Here it is folks, chapter 20. This is the climax of the entire build up of 
the fanfic to this point and one of the biggest damn milestones in the 
entire story! The break between Book 1 and Book 2 was nothing really, and 
might have gone unnoticed if you didn't catch the sudden swing in theme. But 
this time, well, lets just say that when we say this was a finale, it was a 
finale.

So here endeth Hyrbrid Theory, Book 2: Spark To A Flame

---------------------
Epsilon



-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: hybridtheory20final.txt

	"My fellow Americans, it is with great sadness that I speak to you
today. But it is also with a sense of great hope.
	"Even as I speak these words, special forces under my direct command are
already engaged in battle at many sites across our great nation. They are 
the
finest men and women of our country, each one dedicated to fighting an enemy
that is more dangerous than all the madmen of history. My fellow Americans, 
we
are at war.
	"This war is not against communists, or terrorists, or drug dealers. It
is not a war against a nation, a society or an ideal. We are at war with
monsters. Yes, you heard me right, monsters. Vampires, shapeshifters, demons 
and
all the terrors of childhood. For centuries, they have walked among us, 
hidden.
Their immortal masters have oppressed humanity, culling us like they would 
herds
of sheep, guiding our destiny. You've seen the signs, over the last several
months.
	"Entire cities, overrun with plagues of the living dead. Our longest and
greatest ally fallen to darkness, natural disasters and fighting in the 
street.
The monsters have declared war on each other. Even now, the nation of Japan
burns. Even now, the darkness that destroyed England spreads into Europe 
like a
cancer.
	"But we will not go gently. We will fight. No more will the monsters
that stand over us shape our destiny. We have learned to defeat them, with
science and sorcery and the power of the human spirit. With the weapons we 
have,
and the weapons we will build. Our own special forces, the newly formed
S.T.A.R.S., are fighting as we speak. They will drive every last monster 
from
our shores. Our allies in Canada and Mexico stand with us, and I can only 
hope
that the rest of the world rises up with us as well.
	"We WILL win this war. This is a cause that goes beyond politics, beyond
race and religion and economics. This is a battle for the bodies and souls 
of
every living American, and I will not let us lose. The battle can not be won
with one strike, over even one year. It will go on for a long time. It will 
be
hard, it will be painful, and many fine people will die. But they will die
human. They will die to preserve our way of life. They will die to preserve
freedom.
	"We can not let their sacrifice be in vain. We must all rise up. We must
stand together, shoulder to shoulder. Not everyone can be a soldier, but
everyone can help. We need the doctors and nurses, the scientists and 
diplomats,
we need those who plan and those who build and those who cook and those who
serve in whatever way they can. Everyone will have to sacrifice, if we are 
to
win.
	"As of this moment I am invoking the emergency measures and powers of
the presidency and declaring martial law. I am freezing all prices and all
employment. As I speak, representatives of the US Government are contacting
industrial, chemical and pharmaceutical companies with orders for new forms 
of
production. I am grounding all international flights, and sealing the 
borders of
this country. I am invoking special executive orders to aid in this fight. 
All
able-bodied citizens who are not employed in vital industries will shortly 
be
contacted by the select service committee for enrollment in the war effort, 
in
whatever capacity they can best serve.
	"These may seem like harsh measures, but they are necessary. Understand
that this is still America, this is still our home. The newspaper will be
delivered tomorrow on time. Any data not vital to the war effort is now 
being
transmitted by wire to every major news organizations across America, and 
the
rest of the world. This is not a war that will be fought in secret. This is 
a
war that we will fight in the open, in the bright light of the sun. The
elections will still occur on time four months from now. The stores will 
remain
open. Life will go on.
	"Even in this unnatural darkness, there is still hope. Like the stars,
we each carry the light of hope within ourselves. We will pass through the 
long
dark night together. And when we emerge on the other side, our heads held 
high,
we will do so together. Stand together, and nothing can stop the power of 
the
human spirit.
	"Any questions can be answered by my chief of staff. If you'll excuse
me, it is going to be a very busy day. Thank you, and may God have mercy on 
us
all."



			      C&A Productions Presents

                          A Work of Blatant Self-Insertion


                                   Hybrid Theory


                                Chapter 20: Runaway




	The first clue that they were nearing their destination was the loud
swearing. Akane frowned. That was definitely one of the twins, although 
which
one she couldn't tell. She hadn't realised they had such a... advanced
vocabulary. She winced at one particularly nasty epithet. Then they burst 
into
the clearing and Akane staggered to a halt.
	Link was tied to a tree, her arms held above her head and her feet
tied so that they were a few centimeters off the ground. She was struggling
against the ropes, cursing up the proverbial blue streak, until she spotted
Shampoo and Akane. A loud sigh of relief escaped her lips and Link slumped 
as
much as her bonds would allow.
	"So Akane's here. I suppose you weren't planning on killing me after
all," Link said.
	"Huh," Shampoo replied, rubbing her chin. "I guess you were the real
one, then?"
	"Excuse me?" Akane asked.
	"Good plan, Shampoo," Link said cheerfully. Then her expression grew
serious. "Now cut me down."
	Shampoo considered it for a few seconds then shrugged and walked over.
There was a loud rasp as she swung her sword once, twice and resheathed it. 
Link
fell over, barely catching herself.
	"Plan?" Akane asked.
	Link sneered. "Oh, you didn't let little Akane in on this? Somehow, I'm
not surprised." Link stood up, rubbing the circulation back into her wrists.
Akane noticed that the shadow that had adorned her chest for the past few 
weeks
had vanished. She glanced at Akane, then looked at Shampoo sharply. 
"Shampoo, I
forbid you from leaving this clearing for the rest of your service to me. 
Nobody
can rescind this order, not even me."
	Shampoo also considered this for a moment, then shrugged and sat down on
a convenient rock. Akane turned to face her. "Shampoo! What's going on 
here?"
Suddenly, Akane wasn't certain it was a good idea for Akira to have stayed
behind to help her brother.
	"I killed Pink," Shampoo shrugged. Then she looked contemplative for a
moment. "Really, I would have settled for either, but Pink was the unlucky 
one,
I guess."
	Akane couldn't find the words to respond to that. She just stood,
hovering over her friend, unable to understand.
	"Taking too much credit, as usual," Link corrected. "She actually got a
patsy to kidnap me and move us so far apart that the bond created from the
Spring of Twins was severed. And since I'm here, that means Pink isn't."
	"I..." Akane spun to face the frowning twin, except she wasn't frowning
anymore. She was just leaning back against the tree, and she was smiling. It
wasn't a very good smile. It looked wooden, and forced. "You're... you're
HAPPY?"
	"Of course I'm happy!" Link snapped. "Not that I didn't already know I
was real. But after all this time, it's still pretty satisfying when the
universe supports you like this. In fact..." The Chinese girl walked over 
and
rummaged in her bag. Akane tensed up, her hand dropping to her sword, but
Shampoo didn't so much as bat an eye. Link stood up and tossed a small brown
bottle to Akane. Akane caught it easily. "There. One drop of that in any 
food
they eat will cause any of Pink's victims to forget everything that happened 
to
them for the last week." Seeing Akane's expression, Link chuckled. "What? 
You'd
prefer they remembered it and remained her slaves forever? Constantly 
striving
to relive an experience they can never have again? Oh, I'm certain they'll 
wake
up every now and then crying at what they lost. But at least living with 
what
they forgot is better than constantly being a slave to something like that."
	Akane stared down at the bottle. Constantly being a slave to something
that they had only experienced once? Her grip on the bottle tightened 
slightly.
	"Why are you doing this? Shampoo killed your sister. Shouldn't you be
mad? Shouldn't you care? You act like this doesn't mean anything at all!" 
Akane
accused.
	"Oh, it means something, Akane." Link gave her wooden, unpracticed smile
again. "EVERYTHING means something. Like the fact there were two of me. It 
means
I was split, copied perfectly down to my every memory while I was very 
young. It
was Jyusenkyou and the magic that did it to me. That I can explain away: 
that, I
can understand what it means.
	"But this world is full of things like me, Akane." Link stood up,
gesturing towards the city. "Things you've never even thought about. Like 
the
Orochi, for instance. What is the Orochi, Akane? You're Japanese, you ought 
to
know. Is the Orochi the great eight-headed serpent we fought at Ryugenzawa? 
Is
the Orochi currently calling himself Murakumo and leading the aragami as 
they
rampage across Tokyo? Or maybe it's the god that Goenitz worships and that 
Chris
has trapped in his body? Just how many Orochis WERE there in your legend,
Akane?"
	"I..." Akane frowned. "One. Just one."
	"Precisely!" Link threw up her arms in triumph. "Yet every one of them
is the Orochi. They are all the Orochi of legend, the basis of all your 
myths.
Undeniably. And at the same time, they are completely different. How could 
one
being be simultaneously a near-mindless monster, a chaotic energy being and 
a
conniving ruler of a race of plant people?
	"You just don't see it, Akane. You don't see what I saw back on the
shore of that lake in the forest. You don't see the world the way I do. You
haven't spent your whole life trying to put it all together. You haven't 
been
trying to understand the MEANING of it all. You just... do things. You just 
run
around guided by your feelings and your conscience like a blind, deaf 
puppet.
	"I could have been like that, too. I could have been struggling here,
trying to find some way to make it all make sense. But it was when I saw the
aragami that I knew the truth, even if it took me awhile to accept it. Our
village is renowned for our accumulated knowledge of plants. Villagers have
travelled all over the world searching for exotic plants and traces of lore. 
And
I've studied it all. Every single book, every single tale. And nobody, ever, 
had
heard even a hint of the aragami. Intelligent, monstrous plant beings that 
once
ravaged Japan, and we, maybe the world's greatest experts on plants, living 
so
close, knew NOTHING of them. Do you understand what that means, Akane?"
	"I think it means you're not as smart as you thought," Shampoo noted.
	"Oh, you would," Link sneered. "But this isn't a matter of wrong
information, or incomplete information. There was NONE. At all. Hundreds of
villagers over centuries going to Japan, and not even the slightest whiff of
information of giant plants that stomped all over your country. I could list 
you
every single plant, mundane or mystical, that has ever grown in these 
islands.
But giant centipedes made of trees? That somehow slipped past all of us."
	"Okay, fine," Akane said. "So there was no evidence of it. What are you
getting at?"
	Link turned back to her, and her eyes gleamed feverishly. "It's
IMPOSSIBLE, Akane.  It's impossible.  The aragami cannot exist and I not 
know
about them.  It's as impossible as three Orochis who are all Orochi and yet 
are
completely different, it's impossible for there to be an ancient kingdom of 
moon
people when the moon was thrown at this planet by aliens to blow it up, it's
impossible for a world-spanning conspiracy of monsters and a world-spanning
conspiracy of martial artists and a world-spanning conspiracy of chthonic 
death-
god worshippers to all be ruling every country from the shadows at once and 
just
not notice each other until now, just like it's impossible that up until 
seven
months ago, the man on the street didn't know ANY OF THIS EXISTED!  It 
doesn't
make the slightest iota of sense.  It just doesn't fit!  It can't have
happened!"
	"But... it DID, Link." Akane said slowly. "Because we're living it.  And
yeah, sure, it's a mess-"
	"Exactly," Link interrupted. "It happened.  It can't have happened, but
it did.  And who can make the impossible happen?  God.  Well, he or she 
might go
by some other name, but SOMEONE created this world and all of us in it.  And
they created it not making sense."  She stared down at Akane and Shampoo, 
her
lip curling. "You think I'm crazy.  But let me ask you something: when 
exactly
did your world start going wrong, Akane?  When did you start finding out 
things
were completely different than the way you always believed them to be?"
	Akane stopped herself from saying the first word that came to her lips.
But Link saw her reaction, and her expression turned triumphant.
	"Oh, we both knew what - or rather, who - you were going to mention.  It
all happened at the same time for everybody.  Which just so happened to be 
the
same time that Ukyou and Chris started entering our lives, knowing 
everything
about our futures... futures that could never have happened!  Futures that
didn't involve me ever noticing the aragami, or you getting married to Ranma
Saotome while Chronos took over the world, or the Sailor Senshi battling the
vampires in England!"
	"Link, are you even listening to yourself?" Akane asked. "Do you
understand how insane that sounds?  If what you're saying is true, then the
entire world was created... what, six months ago?  That's crazy!  I'm 
sixteen
years old, just like you!  I remember it all!"
	"How very little faith you have in God," Link chuckled. "He can create
the world and all the millions of things in it, he can create the particles 
in
the air, he can set the stars spinning in the sky in a pattern so complex 
that
man's mind cannot comprehend them, but you can't believe he could create 
sixteen
years worth of memories?  Well, I do." She crossed her arms.  "I believe God
created this world seven months ago.  I believe he created it in such a 
fashion
that it would explode as it is right now, that every power would fight each
other until there was nothing left.  And that the only people who could stop 
it,
who could do anything about it except watch as it crumbled around them, are 
also
the only people who know something is wrong.  Who know a thousand impossible
futures that were nonetheless supposed to happen.  Chris and Ukyou.  We know 
of
those two.  But it's a big world: there could be more.  However many of them
there are, this world was created for them.  And you, and I, and Shampoo, 
and
everyone else are nothing but players on their stage.  Our reality is 
defined
only by how big a role we have to play in God's plans.  And I don't know 
about
you, Akane, but I plan on playing my role to the fullest.  If that means I 
have
to work with Chris, despite how much he disgusts me, then I'll be his most 
loyal
ally for the rest of my life.  Because that makes me REAL."
	Link cocked her head to the side in the stunned silence that followed.
"Speaking of which, I believe he'll be here shortly. And quite put out, no
doubt. Shampoo's little role in life is just about over. I suppose it's time 
to
choose what yours will be, Akane."
	Akane's eyes widened. She turned and looked at Shampoo. The Chinese
woman was staring back at her. Her expression was stoic, determined. She 
rose to
her feet, and her sword rasped from its sheath once again. But the blade was
shaking, ever so slightly. Shampoo stared down at it, looking offended.
Growling, she gripped her sword hand tightly, steadying it. But not 
completely.
	"Shampoo! You have to get out of here!" Akane shouted. She realised
Chris might be able to hear her, but she didn't care. She had vague plans of
delaying him, of holding him back long enough for Shampoo to get away.
	"I can't leave, Akane," Shampoo replied.
	"Forget your stupid honour!" Akane shouted again, pushing her blade to
the side and grabbing her by the shoulders. "This is your LIFE. He'll kill 
you!
You have to get out of here!" Shampoo looked at Akane, and her eyes shifted
away. She took a step back. She was going to do it, she was going to run 
away!
Akane felt relief flood through her. It would work out. "That's right. If 
you're
not here, I can talk him down. He's mad now, but if I get him to look at 
it-"
	"No." Shampoo's voice was as hard as her eyes. She pushed Akane back.
"I'm not leaving."
	"Shampoo, I don't care about your honour..."
	"This isn't about honour," Shampoo snarled. "I told you, I have one last
thing to show you. One last thing you need to see." Her sword came up again, 
and
pointed at the forest. Akane could see the flames now, a steady plume of 
purple
light burning its way through the small park. "We saw it together, Akane. 
There
is a perfect light in this world. But that means there is also darkness."
	"WHY?" Akane screamed. She couldn't understand. "Why not just wait the
year? Why do it now? What was so important that you had to risk everything 
for
it!"
	Shampoo smiled. "Pride." Akane stared. "Maybe Link's right. The world
stopped making sense for me six months ago. I had everything, and then I 
lost
it all. I lost my reputation, my confidence, my freedom, and my pride. They 
took
it from me, because my great-grandmother thought I could use it. She wanted 
to
teach me a lesson, Akane. Well, she did. She taught me that some things are 
more
important than victory or strength. She wanted me to become someone else, to 
be
who she wanted me to be. But I learned that you become the person you choose
yourself to be, and I'll be damned if I'll let Cologne, or Chris, or Link or
even you say who that is!"
	"Shampoo..." Akane clenched her fists in impotent rage. "There has to be
another way!"
	"No, Akane." Shampoo smiled. "Because I chose. Back under that mountain,
I chose to be your friend. And you need to learn something that only I can 
teach
you. And this is the only way I know how."
	Akane wanted to scream, scream something, anything... but suddenly it
was too late. The wall of brush Akane and Shampoo had stepped through parted 
as
a curtain of purple flame burnt it away. The flames spread, encircling the
grove, rising high into the sky. Higher than any of them could hope to leap.
	Chris came through them. The flames licked across his body as he passed
through. His feet hovered above the ground, his toes lazily pointed 
downward.
His skin was jaundiced, streamers of flame swirling and snapping across and
between his open palms, collecting into balls every now and then. He was 
still
in the body of a child, a child no more than ten, but he did not look so 
young
and small anymore. His short brown hair whipped around his face and his one 
eye
glowed red, an awful dead glow. His other eye was gone, nothing but a torn 
ruin
leaking black gore down the side of his cheek, most of which had crusted 
solid.
A spark of red light flickered within the empty socket.
	Akane didn't think, she acted. Her blade hissed from its sheath and she
leapt between Chris and Shampoo. Chris gazed at her for a moment, his 
expression
unreadable. The awful deadlights of his eyes bored into her. Then he looked 
past
her, to Shampoo. His eyes scanned across the clearing and found Link.
	"She did it," Link offered, pointing at Shampoo.
	"I should have known," Chris said. His voice sounded older now. "Pink
told me I should have just let her kill you. I should have listened to her."
	Akane clenched her teeth. "Don't do this, Chris!"
	Chris didn't even respond. He simply raised his palm and a tongue of
flame leapt forward. It swirled and twisted through the air like a striking
snake. Akane desperately raised her blade as it homed directly in towards 
her
face. She screamed and closed her eyes... and the heat passed by Akane's 
cheek.
Akane threw herself to the side and stared as Shampoo leapt in the other
direction. The purple flames traced a path across the ground as they swerved 
to
catch her, but were not quite fast enough.
	Shampoo was sweating, not just from the heat, but also from fear. Akane
knew the look of a person who was facing death. She wished she didn't, but 
she
recognised that expression. She had worn it once herself, after all. But 
Shampoo
still moved with skill and grace. She tapped her foot against the stone she 
had
been sitting on and backflipped, arcing over the flames. With a wordless cry 
she
came down towards Chris, her sword gleaming in the purple light.
	Chris's form just blurred. Akane couldn't see it, but she could hear it.
She could hear Shampoo scream. She could hear the sound of tearing flesh and
cracking bone. Shampoo fell limply from the sky. Her sword landed point 
first in
the ground. Shampoo moaned. Her arm... oh god, her arm. It was torn to 
shreds.
Fragments of bone jutted gruesomely here and there, and the entire thing was
bent in several odd angles. Blood pooled on the now-parched grass.
	Chris stared down at her oddly. The corner of his lip twitched upward a
bit. He floated down, kneeling in mid-air. His hand reached out, stretching 
for
her throat.
	Akane roared and her hand clamped down on the stone. With a one-handed
heave she ripped it from the earth, soil and loam dripping from it. It was 
much
larger, and heavier, than she had imagined. Good. Akane spun and hurled it 
at
Chris like a fastball pitch. He paused and looked up. His hands came up and
caught the stone. Then it exploded as flames shot out from within it.
	"Chris, stop!" she roared, charging forward.
	"I thought you didn't like murderers, Akane," Chris replied. His voice
was calm, eerily calm. Akane stopped, her sword pointed at him.
	"And what about Pink, Chris? She murdered that boy! You can see it for
yourself! You can see it in his memories!" she yelled.
	"So?" Chris stared at her blankly, like she had just told him the sky
was blue or things fall down. "He was only going to die in a few years 
anyway."
	Akane opened her mouth, but no words came out. Chris stared at her
expectantly, the deadlights of his eyes boring into her. Then he jerked 
slightly
as the long point of Shampoo's sword emerged from his heart. Akane started 
and
Chris looked down, blinking. Shampoo was grinning ferally, clutching the 
hilt of
her blade in her unruined hand.
	"Please," Chris said. And the blade flashed white. There was the sweet-
sick scent of burning flesh and Shampoo screamed again, falling back. The 
sword
melted, the hot metal oozing down the front of Chris's shirt, tracing a 
passage
of destruction as it fell towards the earth. He didn't seem to notice. 
Instead,
he had turned back towards Shampoo. He snapped his arm out and Shampoo's cry 
cut
off as he latched onto her neck. He floated into the air, dragging her off 
the
ground. Waves of heat rose up around him. The skin of his arm was turning
charcoal black, lines of red heat tracing where his veins should be and 
patches
of purple flame bursting from the skin here and there. "You murderous little
bitch," he snarled.
	"No... STOP!" Akane shouted. "You... you promised! You promised me,
Chris! You would never kill anyone! ANYONE!"
	There was a long pause and everything but the sound of the flames went
silent. Shampoo fell to the ground, gasping and moaning. Chris floated there 
for
another moment, then nodded to himself. "You're right, Akane. I'm better 
than
that. I'm better than her."
	Akane slumped to her knees, releasing a breath she hadn't realised she'd
been holding. She felt so tired, but it had to be over, right? Right?
	There was a clattering sound, and Akane looked up. Chris had removed the
backpack he had been wearing. It was huge, and bulged with odd shapes. He
searched through the pack for a long time, then his hand came up holding a
leather and steel canteen. Akane blinked. It looked familiar. He had shown 
her
something like it before...
	Before she could catch the fleeing memory, it was too late. He stretched
out his hand, holding the canteen above Shampoo. Then his fingers clenched 
and
the container exploded. A shower of water fell down on Shampoo's body. She
paused, as the cool water rained down on her.
	She sat up slowly. She didn't look like she was in pain anymore. Her
expression was just clear, calm, centred. She levered herself up, hissing a 
bit
as her ruined arm dragged against the ground, leaving a trail of gore in its
wake. She began to stagger towards Akane, her eyes shimmering with unshed 
tears.
Akane could only stare, open-mouthed, as the girl came towards her. Chris 
just
floated back, his arms crossed, his lips curled upward in a slight smile.
	"Akane..." Shampoo croaked when she reached her. "I'm... I'm so sorry...
None of this happened the way it was supposed to..." Akane blinked as 
Shampoo
moved in to embrace her and part of her wanted to back off from the gruesome
creature in front of her. But Akane let her sword drop and moved to complete 
the
embrace.
	Then Shampoo's knee slammed into her gut with enough force that Akane's
breath exploded from her lungs. She curled forward, and Shampoo let her fall 
to
the ground. As Akane fell, Shampoo snatched the sword from her suddenly
nerveless fingers.
	"Please forgive me," Shampoo said. Akane fell face first into the dirt.
She didn't see it. Thank god she didn't see it. But she heard it. She closed 
her
eyes and started crying. She just lay there for a long time, sobbing. When 
she
finally worked up the courage to look back, Shampoo was laying on the 
ground.
The katana was buried up to its hilt in her chest. Her eyes stared up at the
sky, unmoving.
	"You... You BASTARD!" Akane rolled to her feet. Chris was just looking
at her, still smiling slightly. "You killed her!"
	"I did not." Chris tossed the remains of the canteen at her feet.
"Spring of Suicidal Person. One of the many treasures I took from 
Jyusenkyou.
Shampoo killed herself. I just... helped her make the right decision."
	"You... sick... MONSTER! I can't believe I ever thought you could be
saved!"
	Link stepped up to Chris's right hand, her smile looking slightly more
natural now. "Oh dear. How irrational."
	Akane wanted to grab her sword. She wanted to charge forward and lop her
smiling head from her body. She wanted to tear Chris in two. She wanted 
revenge!
She wanted them dead.
	But she didn't.
	Not just because he would stop her. She fell to her knees, staring at
the ground. She knew Shampoo wouldn't have wanted that. Shampoo had said she 
had
one last thing to show Akane, and she had. She had shown her that there were
some things in this world that could not be saved. She hated it. She hated 
this
feeling. It felt like hopelessness. It felt like ashes in her mouth. She 
cried
out and slammed her fists into the earth, hot tears leaking from her eyes.
"You... monster..." she said softly, because there was nothing else she 
could
do.
	"Well, I'll give you some time to recover while I take care of other
business," Chris said, his voice still calm. He snapped his fingers and the 
heat
suddenly vanished. "Be careful out there, Akane. The city is dangerous."

