Moon costume and gave them to her. "Go on up to your room here and try it out, Dale-chan," she said. So she did.

A few minutes later, someone knocked at her door. Poking her head through, Kerri said, "Dale, I need to talk to you. Do you mind if I came in?"

"Not at all, Kerri," she replied, waving her in. Dale was behind the screen in her room, dressing into the costume that Barbie gave her. She already had put on a pair of panty hose that kept her leg hair hidden.

Entering the room and closing the door behind her, Kerri sat down quietly in a chair, staring at Dale for a moment before she spoke. "Dale," she said, "I was up a little late last night because I had to finish some things that needed taken care of and I heard you come in at an ungodly hour. Where were you last night? Why did you come in so late?"

"I was out in the back yard, looking at the package that came for me from Tokyo yesterday," Dale told her, after making her promise she wouldn't tell anyone else. "You probably wouldn't believe who sent it to me."

"A package? What was in it? Who sent it?" Kerri asked, now becoming curious.

"Inside were 2 items and a letter," she said, getting the letter and handing it to her.

Kerri read the letter quietly, her eyes widening. She slowly set down the letter and looked up at Dale, "The Naoko Takeuchi??" was all she could say as she stared in amazement at Dale.

"See what I mean?" she asked.

"Wow. I mean.. just.. WOW!" Kerri exclaims, as she handed the letter back to Dale.

"You want to see what she also sent me?" Dale asked her. She had Kerri close her eyes as she got out the round object and placed it in her hand. "Look into your hand," she said. Kerri then opened her eyes and looked down at what was in her hands. She nearly dropped the article in her surprise as she raised her hand to her mouth, "Oh wow..." she whispered softly, slowly lowering her hand, and examining it carefully.

"Recognize it?" Dale asked. "Yes. This is just amazing Dale!" Kerri answered handing the item back to her, "I can't believe that she sent you that!" "That isn't all she sent me," Dale told her, producing the other object and holding it herself. "Recognize it?" she asked.

"Heck yeah I do!" she exclaimed as she turned the item over in her hands lightly, "This is amazing. It really is. Why did she send you these things though? I mean, how did she know?"

"That's just it," Dale told her, "I don't know... unless someone made contact with her a few days before. And there's only 2 people we know who live in Japan..." Kerri nodded slowly, "And their name's start with B and K." she replied, then examined the item a moment longer before handing it back to its owner. "Are you going to use them during our performances? Or are they just going to be for show in your room?" she asked. "What do you think I should do?" Dale asked her, "I consider you to be my closest friend... what do you think I should do with them?"

Kerri thought for a moment about that, before finally answering, "Well, actually, I don't know if you should use them or not. I'd be afraid of them breaking or being stolen or something during a performance. But then again, those are originals. Something you dont come across everyday..." she replied her voice thoughtful, her eyes focused on the floor. "That's why I don't want to use them in performance," Dale told her, "I want them to stay here in my room, to provide inspiration for me to continue." Kerri nodded, "That sounds like a good idea. You wouldnt want anything bad to happen to those." she replied, before standing up, and stretching. "Well I think I'll go back down and join everyone else so you can get changed, alright?" she asked, smiling warmly at Dale.

"Actually, would you mind helping me with this?" Dale asked, bringing up some of her hair so that Kerri could see the zipper on the costume. Kerri smiled, and crossed the room, "Sure." she replied, and zipped up the back part of her costume for her. "And there's another problem," Dale told her, "I usually would do the hairdo myself, but..." she trailed off.

Kerri chuckled softly, "I'll give ya a hand." she replied, and together they did the hairdo Usagi is famous for, then Dale pulled on the boots. Modeling in front of the mirror and for Kerri, she asked, "Well, what do you think? Do I make a convincing character?"

Kerri smiled brightly and nodded enthusiastically. "You make a wonderful Eternal Sailor Moon," she replied, "You are perfect for that costume."

"There are 3 final touches for it," Dale said. Sitting down at her makeup vanity she took some Spirit Gum, a special kind of adhesive, and applied it thinly to the back of the crescent moon, applying it to the center of her forehead. She then washed it off of her fingers and dried them before putting on the gloves. "Perfect.." Kerri said with a smile.

"Thank you, Kerri," she said before they descended the stairs and back to the Team Room, where all wanted to see the results of the change. And from the surprised gasps around the room, approval was there for the transformation.

"Come on, Dale," Chrissy said, "Strike the familiar pose for that outfit." The others agreed with her, so Dale turned to Kerri with the unspoken question. Kerri nodded to her, and gave her a smile, "Go on Dale. Dont be afraid.." she mouthed the words to her friend. So she mentally went through the 5 poses, then struck the one appropriate for her character. She saw all of her friends exhibiting smiles from the pose.

"Dale," Maureen said, "If I didn't know better, you could literally pass for being Eternal Sailor Moon at any given moment." Dale was filled with pride when she said that... and her heart leaped in joy.

Andrea suggested that she go through what she says when Ami's one teacher was turned into a Phony by Iron Mouse. "You think I should?" Usagi asks Kerri. Kerri nodded once again, "Of course Dale. I know you can do it. I have faith in you." she replied, flashing her a thumbs up.

So Dale mentally went through the episode where Ami's teacher is transformed into the Phony... then asked for the phony's dialogue when she was ready...

Phony- Study!

Eternal Sailor Moon- Is not what I want!

Phony- What's Next?

ESM- Ami is the Number One genius girl at the Tenth Street High School, A Walking Reference Book. I can't forgive you for bullying her! To be honest with you, I really hate to study! But I am an agent of Love and Justice, a Pretty Sailor Soldier... SAILOR MOON! And in the name of the Moon... I'LL PUNISH YOU!

