Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter!
Not much to say other than it's time for the next episodes.
Hope you enjoy!
Kensuke frowned as he was currently walking out of campus, classes over for the day. However, his mind was focused on the recent events lately, how they'd found a third Sailor Senshi, the escalating plots of the Dark Kingdom, and the biggest confirmation he'd found by himself, Tuxedo Kamen's identity. Still though...the details behind those were...unexpected...to say the least.
It was after they'd managed to get the people back safely, and the police came to which they left the rest to them. However, as they were splitting up to avoid the commotion, he noticed Tuxedo Kamen making his own escape, and took a detour to confront him and lay a suspicion he'd had to rest.
"Hold on!" Blade called after the man, making him pause and turn his head slightly.
"Yes? Is something the matter?" Tuxedo Kamen asked curiously.
"I'm figuring this out right now… is that you Mamoru?" Blade asked bluntly.
Tuxedo Kamen seemed to stiffen for a moment...before chuckling. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised you figured it out… Kensuke," he said. "You always did know him well."
"Know him well? Wait… you just admitted it, but then you're acting like you're not him. Which is it?" Blade frowned.
"I am yet I'm not. I am Mamoru Chiba yet I'm not at the same time, for when I'm Tuxedo Kamen, Mamoru Chiba is not aware, yet when I'm Mamoru Chiba, Tuxedo Kamen is aware," he explained.
Blade frowned beneath his mask as he made sense of the phrase in his mind, before it dawned on him "You're a split personality from Mamoru. He doesn't know you're a part of him, but you're completely aware of him, aren't you?"
Tuxedo Kamen nodded "Correct, Mamoru has yet to know I exist. It's possible that once I achieve my goal, he and I will finally become the same in mind."
"And what would your goal be?" Blade asked, knowing this was the most important part.
Tuxedo Kamen frowned, but not in anger "I search for the mythical Silver Crystal. That is all I know, not even its appearance. Those words have been in my mind as long as I can remember. I feel it is also why Mamoru has no memory of his childhood. I hope it shall be the key in awakening those memories within him, and explaining my purpose. It's why I help Sailor Moon. For some reason I can't understand, I feel she will guide me to it."
"I see. So for now business as usual?" Blade checked.
"Pretty much. I trust you'll keep this to yourself for now as long as it doesn't cause any problems, yes?" Tuxedo Kamen asked.
"...it won't make a difference either way, so alright. I'll keep the secret for now, but if it ever becomes dangerous…" Blade said.
"You'll tell them, I know. That's the kind of person you are, loyal to your friends and with their best interest at heart. It's no wonder why Mamoru considers you a good friend. We both know we can count on you when the chips are down," Tuxedo Kamen nodded.
Sighing again, Kensuke took a turn that would take him to the Hikawa Shrine. The little secret he was now hiding from the girls aside, they had agreed on a meeting for today. However, when he got there...well...it seemed Luna had been TRYING to talk to them about something, but between Usagi and Rei talking about a manga, and Ami focused on an encyclopedia...the long suffering look Luna had spoke volumes. "Uh...is this a bad time?" he asked half jokingly. The tick mark that appeared on Luna's head told him how much she appreciated that joke.
"Honestly, we've finally gained 3 Sailor Scouts and you three are acting like that," Luna scolded. "We're not going to go anywhere in that case."
"Give em a break, Luna," Kensuke placated. "They're brand new to the role in Rei's case, and Ami hasn't even been one for very long. It's a little much to expect everyone to act like pros from day one, not to mention their… huh, just realised I never asked, how old are you girls?"
"14 years old." Usagi said, which Rei and Ami both echoed.
"Right, see? 14 years old. Girls their age don't usually have to deal with this kind of issue." Kensuke said with a nod.
"I suppose that makes sense." Luna muttered.
"By the way, how old are you Kensuke?" Usagi asked curiously.
"19 years old, and if we were in America, I'd be under suspicion of something for just talking to you girls." he said with a joking laugh.
That earned an awkward sweat drop from the girls. "A-anyway," Ami said, hoping to change the subject that just got awkward. "Since we're all gathered, what did you want to talk about, Luna?"
"Right." Luna cleared her throat "Usagi already knows, and you know a small part of it Ami, but let me state our goal. First and foremost, we must locate the princess and protect her, as well as finding the remaining Sailor Scout, Sailor Jupiter. Secondly, we have to deal with the forces of the Dark Kingdom, they are after the princess, and the energy of the masses for currently unknown reasons."
"But… why is the Dark Kingdom here, and why do we have the power to fight them?" Rei pointed out.
"Oh yeah, you said you were looking for us, but why is that?" Usagi asked as well, remembering that all of them somehow had this power.
Luna sighed, knowing it was bound to come up. "It's because of something that happened a long time ago. Once there were kingdoms that spread through the Solar System. Collectively they were known as the Silver Millenium. It was a peaceful kingdom ruled by Queen Serenity the Fourth, till the day that the Dark Kingdom attacked. The battle was fierce and it ended with the destruction of the Silver Millenium, but the Queen with her great power managed to seal them away. However, she knew that the Dark Kingdom might one day return, so with the last of her magic, she sent the soul of the her daughter, Princess Serenity the Fifth, her guardians, the Sailor Scouts, and several others who were slain in battle to the future so that they could be reincarnated," Luna explained. "Other than that...I'm unsure," she sighed. "I was put into suspended animation so I may one day aid and guide the Princess and the Scouts, but in the process, some of my memory was lost…"
"That's the major deal, and the records from the tribes have a bit more. The Prince of Earth at the time, Endymion, was apparently in love with the Moon Princess, and went to her aid with his guardians when the Dark Kingdom attacked. From what you're saying, it's possible he and his own guardians were sent to the future as well." Kensuke added.
"Tribes?" Rei blinked. "How do you know that and how old is this information?"
"...give or take a few thousand years old," Kensuke shrugged. "Right, you and Ami didn't hear this one. I've got my own stake in this fight. A VERY long time ago, the Clan I belong to, consisting of four Tribes, was entrusted to watch over the seals of some very powerful objects. The sealed forms of 52 immortal monsters. Due to Prince Endymion's warning, we were able to go into a sort of hibernation and survived the attack that devastated the Silver Millenium. However, during that time, the seals we were protecting were weakened, and have steadily grown weaker over the centuries, till they've finally broken. My job is to defeat and re-seal the Undead so that a new seal may be made once again."