*

	The sun should have been rising. The black moon had set, its orbit
spinning it inexorably around the earth. In the east, the sky was darkness. 
The
thing that was rising was not a sun, but a hole in heaven. It radiated 
darkness.
It radiated despair.
	But it was not here. It was in the east. Half-way across the world. The
dark sun was rising, and the dark moon had set. On the other half of the 
world,
the opposite would be happening. And when the dark moon reached its apex, 
right
above the city of Tokyo, Pharaoh 90 would enter this world.
	Ukyou leaned against a windowsill, watching the black sun rise. It was
too far away. She could not get there in time to make any difference. Or 
maybe
she could. Maybe she could just use the power she had stolen from Hotaru and 
be
there in the blink of an eye. Maybe she could look up into Telulu's smirking
face and watch as the woman realised that she was facing the awesome power 
of
Sailor Saturn, wielded by a woman who had trained her entire life to turn
polearms into deadly weapons.
	Together, she and Aaron could stand under that dark moon and wait for
the monster to come. They could stride into it, wielding the Silence Glaive.
They could destroy it.
	But they stood there, staring at the sun.
	Because that could be it.
	They could evoke the Third Circle, traverse time and space and be there
just as the clouds parted and something horrible came down. They could reach 
up
for the Silence Glaive and then... what? Would they lose control? They 
almost
had, back at the fight. Aaron had tried to duplicate Pluto's power, and it 
had
been growing out of his control. They had seen it opening up the world, 
tearing
it apart. And that had been when they had tried to only do something as 
simple
as travel a few hundreds of meters to rescue a child. What would happen if 
they
tried to strike down a god?
	I could be just like that, Ukyou knew. She didn't have to want it
anymore. The Third Circle, it destroyed everything it touched. When they had
held it in their body, tried to use it to focus around them, it had 
destroyed
their body. When they had focused it outside their body, to manipulate the 
flows
of the world, it had destroyed the world. Chris held it in his mind, using 
it to
feed on the memories of those whose bodies he inhabited, and it was 
destroying
his sanity piece by piece.
	It was anathema. It was rejected by all the world. This power inside her
was unnatural and wrong. No matter how it was used, it destroyed. Something 
was
always lost. And if the gamble was big enough, if the odds were high enough 
and
Ukyou reached for too much... it would destroy everything. Every time she 
evoked
the Third Circle, she was putting the entire universe at risk.
	And she wouldn't stop.
	Ukyou turned around. Hotaru was lying on a bed. She had been dressed in
new clothes and cleaned up. Ukyou walked over to her and her hand hovered 
over
the child's face. She stroked her hand through the air, following the curve 
of
Hotaru's chin, her nose; resting just above her brow. She looked so 
peaceful.
There was no darkness to haunt her dreams now. There was no Destiny to hang 
over
her head anymore.
	"One life..." Ukyou murmured, too silently to be heard. She had saved
this small life, this one soul. It had almost cost her everything, almost 
cost
everyone everything. But she would do it again, without hesitation. A part 
of
Ukyou, a part of Aaron, a part they both shared now... it loved Hotaru. It
wanted to protect her. It wanted her to be safe. They would risk anything
for her.
	And Ranma. Yes. They loved him too. And Akane. Yes. They loved Akane,
like a sister loves a sister. It seemed strange, to suddenly realise these
things. Maybe it had to do with Aaron finally accepting his feelings for 
Ranma?
Once the genie was out of its bottle, and all that. But they couldn't deny 
it.
They loved all three. They would risk anything for them.
	Hotaru. Ranma. Akane. Three lives. Three people. For those three people,
she would destroy the world. She knew it was true. She could see it, 
stretching
out in front of her. How many more times would she draw on the Third Circle 
for
them? How many more times until it was one time too many?
	No way of knowing. No way of turning back. She could no more let them
die than she could cut out her own heart. She closed her eyes.
	The poets said that love was the most powerful thing in the world. They
were right. She just wished... wished it didn't have to hurt so much, what 
she
had to do.
	"Yomiko," Aaron said, opening his eyes.
	The woman was standing in the doorway. She was blushing slightly,
obviously feeling like she had stepped in on something private. She had, but
Aaron didn't really care.
	"I'm sorry, I just heard you wanted to talk to me and..." she trailed
off, her shoulders slumping slightly.
	"It's okay," Aaron said, gesturing for her to enter. She did so
hesitantly, but with more force once she was closer to Hotaru. She looked 
down
at the sleeping child, her sad brown eyes shining behind her glasses. She
reached into her pocket and pulled out a small book, half as big as a 
paperback.
It was weathered and worn. The once-pink covers had almost come off 
entirely.
The pages were dog-eared and fraying at the edges. She smiled and leaned 
over
Hotaru, placing the book gently between the child's sleeping hands. Hotaru
clutched the book reflexively.
	Seeing the question in Ukyou's eyes, Yomiko chuckled a bit. "It's...
Treasure Island. It's the first book I was ever given, as a child. My father
gave it to me just to shut me up one day. I wasn't even old enough to read 
at
the time. I've... always treasured it. It's precious to me. But... I think 
she
needs it more."
	"So she can return home..." Aaron smiled. "Her adventures with the
pirates are finished now, are they?"
	Yomiko laughed a little. "I guess they are."
	Aaron sighed. "I wish it was that simple." He looked down at the girl.
"She is still Sailor Saturn. I don't think I could take that away from her. 
Not
without killing her. Maybe she'll never awaken to her power. I hope she 
doesn't.
But it's inside her. She is a Sailor Senshi." He held up one hand. "All I 
took
from her was the Glaive, and all it represented. Without the Silence Glaive,
Hotaru can never call the Silence. Without it, she will never be a threat to 
the
world. She won't be the target of so many madmen and psychos and tyrants. 
I've
given her a chance at a normal life, but that's all."
	Yomiko nodded. Of course, she knew that Hotaru was still not entirely
normal. Her curative powers had been used extensively after the battle. She 
had
healed whatever Rose had done to Ukyou's back, and then moved on to everyone
else. Many of the soldiers had been too far gone for her healing to help 
them,
and those ones Ranma and Yomiko had carefully kept out of her sight. Hotaru 
had
moved among the soldiers, her touch granting release and health. She had 
been
smiling. She had been laughing. She had pushed herself so hard, she had 
fallen
unconscious after the last man was healed.
	Ukyou had been there to catch her. She had carried her all the way out
of the swamp. She had ordered them to stop in the first town they reached. 
Ukyou
had simply taken Hotaru into the first clean house she found and laid her to
rest.
	"Yomiko, I have a favor to ask you."
	The woman looked up. It was hard to tell if her gaze had been lingering
on Hotaru, or on the book. Oh well, some things never changed. "Considering 
what
you did back there in the swamp, ask away."
	"I want you to take Hotaru. Get her out of England. Away from this war.
Away from all this pain."
	"I..." Yomiko was stunned, not just by the request, but by the cold
voice Ukyou delivered it in. "I don't understand."
	"I can't leave here." Ukyou frowned. "But she doesn't belong here, and
neither do you." Yomiko started a little bit. "I know you came back to 
England,
after Bison... after whatever happened on the I-Jin base when he showed up. 
I
know you wanted to find Joker, or the Gentleman, or someone to help you. But
they aren't here, Yomiko. This nation is a charnel house, and the only 
things
that belong here are dead things."
	"I..." Yomiko sighed. "You're right. I just... I wanted to visit the
library, one last time. And I was chased, by all the vampires... and Miss
Integra found me. She helped me out. She listened to me. It was hard... with
what happened to Nancy... and Drake... and everyone else."
	"Bison is a monster," Ukyou agreed. "He may not be a vampire, but he
makes up for it with a soul that is even darker."
	"I'm not leaving Nancy with him." The words came out with more force
than Aaron would have suspected the mousy bookworm to be capable of. "I 
can't
take Hotaru with me, because I'm going after him."
	"You'll die, or worse," Aaron pointed out coldly. "None of us can beat
Bison." He paused. "But he has a weakness. A way you can save Nancy." Yomiko
looked up, her eyes glittering with hope. "If you help Hotaru, get her away 
from
England..." Away from me, Aaron didn't add. "If you find somewhere safe for 
her,
then come find me again and I'll tell you how to save her."
	Yomiko blinked. "I..." She looked at Ukyou oddly. "You're a very strange
person. You very much like getting your way, don't you?"
	"When it comes to people I love, I'll do anything I need to."
	That made Yomiko smile. "I'll do it. I have a friend who lives in Japan.
She's an author, a very good one. She can look after Hotaru."
	Aaron nodded. That would be good enough. He would have preferred that
Hotaru end up somewhere safer. But where was safe?
	"Thank you," Aaron reached out and cupped Yomiko's hands in her own.
"Take care of her." He released her and started towards the door.
	"Wait, aren't you going to wait until she's awake... to say goodbye?"
	"I..." Aaron didn't say that he was scared to. He didn't say that if he
looked into those purple eyes, eyes full of laughter for the first time 
since he
had met her, that he was afraid his will would crumble. He had dedicated his
life to saving Hotaru, and it had grown into love, and he was too afraid he
would never let her go. It hurt too much, even just leaving her now, knowing
that they would never see the girl again. "Tell her I'm sorry for 
everything."
	They left without another word.

