Full Moon Rising

[DOHC46]

Episode 1:  The Stroke of Midnight

Vanessa stands ready, regarding her opponent calmly, as she shifts her balance cautiously from one foot to the other.  Her opponent, Raven, circles her slowly, searching for an opening.  Raven fakes a roundhouse kick, and strikes with a left jab.  Vanessa sees right through the feint, and deftly blocks the jab.  Without wasting another second, Raven launches a volley of punches and kicks, each one Vanessa skillfully evades.  Vanessa counters with a few spinning kicks of her own, but Raven easily defends herself from them.

“Is that all you got, Dison?” Raven asks, brushing back a purple lock which decorates her black hair.

Vanessa calmly answers, “You still haven’t hit me, yet.”

Raven sneers, “How about this!”  She then assaults Vanessa with a flurry of kicks.

Vanessa ducks the first attack, a high-kick, then dives and tumbles over the following low kick.  She springs to her feet as Raven turns to meet her.  Raven throws a quick flurry of punches, that Vanessa blocks.  Raven’s next attack is another high kick, which Vanessa catches right alongside her head.  Vanessa then pushes Raven’s leg, knocking her onto her butt.

“Ow!  That’s cheating!”  Raven exclaims.

“That is enough sparring practice for today,” the old man watching them says calmly, his voice raspy with age and thick with a far-eastern accent.  “That was a fair move, Raven Blackmire.  You must learn to focus, spend less time trash-talking.  You must know yourself.  The first step to overcome your own weaknesses is to know what they are.  Now, let us go inside, and drink some tea.  We will meditate on today’s lessons.”

Vanessa extends a hand to Raven, and helps her up.  Both girls bow to the wise old man, and respond in unison, “Yes, Master Genji.”

The group enters the dojo and finds the tea has been served by Master Genji’s granddaughter, Sakura.  Sakura is a lively young girl, much younger than Vanessa and Raven.  The three of them join her for tea.

Genji says, “The two of you have been coming here for training for six months.  I am curious.” He sips his tea and asks, “Vanessa Dison, can you tell me why you have come to train with me?”

Vanessa answers thoughtfully, “A little over six months ago, I brought a cursed doll back from Twikkii Island.  I had to tap into my psychokinetic powers to destroy it.  Right after that, I started to train with you so that I could learn to control this power.  If I don’t learn the self-discipline you can teach, the powers might control me.”

“The quest for self-discipline is the path to understanding.  You have learned much from your time here, but your training is not finished, yet,” Genji responds.  “Why did you come to train with me, Raven Blackmire?”

Raven pauses, for a moment.  She answers, “It’s all because of my father.  He has this crazy notion that he’s going to rule SimNation, and I’m going to be a princess.  He insists on solving all my problems for me.  I am sick of his smothering.  I’m almost sixteen year old!  I don’t want to hide behind my creepy, crazy father.  I need to be strong on my own.  He’s gotten serious about his nutty plot recently, and I’m scared.  I need to learn strength from you so I can be ready.”

“Ha, ha, ha, ho, ho!”  Genji laughs.  “I cannot teach strength.  I can teach skills, which you have learned well, and I can teach discipline.  You have a way to go on that.  True strength comes from within.  When your emotions subjugate your will, you are reckless, and vulnerable.  When your will reigns over your emotions and your mind is at peace, you will find your strength.  I want you to meditate on this truth, Raven.”

Raven sips her tea as she considers the words of her wizened teacher.   “Yes, sensei.”

Sakura asks, “Might I ask about your father, Raven?”

Raven rolls her eyes and answers, “Yes, Baron Blackmire, the vampire.”

Sakura’s eyes widen, “You mean THE Baron Blackmire is your father?”

“Yes,” Raven confirms, “the rumors are mostly true.  He’s crazy, and over three hundred years old.”

“I thought vampires can’t have kids, because they’re dead,” Sakura says, surprised.

Raven frowns, “Undead, actually.  But, they can, I guess.  How else could I be here?”

“Is your mom a vampire, too?” Sakura inquires.

Raven shakes her head, sipping her tea again.

“WOW!  That must be…” Sakura starts to say.

Genji interrupts her, “That’s enough, Sakura.  I think Raven has had enough questions for one day.”

Raven says, “It’s OK, Master.  Do you have any advice in dealing with nosey old farts who feel like they own all of SimCity?”

