Finally get around to the next installment for this story. It turned out slightly
longer than I thought...

Any comments, C&C, or flames taken.

Cheers

Alex Gray.
E-mail - mailto:hitomi@ndirect.co.uk
WWW home - http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Subway/7630/

==================================================================

Silent Mobius with reference to own original characters and those borrowed from other sources. 
This story takes place some place between volume 7 and 8 of the original Japanese Manga series 
published by Dragon Comics. It could also be said to follow on from episode 22 in the new Silent 
Mobius TV series currently showing in Japan.

Volume 7,  Chaos, Dragon Comics, ISBN4-04-926073-5
Volume 8, Wargame, Dragon Comics, ISBN4-04-926091-3
The name and characters of Silent Mobius are copyright to Kia Asamiya.

This story does contain strong language, sex scenes and a twisted mythology so continue if these 
do not offend.

		*		*		*		*


Chapter 3 - Lust

Location: Japan, Tokyo. 
Time: AD: 2030 31 January 16:09

	Yuki was unsure. What the hell was she going to do? She could not avoid Alex forever and even just seeing the 
girl was causing her to go almost nuts. Once again she found her eyes wandering over to steal a glance at the office that 
now separated her and her? what? She did not even know what it was she felt for the girl. A few times she had even 
almost walked over and tried to see Alex. Try to say what she felt, say anything, but every time she remembered the look 
on Alex's face and cringed. She could not face that again. The only thing she could do was wait for Katsumi to fulfil her 
promise, then and only then would her need be satisfied. 
	Her train of thought was suddenly broken when the door to the office opened and the object of her attentions 
stepped into the main operations room. The girl hesitated for a moment as her eyes flashed in Yuki's direction. Noticing 
that Yuki was watching her the girl turned and headed towards the exit. Yuki watched the girls' progress as she entered the 
main hall outside. Yuki fidgeted for a moment, and then suddenly got to her feet as well. She had to sort this out! She had 
to make this right one way or another. If she didn't then she truly would go mad. To hell with Katsumi, the AMP, and all 
the rest of them! With that thought in mind she rushed out after the redhead.
	It was not long before she spotted the girl ahead waiting patiently for one of the elevators to arrive. She did not 
notice Yuki hurrying down the hall towards her until Yuki called out - "Alex!" At the sound of her name the redhead 
turned and saw Yuki. For a moment it seemed to Yuki that the girl was going to make a break for it but she seemed to 
change her mind and just stood there waiting for Yuki to catch up. Yuki slowed as she realised that running up to the 
younger girl might only scare her. She finally stopped an arms length or so from the redhead.
	"Alex... I..." was all she could say as her mind went to mush and her heart started beating like a base drum.
	The younger girl looked at her for a moment almost as if uncertain of what to say or do. Then she seemed to 
crack and a sob burst out from her - "WHY YUKI? FOR GOD'S SAKE WHY??"
	Yuki almost took a step back surprised by the anger in the younger girl's voice. For a moment she said nothing 
she simply watched as Alex took a step towards her. "WHY Yuki... why..." The anger in her voice faded as the girl 
seemed to slump slightly and she looked at Yuki with tears welling in her eyes.
	Yuki could stand it no more. She did not think she simply opened her arms and hugged the redhead to her. She 
tried to put all her stirrings that the girl's presence generated out of her mind and just concentrate on stopping the others 
pain. For a moment Alex went stiff and then slowly, ever so slowly, she began to melt into Yuki's arms. Yuki did not dare 
to hope, did not dare to do anything.
	"Alex..." she whispered into the girl's red hair. "I... I... love you." The simple realisation of that fact was all the 
truth that Yuki needed - all that she could ever say. 
	The smaller face turned up and looked at her. A slight shy smile lit the pale face. "I know..." Alex replied softly. 
She closed her eyes and straightening up kissed Yuki fully on the lips. For a moment it was Yuki who was just as suddenly 
shocked, Yuki who did not know how to react; then the dam of self doubt broke and she returned the kiss with a passion 
that she did not recognise as part of her. For how long the two of them were caught in that embrace neither could tell and 
neither cared. The only thing that mattered was the presence of the other. Finally after what seemed no time at all the two 
broke and looked at each other. An unspoken question was deep in each other's eyes.
	"Yes..." Alex whispered, her face as red as her hair. "But..."
	"Hush..." Yuki silenced her with another kiss. "I know where..."