*


	ZX-Tole fell back, the laser cannons on his right wrist unloading a
constant stream of energy. Murakumo parried the blast with his blades. The
energy split, arcing along the edges of a translucent blue shield that 
bubbled
around him. Then he was blasting forward, the ground literally parting in 
his
wake.
	ZX-Tole snarled and raised his left hand, catching the blade on his own
armour. It bit deep, but not deep enough to strike the flesh underneath. The
chitin rang with the impact, and then Murakumo was flying back. This wasn't
working out well. He couldn't overpower the creature in front of him, nor 
was he
fast enough to duel it in hand to hand. Unfortunately, he couldn't gain 
enough
space to engage it with all his lasers, like he had hoped.
	"Thancrus! I need your help here!" he shouted.
	Thancrus didn't respond, and ZX-Tole risked a quick glance to see how
the rest of his team was doing. The answer was not well. Thancrus himself 
was on
one knee, his blade-like hands crossed above him as he held off a giant 
scorpion
intent on skewering him. Elegen was floating back, his tentacles whipping 
around
him, holding off a dozen or more swarming mosquitoes the size of pitbulls.
Derzerb was the only one of them currently having any effect on the enemy. 
He
was holding a giant snake between his massive hands; with a roar, he tore it
apart, sending a shower of green blood spraying across the yard.
	The problem was that there were hundreds more where that came from. They
rose up out of the ground, burst in through the walls and fell from the 
skies.
Even if one fell, it would only rise again if the thing's soul was left 
intact.
"DERZERB! The seed, you have to destroy the seed!"
	Then there was a green and white flash. ZX-Tole couldn't blink, his
segmented insectile eyes were not designed that way. But he saw out of the
corner of his hive-like vision the shape of the little old woman passing 
through
the melee. Her staff was flashing out here and there. Then he saw blue 
flashes,
clouds of dust like you might see from tiny firecrackers in her wake. She 
was
taking care of the mitamas for them? Why?
	But ZX-Tole had been distracted for too long. He felt the blast of
energy building up, but could only turn in time to see it blazing in towards
him. He screamed and crossed his arms, catching the attack against the thick
armour there. The chitin began to flake away, burning and blasting apart. He
felt the energy singe against the soft flesh underneath and begin to burn
through, then mercifully it stopped. He let out a long breath, collapsing to 
one
knee. Murakumo was smirking at him. There was another ball of energy forming
between the horns that rose from his shoulders. ZX-Tole did not like his 
chances
of surviving the next attack.
	"I think that's quite enough!"
	Purgstall stepped in front of ZX-Tole, and the blast that was meant for
him slammed harmlessly into the man's palm. The soil under his feet rippled 
and
furrowed as he was pushed back almost a meter by the force of the attack. 
But he
stood firm.
	"I see you finally stepped in, old man," Murakumo observed wryly,
crossing his arms.
	"Enough of this farce," Purgstall declared. "You are an abomination.
Your species has declared war on humanity. I view it as my genetic duty to
eradicate you from existence."
	Murakumo only smirked as the flesh on Purgstall's forehead peeled back,
revealing a glowing yellow-white slit. An aura of energy flooded the air 
around
him, and the smell of ozone accompanied it. Then Purgstall raised one hand 
into
the sky, and clenched his fist sharply.
	ZX-Tole had seen many lightning storms. He had once watched a blast
strike a tree and reduce it to splinters and charcoal. He had seen Elegen
deliver electric shocks that could flash fry humans in seconds. He had never
seen something like what happened next.
	The first bolt of lightning came down on the scorpion that was fighting
Thancrus. It didn't just strike the beast: it smashed through it in its
relentless quest for the ground. The entire midsection of the aragami 
exploded
outward. A second later another bolt struck down, hitting another of the
creatures dead in the head, vaporising it. A dozen more came down, striking 
the
insects hovering around Elegen with pinpoint accuracy and precision. The 
rain of
lightning accelerated, faster and faster with each beat of the heart, until
there was nothing left of the world but endless blinding white-hot flashes 
and
the roar of a million thunderclaps at once.
	When ZX-Tole regained his senses, he was kneeling in the middle of a
hundred craters. What had remained of the estate they had taken over had 
been
razed to the ground, as well as most of the neighbourhood out for the next 
two
dozen meters. Purgstall was standing, silent and calm, in the centre of it.
	Murakumo was the first one to rise. His body was singed, his hair
standing at odd angles here and there. Green blood dripped from a cut on his
forehead. He was smiling.
	"An impressive display," the aragami noted softly. His eyes flashed red.
"But it did not kill me. And you will not get a second chance like that."
	Murakumo threw back his head and roared, and his body changed. It
happened quickly, his clothing exploding outward in all directions as he
expanded too fast for it to accommodate. His human flesh seemed to melt and
harden at the same time, large spines erupting from his body at all angles. 
His
head faded away, becoming a huge thing with too many teeth. It looked like 
the
head of a dragon made of white bone. Two more heads erupted from his back, 
then
two more. Eight heads in all, each growing away from his body at the ends of
long serpentine necks.
	"Don't just stand there!" the old woman shouted. "ATTACK HIM NOW!" She
charged forward and thrust her staff. White hot light exploded around the 
tip,
slamming into Murakumo. ZX-Tole needed no more prodding, he raised his arms 
and
deployed all his bio-lasers at once. Twelve streams of light followed the 
old
woman's charge in. But they all bounced harmlessly off the shell being 
formed
around the thing now. Murakumo didn't even seem to notice.
	And he grew. He grew and grew. ZX-Tole stopped firing and fell back one
step, then five. Then he was running, just trying to keep from being crushed
under the massive weight of the thing. Finally it stopped growing, and 
ZX-Tole
could only stare. His wide segmented eyes could take in the entire thing at
once, and he felt a shudder run up his spine. He had never seen anything so
huge. He had never believed a creature so massive could exist.
	It looked like a turtle, a massive shell out of which eight dragon-heads
emerged. The shell itself had to be ten, fifteen stories tall and the heads 
that
climbed into the sky rose up higher than the tallest buildings in Tokyo.
Purgstall stood in front of it, looking very, very small.
	The thing laughed. Its voice was as massive as it was, and ZX-Tole
watched windows all across the district exploded at the deep rumble of his
laughter. "I am the Yamato-no-Orochi! You can't stand against me, men who 
play
at being GODS!" All eight heads yawned their mouths open at once, and 
brilliant
blue orbs of light began to grow between their teeth. ZX-Tole yelled for
Purgstall to run, but the man simply held up his hands and the blasts came 
down
at him.
	Some of them missed, and those that did traced a line of destruction
across the landscape. Buildings exploded like they were made of glass if the
beams came anywhere near them. One ran along the ground and touched the base 
of
a fifty-story skyscraper. A massive cloud of dust erupted across the city 
and
the building fell down, suddenly missing its bottom ten stories. Only five 
beams
struck the shield Purgstall had formed, but those five were enough to drive 
him
to his knees.
	The other three heads were drawing a bead on Purgstall. He was putting
everything he had into his shield. ZX-Tole was about to order his men to 
attack,
when he felt a cry echo through his mind.
	"This is Reichmann Gyro, commanding ALL zoanoids! As of this moment,
your number one priority is the capture of Akane Tendo, Mamoru Chiba and all
those associated with them! This edict supersedes all orders! You will find 
them
at these locations..." ZX-Tole felt information cram itself into his skull 
with
the force of a sledgehammer. "Capture them at once! I must have them!"
	"Gyro!" Purgstall growled, and ZX-Tole could hear the other zoalord's
mental power sweeping across the city as well. "What are you doing? We don't
have time for this!"
	"On the contrary, Purgstall," Gyro's mental voice called back. "This is
the perfect time. During the confusion of the aragami attack on the city, we
shall capture the friends and relations of Sailor Moon. Once I have them, I
shall find out where that girl has been hiding!"
	"We need to defeat these monsters!"
	ZX-Tole grabbed the sides of his head, rocking back and forth. With each
exchange he felt the wills of the two zoalords smashing into his psyche. 
Gyro
trying to force him to leave at once, and Purgstall ordering him to stay and
fight.
	"You can do that yourself," Gyro sneered. "Transform into your battle
state and annihilate that creature."
	ZX-Tole looked up: the rest of his team was already scattering. With
Purgstall distracted, they were scrambling to fulfill Commander Gyro's 
request.
He held on, however. Gyro had not won the contest of will, and ZX-Tole did 
not
like being told to abandon a battle to chase down children. He preferred to
fight here, where there was an enemy worth facing.
	"Very well," Purgstall replied. He stood up, throwing back his cape and
closing his eyes.
	"NO."
	ZX-Tole wanted to cry, but lacked tear ducts to do it with. That single
word, that one imperative mental command had been delivered with a psychic 
force
he had thought impossible. The world was suddenly filled with a presence so
awesome, so mind-numbing that ZX-Tole thought he would explode.
	"L-lord Arkanphel!" Purgstall gasped.
	"You will not transform, zoalord Purgstall." The voice was calm, and
beautiful. So beautiful that ZX-Tole could hardly breathe. "You are too 
valuable
to me to risk against such an opponent."
	"But my lord..." Purgstall stuttered out.
	"I have sent a new combatant."
	ZX-Tole looked up. Murakumo had not been idle. Once he noticed that
Purgstall was distracted, he had begun to charge up his deadly breath 
weapons
again. Purgstall had no clue he was about to be struck. ZX-Tole wanted to 
yell
for him to look, to run away, to defend himself. But with that supreme 
presence
filling his mind, all he could do was kneel in awe.
	Then a blue streak flashed across the sky. Murakumo roared as the small
object struck it, hurling the monster's enormous bulk almost five city 
blocks
backward. As it descended to earth, the blue flash tumbled back through the 
air
toward them. It landed in a crouch in front of Purgstall.
	It was humanoid, with soft purple skin covered in thin blue plates that
ran up and down the length of its body. Out of its biceps, forearms, thighs 
and
shins eight strange-looking organs grew. Each of these glowed, radiating a 
soft
blue light into the air that rose up around the creature in waves. It had a
human face, complete with short blue hair that looked artistically tousled. 
It
was certainly more human-looking than any zoanoid ZX-Tole had ever seen.
	The zoanoid rose to its feet. "Lord Purgstall, I am the pinnacle of
Doctor Valkus's new research: Neo-Zoanoid, Ikazuchi." It smiled, an arrogant
and proud smirk. "Allow me to handle this pesky beast for you."

