Chapter 4: Tears in the Moonlight

"I'm going back to the Fairy World forever. I'm not coming back to the Human World."

Mirumo had said those words with a heavy heart. Truthfully, he sometimes found himself wondering if he had done something especially cruel in a past life for his current one to be so chaotic. I've been a good fairy! I'm not like the Warumo Gang or Akumi, and even those troublemakers weren't truly evil. So whatever did I do to deserve all of this chaos being heaped upon me!?

"Alright, calm down," he told himself, taking deep breaths in a bid to relax his tense self. "Relax, everything is under control." So far, that still held true. Everything had gone pretty much as the fairy had hoped. Beside, Mirumo was armed with a master ploy, rather originally dubbed the 'Survive the Chances of a Rirumu freakout' plan.

Why all the precautions? Well, he had many good reasons. To begin with, Mirumo didn't want the meeting to end with Rirumu turning into a sobbing mess, or worse still, angering the emotionally violent fairy. He involuntarily shuddered as many, many memories of previous incidents went through his head. A furious Rirumu would bash him up so badly that he won't be able to feel his limbs for the next couple of weeks. Well aware of that possibility and having no wish to wind up in a cast and bandages, he had predicted how the meeting would go well in advance and drafted ideas accordingly, constructing what he would call "the most brilliant plan ever devised" before he had flown away from Kaede's house.

Step one, check. Calling up everyone was really simple. It'd also helped that they were all late sleepers, so besides them being groggy, he had managed to rope everyone in with no trouble or repercussions. Yashichi had still yelled at him for interrupting his rest, but there was absolutely zero surprise there.

Step two of the plan was also complete. Once Mirumo had arrived, he had given his friends the treats he'd gathered to let them calm their agitated selves down. Getting the treats was actually the annoying part here. Normally the fairies would mooch off their human partners for snacks, but this time there was the side effect of well, not trying to draw attention to himself and stuff. Furthermore, he couldn't just ask them from Kaede. It was already hard enough to coax chocolate from her to begin with, but he had just wiped her short term memory anyway, so there was no point in starting up a conversation with her lest she suddenly remembered something she shouldn't.

His compromise to such a dilemma was hence stunningly simple. All he had to do was to sneak into other people's fridges and um… steal their snacks for himself. Yeah, Mirumo knew that what he'd done was wrong, but to be fair they wouldn't know if he'd just pilfered one or two snacks. He had probably gone through every single apartment in the building, taking at least one tasty treat from each of their occupants before leaving as quietly as he came. And by simply stockpiling and adding together all of his immediate neighbors' treats, Mirumo was slowly able to get the rest of the fairies what they wanted: their favorite snacks. Marshmallows for his brother, karintou for Yashichi, cream puffs for Rirumu, candy for Papii and red bean jelly for Panta.

"Stupid conscience bothering me about stealing those snacks," Mirumo grumbled to himself when a slight sense of guilt of taking stuff that he didn't own began to surface. "It was for the greater good, okay?" he yelled at his conscience, "Doing this is so the park wouldn't be wrecked from collateral damage!" After all, it was almost a certainty that the park would be destroyed with magic from the resulting misunderstandings if he didn't calm the group down with treats after arriving a good thirty minutes late.

"Besides, who would be meticulous enough to notice one or two missing treats? They won't notice anything, and even if they do, humans can't see us fairies anyway, so those neighbors will probably think a ghost or something did it."

In Western culture, when people mentioned the supernatural, their mind turned to ghosts, vampires, and the age-old jump scare trick used in multiple horror films and video games. On the contrary, Japanese culture lends credence to folk stories as well as legends, many of which involve spirits and superstitions. People in Japan tended to believe in the supernatural more so than in other parts of the world, and when things could not be explained in an easy and logical manner, they attribute it to the supernatural. The last thing Mirumo needed was for the haunted tenants of the apartment building cooking up a new youkai legend, wondering why their treats were stolen from the dead of night that particular day. Azumi's younger brother, the little rascal Mizuki, had caused the fairies enough trouble before because of said rumored legends. Since he was unable to see fairies but could see their actions, he accidentally mistook the Yashichi and the other Fairy Ninjas as ghosts and assumed that his sister's house was haunted… much to his delight. After all, the self-proclaimed great ghostbuster Hidaka Mizuki wanted to prove the existence of ghosts. But did the ghost hunting fanatic have to mess with the fairies' natural order of life in order to do such a thing? Mirumo sure didn't think so, and for once even Yashichi was forced to agree with him.

