OCWaGH: Chapter 18

Meanwhile, back in the Cul-De-Sac, we could see that Eddy and Rei were back at the spot where they were going to set up the teleportation device that would connect to Rei's shrine. Vivian and Joshua were also with them.

"Uh, Rei? Remind me why we're here again?" Eddy asked.

"I got a call from our partners back in Tokyo," Rei began to explain, "It seems like they finished making the device that can help us go back and forth from here to Tokyo. They wanted at least one of us to stay put here before they tried out the device, kind of making us a beacon for them to get here."

"Ah, okay. Cool…" Eddy replied before processing what she meant, "Wait, teleport? You guys can do that?!"

"Yeah, but we don't use that power often, it only works when we're all in a group," Rei continued to explain, "We're testing if these two devices can work. That way we don't need to have a group to teleport."

Vivian was listening to Eddy and Rei's conversation since she was standing close to them, 'Wait, is that how they got that to work?' she thought before making a mischievous smile, "Hey! Mo – Uh, I mean, Ms. Rei?"

Rei and Eddy turned to Vivian, who came over to them, "I heard you two talking about something important. Do you wanna know if that device is successful or not?" Vivian asked.

Eddy and Rei stared at Vivian before Joshua playfully flicked the side of his sister's head with his right hand, "Ouch!"

"I don't think we should say that much about future things, Vivian. Let them figure things out," Joshua teased, "So don't try and spoil things, you little blabbermouth."

"H-Hey! I'm just trying to have some fun while we're standing around like this!" Vivian pouted as she rubbed where Joshua poked her on the head.

Eddy started to hold back his laughter at the twin's banter while Rei made a smile,'They seem to care about each other a lot. That's good to see,' she thought.

Suddenly, Rei felt a sudden surge of energy out of nowhere, jolting a little as she did. Eddy noticed her sudden jump, "What's wrong?"

As soon as Eddy asked that question, the area around them started to glow a bright light, blinding them for a short moment. Everyone yelped from the sudden lightwork before the light finally died down. They looked to see what caused the bright lights, only for Eddy to rub his eyes in disbelief.

In the middle of the clearing, they could see a silver, circular platform of some kind that was not there before. Sitting on the platform were two cats; one was black and the other was white. The cats both had yellow crescent moons on their foreheads. The cats opened their eyes to look at their surroundings. The black cat had red eyes while the white cat had green eyes.

"It seems we've arrived at the clearing they picked out," the white cat said as he did a small stretch.

"Luna! Artemis!" greeted Rei as she approached the two cats.

"Ah, Rei! there you are," the black cat started to say before noticing the new faces by Rei's side, mainly Joshua, "Is he one of the three boys you mentioned before?"

Joshua shook his head; he was not fazed by the fact that she was talking, "No ma'am, I'm—"

"HOLY CRAP THOSE CATS ARE TALKING!" Eddy yelled in shock as he rushed over to hide behind a nearby tree, peeking out from it a few seconds later, "Man, why can't my days be normal anymore?!"

Rei stared at Eddy before making a defeated sigh at his behavior, "The boy hiding behind the tree is one of the three that helped out Usagi. He goes by Ares when he transforms, thanks to Mamoru's powers."

"I see, so he DID split his powers for others to have," the white cat stated, "Though I don't think you mentioned anyone else besides those three boys. Who are these two?"

Rei was silent, suddenly feeling embarrassed at the question, "U-Uh… well…"

"Can we explain it to you later?" Joshua replied to the cats, noticing Rei's hesitation, "The house my friends and I are staying in isn't that far away from here. We can talk there."

"We can carry you there if you want to!" Vivian said as she reached down to pick up the white cat, "Let's get going, Mr. Artemis!"

"Wha – W-What a second!" Artemis yelped with a bit of loud meowing as Vivian began to dash further ahead of everyone out of the woods, his voice trailing off as they did, "How'd you know my naaaaaame?!"

Joshua made a deep sigh, "I'm sorry about my sister's rudeness there, Ms. Luna," he stated as he began to pick up the black cat named Luna, "Vivian acts a lot like our dad when he was our age; or so my mom and his—"

"Aaand on THAT note, let's get going!" Eddy hastily interjected as he stepped out from the tree he was hiding behind, "I, uh, — WE don't need to need to leave her alone for long!" he then ran after Vivian in a nervous manner.

