I am just going to leave this here, you will know it when you see it. Moon Sailor's theme. In case you can't tell Moon Sailors are a play on Sailor Moon, it should be pretty obvious but just in case. :3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzNLZ37ZTZs

Hope you guys enjoy. Believe in the power of Love!

Vespidian Arc 3, Chapter 7

I sat up not able to deal with this silence and left Sunshine in her fortress of fluff. I walked back out to the living room. The guys were all there playing some game... wait a minute they got the Wii U. I always wanted one of those. I slid onto the couch beside Disk, watching them play a round of Mario Kart. I had played the old one, in fact I was really good at it. This new one was crazy. It looked harder, but at the same time easier. A little hard to explain, but more or less drifting was everything. You got good at the corners and boosts, well it was impossible to catch you. Even if the blue shell of doom decides to introduce you to god. For some reason games always drew me in and I ended up getting really into them. It might be that I could be reckless and not fear of the repercussions. I just get obsessed with stuff for a while, but then once I get bored I just drop it and move on. I sat watching them. Disk was good, really good, Glide and Squeeze were alright. The round ended and they gave me side ward glances. They did not really know what to think about me, I was some unidentified life form to them.

“Did you want to play?” Asked Disk.

“Oh yeah. I have not played this one yet, but I was pretty good at the old one.”

“It is not hard.”

I grasped the controller and got the feel for it in my hands. It was pretty nice, all the buttons were in good places and it just felt right. I had to be a little delicate with it though, might break it if I got rough. We got to the character select and I went with my bottom bitch, Toadette. I almost never lost with her. A close second would be Daisy though. They were all giving me funny looks and I was grinning. These guys don't know about the Toadette. I think she is still good. This is weird you get to customize the kart? I scrolled through the list and found a carriage with mechanical horses. The red tires seem like they go faster so I will go with those, red is always faster right? Yeah I am going to be a fucking princess, holy shit and a pink parasol for the glider... there is gliding in this?

“Toadette?” Asked Glide.

“You got a problem with the Toad?”

“No, it is just that she sucks in this one.”

“You sure about that?”

“Well try it out yourself. There is no bike wheelies in this one so karts are better.” Said Disk.

“Well I figured when the Blazerunner's stats sucked.”

They chose the map. It was the easiest four courses and away we went. They were surprised when I landed the boost off of the start line. You had to hold the accelerator when the two was about to go away. Other than that though I sucked at this one. It was hard to stay on the road and since I was small anybody who rammed me would send me off course a little. I ended up losing to a few computers on top of them. It was vexing and I hated losing. I would beat them at this shit. This one was harder I suppose. You could only have one item at a time. Since I saw the whole screen at all times I was watching what they were doing and picked up on all the shortcuts. Actually doing them was hard though.

Then we came to the hell known as Rainbow Road. It was over an hour since we started playing, but I had steadily gotten better. I knew how to drift now and was able to correctly gauge when to start in order to cut the shit out of corners. I also learned that you could not stack boosts like the old one. So if you went over a jump with a mushroom and did the flip boost you would lose the mushroom boost and go slower. Another thing I realized was that Toadette was not even close to being the fastest top speed person, but she was among the fastest to recover after being hit by something. Once I figured that out it was like an epiphany went off in my head. It may have just been Sub creaming herself though. Now she won't shut the fuck up and keeps being a back seat driver. It is not always left, sometimes you have to make a right turn! This isn't NASCAR for fuck sake.

None of my training had prepared me for the horror of Rainbow Road. There were these areas where your tires were anti gravity and if somebody bumped you both of you would get a speed boost, but for about a second you could not control where the kart was going, it would go straight ahead and it ruined your drift. Does not sound bad, but then you realize there are no railings for the course. Nothing to stop you from driving off the map. This made the first corner and the last corner nightmares since people were fighting for position and it was worse than bumper cars. I fell off three times to dick computers suiciding to take me out. They would ram into me and drag me to my death. However due to me being Toadette I would recover faster and drive off before those cock bags could catch up. Not going to lie getting angry here. Somehow I fought my way through all three laps and got fifth. It does not help that we are playing it on the hardest setting.