*

	Ranma was moving through the streets of the small Scottish town. The
streets were deserted, empty. There were no signs of violence or bloodshed. 
The
people here had been far enough away that they must have heard of the coming
evil and fled long before it arrived. He could picture it now, families 
pouring
into cars, clutching only those possessions they could carry. They would 
have
run north, away from the evil.
	He wondered if they made it. He liked to think they did. He liked to
think that they had found a ferry across the sea to the continent. What 
country
was it that was near here? The one where all the Vikings came from? It 
didn't
matter. He liked to think that they had taken in those families, protected 
them.
	It was nice to think that the good guys won, even a small victory. In
all this horror, every small victory mattered even more.
	Ranma passed by a group of soldiers. They were cleaning weapons,
stocking supplies. All of them were busy, filled with a frantic energy. They
moved about constantly, obviously uncomfortable being in one place. They 
wanted
to move on. To fight. He could feel it in the air, the sharp vibrant air 
that
only existed when you were preparing for battle.
	Ranma could appreciate their feelings. He felt... agitated, himself. It
was a feeling he was only beginning to get a grip on. Feelings were complex
things, and Ranma was not a complex man. He enjoyed thinking about things in
simple terms, in the here and now. He didn't like considering how they would
unfold.
	But he felt like something profound had happened: not to Ukyou, but to
himself. It had happened while he was fighting Leona. He played through the
battle constantly in his mind. Her disciplined strikes, her elaborate 
tactics,
her complex maneuvers... they had been the product of years and years of 
study.
The kind of study Ranma had dedicated his life to. But she had been little 
more
than a machine, a weapon that killed whatever came in front of it. He knew 
he
couldn't have beaten her. She was as skilled as Vega, but even faster, even
stronger. Ranma had trained every step of their journey and he still hadn't 
been
a match for that killing machine.
	He was close to something. Fighting her had been like waking up from a
long nightmare. He had seen something during that fight, and it had changed 
him.
He just wished he understood it. He sighed and pushed those thoughts away. 
It
wasn't his style to worry so much about stuff. Besides, he was almost there.
	Ranma blinked as he saw Minako leaning against a doorway in a building
just down the street from where Ukyou should be. She was in her civilian
clothes. Her attention was entirely focused on what was happening inside, 
and
she didn't even notice him coming up to her.
	"Hey, Minako, what's up?"
	She gave a little scream and leapt a few centimeters into the air. She
almost came down striking, but his easy smile and relaxed posture caused the
tension to drain away from her in moments. She gave him a hard glare, which 
he
returned with a smirk. Sighing, she turned back to the door.
	"I'm eavesdropping, obviously," she hissed at him softly.
	"On who?"
	"Keep it down!" she whispered harshly. "Integra and Ukyou, if you must
know."
	"Oh great, I just have to talk to them both and..."
	He was about to step around her, when he felt her hand clamp onto his
bicep like a vice. He gave her a confused glance, but she wasn't looking at 
him.
	"No, don't go in there."
	"But I..."
	"Just don't!" Her grip tightened and he fidgeted uncomfortably. She was
pretty strong. "Listen, this shouldn't be interrupted."
	"Why not?" Ranma couldn't think of anything that important they could be
discussing.
	"I..." Minako faltered. "I don't know. Just don't. Something important
is happening."
	"Something..."
	"I just know, okay!" Minako hissed releasing his arm. "I just know."
	Ranma frowned at her, resisting the urge to rub his arm. Finally he
shrugged and pushed her a bit. "Make room then. I wanna hear, too."
	"..don't tempt me, woman," Integra was saying. She did not sound happy.
Then again, Ranma guessed she didn't have much reason to be. Over half her 
men
were dead. That other girl, the blonde one with the guns, the human one... 
she
hadn't made it either. It was a devastating blow.
	"You think I'm just a weapon, don't you, Hellsing?" Ukyou replied. Her
voice was cold, cold and brittle like sheet ice. "That's all any of us are 
to
you. Resources to be expended. Lives to be squandered, fighting a losing
battle..." Ukyou trailed off, like she had just noticed something. Then she
continued smoothly, before Integra had a chance to get a word in edgewise. 
"This
is meaningless anyway. I wasn't here to ask permission."
	"You think I care?" There was a loud slamming sound. "You are the weapon
we need! With you and V, the magic you wield, we can destroy Millennium once 
and
for all. I will not let this opportunity slip through my fingers."
	"I can't do that."
	"Can't, or won't?" Integra shot back.
	"You don't realise what you're dealing with, do you?" Ukyou's voice had
grown warmer, but only fractionally so. Her voice was filled with pity now. 
"I'm
not like Minako, or Hotaru. I'm not like Ranma or Victoria or anything else
you've ever seen. I am the end of the world, Integra Wingates Hellsing. I 
know
that I will destroy the world one day, and there is nothing I can do to stop
it."
	Ranma was about to reach for the door when Minako grabbed him and
stopped him. He looked at her, and she shook her head. He pulled his hand 
back
slowly. He knew he should be in there telling Ukyou that she was wrong. He
should go in there and support her. It was what friends did, right? But he 
just
couldn't work up the will to resist Minako's suggestion. Sighing, he settled
back in to listen.
	Integra had paused, but only momentarily. "What do you mean?"
	"I mean what I said," Ukyou replied. "I've seen the future. In the end,
I destroy it all. I will raise up this Glaive I stole and the universe will
unravel around me. I am a threat that is more dangerous to anything on this
earth than a million vampires and a thousand Bisons."
	She spoke with such finality, such stoic acceptance, that Ranma did not
doubt she believed it. His hands almost curled into fists, and then relaxed.
	"If that's true, then I should kill you where you stand." There was a
pause, then a loud click. Ranma recognized it. A gun being readied. There 
was
another pregnant pause.
	"Go ahead and shoot," Ukyou said slowly. "You won't kill me. I won't
even try to defend myself. All my chi, all the power I have... it's gone. I 
can
turn it off like a switch. At the moment, I am as human as you. One bullet 
to
the head, and I'll die. So go ahead and shoot me." There was a pause. "You 
won't
succeed. I can't be killed. Not here. Not until I do it. It's fate. It's
destiny. Something will happen to stop you."
	Integra began to chuckle. "You think I believe this?" She chuckled
again. "I've seen you, Ukyou. You aren't that kind of monster. You risked
everything for that girl..."
	"And I let another die."
	Ranma felt his heart skip a beat. He felt Minako's hand clutch tighter
on his shoulder. He could feel it, that energy that happened just before a
battle. It had reached a fever pitch.
	"I can watch as people die, Integra," Ukyou's voice had regained its
arctic tone. "Back in Japan, I let a young woman die. I had the power to 
save
her, and I didn't use it. There was a sword, a sword that could have saved 
her
life and a billion more besides and I could have taken that sword from its 
owner
just like I took the Glaive from Hotaru and..."
	Ranma wasn't aware he had entered the room until the door fell
clattering into the center of it. Integra had spun on him, her weapon drawn, 
but
he ignored her. Ukyou was gazing at him. Her eyes were level and betrayed no
emotion. He crossed the floor to her.
	"Is that true?" he asked.
	Ukyou inclined her head slightly, then nodded once. She didn't say
anything.
	"You..." Ranma's hands did curl into fists now. He felt something inside
him, something burning. His stomach twisted. His jaw ached. He could barely
breathe. "You could have taken it. The Wishing Sword... you could have taken 
it
back."
	"Indeed."
	"You could have wished her alive."
	"Indeed."
	Ranma took one step forward. Suddenly he was in Ukyou's face. His nose
hovering a hair's breadth from hers. She didn't back away. She didn't show 
fear.
She didn't show anything.
	"WHY DIDN'T YOU!?"
	"Because it wouldn't have been right, Ranma."
	"Right... RIGHT?" Ranma couldn't believe she was saying that with a
straight face.
	"I'm not God, Ranma." Ukyou now backed up a step, and looked down at her
hands. "I'm a human being. I was never meant to be given that power. To 
choose
who lives and who dies. I can't, I won't, accept it."
	"Won't accept it..." Ranma pushed forward, and suddenly Ukyou was backed
against the wall and his palm had slammed into the wood panel next to her. 
"It
was just RAN! You could have saved her!"
	"And where does it end then, Ranma?" Ukyou replied coldly. "Do I bring
back Akane's dead mother? My dead father? What about Hotaru's? I could bring
back Integra's father too, with that power. I could save every life that was
ever taken. I could end DEATH."
	"This isn't about that!" Ranma screamed.
	"Yes it is!" Ukyou roared back. And suddenly she pushed him and he was
stumbling back. "This is exactly about that! Because that's the fruit of the
tree of knowledge, Ranma. Choice. Because when we can make choices, we can 
make
the wrong ones. Every time we get to make a decision, we can choose to do 
evil.
Except we might not always realise it!
	"Except I don't make the kinds of choices you make, Ranma. I don't just
choose to let one person live or die. I choose to let the universe live or 
die.
That's the kind of power I have! But I can't make that choice, because I 
know I
won't do the right thing!"
	And Ranma stared at her, because Ukyou was crying. He had never seen her
cry, not since she had been a child. Long streams of tears leaked from her 
eyes
and ran down both cheeks. Her cold voice had cracked, and it was worn and 
dry
with pain.
	"I never have! I manipulated Akane because I had the power to do so, I
broke Hayato's spine, I killed Vega, I let Ran die... I did it all because I 
had
the CHOICE! And every time it was wrong, every time I knew it was wrong. But 
I
did it anyway. Because I'm not God. I'm just human, and I make mistakes. I 
can't
do it! I won't do it! Not anymore!"
	But Ranma wasn't really listening anymore. He closed his eyes, and felt
his body shake. The anger was inside him. It roared and it raged. It had 
been
building ever since she had died. Ever since Vega had died. He had just 
wanted
to end it, end it clean. Avenge her. And Ukyou had taken that away from him. 
She
had chosen to do it, and leave him with this feeling inside. He didn't care
about her reasons. He didn't care about her logic. He wasn't listening to 
her
anymore.
	"Would it have been so wrong, to just save one person?" he asked, very
softly.
	"Yes," Ukyou replied, her voice broken by sobs.
	"Get out of here."
	"Ranma..."
	"I... I can't stand to look at you!" Ranma squeezed his eyes shut
tighter, so tight it hurt. He could feel the tears welling up, but he willed
them away. He burned them away with the heat of his anger, and they didn't 
come.
	"Ranma... I..." Ukyou was hurt. He didn't care.
	"Ran was right about you." Ranma snapped. "You're a poison. You destroy
everything you touch!"
	"Ranma...no..."
	"I don't know who you are, but you aren't my friend." Ranma turned away
from her.
	"No, Ranma, I didn't mean it! I was just trying..."
	"SHUT UP!" he roared. And he did turn to look at her one last time. She
was kneeling on the ground, staring up at him. Her alien black lotus eyes
quivered, tears ran down her face. Her expression was one of anguish, her 
mouth
twisted into a gasp of denial. Her hand was stretched towards him. "No more
words, Ukyou! " Ukyou tried to say something, but all that came out was a 
dry
whistle. He knew he would regret it before he said it, but he couldn't seem 
to
care, so he said it anyway. "I hate you! I wish you would just vanish 
forever!"
	And he turned and sprinted from the room, before he really did begin
crying.

*

	Rei was tired. Her arms would have been dragging behind her, had they
been long enough. It was times like this she wished she could just walk back 
to
campus in her senshi form. When she was Sailor Mars, she didn't notice 
things
like fatigue and pain. They existed still, but faded to the background.
	The worst part was knowing they would have to go out again soon. The sun
was still gone, and the monsters out there would still be rampaging. It had
taken all three of them to convince Usagi it was best to return and get a 
bit of
rest before their next mission. They had been fighting for four hours,
travelling from town to town with a speed Rei found almost unnatural. At 
each
town, the monsters had been there. Dire beasts, not zoanoids, something 
else.
They'd been made of plants and shaped like insects or hunting animals but on 
a
giant scale.
	The senshi would arrive, confront the monsters and, after a tense
battle, destroy them. This had continued until Rei had lost count of the 
number
of places they had been. By the end, she was running on automatic.
	"How much further is it?" Usagi whined.
	"Not much further now, Miss Usagi," Anthy replied with hollow good
cheer. She had always been the one to lead them in and out of Ohtori. Akio 
had
greeted them once, when they were leaving. He had informed them that without 
a
guide, they would never find their way back into his school. His 
enchantments
were too powerful for the monsters of the outside world to penetrate, and 
would
work equally as well on the Sailor Senshi.
	"I just hope we haven't missed too many classes," Ami said, sounding
genuinely worried.
	"I think they would have cancelled school today," Makoto pointed out.
	"Oh? Why?"
	Everyone looked at Ami for a moment.
	"Don't worry, Ami," Usagi said conspiratorially, sidling in close to
her. "I'm sure if you missed any classes then Miki would have taken notes 
for
you."
	Ami blushed and tried to shoo Usagi away. "That isn't the point!"
	"Oh, I've been told to ask you," Anthy broke in with her usual cheerful
vapid tone. "Since I've been so busy helping you, I've fallen behind in my
studies. Could you do my homework for me, Ms. Mizuno?"
	Ami blinked. "Well, it really isn't supposed to work that way. I'd be
happy to..." Ami trailed off. Anthy had stopped in the middle of the street,
beaming a high intensity smile at her. Everyone just sort of stumbled to a 
halt.
Rei resisted to urge to sit down. She was tired but not about to admit it. 
She
would have gone ahead, but she had no idea how to get back to the academy
without Anthy. "Uh... Anthy... we should get going." Anthy just stood there, 
her
hands lowered and clasped together. Ami looked at her a moment later, and
finally sighed. "I suppose I could... it really isn't a good idea, though."
	"Great!" Anthy turned and started walking again. Rei and the others
followed her.
	"Don't worry about it, Ami," Makoto said, clapping the shorter girl on
the shoulder. "Anthy's just weird like that. Juri told me all about her."
	"Oh?" Ami said. Rei frowned slightly. She had never met Juri, so she
knew it was unfair to dislike her, but her friendship with Shiori almost
compelled her to. Not that Shiori disliked Juri that much. The girl was 
adapting
well these days. It was just that the subject was still a little tender.
	"Yeah, Juri says that Anthy just does stuff like that. She's weird, and
you have to accept it." Makoto paused and tapped her cheek. "She also said
something about the 'Rose Bride', but then clammed up when I tried to ask 
her
about it."
	"You shouldn't talk about Anthy like she isn't here," Usagi said
reproachfully. Anthy didn't acknowledge the defence.
	"Juri says Anthy doesn't mind." Makoto looked slightly offended.
	"If Juri said it was a good idea to jump off a cliff, would you do it?"
Rei snapped.
	The other three glanced at her askance. Rei knew she should apologize,
but didn't feel like it. It was just that Makoto constantly talking about 
how
cool and smart and skilled and perfect Juri was kept getting on Rei's 
nerves.
They didn't spend a lot of time together as it was and it didn't help that 
all
the tall brunette wanted to talk about was her fencing instructor.
	Rei was so busy ignoring her fellow senshi, that she almost missed it
when the girl leapt out of a bush and landed in front of them with a shout 
of
"AH HA! I'VE FOUND YOU AT LAST!"
	All four of them went as stiff as statues and began to reach for their
henshin wands. Then Rei got a good look at the person and sighed in 
recognition.
She was shorter than Rei, with bright yellow hair and a garish tight 
pantsuit of
the same color. She was pointing imperiously at them.
	"Usagi Tsukino! I am Nanami Kiryuu, Acting Student Council President and
I have finally found you!" The girl sneered. "What have you done with my
brother? Did you lure him away to some sort of evil shadow city? Also, what 
is
THIS?" Nanami gestured and suddenly there was a pink bell in her hand, 
attached
to a heart-shaped handle. "I CAN'T MAKE IT GO AWAY! Did you do this to me? 
Did
you steal my brother..." The girl trailed off as she noticed everyone 
staring at
her.
	"I'm sorry, let me start over." She cleared her throat. "Hi, I'm Nanami
Kiryuu. I've been looking for you for awhile now. Can we talk?"
	"Oh... what seems to be the problem?" Ami finally broke the stunned
silence that followed.
	"Geez, Nanami," Rei muttered. "You just do NOT know how to make a good
first impression."
	"Hey!" Nanami protested.
	"Don't worry about Nanami," Anthy pointed out in her annoyingly cheerful
voice. "She's just excitable."
	Nanami frowned at the girl. "Oh, Anthy Himemiya. I didn't know YOU were
here." She crossed her arms. "I should have suspected as much. You are
associated with just about everything weird that happens at this school."
	"Why is everybody so mean to Anthy?" Usagi asked. "She seems like a nice
girl to me." Anthy smiled.
	"I think we're missing the point," Ami insisted. "She did ask for our
help."
	"I asked for HER help," Nanami said, pointing at Usagi.
	"Oh?" Usagi blinked and laughed nervously. "How could I possibly help
you? I'm just plain old everyday Usagi! I'm certainly not magical or 
legendary
or anything!" Rei rolled her eyes.
	"I just want to get rid of this thing," Nanami pointed out, holding up
the little bell with the heart-shaped crystal in it."And find my brother. 
Also,
maybe get rid of the dreams. But really, I like them... the horse is nice. 
So I
don't want to get rid of them. Just mainly I want to find my brother. Well,
except maybe I don't. The horse told me I shouldn't look for him, and he 
seems
trustworthy. After all, he's in MY dreams, so that means he's part of my 
mind,
right? So I have to trust myself."
	Rei stared. As Nanami had rambled, she'd been shifting from pose to
pose. The entire thing reminded her bizarrely of a kabuki play she'd seen 
once.
	"Oh-kay..." Ami said slowly, blinking. "So, basically you want to get
rid of the bell?"
	"Well, if you want to simplify it, of course I do!"
	"If it bothers you that much, why not just put it down?" Anthy suggested
vapidly.
	"You think I haven't TRIED that, Anthy Himemiya?" Nanami snarled and
stalked up to her. "It just keeps coming back!"
	"Oh..." Anthy placed a finger by her lips. "Like the cat in that old
children's rhyme?"
	Nanami turned white. Not from rage, but from something else. Something
deeper. Finally she shook it off and the red fury appeared on her face 
again.
"If you know so much about it, here, YOU take it!"
	She shoved the bell forward. Anthy tried to back up, tried to dodge the
bell, but she stumbled and her fingers brushed across the edge. There was a
flash of golden light and a cry like a wild horse bucking, followed by a 
scream.
	Rei staggered back, her mouth opening, but she couldn't breathe. She
could hear the other senshi falling back as well. The person that was 
screaming
was Nanami. How could she be the one screaming? How could Anthy not be
screaming?
	There were thousands of them, millions of them. Swords; long and
straight and glittering in the light. As Rei watched they continued to 
appear,
again and again and again without end. Soon, she would no longer be able to 
see
Anthy for them. But she had seen. She had seen the girl's clothing
disintegrate as the swords tore into her. Her hair, unbound, had fallen down 
to
her waist in lustrous violet waves. Blood had poured down her naked flesh in
rivers. Her head had been bowed. Her arms raised pliantly into the air above
her, a single sabre pinning the hands together and nailing her to the sky.
	The swords had been tearing at her, piercing her from every angle. Blood
had flowed like water. Her body could not possibly survive it. But that had 
not
been the worst. Rei could still see Anthy's eyes. Anthy was looking straight
ahead, and her eyes met Rei's.
	Those eye were not eyes in pain. Those eyes were not eyes pleading for
release. They were empty. They were hollow. Rei had looked into those eyes 
and
seen nothing human. They just stared back at her, empty of everything except
some alien, inhuman emotion.
	And suddenly Rei understood. This was the secret of Ohtori Academy. All
the deceptions and layers had been designed to conceal this. Not that this 
girl
was in torment. Not that this girl was the source of it all. They were
concealing that this girl DESERVED the torment. Maybe she hadn't, at first, 
but
there was nothing left there to save now.
	Rei turned away, unable to look any more. She heard Usagi gasp, finally
catching her voice. "No... no! I won't let this happen!" Rei felt the power
surge. She spun, trying to stop her, but Usagi was already holding forward 
the
crystal. It glowed, and like the golden light before it, the silver light 
filled
the world. "MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!" Usagi screamed at the top of her 
lungs.
	The light of the crystal washed over Anthy in waves. There was nothing
there anymore, nothing but a cocoon of steel the size of a woman. Blood ran
from it, tiny gruesome waterfalls falling to the earth. As the light of the
silver crystal flowed over it, the blood on the ground vanished. But the 
crimson
liquid never stopped flowing. The power of the crystal washed over the 
prison of
swords and the prison did not so much as waver.
	Usagi was gritting her teeth. There was sweat on her brow. Her hands
were trembling. She screamed again, "MOON HEALING ACTIVATION!" Nobody could 
do
anything. Ami was knelt against a building, shielding her eyes. Makoto was
crouched nearby, her face a mix of awe and horror. Nanami... Nanami was 
right in
front of them, standing before the prison. The light of the silver crystal 
was
washing around her, tracing out a dome that had somehow covered the girl. 
Every
now and then the dome flashed gold and Rei thought she saw a phantom figure, 
a
tall horse with a golden horn. Its feathered wings were stretched down to
protect Nanami.
	"WORK!" Usagi screamed.
	"Usagi, stop it!" Rei yelled.
	"I won't!"
	"You'll kill yourself!" Rei warned, taking a step forward, "It isn't
doing anything!"
	"IT HAS TO!"
	Rei didn't realise what she had done until Usagi fell to the ground. The
girl looked up at her, her eyes wide with pain and shock. She touched her 
red
cheek gingerly. The silver crystal had fallen at her feet. Rei lowered her 
hand,
taking deep breaths.
	"It won't work," Rei explained. "You can't save her with that."
	Usagi looked up at Rei for a long moment, until Rei couldn't stand it
any longer. Finally, she turned and left. She had no idea where she was 
going,
except away.

