This next chapter will focus mainly on Kibwe Hengist, who we met in the last chapter, prior to the eventual attack at the art gallery. But it won't just focus on him, because we will also see the first appearance of the Negaverse's third of five Generals, a male Zoisite, whose mission for the Negaverse will not be immediately clear, but still important to their ultimate plans of conquest and/or destruction. He will be a twin of a female Zoisite, but that's all I'm saying about him at the present time, in terms of relevant information about him. To learn more about him, you'll all have to continue reading the story, of course, folks.

In the last chapter, we saw Eryn awaken fully as Sailor Sun, during a Negaverse attack at a Tokyo-area art gallery. Her first fight was hard, and it got very personal for her very fast, once she and her family were all caught up in it, and attacked. Her parents and siblings all survived, but now they are all unconscious in a local hospital, with no clear idea yet just how long they may remain there, or whether they'll ultimately survive for a long enough period of time to make it possible for Eryn to spend a lot of time with them in the future with them alive and well in it.

Eryn didn't want to have to actually fight officially at the art gallery, but now that her parents and siblings were attacked and are now in the hospital, she will fight. And do so even if she hates having to, with her hoping that they will all awaken from their current states of unconsciousness sometime soon, if at all possible. But for that to happen, she might have to collect any number of things for a good while, until all necessary parts of her future Sunbeam Crystal are collected and put together as needed, et cetera.

Her current and future teammates will attempt to help her all they can, but they won't be able to help her totally in the future, for sure, at times. Some things that she'll have to deal with, she'll have to deal with on her own, like it or not.

There is still much of this story here to tell, so without further ado, let's get back to the story, folks. I hope you all will enjoy this next chapter, and decide to review it periodically as the need or desire strikes each of you, if and whenever it does, et cetera. TUS out.

Picture Perfect

Roughly three or four days later, going back to his residence after he was done with college for the day and having visited briefly with his family, Kibwe Hengist suddenly felt an unexpected blast of much cooler air come through his slightly-lowered driver's side window. So he looked for a place to safely park his Nissan Sunny the first chance he had to do that easily enough. For when it had happened periodically in the past three or so years, he had often experienced visions minutes later, even while driving at times. He finally found a place within walking distance of his residence, parked his car, and secured it as needed there. But not without first withdrawing a spear and a shield given to him years before when he was ultimately recognized as an adult by his Masai culture's standards.

Taking the spear and shield with him as he left his car, he quickly walked away and began looking for a more secluded place in Juuban to be in so that he could focus better on the vision he now knew he was about to receive. He came upon a little-visited seafood place, with only a few people in it when he walked in there, most of them restaurant staff. They briefly glanced at him before going back to whatever they had been doing just before he walked in, and didn't seem to mind him entering the establishment with a spear and a shield in hand. Nor his moving to a more secluded area of the diner, either.

When a waiter briefly moved towards him to ask him if he wanted anything, with a simple shaking of his head, Kibwe indicated that he didn't. So the waiter immediately turned away, and went about other needed business of his here. Kibwe soon ensconced himself in the most secluded area of the diner that he could find at the present time, and finally let himself experience the vision he was now expecting to have.

The vision had him in a city park somewhere in Juuban, but it wasn't clear just which park in it that he was seeing events of the vision take place in, at least to that point in time. He did see himself and others in the vision, however, somehow battling several alien monsters going after several people also in the vision, and a camera would be hanging from his neck just before the beginning of the related Negaverse attack in that park, at least, in any case.

The vision lasted for about ten to fifteen minutes, and included a view of him getting thrown around by a few Negaverse monsters before he was sufficiently able to fight back against them. It didn't show him exactly how he'd be able to fight those same monsters, nor how others would be able to, clearly enough for him to comprehend it well enough at the present time. But it did at least show him that he'd have to fight monsters as well, somehow, by the end of the night, for sure.

When the vision finally ended, he quickly left the diner, returned to his car, and then to his residence elsewhere in Juuban. Specifically, a certain apartment in Darien's apartment building, but a fourth-floor one instead of one on the same floor as Darien's was which was much closer to the top of it than his was. Bringing his spear, shield, and several other things with him when he returned to it, he soon dropped his keys on a small table near the door, set the spear and shield in their usual holders next to the door, and took his books to his bedroom before setting them on his desk there. Quickly changing into other clothes, he also glanced at several pictures of his ancestors on his bedroom's walls, before saying mostly to himself, "So this is how it will begin, me as a warrior for justice, it seems. I hope that I can somehow live up well to your ultimate reputations for justice and strength in the past, earned when you each had to fight those who would do wrong, either on the battlefield or in general Kenyan society, or in other areas of humanity's life experiences, such as slavery, Wise Ones. I will do my best to carry on the honored legacy that you have all left me through the millennia, for as long as I can in the future, for sure."