It was over, the hell was over finally. I sat there steaming. Maybe I need to change the kart? Nah, that is what quitters do. I would make this game my bitch with Toadette and this magical carriage! I will think of it as a challenge. I did not find out until way later, but my kart combo was actually one of the best... lets just ignore that for now. We kept at it for another good hour before they started flaking out. Eventually it was just me and Disk and at some point Sunshine had slunk out and nestled next to me to watch.

I started checking him out. He was not wearing his helmet after all. He was not the fat nerd, he was the other kind, the stick thin kind. He had some scraggly facial hair that was patchy. Nothing very long or anything, just think he should shave that face fur off. The freckles started popping out at me there was only a few. The chin was rather dominant or it might just be since he had such a scrawny neck. He had glasses and kinda short red hair... he was a ginger. I don't got nothing against gingers. What do you mean he doesn't have a soul? Sub that is fucked up. Don't give me that look. Everyone has a soul. It is not nice to insinuate otherwise. Now he is a day walker is he? Sub what the hell is your beef with Gingers? Oh really? No, I think it is because he is beating our ass at Mario Kart and you are just jelly. What do I think? I guess he would be a five. I have seen way worse, better than a fat assed neck beard that is for sure.

The damned music was so catchy Sub and I were humming it my head. He got first place every time and I had worked my way up to second. The bastard's main was Rosalina, one of the fastest top speeds in the game. I gave him a run for his money a few times, but he was a slippery little cunt. The computers kept fucking with me and then I realized what was going on. He would get in the lead right at the start and let everybody kill each other in the back. It was a cunning strategy. Second and third place were the dumping grounds for ever bad thing in the game: bombs, green, red and blue turtle shells, bananas, bullet bills, lightning, squids and psychos with stars.

I knew what must be done. Rosalina had shit recovery and acceleration so if she got fucked with at the start, he was screwed. It would force him to be in the middle of the shenanigans and try to fight his way out. The top speed was insane though so if he got away he stayed in the lead even if something hit him. The only reason he had been winning is because first place does not have to worry about the mayhem in the back of the pack. The only way to win if he got away was to chain reds and time them after an item box so that he could only block one. The remaining two would stop him in his tracks for a good five seconds if done right and he would have to get back up to top speed again. I think it is about time he relearned the fear of god. I was a fast learner when it came to shit I cared about.

It was the candy land level. The race started and I got the perfect boost. I did not pass him though, he got a good one too. We fought over the item boxes and I got my ass knocked around. Rosalina is a heavy bitch after all. Luckily he got a coin and I got a red shell. He tried to pull that wall grinding, drift shit where you can block a shell without an item, but the angle that I shot it from let it slide in from the side. He crashed and I zipped by. My grin was almost off of my face. Just as I had predicted, it was a mad house back there. The cave had turned into a death trap. Shells and bombs, bananas and boomerangs going everywhere. Some asshat got a Bullet Bill and ran down like five people, getting into second place, almost got me too. He got hit again and it fucked him hard. Now was the difficult part, I needed to keep the lead. Since he had fallen so far back he was bound to get the good shit, which meant he would claw his way back up to second very soon. So long as he stayed back there nature would take its course and the computers would gang up on him.

I swerved around the corner getting the red sparks and took the pink path. It was shorter and easier than the blue one, at the least that is how I felt about it, they were probably about the same though. The Piranha plants wanted me bad, but I managed to drift past the doughnut, then that son of a bitch used a shroom to go through the doughnut short cut. We were neck and neck again. He kept trying to ram me, we both knew I would lose that. So I let him have first just before the item boxes. I got a green shell and shot it into the cave. It bounced back from the front and the banana he had behind him did not save him. He threw it at me and missed by a couple of inches. Disk was out for blood now. I loved how angry he was. He was fuming, I could see it by how red his face was getting. Take that you scrub!

