Celly stretched in her chair, idly contemplating the toasters flying across the viewscreen of Special Ops. The day had started out well so far. She had woken up after a good night's sleep, gotten her memories back, had a little argument with her brother, had a good breakfast, made up with her brother, and all this in Castle Anthrax, the seat of her power. Life was good.

Well, except for all the news reports of the mass destruction of Disneyland. Celly tapped a button on her console, and the viewscreen flickered into multiple news stations. Well, she had to catch up on the world's events somehow.

"This is CNN."

"... for only twenty-nine, ninety-five..."

"The beaches are beautiful today..."

"I saw the whole thing! It was aliens, I tell you! They were all different types, and they were all fighting each other. They were doing this weird glowing thing and they shot laser beams from their hands...!"

"JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!"

"Dude, I dunno what was goin' on! I mean, there was this chick, right? She was wearin' a black trench and her eyes were glowin' real weird! Then this dragon comes and the guy dressed like Indiana Jones catches a ride when it takes off!"

"... Now, we are going to be preparing a light glaze for the confectionaries..."

"They were maniacs! One had the biggest gun I've ever seen! And the strange thing was that all these girls had swords! And there was this crazy girl... she was dressed like a hooker!"

"Sounds like you, Ce-ko."

Celly started and turned around to see Dionysus and Mamoru entering Special Ops. She frowned. So far she had managed to effectively ignore Dionysus. She wanted to make up with him, but dammit, he was the jerk in this situation! He had the balls to say that he had been using her! Baka! Or was she the one being stupid...? She shook her head and turned back to the screen.

"You should not refer to me by that name, Dionysus-SAN." She could see Dionysus wince from the corner of her eye. Inside, a part of her felt pain at having to hurt Dion so much, but was overruled by the other parts which still hurt from the betrayal. Celly ignored the feelings as best she could and patted the seat beside her. "Come on, ‘nii- chan. Have a seat. You wanted to know what was going on, ne?"

Mamoru nodded and sat down next to Celeste. He had seen exactly what had happened, and the tension between his sister and her ex made him uncomfortable. Celeste and Dionysus were destined for each other, any fool could see that. So why were they being so stubborn about it? He ignored the problem for the moment and decided to strike up conversation. "So, what can you tell me about the Game, Celeste? Dionysus told me that you're an Otaku and you have to fight for your Bishounen, who incidently happens to be me."

"Got that right, Mamoru. The Game is going to be harder than I originally thought. I have more opponents that I expected, and my main enemy, Hotohori no Otaku, Susanne, is at almost the same level I am." Celly bit her lip worriedly. "I don't know what to do, Mamoru. You know how I feel about fighting, and you've seen what happened to me already. I don't want to have to go in over my head. I can't take it again! And it doesn't help that all I get to wear is *this*!" She pointed at the black and silver fuku she was wearing. "I'm trying to deal with Terra coming out again, but it's hard enough without being reminded of her every waking moment!"

Mamoru's expression as he regarded his younger sister's distress. Though they had been enemies in the past, they were very tight now and he still retained that sense of brotherly overprotection for her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, calming her down. "Everything will work in the end," he said reassuringly. "And, I'll be here to make sure we win. After all, I've got my status to maintain, ne?" Celly smiled a little at his remark, and he smiled as well. "Also, I think I can explain your fuku. You've always been able to hide your aura well, or at least make it seem colorless to throw everyone else off. Well, your fuku seems to reflect your status instead. You are Endymion no Otaku, and my colors--the colors of our family-- are silver and black."

Celly took a thoughtful look. "I never thought of it that way before." Then she turned to the viewscreen, where a witness was still recounting the events of the 'Happiest Battle on Earth.'

"I DO NOT LOOK LIKE A HOOKER!!!"

TBC...