Sephrina
I still don't want to be with Napoleon. I would rather die than be with him. All he does is be mean to me and fight me.

My heart is broken once again and I don't think I can date another person again.

I go outside the room and then outside the mansion,I snap my fingers and I disappear to Earth,somewhere in Poland,I think.

I see soldiers running across the field,probably doing their drills because it is early in the morning. I walk towards the base and notice that this is where Shadow and Techno were at while World War III was going on.

I sigh and hope that no one kills me or arrests me or anything crime like as I go inside the base and look around,seeing everything and everyone that they had to deal with.

I walk along the hall,looking around some more,not really paying attention to where I step. I accidentally bump into someone and I fall on the floor,squeaking as I land on my butt,looking back up at the person.

A general wearing a grey formal uniform turns around from the person wearing a slightly tanner colored uniform he was talking to, the brim of his hat slightly shadowing his green eyes. He puts his hands behind his back once more, cocking his head,

"In a hurry miss? You Don't seem to be a soldier so what are you doing in a place like this?"
I look at him and blush,
"Sorry...I'm trying to get my mind off things..."
"In a busy base?" He holds out his hand to her and she grabs his hand and stands up,looking more into his eyes.
"I mean...it kind of reminds me of..." I start to cry. "Him..." Then I sniffle and wipes my tears away.

"Sorry,he's also a general.
'Well,not really...
'I mean he was...and he was an Emperor...and I was a part of his army..."
I stand straight.
"Sorry,sir..."
I look at him.
"I'm not really a general..."
'Well I mean I could be...I have the potential..."

He puts his hands back behind him, sighing silently as he looks around slowly, the other general watches him carefully, "Don't be... it's hell..." I look at him. "I-I'm S-Sephrina...and y-you are?..." I blush deeply,smiling awkwardly at him.

He doesn't look back at me,

"Brigadier General Edgar Mathew Wilko."

I sigh,looking down.
"Right...Sephrina Saturina Spade. Guardian of the Universe."
He looks back at me, cocking his head again,
"Guardian?"
I nod my head,putting my hands together.
"I was the one that also helped with the war..."
"Really?"

The other general looks at me with surprised black eyes and I nod my head. They look back at each other before at me, saluting me, "You helped us a lot in that... Thank you." "The person that made the war is my godfather...and I had to kill him...with all of your guys' help. And I do appreciate the help and bravery you guys had..." Edgar puts his hand back at his side, looking down, "I don't have bravery..." "Yes,you do,and I wouldn't have done this without you..." I clear my throat "Sir..." He shakes his head, "I hardly got a title, you don't have to call me sir. I didn't even get to be a general till the middle of the war, I was a foot soldier for most of it." "But it's the right way to talk to you...I don't want to be all mean to you..." "I don't think of it that way. Only The soldiers under my rule, which isn't many, call me it."

"And I like calling you sir." I smile sweetly at him,then blush more,looking back down.

He looks at me confused, "Why?" "Because...It's your title." "Hardly." "Still. At least you have one. And people that are under you." "But I still want to thank you guys for helping out in the war." I salute to them and smile sweetly again then I blush darkly and cover my face with my hands.

Mat elbows him in the arm, snickering as he whispers to him, "Looks like you got a girl liking you for once." Edgar sighs, shoving his face away, "Shut up." "S-Sorry...god...I'm so embarrassing...sacré bleu...." I look away from them. They cock their heads, "You're the only one blushing, miss." I look back at Edgar and blush more. "I do like your name though..." I shrink,looking back down. He smiles gently, "Thank you, I like yours too, Miss Spade."

I quickly catch a glimpse of him before apologizing for anything I did and rush away,going back outside. He watches her confused, talking quietly, "But you didn't do anything wrong..." Mat puts his hand on his shoulder, "Come on... we can't go after her, we have work we have to do."

Then I rush back in and puts my hand on his arm. "Wait!" I look into his eyes. "I-I'm glad I met you...and you too..." I cock my head,looking at Mat. "What's your name?"

He smiles, tiping his hat, "Mathieu. An extra general to cover for others."

Edgar smiles again, taking my hand and kissing the back of it, "I'm glad I met you too." I blush and smile back at him. He smiles more, blushing lightly at his action.