And on the topic of ghosts…

Damn it, darn it all! This was the reason why Panta, the fairy ghost, still scared him to some extent. To this very day, Mirumo was still terrified of ghosts. He hadn't really believed in them himself until the day he and the others had met Panta when he was haunting a classroom in Kaede's high school. In spite of his innate fear, Mirumo had befriended Panta and had become somewhat like a surrogate big brother to the kid.

And now, Mirumo was practically all but forced to tell Panta that he was leaving to his face. Oh, and while he was at it, he would have to break the news to Rirumu as well. There was no universe where that would end well. Oh well, Mirumo lamented, that's was what Step Three of the plan was for, explaining the situation to the group. Too bad that as of now, that step was going very, very badly for him. He had just told them that he couldn't return back to the Human World, and everyone's reactions were, well… to say they weren't pleasant was the understatement of the century.

Yashichi shot him a glare that would have maimed him if looks could kill. Panta gasped, before shaking his head vehemently in a manner that implied that he refused to believe what he'd just heard. Papii gave him an incredulous look, while his younger brother Murumo stared at him, completely shell-shocked. Oh, and Rirumu was choking up, trying to hold back her tears. This was so not good. Mirumo kicked himself, mentally regretting that he had not considered making a backup plan to his 'Survive the Chances of a Rirumu freakout' once in case it didn't work out. Because right now, the group looked like they had hit their breaking point, and sooner or later something was going to give way…

It happened sooner than Mirumo thought. Yashichi suddenly jumped up and down, yelling directly at his face. "You stupid idiot, Mirumo!" he spat. "Why? Why won't you return to the Human World?"

It was at this point that Mirumo regretted not making multiple backup plans.

"I'm not coming back to the Human World."

Rirumu held back a choke at Mirumo's statement, trying hard not to sob in front of him. When had it gone so wrong? It had started out as such a beautiful night. After all, a full moon is said to bring good luck. It was so beautiful and pretty!

The mood had started strong. Mirumo had arrived late, but really surprisingly, treated everyone with all their favorite treats, inclusive of her. She could almost swear that he had blushed when he deftly handed the cream puffs to her. It was a very rare occasion when Mirumo actually decided to put aside his pride and did something for her that could be considered romantic if you looked at it from a certain angle.

But as of right now…

Yashichi butted in, shouting the question that every fairy at the park wanted to know. "You stupid idiot, Mirumo! Why? Why won't you return to the Human World?"

Despite what most people thought, Rirumu was not as foolish as many assumed. Sure, it was a fact that her magic skill was nowhere near other fairies, but what she lacked in magic, she made up for with sheer physical strength. She had used that strength multiple times on Mirumo, sometimes by accident, but most of the time because he had made her furious through his indifferent and selfish attitude and actions at certain intervals.

Mirumo-sama… why won't you return here? Is it because of me?

Rirumu cared for her precious Mirumo-sama, but the million-dollar question was whether he cared for her back? The answer to that question wasn't really obvious. While some of the others would say 'no', Rirumu knew otherwise in her heart. She started to smile, reminiscing about a fond memory she held very close to her.

She had first met Mirumo at the Royal Palace when they were both children. As a carefree child, he was a lot more open with his feelings. He had been brave, and had even bashfully held her hand to guide her through a cave when they were lost exploring it. She earnestly recalled that in that cave, Mirumo had used his magic to conjure up a flower, handing it to her so as to cheer her up when she'd lost hope in ever making it out of the complicated maze of tunnels.

That flower had sealed both of their fates.

When the palace guards finally managed to locate the two lost children and had them both returned safely, their parents had immediately agreed for the both of them to be engaged in the future. When they saw that Mirumo had given her a flower, they were certain on the pair's compatibility and assured them both that, years later, they would be together and married. As young children, neither a distracted Mirumo nor Rirumu understood the politics of what was being discussed at the time, but it really didn't matter to her. All that mattered to her back at that moment was that it was a promise, one that stated they would be together forever.