	The Master Sorceress Lady Jamie Corin was just settling down to a well deserved rest when a sudden hand on 
her shoulder almost scared the life right out of her. For a brief moment a spell of great destructive power almost threatened 
to break past her lips as old reactions can into play. It was only when she saw the figure that was attached to the hand step 
into the light that she relaxed.
	"Alex..." she breathed for a moment as the panic resided and then she suddenly thought. "What the heck are you 
doing here child? You should be in Tokyo."
	Alex cut her off. "Something... something has happened Sensei. I am in trouble, bad trouble."
	"What..." Jamie was confused for a moment as she took in the girl's half terrified look. "What is it Alex? What 
in Heaven's name is the matter?"
	Alex sat down opposite her mentor and looked nervously about.
	"Alex," Jamie said looking concerned. "What is wrong?"
	"Sensei... Today I saw someone...something... Gar... it showed..." Alex shuddered again at the memory of the 
sight. "Sensei - who were my parents? Why... did Father give me Gar? Who am I..."
	Jamie looked at the earnest face and reached out to gently cut off the triad of words. "I'm so sorry Alex but... I 
don't know."
	"Don't know..." Alex looked confused. "What do you mean... I don't understand... you said..."
	"I'm telling you the truth child. I don't know who your parents were or the answers to any of your questions. 
The only man who does is dead."
	Alex looked blankly at Jamie for a moment as the words sank in. "Dead" she repeated.
	"My Master..." Jamie said pulling the girl to her. "Roughly at the end of the last century I was living in Hong 
Kong, studying with the Magister of the Magicians Guild. I had finished my training with my own Master and was honing 
my skills in preparation to take over his position at the head of the Elvarshion Clan. I had been there for a number of 
months when I suddenly had an abrupt summons to return to him. At that time I was at a critical point in my studies and as 
a result did not leave as immediately as perhaps I should have. When I finally did return to him - I found that he was dead. 
Supposedly he had been killed in some sort of battle with what the Clan thought at the time was a Lucifer Hawk. Later on 
we discovered that it had been something else." Jamie paused for a moment; even now the old memories threatened to 
overwhelm her. 
	Alex looked up at her. "What happened then?" she asked timidly.
	"I took over as head of the Clan and my Master's title. In the process I came across a letter he must have been 
writing to me sometime before he was attacked. The letter seemed to have been done in a great hurry and he may have 
been planning to complete it later. In it he described a meeting he once had with a man maybe a hundred or so years 
before, some sort of renegade. Who this man was my Master seems to have known but he does not actually say so in the 
letter. My Master mentions that the two of them made some kind of deal. In exchange for some unique information that 
this man had, my Master promised that he would fulfil any one promise that the man asked of him or the Clan - no matter 
what it might be. The man only asked one thing."
	"What?" Alex asked, her eyes fixed on Jamie.
	"If ever his enemies caught up with him that our Clan would guard, with their very existence, any of his kin that 
his enemies missed. He told my Master that they were systematically hunting them down."
	"What?" Alex suddenly interrupted. "Why?"
	"I don't know - only that the promise was made. The letter went on to other incidents in my Master's life and as 
the years passed I forgot about it. That was until you arrived."
	"Me?" Alex said.
	"Yes," Jamie looked at her. "Gar simply appeared one day with you. It demanded that the Clan fulfil our 
promise and protect you - the man's daughter. At the time you were little more than a toddler and dying..."
	"Dying?!?" Alex said in a surprised tone.
	"Yes," Jamie replied. "You had been burnt quite badly. It looked almost like the result on an explosion. When I 
first saw you I remember thinking that it was a miracle that you had survived at all. We tried to do what we could to heal 
you but even now I am amazed that you survived."
	"But..." Alex looked down at herself. "My power heals me, you know that."
	"Yes, now it does because you have been trained to use it but back then... No, it was something else that kept 
you alive and I believe it was Gar."
	"Gar," Alex muttered.
	"It has power that creature - a great deal of power. Perhaps far more than anyone suspects. In all the time I have 
known it, it has only had one focus, only ever one goal - you." Jamie emphased the point by looking directly at Alex. "It 
would destroy anything that ever tried to harm you. Kill itself even if it had to. If something as powerful as Gar is that 
dedicated to your survival then that makes me very afraid for you Alex. Very afraid."
	Alex had gone even more pale than usual as Jamie spoke. "Then..." she began. "Someone is out to kill me, that's 
what you're saying aren't you... Someone who has supposedly already killed my kin and who will now be after me to finish 
the job."
	"In short - yes."
 	"Why the hell did you not tell me this earlier Jamie!?!" Alex burst out. "If someone, or something is looking to 
kill me it would have helped at least if I had known!"
	Jamie sighed. "What would I have told you Alex? Someone, I have no idea who is out to kill you - becareful. If I 
had told you that what could you have done? Would you have gone looking for them? Would you have locked yourself 
away some place and tried to hide? You can do nothing Alex. You can only wait and either hope that they never find you 
or fight them if they do. You have power child. A power that I suspect will one day far outstrip mine. The only thing you 
can do is push yourself, develop your power, then if they ever do find you at least you will have a chance. That is why I 
sent you to Tokyo, to AMP."
	"Then I think I may have already found them," Alex said. 
	Jamie went cold. "What do you mean?" she said.
	"Gar showed me... something... at AMP. It looked like a man but... it most definitely wasn't..."
	"Did it see you? Did it recognise you?"
	"Oh yes..." Alex looked at Jamie with a hard stare. "It knew me alright..." She smiled coldly and a strange feral 
gleam flared in her eyes. "At least, it thinks it did..."
	"What do you mean?" Jamie said in a calm voice. She did not show anything but Alex's face... The expression... 
Jamie inwardly shuddered. Alex's face had always been... "otherworldly" but now... The girl was silent unaware of Jamie's 
stare as she inwardly contemplated something that bought a dark, almost unholy glee to her face. The green eyes suddenly 
seemed to be blazing with an expression of insane joy and a black aura flickered around her form. Jamie had to fight down 
the urge to run as she looked in horror at what Alex seemed to have become..
	"Grandmother!" 
     	Alex's head suddenly spun at the intrusion of the young man. The movement released Jamie from the insane 
expression in those green eyes...
	"Oh..." the young man looked at the two startled figures and his face lit up. "Alex? You're back!" He opened his 
arms and gave the girl a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Welcome home sis." He held her tight for a moment and then 
pushed her out to arms length. From this position he looked critically at her.
	"Well," he said. "How are you finding life in the big city sis? Is Grandmother's friend looking after you? You 
still look as thin as ever - when are you going to fill out... Ouch!"
     	Alex's face was slightly red as she pounded him again. "Don't talk about me like that!"
	"Alright! Alright! I submit! I submit!" the young man held up his hands as a big smile played across his face. 
Alex smiled back as she fell automatically into the familiar banter with her "brother". She leaned forward and gave him a 
peck on the face. "Its good to see you again Haru."
	Haru let his "sister" go and they both turned to face Jamie.
	"Grandmother," he said. "You did not say Alex was coming back. Why did you not tell me?"
    	 "She is only here for a visit," Jamie looked at Alex. "She will be going back very shortly."
    	 "Oh, am I?" Alex asked innocently.
     	"Yes, Alex. You are."
     	"No. I don't think that I am," Alex said softly.
     	Jamie held her breath for a moment to calm down and then said "why not?"
     	"Because I don't want to die," Alex said simply.
     	"WHAT??" Haru burst out. "What the hell do you mean?!?"
     	Jamie shot her grandson a dark glance. "If you stay here then they will realise that you know who they are. They 
will come for you."
	"No," Alex said. "They won't. You see, I have left something. Something that will keep them distracted until I 
am ready to deal with them."
	"Haru - Alex and I have something we need to discuss. Why don't you come and see me later." Jamie looked 
at her grandson.
	"But..." Haru began to say. A harsh glance from Jamie stopped him in his tracks.
	"Alright," he said and turned to leave. "I don't know what is going on here but..." He broke off at the stare Jamie 
gave him and opening the door he left.
	"Alex," Jamie sat down on the bed and motioned for her student to come and join her. "I know you are feeling 
hurt and scared but you and I have to talk about this. Your life, as well as the future of the Clan depends on it."
	Alex looked like she was going to continue to argue but then sat down next to Jamie. She let the older woman 
put an arm around her shoulder.
	"Now," Jamie began. "Tell me what you meant by the comment you made earlier about leaving something."
	"I left a copy of myself - a creation of Shadow. For some reason, the... thing did not seem to be able to detect 
that it was a copy. It took it for the real me."
	"How long do you think it will fool them Alex?" Jamie asked. "Your ability to create such things has always 
amazed me but you know how unstable your creations get if left for a long time. They simply do not have the ability to 
last long without constant maintenance."
	"Gar is watching it," Alex said. "It will warn me if..."
	"Gar!" Jamie exclaimed. "Alex, you have got to be joking! Gar doesn't have the subtly it needs to see when 
those things begin to get unstable! Alex you have to get back there..."
	"NO!" Alex erupted getting to her feet. "I WON'T! I CAN'T!"
	Jamie was slightly surprised by both the venom and the fear that came out of the girl. She wasn't going to get 
anywhere like this. For some reason, Alex just would not face what it was that Jamie was asking of her. Jamie hated 
herself for what she was about to do but... She made a small gesture with her hand and let a small bit of power stream 
down the link her had to her student. Alex suddenly relaxed and her face went slack as Jamie's spell took affect. 
	"Come here Alex," Jamie said gently and waited for the girl to sit by her. "Now, listen to me Alex. I want you to 
tell me why you will not go back to Tokyo. What are you so afraid of? Is it of dying?"
	"No..." Alex muttered sleepily. "Father ordered me to flee the bad man... get away..." She began to get agitated 
again causing Jamie to have to tighten her control. Jamie took Alex's head in her hands and gently reached through her 
link to touch the girl's mind. Jamie looked into a sea of chaos. Thoughts, images, sensations - they all flowed around her, 
demanding her attention, trying to drag her in... It was with an effort that Jamie broke through the chaos trying to track the 
fear and the odd comment about her father back to its source.
	Jamie suddenly felt a harsh wet wind wash across her face. It was dark, cold, and she was frightened. She pulled 
her knees up to her chest and whimpered slightly as she looked at the dark form of her Father. He was struggling to put 
together what he could. They were coming... He could feel them even at this distance. He cursed. Why had he remained 
here for so long? He grabbed the pack and threw it on the floor. 
	"SHIT!" he swore. 
	This was too much for the girl to handle. Suddenly she burst out crying as the fear and the anger of her Father 
overcame her. The sound of the toddler wailing caused the man to swear again and he turned angrily.
	"SHUT UP!" he yelled at the small form on the ground. He reached down and shook the child. The sudden 
violence caused the girl to freeze up. "Stupid creature..." The man let the girl go and turned back to the task at hand. He 
had no time to deal with his "daughter" now.
	"Gar!" he ordered sharply. As usual the imp had vanished somewhere. He would have to do something about 
that creature. The spells that bound it...
	"Master," the imp suddenly said as it appeared behind him. 
	"Where the hell have you been?" the man snarled.
	The imp flashed a glance at the shaking form of the young girl. It's red eyes flared as a rare emotion flooded 
through it.
	"Gar!" the man yelled again causing the imp to turn its attention back to its current Master.
	"What Master need?" the imp asked.
	"Keep that damn thing quiet for one. Did you contact the others like I told you?"
	"No one left Master. All gone." The imp moved over to the young girl. She saw the evil creature and with a glad 
cry moved to embrace the demon.
	"Gone?" the man turned and snarled at the imp. "What do you mean?!?"
	The imp protectively flared its wings around the shaking girl. "All dead..." the creature hissed warningly as the 
man came nearer.
	"Dead?" the man repeated in disbelief. "How?"
 	"They kill. Gar arrive too late to help. All dead." The imp wrapped the dark leathery wings around the girl and 
begin to purr softly. The girl quietened under Gar's attentions and watched as her Father reeled off a string of curses. 
When he was finally finished he turned back to glare at the girl.
	"Then it was all for nothing..." the man swore as he scowled down at the girl. "All that work, all that effort - for 
NOTHING!!" He raised his hand threateningly to the girl. "Only you now remain - the result of all that..." 
	Suddenly he was thrown backwards as the wall exploded. Something dark and hideous tore a hole in the side of 
the ruined shelter. The girl screamed in pain as shrapnel from the explosion struck her. Then she was suddenly silent. The 
imp righted itself and then it noticed the silent bleeding form of the girl. For a moment it did nothing but simply stared. 
After the initial shock had passed the imp howled with rage and a black fire exploded from its mouth. The dark flame 
washed over the creature temporarily driving it back.
	"GAR!!" the man screamed from the rubble he was trapped under. "HELP ME!!"
	The imp turned to face its Master. It's eyes briefly focusing on him as the wall suddenly shifted again. The 
creature shrieking its rage forced its way into the remains of the room causing the rest of the wall to collapse.
	"GAR!!" the man screamed again but the imp ignored him. It quickly scampered over to the form of the injured 
girl ignoring the mortal's screams of pain and horror as the thing began to amuse itself. The imp knew that once the 
daemon had finished with the man it would come for its real target - Gar's treasure, the girl. It had to get away! Struggling 
with the weight of the limp child Gar tore a blink hole through the fabric of reality. It escaped just as the last of the man's 
screams was cut off as the blink hole collapsed. Clutching the girl to it, Gar fled.
	Jamie came back to the present with a scream of blind terror almost emerging from her mouth.
	"FUCKEN BLOODY HELL!!" she exclaimed as the horror that she had felt as Alex only began to slightly fade.  
She breathed in and out heavily as the sweat rolled down her face. No bloody wonder Alex was flaming terrified. The girl 
had obviously forgotten the childhood memory but its effects must still be... Jamie got up and walked around a bit to both 
control herself and to think. Finally she sat back down next to the still spellbound girl.
	"Alex," she said. "I want you to listen to me..."