"Like the monster you sealed the night I first became Mercury?" Ami asked.
"Yeah, Bullet Armadillo, so far I also have Slash Lizard, Thunder Deer, Kick Locust, Screw Mole, and Change Beetle sealed, though Change Beetle, along with Change Mantis, Change Spider and Change Stag chose to ally themselves to us, and thus are willingly helping to seal, with Change Beetle partnered to me, and three others with a similar power to mine out there in the world, one of them in Japan at this moment and having sealed Time Scarab already, and of course, Spirit Human quickly let himself be sealed as he was the one that began the clan in the first place."
"Wait, one of the very monsters you're fighting was the one who started your clan in the first place?!" Rei asked in alarm. Suddenly she was finding Kensuke to be quite suspicious.
Kensuke realized what he said and sighed. "I guess to make that clear, we need to get to the very beginning. Back when this world was still new, a 'game' was played, with the bet being the future of this planet. 52 Monsters, the Undead, were created to fight one another by god. The winner would have their progeny become the dominant race of the planet. As you can probably guess, Spirit Human was the winner, and thus we, his progeny, are the dominant race of this world. However, with the Undead released and the Stone of Sealing apparently somewhere in Japan, the signal is out for a new Battle Royal to begin. I don't know what will happen exactly, but assuming this one is legit, then if an Undead OTHER than Spirit Human, or in this case, humanity, were to win, the order of the world would be tipped over and humanity will lose its place as the dominant species of the planet."
The result was, quite obviously, a stunned silence, the two girls trying to wrap their heads around the information, and even Usagi looked uncomfortable at hearing him outright say if they lose, humanity would end.
The first to recover was Ami, who rubbed her temples with a wide eyed look "This… throws many, and I do mean MANY, theories about evolution, as well as several historical facts, out the window."
"Yeah well, that's the truth that my Clan has known, and the proof of it is right there on the table. I'd show you Spirit Human too, but Chalice no doubt has that card," Kensuke sighed. He knew this would be very heavy.
Finally, Rei recovered as well "This… part of me wants to scream that it makes no sense and that you're wrong… but why would you lie about this? Especially when Usagi and Ami have both encountered some of those monsters." Rei said with a sigh, before frowning "It's still rather shocking that God decided to choose the dominant race this way though."
"Not really. Just look out in nature and you can see the law behind it all the time. Survival of the Fittest. Even if you don't see it as much with humans its still there. Stronger more talented individuals tend to excel more than others, those who learn and adapt quickly rise up faster than those who don't. Sure for us it's not as final as animals have it, and we have the choice to help others so they can also rise up, but in the end, survival of the fittest is still there," Kensuke sighed. "That's why no matter what I fully intend to seal away every last Undead so that we can prove to the stone once again the determination and hidden strength that allowed our progenitor to win the first Battle Royal."
"Well… it's a bit hard to believe still, but I suppose you have one of the tougher battles, having to ensure humanity doesn't go extinct." Rei said with a sigh.
"You could say that again. Ideally, I hope to be able to at least collect as many of the lower ranked Undead first before I encounter one of the Royals," Kensuke sighed.
"Royals?" Ami blinked.
"Undead are divided like a deck of cards. So the Royals are the Jack, Queen, and King Undeads," Usagi said, speaking up. "I think they can also pretend to be humans so they could be anywhere and we wouldn't know."
"An immortal monster pretending to be a human...yeah, I can see how that'd be a problem," Rei agreed.
"In other words, aside from our mission to find the Princess and defeat the Dark Kingdom, we also need to aid Kensuke and the other Riders in sealing the Undead," Luna said. "While it may not be our primary mission, it is still our duty to protect the world," she said.
"It's certainly going to be a dangerous mission, but it has to be done." Ami said with a nod.
"Thanks for the help," Kensuke nodded gratefully.
"You're helping us too, so it's only fair," Usagi smiled.
"So, Undead aside for now, how's finding clues on our Princess coming along?" Kensuke asked. At that Luna sweat dropped a bit.
"It's...a work in progress…" she groaned.
"I guess finding a reincarnated Princess is easier said than done," Ami mused.
"Do you at least have any clues on how we can identify her?" Rei asked.
"Well...being of the royal family, she'll no doubt have strong magical powers. That or her royal blood carried on to this era, so maybe she might be a princess in this life just as she was in the past," Luna said.
"Vague, but better than nothing," Kensuke sighed.
"Well...since we don't have any solid leads, perhaps we should focus on handling incidents that might be connected to the Dark Kingdom," Ami suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Rei nodded.
"Do you know something like that?" Usagi asked.
"As a matter of fact…" Ami started, before pulling out a newspaper and putting it on the table and pointing at an article.
"Dreamland?" Luna blinked, reading the article.
"Dreamland?" Kensuke repeated, and his head brought up imagery of a star shaped planet on which a pink puffball lived and fought against a gluttonous and greedy penguin king.
"Oh! It's that new amusement park that opened recently!" Usagi said in excitement.
"But...what's wrong with it?" Rei asked.
"Well...of the people who went to it last week, fifty people have gone missing," Ami said.
"Missing people in a new place? Where does THAT sound familiar?" Kensuke said dryly.
"The Dark Kingdom needs to get some new materials," Usagi agreed just as dryly.
"It's THAT common?" Rei asked.
"Their plots have been pretty obvious so far." Usagi sighed, before starting to count off her fingers "The first one at Osa-P, the fortune teller, Midnight Zero, the gym, the Chanela incident, that time with Yusuke Amade, that other time with the talent show, Crystal Seminar, Clock Lock, and then the other day when you joined."
"They're all pretty noticeable once they get off the ground," Kensuke sighed.
"I'm honestly not sure if that's comforting or not," Rei groaned.
"Just be glad it means we can respond faster than if it was a really covert operation," Ami sighed.
Dreamland well...it really did live up to its name, albeit more in the 'fairy tale' amusement park sense rather than the other Dreamland Kensuke was thinking. Of course, it wasn't all fun and cheers, as unsurprisingly the management office had to deal with a crowd asking about the disappearances.
The group watched curiously as the people pushed at each other, trying to get information, asking about the 50 missing people and if the rumors were true.
Unsurprisingly, management denied all those claims… and then pushed everyone out of the office.
"Talk about extreme measures." Kensuke said with a sweatdrop.