I hum in thought. "Hmmm...when can we meet again,Edgar?" He shrugs, "I'm going back to England to my mothers for a month so I don't know." I nod my head. "Okay..." "If you would have the chance to go there then we could, you would just have to ask around farmers for a woman named Carol Wilko." I nod my head,smiling sweetly,kissing his cheek and blushing lightly. "Well,I better go...thanks for getting my mind off of Napoleon..." then I stop and squeeze his hand gently,looking down. He rubs my arm, "Its just takes some time to get over someone. You'll be better soon, but you're welcome also." "But he...this was just a moment ago..." "Like I said, its takes time. Quite a bit of time." "And..." I pull back and look at them with tears. "God..." They look at me worried. They sit down next to me, rubbing my back comfortingly. I hug Edgar and sob into his shoulder. He hugs me tightly, rubbing my back more I sniffle and opens my eyes then hum and smile sweetly,closing my eyes.

He smiles gently,blushing. I nuzzle my face into his shoulder,starting to fall asleep as I yawn. He blushes more, looking at Mat as he snickers, shaking his head. My arms dangle at my sides as I sleep,humming more as I smile childishly. "Fluffy Pillow...fluff,fluff..." I pat his head before I stop talking. He blinks quickly, looking down at me he cocks his head, poking my nose, "Miss spade?"

I yawn again as I wake up then pulls back and squeaks. "Sorry,You're just so huggable And cuddly and...you made me...go to sleep..." I shrink,blushing darkly.

He blushes to his ears, "I-its alright... I just didn't want to have to make you sleep here for a night..." "I mean...I wouldn't have minded if you didn't wake me up..." "Well... the only good beds here are in the medical rooms and airforce halls because they hardly use them... I wouldn't want you waking up with back pain." "I wouldn't have mind...I would rather sleep anywhere else than in a room with Napoleon..." "Couldn't you sleep in another room?"

"But you were kind of comfy I can tell you that as a truth..." He shrinks, smiling gently, "Uh... thanks..."

"Yeah but if I sleep in another room he'll grab me and bring me back to his room and...do me...while I'm sleeping..." "Oh... that's not right..." I nod her head. "I need to stay away from him for a little while..." "Well... I geuss A base would be nice and easy to hide away in... I-if you would like... you could come to my mothers house, she always likes to have guests..." He blushes to his ears.

I blush to my ears too,nodding my head slowly. "Sure...I would love to..." He smiles awkwardly, "I'm leaving tomorrow, its a short but nice plane ride. Maybe we can save you a bed in and medics room, two medics, clyde and connor I believe, are out at their house. I could probably sneak You In their room." I kiss his cheek,giggling. "I do love sneaky men..." "Especially since I'm also sneaky too." He blushes deeply and I giggle more. "Awwww...someone's blushing..." "You were blushing A lot too." "I do love blushing...but your blushes are so cute!"  He looks down, pulling his hat over his face and I look down too,putting my hand on my face. "Sorry..." I blush deeply. "It's Alright..."

I take off his hat then puts it on my head,smiling brightly at him,showing my teeth as I laugh slightly,looking into his eyes. He blushes more, smiling back at me, fixing his low ponytail.

She taps his nose, "Boop!" He chuckles, "You're awfully childish." "I never got to be a child..." "I hardly did either..." "I was always working under my father who's still drunk and trying to get me away from everyone except him. I didn't get away until I was 15,000 years old or 15 in Earth age." "I was put in foster care as a baby... almost every year I was switching between familes... but none of them did it for the kids... I can't talk about it in public..."

"I'm sorry..." I put my hand on his shoulder. "Its fine, I was luckily adopted at twelve by my mother." "But I had to stay up every day,I starved to death,I had to go to school and get bullied and I had to get raped by my father every day..." "I had to do everything in the house...and everytime I made him mad he would rape me..." "But I always did as told." "For most of them I wasn't even allowed out of my room with five other kids or more... sometimes they would come in and abuse us for no reason... others I had to do chores or be forced to get hit with whips or 2x4s covered in rusty nails and razor blades then be thrown out to survive alone... the only food I got was cans of things I would steal... then get caught..." He looks down, talking very quietly, Mat looks at him worried, rubbing his shoulder In slow circles. I look at him sadly and then whisper, "I got raped by my siblings...and sometimes my teachers...when my father commanded them to..." "But you got food. I got nothing..." "Hardly any, I gave most of it to the others because they were younger... I never even got to go to school most days... but even then I was harshly bullied... I don't like talking about this... its brings back to many things..." Mat sighs gently, looking at him sadly, "Its gave him many mental health problems..."