	Alex snapped back to reality and looked around her slightly confused.
	"What..." she said as she saw Jamie looking at her "What happened?"
	"Nothing Alex," Jamie commented. "You are simply tired. Do you remember what we were just discussing?"
	Alex frowned and then her face brightened. "Yes of course. We discussed what I was going to do when I 
returned to Tokyo. How I was going to fool that creature..."
	"Good," Jamie said. She placed a hand on Alex's shoulder. "Now, you must hurry and get back. The 
Shadowbeast that you made will probably already be acting up. You have to get back before its presence is revealed."
	"Ok," Alex said as she got to her feet. For a moment she looked uncertain and then threw her arms around 
Jamie.
	"I love you..." she whispered before suddenly breaking off and vanishing into the shadows.
	Jamie looked at where the girl had disappeared and stared for a moment. "And I you, my daughter..." 

	For a moment Alex felt disorientated as she merged back with the creature that she had summoned from the 
depths of her soul. As sensation began to return Alex realised that something was very... A soft, silky smooth and very 
warm body pressed against her. A very tired yet satisfied voice whispered in her ear.
	"Alex..." The voice faded as the owner drifted back into the realm of sleep.
	Alex's eyes came sharply open. She drew in a rush of air as all her senses came back into very conscious focus.
	"Oh my..." Alex stopped speechless as she stared disbelievingly at the very warm and very naked form of Yuki 
who was pressing up against her. 
	What the hell had the clone been doing?? Her face went bright red at the obvious answer. For a moment she was 
too stunned to think, then slowly she began to think. What had she done... Slowly cold reason began to assert itself. The 
clone was not her. She was for example clothed, so she had not just "done it" with Yuki. The clone was however a 
reflection of her own darkest needs and the feeling of Yuki pressed against her... 
	Alex shuddered as a wave of sexual desire washed over her. Her hands burnt with the desire to touch, to explore 
the smooth figure that was lying against her... Alex clenched her fists as she rose over the sudden rush of desire and 
crushed it. Now was not the time she told herself, may be later... Alex shook her head. What was she thinking of... Her 
movement disturbed Yuki and the girl rolled over putting herself on top of Alex. 	
	"Oh Gods..." Alex whispered in a strained voice as Yuki's firm breasts pressed against her. The shapely legs 
shifted pushing against an area that had suddenly become very sensitive. Alex gasped for breath as a hot feeling began to 
pass up and down her spine. Her own clothes suddenly felt very course and prickly as the wave of desire flushed down her 
body focusing on one point. She closed her eyes and gasped in air as a warm wet sticky feeling suddenly erupted from 
between her legs.
	"Ohhh... Fuck..." Alex moaned slightly as the  hot rush began to build. She clenched her fists... control... she had 
to ohhh... control... control... Yuki shifted again and her thigh pushed fully against  the wet very sensitive area. That was 
enough - Alex lost it. The wet area suddenly erupted with a rush of hot fluid and Alex bucked and moaned as the cascade 
of wanton desire broke in a wave.
	"Wha... Ouch!!" a surprised Yuki was suddenly thrown out of the medical bed by a bucking form and landed on 
her butt. She opened her eyes and caught sight of the last of Alex's orgasm. 
	"Well, well..." Yuki muttered to herself with a smile "still active... and here I was trying to get some sleep. Oh 
well..." She got to her feet. "Round two..." 
	She moved back over to the bed and pulled the blanket back. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. When did her 
lover get dressed? She smiled - it did not matter. She would soon be undressed. She reached down and looked for an easy 
way to remove the sweat-drenched clothes. As soon as her hands touched Alex, the girl's eyes opened and focused on 
Yuki. For a moment Yuki was frozen with surprise. Those intense green eyes looked as if they were literally burning with 
an inner light. The light burnt into her mind, past her barriers and reached down literally into the depths of her soul. She 
felt everything, will, life, mind being sucked away by those eyes. She barely registered the ancient hunger, the  need that 
flared in those eyes as they drank away everything that made her what she was... She was simply fading... falling into 
those blazing depths...
	She felt herself being gently lowered onto the bed and then a few moments later she was joined by another soft 
warm form. She moaned slightly as she felt wet moist lips descend on hers and hands like silk brush lightly over her 
stomach and breasts. The need in her began to build as the lips travelled slowly, ever so slowly down her neck until finally 
coming to rest on a pulsing vein. 
	"Yes..." she breathed with growing excitement as she felt hands begin to work a perverted kind of magic on her 
body. She felt the longings within her mount as lips caressed the tips of her breasts and she groaned. Her body tensed like 
a spring and the need she felt was almost painful. Her breasts felt almost like rocks as the mouth and lips of her lover 
played over them. Yuki whimpered and tasted the sharp tang of blood in her mouth as Alex nibbled and playful bit at her 
chest.
	"Ahhhhh..." her arms spasmodically pulled Alex to her as the first rush exploded through her. She remained like 
that until the explosion of sensation passed and the lips resumed their journey down. They fluttered briefly around her 
sweat-drenched stomach until finally they came to rest on the place that so much needed attention. It was at this point that 
Yuki's sense of self was drowned in a rush of need and instinctual desire. She consciously registered nothing more except 
the physical need for gratification.

	Alex was not sure how long it was before the almost unholy need that she had felt was finally satisfied by the 
now still form beneath her. It was only slowly that awareness gradually returned to her; awareness of both herself and of 
the silent form of her first lover.
	"Oh Christ..." Alex felt almost too painful to move. "What the hell did I just do..." 
	"Yuki..." she suddenly remembered the still form that she lay on top of. With a grimace of pain she rolled over 
and looked worriedly at her lover. 
	"Yuki... Yuki!" she gently shook the older woman.
	"No... Alex..." Yuki seemed to manage a response from a long way away. "Please..."
	Alex stopped at those words as she realised what Yuki was saying. A sly smile slowly crossed her face. She felt 
her body begin to grow stronger as her power begin to replenish the strength that had been drained from her. She took the 
opportunity to stare with open admiration at the exhausted form lying beside her. Yuki was indeed a well-formed beauty. 
Her breasts were fuller than Alex's but not overly so. A narrow waist and slightly flared hips gave her a much more 
feminine form than Alex's own did. Even just looking at her Alex could feel the desire beginning to build up in her again. 
However, this time it was not all consuming. This time she was able to control it. She and Yuki both needed sleep not 
more sex. Gently she lay back down beside her lover and rested her head on Yuki's soft breast. Yuki reacted with a faint 
sigh and an arm curled lazily around Alex before she sank deeper into sleep. Alex smiled and let herself fade away.
	From its hiding place Gar watched the two young lovers sleep in the afterglow of their first experience. It felt 
both contentment and fulfilment arising from Alex and smiled. Finally it's little one had found a lover. A lover it thought 
with a wide grin that was almost as attractive as she was. It rumbled its hands together, both at the joy of its Masters 
happiness and the joy at the thought of the following nights that it would be able to watch. It closed its eyes as it savoured 
the memory of what it had just seen - joy indeed! Gar flared its wings, it was glad that such a good result had come from 
its manipulation of the Shadowclone...

	Mana was worried. It had been perhaps 2 hours ago that she had first noticed that both Yuki and Alex were 
missing. At first she had thought perhaps that they were involved in separate tasks around the building. After asking 
around however she had discovered that both had gone missing at the same time. Her mind immediately started to jump to 
some very unpleasant conclusions. That was enough for her to send Nami and Kiddy out to look for the two of them. She 
had also instructed Lebia to run a quick scan on the internal building security system but this had turned up nothing. 
Aware of the situation between the two she did not want to do anything rash like sounding a general alert, but she had to 
make sure that she found them wherever they had gone off to. The problem was how to do it in a quiet way.
	