"Though I don't think they'd be able to admit it even if they could," Ami mused.
"True...that could get the park shut down," Luna frowned.
"Not to mention they're not necessarily part of the scheme if what you told me is true," Rei added.
"That's true. These schemes usually work like parasites. They get the benefits while whoever they're attaching to has to deal with the issues and they don't give a damn," Kensuke frowned...before he noticed something. "By the way...where'd Usagi go?"
"Right here." Usagi said as she came back… and had an ice cream cone in her hands.
"Really?" Rei asked dryly.
"Hey, I was hungry, and besides, their cheap here, surprisingly." Usagi said in her own defense.
"...she's got a point," Kensuke admitted. "Work or not, we already paid the fee and everything to come here. It's...kind of a waste if we don't at least use SOME of the facilities."
Rei sighed "Alright, fine, I'll give you that one. At least it'll help us blend in I guess."
"Besides, I know when to have work and when to have fun." Usagi added as she ate her ice cream at a slow pace.
"You DO get serious when the time calls for it, I'll give you that." Luna said with a nod.
"But, for the sake of what we need to do, if anyone wants to get on a ride, try to pick one that allows you to see the park or see more things. At least then we can try to keep a lookout for anything odd," Ami suggested.
"That's fair," everyone nodded...before they stared at where Usagi was, looking a little pale, though Kensuke was quickly calming down.
"Is...something wrong?" Usagi blinked.
"Uh...behind you…" Luna gulped, to which Usagi looked...and saw the lion standing behind her. A dust cloud was soon where she had been, and suddenly she'd jumped into Kensuke's arms...in a rather familiar way.
'...now I know how Shaggy felt everytime Scooby jumped into his arms…' Kensuke mentally sweat dropped.
"Lion!" Usagi screamed.
"Wh-what's one doing here?!" Rei asked in alarm.
"I don't think its a real one though," Kensuke said. "If it was, there'd be a LOT more commotion right now."
"You'd be correct," a new voice said, to which they turned to the source and saw a young woman in a pink princess dress with pale pink hair and a tiara on her head, holding an apple in her hand "This lion is mechanical."
As she said that, the lion bowed "Good day to you."
"Ah! You're the Dream Princess!" Usagi said, apparently recognizing her, as she'd suddenly gotten off of Kensuke's arms and was now going closer to said Princess.
"So this thing's mechanical, huh?" Kensuke mused. "It's very well made."
"Yes, the animals here are all controlled via remote," the Princess said as she fiddled with her apple for a bit, to which several more animals of various sizes and species came closer, all of them mechanical.
However, during the display, Rei gave the Princess a rather suspicious look. "Somethings...wrong.." she frowned. However, before she could go further, she felt something pull her by the collar and she suddenly did a rather impressive double backflip before she landed on the back of the mechanical bear, looking a little dizzy from the sudden acrobatics.
Usagi had to clamp her hands over her mouth to stop herself from laughing, while the other sweatdropped awkwardly "Um… are you ok Rei?" Ami asked.
"I'll be fine once everything stops spinning." Rei said dizzily.
"Oh, before I forget, there shall be a special event at the candy castle later, I hope to see you there." the Dream Princess said before walking off.
"She seems nice," Ami mused with a small smile.
"I...wouldn't say that," Rei said, finally getting her head back on straight and getting off the bear.
"Something wrong?" Usagi blinked.
"Well…" Rei sighed, before explaining.
"A strange aura around her, huh?" Kensuke mused. "Definitely sounds suspicious."
"Should we keep an eye on her then?" Luna asked.
"Probably a good idea, but let's not jump to conclusions just yet," Kensuke sighed.
"That makes sense. Unless we confirm that she's the Youma involved in this incident, we can't act recklessly," Ami agreed.
"...let's watch the show then," Usagi said.
"Were you even paying attention?" Rei groaned.
"If she's the Youma, then the show would be the best time for her to pull something, where everyone is away from the crowds," Usagi countered.
Rei opened her mouth, then closed it again. "That's...a very good point…" she admitted.
"So we've got one avenue to investigate. Still though, we probably should investigate the rest of the park too while we can," Luna mused.
"The park is pretty big though. Should we split up?" Ami asked.
"Probably the only way we can cover this whole place," Kensuke mused.
"Then I'll go with Ami and Kensuke, and Usagi can be with Rei," Luna said, deciding for them.
"Right, well good luck girls." Kensuke said to Usagi and Rei as he walked away with Ami and Luna.
"Same to you two!" Usagi said as they walked away.
"Now then… where to begin?" Rei mused.
"I guess the best we can do for now is look around a bit." Usagi said with a shrug.
Rei sighed "I guess so yeah." and with that said, the two of them started to look around the park for anything that might help prove the Dream Princess was the Youma, without having to go to show.
As a result they were currently riding on a little train with what appeared to be a panda as the conductor. The train was intended to take them around the park, so it was a good as any way to see the place.
"This feels so childish." Rei said with an embarrassed blush.
Usagi shrugged "If you ask me, there's worse situations." she said… and then the train suddenly came to a halt and she bumped her head into the back of the person in front of her "Ouch, sorry about that." she said while rubbing her head with a wince.
"I'll live." the man said, turning around to reveal it was Mamoru, who smirked a bit "Hey there Usagi, hanging out with a new friend?"
"Oh, hey Mamoru." Usagi said, a bit surprised, but she wasn't really holding a grudge at him anymore "Yeah, this is Rei, we met a few days ago."
"That so? Nice to meet ya. I'm Mamoru Chiba," he said with a small smile.
"Rei Hino," Rei said politely. "So you're a friend of Usagi's?"
"More like an acquaintance," Mamoru admitted with a light chuckle. He doubted they were quite on 'friends' level at the moment. "So...you two enjoying the park?"
"It's fun," Usagi nodded. "Though...why are you riding this train? Wanted to see the whole park easily too?"
"...that and a few other reasons. Don't ask. Please," Mamoru groaned the last bit out.
The girls decided to not push on the subject.
The ride continued on for a while, before the sound of the PA came on, announcing that the show in the Candy House would be starting soon. Gasping, Usagi asked the panda to stop, but when it said no...well...they WERE on a slow train, so she just jumped off, Rei soon following as they headed for the Candy House.
"There you two are, we almost were gonna go in without you," Kensuke said as they arrived, seeing as the show would start in about 5 minutes.