However, it mattered much more to Mirumo. Distracted by a huge piece of chocolate that King Marumo had signaled Daijin to give the young prince, he hadn't paid attention to the engagement agreement. This was the reason why years later, he contested the arranged marriage, always citing that while Marumo and Rarumu made the agreement to marry off their children, he himself had never agreed to it. It was why he ran all the way to the Human World when the actual engagement date came up, ending up finding himself becoming partners with Minami Kaede. But in response, Rirumu had chased after him and wound up picking Yuuki as her own partner due to Kaede's closeness to him.

So the question was, why was Mirumo running away now? He could definitely come back from the Muglox World even after Kaede's wish was granted, so why was he adamantly refusing? Rirumu didn't know, and the answer to that question scared her. She inched towards him, fidgeting with her hands before she finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Is it because of me?" She looked directly into Mirumo's eyes as she continued, "Mirumo-sama, is that the reason you're not coming back?"

There were certainly times where she really didn't like Mirumo. Forgetting about their anniversary last year was one of the breaking points, but besides that, they'd always held through. She knew that sometimes she pushed him to the limit, and he pushed her to hers. But in spite of all that, deep down Rirumu knew that Mirumo had always cared for her. He refused to admit it, but in some ways Mirumo hasn't changed a bit, still the same clueless fairy that she first met that day at the castle from all those years ago. It was extremely hard to tell since Mirumo hid his feelings behind a mask of pride as he became older, but every now and then he would lapse and admit indirectly through his actions that he still cared for her. That was why she really hoped that he wasn't leaving to get away from her. Mirumo's feelings for her were really hard to tell, after all, and always flip-flopped on the issue.

Speaking of Mirumo, he still hadn't answered. He had stared at Rirumu with a stunned expression, before a cheeky grin suddenly crept up on his previously grim face. "Do you really think it's because of that?" he chastised. "Of course not! Whatever made you think that, Rirumu?"

Rirumu, along with everyone else, gasped at that. She could see the rest of the group, especially Murumo and Yashichi, with looks of disbelief at Mirumo's prompt denial of the number one reason that he would refuse to come back. It wasn't because he wanted to escape from her again? She couldn't help the smile creeping onto her face. I believed in you, Mirumo-sama! Thank you so much!

I knew it, Mirumo smirked. I knew that Rirumu would ask that! And now that I definitely surprised the whole lot of them with my answer, it's time to turn the conversation back in my favor! He coughed into his hand to catch his friends' attention, "As I was saying, it's not because of Rirumu," he added on to his previous statement in clarification, "But there is another reason I can't come back here." Like he'd predicted, this shocked the stunned fairies out of their stupor.

Finally, Panta floated forward and asked the question that was on their minds. "Then why can't you come back, Mirumo-oniichan?"

Murumo nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, it's not like you to leave without a good reason. What is it, onii-sama?"

Whup. It looks like it was really time now. With a question like that posed directly, there was no way he could beat around the bush any longer. "Uh, it's because…" Mirumo started, hesitating before finally finishing his sentence, "It's because of the Gaia Tribe."

…

"WHAT?!"

Mirumo fell back from the sheer amplitude of everyone screaming at him. Yeesh! Couldn't they be softer? Any louder and he would go deaf! Murumo then rushed to him to help him up. "O-Onii-sama," he stuttered, "What did you just say? The Gaia Tribe? What does the Gaia Tribe have anything to do with this?"

Mirumo looked away from his younger brother's face. He had known that they would ask about the fabled Gaia Tribe the very moment he muttered their name. To most fairies, the Gaia Tribe were mysterious, all-powerful overlords. The Royal Family might rule over and govern the Fairy World, but they themselves were mere puppet heads to the Gaians. The Gaia Tribe were responsible for the creation of magic itself, gifting each newborn fairy with a musical instrument. Not only were they responsible for imbuing every single fairy with the power of magic, but their own power was paramount in comparison. Each Gaian controlled one of the elements, and with all five together… well, to summarize, no one short of a death wish would mess with them.

Ironically, being the gods of the Muglox World didn't stop the Gaians from being well, normal, in a sense. Most fairies do not visit the realm where the Gaians live and hence really do not know the Gaia Tribe outside of teachings. But to someone who has personally met them a couple of times like Mirumo, they were a bunch of imbeciles at times. They looked like normal fairies. They mess up like normal fairies. They even act and have feelings like normal fairies. Really, the Gaians were just normal fairies, except with extraordinary power.