*

	The red sports car skidded to a halt with a screech, leaving a trail of
burnt rubber along the road. The monster dwarfed the vehicle by several 
orders
of magnitude. It was a tremendous lizard, a creature like a dinosaur come to
life. It stood almost fifteen meters tall, standing upright on two legs, 
with
tiny arms and a head surrounded by flaring horns that spiraled off in all
directions. From those horns hung trails of moss and lichen. Its flesh was 
thick
wood. Its eyes were one meter diameter pools of almost liquid amber. On its
face, just above its eyes, was a tiny blue seed.
	It roared and reared back one foot, bringing it down on the car. A man
flipped out the door at the last second. He had long brown hair and wore a 
pair
of tan slacks and a matching jacket. The car exploded in a fireball as the
thing's clawed foot smashed through its hood. A moment later the tyrant 
lizard
reared back and exhaled sharply. A cloud of green mist flooded over the 
area.
Metal and concrete melted, dissolving into sludge at the slightest contact. 
A
dozen people, too slow or scared to get out of the path, died screaming.
	The man had somehow dodged to the side. For a moment, there had been a
flash around him. It was like a shield of starlight had deflected some of 
the
damage away from him. He leaned on one leg, and faced the beast.
	There was a commotion from the other end of the street. Hundreds of
people running, screaming. The cause was another of the tyrant lizards. It
screamed, something like a lion and a bear but more primal. As the crowd 
ran, a
dark van rolled down the street. It came to a halt in front of the fleeing
crowd. The top of it exploded, and the sides fell apart. Inside were half a
dozen creatures. They had red skin and the heads of hairless rats. On their
shoulders were massive pods that snapped open, one after another. There were
weapons in those tubes, weapons unlike anything the watcher had ever seen
before. They glowed with sharp red light.
	Then lasers lanced from the smaller monsters, a dozen rays of violent
light. They slashed through the air - and the crowd - without hesitation. 
The
beams converged on the second lizard, and it roared as its body burst into
flames. A second later the barrage ended with a ear-shattering bang as a 
hole
the size of a city bus erupted through the lizard. It fell over. A few 
people
who had begun running from the humanoid artillery platforms were caught and
crushed under its weight.
	The crowd had scattered in all directions now. The people were
screaming. In the distance, a lance of blue light as wide across as a city 
block
traced across the skyline, annihilating everything in its path. The top of a
nearby skyscraper exploded upward, a giant flatworm rising through the 
blossom
of dust and raining deadly debris. It was immediately surrounded by a small 
army
of winged creatures. They screamed, the sound muffled by distance, but still
piercing and painful. The flatworm rocked back and forth, then a geyser of 
green
blood spurted from its forehead and it fell. Its weight tore the side off 
the
building.
	"Back, beast!"
	The watcher's attention refocused on the man who had escaped the ill-
fated sports car. He was holding up a single hand towards the monsters. 
Sometime
in the moments when other things had served as a distraction, the man had
acquired a sword and shield and changed into a grey uniform. A flash of
starlight flared from the man's hand and the tyrant lizard staggered back, a
crater as wide across as a truck appearing in its hide. It roared and tried 
to
crush him, but he leapt back, his sword coming up. There was a flash of 
green
blood as the sword bit through thick wood like it was nothing. The creature
pulled back. With another cry the man gestured again, and this time the 
thing
fell back a few paces.
	The observer had seen enough. He stepped forward, out of the screaming
crowd. Others were following him. They could see his confidence. They could
sense that he was not going to die. They wanted him to protect them, to 
guide
them. Very well, it would do for now.
	"You have to strike the seed on its forehead," the observer noted once
he was within earshot of the man. The man looked at him, but turned back 
almost
at once. Another spray of deadly green mist had descended from the monster.
Somehow, he held it off with his shield. Then he leapt up, traversing the 
space
like a bird. His sword flashed and he landed on the other side of the tyrant
lizard. It swooned, then fell back, missing him by inches.
	The creatures in the van had begun to disembark. They were moving in
their direction now. The pods on their shoulders were still open. Lines of 
light
were beginning to trace along their bodies, converging on the strange 
battery-
shaped guns inside.
	"You had better deal with those ones, too," the observer told the
warrior. The man glanced back at him. He had piercing eyes that went well 
with
his long brown hair. He snorted and turned to the approaching humanoids. 
They
launched their blasts, all at once. The man gestured and the blasts curved
around him at all angles, flying clockwise and widdershins to carve long 
glowing
lines into the glass towers. The creatures could only stare as he gestured 
again
and a field of stars seemed to surround them. Suddenly out of the stars a 
lion
formed. It pounced and sunk its claws into the nearest creature. Then there 
was
another lion, and another. Soon, the laser-bearing monsters were too busy to
concern themselves with the warrior anymore.
	"Thank you," the man said, walking towards the crowd. The observer
nodded. "But if you think I'm here to save you, then you are mistaken." He
turned to leave and the observer grasped his shoulder. The man stiffened.
	"I don't want you to save me," the observer noted. "But..." He glanced
back at the crowd that was forming. There were hundreds. This was a sea of 
calm.
The entire city had become a killing field in less than an hour. This was 
one of
the few safe places. "A wise man knows when an opportunity presents itself. 
A
wise general knows that of such opportunities, armies are born. These 
people,
all of them, will be grateful to the end for respite from this chaos."
	The man looked at the observer for a long moment. When he spoke, it was
mainly to himself. "'Find out how humans make war', is this what she meant?" 
He
looked up at the observer, his eyes narrowing. "I can take only so many. My
magic has been strained. But I can offer respite. All I ask in return is
obedience. Obedience to myself and my queen."
	"They will offer it." And the crowd roared its assent. Anything was
better than this. Anything was better than anonymous death in a war between
monsters. At least, for now.
	"Good. I am Nephrite. And you?"
	"Me? You can call me Touga. Touga Kiryuu."

*

	The streets around Gedo High were quiet. The wind blew through them.
There was not a soul in sight. The distant ring of explosions, the distant 
echo
of screams, they were the only sounds. Inside the building, hundreds of 
people
crouched and prayed. To Buddha, to God, to the Kami, to a thousand names. To
whoever was convenient.
	Akira stood on the wall, one foot raised up on the gate. Her brother
stood beneath her. The ends of his coat rustled slightly around him. His two
lieutenants stood on either side. Gan's head rose up so high his eyes were 
level
with Akira's boots. Edge was running the edge of a switchblade along the 
brick
wall, causing a stream of sparks.
	In the walls of the school, in the courtyard, there were the students.
They held bats and planks of wood, they carried sticks and rocks. They had 
all
gathered here. Hundreds of them. Not just from Gedo, but every student that 
felt
they could fight from the entire ward. There were many adults among them 
too:
teachers, parents, and others. Akira had spent the last few hours screening
them, looking over them. She had learned the trick of sensing battle spirit 
from
Ukyou. Those that had the power, she let stay. Those that did not, she sent 
back
into the building. No matter how well-intentioned, they would be nothing in 
the
fight that was coming.
	The only thing that worried Akira was that there were no aragami.
Certainly she and the other fighting students of the ward had cleaned out a 
lot
in the last few weeks, but surely not all of them. Yet, even though Akira 
could
see them in the distance, none had come here. It was well enough. The giant 
war
machines that were plaguing the other parts of the city... she wasn't 
certain
they could have dealt with them.
	Akira snapped her head to the side. She could see them. They were just a
shadow, growing closer under the black sky. But they began to become more
distinct. More and more joined the advance, sliding in from side streets and
alleys, coming out of buildings and vehicles. Some started out human, but
quickly shed such pretenses.
	It was an army. There were apes with wicked claws, giant men with horns
and skin the color of jade, creatures covered in spines and other less 
pleasant
things. There were hundreds of them.
	"This is it," Akira muttered. She saw her brother nod. He stepped
forward. Just him, by himself. Akira resisted the urge to jump down with 
him.
That wasn't part of the plan. Daigo continued forward, until he was halfway
between the horde and the school.
	He threw open his coat and clenched his fists. With a stamp of his foot,
the entire street shook. The horde stumbled to a stop.
	"This is OUR school!" he declared, his voice ringing so loudly it could
probably be heard a dozen blocks away. "We will protect it with our lives! 
Now
turn back!"
	"We aren't interested in your lives," a voice replied. It sounded like a
buzz, like the hum and crackle of great turbines roaring to life. A glow was
stepping through the crowd of monsters. It was accompanied by a sizzling 
sound,
like a live wire snapping at the ground. The creature was like a humanoid 
eel,
its body purple and silver with a long neck and rainbow lights floating 
across
his body. Four long tendrils extended from its back, snapping through the 
air.
"We've come for Akane Tendo. We know she's here. Hand her over, and none of 
you
humans need be harmed."
	Akane? Why could Akane be so important? Akira clenched her fist. When
Shampoo had arrived and taken Akane with her, Akira had chosen to stay here. 
It
was more important to save people, to gather them to safety within these 
walls,
than to deal with Pink and Chris. For now.
	Daigo chuckled grimly. "I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said she
wasn't here," he said stoically.
	"Not really," the creature snarled, its voice raising an octave.
"Besides, I'll enjoy tormenting the information out of you, human."
	"Okay." Daigo held up his hands. Akira tensed. She could feel the energy
of the situation rising. It was like a thick mist, filling the air all 
around
them. But this mist was hot. The fog of war. Akira smiled grimly. "Then I 
guess
that's that." And with a second roar he brought his foot down again. The 
ground
shook. The monster pointed and his army charged. Daigo stood firm, and 
brought
his foot down once more. The pavement beneath him buckled. The roaring horde
grew closer.
	The fourth blow did it. With a sound like an avalanche the entire street
collapsed in. Akira cheered. This entire neighbourhood was old, run down. 
The
sewers here were large, from before modern construction. With his last 
strike,
Daigo had caved in the entire thing. The monsters roared in pain as they 
tumbled
into the sudden moat. Daigo himself was running back, his footsteps two 
paces
ahead of the collapsing street. He leapt at the last moment and Akira did as
well. She felt Gan catch her legs, his huge hands swallowing her entire 
shins.
Her hand caught Daigo's. He smirked at her. Then Gan was swinging them back 
up
onto the wall.
	They landed gracefully and locked back. The approach to the school was
now a sea of wreckage. While Daigo and the others had been rounding up as 
many
people as they could, Akira had been in the sewers, weakening key locations.
With Daigo's action, it had set off a chain reaction. Even now, Akira could 
hear
it encircling the school, spreading out on both sides. It would form a moat, 
and
the walls of the school a battlement.
	But the leader of the zoanoids floated above the wreckage, his body
sheathed in electric light. The zoanoids that had fallen in were rising. 
None of
them were harmed. None of them out of the fight. Akira clenched her fists.
	"And I was just going to show you snot-nosed punks a little humility,"
the leader said in his buzzing electric voice. "Kill them! Kill every last 
one
of them!" And with a roar, his army rushed to obey.
	"Stand together!" Daigo shouted, and the students within the walls
roared back.