All of the people there gave Dale a generous round of applause for what she did- and that gave her more encouragement. "Dale-chan," Barbie said, "I can see that you look wonderful in that costume. Do you want to keep it?"

"You're asking me if I want it?" Dale asked in return, "I should be the one to ask you if I can keep it." "Then it is yours... and more," she replied. She and Kaie got out all of the senshi costumes they brought- which amounted to their NeoQueen Serenity, NeoPrincess Serenity and the SuperSailor outfits as well as the one Dale was wearing- 13 total, not to mention the props for them.

"Arigatou Barbie-chan, Kaie-chan," Dale told them, bowing.

Dale was sitting in her room, thinking about all that had been happening to her that day. She didn't expect what happened when she got into the costume Barbie gave her... she became the part that only Maureen had. That was near impossible to do... yet she did it.

She hadn't gotten out of the costume when Kerri, once again, poked her head through the door. "Dale," she said, "Are you alright? You look like you're down in the dumps." "I feel like I'm down there," Dale replies. So Kerri sat down beside her and asked what the problem was.

"When I got into this costume," Dale said, "I couldn't believe what happened. I didn't just become another woman in a costume... I stepped into the role of Eternal Sailor Moon. The problem, though, is that if my parents found out what I was doing, they will try to stop me- going as far as violating the Emancipation and No Contact Orders. I don't want them to take away my freedom."

Kerri frowned at this and placed a hand on Dale's shoulder, "We wont let them do that Dale," she said, "I'll do everything in my power to keep them away from you." "We all will," Chrissy said when she entered the room. At their looks, she responded, "Dale's parents wanted her to stay as their child- because Dale is a very wealthy young woman. Her parents wanted their hands on her fortune- which amounts to over $750 million in cash in accounts in the Cayman Islands and Swiss Secured accounts."

"We now have a weapon against them," Dale said, and both of her friends nodded with her. "I think it's time the Sailor Senshi paid Dale's parents a visit," Kerri said- and dug out the costumes while Chrissy called up Dale's Caseworker and explained the situation.

After 10pm, Dale's parents were packing up their car to run to the border and get away from the one deficit they have... when an unknown voice said, "How dare you keep your daughter's wealth for your own. Don't you know it's illegal to do that?" "WHO SAID THAT!" Dale's father shouted out- more in fear than in bravery.

"You've hurt your daughter more than you possibly can," came a second voice, "And we can't forgive you for bullying her into giving up what's rightfully hers!"

"THIS CAN'T BE?!" Dale's mother shouted, "YOU'RE JUST ANIMATED CHARACTERS- YOU CAN'T BE REAL!" But when a truck-mounted spotlight cast its shadow on them... there stood 5 young women wearing the costumes of the characters they knew were fictional. "You know what we want," the center one with the long ponytails said, "Do you surrender peacefully- or do we punish you... IN THE NAME OF THE MOON!"

Dale's parents were shaking in their boots- literally. They tried to get into their vehicle- but 2 staffs blocked them from doing that. "You knew that eventually, your daughter would find out," a woman with long black hair tinted green said, "And then you had to make your get-away. Well, we want only one thing from you... the account numbers and passwords. Now!" From out of the father's shirtpocket, she saw the envelop with the account info- and picked it from him. Waving in the police that were in the brush and shadows, she said, "You're going to be spending a lot of time thinking of what you did to your daughter, and it will not be from a sunny beach in Mexico or the Cayman Islands- but in a prison cell."

"With the recovery of the account numbers and passwords," Dale's caseworker said, "the prosecutor has them hung out to dry... and you girls did an awesome job of putting them behind bars for a good 60 years." She had the priviledge of handing them to Dale, and she said, "Your parents will spend the remainder of their lives in a Federal Pen for what they did to you and your credibility, Dale."

"I'm only too glad they're now out of the picture," she said, "And that I can FINALLY have the happiness that I've waited for!" All of them shared a good laugh when she said that.

Back at the mansion, Dale and Kerri were spending time talking with each other in Dale's room. They had gotten out of their costumes and relaxed on the bed.

"Kerri, do you think that I can become a truly effective cosplayer?" Dale asked her. "You proved that to me when we went into action against your parents," she replied, "You still have doubt in yourself, but if you wipe that out I know you will be the best cosplayer in this group." They then walked down to where the other members were.

"I think we should do something out of the ordinary," Gina said suddenly. "What can we do?" Chrissy asked. "Well, I think we should get an opportunity to not go to an anime convention here and do something in a special way," Tristen said, and all of them agreed on that.

"I think I have an idea," Maureen said, and all of them turned their attention to her- and she asked, "How long has it been since a photoshoot has been done?" That was when Chrissy laughed. "A very long time," Gina said, "And it can prove to be a very worthwhile diversion." So, upon looking at the staircase, a photoshoot came to mind... right there.

Dale and Collette decided to be the centerpiece of it- and literally dressed for the parts as NeoQueen Serenity & NeoPrincess Selenity. Rei and Tristen joined Kerri and Roxanne as the Inner Senshi, and the 4 Outer Senshi had their roles as well. So did Barbie and Kaie as Super Sailors Moon & Venus in their trademark poses. Then, it was Kerri, Andrea, Brandie and Nicole in their costumes as the 3 Magic Knights & Clef from Magic Knight Rayearth.

But it was Dale who stole the show when she costumed as Eternal Sailor Moon and struck as many poses as she did. Just about everyone were pleased with her presentation... and she felt comfortable in it. She had finally made up her mind...

"Look out, everyone," she thought, "There's a new Cosplayer in the world... and she will be stealing the show everytime!"

TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER...