2629/Spoiled Milk

Spoiled Milk
Date of Scene:	18 June 2025
Location:	Cafe BAKE Neko
Synopsis:	Wicked Lady corners poor Ami Mizuno in the Cafe BAKE Neko. Wicked Lady is very annoyed and Ami is very concerned. After a brief intimidation, Wicked Lady stops Ami from poking at her secrets by... spoiling the secret! Surely nothing can stop such an evil plan!
Cast of Characters:	Ami Mizuno, Chibiusa Tsukino

---

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Set up at a table with a fuzzy bag of purrs upon her lap, Ami Mizuno reached hand out idly to take up her cup for a short and thoughtful sip. A tap or two at keys and brows furrowed past glasses, then a pen lifted to jot notes into an open book beside.

To the outside world, it seemed quite clear that this girl--still in the uniform for Radiant Heart Academy--was deep in study. To someone a little more aware, it wasn't any old handheld or laptop compuer she was working with. With it's pale blue shell and the golden inlaid astrological symbol upon the back, the Mercury Computer was nearly as hard at work as its owner.

The cat stretched, reaching paws tremulously for working hands. Ami's absorbtion was so absolute, however, that she scarcely noticed. Only so far as to offer the creature a gentle scratch between the ears.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    The door opens. The door closes. A very strange looking cat bounces into the cafe. In fact, it's really more of a catball. In fact, it's actually Luna-P. The hovering magitech toy from the future slowly spins around, with its unchanging smile turning towards the entrance, the cashier, the tables, the cats, and finally stopping as its eyes find Ami Mizuno.

    Luna-P's antenna pings for a moment, before floating towards the school genius. Only when it gets close does it suddenly poof into a big pink cloud of smoke, which disperses to reveal---

    Wicked Lady, with her hands steepled together, smiling down at Ami. Her red eyes watch the blue girl for a moment before that smile turns into a frown, and Lady shuffles around behind her to steal a peek at the Mercury computer's screen. "What are you working on, my dear?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
She really should have been paying more attention to her surroundings. Ami might have noticed Luna-P floating through and over, and the she might have been prepared. Alas, she was not. So, in the midst of pink smoke and an upended cat, the senshi jolted out a half-choked little squawk of shock before she managed to catch herself.

And then blue eyes turned to slowly over her shoulder, walking their way up Wicked Lady as she peeked at the computer's screen. Which, of course, was presently displaying a wireframe layout of the wedding venue with little models set here and there in some kind of spatial plan.

Ami knew that these were strategic plans. Of course, she couldn't say that. So, instead--

"Oh--uh... I'm trying to visualise the best angle for your throne for--uh--making sure everyone is doing their best." Ami smiled shakily. "For--For Masato-kun, of course. He wants to make sure everything is perfect."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Wicked Lady got a glimpse of the Mercury Computer's screen. She squints at it, and then at Ami, and then stands up straight again with a slight shrug of her shoulders. With the sweetest tone in her voice, she responds, "Oh... whatever. Like I don't already know you're all plotting against me."

    Lady leans over Ami, red eyes focused on the bluenette as she wears the wickedest smile. "I'm actually here to talk to you about something else. See... I don't really like you poking around. I have secrets to keep, you know. Secrets that, in all honestly, serve your princess as much as they serve me. Secrets that I'd rather you not know, even though I know you're..."

    "... dying to."

    Lady squints and frowns at Ami for effect, then stands up straight. Luna-P reforms in her hands, and she cradles it gently. "I can't have you poking around, because what you discover, someone else might see you discover, and then they might figure it out too. I don't like that. That doesn't serve me."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Why would I plot against someone as amazing and insurmountable as you?"

It was worth the try, at least. Unfortunately, she was out of her place here and, while Ami could definitely think on her feet quick enough, her timidity was not a good pitch for selling a convincing ploy.

And, of course, there was more. And none of it sounded good.

"You mean New Moon?" Pretense slid a little as the senshi posed the question.

After all, it was the only major unknown where Wicked Lady was concerned. It came complete with confused feelings and a strange, unspoken draw to the Lady's favourite servant.

This was... dangerous. Ami swallowed drily.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Wicked Lady's eyes narrow at Ami, and she turns her back on the smartest senshi while petting her catball toy. "See? That right there is a problem. You're smart. Too smart for your own good. Smart enough that I have to worry about you stumbling onto something that you aren't supposed to find."

    Flipping one hand in the air, keeping her back on the blue girl, Lady paces around the cafe as she goes on, "In all honesty I don't really care if you know. I only care about my game. I care about the fact that my teenage mother is in my possession and I want her to stay that way. I don't want to share her with that ridiculous idiot who calls himself 'prince'." After a pause she turns to look over her shoulder at Ami and clarifies, "I mean Demande, in case that wasn't clear."