So why did the group have to screw him over now? He never really had any reason to hate them previously. Not when they'd made him and Kaede solve stupid riddles to get the Mic on a strict time limit when they were trying to beat the Warumo Gang's hypnotic Dark Magic Crystal, one of the few times they had to take the normally-incompetent group as a serious threat. Not when they'd fought amongst themselves about which was the best of their favorite food, which had led to the Muglox World being infested and nearly overrun by the blob-like creatures they had unintentionally summoned in their argument. Mirumo had been so patient with them that he didn't even complain when they had conscribed him, Rirumu, Yashichi and Murumo to be the chosen ones to save both the Human and Fairy Worlds from an entity of pure evil itself, the one who had manipulated both the Warumo Gang and Akumi. At least that last one came with multiple boosts to his and his friends' magical abilities with Session Magic, so it was overall a plus in Mirumo's books.

But now…

"Once a fairy grants his or her partner's true wish, the partnership between the two is cancelled and you would be unable to enter the Human World again."

His father's voice from that fateful call rang in his ears once again. Mirumo put his hands to his ears, wishing he could unhear them. Hoping futilely that he could forget the words his dad had said to him on that transmission a few hours ago.

"The Gaia Tribe were the ones who made this rule!"

And since the Gaians were the ones who had made the rule, the absolute worst part for Mirumo was that the Gaia Tribe had kept it secret from him and Kaede. The five of them had to have known that he and Kaede would be separated the instance he was able to grant her wish. And yet, they had never said a thing, not even a whisper of a clue given. Even Pikumu, the indisputable nicest of the five, had not given them any slight hint as to the rule's existence.

"You have one hour after your partner's wish is granted. That's all the time you have. If you do not return to the Muglox World by then, then a grave punishment will befall you!"

As if an hour was a lot of time! Why did that stupid rule have to exist? Why did the Gaia Tribe have to craft such an idiotic rule? Worse still, it was impossible to talk sense to the Gaians, as the five were very stubborn. Of course they would never retract the rule from mere words alone, and the other alternative, threatening them with force, was tantamount to suicide. Mirumo had seen the difference in their powers, and he certainly wasn't stupid. He might be a member of the Royal Family, but even his magic stood no chance against theirs.

He and Kaede would never be reunited. They could never ever see each other again…

Mirumo couldn't help it. The thought of them being separated for eternity caused him to go faint, and he found himself collapsing to the ground again.

"Mirumo-sama! Are you okay?"

He groaned, looking up at Rirumu's concerned voice, his hands still clasped on his ears. He realized that he had to look like a wreck. Actually, to hell with appearances. Mirumo couldn't care less with them by this point. "It's the Gaia Tribe's stupid fault!" Mirumo bawled out, starting to have tears in his eyes. "Those damn idiots made a dumb rule that states that when a Muglox Fairy grants their partner's true wish, they can never return back to the Human World!"

"What the heck! I never heard of such a thing!" Yashichi might have shouted that in his usual edgy manner, but there was no doubt about his true feelings. The worry that showed on his face gave it away. The seriousness of the situation was starting to sink in for him. He must have realized how bad it truly was when Mirumo showed a sign of weakness in front of his rival, which was a very rare occasion indeed.

Mirumo laughed at that reply, cheering up a little. It looked to Mirumo that Yashichi was still an idiot at heart. Wasn't the answer obvious? He got up from the ground and continued, "Of course not! Did you think the Gaia Tribe would tell everyone and their mother about this? I mean, come on! Not one of us knew. I didn't even know before tonight, until my nosy oyaji called me."

A unpleasant feeling gradually descended upon the group. That much was definitely true. But if so, then they should have been aware about this law if Mirumo wasn't lying. So why wasn't it made known to them? Being the brash one, Papii slowly ventured forward and gave the answer everyone else was frightened to give, afraid as though it would turn to be true if they said it out loud. "They're hiding it from us."

"Yeah, Papii." Mirumo nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately for us all it's highly likely that you're right. The Gaia Tribe, oyaji, possibly Enma-sensei… they all knew about this and never told us. It's a darn cover-up. After all, if you grant your partner's wish, you'll be forced away from them. You will never be with your human partners again! Like for you guys," He pointed to each fairy one by one, listing off their partners in turn, "You won't ever see Morishita, Hidaka, Sumita, Yuuki or Matsutake ever again! You tell me, which fairy in their right mind would agree to enroll in the Human Partnership Program if they knew that they'll end up losing what they care about the most at the epilogue?"