The computers had caught up and were bogging him down. They forced him to make extra movements, which slowed him down and he had to dodge shells or get completely fucked. I just cruised away in my carriage drifting for the sparks every chance I got. I got triple greens and carefully aimed them back. I threw two and kept the last one to defend. He cursed. I nailed him from around the corner. I went passed the doughnut and this time he did not catch up. I was gaining the lead from the blood feud going down back there. Every time he got hit it severely screwed his groove up. Well that is what you get for going with a fast top speed character.

I was on the last lap when the random number generator god said fuck you. A blue shell descended from the sky and sent me into the water. It tagged me right on the last jump. Then the moment I was plopped back on land, lightning struck killing my item. That was when the reds came, no, not the commies, the shells. Somebody had fired them off before the lightning was used. Both hit me, but the second one did not do anything because of the timing. I floored it and managed to get going again. I had no items and there were no more for the rest of the race. Then I hit the rear view mirror button and saw that asshole flying towards me with a piranha plant power up. It was snapping like crazy, giving him a speed boost every time. It ate me and he swooped by. I was about to scream when I heard the second blue turtle shell. My kart swerved and it swooshed by circling him with hunger. He was first place after all. I started cackling and dodged the explosion. I booked it past the doughnut and lept over the last drop off winning.

There was a moment of silence between us. Then I could not hold it back any longer and I rubbed it in his face. “Fuck yeah! I won! Suck it nerd! Holy shit that was intense!”

Sunshine was bouncing up and down next to me. “You won! You won! You finally won!”

“You got lucky with that blue.” He said dismissively. I could see it he was absolutely livid. I could smell his anger. My tongue wet my lips with delight.

“Did you not see that train they plowed me with?! Let's watch the fucking replay.”

We sat there watching it and he was genuinely surprised by the amount of shit that got lobbed at me. I started patting him on the back and messing with his hair. He did not like that at all, so I did it more. There was something about this guy. I just liked picking on him. No, it was not some crush crap, he just felt vulnerable and I knew what buttons to press to piss him off. I realized what I was doing was cruel so I restrained myself. It is really hard though, seeing weakness brings out the natural sadist in me.

“You are fucking good at this though.” I gave him a one armed hug. He went still not know what the hell was going on. “It was so hard to beat you. I was about to scream when you passed me at the end there.”

“Thanks.” He said a little shy. Oh look at that, I think he likes me. Could just be delusions of grandeur here though, I am riding a Mario Kart win high.

“Friends?”

“Yeah. I never thought you would actually be that good.”

This time I gave him a full hug and bottom righty decided it wanted to see what was going on down there. Got a handful of man booty then it started slithering in for the front. Sub control yourself! I could understand if this was Chief or Boris, but Disk? Really? I mean he seems like a nice guy, but we both know nice guys are pushovers. I thought you hated Gingers? Oh so this is a dominance thing is it? How desperate are you? I ripped the arm back away from his groin. “Damned robo arm, still getting used to it.”

He started retreating. Look what you did Sub, you scared the boy off. “Right, robo arm. I am going to go to bed.” He said shakily. He started running away. I seem to have spooked him. Nice job Sub. Now I don't even know if I have Mario Kart friend or not! You know how hard it is to find people that want to play Mario Kart with me?! I mean shit in highschool I had to lose on purpose just so that people would still play with me.

I turned the TV off and switched off the lights with Sunshine following me like a lost lamb. I did not really know what to do now. I guess I should try to get on Sunshine's good side. Although that does not seem to be that hard, she was begging me to be her friend. Could be worse at the least she isn't another Neon Nurse. She dove into the bed snuggling up with all of those stuffed critters, I was a little jealous.

“Hey you wanna watch some Moon Sailors or something?” I asked.