Vanessa smiles and says, “Did Mrs. Crumplebotttom give you trouble on that big date you had Saturday night?”

Raven nods sadly, “Yeah, the old beast beat Jim with her purse, and he ran off.  I saw him at school today, and he didn’t want to talk to me, saying I attract too many weirdoes…”

“Jim?  As in Jim Lothario?  Old lady Crumplebottom ruined your date with him?  Oh, I’m sorry,” Vanessa apologizes, seeing Raven is upset over that situation.  She puts a reassuring hand on Raven’s arm, “I’m still your friend, even if I’m one of the weirdoes.”

Raven looks up at Vanessa and says, “Thanks.  I’m actually worried about what my father will do.  He found out about the incident, and promised to take care of it!  I still like Jim, so I hope Dad doesn’t hurt him!”

“I hope not, too!  Jim will come around.  He’ll realize what he’s missing and he’ll be begging for another date,” Vanessa reassures.

“I wish I could be more like you, Vanessa.  You’re so confident,” Raven says.

Master Genji comments, “Confidence can be learned, my young student, as well as it can be faked.  With true confidence, all things are possible.  I believe you will find confidence in yourself as you discover your strengths.”

“Thank you, Master Kisaragi,” Raven says.

Genji looks towards the window, “Night will be falling, soon.  You two best get going so you can be home before dark.  I will ask my son, Ryuga to drive you home.”

Raven shakes her head and answers, “Thank you, sensei, but I have to stop at the store.  I live just across town, so I’ll walk.  I’ll have to wait until tomorrow night to stop by Jim’s house.”

Vanessa says, “Thank you, sensei.  I could use the ride.”

A few minutes later, Ryuga and Vanessa are on the road, riding in Ryuga’s car.

While driving, Ryuga asks, “May I ask you something?”

“Sure, what do you want to know?” Vanessa asks.

Ryuga pauses, and considers carefully what he’s about to say.  “So, what are your plans for the future?  What kind of job do you think you’ll have when you graduate high school?”

Vanessa considers the question carefully.  She answers, “I want to go to Sim State University and learn about psychology.  I want to use my powers to fight evil, so I think learning about how people think will help me out a lot in that area.”

“That’s a good idea, Vanessa,” Ryuga says.  “Have you considered what kind of life you will lead?  Have you met any… boys?”

Vanessa laughs, “I’m seeing Rick Contrary right now.  He lives in my neighborhood.  I really like him.  But, I don’t know if I’ll ever get married...”

Ryuga asks, “Do you think you can lead a normal life with these powers you have?”

“Of course I can!  Just because I have these special abilities doesn’t mean I’m not like a regular person!  I don’t like meatloaf!  And, I like hanging out with my friends.  Isn’t that regular?” Vanessa asks, indignantly.

“Please don’t get angry, I was just asking.  My father believes in destiny.  He says you can choose your fate, but you can’t choose your destiny.”

Vanessa looks at him, confused.  “Isn’t that the same thing?”

Ryuga answers, “Oh, no.  Not at all.  A man might be destined to learn martial arts and become famous.  He would choose his fate: does he use the skills to become an action movie star, or does he instead enter international martial arts tournaments and become a champion?  Either way, he would still earn fame.  Do you see the difference now?”

Vanessa thinks about this for a moment.

Ryuga says, “You were destined to possess this power, and use it.  How you use it defines your fate.”

Vanessa looks at him and says, “I thought you didn’t study under your father.”

“But, I did.  I studied his philosophies, not his martial arts skills,” Ryuga answers.


As always, SimCity bustles at night.  Card shacks, restaurants, karaoke joints and bars all have plenty of business on this particular night.  The old woman has always enjoyed a good card game.  After a night of playing cards, Mrs. Crumplebottom gathers up her chips, cashes out, and heads out the door.  She barely makes it outside, when she thinks she spies a shadowy figure out of the corner of her eye.  She does a double take, but sees no one.  She utters a “harumph,” sound, and walks down the street, towards her home.  She turns the corner, and stops short in surprise.  A pale man in a cape blocks her path.

“Who the heck are you, and why are you in my way?” the old woman demands.