	Kiddy was not having much success in the task that Mana had suddenly dumped on her. Nor was she happy at 
the timing of the two girl's disappearance. She for one had work to do. Work that did not have time to spend playing hide 
and go seek. She tapped her communicator and reported to Nami her lack of success in searching suite 2 of floor 12. 
	"2 down, another 10 on this floor to go..." she commented to herself before moving onto the next office suite. 
She shook her head. How many bloody unused offices did this building have? Frankly she was amazed at how big and 
empty AMP headquarters was, even with the amount of troops that had been drafted in. Kiddy was walking down 
corridors and peering into rooms where only the sound of the automatic air-conditioning was an indication of any life. It 
was also rather worrying when she noticed that in a lot of these rooms the automatic security cameras were switched off. 
She had better tell Lebia, she noted to herself. Such information might be useful in the future. 
	She came to the last section of this totally unused suite. A closed security door blocked off the rest of the 
corridor and she found that she could go no further. Kiddy spent a moment staring through the security glass into a single 
ill-lit room beyond. The sign on the door indicated that this was some sort of secure biohazard area, which would explain 
the odd occurrence of the secure door. Out of interest she tried the lock but the common codes that she tried did not work. 
The door was obviously either coded to respond differently, or more likely than not, had not yet been bought online. She 
took one last glance through the darkened viewing port and then turned and moved onto the next suite to investigate.
	"Honestly," she said to no one in particular. "When I find those two they are DEAD!" Feeling slightly better she 
moved on.
	Gar watched the cyborg leave. Now was perhaps a good time to waken the two young lovers presently fast 
asleep in the next room. It scrabbled back to the security door and glared at it. The door obediently hissed open allowing 
Gar to go inside. It's eyes focused on the still forms lying on one of the disused medical beds. Gar giggled and sent a large 
and rude mental comment to its master.
	"What!?!" Alex spluttered indignantly as she was suddenly awakened from her sleep. 
	"Alex?" Yuki opened her eyes as she reacted to her lover's indignant cry. Alex did not appear to have noticed 
that she was awake. Her lover was peering around the room with a very annoyed expression on her face. For a moment 
Yuki simply looked happily at the pale form then wincing with the effort she sat up.
	"Oh Gods," she said in a pained tone as Alex turned her attention to the source of the movement.
	"Yuki, are you ok?" Alex asked with a concerned expression on her face.
	"Christ Alex," Yuki winced and then flashed a smile at the younger girl. "Where the hell did you learn to 
fuck? I feel like I've been pulled to pieces!"
	Alex went bright red and turned her head with an indignant, "humph!"
	Yuki smiled and kissed the naked back. "I will have to remember to drink a high energy concentrate next time."
	Alex glared at her and then got up. As she did so her face pulled back in a scowl. She looked down at herself.
	"Shit! I need a bath..."
	Yuki looked down at herself and gently pinched her nose. "You aren't the only one," she said. 
	Alex giggled slightly at the expression on Yuki's face. "So, where the hell do we get one? We can't exactly go 
back covered in each others... ahh... juices - can we?"
	"No," Yuki took a smell. "You do tend to gush a bit don't you?"
	Silence followed as Alex did not deem to answer that observation. She turned instead to look about the medical 
room to find something that she could use to wash away the more obvious evidence.
	It was another 15 minutes later before the two of them emerged cautiously into the corridor beyond the security 
door. Fortunately, the room had been equipped to deal with biohazardous waste, so that a hurried cleanup had been much 
easier than the two had feared.
	"We'll have to remember this place for the next time," Yuki commented as they entered the corridor.
	"Oh, will we?" Alex said in a haughty manner. "You are certain of yourself aren't you."
	"Oh yes..." Yuki looked at Alex with a cat like grin on her face. "Very certain."
	Alex felt her face begin to heat up again and coughed. "Well we will see..."
	Yuki smiled evilly and her hand caressed Alex's reddish face. "Yes," she said. "I am sure we will."
	"Hey, you two!"
	Alex and Yuki suddenly sprang apart as a very angry looking Kiddy suddenly appeared from a set of doors at 
the far end of the corridor. As soon as she spotted the two girls she began to run down the corridor towards them. From the 
expression in her moments she did not look pleased to see them.
	Alex looked at Yuki. "Let me deal with this."
	"Be my guest," Yuki commented and stood back.
	Kiddy was almost running when she finally reached the two. She stopped in front of them and immediately 
yelled "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU TWO BEEN!!"
	Alex looked at her with a deadpan face and said "oh, around..."
	"WHAT!!" Kiddy was now beginning to work herself up into even more of an enraged state.
	"Be silent," Alex suddenly ordered. For a moment Yuki could not believe what the girl had just said. She 
cringed as she half expected Kiddy to smash Alex all over the wall but for some reason Kiddy did nothing - she was 
just... silent.
	"What happen?" Yuki asked as she looked at the now acquiescent Kiddy.
	Alex smiled. "Nothing, just a simple command word."
	"What?!?" Yuki grabbed Alex's arm. "You've put her under a spell... You can't do that!"
	"Why not?" Alex looked at Yuki in an odd way. "There's nothing special about her is there?"
	"But... but it's wrong!" Yuki burst out.
	"Wrong?" Alex smiled oddly to herself. "Oh Yuki... right and wrong, good and evil depend fully on where you 
view them from." Alex looked sharply at Yuki for a moment with a strange gleam in her eye. "You should have realised 
that by now."
	"I don't..." Yuki started but Alex had turned her attention back to Kiddy which left Yuki feeling slightly unsure.
	"Kiddy," Alex said. "I want you to go back to the control room. You will remember that you found us and that 
we were trapped in one of the unused suites on this floor. You will remember to tell Lebia that the security codes for this 
level appear to be scrambled."
	"I understand Alex," Kiddy said in a normal voice, "I'm only glad that I was able to come by and let you out. I 
will go and tell the others that I found you and that everything is ok. See you later."
	"Bye," Alex said as Kiddy turned and left.
	"Well, Yuki shall we go?" Alex looked back at Yuki.
	"Ahh... ok..." Yuki was still a bit uncertain as to Alex's attitude.
	"Oh, come on Yuki," Alex put her hands on her hips. "Hurry up will you."
	"Alex..." Yuki began. "Have... you done that before?"
	"Done what?" Alex looked at her with a questioning expression.
	"Manipulated people like that. Made them obey you - it isn't right."
	"It bothers you Yuki doesn't it," Alex looked at her lover's uncertain face.
	"Yes," Yuki said. "It does."
	"Would it surprise you if I told you that you have frequently been trying to do a similar thing to me?"
	"WHAT!" Yuki jerked back. "I would NEVER do anything like that."
	Alex smiled amused by the indignant reply. "Oh yes my dear you have indeed." She reached out and touched 
Yuki on the nose. "Nearly ever since that first night I moved in with you, your abilities have been trying to touch my mind."
	"I have not!" Yuki glared at Alex, her face going slightly red.
	"Not consciously I am sure," Alex gave her a wink. "But your mind has been trying to touch mine. I don't know 
why it was trying to - only that it was. Adepts like me have a natural sensitivity and some measure of protection from that 
kind of mental domination due to our training. If I had been anyone else you could have very well have had your evil way 
with me a lot sooner."
	"But..." Yuki tried to say but then she saw the mirth that was on Alex's face. "Are you joking?"
	"No," Alex said. "I'm not. I'm just surprised that you never realised that you had the ability to influence those 
around you. From what I have seen you tend to do it quite a bit."
	Yuki looked stunned. "I never thought..."
	"Yuki, your abilities are both very powerful and undisciplined. It is about time you realised what they can do."
	"But how?" Yuki shuddered. "I don't know anything about things like that."
	"Wrong," Alex looked at her. "You do. You just don't realise it. If you want I can help you to learn some of the 
basics. I can't show you all that your powers are capable of because my abilities are totally different. However I can help 
you open the way if you want."
	Yuki looked at Alex for a moment and she remembered the decision she had made not to use her gifts ever in a 
destructive manner. That decision now seemed to be... 
	"Teach me Alex," Yuki said with a nod of assurance almost to herself. "Show me how I can help."
	"Well," Alex began with a smile. "You can begin by tonguing me and then..."
	Yuki's mouth fell open as she listened to the very visual descriptions of what Alex wanted her to do. 	"Bloody 
hell..." she thought to herself as the red head continued with more... exotic... requests. "What the heck have I released..."