"Sorry we were almost late," Rei sighed.
"That's not an issue. For now, we need to decide who should go in," Luna said.
"That's...a tough one. Who should go in if this IS a trap?" Usagi frowned.
"...I'll go," Ami said.
"What?" the group gasped.
"If we look at how our situation is, I feel I'd be best to go," Ami said. "If needs be you all have better offensive options than me, and I can at least try to figure out what the enemy is up to."
"Actually, now that you mention it, try connecting the Computer with the communicators," Luna said, causing them to blink. Ami did as she was told, and suddenly, there was a sort of image on the surface of the communicators. "With this, we can see what the computer sees."
"I get it, so scouting/recon essentially," Kensuke nodded.
"Alright then, I'll be sure to see what I can find," Ami nodded, before she soon went inside, the door closing when it was time for the show.
Kensuke walked up to it and examined it. "Locked tight. Why am I not surprised?" he frowned.
"Should we look for another way in?" Usagi wondered.
"That or be ready to break these down." Rei added.
"Let's hang on for a moment, and see what Ami finds. Then we break the door down. No point waiting longer than necessary, right?" Kensuke reasoned.
"That's fair," the others nodded. Moving away a bit so nobody would notice them, they checked the communicators. So far things seemed good...until the Princess let out a cloud of pink-red smoke from her mouth, and the feed becoming wobbly, and then the apple began to shine and it seemed Ami fell over.
"...well, I've seen enough. Suit up girls cause it's time for some forced entry," Kensuke said flatly.
"No argument here." Usagi said a frown "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"
"Mars Power, Make Up!"
"Henshin!" "Turn Up!"
Once suited up, a quick strike was all Blade needed to cut the door down, the trio rushing in quickly.
Running into the pathway to the main area, they were soon met with a familiar face. "Had a feeling you'd come to fight us," Blade frowned.
"We know what you really are, so stop hiding behind that face and show yourself, Youma!" Sailor Moon declared. "We won't let you use the people who come here for your evil plans! For that we will punish you!"
"And drop the disguise. There's no point pretending to be a human anymore!" Mars added.
"Oh my, I've been found out have I?" the Dream Princess said, unfazed "Well then, I suppose it's time to drop the act." she said… before her head started shaking… and then retracted into her body, followed by her legs pulling up into her dress.
"...okay, that's honestly pretty disturbing," Blade gulped, while Moon and Mars freaked out a little at the sudden action.
The body began spinning for a bit, before it changed from a bright princess dress to a darker more evil witch styled one, in dark red and dark purple, the sleeves disappearing from her dress, exposing her upper arms, showing her skin to now be green and seemed to be made of wood, with the joints even looking like they belonged on a doll. Eventually the body stopped spinning, and the head popped out again, looking like that of a wooden doll's and with empty eyes...which soon rolled back into place. All in all, despite her tame appearance, the entire process actually made her MORE intimidating than the average Youma. "I'm the Youma, Murid. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," she said in the same almost polite tone.
"...okay...this got weird fast…" Moon said more than a little unnerved by the entire transformation.
"Surprisingly polite, but sadly we don't intend to know you for very much longer," Mars frowned, swallowing her own unnerved feelings.
"Oh, how scary," Murid said. "Why don't you all enjoy a nice dream," she said before opening her mouth and exhaling a burst of dark red smoke which hit them face first.
"What the heck?!" the three of them demanded, before the view seemed to change for them. They were now suddenly in a forest of some kind, and the sound of hooves were suddenly heard.
"This must be some kind of illusion the Youma created!" Luna said in alarm.
"Illusion huh? Whatever monster she makes, bring it!" Moon said.
The sound of hooves came closer as the mist parted, revealing….
"...really?" the four of them deadpanned at the sight before them. It was a pair of white horses straight out of a fairy tale. The first had Tuxedo Kamen as a rider and the second had...a feminine figure with a veiled dress and seemingly kind eyes peeking out of it.
"She isn't even trying." Blade said with an annoyed sigh as he palmed his mask.
"Yeah, I mean… as tempting as getting on a horse with Tuxedo Kamen would be, I'm not THAT stupid to forget where we were 5 seconds ago." Moon said, honestly feeling insulted that Murid thought she would fall for this.
The three of them looked at each other, before nodding in silent agreement.
"Fire Soul!"
"Moon Tiara Action!"
The two attacks cut through the illusions, and soon merged together to create a flaming disc. Where the combined attack flew, it forced Murid to avoid the attack, but…
"Slash! Thunder!"
"Lightning Slash!" Blade called out as he slashed her, pushing her back, as her wooden body was...surprisingly sturdy. Too bad for her, that put her in the way for the returning disc, which cut and burned her, causing her to crumble to dust while her apple fell to the ground, forgotten by the four who ran down the hall, more focused on reaching their friend. So intent on reaching Ami did they not notice as a certain figure landed in the corridor, looking at their running backs with a raised eyebrow.
"Well then, they certainly didn't need much of my help for this one." Tuxedo Kamen said as he picked up the apple that Murid dropped, before crushing it in his hand, releasing the stolen energy from it's hold. "A bit hasty, but I can't blame them for wanting to make sure the people were okay," he said with a small chuckle as the last of the energy went back to its owners, before he too made his exit.
The three heroes and one cat soon arrived at the main room, just in time to see the energy return to the people, and among them, Ami who was slowly getting up. "You beat her," Ami managed to say with a tired smile.
"Only cause you gave us a preview of what she was up to," Blade said as they helped her up, and discreetly got away before the other victims noticed them there. The energy was returned so they should all be fine.
Some time later, the group was walking through the park, watching as the section with the candy castle was cordoned off by police who had recently arrived on the scene.
"I doubt the park is going to stay open long after this." Rei said.
"Too bad, without the whole Dark Kingdom thing, this place could have been fun." Usagi said with a sigh.
"Just like many other places that ended up being Dark Kingdom schemes." Kensuke said with a chuckle.
"Now that you mention it, maybe that's the criteria they go with? Places that most people would enjoy using often?" Ami mused.
"It's certainly a possibility, we should keep it in mind for future cases." Luna suggested.
"For now, let's just enjoy the win," Kensuke chuckled as they enjoyed the remainder of the day. The park was still open after all, so they might as well enjoy it while they still could.
"Well now, aren't you on thin ice," an irritatingly familiar voice said.