The pale man intones in a soft, yet deep voice, “You don’t own SimCity, crone.  Your deceased husband’s contributions were not that great.  You have made it a personal mission to ruin the outings of young folks anytime you see them having fun.  My little princess had a date ruined by you, last weekend.  It seems, you beat her date with your purse, and she’s very upset.  And when my princess isn’t happy, I’m not happy.”

“Baron Blackmire!  You are a bold man!” Mrs. Crumplebottom exclaims, recognizing him.  “Someone has to teach these kids values!  They can’t just go smooching each other all willy-nilly in public!  And the clothes!  They never wear anything decent!”

Baron nods, “It is not your place to decide whom kisses whom, nor when, nor where.  It also isn’t your place to criticize fashion.  Not everyone dresses like its 1895.  I’m going to ask you once.  Please do not interfere with the young folks of this town again.”

“I must teach them decency, since so-called parents like you won’t!”  Mrs. Crumplebottom insists.

Baron Blackmire replies, “Soon enough, I will make the decision of what is decent in this city.  I see I will need to convince you to see things my way…”  Baron Blackmire smiles, revealing his fangs…


Josh Westings studies the computer monitor closely as the morning sunlight filters in through the lab window.

“Hmmmm…  Very interesting…” he muses to himself as he examines the data on the screen.

His lab assistant, Alfonse Borkmann enters the room, reading the newspaper.  He looks at the headline, “Did you see today’s paper?  ‘Mrs. Crumplebottom Found Dead.’  Looks like somebody finally offed the old bat,” he says.  “Her husband, Robert Crumplebottom was a great man, donating millions to charities around the country, but after he died, his wife became a monster.”

Without looking up, Josh says, “That’s not a big surprise, given how unpopular she was.  Never mind that.  Do you see what I see?”

Alfonse looks over his shoulder at the data.  “Genetic Sample A has a curious anomaly in the X chromosome while the Y chromosome looks normal, and Sample B has the same anomaly in both X chromosomes.  Other than that, both samples look identical,” he notices.

Josh says, “I noticed that, too.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”  Josh turns to the microscope on the desk next to the computer and adjusts the slide.  “I’ll isolate the anomaly and see if I can find out more about it.”

“OK, well, I’m going to get coffee.  You want some?” Alfonse asks.

Josh answers, “Sure.  Two lumps of sugar.  Thanks.”

As Alfonse leaves the room, Josh stands up and grabs his cell phone.  He hits the speed dial.

The phone on the other end barely rings once, when it is answered, “Dison Computing.  Jack speaking, how may I help you?”

“Jack.  It’s Josh.  I’ve finished my preliminary examination of the DNA samples you and Vanessa gave me.  Her DNA does not have any unusual anomalies that are unique to her.  You both carry an unusual, possibly mutated, X chromosome, of which Vanessa has two.”

Jack sounds surprised, “You mean her powers aren’t from some kind of alien DNA spliced in?”

Josh confirms, “Yes, I suspect the superhuman abilities she has manifested are the result of this genetic aberration she got from you.  My suspicion is that the aliens detected the potential in this gene of yours and decided to find out what would happen if they magnified it.  So, they gave her two, which of course is the reason she’s a she.”

“That’s amazing!  I never considered the possibility that she got her powers from something already in me!” Jack exclaims.

Josh nods and replies, “I was a little surprised, too.  Oh, one other question.  Jack, just how old are you?  I tried to measure your genetic decay and estimate your age, but my results were a little hard to believe.”

“Hard to believe?”  Jack asks quizzically.

Josh answers, “The analysis indicated you are in your late twenties or early thirties, which is impossible, because I saw a picture of the funeral procession for Mr. Robert Crumplebottom.  You were there, as an adult.  That was thirty-two years ago.”

“I have been around a long time. We’ll have to discuss that later, I have customers.  Thanks for the update,” Jack says.

Josh responds, “I’ll hold you to that explanation.  I’ll let you go.  Bye.”
“Thanks, again.  I promise I’ll tell you about it, later.  Bye, Josh,” Jack assures.

Just then Mr. Borkmann returns, with two coffee cups in hand, “Here you are!  Who was on the phone?”

Josh takes his coffee and answers, “Thanks.  Oh, personal call, just a friend.”


The grandfather clock chimes at the stroke of midnight, as the front door of the Blackmire house creaks slowly open.  Raven peeks inside, and seeing the lights off, she begins to sneak into the front room, towards the stairs.