	Haru sat opposite Jamie's new guest and tried to keep his tongue in his mouth. Lum Cheng, granddaughter of 
the current Magister, was simply the most... attractive female he had ever seen. He tried in vain to stop himself from 
staring at her as she talked with his grandmother about her grandfather's request for Jamie to train her. He nervously 
gulped down the rest of his tea and hoped to all the Gods that she did not notice.
	Jamie smiled faintly to herself as she noticed the reaction the Chinese girl opposite was causing in her grandson. 
Fortunately for him the girl was too engrossed in describing her exploits to Jamie that she completely failed to notice. 
Jamie nodded and made an affirmative sound as the girl's talking began to flow into a natural rhythm. Jamie only paid 
scant attention to what the girl was saying, but used the opportunity to truly assess what the girl was capable of.
	Lum Cheng was certainty strong. Jamie could detect her power even from where she was sitting. At 18 the girl 
had all the markings of being an exceptionally powerful Adept. Jamie nodded at another inane comment and looked 
closely at the girl. She was definitely attractive and Jamie could understand was why Haru was reacting the way he was. 
The girl's long dark hair and deep violet eyes would be enough to capture the attention of any man, especially when they 
were coupled with the looks that the girl had inherited from her mother. Jamie remembered with fondness all the attention 
that Arisha Cheng, her goddaughter, had received when she had been Lum's age. She knew it would be the same with the 
daughter. Lum however, seemed not to have inherited her mother's sense of discipline. The way the girl talked and the 
way she flitted from subject to subject did not bode well in Jamie's mind. Lum's grandfather must have had the same 
concern and if Jamie was right that was probably the reason why the girl was here. 
	Jamie thought for a moment. Lum had a lot of growing up to do. One day the girl was going to have to take over
the Magister's position as head of the Magician's Guild and Jamie could sense that this was very important to the girl. 
Jamie could understand that, but what concerned her was that Lum seemed only to be interested in the power and the status
that such a position bought. She did not seem to fully appreciate the responsibilities that came with all that power. 
Jamie was surprised that her grandfather had not tried to install some of that responsibility into his granddaughter. This
had been one of the first things that Jamie had taught to her own successor, Alex. Power brings responsibility - 
responsibility and problems. For a moment she mentally compared the two girls. Lum was strong and according to her 
grandfather's letter had the potential to be one of the strongest Mages of her generation. Jamie could not disagree with 
that. The potential was certainly there and if it was fully realised it would make the girl one of the strongest Magisters
of the last few centuries. However, Jamie knew that it would not be Lum who would be running things when the current leadership
retired. Only the strongest of all was granted the leadership of the Council of Three. Only the strongest could make the heads 
of the Clan, the Guild, and the Brotherhood yield to their will and Jamie knew who that one person would be.
	For centuries beyond counting Magic had been divided into three schools, or disciplines. These were known as 
the Clan, the Brotherhood and the Guild. Each of these schools had their own head, and their own way of doing things. 
They all however, bowed to a common authority - the Council of Three. The Council was made up of the three heads of 
each of the schools, nine members in total. However, ruling over these individuals was one individual. This individual was 
the strongest living Mage at that time. Currently, this individual was a little known figure from the Brotherhood. He had 
ruled the Council with a very loose hand, and had not even interfered when Gigelf had first proceeded with the madness 
that unleashed the entities on this world. Jamie had a place on this Council, but had long ago delegated it to her son. Haru, 
after he had finished his training under his father would more than likely take up one of the positions as well. If Alex had 
been a member of the Clan then she would have taken Jamie's place as its leader. However, although the girl was the 
successor to her Sorceress title, Alex could not take up a position in the Clan. Clan law specifically stated that only those 
of Clan birth could actually rule as a Clan head. Oh, the girl would have power in the Clan that much was certain; Haru 
and her son would see to that. Jamie was not too concerned by this. Alex had never had that much interest in Clan affairs. 
Her first interest was simply the Power. In this respect she was just like her teacher. Jamie had risen to her level of ability 
because she had felt exactly the same. Let the politicians deal with the politics while others did more productive things.
	No one except Jamie knew the true potential that Alex had. Jamie had been very careful in never advertising the 
power that her apprentice truly had. Indeed only a few beyond the Clan were even aware that the infamous Master 
Sorceress Jamie Corin even had an apprentice. The Magister was not one of those and that was why Jamie assumed that he 
had sent Lum to her. He like the other heads, were grooming their own heirs with an eye on the position of Keeper. Jamie 
almost smiled to herself. She had met more than a few of the others, and they did not even come up to Lum's strength. She 
could well see how the Magister would assume that his granddaughter could well be the one. Well, they would learn...
	"Ah," Lum coughed. "Excuse me..."
	"Sorry," Jamie looked at her guest. "I was just thinking about something."
	"Oh," Lum said with a nervous smile.
	Jamie suddenly realised that the girl was slightly afraid of her. She was more than slightly surprised at this. She 
knew her reputation was as being a cold and very formidable figure but she did not think anyone seriously believed it. 
Maybe she was wrong. It might explain why no one else had sent any students to learn at her feet. She did not know 
whether she should be thankful for this or not. It did however make her look with a new respect at Lum.
	"That's ok my child," She said encouragingly at the girl. "When you get to my age it is difficult not to get side 
tracked by other issues. Something that you spoke of reminded of something I have to do, that's all. Now, we were talking 
about what you have studied and what it is I expect of you..."
	The rest of the afternoon went at a relaxed pace, as Jamie used the time to both learn about Lum and to help the 
girl relax. If they were to work together as teacher and student then they both needed to feel comfortable with one another. 
Jamie was able to confirm her initial opinion about the girl. She did have a very big opinion of herself and this was 
something Jamie was going to have to cut down to size. Once this had been done Jamie was sure that the girl would make 
a very able student indeed.
	Haru followed the conversation with great interest. He wanted to know everything there was to know about this 
Lum Cheng - everything. The reason for this was very simple Haru's power was extremely rare. In fact power such as his 
emerged in the Clan only once every 200-300 years. It was so rare that those who had had it could be numbered on one 
hand. It was a very simple power - just the power to KNOW. Those gifted with this ability, instantly became candidates 
for the Council. A stranger might well have asked why? The answer was simple. To be able to KNOW the parts of the 
future, the present and the past was a gift that gave knowledge beyond measure. Unlike the powers of others, this gift did 
not work consciously but came only when it decided to come. Haru had had one of those rare visitations almost moments 
after he had seen Lum Cheng. Haru KNEW that in less than 2 years from now the girl sitting opposite would be his wife.