"I'm so sorry! I never meant to talk about my past! I..." I kiss his cheeks then Mat's cheeks before rushing over to the medical hall,not knowing where I'm going. Mat watches me,hugging him with one arm, "Its alright, miss!" He yells hoping I'd hear but I don't And I sigh as I stop then puts a hand to my heart and I stop breathing,falling down to the floor.

He looks at me worried, patting Edgars back. He stands up and rushes to me,picking me up he grows more worried. Taking me into a medical room he lays me down on one of the beds. I breathe slowly,sleeping on the bed.

He sighs in relief, walking to a medic he talks to him, telling him about what happened to me, the medic nods and keeps his eye on me.

Mat walks back out to Edgar, siting back down next to him,comforting him again.

The next morning...
I hear the alarms go off and I quickly awaken,rushing out of the door and looking around. "Edgar?!"

Soldiers get up and get dressed, rushing out to the forest for roll call, generals take their time walking out to give late risers some time.

BayaDane walks out of his room and stands in the hall, watching the morning ruckus. I look at BayaDane and rush over to him before I stop a few feet away from him and shrink.

He glances at me before he faces me, smiling gently, "Morning, been a while since you were around here." I clear my throat and stand up straight,saluting to him "Hello...Sir..." He salutes back,"Here for a reason?" "Yeah...Umm I just wanted to get away from Napoleon...I broke up with him and I swear it's for the last time..." "So you came here?" He cocks his head. I nod my head. "I didn't want to go anywhere in France or anywhere where he knows so I came here..." He hums in thought, putting his hands behind him, "You can't hide here forever though... soliders talk after a while about someone who's at the base and not working... you got a plan?" "Well,Edgar said that he was going over to England...and he said I could come with..." "Ah, pipsqueak? Well he's in his room getting his bag. General rooms are by the main hall, just look for the name plaque by the door."

He points to the large hall behind him that leads into the main hall. I nod my head,saluting to him again,"Thanks,Sir." "You're welcome,girly."

"Shadow and Techno are okay though...so you're good..." "Thanks, I don't like having to worry more about her." He smiles more. I nod my head. "Well,I better see him. Bye,sir."

I go over to the main hall,trying to find his name. "Hmmm...Ah!" I find his name and I knock on the door,hoping he's inside.

Edgar looks at the door, walking to it he opens it and smiles gently at me, stepping to the side to let me in, "I thought you left yesterday. I'm glad you're here."

I go inside and look at him,cocking my head. "No...I slept in a medical room...I stopped breathing for a moment and fainted..." He looks at me worried, "Oh... I'm sorry..." "It's okay...I'm better now...it was only for that moment..." "What happened?"

He walks to his bed, picking up his bag and putting on his shoulders.

I cock my head. "And Why are you glad to see me?" He blushes lightly, smiling awkwardly, "Just nice things to say..." He lies partly.

"Well,you were sad and I didn't know what to do so I went over to the medical hall and stopped and put a hand on my heart and I stopped breathing and the next thing I knew my eyes were closed before I hit the floor." "I'm sorry... and I don't get like that often but it was a touchy subject... I didn't mean to do that to you, I really am sorry..." "It's okay,Edgar. It wasn't your fault though. It's mine for telling my story and we had to agree that we both had bad childhoods..." "Still..."

I go over to him and hug him tightly,nuzzling my face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry for making you sad..." He blushes, hugging me back, "Its alright. I know you didn't mean it."

I pull back and smile at him,putting my hand on his cheek. "You're so dashing..." I giggle and he blushes to his ears, "T-thanks... you're very sweet..." I tap his nose then I pull back.

"Anyways...Do you want to go now?..." He nods, "The airport isn't too far." "May I come with you?" "Didn't You want to go before?" I smile brightly and nod my head quickly then I grab his bags and his hand. "Lets go,Edgar!"

I rush out of the base with him. He blinks quickly, trying to keep up with me,"A-alright." Then I go through the forest and go over to the airport,giggling.

"Here we are! Yay! We did it,we did it,we did it! Yeah!" He chuckles, smiling gently.