Not long after saying those things, he left his bedroom, fixed himself a quick dinner, which was quickly consumed, and worked briefly in his studio not far from his dining room/kitchen area on a photographic project he'd been working on for the last week or so, more or less. He worked there until nearly 7, before leaving his studio, picking up a camera off its cat-themed stand near the door, among a few other things, on the way out of it. Minutes later, he also gathered the spear and shield from before, although he didn't yet know when or where he might be using them later for sure. He didn't take his car keys, though, because he somehow had a still-unexplainable feeling he'd not need them to go to wherever the now-expected fight would ultimately take place elsewhere in Juuban.

Putting the spear and shield on his back as needed, and leaving his apartment, he soon began walking wherever his feet might then take him elsewhere in Juuban. As he walked, he periodically would snap pictures of interesting things he might see along the way to wherever he was now being led, at the very least, if not also other people as well.

He didn't know it yet, but one of those people he took at least one picture of was Serena, who he'd never yet actually met in person. She was currently alone, and walking past a few stores in the area between her school and her home. Somehow, her unusual hairstyle got his attention, and he unconsciously snapped a few pictures of her as he passed her on the other side of the street that they were both currently walking down, her on one side, him on the other, although he couldn't quite understand why at that particular time.

Eventually, he came to the park where the upcoming battle would ultimately take place, sometime that very night, although he didn't know when or where it would happen in that park. For his earlier vision had not shown him such things in it. He soon wandered through the park, looking for more things to take pictures of in it, either for potential artistic purposes or for mere pleasure, if and whenever he could take more pictures for himself in his life.

Meanwhile, a dimension away, and shortly before Kibwe felt the sudden breeze of much cooler air while driving, another Negaverse General conversed with Queen Beryl, Jadeite, and Nephlyte, in one of his rare appearances outside his rooms, as he and the other two Generals stood before her in her throne room. A mostly white lab coat was currently being worn over his General uniform, seeing as he'd been summoned unexpectedly from whatever he'd then been working on in his rooms, whether music-related or not. He was Beryl's third General, and his twin was Beryl's fourth. And both he and his twin were called Zoisite, but with him normally being called Zoisite-kun and his twin Zoisite-chan by Queen Beryl and the other Generals, seeing as his twin was female, and slightly younger than he was. Of course, in more private situations or settings, each Zoisite twin might be called by different names, where and when possible and appropriate, by certain people or youma from anywhere at all in the Negaverse, or if they ever had to visit Earth at any time, for any reason whatsoever.

The Zoisite now in front of Beryl, however, explained to her and the two other Generals now present some matters relating to the technological devices they might need to use in the future on certain missions, and he was also giving them updates on his progress with improving certain capabilities of various monsters that he was designing and creating for potential use on Earth to hopefully increase the chances of ultimate Negaverse victory over their enemies there.

"And you are certain that if we do what we ought to do here, Zoisite-kun, that we will eventually see the defeat and destruction of all those who stand or will stand in the way of our ultimate victory over the inhabitants of Earth?" asked Queen Beryl, with a scowl on her face mainly directed towards Jadeite at this time, as she also mentally recalled the results of several recent missions to Earth that he'd led.

He said, as he briefly ran his hand through mostly blond hair with a few white and blue streaks dyed in, "I am fairly certain that we will ultimately prove victorious, if we do. But I also foresee potential trouble in the future for us if and when potential enemies seek to invade us later on, whenever that may happen to be the case, or if we capture prisoners in battle for any purpose whatsoever, and do not ultimately eliminate them in a timely enough manner."

"Very likely story, but I don't believe a word of it, not at all, what you just said, Zoisite-kun," stated Jadeite, moments later, when it was again his turn to speak.

"Wait until you meet the Prince, then, whoever he may be. And we will see if he shares your thoughts here about related matters. I have had some dreams that seem to provide at least some clues to his Earth identity, but not many, other than the fact that he seems to be tall and dark-haired. But then again, if he is in Japan or in certain other Asian countries on Earth, that may not be much to go on, seeing as many of the people there seem to have dark hair and all, and there are at least some tall people in Japan, as well. For all we know, he could be from some other country elsewhere on Earth, in truth. I have not yet been able to see his face, for instance, in any of my dreams, though."

"So we are no closer than the Knights or the Sailors in learning his Earth identity at this point, if they do not yet know it themselves, I take it?" asked Beryl.

"No, and I have a feeling that Nephlyte feels much the same way that I do regarding him right now, as a matter of fact, Queen Beryl," said Zoisite-kun, reaching into his pocket after hearing a certain sound from a device there. "Now I have to leave you, for that sound is telling me that one of my current projects has just finished its most recent stage of development, apparently, and I have to go see if that is actually the case back in my laboratory, or if it's a false alarm of some sort, or something."

"Very well, Zoisite-kun. Continue your work, and let me know if anything promising comes up in the near future with it, at once, or at least as soon as possible, then," said Beryl, as she granted him leave to return to his laboratory again here.

Nodding, "As you wish, Queen Beryl," Zoisite-kun left with a wave of his cape, and was out of the throne room no more than a minute later.