Rei, Joshua, and Luna all looked at each other before they began to walk off. On their way back, they properly introduced Joshua to Luna, explaining to her that Joshua is Rei's son from Crystal Tokyo, which was how he and his sister knew the cat's names.

A minute passed by before Rei spoke up, "… Say, Joshua."

"Yes?"

"Since you and your friends will be staying here for a while, don't you think it would be nice to know your likes and dislikes?" Rei asked, "That would be good to know, just so that we can all get along."

Joshua looked at her with a bit of surprise before masking it away with a smile, "Sure, I don't mind that."

Joshua looked ahead as he began to talk, "As you know, my sister and I are twins. Our birthday is on November 9th, and we grew up in Crystal Tokyo, just like the rest of our friends and comrades. Vivian really likes to dance and act in the theater club she's a part of at school, though she's had to put that on hold due to what's going on."

"I see," Rei stated, "What about you? Do you have a school club that you go to?"

"Yes, I'm a part of the video games club… Well, even though most of my other friends are in it, I'm usually the only one out of us who shows up to the meetings," Joshua replied, "As for sports, I decided that I'd join track & field, focusing on that because I knew I would one day inherit my dad's powers. I wanna be in the best shape and quick on my feet, so I can help everyone when they need it most."

"How admirable of you!" Luna said with a big smile, "Is there anything else you would like to share?"

Joshua was about to reply to her before noticing they were now near the edge of the woods that were next to the end of the Lane. A small chirping noise soon caught Joshua's immediate attention, who turned to look up in one of the trees next to them, "Oh wow, an Eastern Bluebird!" he said with excitement, "It's been so long since I've seen one in person."

Rei and Luna looked to see a blue bird sitting on a high branch in the tree. The blue bird was chirping loudly, flapping his wings in a fast motion but was not flying away.

"Oh, I don't think he wants us here. We should move on," Joshua stated, "Bluebirds are very territorial when their nests are nearby, and I don't want to upset them."

The group walked away from the woods, toward the Lane, and arrived at the Cul-De-Sac.

"So, Joshua. I couldn't help but notice this, but do you like birds?" Rei asked.

Joshua slowly nodded his head, "Y-Yeah, I do. It's, umm…" he paused before continuing, "It's because I was fond of the crows my mom raised when I was growing up. They're very special to her."

Rei looked at Joshua for a second before she widened her eyes in shock, realizing he was talking about her future self with her crows, Phobos and Deimos, "O-Oh, I see," she muttered before shaking her head from side to side, "Anyway, your sister might have run back to wherever you're staying at. Let's go meet with them."

Meanwhile, back with Eddy, he had run after where she was going with Artemis, which was back to the big house where she and her friends were staying. He could see Vivian and Artemis standing in her front yard.

The white cat jumped out of her arms to land on the grass, "Y-You didn't need to carry me, kid!" he irritably said.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Artemis! I was really happy to see you again!" Vivian said before gesturing to the house in front of them, "Anyway, look at the house we're staying in! It's HUGE!"

Artemis looks at the house, "Yeah? It is kinda — W-Wait a second! Who are you anyway?!"

"My name is Vivian McGee, and I'm Sailor Ares!" Vivian replied with a big smile and a thumbs up.

Eddy approached the two from the sidewalk, "Geez, you're sure full of energy, huh?"

Vivian made a small 'meep!' when she heard Eddy's voice behind her, "Wow, you're really fast!" she commented.

"Heh, I have to be fast so I can keep up with my pals!" Eddy boasted with a laugh, "Those two are such slackers; gotta plan my ideas by myself half the time!"

The two teens heard Artemis make a loud cough, trying to get their attention, "I feel like I'm missing some context here. PLEASE explain to me how you know my name!" he said, mostly to Vivian.

"Uh… I'm not good at explaining it, but my brother can tell you!" Vivian replied as she started to walk off toward the front door of the house, "He'll be here any minute, but I need to grab something in my room, be right back!"

"Wha – Hey!" Artemis yelped at her but was ignored. The white cat grumbled before looking up at Eddy, "Well, what about you? What's your story in all this?"

Eddy could only shrug his shoulders, "Don't ask me, I'm barely grasping the fact that I have powers now."

Artemis made a groan of annoyance, "Typical."

Author's Note (October 6th, 2024): Oh snap! A new chapter! Hopefully, I can keep this momentum going, but I think it will come to a halt due to Metaphor coming out in a few days from now. SO EXCITED FOR A NEW RPG TO SINK MY TEETH INTO!