Jadeite glared at the source of the voice, unsurprisingly it was Kujaku. "That's quite a mouth for someone who hasn't done anything," he glared.
"On the contrary. I've been QUITE busy," Kujaku chuckled. "Not that that's what you should be concerned about," he smirked.
Jadeite growled lowly at the words, but before he could do anything, the two were interrupted by another person approaching them, a young woman with long, straight turquoise hair, a short blue dress, long white gloves, and white high heels.
"Oh, now this is a surprise, one of Beryl's most trusted Youma comes to see us." Kujaku said with a chuckle.
"Thetis… why are you here?" Jadeite asked with narrowed eyes.
"That's rather cold Lord Jadeite, especially when I adore you so." the youma said with a smile as she walked towards Jadeite and caressed his cheek, the man simply look at her unamused, before he removed her hand.
"I don't have time for your games Thetis." Jadeite said simply as he turned around to leave.
"What about if I told you I had developed the perfect plan to gather energy." Thetis said, smiling as Jadeite halted mid step, before looking back at her from over his shoulder.
"... Go on." he said after a brief moment.
Thetis laughed lightly "I call it Operation: Romantic Cruise."
Kujaku chuckled "This should be interesting… in fact, let me lend you an extra pair of hands." he said, before snapping his fingers, and moments later, footsteps were heard, as a vague figure appeared behind him.
"In the middle of the night on the ocean… It's world for just the two of you. On a night like this, you'll feel like you can talk about anything. Romantic Cruise for lovers. Finally leaving on its maiden voyage tomorrow!"
Kensuke rose an eyebrow at the ad that just aired on TV, sitting on his couch in the morning as he had a bit of time before classes so he was seeing if anything good was on "Who would want to spend romantic couples time… while surrounded by hundreds of other couples?" he wondered, unable to see that cruise as any sort of good idea. Then again, there were all sorts of people out there that'd be too blinded by the perceived romanticism.
"Honestly, the only thing that could be more sad is someone going on that cruise hoping to FIND love." he said with a chuckle.
Meanwhile a certain blonde and raven haired sneezed...through the multiverse.
Several hours later, Kensuke found himself in the shopping district. He heard the raffle was going on again and he was always up for a nice chance to win a prize. Unsurprisingly it was crowded as heck, cause the gold prizes are always pretty desirable. What WAS surprising, was seeing Usagi run like the hounds were on her heel towards the raffle.
That got him rather curious about what could interest her so much about this raffle, making him turn to the prize list, reading it over… and deadpanned when he saw the first prize… a pair of tickets for that Romantic Cruise thing he saw this morning. "Well...I have no idea what to say," he sighed, taking a closer look at the poster...before he noticed something strange. The number of tickets for the maximum number of passengers: 666. The number sent out warning bells to him, as while whether that actually WAS the number of the devil was debatable, it DID have significance, especially in that of black magic. This...might need looking into.
With that in mind, he turned to the raffle again, figuring he might try his luck...only to find that someone had already won the gold prize. Namely Rei. How she did all that and he never noticed...he had no idea.
"Here you go." Rei said as he held out the tickets to Usagi, who snatched them up with a grin.
"Thanks so much Rei!" Usagi said happily.
"It's fine, I don't really need to go on that thing anyway." Rei shot back with a shrug.
"Why's that? Would you like to find a boyfriend on some romantic cruise?" Usagi asked.
"Not really? I mean, I can see why it would be nice, but I'm not really interested in a relationship. I mean… look, this is… hard to explain, and I don't want to say it where anyone could just hear me." Rei said with a sigh.
"So… some very bad personal reasons then." Usagi summed up simply.
"Essentially yeah." Rei sighed, looking down in annoyance as she sat on the edge of a fountain in a park.
Usagi frowned a bit, before sitting next to Rei and putting a hand on her shoulder "Whatever it is, me and Ami will be there to listen when you want to talk."
Rei smiled a bit at the words, nodding "Thanks." she said, before perking up a bit "So! Got anyone in mind you plan to invite to that cruise ship? You know, besides Tuxedo Kamen?" Rei asked her, teasing her slightly.
Usagi blushed "Well… there is one person…"
"Ok… and that would be who?" Rei was honestly curious as she asked that.
Usagi looked around everywhere, before blushing more as she muttered out "Kensuke…"
Rei blinked once, twice, before raising an eyebrow "Huh… I… guess I can see why you like him. He's a nice guy, he's certainly smart if he's in university, and he IS rather good looking, even though he's not my type even I can admit that… and I suppose he has been there for you a lot since you started being Sailor Moon."
"Yeah...he's been there for me since well...literally the first day," Usagi nodded. "So...I'd like to ask him if he'd…"
Rei put a hand on her shoulder. "If that's how you feel, then go for it. Whether he returns the feelings or not, it's better that you tried than you did nothing."
Usagi smiled. "Thanks, Rei. I'm honestly afraid if he says no, but you're right. Its better I tried than I did nothing."
Kensuke was frowning a lot now. He'd went looking into the cruise and other than the recent commercials and promotions...nothing. Sure they said it was their maiden voyage, but still...he'd hoped to find something to alleviate his suspicions. Sighing, he closed up the cabinet he was working on. He'd better get focused, or he might get an accident. However…
"Kensuke?" Usagi said, catching his attention.
"Huh? Oh, Usagi. Sorry, didn't see you there. Was working on this cabinet," he apologized. "What'll it be today?"
"About that...can we...talk a bit? It won't take long," she said.
"Uh...okay? Just give me a minute," Kensuke nodded, before finishing closing up the cabinet, then following her to the alley right next to the arcade. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Um… well… I was wondering…" Usagi had trouble saying what she wanted, fidgeting in place, before eventually just pulling the tickets out of her school bag and presenting them to Kensuke "Please go on the cruise with me tomorrow!"
Kensuke blinked at her as she bowed in front of him, holding the tickets out. He… wasn't really sure how to react to this. On one hand, it was sweet of her to ask him, but on the other… he didn't see her in the way she obviously saw him.
Yet… he was still suspicious of that cruise ship… but he'd feel bad if he gave Usagi false hope. Ultimately, he had to give her an answer. She'd placed her feelings on the table, so how did HE feel about her. He knew he cared about her but…did he care about her in the way she hoped. Thinking back on the time spent so far...he eventually realized the answer to her question.
"Usagi...I'm...very flattered that you'd ask me out," he said with a small smile. "But...I can't accept this."