Jadeite thought, 'I don't trust him one bit. He and his twin are up to something, and I have to protect Queen Beryl, as best as possible, if she doesn't decide to get after me first for my failures so far against the Sailors and the Knights and their various allies, of course. And I can't count on Nephlyte's help here, either, for he really doesn't like me either, I'm sure. As for Malachite, I don't think I'm in good straits with him either, seeing as I've failed against our enemies six times in battle, and he's the top General for our forces.'

For a while after Zoisite-kun left, then, Queen Beryl and her two still-present Generals discussed the things that he'd shared with them all, before she dismissed them, and sent them back to do whatever their current duties required of them in the Negaverse or with future missions to Earth, at the very least. That done, she decided to take a walk herself to her chambers and spend some time contemplating all that she had just learned from Zoisite-kun, and on what she'd also observed of certain previous battles since awakening from a long period of suspended animation a good while before that Queen Serenity had put her in so long ago.

As he wandered through the park, Kibwe encountered Darien, as Darien was also spending time there for once. Darien wouldn't often come to the park, but he had done so at least a few times since awakening as Earth Knight/Tuxedo Mask several weeks before. At the moment, neither Wanderer nor Seeker were anywhere near Darien. For they were each checking other things out in different areas of Tokyo.

Darien had asked them to leave him for a while, and they had also gotten orders to check things out from Hitomi who had sent them to Darien in the first place, so therefore they were not currently near Darien while he was visiting the park he was now in. Darien didn't know of those orders by Hitomi, or at least as of yet, if he ever would. So he didn't mind them just doing whatever they felt they needed to do away from him while they weren't near him for a long enough period of time.

Darien and Kibwe had never met before, as far as either could recall. Even though they both were Keio students and lived in the same apartment building, they had never knowingly met each other in their lives.

Even so, Kibwe unexpectedly said, "Please pardon my interruption here, but you somehow seem quite familiar to me, although I am quite certain that we have never met, sir," to Darien, who was then looking at a nearby sculpture of a samurai standing next to a horse, evidently deep in thought about something. What it might be, Kibwe had absolutely no idea. But he still somehow recognized that Darien was, as he gradually came towards him from somewhere in front of Darien.

Darien looked up at Kibwe's words, studied him briefly, and then said, "You are right, we have never met before, as far as I can recall, but you do seem familiar to me as well, for some yet-unknown reason."

Kibwe studied Darien briefly as well, before saying, "My name is Kibwe Hengist. I have this feeling that we will be spending quite a bit of time with each other in the future, but I do not yet know just how much time, and for how long, for sure, in our respective lives."

They decided to walk together in the park for a while, about two feet apart but still side-by-side, "Pleased to meet you, then, Mr. Hengist. I am Darien Shields."

"Likewise, Mr. Shields."

"If you believe that feeling of yours, then please call me Darien, for Mr. Shields is not something I feel I'm normally ready to be called, if I don't have to be, in my life, at any time. I'm still young, so I don't think I'm old enough yet to deserve being called that most of the time in it." They passed a birdbath to the side of the path in the park that they were now walking on.

"Then call me Kibwe, whenever possible, in like manner, please."

"Fair enough. What brings you out to this park today, then, if I may ask?"

"I have a feeling that something big is likely to happen here very soon, and it will not be good for the inhabitants of Tokyo if it is not dealt with easily enough, for starters, Darien."

Darien glanced over at Kibwe when he said that, and then asked, "Care to elaborate?"

"Not at this time, for I don't have enough to go on as of yet, in relation to this feeling, it seems. But it does also seem to suggest that others may find themselves caught up in related matters, if they aren't already caught up in them. Whether they are caught up in them soon or not, it does, in any case."

The men walked for a while longer near each other, even as Kibwe continued to snap pictures with his camera every so often, as the mood then struck him in the park. They didn't say much more to each other as they did so, or at least not for some time longer yet.

Meanwhile, Rolando was working on one of his personal writing projects in his bedroom when Astrid knocked on his door and told him that someone was on the phone for him, and that they sounded important. He thanked her, went to his father's office/library area, and picked up the phone there. Several moments later, once he was sufficiently sure that he wouldn't be overheard while talking to the caller, even from outside that room, or elsewhere in the house, he asked, "May I ask who is calling?"

"Is this Rolando Volois?" the caller asked.

"It is."

"This is Hitomi Wakahisa. You were at the fashion show that got invaded by alien monsters, and you modeled some of the clothes I designed for males, according to my records."

"Yes, I was there. How may I help you, then, Wakahisa-san?"

"We have just detected a potential threat that seems to be mobilizing in another dimension, and preparing to invade this one, for some reason, Volois-san. My sources tell me that you have now begun fighting actively against the enemy force that has launched attacks all over Tokyo recently. I am calling you to let you know of this potential threat before they return to this dimension, although we do not yet know exactly where they may launch their next attack in the Tokyo area, unfortunately."

"That is true, Wakahisa-san, I have begun fighting alien monsters."

"Then please tell your allies in your part of Tokyo that they may be needed as well very soon, to fight again. We expect that our enemies may launch another attack somewhere in Tokyo sometime tonight, but we don't yet know just when and where, unfortunately. Also, do not be surprised if you see a peacock near you that is much larger than normal, and please tell your allies not to be surprised as well. If we can pinpoint just where the attack may happen, and if we have time before they do so, I will be having them pick you all up, and take you to where it may be, if necessary. Otherwise, we will have to get you there in some other way, it seems."