I kiss his nose. "Hi." "Hi." He looks at me confused.    "Tehe!" I giggle and hug him. "Mmmmm...so huggable..." He hugs me back, smiling more.

"Come on, lets get on the plane." I nod my head and grab some of his bags and giggle,going inside and looking around. "Okay. I follow you." He walks to me holding a bag with me as he leads me to one of the planes, "We don't have to worry about paying, soldiers get a free ride if they're under the list." "What about me?" I cock my head. "We don't have to tell them, I just have to show my dog tag." "Okay."

He walks up to a terminal and talks to the woman by the plane door, pulling his chain out of his shirt and showing her. She nods making him look back at me, nodding his head to the plane door, walking through it slowly. I growl at the lady then smile sweetly and rushes over to him,following him.

He puts his bags up in the compartment above his seat before he sits down by a window looking up at me,patting the seat next to him, "We got lucky, no middle seats." I sit next to him and smile sweetly at him. "So how long is the plane ride?" "Um... a few hours. England isn't too far." He smiles back at me. I nod my head.

"So...do you like being in England?" He shrugs, "There's ups and downs. But I live on a farm with my mother and father. The only bad thing I experience the most is high taxes but its not a bad place. There's A lot of nice people."

"True. Like the American Revolution where the colonists got their independence from Britain after Britain decided to put high taxes on things that the colonists couldnt afford..." "They even put high taxes on tea and sugar and paper...like...that's why the American Revolution was born." "There was a lot of reasons, mainly that they didn't want to be under a king who thought nothing of them." "True."

"Anyways...Do you want anything to eat because I'm hungry..." He shakes his head, "No, my stomach doesn't act well under pressure, I don't want them to think I'm sick."  I nod my head. "Then water?" He shakes his head again, "You still can though." "Alright then..."

I look down,blushing. "But I've never been on a plane before..." "So I don't really know what to do..." He chuckles, "Take offs are fun, so is turbulence. Its like going down a hill, how it makes your stomach turn but its not sick but more of ticklish And fun. There's also feeling the pressure gently press on you that's fun to feel." I whimper. "I prefer flying myself...like levitating myself into the air..." He squeezes my hand gently, "Its Not bad as you're thinking." I smile sweetly at him. He smiles gently. "Oh,alright...I guess I can ride a plane..."

I feel my souls race and my pupils dilate and I hope he doesn't take my pulse as I look into his eyes,still smiling at him. He cocks his head, "Are you anxious?" I shake my head. "Your eyes dilated, are you sure?" "Yep! I'm fine! Heh,heh..." I lie,smiling overly sweet at him. He squeezes my hand, kissing my cheek, "Yes You are. That's clearly a lie. Unless Its something else?"

I blush deeply. "Ummm...I..." He cocks his head more. "I don't want to tell you yet. I don't want to make you run away or feel...uncomfortable..." "Oh, um okay. When would you tell me then?" "I'll tell you when we learn more about each other. Right now,I just want to be friends with you." "I need a break from having all these lovey dovey things...oh I can't...Okay...the truth..." I sigh. "I can't believe I'm saying this..."

I turn my head to look at him,squeezing his hand. "I like you...I really really like you..." He blushes, rubbing the back of his neck, "Uh... w-well... I could say the same but... I didn't want to be weird or just be loving you for looks... h-how about we be friends until we know more about each other?..." I glare at him. "That's what I said." "And that's why I said I like you..." "I know. I didn't know what else to say..." I kiss his cheek. "Alright then..." He smiles awkwardly.

I smile sweetly,looking around the plane. "If this was one of those famous planes...I bet I could get us first class..." I giggle. "Not being rude or bragging of course." He shrugs, "That would be very surprising if it was. They try to go cheap so they don't blow the money on things not as important."

A woman comes over to the aisle and bumps into me,making me fall on the floor. the woman giggles and flirts with Edgar,making me whimper and then growl before I cry and rush away to the bathroom,shutting the door.

He looks at me worried, then back at the woman,glaring at her, "You better apologize to that girl for your mistake, miss..." "Sorry..." She stands up and walks over to her seat and sits down.

I come out of the bathroom with tears going down my face as I glare at the woman and grab a glass of water from the cart and pour it all over her,making her gasp and glare at me as I smirk and put the cup back on the cart.