“Did you presume you could just sneak into the house without me noticing?  Your mother is quite worried about you, seeing as you usually return before dark,” her father’s voice sounds from the darkness.

“DAD!” Raven exclaims, very surprised by his presence.  She quickly explains, “I stopped on my way home from my training, I was trying to convince Jim to go out with me again.”

Baron smiles, and says, ”Ah, your training.  Something you won’t need.   Now is the time for us to make our move.  We shall begin building the Nation of Blood.  The entirety of SimNation will soon become vampires!”
“Uh…us?” Raven stammers, her mind racing.

Baron steps towards Raven, he says calmly, “Yes, us.  I will rule, and you will be the princess of the nation.  It is time.”

“I don’t, uh, really want to be a princess,” Raven whimpers, as fear grips her.

Baron seizes her arm.  “Don’t fight it.  This is your destiny,” he says.
Raven tries to pull away, but her father’s supernatural strength is too much for a mere mortal to overcome.  He easily sinks his fangs into her neck.  Consciousness mercifully leaves her, as she begins to feel cold…


Episode 2:  The Dark Before Dawn

“I found this old painting in the attic.  I thought I had thrown out all of this old stuff, but I must have overlooked this one,” Jack says, showing Josh the painting he had hung in the living room.  “I didn’t feel very sentimental about family for years. After Vanessa was born I had a change of heart, so maybe it’s a good thing I had misplaced it.”

Josh regards the portrait carefully.  He asks, “These were your parents?  Do you remember them?”

Jack shakes his head, “My mother died from an infection as a result of birth.  My dad raised me by himself.”  Jack comments, “Funny how history repeats itself, in a way…”

Vanessa calls from the kitchen, “Dinner is almost ready!  I hope you’re hungry!”

The two sit at the dinner table as Vanessa comes in with a platter stacked high with piping hot fried chicken.  She sets a plate down for Josh, then Jack, and finally, one for herself.  She sets the serving platter down in the kitchen and joins her father and their guest as they begin eating.

Josh compliments, “You are an amazing cook, Vanessa.”

“Thank you!” she beams.
Jack says, “My father died many years ago, long before I moved in here.  Was it… ‘01?  No.  It was ‘02.”

“What?  2002?  That isn’t that long ago!” Josh exclaims.

Jack laughs and replies, “Not 2002, 1902.”

Josh says, “Wow!  That is a long time ago.  Was it an accident?”

“Pneumonia,” Jack answers.  “I was only 15 at the time.  Which would make me…  Dang…  I’m guess I’m pretty old…”

Josh says, “Did you always have white hair?”

“Yes, I did.  Just like my mother, apparently,” Jack answers.

“She also appeared to have purple eyes and pointed ears in the painting.  Is that accurate?” Josh inquires.

“I think so.  Dad would look at that picture for hours, sometimes.  He really loved her…  Her name was Luna.”

Josh raises an eyebrow, “Luna?  That sort of name wasn’t really used until the ‘60’s.  With the unusual traits she had, do you think she was human?  No offense…”

“I don’t know.  What else could she have been?  A space alien?  Those guys are green, bald and have big eyes and small mouths and noses,” Jack states.  “I know, because I’ve met them.”

Josh responds, “There is some evidence of beings that lived on our planet which were very similar to humans, but not quite the same.  They’ve been called demi-humans.  It is believed that they don’t exist anymore.  But what if they do?  What if they’ve been hiding among, or from us?  Maybe she was one…  It might explain the genetic anomaly.  Do you know anything else about her?”

Jack shakes his head.

Vanessa asks skeptically, “A demi-human?  What is that, exactly?”

“You know, almost-human-looking creatures:  Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves...”  Josh replies.

“You think my grandmother is an Elf?  No disrespect, Josh, but I think you might be losing it,” Vanessa says.

Josh answers, “I think that real demi-humans would be a little different from the fantasy versions.”

“Right, of course…  Hey, Dad, has Raven returned my call today?” Vanessa asks.  “She missed school again.  That’s two days in a row, now.”

Jack shakes his head, “No.  No calls.  Sorry.”

Vanessa frowns, “I’m getting worried about her.  She hasn’t been at school, or training, and hasn’t answered or returned my calls.”

Josh stands up and begins to collect empty plates.  Jack and Vanessa look at him, surprised.

“In my family, the cook never does the dishes,” Josh says with a smile.