"Okay, Wakahisa-san, I'll let my allies know as quickly as I can. Thanks for the advance notice. Is there anything else to discuss at this time?"

"Is there anything you can tell your family, if and when you have to fight tonight, so that they won't get too suspicious if you have to leave your home suddenly, for any reason?"

"I believe so, but not entirely sure at the moment. I may have to improvise, though, because I do have siblings that may sometimes be curious about things I do in my life, et cetera, of course."

"If you have to, tell them you have to go out for a while, to meet a friend somewhere. Be as vague as possible, then, for obvious reasons. When you are clear of your home, and are quite sure you're not being followed, and all, turn on your communicator, so that we know it's safe enough to talk to you on it, if needed. Supposing it's not on already by then, of course. When you do, we will let you know whatever else we need to let you know about then."

"Understood. Will that be all for now, then?"
"Yes, at least for the most part, it is, anyway. I suggest you leave your home as soon as possible, and head for your school's main gates, in fact. I am going to send Book and Blueberry your way. Wait for them until they meet you outside your school's main gates. If you have companions by then, they should accompany you there as well, for sure."

"Very well. I will start heading that way shortly, then."

"Very good, then. That is all for now. Thank you for your time, Volois-san."

"You're welcome."

"Talk to you soon. Wakahisa out." When a dial tone sounded in Rolando's ear again, he hung up the phone, and called Sylvia's house, soon being connected to her on the phone, courtesy of Rebecca.

Once he heard a certain phone extension being hung up on, and once he was quite sure that nobody else would be listening in on their conversation on that side of the line, he said, "Sylvia, I just got a call from Hitomi Wakahisa." He quickly summarized his just-ended conversation with her as briefly as possible, fielding only a few questions from her as he then did so, at most.

"Understood, I will let Eryn know this information as well, then, Rolando. We'll both meet you in our civilian forms where needed as soon as possible, of course," said Sylvia, once he was finally done telling her everything he then needed to tell her here.

"Good, see you soon, I hope. Shalom."

"Shalom."

Moments later, then, Rolando was not only out of his father's office/library area, but out of the Voloises' Tokyo-area residence, and heading for his school, as he'd been told to do. On the way there, Sylvia and Eryn met him untransformed, as Sylvia had told him they would.

Eryn asked, "Who is this Hitomi Wakahisa who called for you, Volois? I don't think I've seen the name before. Or at least, I don't remember seeing or hearing the name before anywhere at the moment?"

"She is a novelist/fashion designer. We modeled for her a while back, before we all got caught up in the furniture store attack," answered Rolando.

"I see. And how does she know what you evidently told Sylvia, and what Sylvia told me?"

"I'm not entirely sure at this time, for I've not met her often, if at all, since the fashion show we modeled at for her last month, if memory serves," said Rolando. "I do have my suspicions, however, and none of them currently seem to be bad, in relation to her and me and certain others around me now, at least."

The three teenagers talked for a little while longer with each other as they walked towards their school as planned. Not long after they got there, then, a turtle and a monkey eventually emerged from either a nearby tree or a nearby bush, as the need arose for them to do so, and came up to them all here.

It wasn't too much later before Rolando ultimately introduced Book and Blueberry to the young women, and Sylvia said, "They're cute, Rolando, I think."

Blueberry seemed a bit put-off by that comment, in a turtlish sort of way, somehow, before he surprised both young women by saying, "I am most definitely not cute, I'll have you know, young lady. Now Book here, he may not disagree with you, I think, but I do. I don't seek to be admired for my looks or appearance, and don't really have any desire to be fawned over, either, because of them. I have quite a few things that are much more important to be concerned with than what I might look like at any particular time in my life. At least right now, I do, anyway, that is."

"Oh, live a little, Blueberry," said Book, "It's not like they're trying to hurt your feelings, after all."

"I have no time for such frivolities, Book. Not when there are dangers yet untold all over the world that one must be prepared to potentially face at any time, or elsewhere in the Master's Universe."

"So do you know these animals well yet or not, Volois?" She said, shocked that both Book and Blueberry had actually spoken in human-style speech.

"No, I don't. I've only known of them since the day of the attack during the second volleyball match against Crossroads, and haven't been able to see them all that often just yet, Kesell."

"The idea that animals can communicate with us in human-style speech is totally ridiculous," said Eryn, as she leaned against the wall around their school's campus.

"Yet, you heard them, did you not, Eryn?" asked Sylvia, sitting on a nearby bench. While Rolando still remained standing where he was now, after having moved slightly away from the school's gates once Book and Blueberry had appeared. And the monkey and turtle each stayed where they now were as well.

"Sure I did, but I won't be going telling anyone else or they'd think I was quite mad, Wakefield," answered Eryn, as she glanced at her fingernails that she had painted in the colors of her Sailor Sun fighting uniform.