Panta started to stutter a response. "But, Mirumo-oniichan—"

"No buts, Panta!" Mirumo shot the ghost a serious glare that made Panta jump back by about three feet. "You might be a fairy ghost and made some sort of deal to come back here to the realm of the living," he went on, "But I bet that if you were to grant Morishita's wish to be a successful mangaka, then you'll likely be taken back too!"

Panta looked distraught after Mirumo yelled at him. It wasn't so much from the act of Mirumo's outburst itself, but rather from the fairy's honest opinion and words that caused him to start to doubt and second-guess himself. "B-b-but, being a manga artist is what Haruka-oneechan always wanted to be. I want to make her happy, but if I do—" Fear struck across his face, "—then I'll have to leave her! I don't want to leave her! Then, what do I do? What do I-wah!" Mirumo flinched when Panta burst into tears without any warning. Great, he hadn't wanted to make Panta cry. As if Panta beginning to snivel up was like triggering a switch, now Rirumu was sobbing too. Murumo looked ready to bawl as well, and the other two didn't look so good either. At the rate this was going, he was starting to regret not stealing as many tissues as treats.

On second thought, it might have been for the better that he hadn't. With a fairy ghost who had a history of haunting others like Panta involved, the whole apartment flat would have definitely cooked up a youkai story of a crying spirit that stole tissues.

"Alright…" Mirumo addressed the group warily, as though they were a fragile mirror that could shatter at any moment. "So has everybody managed to calm themselves down yet?"

There were five simultaneous hesitant nods. Panta's outcry had all deeply affected them, especially after he'd asked the question that all of them had been asking within themselves — how would they be able to accept leaving after they'd managed to grant their human partner's wish?

Rirumu stomped her foot on the ground, breaking the silence… and a good portion of the concrete by her feet as well. "This isn't fair, it's not fair…" she mumbled to herself over and over again like a broken vinyl record.

Mirumo sighed in despair, before agreeing with her comment. "It isn't, Rirumu. Not at all." He gazed longingly at the full moon in the sky. "But there's nothing that any of us can do about this."

Yashichi clenched his fist, taking a step towards Mirumo. "Then what's the point, Mirumo!?" he angrily asked.

"There is a point for me telling you this besides pity!" Mirumo snapped back. "The reason I'm telling you all is so that you're all aware about this. At the very least, you won't be caught off guard like me and Kaede were."

"But onii-sama," Murumo tilted his head. "How is Kaede-san taking this?" he asked.

Mirumo flinched at his brother's astute observation. Oh great. Of course someone would bring topic this up. He looked down to avoid Murumo's eyes, mumbling his response in a small voice, "She doesn't know about this, I wiped her memory of this conversation. By the time she remembers about it, it would be too late. I'll leave for the Fairy World without telling her." Noticing the shocked looks of everyone else by his admission, Mirumo realized with a jolt that he had to think fast. "Wait, wait, wait!" he started to plead, "Please don't tell Kaede that I'm leaving!"

Papii stared at him with a skeptical look. "You want to leave without Kaede-san knowing? But why? Isn't she your human partner? Aren't you two really close?"

Oh yes we were, Papii. Close enough that Kaede pretty much lost it once I had been forced to explain the situation. To add insult to injury, if I agreed to go, she would be unable to see all the other fairies. Not being able to interact with Rirumu, Murumo, or Papii? Of course she'd go hysterical. Mirumo grimaced at the memory. He had been forced to use magic to wipe her memory of their conversation. The guilt there on his part didn't help matters. He needed to get away from Kaede for a while. It was another reason he had called the meeting after all, just for him to vent out his anger and grief to his friends.

Finally, he looked up, locking eyes with his friends and giving his reply to her question in a pained voice, "I don't want to get in Kaede's way. She… deserves to have Yuuki by her side after all this time. I refuse to let Kaede's wish not be granted just because of some dumb rule made by the Gaia Tribe!" Mirumo started smiling as the rest slowly began to cheer up from their previously sombre mood. "Hey, y'all, this isn't goodbye forever! You all can still totally visit me in the Muglox World, so I expect all of you to dutifully do just that!" he pointed out. "Please do update me about the situation in the Human World!"