	Mana had been more than a little surprised when Alex had asked if she and Yuki could be given the same 
quarters. It had taken quite a bit of convincing and dancing around the truth before the woman had finally agreed to the 
request. Alex had almost wondered if she would have to resort to yet more "magical convincing". Fortunately however, 
Mana was able to get something of the general gist from the looks that the two girls had been swapping throughout the 
day. Luckily she had not pressed the issue. For Alex this was a relief. She did not want to try and explain the activities of 
that afternoon.
	The sleeping quarters to which they finally retired could have been described as... basic, if one was being 
generous. The two girls stared at each other across the empty cupboard and felt almost the same thing. Yuki looked at the 
two small cots in which they were supposed to sleep and shot the spy camera an evil look.
	"Bugger this for a laugh," Alex commented.
	Yuki smiled. "That's one way of putting it..."
	"Well, then..."
	Yuki suddenly felt disorientated as if all her sense of balance had deserted her. With an indignant cry she fell. 
Instinctively she threw out her hands and they landed with a soft crunch as she fell onto the sand. SAND? Yuki looked 
down and saw that she had not suddenly just gone mad. She was indeed lying on sand. Her head shot up and she looked 
wildly about. 
	"Ahh..." Alex sighed with pleasure as she sat down next to Yuki. "That's much better..." 
	Yuki doubted her senses for a moment as she looked about at the warm tropical surroundings. It was early 
evening, and the two of them were sitting on a tropical beach next to the ocean. Her head spun around to face Alex.
	"Wha..." she managed to get out.
	"That's an interesting word Yuki," Alex said with a grin. "I did not know you spoke gibberish as well as 
Japanese."
	Yuki bolted up and looked at the younger girl, hard. It took her a moment to get her thoughts together, but then 
she spoke. 
	"What the hell have you just done girl? Where the heck are we?"
	Alex did not answer. She looked at Yuki speculatively for a second and then jumping up tackled the older girl to 
the ground.
	"Ouch!" Yuki exclaimed as she fell back onto the sand again. "What did you do that fo...hmm..."
	Her question was suddenly halted by two warm, wet lips being clamped to her mouth. Yuki wrapped her arms 
around Alex's back and pulled the girl closer to her as she began to respond to the other's need. Yuki released her grip on 
Alex's neck and moved her hands down to try and remove the other girl's nightshift. Her hands stumbled trying to get the 
zip undone at the back. She felt Alex's cool hands pinch her nipples and she gave a moan of pleasure as the sensation 
washed over her. Yuki felt herself beginning to get desperate as she struggled with the zipper. She needed to get Alex 
naked and she needed to do it now!
	SNAP! The plastic zip screamed in protest as Yuki literally ripped the nightshift off Alex. She griped the silky 
smooth back and rolled the two of them over. For a moment Yuki's hands continued to explore Alex's back and then they 
moved down. She hooked her thumb in the other girl's pants and pulled them down. Alex responded by pulling off Yuki's 
night-gown. She lay back, simply enjoying the feeling of Yuki's skin pressing against her. 
	Yuki moved her hand and gently she began to explore the fuzzy red triangle hiding the mystery of her lover's 
sex. As she touched the moist cleft, she heard Alex gasp out and suddenly become tense. For a moment she teased the 
entrance with her finger and was rewarded by a rush of warm sticky fluid that bathed her hand. Yuki slowly pushed her 
finger through the hidden entrance and into her lover's body.
	Alex bit on her lips as her body reacted to what Yuki was doing. 
	"Oh... fuck...." she moaned as she felt Yuki's finger slowly moving inside her. She rolled her eyes and her back 
arched as wave upon wave of sensation flooded through her. Slowly, agonisingly, it built until Alex thought she was going 
to scream. Yuki pushed another finger into join the first and then Alex did scream. The explosion of primeval pleasure 
erupted from her mouth, amplified by her Power that now tore past Alex's mental controls. 
	Yuki screamed with real pain as the Power drenched sound tore into her. She tried vainly to cover her ears, but 
the scream simply ripped into her mind. Yuki's own power instantly reacted, throwing up a barrier around her 
consciousness against which the waves of sounds could not penetrate. The Power flowing out of Alex, slowly lessened 
and then faded altogether as the girl's orgasm passed.
	Yuki slowly lowered her shields and winced as she tried to move. She felt as if she had just been hit over the 
head with something - very hard. She had to take a moment to let her head clear and try and get her bearings back. Slowly 
she opened her eyes and blinked a few times to clear the sand from them. She looked down at Alex. The pale form was 
covered in sweat and a strange black aura flickered around her. She was breathing very heavily, but incredibly to Yuki she 
had a bloody smile on her face!
	"ALEX!" Yuki, getting her senses back, moved over and shook the other girl.
	"Wha..." Alex opened her eyes. She saw Yuki and smiled. Her arm curled out and touched Yuki's face. "That... 
was... ohhh..." She smiled and stretched.
	"What!?!" Yuki could only look at her in disbelief. "Is that all you can say?"
	"Hmmm... 'bout what?" Alex looked up at her.
	"About what??" Yuki looked at her incredulously. "Do you realise what you just did?"
	Alex smiled sensuously, "came beautifully..."
 	"Well," Yuki winced, "I suppose you could put it like that. Alex, if I had been a normal person I would have 
been driven insane by what you just did."
	"Errr... What do you mean?"
	"Girl, you just generated enough psionic disturbance to awaken the dead."
	"Wha... What do you mean?"
	Yuki sighed. "Didn't you feel anything, just now?"
	Alex smiled, and she pulled her face up to Yuki. "Oh yes..." she whispered.
	Yuki strongly resisted the urge to accept that implicit invitation and pulled back slightly. "Alex, you just 
released an enormous amount of power. You could have seriously injured me."
	"Oh," was all Alex could think to say. "Maybe I got a bit carried away..."
	Yuki did not say what came to her mind as she did not think it would help. "Maybe next time you should show 
some restraint," was all she finally said.
	"Ok," Alex said uncertainly.
	"Ok," Yuki tried to put some life into it. She did not like to think that they had just had their first argument as 
that was what it felt like. She was sure that Alex just did not realise how powerful she really was. Or if she did, she just 
took it for granted. It had almost been the same when she had magically manipulated Kiddy, only a few hours before.  
That thought bought her back to the obvious question she had first tried to ask before Alex had jumped her.
	"Alex, just how the hell did we get here anyway?"
	"Uh," Alex looked at her slightly surprised by the sudden change in direction. "Oh, nothing complex, just a 
simple teleport spell. I often come here when I need to think, or I need to be alone. I thought... I thought you might like 
it."
	"Yes. I do," Yuki commented. "It's beautiful. Where exactly are we?"
	"On the upper delta of the Nile. People have long abandoned this area, as it tends to be subject to frequent 
sandstorms coming out of the desert." She smiled. "It's infinitely better than that small cupboard."
	"Alex, we just can't skip out like that you know! If Mana or any of the others find out..."
	Alex was silent and a dark expression crossed her face. It was not Mana and the others that concerned her. Yuki 
was right. She was so use to "popping out" that she had not paused to consider "what" might have been watching. She 
looked at Yuki and nodded, "I did not think about that..."
	Surprise, surprise... Yuki thought to herself. She was quickly learning that Alex was more than a bit - 
impulsive. "Shall we be..." Yuki suddenly felt sick again and then she was sitting on a cold metal floor. She took a 
moment to settle her nerves. At least this time wasn't as bad as the first. She decided not to comment on what Alex had just 
done but got to her feet and stood up. She looked around. Whatever it was that Alex did to transport them back and forth 
was at least very efficient. Not so much as a grain of sand had been bought with them.
	"Well, looks like no one noticed," Alex commented with what Yuki thought was relief in her voice.
	"I suppose that's something. It would have been difficult to explain if someone had come in and found that we 
were missing."
	Alex turned to the small cot and her face wrinkled with dislike. "I definitely do not think I am going to like this. 
Although..."
	The rest of her comment was drowned out as an alarm klaxon began to sound. Alex and Yuki suddenly jumped 
to their feet. The tone of the klaxon indicated that the city network of detectors for entities had just been trigged in a large 
way. The two girls shoot looks across at each other.
	"Sounds like a major incursion..." Yuki said in a worried tone.
	Alex nodded and looked down at the two of them. Neither of them was exactly in a presentable state. "Hold on a 
moment Yuki," Alex commented as she let forth a tendril of power. 
	Yuki almost felt like a cool wave flowed over her. As it passed she felt as if she had just been vitally refreshed 
in someway. She was amazed to find that she was fully dressed in uniform, clean, and smelt like she had just had a fresh 
shower.
	"Now," she said. "That is one spell that I like!"
	Alex shrugged. "It's effective," was the only comment she made.
	They left the small cramped room and made their way towards the operations room. They passed soldiers who 
barged hurriedly past them. Everyone looked like they were preparing for some sort of major operation. The two girls 
finally arrived at the operations room about 5 minutes after the alarm had been given. 
	As they entered Mana, Lebia and Hidoshi looked up at them.
	"You're late!" Hidoshi snarled at the two. "If this is the type of performance that you showed before it is 
unacceptable now! Get to your stations! I will see about your punishment for this tardiness later." He turned back to the 
console and returned to the discussion he had been having with Lebia.
	Yuki shot a glance at Mana, who gave a momentary shrug before turning back to her console. Yuki sighed and 
indicated for Alex to follow as she ran from the room towards the flyer where she assumed the others would be. Alex 
looked at Hidoshi for a moment. She wondered...
	"Shadow!" Hidoshi yelled. "Get the hell to your station! Now!"
	Alex had to seriously resist the temptation to show this pain in the ass something that he would find 
EXTREMELY interesting. Numerous ideas flashed through her mind and she almost giggled.
	"SHADOW!! MOVE!!" Hidoshi yelled, moving towards her.
	Alex just smiled and then suddenly was simply gone. Hidoshi blinked for a moment. The girl had just vanished. 
One moment she was there and the next... He swore silently to himself. If he had not been under specific orders regarding 
that girl, he would have... He let the thought trail away. Reece had specific plans for that one, he would have to wait his 
turn. He turned back to Mana, they still had a job to do.