Usagi looked at him, and he almost cracked when he saw the look she had. That was why he knew he had to set the record straight. "Don't think for even a second that this means I don't care about you. I do care. But...I care about you as if you were the little sister I never had. I'm sorry, Usagi," he said with a sigh.
Usagi...wasn't fully sure how to feel. Sad was a given, as she felt some of the hopes she had fall apart...but at the same time she didn't exactly feel...devastated. It was...comforting to know he DID care for her...just...not in the way she had hoped. In the end, she managed to keep enough of her wits to respond. "I...see…" she said softly. "I'm...sad it wasn't the way I hoped, but...thanks for being honest with me," she said, before turning and walking away. Kensuke moved to reach for her on instinct but stopped himself. Right now...she needed time to think and be alone.
"Here, I'm returning these," Usagi said as she gave the tickets back to Rei. Currently they were in the Hikawa Shrine, Usagi having asked Luna to call everyone to meet up after she'd calmed down thanks to some time to cool down, support from her mom and brother, and a good night's sleep...and a chance to bawl her eyes out so she could get the emotions off her chest. As a result, she was thinking much more clearly now.
Rei looked at the tickets and frowned. "I'm guessing things didn't really work out. I'm sorry," Rei said sympathetically as she took the tickets back.
Usagi sighed. "It's...alright. It wasn't so bad, even if I guess I'll only ever be his little sister…" then she quickly shook her head. "Nope. He was polite about it, and at least it happened now then later, so...it'll be alright."
"I hope this won't affect how you work with him." Luna said with a frown.
"I'll be fine, I'm still feeling a bit disappointed sure, but I'll get over it after a bit of time, and he's still a good friend." Usagi reassured her.
"Well, that's good to hear then." Luna smiled at that "He and Ami should be here soon, he said he'd pick her up on his way."
It was only a minute after she said that, that they heard a pair of footsteps, and soon enough, Kensuke and Ami stepped into the room.
"Hey… so… everything ok?" he asked, looking at Usagi.
He honestly felt just a tiny bit awkward right now.
She smiled at him "I'm good, I've mostly gotten over it. I was just returning the tickets to Rei so we can decide who gets them instead."
He sighed in relief at hearing that, before he sat down "Good to hear, I'd feel like a jerk if you were still down in the dumps."
"Yeah, well… at least now I have a super cool big brother." she said with a shrug, chuckling a bit.
"Well, I'm glad you're both still friends." Ami said in relief, Kensuke having explained the situation a bit to her on their way here.
"Same here," Kensuke nodded, before frowning. "Though...if you're looking into that cruise...I have my doubts," he said.
"Huh?" the others blinked.
"Haven't you seen the number of tickets they're distributing?" Kensuke pointed out. "But if you haven't, its 666."
Rei's eyebrows shot up at that "Wait… like the number of the beast in christianity?"
"Yeah, 666, aka, the number of the devil himself. Feels kind of odd for a cruise ship to have that number of max passengers." He said with a frown. "On top of that, I looked into the ship. Nothing whatsoever came up about it. It's like it doesn't exist."
"Hm...that IS very strange," Luna noted. "Do you think it may be another plot?"
"That's...I can't say for sure, but with how things have been I'd say it's very likely," Kensuke said.
"They REALLY don't have any boundaries do they?" Rei growled.
"I guess they don't, toying with the hearts of people in love like that. We gotta punish them!" Usagi said, slapping the table.
"Agreed, we just need a plan now." Luna said.
"Well… maybe we could put the tickets to good use?" Ami suggested.
"Good thinking, two of us could go in undercover as guests," Kensuke nodded.
"Though what about the other two?" Usagi frowned.
"Why not use the Disguise Pen? Maybe pretend to be something inconspicuous?" he suggested further.
"Hey, you're right. We know it works on more than just me," Usagi agreed.
"Okay, so we've got a way in. Now...who should be the ones to use the tickets?" Luna asked.
"Well, Kensuke is one of them obviously." Rei pointed out.
"I guess I AM the only guy here." he said with a sweatdrop."So who's gonna be the 'date'?"
An awkward silence descended...before Ami, Rei, and Luna...probably instinctively...looked at Usagi. "...well...this...is going to be very awkward…" Usagi groaned.
"You sure one of you can't sub?" Kensuke asked with a groan as well.
"Well...that's a fair point," Rei admitted. "So...how do we decide who has to go?"
"I think...simple might be best," Ami sighed, before pulling out a 100 yen coin. "Heads or Tails?"
"Heads," Rei said, to which Ami flipped the coin. It landed on heads.
"Guess you're my date for the night Ami," Kensuke said with a light chuckle.
"And we're sneaking aboard, I already have the perfect disguise idea to." Usagi said to Rei with a grin.
"I want to know in advance." she said with narrowed eyes.
"Oh relax, it's just a reporter and her assistant who carries around a recorder." Usagi said placatingly, making Rei nod, being able to accept that role.
"Well...they sure managed to draw quite a bunch," Kensuke mused as currently he and Ami were on the cruise...which was full. Heck, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that there WERE 666 people including them on the ship right now. The both of them were dressed appropriately to blend in, Kensuke wearing a dress shirt and tie, while Ami just has a simple blue dress.
"It's really incredible how, assuming this IS a Dark Kingdom plot, that they keep managing to draw so many people," Ami couldn't help but say.
"They either use plots that hit a LOT of people at the same time, or they go for tricks to lure lots of people in. Left or right, they fill up fast...even if this has to be one of their more outrageous moves yet," Kensuke sighed.
"I just hope Usagi and Rei are doing alright," Ami frowned.
"They'll be fine," Kensuke reassured.
At the same time, Usagi and Rei, now dressed as reporters, the disguise pen had given both of them short hair, though Usagi's was shorter, and they wore casual clothing, Usagi having a small vest over a striped shirt and some simple green pants, while Rei had a short coat that was kept closed and a pair of jeans, and she also had sunglasses… for some reason (the disguise pen really had strange ideas at times), had managed to sneak into the ship's lower deck. Once inside, they opened the case they had with them, allowing Luna to get out of it. "Good, we're in," Luna breathed a sigh of relief. Part of the plan or not, that was still pretty uncomfortable.
"Question is...what do we look for?" Usagi frowned.
"Anything out of the ordinary I guess," Rei frowned as they scanned the room...and soon found the first glaring detail.