Sunshine stirred and the animals shifted so that her head was poking out. “You have a dvd?”

“Nah.” I smirked. “I bootlegged the whole series onto my hard drive. I even got the manga on this thing.”

“Isn't that bad? You are supposed to pay for that stuff you know.”

“Oh, I donated the amount that it would have costed to their site. I think they fine.”

“Why did you not just buy it then?”

“Lets just say I was under an embargo.”

She face planted out of the bed and pulled herself together. “Where did you get that much money?”

I thought for a few moments, how to explain? “Why are you so surprised? It was only like a couple hundred dollars.”

“Well we only get an allowance.”

“We don't get paid?”

“No, we get an allowance.

I screamed. “What!? We are risking our lives for chump change? How much are we getting paid?”

“A thousand, five hundred a month and free room and board, free meals.” She replied a little shaken by my howls of lament.

“Damn it! I knew there was something fishy about this deal.”

“What deal?”

“Let's just say Chief helped me out of a tight spot.”

“Were you in trouble?”

“Kind of. It is a bit complicated. I am working through it.”

“Sounds rough.”

“Well when you have friends like Neon Nurse and Chief it tends to help.”

“You know Neon Nurse? She is so cool. You know all the cool people. Sunshine is jealous.”

I did not know whether to laugh or cry. “It is not all that it is cracked up to be. Trust me on that.”

“Is that so?”

I glanced over at her and the visor was gone. She looked Asian with rather large eyes. It was a little contradictory since they usually have tiny eyes. “Hey where are you from anyway?”

She seemed to think for a moment. “Bronson, but my mom came from Japan.”

“Oh wow. Here I thought you were just a weeaboo.”

“That is a bit mean you know Onee-sama.” She puffed up her cheeks. Damn she is adorable.

“My bad.” I giggled. It has been a long time since I did that. “Do you actually think of me as a big sister? I mean you could do a lot better than me. Lets face it I am not a nice person. Not exactly role model material.”

She smiled. “You seem rather nice. Most people just ignore Sunshine or laugh, some even make fun of me.”

“People always make fun of nerdy shit. Besides you do realize I was doing all that to you.”

“Yeah but you are talking to me now.”

I sighed. “You don't know me. I am a terrible person.”

She just sat there. I did not know if she was debating something in her head or what. Slowly she edged forward and glomped onto me. “You have been through a lot huh.”

I was lost for words for a few moments then pried her off and set her to the side. “I don't feel like bonding. I have the distinct feeling that when I take off this suit you will be singing a rather different tune. It is going to make me feel really bad too. If you really want to be my friend then get to know me.”

“What is wrong with you under the suit? Are there scars?”

“I am a fucking monster.” I replied coldly.

“It can't be that bad.”

I laughed lowly. “Sunshine you got no fucking clue. I am a literal monster. The kind they make movies about.”

“Sunshine will be the judge of that.” She had a resolved look in her eyes.

“Nope.”

“Why not? Sunshine wants to see.”

“No. You don't. I don't even want to see me. Trust me your little imagination can't even come close to conjuring the horror that I am.”

“It can't be that bad. Please, Sunshine promise she won't make fun of you.”

“I am not worried about you making fun of me. I am worried that you will piss yourself out of fright and cry in a corner all night.”

“Sunshine won't do that.” She puffed up her cheeks again.

“Your funeral.” I sighed standing up.

The suit went ridged and the seals came undone. With a hiss and plumes of mist the front section lifted up. Slowly I climbed out and took the helmet off. Damn it felt good to stretch. My wings unfurled from around my body and spread wide. It had been cramped in there. My head rolled and I rubbed my shoulders. Honestly I was just avoiding the inevitable when I would have to look at her. The abdomen trembled and swelled up after having been compressed all day. Finally I looked down at Sunshine. She was not there anymore and had retreated to the other side of the bed. I could smell her trepidation. Told you. No one ever listens to me. This is why you stay out of people's personal lives. I have found it always ends badly. All those people with their good intentions... they never actually follow through. They expose your weaknesses and leave you vulnerable. Act like they are going to help but then when they see what is wrong they run away. All that it does is open the wound that much more.