I grab a bag of pretzels and another glass of water before I sit back beside Edgar and starts to eat,smirking at myself. He sighs silently, not wanting to get between the payback, smiling at me before he looks out the window.

The girl comes back over with two more girls behind her and they glare at her as she crosses her arms,trying to dry off her hair. "Who in the fuck do you think you are-" "I'm the bitch of this airport so bye." I waive at her face before she slaps me in the face and I grab her wrist and twist it,making her scream and I growl deeply at her. "Never...ever...flirt...with...my...friend...again...got...it?..." She nods her head and I flick my hair,going back to eating. "Bye,bitches." They gasp and scoff before going back to their seat. 

I chuckle as I put the drink up to my lips, "Told ya." I drink my water. He blinks quickly, not wanting a single bit of what happened.

"Well then...sorry about that..." "Its alright. Its stopped them."

I look at him. "Are you sure you don't want to eat?" He shakes his head, "No thank you." "Okay." I look out the window too,waiting for the plane to land as I hold Edgar's hand,he rubs my knuckles with his thumb,smiling and I hum and smile back at him.

"So,Edgar? I heard that you'd like to drum." He blushes, noding, "Yeah... who told you that?" "And that Mat had a crush on you..." I giggle. "Except you're not gay...Wait are you?" He faceplams himself, shaking his head, "Everyone seems to know that... and no... I'm not..." I nod my head.

"Right...right...But anyways,enough about you. And I learned it from the top of my head. Actually becuase of deductions. You have books and magazines with drums and musicians on it." He blushes more, looking down to hide his face, "Noooo I don't..." Edgar pushes his bag under his seat. "Lair. Don't mess with me. I'm the bitch Sherlock Holmes." "Deductions!"

I puts my hand on his face,"Mew." He looks at me confused.

I put my hand back and kisses his cheek. "Yay." I giggle. "I win!" "You looked up,I touched your face and you looked up." I sing-song the words and giggle more.

"And Edgar has cute plushy face!" I touch his cheeks and rubs his face together. "Cute And plushy! Plush!" He chuckles, trying not to laugh. "Give me that cute and giggly face! Come on...come on..." I press my nose on his,still rubbing his face. "Boop And Mew!" He laughs lightly, looking at me very confused, "What are you doing?" I rub my nose on his. "Plush,plush! Balalalalalalalala!" "Why are you suddenly So hyper?" "Because...I'm bored and you're my friend and I need to play..."

I kiss him all over his face except his lips then I giggle as he pulls back. "Tehe!" He blushes, smiling sweetly, "The plane Will land soon you know." "I knows,I knows,but I need to make Edgar smile...And you are smiling! Which means I've done my job! Yay!"

He chuckles and I blush at it,making him cock his head as I look down. "Your chuckle is so sexy..." He blushes deeply. I look at him and squeeze his hand. "Sorry...I didn't mean to...say that..." He looks down to hide his face, "Its okay."

I kiss his cheek,then cup his face into my hands. "Are you Okay,Edgar?" He nods, smiling gently, "Mm hm."

I kiss his forehead and then hug him tightly,nuzzling my face into his shoulder. "Mmm...so warm and fluffy...fluffy pillow...fluff fluff..." I giggle. He smiles more, hugging me back. "Mmmm...I love hugging you." He puts his head on mine,smiling sweetly, "I do too..."

I smile at him,kissing his cheek again then point at it and say like a child,"Cheekbone..." He chuckles, kissing my nose, "Yes, you have two of those too." "Jaw,mouth,lips,eyes,hair,ears,earlobe,forehead,my,my,my it's big,neck,shoulder,arm,bicep,tricep,hand,veins,chest,breast,nipple,stomach,abs,pelvis,penis,thighs,legs,kneecap,ankle,feet,and toes! Yay!" I hug him tightly again. "Mmmmm...."

He blinks quickly, "What?" "I named everything on your body!" "Oh... I'm an idiot." "It's oks."

I kiss his cheek. He smiles, kissing my cheek back, "You really like to give kisses." "I'm a lover not a fighter. But sometimes I do have to fight..." "I know the feeling..."

I kiss his nose then press my nose to his,looking into his eyes. "I still love how you're still living...and I do like humans. They're fascinating." He bites the corner of his lip in worry, "What do you mean by living?..." I look at him sadly. "I mean...you're still...alive..."