"Uh...Rei?" Usagi started.
"Yeah?" Rei asked.
"I may not be a machine expert but don't machines normally NEED a running engine to work?" she asked.
"Yes. Yes they do," Rei nodded.
"And yet this engine isn't working," Luna frowned, the three of them looking at each other in silent agreement. This was getting VERY fishy. With that in mind, they continued investigating, but didn't go far, as they turned a corner and were face to face with a man with dark hair and dressed in a captain's uniform.
"May I help you?" the captain asked sternly. "This is a restricted area."
The both of them stood ramrod straight, while Luna discreetly jumped back into the box.
"Uh… we… got lost from our crew! We're reporters you see! We wanted to run an exclusive story on this wonderful ship!" Rei said after a moment, giving a nervous smile.
"I… see…" the captain said slowly "Well… why don't I help you back out of here then?"
"Oh, that would be lovely, thank you." Usagi said, calming down slightly.
"It's my pleasure." the captain said as he started walking, before looking at them with a raised eyebrow "What is the name of your newspaper?"
"The… uh… Daily Bugle!" Usagi said quickly… and Rei felt like slapping her when her brain clicked on the connection.
Oh she may not be a fan, but even she knew about freaking SPIDERMAN!
"I see, that must be quite a renowned newspaper," the captain nodded, though he felt like he should know the name...but ultimately shrugged as there would probably be hundreds if not thousands of papers. Besides, publicity was always good.
And he didn't notice Rei staring at him with her jaw dropped, unable to believe that he was stupid enough to buy it.
Usagi likewise was surprised he actually bought it, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Y-yes it is. It's a REALLY well known paper that has a LOT of readers. Its so popular we could print complete lies and people would believe it," she said...only half thinking.
"I see. Well, I do hope you only have good things to say about our cruise. Now then…" the captain started, but was stopped when…
"Captain?" a new voice entered the scene. The group turned to see the source which was a woman with long hair, dressed in a crew outfit with her face obscured by her hat. "It's almost time for the special event," she said.
"Ah yes, my apologies. I was sidetracked," the captain nodded, before turning to them. "The exit to the main deck is that way. I am certain your crew will be on the deck," he said quickly before going to the woman, the two soon walking away.
Once they were out of sight, Usagi and Rei both breathed sighs of relief, before Rei shot the blonde an annoyed look "Marvel comics? Really?"
"I panicked ok? Besides, it worked didn't it? Does the Dark Kingdom actually seem like the kind of place where they read american comic books?" Usagi shot back.
Rei groaned "I hate that your logic actually makes sense."
"At any rate, we'd better get out of here. I don't think we can fool them a second time if they catch us again," Usagi said, earning a nod from Rei to which they both left the engine room.
Meanwhile, the various couples were ushered in to a reception hall of sorts complete with a stage ready.
"Looks like they're ready to steal energy." Kensuke muttered.
"Should we sneak off and find the others?" Ami wondered.
"...might be our best move. We can't risk them finding out who we are after all," Kensuke mused.
Nodding to each other, they managed to get out of the room unnoticed. Just in time too, as when they got out, they quickly looked to the windows, the doors closing shut, and the captain and assistant captain entered the stage. The 'assistant captain' said something...before revealing herself as a Youma and the lights started to dance in the room, and the energy was starting to be harvested.
"Welp, let's hurry up and stop that." Kensuke said in worry, before they moved away, rounding a corner… and nearly running into Usagi and Rei.
"Oh, good, we found you." Rei sighed in relief.
"No time to talk, their harvesting energy as we speak." Ami said seriously.
"Right, in that case, time to get to work." Usagi said with a nod as everyone took out their transformation items "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"
"Mars Power, Make Up!"
"Mercury Power, Make Up!"
"Henshin!" "Turn Up!"
"The energy is filling up quite nicely," Thetis said.
"Yes it is," Jadeite agreed, though a frown was present on his face.
"Is something wrong?" Thetis asked.
"...I feel like some of the guests are missing," Jadeite frowned. "But I'm sure it's just nothing."
Apparently the universe was feeling like shitting on him as right when he said that, the doors to the room were busted down, followed by a familiar golden disk flying and shattering the Disco Ball, halting the energy absorption completely.
"What?!" both of them gasped in surprise.
"You know, you people aren't exactly subtle, makes finding these plots of yours REALLY easy." Blade stepped into the room, a hand on his sheathed sword.
"Not that we're complaining obviously. Please, keep being the obvious idiots to make our job easy." Moon added as she caught her returning tiara.
"Damn you all," Jadeite glared, before Thetis held a hand in front of him.
"Lord Jadeite, allow me to deal with the Sailor Scouts," Thetis said.
"Very well, I'll leave it to you," Jadeite nodded, before Thetis raised her arms, and suddenly the various crew members lumbered into the room...and promptly revealed themselves as slime-like creatures, which suddenly twisted together and before the surprised heroes could react, she darted out of the room, and the liquid creatures grabbed the surprised Scouts, pulling them out, the door soon closing behind her.
"Girls!" Blade said in alarm, and would have ran after them...if not for the hand that had suddenly burst out of the ground, grabbing his foot and nearly causing him to trip over, right when he felt his pendant heat up. "This is…!" he gasped, quickly using his sword to make the hand let go, to which an angry hiss was heard, and the owner of the hand burst out of the ground. Its body seemed to be covered from head to toe in a carapace, the left half more silver in color while the right half seemed more closer to stone in color, wearing a shield on its right arm that was shaped like a trilobite, while the left arm held two long blades.
"Trilobite Undead… well, at least now I know last time wasn't just some fluke." Blade said as he drew his sword.
"Several of these beasts are already under our control. Perhaps you defeated one, but this time you will be the one defeated!" Jadeite declared as the Trilobite ran forward, lashing out with its blades, forcing Blade to roll out of the way, and when he tried to counter, his attack was blocked by the shield.
"Tch. Shouldn't be surprised. This thing IS one of the Undead with the best defense," Blade snarled. "Hope the girls are having an easier time than I am…"
At the same time, the Scouts were having a not so easy time, having to dodge the water that was moving to strike them.
"This one is beyond the others we've fought so far!" Mars said as they dodged.
"And she's got a BIG home field advantage!" Moon added as they were forced to evade another stream of water, Thetis manipulating the sea water around the ship. And boy was she doing a good job of it. The water swirled, reshaped, struck and even acted as defense when necessary.