*

	Kunikida looked up as the door slid open. There was a large shadow
blocking the way. A huge mountain with coarse grey flesh stood there, 
carrying a
woman by the arm. It laughed and threw her inside.
	"Koume!" Ryoko cried.
	"Even she couldn't get away..." Yaegashi hissed. His glasses had been
broken and hung oddly off his nose. But he was moving over to her carefully. 
The
girl had landed badly against the wall and lay on the floor moaning. Her arm 
was
bent at an angle arms were not meant to bend.
	"Of course she couldn't," the monster laughed, its voice cruel and
mocking as it rumbled. "Did you think mere humans were any match for a hyper
zoanoid? You can't possibly defeat us."
	"So is that the way it is?" Kunikida sneered. "We're just supposed to
give up and make way for you? Evolution in action, is it?"
	"Heh, just that, human!" the creature laughed once more. Kunikida looked
away as it slid the door closed. He unclenched his fists. It was useless to
fight back now. He just wished there was something he could do, something he
could accomplish!
	He had been such a fool. Did mere humans have any strength at all in
this world? He had thought he could at least help the champions, the 
warriors
organise and fight when this moment came. But he couldn't even protect 
Momiji
from one monster. He felt bile rise in his throat as he remembered the 
metallic
creature that had burst into the safehouse. They couldn't even dent it. Just
like the day that Kaede had been taken from him, he had been able to do 
nothing.
Nothing but watch.
	In the chaos that had followed the attack, the entire TAC had been easy
pickings for the zoanoids that had come for them. It appeared that now, with 
the
need for secrecy gone, they had no more use for him or his team. But...
	Why not just kill them?
	He remembered the massive creature picking up Yaegashi, its paw almost
large enough to wrap completely around his waist. The computer specialist 
had
gasped and cried out as he was drawn into the air by the rhinoceros-like
monster. When it had asked where 'the girl' was, Kunikida had first thought 
it
meant Momiji. It was the obvious solution for the zoanoids. Why bother 
fighting
the aragami openly, when they could just kill one girl and end it all? The 
truth
of the matter had surprised Kunikida.
	Yaegashi's pain-filled confession about how Momiji had been captured
didn't seem to faze the beast. It had asked about 'the other girl', the 
martial
artist. Then Kunikida had thought it meant Ukyou. But that also wasn't the 
case.
It meant some girl named 'Akane'. Whoever this Akane was, she was very 
important
to Chronos. They wanted her badly. Enough that they were keeping the TAC 
alive
because they felt they MIGHT have some connection to her.
	Kunikida wanted to laugh.
	"I think she'll be okay." Yaegashi looked up. "She's unconscious, but
not too badly hurt aside from her arm. They're being surprisingly gentle 
with
us."
	Kunikida nodded and sighed.
	Minutes passed. It was hard to tell how many. The room they were in was
dark, lit only by what light leaked in from under the door. He could hear 
the
distant sound of explosions. He remembered what little he had seen as the
zoanoids dragged them to this place. Tokyo was being torn apart. He wondered 
if
anything of it would survive. No matter who won, humanity was going to lose.
	The door opened again, and the massive figure was there again. He was
carrying another dark shape over his shoulder. With a flip of his arm he 
sent it
stumbling into the room, where it came to rest in a pool of light.
	Ryoko gasped. Yaegashi growled. Kunikida just stared.
	The door closed, and the face of Matsudaira was once again plunged into
shadow like everything else. From what he had seen of her, she had not fared
well. Her face was a mass of bruises, purple and black welts eradicating 
what
remained of her beauty. Her body was little better: thin cuts covered her 
from
head to toe, and her dress had been torn and bloodied. But she was 
breathing.
	"What is SHE doing here?" Yaegashi snarled.
	"They must have captured her, just like they did us." Kunikida stood up.
"I kept sending reports to my superiors, reports that Chronos must have
intercepted. I never mentioned Matsudaira's betrayal. I just kept saying 
that
everything was going on as normal. They must have assumed that she was still
with us."
	"Good," Yaegashi said with finality. He was moving towards the woman,
but Kunikida stopped him with one arm. "What are you doing!?" he demanded.
	"I was going to ask you that," Kunikida replied.
	"I'm going... I'm going... to get back at her!" Yaegashi snarled. "She
works for THEM now. If we can interrogate her, we can find out what they 
plan!
What they want Momiji for!"
	"And what good would that accomplish, stuck in here?"
	"You should let him go, Kunikida." He looked down, and Matsudaira was
rising up to a sitting position. Her eyes flashed brown in the half-light. 
"If
he wants to throw his life away, then let him."
	"You're awake?" Kunikida said needlessly.
	"Of course I am," she answered. "I don't have the same human weaknesses
you do." She looked pointedly at Koume, who was resting as peacefully as she
could with a fractured arm.
	"Yes..." Kunikida sighed. "Can I just ask why, Matsudaira?"
	"That isn't my name anymore." She pushed over and leaned against a wall.
"I am Azuma, of the Deathbusters. The heralds of Lord Pharaoh 90." She 
hissed
and winced when she had to shift her leg.
	"I see that Chronos did as good a job on you as you did on us," Yaegashi
snapped.
	"Chronos?" Azuma chuckled. "This was done by Kusanagi. He was quite
upset with me."
	"Kusanagi found you?" Ryoko replied. "I'm surprised you're still alive."
	Azuma snorted. "That boy is too soft-hearted for his own good." She
sneered, nothing more than a flash of white teeth in the darkness. "Back 
before
all this started, back before I met Ranma and we found all the other martial
artists, do you know what he did? He threatened me. He was warning me away 
from
Momiji. He thought I was going to do diabolical experiments on her." She
laughed. "But I knew he didn't have the guts. I knew that was just a show. 
Even
when he had me helpless, after all I've done, he didn't finish me off."
	"You underestimate him," Kunikida said. "But I'm surprised you're still
here. Don't you have magic powers, the kind that could break you free from
here?"
	"Why bother?" She shrugged. "It's all over, Kunikida. I can feel it. He
is coming. Pharaoh 90 is finding his way to this world, and when he arrives,
everything ends." Her voice began to grow rapturous. "It will all be made so
simple. A complex, flawed, broken world that makes no sense, all brought 
down to
a single truth. The grand unifying theory, Kunikida. The principle on which 
the
entire universe turns. The holy grail of science. I discovered it from him. 
I
discovered the truth."
	"And what did you discover?"
	"Everything ends."
	"Was it worth it, then?" he asked.
	"What?" She tilted her head at him.
	"Giving up everything, abandoning your friends, your family, your free
will, your humanity. Was losing all of that worth it, Azuma? Was the answer 
you
got one that made you happy?"
	"Happy?" she chuckled. "I KNOW, Kunikida. What does happy matter? I
know, and soon the entire world will know with me." She paused. "Besides, 
what I
lost hardly matters. Friends? Family? Illusions we craft around our lives.
Chemical processes in the brain that have been hard wired into us by 
thousands
of years of evolution.
	"Free will? A pathetic grasp at straws. Ever since the universe started,
it has all been cause and effect. One thing leading to another, inevitable. 
From
the movements of the largest galaxy to the smallest particle of matter. It's 
all
predicted by formula. At the beginning of time, all this was set in motion 
by
the first collision between two things. Ever since then, it's all been an
unstoppable and predictable chain reaction leading to this moment, to this
point. It's destiny, it's fate, it's chance... whatever you want to call it.
	"And humanity? Nothing but a word we created to separate ourselves from
animals. A word that makes us feel good about ourselves when we slaughter 
our
brothers and sisters, because we do it in the name of 'humanity'. A word 
that
divides. You should be happy I'm helping to put an end to it, Kunikida. 
Finally
this hypocritical human race, and the even more hypocritical zoanoids and
aragami and everything else... finally, it will all come to an end."
	"So that's what they did to you," he said, sitting down.
	"What?"
	"They took away your faith, Matsudaira."
	"Don't call me that," she snarled.
	"The woman I knew, she had faith. She knew that she could never learn
all the answers, but it wasn't about that. Because she knew when she moved 
on,
someone else would take her place. She knew she wasn't the best mother, the 
best
person, but she struggled on because she knew that she loved her family and 
her
friends, even if she didn't always know how to express it. Azusa Matsudaira 
was
one of the best people I knew, because she believed in something that 
couldn't
be defined by science, or society or even words." He looked down at his 
hands.
"That's why I chose her. Because she would never accept the final answer. 
She
struggled every day to find a way to save Kaede's life. Even when Kaede was
gone, she kept struggling. Even though it looked like there was no hope. 
Even
though it looked like there was no way to save Momiji, she continued 
fighting.
Because she knew that it wasn't winning that was important. It was fighting. 
She
had faith, that in the end, if she fought, it would all work out."
	"A... a foolish fantasy." Azuma crossed her arms. "I've moved beyond
such things now."
	"No." He looked at her. "You haven't. This thing, this alien monster
inside you. It consumed your faith. Or you think it has. But that's the 
thing
about faith, Matsudaira. It can't be consumed. It can't be exhausted. Even 
when
all you can see around you is darkness. Even when everything seems lost, you
still have faith. All you have to do is believe.
	"Just like I believe in you, Matsudaira." He lowered his eyes again. "I
have faith that you're here for a reason. That I'm here for a reason. I 
believe
in you, wherever you are inside that monster that is trying to eat your 
soul. I
forgive you. Please, come back to us."
	"What nonsense," Azuma sneered, but her voice was not filled with
conviction. Kunikida said nothing, and so they waited a long time in the
darkness.

*

	Chizuru walked through the crowds of screaming people. They were all
running in all directions. It had happened so fast. One moment, it had been 
a
festival. An eclipse that nobody had expected, and suddenly all the people 
of
Tokyo had a reason to celebrate. Then this. Chaos, destruction, death...
	A monster was in the crowd, dueling with another beast. Chizuru walked
up to them casually. She grabbed one by the back of its neck and snapped it 
with
a single practiced motion. The other staggered back, stunned by this sudden
intrusion. Chizuru moved forward, gliding across the blood-slick pavement. 
Her
hand came up and caught it in the sternum, right above where she could sense 
its
heart lay. The blow looked gentle, almost feather-light, but she could feel 
bone
shatter. The creature continued stumbling back, blood trickling from its 
mouth.
It was staring... behind her?
	Chizuru spun in place, her long hair spinning about her. The thing that
rose above her was massive. It was humanoid, but its body was covered in 
grey
plates. Dozens of thick spines rose from those plates in all directions. It
looked like a grotesque humanoid spiked club. Its arms were coming down at 
her,
the spikes on its forearms threatening to crush her to death.
	She made to move back, but stopped. The creature had stopped moving. A
fist had emerged from its torso. A fist made of black chitin. The fist 
retracted
and the thing vomited up blood before it was shoved aside. Chizuru frowned 
at
the thing that faced her now.
	She had seen it only a few times before. It was humanoid, like all the
zoanoids. But it was also not like a zoanoid in many other ways. This one 
had
bits of metal on it, a circular medal in its forehead and an orb on its 
waist.
Despite its organic appearance and demonic bearing, it reminded her more of 
a
suit of armour than a monster. Steam jetted from an exhaust port on the 
thing's
right cheek.
	"Are you alright?" the thing asked, its voice human if distorted
slightly.
	"I'm fine." Chizuru flicked her hand, sending a few stray drops of blood
flying. "I've seen you before. You've been stalking Uranus and Neptune."
	"I wouldn't quite say that," the man inside the armour replied. He
glanced towards the outskirts of the city, where a titanic dragon with eight
heads was ravaging everything in sight. Chizuru stared at the spectacle, a 
mix
of wonder and horror filling her. "I've been trying to contact them for 
weeks.
I need to get in touch with their leader."
	"Sailor Pluto?"
	"No, Sailor Moon."
	"Who?"
	He paused, staring at her through the glossy black eyes of the armour.
"Listen, do you know how to contact this Sailor Pluto?"
	"Pluto..." Chizuru sighed. "Yes. I know exactly where she is."
	"Is she in the city?"
	"No. Not anymore..."
	"Good." Chizuru's eyes snapped up at the sudden relief in his tone.
"Listen, we have to get out of here. This city is going to explode. We don't
have much time. I can get us both safely out, if you promise to lead me to
Sailor Pluto."
	"I..." Chizuru looked around. A crowd of people had gathered. Why
wouldn't they? These two had killed monsters and weren't trying to kill 
them.
Who else could they trust? Where else were they going to go? "But what about 
all
these people?"
	The armoured man looked at them. The demonic mask that covered his face
was expressionless. "What about them?"
	"We can't just leave them!" Chizuru snarled.
	"Yes we can, yes we will." He held out his hand towards her. "This isn't
a battle we can win. It's a tragedy, but we have to leave to fight another 
day.
Gather our forces. Find allies. Then, then we can take Chronos down, once 
and
for all. But not today. Today all we'll do if we stay here is die."
	She knocked his hand aside. "I have to find Neptune and Uranus." She
began to walk away. "Do whatever you want."
	"Isn't there something more important you have to fight for, Chizuru
Kagura?"
	She stopped at the sound of her name. Then she sighed and ducked her
head. He was right, just not about what he thought he was. There was 
something
more important to fight than Chronos today. There was a message she had to
deliver. If Pluto didn't know... if she didn't know that there were OTHERS. 
That
there were things beyond Ukyou that had that terrible power... then she 
would go
on fighting a war with one eye blinded.
	"Very well." She looked back over her shoulder at him. "But I do have to
find Uranus and Neptune. They are under my guard. They are my 
responsibility."
	He nodded. "Then meet me there." He pointed at the shadow of Mount Fuji,
floating serenely on a blanket of mist despite all the chaos. "I can get us 
out
of Japan, away from Chronos, without them being able to track us. I'll wait 
for
you until midnight."
	With a single leap he flashed up onto a nearby rooftop, and then was
gone. Chizuru watched where he had vanished for a moment, then returned to 
her
search.