	Alex sat herself down as they completed the preliminary checks for take off. She looked at the tactical feed that 
came in from Lebia and swore.  The display showed that well over 30 entities had been detected so far and the number 
was increasing. The computer could not even identify what category the entities were.
	"Ready," Yuki said. "Kiddy, what's your status?"
	"Clear."
	"Alex?"
	"Clear. Tactical feed standing by. All boards green."
	"Lebia, clear for launch."
	"Confirmed."
	In the operations room, Lebia turned to Mana and Hidoshi. "All units are at combat status, Sir."
	"Very well," Hidoshi looked at his tactical analysis. "Deploy units 1-15 in direct opposition to the main group of 
entities. AMP-00 Kiddy Phenil is to act as primary field commander. All combat units are to take their deployment 
instructions from her. Launch is go."
	Lebia passed the confirmation onto the flyer. As the cover opened up Alex grasped onto her seat in readiness for 
the jerk as the craft took off. She hated this and closed her eyes as the huge vehicle slowly became sky born. The shaking 
continued while the engines took the craft up above the ex-AMP building. Slowly the flyer turned and headed off in the 
direction that the main entity force appeared to be concentrated. 
	Alex looked down at the console and punched up the information from the network of city sensors.
	"Bloody hell!" she swore as the numbers of entities detected so far was indicated. "Lebia! Kiddy! The network 
has detected well over 50 individual entities! The majority of them are at least category 2 or above! Get the civilians the 
hell out of there or they'll be butchered!"
	"It's too late Alex," Lebia answered. "We are just getting reports that indicate that large numbers of civilians 
have already been killed. My God..." Her voice faded away for a moment in disbelief.
	"What!?!" Kiddy demanded over the comlink.
	"Kiddy..." Lebia whispered in horror. "I... I am getting a feed in from the scenes of the entities? It's carnage... 
They are... OH FUCK!!! They're bloody EATING THEM!!!" The rest was lost in sounds of Lebia's stomach disposing of 
its contents.
	Alex decided at that point that it was best not to try and see the video feed that the computer offered to her. But 
she had to do something.
	"Kiddy, Yuki, I am going to teleport myself to the entities location. I might be able to keep them occupied 
sufficiently long enough for reinforcements to arrive." She began to struggle with her harness.
	"Wait Alex," Mana said over the link. "You can't..."
	Alex lost the rest of Mana's statement as she teleported into a scene of complete chaos. People were screaming 
and running in panic as entities such as Alex had never seen before chased leisurely after them. If Alex had not been 
prepared for what she might find her stomach would have been spewing as Lebia had already done. Alex watched in 
complete disbelief as an entity causally ripped apart a man that it had just caught and slowly began to eat him. 
	"NOOO!!!" Alex screamed incoherently as the entity finished it's light snack. The shriek caused the entity to 
look and focus its attention on the screaming girl. Slowly, it stood up and flexing its massive wings it moved towards her.
	Alex did not give it a chance. The expression in her eyes was almost unholy as she slowly raised her hands and 
pointed at the entity. A rage and hate of a kind she had never felt before overwhelmed her. Her face twisted with a dark 
insane pleasure as her power slowly and methodically began to shred the entity into continuously smaller pieces. A sigh of 
intense almost sexual pleasure escaped her mouth as she savoured the flavour of the alien fear and agony of the dying 
entity. It was almost over to soon and she felt sorry when the granulated lumps of wet flesh that had previously been an 
entity stopped feeding her insane need. She opened her eyes and looked around for others. She smiled. There were still 
plenty of the beings still around. Plenty of the entities and humans... She giggled with glee and slowly began to expand 
her power outwards.
	"Alex! Where are you?"
	The voice of Yuki screaming over the comlink in her uniform suddenly bought her back to reality. Her stomach 
began to feel like spewing as she saw what she had just done. A scream behind her made her spin around to see another set 
of entities rushing towards her and a group of people that had herded together for shelter. Alex swore and ran forward. A 
dome of green energy suddenly erupted around the small group as Alex erected a shield to try and protect them from the 
entities. Another scream of horror sounded to her left. Alex cursed as she saw yet another girl being chased by a large 
black entity. Alex skidded to a halt and changing direction ran towards the teenager. 
	The entity reached the girl before Alex and grabbed her. It flared it wings and launched itself into the air, or at 
least it tried to. Bands of green energy appeared from no where and wrapped themselves around the demonic beast. It 
screamed with rage and let the girl go as it bought its dark power to bear. Alex reached the screaming girl and half dragged 
her away from the entity as it strained against her spell. The girl threw her arms around Alex and cried as Alex dragged 
her into the protection of the green dome. The entities were forced back by a rush of power from the protective shell as 
Alex and the girl entered inside.
	Alex tried to disentangle herself from the girl but the teenager would not let go. Alex looked down at her. The 
girl was a gaijin like herself. She must have been a college student by her age, possibly from America or Europe. Alex 
strained against the arms the girl had wrapped around her.
	"You must let me go!" Alex shrieked trying to push the girl off her, as once again the group of entities tried to 
breech the barrier. The girl however seemed to be clamped onto her like a limpet. Alex finally had to use a command word 
to order the girl to let go. The others within the protective bubble sensing that she was the source of the protection began 
to crowd towards her screaming their horror. Alex had to levitate up out of the grasping hands and leave the barrier. 
	The entities surrounding the bubble spotted her hovering some distance away and attacked. Some of the entities 
that were capable of flight leapt into the air to fight her. Others decided to concentrate either on the protective spell, or 
move off to fine easier targets. 
	Alex shot upwards as 3 entities rushed at her. She was buffeted as explosions of power hit her hastily raised 
shields. She was definitely at a disadvantage. The entities were bigger, swifter and had the numerical advantage. The drain 
of maintaining three difficult spells at once was beginning to tell on her concentration. She could not fight and control all 
these spells at once. She needed a form that she could fight in. She needed a form that could match those of her enemies. 
She cut the flight and protective spell and used the energy released to initiate one of the most dangerous and difficult spells 
Jamie had ever taught her. Alex screamed as her body rippled and changed, moulding to the new shape that the spell 
demanded of it. She fell towards the ground as the power keeping her aloft was used to feed her change. The entities, 
sensing something strange was happening, flared their wings and held back. They watch the black explosion of energy that 
suddenly surrounded the form of the mortal that they had been chasing with an inhuman curiosity. The human screamed as 
its mortal shell vanished into the black energy. The nearest of the entities, giving a triumphant howl, dived into the 
seething darkness and disappeared from sight.
	The attacking entity flew head on into a much larger reptilian form that suddenly erupted from the alien 
darkness. Both the entity and the creature smashed into one of the many dark structures that reached menacingly into the 
sky. The explosion caused by the impact sent debris hurtling towards the ground. The remaining two entities flew towards 
the resulting dust cloud and waited to see what would happen next. They did not have to wait long. With a roar of rage that 
caused the two entities to nervously back away, a huge winged reptilian form erupted from the dust cloud and flew straight 
at them. 
	The feeling of freedom and power that this new form bought was almost too much for Alex to bear. Her own 
personality was nearly buried beneath the desires and needs of this new draconian form. She had to seriously fight the 
desire to swoop down and kill the milling human figures. The greatest danger of all in shape-changing, was losing yourself 
in the needs of the shape you chose. The longer you remained the more of yourself you lost - until finally...
	Alex knew that she did not have long. If she was going to win this she would have to do it now. She peered out 
of the alien yellow eyes and surveyed the scene below. She could just about make out the form of the AMP flyer. It would 
be here it less than a minute but that was far too long. She gave a challenging roar and dived down to attack those entities 
that flew up to meet her. Oily black flames erupted from her mouth and engulfed the nearest of them. Causing the others 
to break off and scatter. She arched her wings and abruptly changed direction as bolts of energy exploded where she had 
just been. Entities flew at her from above and below, bolts of power criss crossing her path as she tried to evade them. A 
couple struck her side and wings causing her to roar in agony. The pain confused her and caused her to lose control to the 
draconian instincts that overcame her. The drake focused its hate filled yellow eyes at the demons that were attacking it. It 
screamed its defiance and attacked the nearest entity. The entity tried to evade the great drake but it was too slow. The 
dragon tore into the demon ripping it to shreds. It dropped the mauled corpse and spat out the rancid meat. These things 
were not good as prey and what was more they were strong enemies. More spells exploded around the drake as yet more 
entities dived to attack. The drake made a feint to the left and sped away from the closest of the enemy. It was not stupid - 
it fled.

	"Alex! Where are you?!? Answer me!" Yuki once again almost shrieked into the comlink. The others winced at 
the sound of the shout. She waited for a moment but only continued static answered her.
	"Get ready," Kiddy ordered as they began to descend on the carnage below. Nami's sensors flared in alarm as 
entities reacted to the flyers presence. She activated the flyers defences and the spirit shield. As the missile ports opened 
she targeted the nearest of the entities that were airborne.
	"Kiddy," she said. "I have targets locked. Sensors detect at least 10 entities within immediate range. I am also 
getting readings from the ground."
	"What's the location of the ground troops?"
	"Units 1 to 4 are in striking distance but they have only minimum firepower. They will be virtually useless."
	"ETA to arrival of units 6-12?"
	"10 minutes," Lebia sent over the comlink.
	"Shit!" Kiddy swore. "That's no use. We need strike capability and we need it now!"
	"And you will have it!" The voice of Reece spoke over the com.
	Nami checked her board as large explosions suddenly erupted on the ground. The girls in the cockpit watched in 
stunned silence as missiles struck the city district below. Even at this distance they could see civilians as well as entities 
being blow to pieces in the resulting destruction.
	"Bloody hell..." Yuki whispered.
	"Kiddy!" Nami dragged herself back from watching the scene below. "We have incoming hostile!"
	"What..."
	"Activating defence systems," Hewi, the onboard AI said, as missiles flew off to join the destruction reigning 
down on the city below. 
	Yuki closed her eyes in horror as she could hear the mental screams of the dying below. Nami was speechless. 
The missile strike had killed entities all right, but only those that could not get out of the way soon enough. The bloody 
strike was killing far more civilians that anything the entities could have done. Even now she could see entities flying 
through the burning ruins, unharmed by the explosions.
	"This is crazy!" Kiddy yelled out loud. "Lebia! Order the missiles to stop! They aren't harming the entities at all!"
	"No," Reece's calm voice said over the com system. "Two more missile waves will be used. The explosions will 
clear out those entities that are not capable of escaping. Then you will move in and deal with those that remain. Reece out."
	"Christ!" Kiddy swore. "He doesn't give a shit about anything does he!"
	"Alex is down in the middle of that..." Yuki mumbled.
	"Don't worry Yuki-chan." Nami squeezed her friend's arm. "She'll be ok."
	"But what about the others..." Kiddy said. "They're killing everyone..."
	"Mobile command," a voice broke into their thoughts. "This is unit 7 and 8, we are in position and awaiting orders."
	Kiddy tried to focus on what the voice said. Her feelings of helplessness and rage at what had just happened had 
to be put to one side. She would have to deal with them later. In the meantime, she and then others had a job to do. She 
looked out on the raging fires burning below. She could see the entities moving freely about as the missiles still rained 
down. She grimaced darkly as the rage turned to a cold hate. She would make them pay...

	The black figure watched the results of her little test with great interest. Reece truly was as black hearted as his 
reputation stated. He had been more than ready to kill hundreds of civilians in just the off chance of killing a few entities. 
An interesting opponent indeed... Almost as interesting as the powers displayed by the young girl who was the latest 
recruit to the AMP. For one so young the girl seemed to have both remarkable skill, and surprising strength. The shape 
change that the girl had somehow managed left the figure with an idea why Maximilllian Ganossa was so interested in the 
girl. Anyone who could manage that was someone to be watched - very closely. The brat, Yuki, would be useful after all.
	Katsumi took a final look at the destruction below her, and turned. She had achieved the objectives she had set 
out to do, and would leave those of her tools that survived to fight it out with the humans. That was all they were good for 
anyway, simple cannon fodder. Katsumi looked again in the direction that the dragon had flown off. Perhaps she 
wondered with a smile, she might even indulge her interest in the young redhead personally. The girl certainly seemed to 
be inclined that way, and was attractive enough, even without her power. Who knows with enough... attention... the girl 
might even be used as her tool against Ganossa. His interest in her was a weakness... Katsumi smiled, she was very good 
at exploiting others weaknesses. With that thought warming her she turned and vanished.