The trio conversed for a little while longer, but Eryn said nothing to the animals as of yet, leaving her companions to chat with Book and Blueberry. It was all too much to take in, and she began to sing quietly to herself.

All of a sudden, miles away in the sky from the direction of Azabu Juuban in Tokyo, weirdly flashing lights began appearing, and numerous unearthly sounds began reaching their ears. Eryn immediately stopped quietly singing to herself, and thought, 'What's going on now? More trouble? And what of these two animals here? Can they really be of any help?'

Rolando and Sylvia shared a brief look with each other, and then simply pulled out their respective transformation items, once they were quite sure that nobody else could see, hear, or detect them besides Eryn and the two animals. Without them even saying a word to her, Eryn said, "Yes, I know, time to fight. I have this strong feeling, though, I'm really going to hate having to do this." Reaching into her subspace pocket, she took out her locket, and the three teens stood away from the school gates before transforming.

Where Rolando Volois, Sylvia Wakefield, and Eryn Kesell had been, the Pilgrim and Sailors Skyhorse and Sun now stood. Minutes later, they saw the transformed Wanderer winging his way towards them from the approximate direction of Azabu Juuban. He was within two blocks of them and descending. He landed twelve feet away from them, larger than normal, and opened his beak, so that they could each enter his mouth in the exact same manner as Earth Knight had first done weeks before.

When Sun saw that, she said, "You HAVE to be kidding me."

"What, Sun?" asked Skyhorse, as she picked up Book and the Pilgrim Blueberry.

"I'm going to have to enter a peacock's mouth? How can I be sure that I won't end up in its stomach?"

"I'm not going to swallow you and digest you, I promise. Come, you are needed. Do you really want to leave innocents to be harmed?" asked Wanderer.

"I don't believe this is happening!" Yet, she somehow found herself entering Wanderer's mouth. And she followed Skyhorse and the Pilgrim to what seemed to be some sort of cockpit area in Wanderer's head, with his eyes also evidently doubling as cockpit windows or windshields.

When she got there, she was surprised to see Book, Blueberry, a hedgehog, and a horse in the cockpit, at what appeared to be stations.

"Serenade, are we all set to take off now?" asked Wanderer, as Skyhorse directed Sun to sit at a certain station.

"We are good to go, Wanderer," said the horse, as Skyhorse smiled briefly at him.

"Buckle up as you can, if you can, everyone, for it may be a bumpy flight here, if we're seen too soon by our enemies here." A minute later, Wanderer was five hundred feet in the air, gaining altitude and winging his way back to Azabu Juuban.

Back in the Negaverse, Jadeite was gathering several types of monsters to bring with him on the next mission. There weren't many monsters going on it, in truth. But there were several monsters that were of rather large size and strong and powerful. He gathered a half dozen larger ones and about twenty other monsters of assorted sizes and appearances for the mission, telling all the monsters he'd be bringing with him on the mission whatever he felt they needed to know, if he knew they could understand his orders. However, a few of the smaller ones would operate only on instinct, not in intelligent ways, so he wasn't able to communicate with those kinds of monsters.

The attack he'd be leading would be launched at 8 pm Tokyo time, but it still would take a few minutes for every monster to get into their proper places before it could be. Three of the monsters would unleash six others, while the other monsters in the assembled raiding party could operate more intelligently than the six who wouldn't likely be able to during the attack. At least that was Jadeite's current hope.

At 7:53 pm Tokyo time, the monsters and Jadeite appeared in the park, masquerading either as humans or as Earth animals. Minutes later, they were all in their assigned locations, and were waiting for Jadeite's signal to begin the attack. Precisely at 8, as planned, Jadeite sent the signal, and weirdly flashing lights and numerous unearthly sounds began filling the skies and spreading throughout the entire park, as many monsters transformed and were released to wreak havoc in that park.

Panic spread quickly as monsters appeared and began going after a number of people as they were either told to do or as their instincts led them to. Several minutes later, dozens of people were lying unconscious and/or injured in the park. None of them, however, were either Darien or Kibwe, fortunately for them. But that likely wouldn't hold true, because several monsters, mostly smaller ones, were approaching.

Elsewhere in the park, but still not found by the monsters now wreaking havoc, Darien and Kibwe looked at each other, now hearing and seeing certain sounds and lights, before Darien said, "I have to go somewhere now, Kibwe."

"I don't think you'll get very far before what's causing those lights and sounds in the park finds you, Darien."

Darien thought very briefly, and then realized Kibwe was likely right here about that sort of thing. "Then what do you suggest we do, Kibwe?"

"We should transform, I think."

"And how would you know that, Kibwe?"