“So what do you think.” My smile spread almost coming off the sides of my face. Now I could smell the fear and piss. I went a little too far and she bolted to the bathroom. “Told you. Monster. Hey when you are done in there I need to take a piss too.”

I lounged about on my shag carpet and coiled a blanket around me. She is not going to come out. I hate it when I am right. Well at the least she is not crazy. So I guess I don't need to worry about her getting all Neon Nurse on me. It was times like this that I hated having super senses. I could hear her sobbing in there. I did cause it. I fucking warned her though. Sure this is my fault... Everything is always my fucking fault. Just like how I fucked up that catch and lost the god damned tournament in high school. Just like how I buckled under pressure and dropped out of college. Just like how my whole god damned life is a fucking train wreck.

There they are, the water works. As always I am just a little bitch crying in a corner. Ah is the monster sad? You think you deserve to cry? Monsters don't get to feel human. No one will ever love you. No, why do you think they always end up being hunted and killed in the movies. Sub what should I do? Talk to me will you? She was just mentally patting me on the shoulder. I wish my heart would just turn to stone or get all black and cold already or something. Then I would not give a flying fuck about anybody and never be hurt by what others think. This is why it is better to be alone. I need to lower my expectations again, no, I should just not have any to begin with. If you never expect anything from anybody you won't be disappointed. I can't believe I was stupid enough to actually show her. I should know better by now. Only crazy people can even stomach me. It is not like I could stay in that suit forever though, this would have happened at some point. This is why I wanted my own room. I lay there tuning her out, I could hear the boys upstairs talking in their room, it was about me.

“So how was it?” Asked Gravity Squeeze.

“Dude she grabbed my ass and went for my dick!” Said Disk panicky as hell. Ah fuck, I don't like where this is going.

“Seriously?” Asked the other two.

“Yeah man it scared the shit out of me.”

“Why you scared man? She was coming on to you.”

“Dude she has super strength rank 3. She could rip my dick off and not even notice.”

“Good point.” Echoed both of them.

“She has a nice ass though. I mean that is some grade A booty. She has totally been working it out.” Replied Gravity Squeeze.

“It is unprofessional to use your powers like that. Just because she did not know does not mean you should do that.” Said Astro Glide. So he did use telekinesis to feel me up. He has balls I will give him that, sounds to me like said testicles want to get antiquated with my fists, all four of them.

“Remember Disk hack her computer and see if she has any videos of herself on there.” Said Gravity Squeeze.

“That is some serious privacy violations man.” Angrily raised Astro.

“Oh shut up. You know you want to bend that bitch over. You were staring at her rack the whole time and I saw her eye balling your junk dude.”

“How could you tell anything? She has a helmet on.”

“You could tell from the way she tilted her head every now and then. She clearly was not looking at your face. She was checking all of us out. She saw something she liked. Why you think she went for Disk?”

“So what? You saw that fucking thing she had. I don't think she is interested in any of us.”

“The real thing is better than toys. Don't you know shit? Besides if she has something like that it means she is a slut. You heard their conversation.”

“Yeah, it sounds like she wants to bang Chief, not us.” Said Disk. Well he was not wrong with that.

“Dude, she was making a move on you we have a chance.”

“You think?”

“Confidence bro. Women can smell that shit. You act like a little bitch and she will treat you like a bitch.” Said Gravity Squeeze.

Well I suppose he is not such an idiot, he knows that much at the least. It is deeper than that though. Different women want different things, but deep down we all want the same thing. Security, it is likely the most primal thing there is besides the need for a fulfilled sensual desire and hunger of course. Why you think bitches with daddy issues look to emulate their father in their boyfriends? Not saying Love is not important, but it is borderline lust at the start most of the time. Lets face it, if a man held you so hard that your broken heart was made whole again, it would be pretty damned hard to resist that. It was why I so harshly rejected Boris. I knew that if I experienced that there would be no going back. I would have been his slave.