    Striding back towards Ami, and releasing the catball to float into the air, she plants a palm on her table and looks her dead in the eyes. It doesn't take a genius to hear the boiling rage in her voice. "I don't like the way he looks at her. She's my mother, not his! It's one thing when Mamoru wants to be with her, but I will not permit that man to even touch what's mine!"

    Standing up straight, she rolls her eyes. "Did you hear about the hologram he has of her? Such a weirdo."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
She was straight-backed in her seat. It wasn't that Ami were cowardly by any stretch, but she was feeling a special brand of alone and exposed right now. Facts bubbling from the back of her mind to remind her just how thin the ice was. Ami had to step carefully.

"I didn't, no." The confession was honest.

She'd been filled in on the broad-strokes information since her return, but detailed specifics had been a little swept beneath--well--Wicked Lady, New Moon, and a wedding.

"Definitely a weirdo." Ami shuddered a little, also among the people who would really rather someone like Demande steer clear of Usagi. "I don't want a creep like that to get his hands on her, either--"

A thoughtful frown. "Are you suggesting that he--or Saphir, or someone else working with them--might be watching me? Just in case?"

After all, they would definitely seem to constitute the sorts of people Wicked Lady would prefer Ami not alert with her own realisations.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Wicked Lady smirks at Ami. It's a smirk that seems to say, 'now you're getting it'. "Well see that's the thing! Dark Energy. It's not always bombastic youma and big bad sad beams. Sometimes it hides things. Things that watch us with covetous eyes. I don't know when he's watching, or if Saphir is, or if one of their little minions, or whatever. Maybe they're smart enough to watch you. Maybe they don't even know who you are. They don't tell me everything, and I certainly don't tell them everything."

    She tosses Luna-P into the air a few times and catches it. "However, while I can't always stop them from watching you, I can absolutely create a moment where I know that no one is watching." Toss. Catch. Toss. Catch. "And if I spoil the mystery for you, then you'll stop poking at it." Toss. Catch. Toss. Catch. "It doesn't matter really, because you'll all bow to me in the end."

    Toss. "Abracadabra Pon! Become a jamming signal."

    Luna-P explodes, filling the cafe with a pink smokescreen. Some of the cats rowr at it, while others scatter. For a brief moment, nearby wi-fi and other internet access shuts down. Even Kazuo's surveillance is blind for a few seconds.

    During that time, Wicked Lady's hand comes out from the pink mist and covers Ami's mouth. She whispers into her ear. "Usagi... is New Moon."

    After a few moments, the air clears, and wi-fi connections come back online. Anything powerful enough to not get cut off by Luna-P's magic is probably something not under the Black Moon's control.

    Wicked Lady is standing roughly where she was before, still cradling the catball in her arms. "... and now that you know, stop poking around! I'm sure I can trust you to make sure Demande never figures it out."

    She turns her back on the senshi and says, "... Oh, and if any one asks about this little interaction, tell them I interrogated you about the location of the Silver Crystal. Is that clear?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
They'd all seen the reaction that came when the Veil fell away from someone, so it was perhaps fortunate that New Moon--Usagi--weren't present just now. Even then, it was less a shock to her and more one last puzzle piece that slid into place. It made immediate sense of pretty much every interaction she'd had with Wicked Lady's faithful toy. It was the word at the end of her tongue, begging to slide past but stopped because the final connection couldn't quite cross.

It was Usagi who had reached out to comfort Ami when she'd been sad and worried, because of course it had been. There was no darkness that could truly smother Usagi's love.

"Oh..." Certainly not the most profound thing she could have said, and it took her a moment longer before racing thoughts pulled themselves back into focus.

"You really are the most wonderful Lady." Ami turned her attention to Chibiusa's present adult presentation. "I'm sure you knew that, but I felt like I had to say it."

She cleared her throat. "I'll do exactly that."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Wicked Lady preens as she looks back at Ami, soaking up her praise. Yes, Wicked Lady is truly wonderful and grand. Isn't she though?

    "Good! I'm glad we understand each other. And please, feel free to praise me all you like. Even if I obviously already know."

    Turning her eyes back to the exit, she releases Luna-P and lets it float beside her. "I hope to see you at the wedding! I'm sure Usagi would love to see you there." She wags a finger in the air. "...and remember: No snitching!"

    She starts to stride out the front door of the cafe. As she opens the door, she looks back and says, "Ta ta!" before leaving entirely.

    ... and once she's outside she just teleports away, because she's just that extra.