"I'll have to tell you more later, but I can't right now, seeing as we must stay alive long enough for me to be able to do that with you later. Transform, and I'll do the same," said Kibwe, with a bit of an annoyed look on his face for a few seconds. He quickly snapped a picture of a nearby sculpture, before taking his spear and shield off his back, and twirling the spear several times while slipping his shield onto his left arm. Once the shield was on his arm as he saw fit, he then began writing the word Utaridi in the air, and shouted, "Snow Sculptor Power!" A fighting uniform that was similar to Earth Knight's armored one quickly appeared on Kibwe's person as he began transforming into his brand-new Utaridi Knight state of being. Unlike Darien's outfit, it lacked green and red in places where they were common on Earth Knight's outfit, and his cufflinks were ones bearing Mercury-related astronomical symbols, and stylized cameras were in both his suit jacket's lapels. His mask was mostly sky blue and white, with small Kenyan flags and various water-related symbols included on it. His outfit had a lot of African-influenced touches to it, especially in relation to snow and/or water, even for its cape. He also lacked a bowtie, and his cummerbund was replaced by a belt secured with a buckle that featured various African animals on it in front of two mountains side by side. And his shirt, trousers, and footwear all were identical to those of Earth Knight as well. His camera hung from its straps around his neck once his transformation was completed.

A minute after Kibwe began transforming, Darien finally transformed as well. He had been so surprised that Kibwe already knew they needed to transform and all, that he had not done so for that long, Not to mention he didn't expect that Kibwe would even tell him to transform in the first place, among other things.

Once both men were transformed, Utaridi Knight immediately headed towards the nearest sounds of activity he was now hearing, saying nothing to Earth Knight in the process of doing so. Seconds later, at most, Utaridi Knight snapped a few pictures of nearby monsters, while also calling out, "Utaridi Freezing Photospear Strike!" That caused snow-covered spears to shoot out from the lens and flash of his camera towards the monsters he'd just snapped pictures of, which hit a number of them, and froze them in place long enough for Earth Knight to attack them as well, and destroy several of them easier than he might have been able to had they not been frozen in place at all.

Working together, they managed to save several people from being drained too much at the present time before they were suddenly joined by Sun, Skyhorse, the Pilgrim, and five animals in the park. However, there were still many people still in the park who were not yet out of enough potential danger of any possible kind whatsoever, unfortunately.

Skyhorse and the others didn't waste time with needless speeches, for the monsters were still causing major trouble. Even while Jadeite was still secretly watching from a certain tree in the park, still unseen, unheard, and undetected by any of the heroes or their allies here, and waiting for the proper time to make his own presence as a Negaverse General known during the current attack in it.

He waited until the first of the largest monsters was finally eliminated by a combined attack from all the transformed fighters now present to show his face during the battle. And he quickly noted the presence of another Planetary Knight/Guardian in the form of Utaridi Knight, once he did so for a long enough time. He already knew of Earth Knight and the Pilgrim, along with knowing at least a little bit about three of the animals, but he didn't recognize two of the animals well enough just yet. Nor did he yet know much about Utaridi Knight, seeing as this was Utaridi Knight's first battle. Not to mention much about Sailor Sun, either.

He jumped into the fight himself after Sailor Sun tried to send a Sun Atomic Fusion Blast attack his way, which barely scratched his shields, seeing as he had them well-prepared and all now. He sent several fireballs in her direction, which forced Sun to dodge away, or try batting them into the air with her hurley where they wouldn't hit any of the people she was now fighting to try and save here, of course.

Several Sunburst Spiking Shots later, in concert with her current allies' attacks, another one of the large monsters was eliminated. But there were still four large monsters left, plus eleven of the other monsters, including one of the original six that had been under the control of three other monsters. And dozens of people were still either unconscious and/or injured, if not in even worse condition, all over the park.

The fighters continued fighting, even the animals, as Jadeite further involved himself in the fight. Mostly he sent his fireballs in the direction of Sun, to test her fighting abilities, but she was generally able to dodge or bat them away. Unfortunately, she still took hits from time to time during the fight, and not only from him, of course. Her allies took hits as well, but none of them had yet been knocked out of the fight between them and those beings still attacking in the park.

Several of the smaller monsters were soon disposed of by the fighters, but it wasn't easy, for they were still seriously challenged by them and/or Jadeite. Three of the monsters were especially difficult to deal with, including the last surviving monster that had been under the control of one of the other monsters. But they were still dealt with, in any case. That left just the four largest monsters and six other monsters present and still able to fight under Jadeite during the current attack, by the time the last unthinking monster was finally eliminated from the fight.

Another hour of fighting saw another big monster taken out, and the rest of the smaller monsters. But by that time, the fighters were nearly exhausted and seriously in danger of getting knocked out or worse in the fight against Jadeite and his monsters. Most of them had even taken a number of major hits that might have killed most untransformed people or animals, in fact, during the fight. But yet, they were still able to fight, for some reason. Even Sailor Sun, who was now fighting with a seriously sore right arm due to having taken some hits during the fight from attacks sent by Jadeite or various monsters, for example.

Eventually, Jadeite felt that he and his monsters had wreaked enough havoc for the time being, at least, in the park. Plus Queen Beryl didn't want him to potentially lose any more of the larger monsters, so he gathered his last three monsters, just as quickly and as easily as he could, before departing the park through a portal with them. The fighters tried to prevent their escape from where they'd wreaked havoc, but due to their current injuries and all, they couldn't, unfortunately.