“If it is so easy let's see if you can bone her.” Laughed Glide.

“Is that a challenge? She seems a bit slutty so it won't be that hard.”

Oh really now? Slut am I? I don't even remember the last time I had sex. Well besides with Sub naturally. Probing did not count. If I get bored maybe I would rock their worlds. I mean shit my abdomen could take all three at the same time, though I get the feeling I would be accused of rape and they would be crying. So let's not jump the gun on that. Squeeze wants to play, alright I will bite. I licked my lips. You don't even know what you are getting into. I stared at the ceiling. Go ahead and hack my computer. I wonder if he can get through Neon Nurse's security program? Have fun with the five terabytes of gay porn, tentacle fest and dick girls. There is so much man on man action on there it will make you go blind. You fuck with me little Disk and I will turn your SR character into my literal bitch.

The darkness was soothing and I had grown to like it, even seek it out. I feel like killing something. It took a few minutes to get my computer set up and log onto the Shattered Realms. I wandered around for a while until I found a herd of baby seals. I went clubbing. Maybe I would make a new coat or something. Some stupid Elf tried to stop me and I ripped him in half. That aggroed a nearby settlement and a flood of the Elves started showing up. I murdered them in cold blood. Every swing of my maul sent shattered bodies into the sky and screams were all around. I reveled in it and pursued them back to the town. With a stroke the wall came down and with an actual move nothing was left except a crater of blood and gore. I killed a couple of players it seems. Good get your friends I need a distraction.

Absently I sat and waited, gazing at the blood. A dragon came with an airship and dwarves manned the guns. Their strafing run did not even faze me. The cannons could not even dent my barrier and I grew tired of the flies. So my hands lifted up half of a corpse and hurled it at the ship. It listed and crashed to the ground in flames. I approached killing everything. My dark hands ripped the dragon's head from his neck while he was still alive. The eyes blinked at me in horror. My grin of insanity reflecting back. I sighed as the blood washed over me. This was boring. Maybe I should go kill a god or something. Later, I want to savor that. Maybe my pets will cheer me up? The home stone glowed when I teleported back into my lair.

My throne did little to alleviate this rage. Three snapped in half nekomar, eight stomped to paste moumar, a centaur torn to pieces, two popped fairies, five impaled elves, two torched nymphs, a devil with her arms and legs torn off, three punched down walls, a skinned mermaid and my foot rest, former guild head, being crushed twice did nothing to make me feel any better. What the fuck is the point? This shit ain't real. I can't feel anything. Not even pain. Sub we have issues.

“Is something wrong?” Asked my leg rest.

“Life is a fucking bitch.”

“Tell me about it. The only place I can get beaten like this is here.”

“Oh shut up.” I ripped his head off and logged out.

I sat staring at the screen for a long while. Pain was it? I snapped my own finger in half. I choked a scream down and shook my head. What fucking hurts, hurts damn it! It was not true that regenerators are addicted to pain. At the least I am not. You lied to me Director! Although thinking about it... So that is why Molotov kept hurting me. She was trying to make me feel better. Or was she trying to get me addicted to her sadism? She knew that I had regen and since most of them like pain she thought she was helping me. I mean I guess the healing process feels good. It is no claw curling ecstasy though. Getting wounded fucking sucks. A certain call of nature was making itself a rather pressing matter. I stopped in front of the bathroom door and knocked.

“Hey I need to go. Get out.”

She just kept crying. My eyes twitched and I ripped the door off of the hinges. I set it to the side and lifted her out of the tub before setting her on the bed. I was not rough or anything, did not actually want to hurt her. I just needed to go. It had been all day after all. When you gotta go, you gotta go. I went about my business, washed my hands vaguely and returned to the room. She had vanished below the stuffed animals like a security blanket.