*

	Akane moved forward, step by step. She was swaying a bit. Or was that
the world? It was so hard to tell. There was an overturned police car 
nearby. It
was on fire. A woman was curled up in a doorway, rocking back and forth and
muttering. There was smoke in the sky, and the sun was still dark. In the
distance the moon was rising, a pale ghost shadow in the darkness.
	The moon... Akane stared up at it. It had brought her back. She had been
dead. She had been saved. Sometime between the two, she had been changed. 
She
didn't know how, or why. She just knew.
	Akane suddenly started yelling. She kicked a nearby vending machine and
it exploded, scattering merchandise across the street. "Damn you!" she 
roared,
her face turned towards that ghost moon. "What do you want from me? Why me? 
What
did I do that was so special? God damn you!" She fell to her knees. "Why not
someone else? Why not Shampoo? Why not anyone else! I'm not ready! I can't 
do
it! Whatever you want from me, I can't do it!"
	Akane wasn't sure who she was yelling at, but it felt good. She had been
keeping it inside. Ever since... ever since Narita. Ever since her sister's 
life
had depended on Akane holding in her temper. She had been holding it in and
holding it in. She had to be strong. She had to be in control. Ukyou had 
said
that to her. Tofu had said that to her. She had to be the strong one, the 
one to
take charge, the one who knew what to do. The Sailor Senshi had trusted her.
Cologne had trusted her. Chris had trusted her.
	So she had kept it inside. But why? Why bother? Why not just charge down
that street, screaming? Why not find the first zoanoid or other monster and
behead them? Her hand curled around the hilt of her sword. It was still 
stained
with Shampoo's blood.
	Akane would never let this sword go. She would never forget.
Sometimes... sometimes there were things that just had to be defeated. Some
evils were so insidious, so pervasive, that the only solution was 
destruction.
Akane rose to her feet again, lifting the blade in front of her. The fire
glinted off the steel, turning it red.
	It felt good to be angry again. It felt good to not have to think about
being in charge, about setting an example. It felt good to just seethe and 
rage
against it. It felt good to lash out. She stalked down the street, kicking a 
car
to the side as she did. There were tears running down her cheeks again, hot
tears, but the pain felt better now.
	Akane could see the monsters in the distance. There was a battle
occurring around the corner. Akane slid the sword down behind her. She would
give them no warning. She would strike without mercy. It would feel good to 
have
something she could fight and kill. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to 
block
out the tears.
	She had to do this. It was the way. She could feel the pulse of destiny
around her again. The invisible hand of whatever higher power had touched 
her
when she had died. She could feel its hands on her, steering her. It wanted 
her
to fight. It wanted her to win.
	She just had to take one step forward. She just had to turn the corner
and strike. It was just two steps away now. Her heart was beating so loud 
she
could hear it echoing in her chest. Her breathing was so sharp it hurt. Her
knuckles turned white as they gripped the shaft of her sword. Just be angry,
Akane. Wasn't that what a fire aspect was? Fury and rage. The power of 
unbridled
passion. She could master that power, if she just stopped resisting it in
herself.
	The sword fell from her fingertips. It clattered on the street. Akane
slid against the wall, slowly lowering herself to the ground. She placed her
head in her hands and wept. She couldn't... she just couldn't go through 
with
it. She needed the kind of power it would give her. If she was ever going to
protect this nation. If she was ever going to defeat Chronos. If she was 
ever
going to stop Chris. She needed that power.
	But she couldn't. She was too weak. She was too human.
	Akane heard the battle around the corner come to a close. Two monsters
turned the corner. Akane looked up. They were zoanoids. Chris had given them 
all
files about them. Descriptions of what they looked like. Descriptions of 
their
powers. But for the life of her, Akane could remember none of that now. They
were just monsters, monsters that served Chronos. They paused when they saw 
this
pathetic human girl, crying against the corner.
	"Hey, look at this..." the one on the right said. "Let's have a little
fun!"
	"We don't have time for this," the other responded.
	"But..." Then it paused, and looked closer. "It's... it's her!"
	"Her?"
	"The Tendo woman!" the thing pointed. "Quick, we have to tell Commander
Gy-"
	Akane blinked. The zoanoid had stopped in mid-word. Its body had frozen.
It looked like a statue of a beast, just standing there in the middle of the
street.
	"Akane..."
	Akane started to her feet.
	"Nabiki!"
	Akane ran towards her sister. She looked like hell. Her hair was mussed
and her clothing was ripped and torn. She was clutching a sword in one hand. 
No,
not just clutching, cradling. She wasn't even looking at Akane. Her eyes 
were
focused on the two zoanoids. Akane was about to throw her arms around the 
other
girl but stopped. Nabiki was sweating, little beads of effort trickling down 
her
brow.
	"Get out of here, meet me around the corner," Nabiki said through
clenched teeth.
	"Nabiki, what are you?"
	"Just go! I can't keep this up forever!"
	"I..." Akane nodded. "Right."
	Akane ran down the block, turning a corner. A moment later Nabiki came
running as well, as if the devil was on her heels. She grabbed Akane and 
walked
up to a door. She twisted the handle and led Akane inside, then slammed it
behind her.
	"Nabiki, what's going on? What happened back there?"
	"A little trick I'm beginning to pick up," Nabiki said idly. She was
leaning against the wall, taking deep breaths. "It.... takes a lot more out 
of
me than I thought it would."
	"Those monsters..."
	"As far as they know, you just vanished." Nabiki looked up, as if she
was listening to something. "We don't have much time. Gyro is already 
sending
more zoanoids here. Lots more. We have to keep moving."
	Akane only nodded as Nabiki led her down to the basement. Nabiki didn't
hesitate, didn't pause for an instant. She opened a grate in the basement 
floor
and led Akane down into the sewers. Nabiki began to move through them at a 
brisk
walk, and Akane followed.
	"What are you doing, Nabiki?"
	"I picked the information out of a sewer worker's mind," Nabiki
explained. "In case I needed to make a quick escape."
	"Picked the information..." Akane trailed off. That sounded entirely too
much like what Chris did for Akane's taste. "What's happened to you, 
Nabiki?"
	Nabiki looked back, but it was impossible to make out her expression in
the gloom. "I wished for it."
	"Wished?"
	Nabiki gestured with her sword. "Three wishes. I got them from this
sword. It's why I stayed in Nerima. Why I didn't leave with Daddy." She 
paused.
"And I wished I could read minds."
	"Psychic?" Akane blinked.
	"Don't worry," Nabiki said. "I wouldn't look in your mind." She chuckled
grimly. "God knows what kind of mental diseases I could pick up from you."
	"Hey!"
	Akane suddenly staggered to a stop. She grabbed Nabiki's sleeve. "You
still have wishes left! You only used one, right?" Akane could feel hope 
welling
within her again.
	Nabiki looked at her. "No. I used two."
	"Two..."
	"Never mind." Nabiki pulled herself free. "I know what you're going to
ask, Akane. I don't need telepathy to do that. The answer is no."
	"But the city, all these people!" Akane grabbed her again, and this time
it wasn't a tender sisterly touch. This time it was an iron grip, like a 
vice.
"You could end it, right? Just one wish and you could end this entire stupid
war!" Nabiki stared at Akane levelly. Akane snarled and slammed her against 
the
wall of the sewer. "Damnit, Nabiki! This isn't a game! People are dying up
there. Real people, with real lives. You have the power to save them!"
	"Don't lecture me about real people, Akane," Nabiki snarled, pushing
Akane back. Akane let go, surprised at Nabiki's sudden resistance more than
actually moved by her strength. "You think I can't feel it? It's impossible 
to
tune out. All this fear and horror and death, it's pounding into my skull 
like a
thousand sledgehammers! I KNOW it's real, Akane. I know it in a way you 
never
will." Then she straightened. "But I have to think in the long term, Akane."
	"The long term..." Akane's temper was rising again, but Nabiki cut her
off.
	"Yes, the long term!" she snapped. "You think this is the worst it's
going to get, Akane? This little war here is NOTHING!" She gestured up at 
the
ceiling. "Up there is a creature with a mind so filled with twisted greed 
and
malice it can't even be called human anymore. That mind happens to be the 
mind
of a man so strong he could shatter this entire city! You've met him, Akane.
Reichmann Gyro. Familiar?"
	"Gyro..." Akane shuddered. She remembered him. His cold, manic laugh.
His deadly incision wave...
	"And he's just the tip of the iceberg." Nabiki looked down. "There are
twelve of them, just like him. Just as strong. I could feel it when two of 
them
battled. I could feel the psychic duel all the way across the city. I 
thought my
head was going to explode. I wanted to tear out my own eyes and die, just to
make it stop." Nabiki looked down. "And then there's Arkanphel..."
	"Arkanphel?" Akane recognized the name. Chris had mentioned it.
	"His power..." Nabiki shuddered. "He makes them seem like ants, Akane."
She looked up. "And I don't think he's the only one. I know he isn't. There 
are
forces in this universe that are so awesome we humans can't begin to 
compare."
Nabiki held up her sword. "And you want me to waste this on one little 
opening
skirmish in the war? Maybe I could wish away all the zoalords. Maybe I could
wish away Arkanphel and Murakumo and a dozen other threats. But there are a
dozen more I don't know about. I can't waste this wish! Not unless 
everything is
on the line!"
	"Nabiki..." Akane was torn. She was making sense. But then again, Chris
had always made sense too. Something in her told her that there had to be
something Nabiki could do. "Can't you just... wish that everyone would be
alright?"
	"It doesn't work that way..." Nabiki said almost too softly. Akane was
about to ask something else but Nabiki cut her off. "It just doesn't!" she
snapped. She took a deep breath and pinched her nose. "Just drop it, Akane.
Unless you want to start breaking my arms you aren't going to get me to 
change
my mind. And I don't think you have it in you."
	Akane hated to admit it, but she was sorely tempted. Instead she sighed
and nodded.
	"Good." Nabiki started down the tunnel again. "Because I didn't just
come here to rescue you." Akane blinked. "Remember, I'm tuned in on all 
Gyro's
commands. He wants you, Akane. He wants to get a hold of you badly. He wants 
to
know how you came back to life. He wants to know what secrets you can tell 
about
the silver crystal." Akane blanched. "He doesn't know I can read him. He 
can't
feel me yet, because I've been subtle. But I know that if he catches you 
he'll
do... things to you. To your body. To your mind. You'll become one of them, 
and
his slave." Nabiki sighed. "He'll make you turn on Sailor Moon, lead him to
her." Akane shuddered.
	"But we have a bigger problem."
	"How is that possible?" Akane groaned.
	Nabiki stopped and looked at Akane. "It's easier if I just show you.
Show you what I saw." Nabiki reached out and grabbed Akane's forehead, and 
Akane
saw.
	It was the memories of a monster. The monster Aptom. His memories of
everything Telulu had done to him. And the memories of the thing inside him. 
The
memories of their mission. Pharaoh 90. The end of the world.
	Akane staggered back, blinking away tears. "What... what was that?"
	"You have to stop it, Akane." Nabiki grabbed her hand and Akane felt her
push something into her palm. "I could feel it the moment I touched these. 
It's
all that's left of Sailor Uranus and Neptune. They... they were meant for 
you."
	Akane looked down at her palm. There were two glittering oval seeds
there. One was a soft aquamarine, the other a hot orangish-yellow. They felt
so... right. It was like a key fitting into a lock. It felt perfect.
	"You can stop Pharaoh 90." Nabiki said, beginning to walk down the left-
hand passage. "But not alone. There's someone you know. Someone else who is
important that needs the other one. Together, you can save the world, 
Akane."
	"Wait, Nabiki, how do you know this?"
	"I..." Nabiki reached up, flexing her hands. "The seeds told me, Akane.
I could feel... something. Something through them." She paused. "You'll need 
to
find Telulu. Aptom was never trusted with the location of her final plan.
There's a woman who can tell you, but she's been captured by Chronos." 
Nabiki
looked down the path. "You better hurry, Akane. When the sun would have 
set...
it will be too late."
	"Nabiki, where are you going?"
	"Away," Nabiki replied shortly.
	A final thought struck Akane. "What about Ryouga? Wasn't he with you?"
	Nabiki stopped dead in her tracks. When she next spoke, it was with a
voice so thick with pain and sorrow that Akane had a hard time believing 
this
was her sister speaking. "He isn't anymore. Go, Akane. Go now!"

*

	"Come out, Mamoru Chiba!" The creature's voice was forced out of
distorted, inhuman vocal chords, and had a gurgling liquid undertone.  But 
the
arrogance in it was as clear as any human's could be.  "Don't think that
building can protect you from me."
	Mamoru stepped out of the door.  The long black cape swept around his
feet.  It was heavy.  In fact, the rented tuxedo was heavy in general, and 
he
had to raise a hand to keep the wind from sweeping the top hat from his 
head.
The whole getup wasn't ill-fitting, but it was hideously impractical.  Had 
his
previous outfit somehow been less restrictive?  Or had he just not noticed?
	The zoanoid had been staring at the upper floors of the building, but
the tendrils on the side of its head twitched as the door swung open, and 
its
gaze dropped to regard him.  The unblinking red eyes seemed to twinkle with
amusement, and the teal armour plates that covered most of its body shifted
slightly as it moved.  A faint hum, like that of electrical equipment,
surrounded the zoanoid; its source were the two giant blades, each a meter 
long,
that took the place of its hands.  The bony material that formed the "stem" 
of
the blades was reminiscent of a claws of a crab, but the edge itself was
impossible to see except as a humming blue blur.
	"How boring." the zoanoid commented. "I thought you'd at least leap from
a balcony."
	Mamoru was sweating under the tuxedo.  Even though the sun had long
since vanished from the sky, it was unseasonably hot.  Or was that 
nervousness?
He fingered the rose in his hand, managing not to react when a thorn pricked 
his
palm.  "And I'm surprised you came alone."
	"Don't underestimate me, human," the creature sneered. "I am no mere
zoanoid, but a member of the elite of Chronos!  A hyper zoanoid, Thancrus!"  
It
crossed the humming blades across its chest. "Lesser zoanoids would merely 
have
slowed me down.  Will you come quietly with me, Mamoru Chiba?  I truly hope 
not.
After the disappointment of the Sailor Senshi as opponents, I have looked
forward to a challenge."
	Mamoru smiled with all the confidence he didn't feel.  "Then I hope we
won't disappoint you."
	At that point, the explosives went off under the monster's feet.  Mamoru
stumbled back a step at the detonation, but the charges had been set to be a
"focused" explosion, and nothing more than a few pieces of debris bounced 
off
his formerly immaculate lapels.
	Unfortunately, Thancrus was hardly any more inconvenienced.  The hyper
zoanoid had landed in a crouch across the street.  The blood-red eyes locked 
on
Mamoru.  One blade dropped low, slicing through the asphalt of the street 
like a
hot knife through butter.  And then it was in motion.
	Or so Mamoru assumed.  In fact, he never saw the attack, and it wasn't
because of the annoying reduction of his peripheral vision from the 
(slightly
lopsided) domino mask.  He literally didn't even see the zoanoid move until 
it
stopped short halfway to Mamoru, just as a hail of bullets screamed through 
the
path it was presumably going to travel.  The creature's head swung to face 
the
source, a low-lying window at another nearby apartment, and then it leaped
backwards gracefully as Marz tried to track his movements with the machine 
gun.
	Mamoru felt a chill run down his spine.  Neither he nor the girls could
hope to match that thing's speed.  It was as fast as Vega had been, and none 
of
them were anywhere near what they had been.  None of them were at Vega's 
level
even back then, either, came the unbidden and unwelcome thought.  But they 
had
to stick to the plan.
	Thancrus was running now, the claws of its feet tearing divots in the
mangled asphalt of the road.  The bullets came close to it, tantalisingly
close, but never quite touching the teal armour.  The hyper zoanoid was
laughing. It could move faster than that.  It was playing with them.
	Well, that at least was going according to the plan. Abruptly, Thancrus
tired of the game and vanished.  Mamoru's eyes relocked onto it just as its
blades tore into the building.  The machine gun fell silent.  Marz had 
assured
him she had predicted its attack vector.  He could only hope she was right.
	Loud cracks echoed over the street, and Thancrus slid to the side like
greased lightning.  One bullet had grazed the hyper zoanoid's armour before 
it
had moved, but only a small dent marked the impact.  Both Thancrus and 
Mamoru
looked up.  At the balcony Mamoru had not jumped from stood Fevrier.  Her 
short
fuchsia hair tossed in the wind as she coolly adjusted her aim and fired her
pistol at the zoanoid again.
	"Useless!" Thancrus sneered.  Five cracks from Fevrier's gun followed,
but the zoanoid didn't bother dodging.  Instead, its blades blurred before 
it,
and there was a sizzling pang as each bullet went flying away, cut precisely 
in
two.
	That was his cue.  Mamoru dashed forward, desperately concentrating on
not tripping on that stupid cape.  He held the rose high.  He wasn't even
looking at Thancrus, but the zoanoid had to have glanced at him.  Between 
his
attention to what he thought was his true opponent and Fevrier's bullets, he 
had
to be distracted...
	"And what's this?" the zoanoid said mildly.  Mamoru looked up.
	Satsuki had leapt from the alleyway as planned, but was now sprawled on
the ground. Her sword lay next to her.  If she had struck at all, she hadn't
even dented the monster's armour plating.  One more bullet from above was
casually swatted from the air like a bothersome fly.  Mamoru's heart sunk, 
even
as he saw Fevrier duck to frantically reload her pistol.  Thancrus had not 
been
distracted enough.
	"Was that your plan, Mamoru Chiba?" the monster laughed.  "To throw
little girls at me?  Pathetic."  Satsuki was scrambling to her feet, 
grabbing
her sword, but Thancrus was raising his own blade.  The zoanoid's lithe but
massive frame, easily over two meters tall, towered over the former Doll.  
"See
the consequences of defiaAUUUUGH!"
	The hyper zoanoid screamed as the elbow joint of its raised arm simply
disintegrated.  The now lifeless blade fell to the ground as it spun.  
"How..."
and then it cut off with another cry of pain as Satsuki took advantage of 
its
distraction to dash in low.  Her blade, which she had proclaimed "adequate"
after she had sliced three concrete blocks in two with it, sunk deep into 
the
back of the creature's knee, where a gap in the armour plates revealed 
tightly-
wound black muscle fibres.  The hyper zoanoid attempted to turn again, but 
its
leg crumpled beneath it and it toppled, yanking the sword from Satsuki's 
hands.
She rolled backwards, barely getting out of the way before Thancrus's 
massive
frame crashed to the street.
	With only one functional arm and leg, the hyper zoanoid struggled
painfully back to a sitting position, levering itself up on the backside of 
its
remaining arm.  "I'll kill you..."
	"No, you won't," Marz said.  She has clambered out of the crumbled ruins
of the window.  A large bruise decorated the side of her face, but she was
smirking.  She held a large pistol in one hand, trained on the zoanoid.
	Thancrus eyed her for a long moment.
	"Don't even try," Fevrier stated.  Both hands grasped the pistol that
had blown off the zoanoid's arm, far larger than the one she had first shot
with.  "In your current condition, we'll kill you before you can even 
attempt to
attack."
	Mamoru blinked.  That wasn't part of the plan.  Satsuki was also staring
at Fevrier, and Marz glanced slightly at her before returning her attention 
to
the enemy.  Marz was supposed to be the distraction that let Fevrier land 
the
decisive second hit.  But now the zoanoid was fully focused on her.
	"Impossible!" snarled Thancrus.  "You're... you're just humans!"
	"Humans who have defeated you," Fevrier stated simply.  "Transform,
zoanoid.  Go back to your human form, pick up your bleeding carcass, and 
limp
away from here. Don't give me time to change my mind and kill you here and 
now."
	Thancrus snarled, but Marz took a single step forward.  "All right!"
His form blurred, collapsing in upon itself with a disgusting wet sucking 
sound,
punctuated by a clang as the sword fell to the ground.  The human Thancrus
glared at them.  He was a small, weedy Japanese man, not rendered any more
impressive by his lack of an arm or clothing.  "Don't you think I'll forget
this!  Enemies of Chronos end up-" he broke off with a yelp as one of Marz's
bullets impacted the ground next to his head.
	"We don't care!" she explained cheerfully.  "Now run along like a good
little whipped dog."
	When the limping, naked Thancrus had vanished down the street, Mamoru
was nearly knocked down as Marz jumped into his arms, giving him one of her 
all-
too-familiar bone-crushing hugs.  "Oh, Mamoru dear!  You were perfect!  So
dashing!  The zoanoid didn't suspect a thing!"
	"Are you unharmed, sir Mamoru?" a tentative voice asked.  Satsuki wasn't
actually touching him, but was hovering solicitously so close to him that it 
was
somehow just as uncomfortable.
	"I'm fine," he said , levering Marz off him.  "How about you, Marz?
That's a nasty bruise."
	She blinked, then laughed.  "Oh, that?  Absolutely nothing, Mamoru dear.
I simply slightly miscalculated the vectors of his probable attack pattern."
Her eyes gleamed naughtily.  "But for you to be so concerned for me..."
	"Yes, yes," he interrupted hastily before she could try to force herself
on him again.  He turned a suspicious eye on her. "Speaking of that... since 
the
fight's over... what was the ACTUAL chance that plan had of working?  Just 
out
of curiosity?"
	Marz smiled brightly.  "Oh, Mamoru, you're so suspicious.  Just like I
told you, there was an eighty-six percent probability of us all emerging 
more or
less unharmed, and-"
	"Sixteen percent was what you said to us," Satsuki interrupted softly.
Marz's smile froze.
	"Satsuki, you idiot!  That wasn't what I told you to... uh..." she
trailed off and looked nervously back at Mamoru.  "Well, it worked and we're 
all
here, right Mamoru dear?  What's a few percentage points matter now?"
	"You..." Mamoru sighed.  He should have guessed. "No computer hacking
for a week. Do combat practice instead."
	Marz's mouth dropped in dismay.  "But..."
	Satsuki was suddenly sidling beside her, smiling ever-so-slightly. "I
think that's probably best.  I mean, if your aim had been better, he could 
have
been lured further to the right, closer to my ambush point."
	"But Mamoru deaaaar..." Marz protested, then her voice trailed off at
his gaze, which he was trying to make as stony as possible.  She kicked a 
rock
sullenly.  "It's not fair!  Fevrier departed from the plan more than I did,
anyway..."
	"Don't blame me for your incompetence, Marz," Fevrier snapped as she
drew near them.
	"Though it's a good question," Satsuki noted. "Why did you let the
zoanoid live?  That was unusual for you."
	"I guess Fevrier's getting soft," Marz noted cattily.
	"Shut up!" Fevrier snapped.
	"Stop teasing her," Mamoru ordered, feeling - as was not uncommon - as
if he were managing a children's daycare.  "There's nothing wrong with not
killing when it's not necessary.  In fact, I think it was very brave of you 
to
let him go, Fevrier."  He turned and smiled at her, then paused.  "But are 
you
all right?"
	Fevrier was pale and sweating, a fact hidden somewhat by the angry blush
that had covered her features.  "D- don't insult me!"
	He blinked. "What?"
	"I didn't let that thing live on purpose!"  She painfully raised one
hand.  "The recoil of the first shot fractured my wrist.  I wasn't sure I 
could
follow any movement it made, so I needed to bluff it into thinking it'd 
lost."
	"Oh dear," Satsuki said. "I guess that pistol was intended for
metanormal use.  Well, Marz said it was experimental when we stole it from 
the
Shadowloo base."
	Mamoru rushed forward and began examining Fevrier's arm, then suddenly
looked at her suspiciously.  "Fevrier, how did you get down here so 
quickly?"
	"I... that is..." her angry expression wavered slightly, then returned
in full force with its usual dose of stubbornness. "I climbed down the fire
escape."
	"With a broken wrist?" he snapped, feeling his patience fray again. "Why
do something so stupid?  The danger was over!"
	"I was just checking to see if you were, I mean, if the situation was
secured!" she declared back, face still flushed with anger... or something.
	Mamoru felt a headache coming on.  Or perhaps it was the stupid hat.  He
tore it off his head and tossed it to the side, then ran one hand irritably
through his damp hair.  Damn, this tuxedo was stuffy.  "We'll need to 
bandage
this up tight.  Satsuki, could you go get the bandages?" A quick nod of 
assent
and Satsuki was dashing	towards the apartment.  He considered telling 
Fevrier
she was banned from target practice, but considering the condition of her 
wrist,
she couldn't do that anyway.  She still wasn't back at the level where she 
could
fire a gun with her off-hand, much to her irritation.
	"Getting a lot of attention from Mamoru dear there, Fevrier," Marz said
slyly, stepping closer.  "My head is really starting to hurt, actually, now 
that
I think about it..."
	"Shut up!" Fevrier snarled again. "Stop being foolish and go start
packing up.  We'll need to be out of here before Chronos can send a second
force."
	Marz laughed lightly and began sashaying back to the apartment.  Fevrier
was glaring ferociously at the back of the other ex-Doll, but her voice 
suddenly
emerged, taut and controlled.  "Hey, wuss.  You are all right, aren't you?"
	Mamoru sighed, but then he suddenly found himself grinning.  The former
Dolls might argue like children, but they'd certainly made life more
interesting.  And even though they were all now at far more human levels, 
they'd
still faced one of the monsters... and won decisively.  No matter how tragic 
the
events of this day were, he suddenly felt a lot better about the future. 
"Yeah.
I'm fine, actually."
	"Good."

