Chapter 23:

Preparation

Around dusk, everyone met up in Sarah's restaurant. Sarah got them in on some free food and drinks and they all sat around a large table in the storage room at the back of the building. "This was the only kind of briefing room I could make on such short notice! Ignore the boxes and tools." Everyone laughed a little as they all got situated in their chairs.

"So what is the plan?" Homoto asked as he took a bite out of some sushi. Emochan looked into everyone's eyes.

"Our mission is that once we infiltrate the hideout, we have to defeat Daichi and kill Morgana. This is going to be a very big task, and we really only have one real chance to pull it off. I want to assign certain jobs to each of you. We can't afford to mess up at this point. It may result in the loss of one of us," she instructed in a very serious tone. Her eyes gleamed with the lust for revenge and justice, making the others squirm slightly. Emochan leaned over a little and looked at Toma, who seemed nervous. "Toma, you will be the first one in. You know the place better than us so you will lead."

"H-Hai..." Toma said in response. Emochan's eyes then moved around the table to Sarah and Mai.

"You two will be the scouters. While we are in there, I'll need you to find any clues of how to stop Morgana."

"You got it!" Sarah said.

"Yeah, you can count on us," Mai smiled.

Emochan looked at Homoto and Toshira. "You two...I want you to help Toshiro fight Daichi."

"I don't need help! I can rip his ass apart blind-folded!" Toshiro grunted. Emochan looked at him, glaring a bit.

"Yes you may, but it will take a lot of energy out of you, and I need all of you as strong as possible to help me fight Morgana. Whether you like it or not, Toshiro, I am the leader of this group, and what I say goes. There is no more time for fooling around. We have to do this or we will all die. For once let us help you, okay?" Emochan roared. "Besides, I'll need them to make sure you don't actually kill him." Reiko took hold of Toshiro's hand and smiled at him. He grunted and looked down. Emochan smiled and glanced over to Reiko and Sakura.

"You two will follow me. I will need you to back me up as much as you can while the others are doing their own tasks." Emochan said, smiling a little. Her dearest friends nodded and smiled in understanding. It was then Toshiro's turn. "I want you to beat him down. Don't kill him. Just distract and weaken him enough so I can get an opening at him. I will try my best to try and revive his good side as soon as I can."

"Sweet. I can at least bust him up good then," Toshiro grinned.

"Reasonably so, yeah," Emochan said took a slug of her soda.

"When should we start this?" Toma asked. Emochan peered at them from her drink, her face solemn.

"Dawn. Tomorrow. That will give us tonight to sleep and get mentally prepared." she said. Everyone looked around the table for a couple of slow moments in silence. The seriousness of the responsibility set upon them finally sunk into their brains.

"Well, why don't we enjoy our dinner together, then?" Sarah said cheerfully, breaking the daunting silence. The others nodded and they finished eating their food. Before long, Emochan excused herself from the group to go home. She refused Toshira's offer to walk her. Tonight, she needed to be alone to think. After saying goodnight to everyone, the brunette left the restaurant and walked outside, finding the darkness around her serene.

Tomorrow is the big day... she thought as she walked down the dark streets of Tokyo. We will need all the help and energy we can get. I just hope we survive it... Her thoughts floated inside her as she neared her house. A hand of hers played with her loose hair for a moment before going inside. Could this be the last time I am ever in this house?

Her mother was asleep on the couch. The television was humming with sounds of a game show. Emochan smiled a little as she silently closed the front door. She approached her sleeping mother and bent over, kissing her forehead. She couldn't help but feel guilty for what she had to do. If something should happen to her, her mother would be all alone in the world. No…I can't think like that.

"I love you, Mom," she said and walked upstairs. She turned on the light in her bathroom and twisted the knob for the water above the bathtub. Slowly undressing, Emo stared at her reflection in the mirror across from her. The pouring water behind her soothed her as she tried to relaxed her tense muscles. Her cold body was engulfed in the warm water as she sat down inside the tub. The moon outside was bright and it seemed to be glowing with power. She began to hum a song to herself and her vision began to blur strangely. "Nani?" her voice whispered and she then felt a striking pain in her head. She clutched it and cried out. Her body squirmed in the water; some splashing out onto the floor.

"Serendipity!" a voice cried out in the distance. Emochan opened her eyes and saw that she was sitting on a bench in front of Toshira's old kingdom. "Serendipity! Watch this!" She heard the voice again and looked over to see Prince Zecon sparring with a stranger. Their swords were clashing and at one point, Zecon was slammed down against the field and had a sword thrust towards his throat. The stranger smiled in victory and helped Zecon up.

"You need to concentrate more, Zecon." he said. Serendipity stood up and walked over to the two and smiled.

"Ecellious, you are such a skilled trainer," Serendipity said. The man turned and returned her smile, his piercing green eyes sparkling in the daylight. His long white hair flowed down his back and had a single stripe of black on his right side. He wore Blunagi garb and his skin was quite pale.

"Thank you, Princess. It seems that your future husband does not wish to listen to me at times." He chuckled. "I wonder if you must deal with the same troubling behavior as well!" Serendipity giggled lightly as Zecon huffed.

"Gomen, Ecellious." he retorted with a sense of frustration in his voice.

"It's your brother's turn now," Ecellious said. "You may go rest for now." Toshiro walked out into the field with an eager aura about him.

Zecon joined his princess and the two walked off while Toshiro began his training session. Serendipity smiled as Zecon wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Ecellious really is such a magnificent fighter," Serendipity said daintily. Zecon nodded.

"Hai. I hope to be as good as him one day." He sighed as the two stopped under a tree of cherry blossom-like plants. "You know, even though this planet is called 'the planet of flowers', there is still one flower it does not have," he said, tilting Serendipity's face up towards his.

"And what flower is that, Zecon?"

"The Serendipity flower. She is one of a kind and is all mine..." Zecon said and lightly touched her lips with his own. Cherry blossoms fell around them from a breeze passing by. The vision dripped away and was replaced by darkness. Emochan then saw a silhouette of a warrior fighting two others in the distance, and she squinted her eyes to try and catch who they were, but all she could see was two of them fall to the ground. Blood splattered against her face and she screamed.

Emochan cried out as she returned to the present. She was still in the tub, and her head pain started to disappear. "What the hell was that?" she asked herself as she stepped out of the tub. As she stared into the mirror, she started to think. Ecellious? Why haven't I remembered that name or person, or seen him before in my visions? It must mean something, but what? The teen shrugged it off, realizing that it would be, quite possibly, her last night in her own bed. She got herself into some comfy pajamas and retired to her bed. Angel leaped on top of her and began to purr as she nuzzled against her owner. Emochan smiled and stroked her fur. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the moonlight which shined through her window. I hope I can be as strong as Usagi was against Beryl. Wish me luck, Aunt Serenity.

Emochan had a dreamless sleep for the first time in a long while. Her alarm woke her up at dawn the next morning, and she struggled to get out of bed. She threw on some simple clothes and smiled at Angel. Angel meowed at her and followed her downstairs to be fed. Emo smiled as she watched Angel eat. Afterwards, she walked back up to her bedroom and opened her dresser, taking out the still-blackened pendent. It was still very cold to the touch. As she slipped it into her pocket, she walked downstairs and outside the front door. I will come back, Mom. I promise.