“Stop crying.” I said laying on the floor. She grew quiet. “Good see. Not so damned hard. I fucking told you I was a monster, but no. You just had to see and now we are both in a terrible mood.”

“Sunshine not scared of you.” She said lowly.

“Bullshit. I can smell fear you know.”

“Sunshine sad for you.”

“Oh really then why did you cry and make me feel like shit. You do realize I wear a fucking suit just so that I can avoid people seeing me. It does make me stronger, but that is just a benefit.”

“Sunshine is sorry. She thought you were exaggerating.” She started blubbering.

“So you are not scared of me?”

“No.” She mumbled with red eyes. Her stench was salty I suppose, was that what sadness smelled like? It was not pleasant that is for sure. It certainly was not fear, I know full well what that aroma is.

“Just stop crying. Here watch this and don't look at me.” I turned on an episode of Moon Sailors and stepped back into the suit. It closed and I lay there staring at the ceiling. I wanted to go to sleep but there was no way I could.

I rolled over and watched the show. The beginning theme was still on. “Pounding evil by moonlight. Wrecking ass by daylight. Standing tall like a real knight. He is the one named Admiral Moon! He would never abandon a friend. He is always ridged till the end. He is always there to set the trend. He is the one named Admiral Moon! Captain Venus. Captain Mercury. Captain Terra. Captain Mars. Captain Jupiter. Secret powers of love, pouring forth from their manly muscles. Pounding Evil by moonlight. Wrecking ass by daylight. Standing tall like real knights. Moon Sailors! They are the ones, they are the ones named Moon Sailors!”

I zoned out until the end. The announcer started spouting off. “Ohhh nooo! Admiral Moon was captured by the Evil Queen Bambi, what a horrible start to the show! He just found the powers of love and friendship too. How did he mess that up in the first episode? How will he escape with no friends and certainly not any bros to have his back. Will he succumb to Bambi's sexy lap dance and pole grinding moves? Will he ever escape from that vile strip club filled with space bimbos? Will there be any money left in his wallet for that new Ferrari he was wanting?! Will he throw away all his hard earned cash, shouting take my money you filthy whore! Or will the power of love and friendship drive off these voracious space slores! Find out next time on Moon Sailors!”

The ending theme came on. Power of Love. “There comes a time. When you face the toughest of fights. Searching for a sign. Lost in the darkest of nights. The wind blows so cold. Standing alone. Before the battle's begun. But deep in your soul. The future unfolds. As bright as the rays of the sun! You've got to believe. In the power of love. You've got to believe. In the power of love. The power of love...”

God damn it Moon Sailors! I giggled lowly. I can't stay mad or even sad watching this shit. Sub was singing along in my head. Sunshine seemed to be in better mood too as she rolled around on her bed. I glanced over at her. She was grinning happily, humming along to the ending theme. You trying to tell me something Moon Sailors? Sub...what do you mean I should learn something from them? I need to make friends? Oh god, I am getting therapy from an anime and my imaginary friend! Did I dare to take a chance and try to be friends? Well the song was certainly encouraging. Sub keeps poking me too. Is this a chance? This is an event flag isn't it...

'Take hold my hand and you will understand what it truly means to be friends.' Sung Sub I could feel her running in circles in my head. Calm down will you. 'When was the last time you met somebody who was into this? You better latch onto her before she escapes.'

“You sure?”

'Yeah. You know you want to have girl time and squeal over hot guys with somebody, other than me of course.'

“You have a point.”

“Onee-sama what are you mumbling about over there?” Asked Sunshine she had leaned out from her castle of stuffed animals.

Ah shit, I was talking out loud again. I turned to face her and she did not run or even balk. Then again I was wearing the suit so I was considerably less scary. “Just trying to figure something out. Helps to talk to yourself sometimes. So you are really not scared of me?”

She looked away for a moment. “Sunshine is a little, but it is not like you have hurt me. If anything Sunshine hurt you. Besides anybody who likes Moon Sailors can't be a bad person.”