After the last of the Negaverse monsters and Jadeite had departed the scene as they had, Sun said, "That guy will have to be dealt with later, for sure. One way or another, he'll have to be, most definitely."

The fighters began to rove throughout the park, and check on those that had been attacked and who they'd each tried to protect in it. Most of those who'd been in the park during the attack would live, but there were still a few fatalities, with all of those fatalities being elderly people, in any case. None of which appeared to be younger than their eighties or nineties, in terms of age, as far as any of the fighters, whether human or not, could currently tell well enough.

The Sailors and the Knights remained transformed for a while after the monsters and Jadeite teleported away, in hopes that by remaining transformed, it might help speed their healing abilities easier than if they weren't transformed at a particular time. They did call for medical assistance, however, as soon as they could, from a more secluded part of the park which the monsters and Jadeite had not been in for it. And that medical assistance arrived in the park within ten minutes of Sailor Sun's calling for it, whereupon the medical personnel attended to everyone else they could find in the park to attend to as needed, to the best of their respective abilities.

After the last of the other park visitors were checked up on, and either taken to local medical facilities as needed, or left alone, if appropriate, the fighters eventually powered down, as soon as they could do so safely enough, and left the park behind as well. Kibwe and Darien left the park together, talking about a number of things with each other, as they did so, on the way back to their apartment building. While Sylvia and Eryn returned to Sylvia's house and Rolando to his own, and the animals went wherever they each felt the need or desire for themselves.

Eryn and Sylvia wondered who the newest Knight was, for they didn't yet recognize him in his fighting uniform. They didn't yet know that Utaridi Knight was Kibwe, but they soon would. Nor did Kibwe perhaps know that Sylvia was Sailor Skyhorse or that Eryn was Sailor Sun, at least as far as both teen girls could currently tell in relation to him.

"Sylvia, that was awful. I'm going to ache something in the morning. Is that what I have to expect every time?"

"I know. It's never easy to have people lose their lives in such a way, and often violently, at that. Like a number of the victims tonight, for example. Especially older ones."

The journey back to Sylvia's home was physically very difficult for them, but especially for Eryn, who had been pummeled by the monsters and Jadeite. After a few pauses to gather their strength, they made it back on foot to Sylvia's place, where the rest of her family members were asleep. Even her parents, who had learned of the attack in the park, but didn't yet know that Sylvia and Eryn had been among those trying to fight off the attackers.

Sylvia rushed Eryn upstairs, where they examined the damage to themselves in the harsh light of the bathroom. "We look a bit of a mess," Eryn quietly noted, not wanting to potentially wake up anyone else in the house, especially those sleeping upstairs. "Do you mind if I use your tissues to try and get whatever this nasty stuff is off me?" she asked.

"Sure, go right ahead. From the looks of it, it doesn't seem to have a lot of your blood mixed in with it, whatever it is, and it seems mostly greenish in color, too. As a matter of fact, it could be blood of some sort from various monsters, or what might pass as such for them, if I don't miss my guess here too much." Thinking for a few moments in relative silence, Sylvia studied Eryn as she began seeing if she could get whatever it was off her, before saying, "Wait a minute, Eryn. I'll be right back. Stay right where you are."

Grabbing a nearby robe, and belting it quickly around herself, Sylvia hurried downstairs and went to the family's garage. In the garage, she hastily found some containers in which she could hopefully store yet-unknown contents securely in until they could be examined closer at later times. For something about what was on Eryn now didn't seem naturally-occurring to her, at the very least, if even possible to her under normal enough circumstances. So she thought that whatever was on Eryn now would have to be studied more, but not by her, for sure. She knew a little about a few chemicals and substances, but not a great deal, so she'd need to have someone else more knowledgeable about chemistry and other science-related things study such things for them both later, she suspected.

After grabbing up several containers, and several other items, and placing them in a larger container that she could still carry upstairs, she hurried back upstairs to Eryn. As soon as Eryn saw her come back in, Sylvia said, opening one of the smaller containers, "Drop the tissues you've already used in here, Eryn. Then wash your hands and arms and face, with warm water, until I say otherwise. While you do that, and I use a few of these items to try and get that stuff of you, hold as still as possible, please."

Minutes later, she somehow managed to get all the places where that stuff was on Eryn's skin, no matter where it was, apparently cleaned completely and all that stuff into several of the containers she'd brought upstairs with her not long before. Once that was done, Eryn did the same for Sylvia, as needed and as best as possible, following her directions to the letter while doing so.

After doing that, there were then ten smaller containers holding whatever yet-unknown substance or substances that had been on either girl's skin or both girls' skins. Or on their clothing, in at least one place for either or both of them, at that.

Fortunately, none of their clothes had been permanently damaged or ruined by that substance or those substances, as far as the girls could then tell easily enough. Of course, they could be wrong about that, but as far as they then knew, their various items of apparel hadn't been, anyway.

Sylvia then dabbed at a small cut on her hand, while Eryn looked in the mirror and examined the bruise developing on her cheek. "I think we'll still be black and blue in the morning, but we both need some sleep," said Sylvia, as she and Eryn went back into Sylvia's bedroom.