Vanessa laughs, “I must be in the wrong family, then!”


“There is only one person who can stop me, now.  She may be young, but she has some impressive powers,” Baron says to his wife, Sally.

Sally nods in agreement and asks, “How will you deal with her?  She could ruin all of our plans.  It will be a while yet, before I master the dark magicks I’m studying. ”

Baron answers, “She must be weakened, first.  Her powers are mental, so I need to create a distraction for her.  Something… significant.”

Sally says, “Something like… grief?  Kill a few of her friends.  That will do nicely.”

Baron smiles, “Yes, indeed.  But, why stop at a few?  I could easily take care of them all, one at a time.”

Sally responds, “Brilliant!  How’s Raven, dear?”

“She’s still… adjusting,” he answers.  “Soon enough, she will ready to join us.  Now, I’m off to eliminate a threat to our plans.  The chubby man from the orient walks to the grocery store once per week.  Tuesday nights, I believe.  I shall have him deliver a… message… to that Vanessa girl.”


Ryuga pays the cashier for his groceries and heads out the door.  On such a tranquil summer night, he thinks to himself how nice the cool breeze is.  He never drives his car for such short trips, as it’s too expensive to maintain the rare import he brought with him from Takamizu Village.  He gets about half way home, when he hears a sound behind him.  He turns and looks, and sees a pale man in a black cape.  He immediately knows who it is.

“B-Baron Blackmire, I p-presume?” He stammers.

“Indeed.  I need you to deliver a message for me.  A message for your little friend, Vanessa,” Baron sneers.

Ryuga swallows hard and asks, “O-O-OK, what d-do you want me t-to tell her?”

Baron flashes an evil, fang-laden grin, “Don’t worry, little man.  You won’t have to write it down.”

Baron moves with unnatural speed.  Ryuga, lacking the physical training of his father, has no hope of defending himself as the vampire bites him…


Vanessa regards her surroundings.  Her father looks on solemnly, as does Master Genji.  Sakura cries for her father, Ryuga whom has just been laid to rest. Raven didn’t answer her cell phone, and wasn’t in attendance.  Vanessa wished she could do something to ease the youngster’s pain, but she couldn’t even do anything for her own.

“All these powers; I couldn’t even be there to help him,” Vanessa says softly to herself.

Genji says to her, “Please, do not blame yourself.  We all know who did this.  If the police weren’t afraid of him, Blackmire would have been charged and arrested by now.  I would challenge him myself, but I am not strong enough to fight a vampire.  Besides, I believe this was intended for you.  I think he seeks to provoke you into challenging him when you are unprepared.  He knows you have the power to defeat him and his evil machinations.”

Vanessa answers sadly, “Then, he’ll keep attacking my friends until I do something about it.  I don’t think I can handle another funeral…  I need to know who he will attack next or I can’t stop him at all.”

Just then, Vanessa’s phone rings.  Vanessa moves away from the group to answer it.  “H, hello?”

A soft, hoarse voice on the other end says, “Vanessa, I’m sorry I couldn’t stop him.  I cried so much when I found out what he’d done.  I couldn’t do anything…”

Vanessa inquires, “Raven?  Is that you?”

“Yes,” Raven confirms.  “I know I’m a little hoarse.  I found out what he did to Ryuga and I hit him when he returned home last night.  It… didn’t end well.  I just can’t fight him.  He’s too strong…  I’m, I’m so sorry…”

Vanessa asks, “Are you OK?  I haven’t seen you in a week!”

Raven answers softly, “No.  I’m not OK.  That’s not important, now.  What is important is I heard my parents discussing their next target.”

Vanessa asks, “What?!?  Who?”

“I don’t know his name, but my father chose the boy he referred to as the pottery kid.  He’s going to attack tonight.  I’m so sorry I couldn’t warn you sooner.”

“Lance!” Vanessa exclaims, “Dad!  Lance is in trouble!  I gotta go!”

With that, she begins running to Pleasantview; her feet barely touch the ground as she uses her powers to propel herself forward, sprinting away at incredible speed.  Jack looks shocked, “If I could run that fast, I wouldn’t need a car…”


Night has fallen since Vanessa left the cemetery.  She arrives at Lance’s house, praying she’s not too late.  She notices the front door is hanging open, and her heart skips a beat.  She dashes in the door to find Lance struggling against the caped vampire.  Lance’s mother, Elise lies on the floor.  Vanessa hopes she’s only unconscious.