Tears start to build up in my eyes. "Edgar...I love everything you said to me...and I love how precious you are...and I don't want you to die..." I squeeze his hand. "If you died,I don't know what I would do...because us being just friends for a day...and I already learned a lot about you...And you learned a lot about me..." He holds my hands, looking down as he intertwines our fingers, "I loved learning about you... but... There's something I want to say badly but... I can't... not on a plane with other soldiers... I'll get in trouble..." I nod my head,"Okay."

He smiles slightly, looking up he kisses my nose, "And I'm not going to die, I don't want my friends to be sad." I look around before I hug him tightly and cry on his shoulder,"Don't die...please don't die.." He hugs me tightly back, rubbing my back in slow circles, "I won't." I hum into his chest then press my cheek to his arm and smile sweetly up at him.

He smiles gently, kissing my head. I hum more,kissing his cheek. "I love you as my friend,Edgar..." I blush deeply. "And I can't want to hear what you have to say to me." He smiles more, ruffling her hair, "That you're very sweet and loving and care a lot about people you just met?" I nod my head and giggle childishly. He kisses my nose,chuckling and I blush to the tips of my ears. "Swrry...I cant help but act like a child. It's me..." "I know you can't."

I lean my head on his shoulder and hum,looking down at our hands. "Your hands are so soft." I kiss the back of his hand and giggle again. "Yay! I kissed thy hand!" I raise his hand up in the air. "Thy hand has been kissed by thy lips! Yay!" He chuckles more,blushing lightly.

I kiss his cheek again. "Mmmm...you're so soft and like a fluffy pillow...I could just sleep on you.." "Don't do that yet, I can't carry you and bags to my mothers." "I knows,I knows...I'll do it when it's nighttime and you're in your bedroom sleeping." I smile innocently. "And no...I won't sneak in the room to sleep with you..." I scoff then look around. "Who said that?" He shrugs playfully, "Maybe it was little Jiminy Cricket on your shoulder." "Or the devil angel me's on my shoulders." "Or that."

I laugh and put my head on his shoulder again,humming. "You're my best friend now." He smiles brightly, kissing my head, "Yay." I giggle and smile brightly too and kiss his cheek. "Mmmm...Best friend Edgar...Yay." He chuckles, "And best friend Sephrina." "Yay!"

"When will the plane land,Edgar?"
"I don't know. I haven't been keeping up the time."
"Oh...okay..."

I see England and press my face to the window. "I see it! We're here! Smush face in window and look down at the Tower of London." He chuckles, holding my hand, "Yep, we won't be in the big city for long though. We're going towards the edge of it towards the farms." "Where are we landing though?" "In The city but close to the edge already."

"Okay." I pull back and smile brightly at him. He smiles gently. "I love it when you smile." He blushes, "I love it when you do too" I smile brighter,kissing his cheek. He smiles more, squeezing my hand gently. I giggle then I hear the plane land. "There we go."

He stands up, grabbing his bags from the compartment, "Alright, lets go then. I think you'll like my mother, she's sweet." I nod my head and grab some of the bags. "I'm not letting you carry a lot of things." "I can take it, its only gentlemanly." I nod my head and give them back to him,giggling. "Being a gentleman?...I didn't know you're a gentleman...but it's lovely seeing a man being this way..." He smiles sweetly, steping to the side to let me out, "Its one of the things I do best."

I kiss his cheek. "Thanks,Edgar." I go into the aisle and the girls go back over to me and they grab me by the collar and take me out of the airplane and they throw me down to the ground and I scream as they laugh and they go into the airport.

He looks out worried, walking out of the plane. He grows more worried, knealing down next to me, "Are you alright, sehprina?" I look at him and hug him tightly. "Oh,Edgar...Edgar..." I nuzzle my face into his chest. I pull him closer and I look down at my legs as I stand up but then I fall back down and he goes on top of me and I squeak. He blushes deeply, standing up slowly. He holds out his arm to me, "S-sorry..." I stand up and hug him again,humming and smiling sweetly "it's Okay..." He smiles gently, hugging me with one arm. I giggle and kiss his cheek,leaning her head on his shoulder. He kisses my head, "Come on, we don't have to go into the airport. I know an easy way to her house."

And then that's where the friendship all begins...