	The drake finally managed to lose its pursuers in the mountain ranges to the north of the great plain on which 
the huge human habitation was situated. It was tired, hungry and needed to find shelter quickly. It looked around for a 
place it could both live in and defend. A place that it could call home. Home... The word invoked an odd longing... 
Home... The drake contemplated the feeling for a moment as it glided on the night winds. The feeling bought a sensation 
of longing... a desire... The memory of a warm breath whispering a name... Alex... The name invoked the image of a 
smiling faced human, a companion, and a partner. The drake felt a great need for that partner, a need to be once again near 
its chosen life mate. Life mate? The drake was confused; it needed shelter and food. What did a life mate have to... Yuki. 
The name suddenly popped into the drake's mind. Yuki. The drake tried to dismiss it and concentrate once again on the 
need for warm living meat. Images of warm blood filled its mind, its... Yuki. That damned word again - the drake could 
not dismiss it. Blood was what it needed. Only blood would... Yuki. The drake growled getting agitated as its blood lust... 
Yuki... The memory of a happy smiling face... Warmth... Comfort... Home... Yuki... The name seemed to promise 
something... Yuki... Something important, something the drake could not remember, something that was just... Yuki... 
Alex... Face... Kiss... Love... YUKI!
	Suddenly Alex was herself, a young girl, trapped in the form of a huge drake. She was confused. Where was 
she... What had happened...The last thing she remembered... Then she realised what must have happened. She had fallen 
into the trap that Jamie had warned her against - the reason why this spell had been deliberately forgotten by the sorcerer's 
community for so long. Only the thought of Yuki had helped to bring her back. If not for that she would have remained a 
drake until the day she died. Even now she could feel the will of the creature shrugging to be free. She knew she had to get 
out of this form now, before it was too late. Alex looked down. Below her was nothing but rocks and ice. She knew 
however that she just had no choice. Slowly she flew down to the barren frozen ground and with an effort dismissed the 
alien drake shape and recalled her own familiar form. A small red haired girl collapsed, exhausted and freezing into the 
snowy ground. She did not have the power to do much of anything, not even maintain a protective barrier against the cold. 
She struggled for a moment against the blackness that threatened to engulf her mind. If I sleep, I die she tried to tell 
herself... but...  The exhaustion of the day, the battle, the effort... It was... too... um...
	"No my dear - I'm afraid I can't let you die just yet," a voice suddenly commented out of nowhere and a slim red 
haired girl leaned down to gently caress the dying girl's face. 
	"You still have so much to do my dear. And I don't think that your cute little friend would like you to die just 
yet." The pale girl leaned down and kissed Alex briefly before standing up. The day warmed perceivably as the sun 
suddenly came out and the icy winds vanished. The girl smiled and laughed. For once it was a happy sound and seemed to 
lighten up the surrounding area.
	"You sentimental old fool," the girl muttered to herself as the sight of the mountains bought back happier 
memories of worlds long ago and far away. "And so the cycle begins yet again..." she said with a sad sigh.
	She looked down at the now sleeping form. "Don't make the same mistakes I did child. Love and live while you 
can child. Betrayal..." 
	The girl's voice faded as she tried unsuccessfully to force those memories away. Even now after so long... The 
redhead almost wished she could... But some things were impossible - even for her. Slowly she turned and began to walk 
away, then strangely for her she stopped and turned back.
	"Don't take my path child," she whispered. "The price just isn't worth it..." 
	The redhead frowned slightly at her comment. Did she care? Why? She shook her head slightly as she walked 
away. She REALLY must be feeling sentimental... And with a light mocking giggle aimed totally at herself she vanished.

		*		*		*		*

Interlude - Memories 

Location: Talisson, Order's Realm
Time: ???
      

	Erith, Supreme Master of Law, looked disbelievingly over his once perfectly balanced, perfectly symmetrical 
kingdom. The sky, once always the same perfectly light, now seethed with darkness and riotous shades of colours. The 
stars, once so bright and perfectly set in the firmament overhead, now lay shattered and raped of their once shining power. 
What little light that they still had left showed him a land, once fertile, that was now barren and blackened. The gibbering 
insane creatures of the unholy enemy still amused themselves with the shattered remnants of his and his brother's 
creations. He watched, shaken, as the once bright Children of Light, were one by one torn from the sky by nightmarish 
things and slowly devoured. His heart almost broke as he watched their brave last futile gestures of defiance as the things 
slowly tore them apart... 
	A hand gently touched his shoulder and he turned. He looked into the shining blue eyes of his Beloved. They 
were misted with tears as she slowly drew the Great God away from the window and into her warm embrace.
	"Dalios is dead," she whispered to her husband, as she clung to him. "Myrith also."
	Erith did not react to the news. He only clung to her, as his mind replayed the image of his Brother leading his 
battalions to that last hopeless battle. Dalios, the Shining Hero, the Singing God of Battle - dead. It was impossible to 
believe...
	"She," his Beloved went stiff at the word. "Did not even met him in battle. Oh, Erith.." she broke down. "They 
tore him to bits! One moment he was there, the next..." She sobbed agonised into her beloved's chest.
	Erith held her tighter. He did not press her to find out how Myrith had died. He knew that his Sister would not 
have watched her Beloved Bondmate die and then remain alive. He remembered when he had first created both Dalios and 
Myrith. He had promised them that they would be together forever, but now... Her minions had taken Dalios and 
everything that he had ever been. He had failed them, like he had failed everyone else.
	Kaythrin felt her Beloved begin to sob in her embrace. She tried to fight the fear that she felt and lend her 
husband the strength of will that he so desperately needed. Erith - The Shining One, the Great Creator, that she had so 
much loved, was gone. The Accursed One had done as she had promised, Erth was broken.
	Thay, Coryth, Arn and Myst, the last of the Exalted Host, stood some distance away watching their beloved 
Father breakdown in the arms of his Beloved Kaythrin. They knew that the end of their once bright endless joy was only a 
few hours away. The Accursed had deliberately spared the White Palace from any harm simply to let the Host see the end 
coming. Silently each of them looked one last time at their Father and said their goodbyes. They turned and mindgrasped 
each other for the last time. They had each decided to follow their Sister Myrith into self-oblivion. Better that, than met the 
fate that they knew would be theirs if Her minions took them. Their hands dropped and each left the room separately.
	Kaythrin sensed them leave. She knew what they planned to do, and silently blessed them farewell. She knew 
that her fate would not be the same as theirs. The Accursed would not let her die so easily. The Accursed... Kaythrin could 
not help but remember a time long ago when she had loved that one more than anything. A time when she had not been 
Kaythrin, but simply Kay. A time on a world long since dead when the name of the Accursed had been something far 
different. A time when the two of them had... A time of innocence and love. A time from a Universe only she and the 
other still remembered. A time long gone.
	"Damn you!" she swore at that memory. "Why could you not leave me be? Why could you not accept my choice?"
	"Why? Kay," a soft voice said emotionlessly behind her. A voice that had once only bought her  happiness to hear.
	Erith went deadly stiff at the sound of that HATED voice. Kaythrin could feel the rage and power within her 
Beloved as he pulled to him everything ounce of power and strength that he still had. He gently pushed his Beloved 
behind him and turned to face the Accursed. His eyes blazed with the Ultimate Power, and he felt the strength of Order fill 
every pore of his Immortal being. A brilliance that once had lighted the dark firmament filled the room as he looked at the 
HATED ONE.
	The form the Accursed had chosen was the same unassuming pale figure she had first worn when she had 
originally come here. Only in the deeps of her green eyes could be seen a hint of the insane forces she so easily 
commanded. Those eyes now looked up at the tall blazing God before her and a dark mocking smile crossed her face.
	"Lord Erith," she acknowledged him, with a slight bow. "Are you ready to listen to me now? I do so hope you 
remember your last words to me; 'I will see everything in ruins before I listen to you - demon'. Well, I have granted you 
your desire..."
	"Stop it!" Kayrith pushed past her husband. "For Eldarmar's sake - stop it!" She spoke in a tongue that only she 
and the Accursed now remembered. A tongue that belonged to a Universe, the Prime Universe, long since gone.
	The red haired figure looked at her for a moment. For an instant her eyes misted over at the memories that the 
name invoked. She saw the eyes of the being that had once meant so much to her... She saw the undying hatred in those 
eyes - eyes that had once only held love. For a moment those eyes almost touched...
	Erith, seeing the uncertainty of his HATED enemy, screamed with mad triumph. He pushed his wife out the 
way and striking with all the power he had he attacked the unprotected form of the Accursed One. 
	"NOO!!!" Kayrith screamed with horror as she saw her Beloved husband's sword shatter against the other girl's 
arm. The redhead smiled as the shards tinkled musically to the ground. She gently grasped the God's outstretched hand and 
ripped the muscular sword arm off his body.
	"Bad move," the girl simply said as Erith writhed on the ground in agony. A simple black blade appeared in the 
girl's hand and Kayrith watched uncomprehendingly as the blade took her Beloved's head. She threw back her head and a 
scream of such loss was torn from the bottom of her soul.
	The red head let the blade drop to the ground. The sight of Kay grovelling on the ground next to her dead lover 
made her feel nothing.
	"I promised you Kay that you would pay for your betrayal. That promise has now been kept." With that she 
turned and began to walk away.
	Kayrith looked with insane hatred at the departing form of her once lover. The blood of her Beloved covered her 
hands. With a scream that spoke of ages of enmity unknowable, she grabbed the simple blade that had killed her Beloved 
and ran at the pale girl's back.
	The redhead did not even break her step as she heard the insane gibberings of her minions as they fell upon the 
very last of the Exalted host. And slowly with infinite pleasure they began to amuse themselves for a very long time.  
 
======================================================================================================================

(to be continued)

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