"We're not going to be able to do anything if she keeps having the advantage," Mercury frowned. "For now... Shabon Spray!" she called out, creating the veil of fog which served to keep them hidden for now. This would buy them some time at least…
"I hope Blade's having a better time than we are…" Mars growled.
Blade was pushed back from a strong strike by the Undead. Honestly, the movements weren't too special and the strikes the Undead were giving weren't exactly what he'd call masterful. No, the main reason he was having an issue in the first place was because of that damn shield and armor.
"Okay, this isn't getting me anywhere," Blade growled. He had to change tactics. Okay, first of all, that armor had to go. All that metal...wait a sec….
"This could work," Blade smirked, before drawing one of his cards. "Thunder!"
"Do whatever you want, it's useless against this one!" Jadeite laughed, feeling pretty confident this time...until Blade shot a blast of electricity, which the Undead blocked...and was promptly spasming when the electricity was conducted through its body, causing it to...well...huh...who knew an Undead could dance so well.
"And just to make sure…" Blade started, pulling out another card. "Slash!" With that he surged forward, and struck, cutting a large gash in the still dazed Undead's armor, and for good measure, he followed up with a stab through the gut.
The Undead let out a choked gasp as green blood spurted all over, its belt cracking open as Blade delivered a swift kick, sending it tumbling back. Acting quickly, he unfolded his cards, and pulled out one of the cards that was glowing blue, the 7 of Spades, and tossed it at the Undead, sealing it. "Metal Trilobite, sealed," Blade confirmed when the card flew back to him, before he turned to Jadeite. "Thanks for just standing there and being a cheerleader," he smirked.
Jadeite's face went red from anger, before he held up a hand, an ominous orb of black energy charging in it, and he then threw it at Blade, who dove out of it's path "You damnable miscreant… I'll have my revenge for this, I swear." Jadeite growled out, readying another attack...but before he could actually launch it, he vanished.
"...okay, that's new," Blade blinked.
Earlier…
"Where are you?!" Thetis growled.
"Right here," Mercury's voice was heard, to which she lashed out in the direction, but in the fog, she didn't see another figure leap behind from the side.
"Fire Soul!" Mars called out, firing several blasts in quick succession, hitting both Thetis AND the jets of water she was controlling, creating more steam while Thetis had was busy trying to douse the flames.
"Damn you!" she roared as the other jet of water was fired in Mars's direction, but by then she'd rolled back into the fog.
"Stop running you cowards!" Thetis was pretty much DONE with this rubbish by now.
"Moon Tiara...Action!" Moon called out.
"There!" Thetis grinned triumphantly as she fired more water in that direct, but...instead it was met with a blast of flames. "What?!" she gasped, surprised to see Mars when the fog parted a bit, a smirk on her face.
"You fell for it," Mars said, before Moon emerged...off to the side, and threw her tiara. Thetis's eyes widened as she realized they'd pinned her down and now she could do nothing as the attack hit, her pained gasp rang out before she turned into a mass of water and fell apart, the cruise ship soon after changed into an old completely un-seaworthy ship.
"Yeesh, so THIS is what the ship really looked like?" came Blade's voice a couple of minutes later as he exited the reception hall. "Looks like you three took care of this just fine. Good job."
"Thanks," Moon smiled.
"Though...what happened in there? I suddenly felt another evil aura, and then suddenly two vanished," Mars frowned.
"Undead. Seems the Dark Kingdom has a few under their control," Blade said seriously, but quickly drew the Metal Trilobite card. "Though thankfully nobody taught Jadeite to work WITH the monsters he uses," he smirked. "After that he kinda just vanished suddenly. No idea why, but hey, not looking a gift horse in the mouth," Blade shrugged.
"If he suddenly vanished, it's possible he was summoned back to the Dark Kingdom forcefully." Luna said in thought as she came up to them.
"Perhaps they felt he was in over his head?" Mercury mused.
"That… or their disappointed with all his failures." Moon said with a chuckle. One good thing about reading manga so much, she'd seen THIS kind of situation plenty, namely 'you have failed me'.
"Not gonna lie, I would pay to see that." Mars added with a smirk.
"Well, as amusing as imagining him getting what's coming to him is, we'd better transform back before the coast guard comes, and/or the people wake up," Blade said.
"Good point," the others nodded to which they all turned back, and were soon waiting for the coast guard to come and rescue the civilians...and them too.
Jadeite stumbled for a moment as he suddenly reappeared in darkness, looking around for a moment, before the attack faded from his hand "Queen Beryl… I-"
"Enough Jadeite." a voice cut in, as a woman with long, dark red hair appeared before him, wearing a long black dress and a black crown around her forehead "I grow tired of your failures, not only do you keep failing to defeat the scouts and the rider, but you lose us many valuable assets, including one of my personal Youma this time. You've even managed to lose two of the immortal beasts Kujaku has managed to take control of!"
"But Queen Beryl, this time it was Thetis's idea!" Jadeite protested. "Kujaku even volunteered to lend the beast for this plan!"
"Is that so?" Beryl frowned, glancing towards Kujaku who was standing to the side.
"Eh, its true. Thetis had a nice idea, I figured 'why not'," Kujaku shrugged. It really wouldn't make a difference in his eyes. No matter what, Jadeite was on thin ice anyway.
Beryl frowned, but sighed. "Very well, I will let this slide for now," she started, almost getting a sigh of relief from Jadeite until… "However, your next plan will be your final chance. If you fail me one last time, you shall be consigned to an eternal slumber!"
Jadeite's face became grim, as he bowed before Beryl "I understand Queen Beryl…"
And there!
So, a lot of things here, first, yeah, Kensuke is keeping Mamoru's secret, for now at least.
Also, Rei and Usagi AREN'T constantly at each other's throats in this story.
She also isn't boy crazy as you can all see, since she has no need for the tickets.
If you know her manga backstory, you might understand why we're doing that.
Also, Usagi's crush on Kensuke, we handled that pretty quickly, mostly for the obvious reason that, hey, Mamoru isn't a dick anymore, so let's try and make their relationship seem more natural.
Yes, this is a gripe on how Usagi and Mamoru just suddenly loved each other when their memories as Serenity and Endymion came back.
So we're working on makign this better.
Anyway, that's pretty much it, next time, we're workingon Digital Story.
See you then!