Mirumo expected the stupefied looks. After all, the Muglox Prince was well-known for his selfishness, and such caring acts were usually rare. But what Mirumo hadn't expected in the slightest was for the whole lot of them to surround him in a group hug.

"Mirumo-sama! I'll be sure to visit you every week and tell you all about Yuuki-sama and Kaede-sama, so don't you forget about me!" Rirumu started hugging him so hard that Mirumo felt that he was losing his breath.

"Yeah, Mirumo! Did you think we'll all abandon you, you idiot?" Yashichi muttered in a sappy tone. "No way! I'll be back to kick your butt!" Mirumo couldn't help but smile. That guy cared in his own small way, at least.

Panta beamed at Mirumo fondly. "I'll miss you, Mirumo-oniisama! You were the best big brother I could ask for!" With some effort, Mirumo reached his arm out from the mess of crammed fairies to pat Panta gently on the head. With the way Panta kept on calling him "onii-sama", sometimes he had to remember that unlike Murumo, they weren't actually blood siblings.

Speaking of Murumo, his younger brother hugged him from behind in a grip that was almost as firm as Rirumu's. "Yeah! I know you well, onii-sama, so please don't act stupid and be sure to enjoy your days back at Mirumo Village!"

"Take care, Mirumo-san!" Papii waved before lowering her voice to a grumble, "Don't worry! I know that when you're gone, it's going to be all on me to take care of Murumo. I'll make sure that he isn't all alone here in the Human World!"

"P-Papii!" Murumo stuttered, "Oi, just what's that supposed to mean, huh?" The group hug was unexpectedly disbanded when his brother and Papii separated and began yet another one of their verbal quarrels. But it didn't take long for Murumo and Papii to be forced apart. The two hotheaded fairies were both exhausted and thus couldn't really keep up their fight. It was so late and what everyone had just learnt was so daunting that everyone was collectively looking forward to heading back to bed. In addition, since they all learned from Mirumo and Rirumu that the predicted confession between Kaede and Yuuki would be set at noon, in less than twelve hours, all of the fairies wanted to hurry up and catch up on their sleep. None of them wanted to miss out on such an important event because they overslept.

As for Mirumo, he yawned loudly, not bothering to cover his mouth. The haughty fairy couldn't care less about dignity after he'd burst into tears in front of his friends. "Good night, everyone! See you tomorrow at noon!" he bid the others a final goodbye, before taking out his fans and flying upwards. It was much easier to fly without carrying a huge bag of treats, he reflected. Looking back, he could see the rest of them all flying away in various directions.

Mirumo lazily grinned in victory. It appeared that the meeting he had been dreading was finally adjourned, successfully and productively to boot. He glanced at his watch as he flew past a street lamp. The hour hand of the analog watch was firmly square on the number "1", signifying that it was one o' clock. Mirumo was surprised that merely half an hour had passed since he'd arrived. He'd honestly thought that more time had passed.

It was simply amazing just what could change in such a short span of time. He couldn't keep the sappy smile off his face as he realized that so much had happened in the past few hours since his father had called him up. It seemed to Mirumo that Plan 'Survive the Chances of a Rirumu freakout' had worked out in the end, even though him breaking down was completely spontaneous and not in the script. But it didn't matter to Mirumo, since in the end the meeting had done its job. Yes, his friends were now safe. He felt like he had saved the ones he cared about from suffering a similar fate since they now knew the Gaia Tribe's secret rule for human partnerships. Rather, they would be prepared and wouldn't end up heartbroken after they granted their partners' wishes. "Take that, Gaia Tribe!" Mirumo thought, flying back to Kaede's home with a confident smirk. "You might be all-mighty and powerful, but all of my friends know about your little secret now. You can't rob them of their partners the way you robbed me of mine!"

That was certainly enough of a victory for Mirumo. In his eyes, he'd managed to secure a win against the Gaia Tribe.

Author's Note:

Edited & Rewritten on 8/6/2018.

That's a wrap for the ending of Episode 170 and the start of Episode 171. We're still firmly in canon as of now. The next two chapters will pretty much be the remainder of anime episode 171, and will also pretty much reveal the key difference between this story and the episode itself. Do look forward to it!