"You want the bed this time, Sylvia?"

"No, take the bed, Eryn. You need it more than I do at present, with how hard the battle was for you this time. I'd feel safer and all right now sleeping in my chair near the doors to the hallway. Besides, it might better keep others from coming in here all of a sudden without any prior warning," said Sylvia, as she pulled a large mostly blue and white armchair from elsewhere in the room in front of her doors leading to the second-floor hallway, with its back facing those doors. That done, she gathered a quilt, a pen, and a crossword puzzle book, before sitting down in that chair, and keeping an eye on Eryn as she climbed into Sylvia's bed.

Reaching up for the nearest panel of light switches next to the door, she then flipped all the switches on it except for one covering the area around where she now was, so that Eryn could try and sleep easier at the present time. She only kept one light on, so that she could see while she tried filling in one of the crossword puzzles she'd not yet completed in that book for a while.

Minutes later, Eryn was undeniably sound asleep, and Sylvia thought, 'You still need a lot of work with fighting, Eryn. But I think you did better this fight than you did during your first official one as Sailor Sun. I hope the next fight won't be as rough on you as this particular one was, as well. It's a shame more people lost their lives, for sure, but unfortunately, we couldn't get there in time to save them, for whatever possible reason or reasons, especially the oldest victims here. These aliens and their leaders don't seem to be messing around, as far as I can currently tell.'

Taking a brief sip from a tall glass of water on a table near the door and her chair, she continued thinking, 'I don't yet know who this Utaridi Knight fellow is, but he still seems at least a little familiar to me here, somehow. I wonder if I've met him yet in civilian form. I suspect I have, but I'm not entirely sure. One thing is certain, though, if I'm not too mistaken here. When there are more fights that happen, I'm somehow quite sure that he'll find himself mixed up in them one way or another, just as the rest of us will, although I don't know how and why and all just yet, of course.'

Some time later, she put her current pen back in the puzzle book, and set it next to her before drawing the quilt up around her better, and fell asleep. She eventually dreamed about various people in her life, whether they were in her past, her present, and/or in possible futures for her, as she then did so. Along with any number of other things that she dreamed about while still asleep in her chair. Such as what the future might actually hold for her and others in her life, for example, at that, even.

As for Kibwe and Darien, they spent about an hour talking and getting to know each other a bit better, walking around the neighborhood, on the way to their common apartment building, before Kibwe said that he wanted to go back to his apartment and retire for the rest of the night. So the two men soon parted, with Kibwe going home, and Darien walking to the Crown, even though it was quite unlikely that Motoki was still present there. Darien still had a number of things on his mind, and he had noticed, once the attack had ended, that two of the people in the park who somehow seemed unharmed, were actually Serena and Usagi. Now he didn't know why they would have been in the park just yet, but he still recognized them both prior to their leaving the park together, even from a nearby tree in it.

And also, he'd been hoping to talk more with Motoki that night, but the attack had prevented that up to that point in time, of course. So he was hoping that Motoki would still be available to talk to, even though it was now just past 10:15 at night, local time. Hence his walking towards the Crown again here.

When he got to the Crown, it was closed, and locked, so he realized that he'd not be able to talk again with Motoki in person for the rest of the night. He wasn't pleased to have to accept that, but he still did. So he soon returned home, picking up a small meal he could eat on the way back to his apartment. As he ate it on the way back, he also mentally ran through the events of the battle, and all, and tried to note where he could possibly have done better during it, and all. Ultimately, he resolved to try to do much better in future battles than he had apparently done during this one. Although he didn't yet know what those future battles might require him to do, et cetera, of course.

He was back at his apartment by 11, and talking with Wanderer and Seeker not much later. They briefly conversed about the park-related battle with him, before they all retired for the night, and went to sleep, not to wake up again until morning, at the earliest, if they didn't absolutely have to, for sure.

So now we have another Knight on the team. I wonder how things will play out now that he's on the team for everyone, whether friend, foe, or neutral, or whatever they may be. I guess we will all just have to wait and see, then, won't we, everyone?

This will not be the last we see of the male Zoisite twin, nor the last of Jadeite. And we've only now just begun to get to know Kibwe, whether as a civilian or as a Knight, for sure. There is still much to learn about him, and others on all sides of related things here will continue to appear, as well. Including many future heroes and heroines, of course, for that matter.

But until they appear, you'll just have to wait and see what happens and who appears next. A lot of things are yet to happen here, for we haven't even seen the people Nephlyte's beginning to recruit and train with real action in the story just yet. And once they do, the heroes' attempts to defend Tokyo and Japan, at least, will be contended with more and more as time passes, most definitely.

Jadeite will still have some room to operate, but Beryl's patience will thin more and more, as time passes and the heroes continue to oppose his plans and monsters and all. Eventually, Jadeite will be dealt with one way or another by someone. Although it's not yet known how and when the change of mission command will happen, if Jadeite continues to lose as much as he has to date, on average, a change will definitely happen, one way or another, whether he likes it or not.

That's enough to talk about here for now, I think, then, folks. Until next time, I'll close this. TUS out.