Baron notices Vanessa’s entrance and pushes Lance to the floor.  “You arrived much sooner than I expected.  I see you got my first message.”
“I got it, loud and clear.  I’m here to stop you!” Vanessa announces.

“This will be all too easy,” Baron says with an evil smirk.

With a shout, he dashes across the room toward Vanessa.  Vanessa stands ready, trying to remember her training.  She intercepts Baron’s charge with a swift roundhouse kick, but she is too distracted by Elise, Lance and her sorrow for Ryuga to be able to channel her psychokinetics into the attack.  He doesn’t even flinch from the kick, and strikes Vanessa with a backhand punch.  The force of the backhand knocks Vanessa into the wall.  He follows through with a straight punch, which he puts all his muscle into.  Vanessa ducks out of the way, Baron’s fist narrowly missing her head.  Baron’s hand is momentarily stuck in the wall, giving Vanessa an opportunity to get back to her feet and kick Blackmire in the head, again.  This time, she is able to put a little of her power into it, and she knocks Baron back, away from the wall.  She swoops into range, pummeling him with a flurry of punches.  He’s strong, but his lack of combat training is evident, as Vanessa lands all of her strikes.  

Unfortunately, Vanessa’s lack of focus also shows.  She is unable to put sufficient power into the blows to cause enough damage to even stun the vampire.  Baron retaliates with a strong punch, hitting Vanessa square in the stomach, causing her to double over.  He then swats her in the back of the head, knocking her down.

He grabs her off the ground by the neck, and sneers, “Too easy.  Where are your special powers now, little girl?”

There is a loud crash as tiny bits of ceramic fall from the top of Baron’s head.  He drops Vanessa and stumbles, dazed.  He looks back, and sees Lance has smashed the very large and very heavy ceramic vase he made over the vampire’s head.  He begins to recover from the attack, and roars with anger as he charges at Lance.  He tackles Lance and is about to bite his neck when, much to both Lance and Baron’s surprise, Baron is suddenly hoisted off of Lance.  Baron is flung across the room, where he crashes into the wall and falls in a heap, stunned.  Lance looks up, expecting to see Vanessa, but instead, he is surprised to see Raven Blackmire.  He immediately notices she looks pale, like her father.  Her eyes shine red with a supernatural fury.

Raven immediate says, “Lance, I presume?  You have to get Vanessa out of here!  She’s hurt.”

Lance nods as he tends to Vanessa.  Raven assaults her villainous father as he is getting up.  She lands many strikes, and receives several blows also.  Lance finds Vanessa is out cold.  He checks on his mom, Elise, finding her in much the same condition.

Raven calls to him as she fights against Baron, “You need to get Vanessa out of here!  I’ll make sure nothing happens to your mom!  She’ll be OK, I promise!”

Lance picks Vanessa up and carries her out the door, and finds a red pick-up truck is just pulling to a stop.  Josh Westings jumps out of the truck, and asks, “Is she OK?”

“Baron’s inside.  A girl in a black dress is fighting him.  Raven, I think.”  Lance asks, “Who are you?  How did you know what was going on?

Josh says, “I’m Josh Westings, a friend of Vanessa’s.  I’ll explain the rest later, when we’re safe.”  He opens the back door and says, “Quick!  Put her in the back!  We have to get out of here!”

Lance recognizes the name, and he puts Vanessa in the back of the truck, and he climbs in with her.  Josh closes the door and hurries back into the driver’s seat and without wasting any time, he puts the truck in “Drive” and steps on the gas.  He says, “Baron doesn’t know where I live, so we’ll head to my house in Strangetown and tend to Vanessa there.”

Lance asks, “What are we going to do?  This Baron Blackmire guy just beat the tar out of Vanessa!  She has some kind of super-abilities or something, right?  How could he do that?”

“Baron Blackmire has got to be fighting dirty.  I heard about the funeral for Ryuga.  I was on my way, because Jack and Vanessa are good friends, when Jack called me and redirected me here.  Don’t worry, she’ll be all right,” Josh answers, “It’s always darkest before dawn...”
(to be concluded in Episode 3)

[Psychosim]

haha, Mrs Crumplebottom made a guest appearance! nice idea!

[DOHC46]

Episode 2 posted! See above!