“So what do you want to do?”

“We can be friends. Sunshine has wanted one for so long. You like a lot of the same stuff and you're like a cool big sister, but you look scary. Show me your face again.”

“You will just run away again.”

She shook her head. “Sunshine is ready this time so please show me.”

I sighed. “You sure? You know that I am very self conscious. Even I think it is a hideous face, so I understand if you want me to stay in the suit.”

She nodded. “Show me, sorry about before.”

Well I guess it takes a leap of faith to get started. Slowly I took off the helmet and set it to the side. Uneasily I turned to her and stared at her frozen face. She seemed lost for a few short seconds. It was nerve racking trying to figure out if she was about to have a panic attack, scream and cry or faint. Sunshine finally took a deep breath and her expression became tranquil. I smiled and it looked like she broke for a second. I scrunched up my face and a smile cracked on her.

“Don't smile. It is terrifying.” She said a little shaky. That is not nice you know. Understandable, but not nice. “That will take a bit of getting used to.”

“Is that so?” I asked tilting my head a little... Neon Nurse was rubbing off on me.

“Yeah. We can do this though.” She grinned sincerely. “One step at a time and before we know it I won't even care anymore.”

I could not hold back any more and hugged her. She fought it for a moment then settled when I just sat there rocking slowly. There was no way she could escape anyway. My tears were falling now. All my worries and pain rolling down my face. She just took it not saying a word. After a while she was patting me on the back of the head. The tendrils would coil around her fingers and I was half expecting her to freak out. Sunshine did not though and just kept rubbing the carapace, even playing with the wiggly things.

“It must have been hard. Sunshine can't even imagine what you have been through. Onee-sama it is alright now. Sunshine won't hurt you.” She said softly.

“Thank you.” I put my forehead to hers. “You are the first person who is not completely insane that accepted me. Besides Chief, he is a guy though so it is different.”

“Insane?”

“Well let's just say I tend to attract crazy people.”

“No need to worry. Sunshine might be weird, but not crazy.”

“I have been wondering why do you talk in the third person?”

She thought it over. The glowing bunny ears bouncing on her head as it tilted back and forth. She put her finger up as though having a revelation. “Sunshine is Sunshine?”

I stared at her. What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Oh god she is nutters. At the least she is not violent though. One day I will get a sane friend for now I guess it is just the loony bin for me. Although if my imagination started spilling into reality I would probably go off the deep end as well.

“Forget it. Just stay you Sunshine.”

“Nothing but rainbows and sunshine here.” She smiled and a vibrant rainbow spread out overhead. I stared at it. So this was her power. It was wonderful.

“So beautiful.” I smiled gazing at the colors.

Sunshine shoved all the animals off of her bed and lay there beckoning to me. She had that come hither look. Was she hitting on me? No that is crazy. Sub I am not going to fuck my new roomie! She just wants to comfort me. Why does my mind always go into the gutter? Sub do something useful and fix that shit will you?

“I will sleep on the floor. Thank you though.”

“Why?”

“My suit would break the bed frame.”

“Good point.” She smiled and started piling the stuffed critters back onto the bed.

The ground was hard and Sub was writhing in my head. 'You promised me we would look at some crazy shit.'

“Later. Not in front of Sunshine.”

'You promised. Just have her watch it with us.'

“Sub I do not feel comfortable about watching porn together with my new friend. Who the hell does that? Jesus that is like sharing, fucking dildos.”

'Sharing is caring you know.'

“Don't you start with that shit. Just shut up and go to sleep.”

She kept protesting and I ignored her. Usually I love to indulge her, but I feel that Sub has been being spoiled too much lately. She has become demanding and I will not put up with it. You want me to come in there and punish you? That is what I thought. Sub quieted down and I think she went back into the forest. I lay there dozing off. The marvelous night light overhead quickly entranced me and I drifted off to sleep.

____