*


	Akira retreated as Gan finally arrived. The massive green-clothed man
was like a living mountain. With a loud shout and a single thrust of one of 
his
shovel-sized hands, he sent a dozen zoanoids flying. Then a dozen more. He 
could
hold the gap in the wall, especially with Edge to provide ranged support and
keep them from flanking him. Akira herself had to leave: she would be needed
elsewhere.
	There were going to be other fires. Zoanoids that had broken through the
lines. Wounded that had to be covered while they could be evacuated into the
school. Thrusts that had to be parried. Feints that had to be countered. She
moved, running towards the closest disaster. Her body was aching all over, 
but
she continued on. It was like there was an infinite spring of power in her, 
a
well she could tap without limit. Her body was moving purely on the power of 
her
chi now. It had long ago exhausted every other reserve she had. But no 
matter
how endless it seemed now, she knew her power wouldn't last forever.
	But she had to hold out. Hold out long enough for the tide to turn.
	That had been the plan. She was going to be defence. Daigo was supposed
to be offence. She had lost track of him a long time ago. She could only 
hope he
knew what he was doing, that he could turn the tide of the battle somehow. 
As it
stood, they were going to lose. The zoanoids just kept coming. Worse, they
fought intelligently, with feints and flanking and even more advanced 
tactics.
They had artillery and air support. The best the humans could do was endure.
	Akira came to the latest war zone, and had no more time for idle
thought. A cadre of the bio-laser zoanoids were on a building across the
street, firing with impunity into the schoolyard. The wall had been blown to
shreds and the defenders were pinned down by the larger and faster 
skirmishers.
As she watched, one ripped a boy who couldn't have been older than twelve in
half. She resisted the urge to avenge him. Akira wanted to help the 
students,
but her priority had to be those snipers.
	She grit her teeth. She couldn't think about the people she couldn't
save. She had to think about the people who would die if she failed. She 
flashed
out of the school. The monsters were reaching for her. She snapped her hand 
up,
deflecting one paw. The other hand caught a beast by the shoulder. She 
levered
up over it, and landed on the back of one of the big green ones. It tried to
shrug her off, but she pushed down viciously with both feet, knocking it 
down
and sending herself rocketing over the head of the others. One of the flying
ones was directly in her path, and it smiled, thinking it had her. It opened 
its
mouth, ready to unleash one of its sonic screams, but Akira thrust her hand
forward and roared. A blast of blue light erupted from her. It didn't travel
far, extending her reach maybe a half-meter, but it was enough. The strike
caught the monster completely off-guard, knocking it back and down.
	Akira continued forward, and as she fell she grabbed the plummeting
zoanoid. She tucked her legs up, close to her chest and pushed down with all 
her
might on the falling monster. Once again there was a flash of blue light and
then she was flying up and across the street again. The creatures below 
could
only stare as Akira deftly cleared their entire army.
	She landed on the roof, skidding along the tar-covered tiles, and the
zoanoids turned to face her. One had a blast ready, but foolishly 
snap-shotted.
She dug her fingers into the tile, halting her movement, and the blasts blew 
a
crater into the roof where she would have been a fraction of a second later.
Akira was already moving in low and fast towards them. Two tried to meet her 
in
unarmed combat. Her right hand deflected one's clumsy blow and caved in its
throat with a single motion. Her left hand caught the other's wrist and 
jerked
the thing to the ground. Akira ran up its falling body, twisting its arm
and spun-kicked into a third, sending it flying over the side.
	When she landed, the remaining three zoanoids had backed off. She
frowned. They weren't trying to charge up their ranged attacks. Something 
was
wrong. That's when Akira heard the loud electric hum behind her.
	She moved, not even sure which way she was dodging. It wasn't quite
enough. Something soft stroked the sole of her boot and white hot pain arced 
up
her leg, through her chest and straight into her brain. She fell to the 
ground,
moaning.
	"Heh. That was better than I expected," the electric voice of the leader
zoanoid murmured. Akira rolled away from it, managing to come up in a 
defensive
stance. She took long breaths, trying to control her chi, draw it into the
damaged areas. The eel-like zoanoid floated just off the edge of the roof, 
his
long tentacles flailing around him. "You've been quite a nuisance, girl. But 
I
figure once I deal with you, the tide of this battle will turn quite 
quickly."
	"A trap...?" Akira hissed. The creature inclined its head slightly, as
if trying to smile with its hideous inhuman lamprey mouth.
	"Astute as well," the zoanoid said and floated forward. "I am Elegen, an
elite hyper zoanoid. Now you know why you humans can't hope to defeat us. We
have all your strengths, all your skills. We surpass you in every way!"
	Akira took a long breath and slowly rotated her arms about her body. She
had to find her focus. The aura around that thing was deadly. She would need 
all
her power, every ounce of her remaining chi, just to keep up. She finished 
her
centring kata and opened her eyes to face it, one hand held up towards it, 
the
other balanced just behind her. She raised her fingers and motioned Elegen
forward.
	He didn't disappoint her. She flipped and spun and slid away from him,
always keeping just barely out of reach of his snapping tendrils. Yet there 
was
nothing she could do. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck 
standing
up just from his aura. Every time she tried to move in, it began to snap and
spark around her. She had struck at him once. The air had flashed white and 
she
had screamed. Her body had locked rigid. She had felt her heart stop. She 
could
smell her flesh cooking. His tendrils had snapped in towards her, to finish 
her
off.
	Somehow she had thrown herself back, but even now her arm refused to
move right. Her steps were staggering. Elegen laughed at her, hovering just 
out
of the range of her chi blasts. She clenched her fists. Even they would do
little good. Her power grew too weak at range. She needed to get in close,
practically touching him, to deliver enough force to defeat him.
	Akira knew she was losing, but could scarcely believe it when she
realised she didn't care. Because she knew she wasn't going to lose. She was
going to survive. She was going to win. She began to laugh. It was a low, 
happy
chuckle.
	"Why are you laughing?" the hyper zoanoid snapped, beginning to float
closer.
	"Because I'm going to survive," Akira explained.
	"What makes you think that?" Elegen's tendrils were snapping angrily
around him.
	"Because I made a promise." She gestured for him to come forward again
and he obliged. Akira didn't even try to dodge. She would only have one shot 
at
this. He might strike her, but taking him out at the same time seemed a fair
trade. She began to gather her power, all her power, focusing it on the palm 
of
her hand. A blast like this, it would take down Elegen, and probably the
building they were on too.
	"I have you!" the monster screeched and his tendrils began to spin and
coil around her body. She shifted so that he caught all of her limbs but 
one. It
would be enough. There was a loud whine, like a turbine powering up. Akira
began to thrust...
	And then something long and silver passed between them. Elegen screamed
and fell back. Akira stumbled and curled her palm into a fist, forcibly
reabsorbing her chi. It hit her like a wave of warm water, flooding up 
through
her body. Akira glanced to the right, towards the school, and saw a long 
slim
katana embedded in the tile of the roof. Around her feet the severed 
tendrils of
Elegen twitched a few times on the ground. The purple zoanoid was staggering
back, the last few feet of his tendrils spasming wildly.
	Then Akira looked left and saw the person who had saved her.
	Akira barely recognised her. Even if she had only met her briefly, even
if she barely knew her, Akira knew something in Akane had changed. She stood 
on
a slightly higher rooftop, her body partially silhouetted by the black hole 
sun.
She wore the same skirt and leggings with yellow blouse as before, but it 
was
now rumpled and burnt, covered in filth here and there. Her shoulder-length
black hair flicked in the wind, the long bangs held out of her eyes by a 
length
of purple fabric that looked like it had been torn off some larger garment
instead of her hairband from earlier.
	"I think you're looking for me," Akane said in a loud but calm voice.
	"It's... it's you!" Elegen snapped. He snarled. "Get her! Everyone!"
	Suddenly the entire zoanoid army had turned. The students in the school
found themselves staring at the retreating backs of the beasts as they spun 
en
masse and charged towards Akane. Akane turned and looked at Akira. Their 
eyes
met.
	Akira nodded.
	Akane vanished as she leapt behind the building.
	Elegen began to run past her, completely ignoring Akira now. Akira let
him go. Instead she walked calmly over to the sword. She pulled it free of 
the
roof and turned to face where Akane had vanished. Hundreds of zoanoids, 
maybe
even a thousand, swarmed the streets as the chase began. Akira frowned and 
leapt
to the street. She had to find her brother. She needed his bike.

*

	Zoicite was shaking. He couldn't help it. His knees felt like they were
made of jelly. Yet every step he made was with leaden feet. He swore he 
could
feel the echoes of his own footfalls.
	Kunzite was in front of him, moving with easy calm. His white cape
fluttered behind him, Zoicite was suddenly caught by a sense of deja vu. It 
had
been just like this the last time he had come to this place. Then, he had 
been
certain his queen was going to have him killed for gross incompetence. This
time, he was certain that his queen was going to have him killed for 
disobeying
a direct order.
	It had been rather simple. Just leave Ukyou Kuonji alone. Zoicite had
not intended to break the rule. He had travelled half a planet away from the
woman to ensure that he would have no contact with her. Then, she just fell 
into
his lap. Even then, he had planned on sneaking away as quickly as possible. 
But
she had penetrated his disguise like he wasn't even wearing it. Then she had
humiliated him. She had tormented him with her power and treated him like a
lapdog.
	Zoicite could not stand it. He had betrayed her to the two forces
seeking her out. He had disobeyed his queen's direct order. Oh, he could 
claim
that it was Ukyou who had stumbled into his life. He could claim he had 
obeyed
the letter of the order, if not the spirit. He could come up with flimsy
justifications and excuses for days, and would if called upon. He rather 
doubted
he would have a chance.
	"Zoicite, you shouldn't worry," Kunzite said, pausing just before the
doors to Beryl's old audience chamber. Zoicite found it strange that Tethys
would call for them to attend her there, after all the effort she had put 
into
dispelling the idea she was going to be just like the old ruler. "I will 
protect
you, if it comes to that."
	Zoicite wanted to ask how, but kept his mouth shut. If Kunzite was
willing to throw himself in front of Tethys' wrath for him, then Zoicite
wouldn't stop him. He would mourn. But he wouldn't stop him.
	The doors opened and they marched down the aisle towards the dais.
Zoicite was surprised at what he saw there. Humans, dozens... no, hundreds 
of
them. Large humans, small humans, humans of all shapes and sizes. They were
milling about idly, most of them looking stunned or shell-shocked. Some of 
them
had the presence of mind to be afraid. None of them got in Kunzite's way, 
and
Zoicite followed crisply in his wake.
	Nephrite was standing at the head of them. His long brown hair fell in
cascades down past his shoulders, and he was staring at the floor. His arms 
were
crossed, his mouth a thin slit. He didn't even acknowledge the arrival of 
his
fellow generals.
	Zoicite only glanced at him for a moment before turning his eyes to
Tethys. The queen looked different, even more different than before. Her 
skin
had grown more pale, a shade of blue that verged on white. Her hair was an 
even
deeper blue to make up for it, a blue that reflected the light so that 
shining
highlights played through it. Her face was more defined now, more human, 
with an
aquiline nose and lips the color of sapphires. Her eyes were human, with 
irises
that were the same black as the deep ocean, where no light could penetrate.
Those eyes fixed on Zoicite for a moment, and Zoicite trembled. Then they 
moved
on. There was something ancient in those eyes now. Something terrible. This 
was
not the same woman who had sent him away only a short weeks ago.
	Tethys wore an elaborate dress, the sleeves clinging tightly to her arms
before exploding into lacy cuffs that hid much of her hands from view.
Similarly, the top of the dress clung almost indecently to her torso, so 
much so
that Zoicite could make out the shape of her nipples under the fabric. The
neckline dipped down to just between the breasts, but no further. The skirt 
was
folded and creased to ripple down her legs like a cascade of waves, with a 
long
slit up one side that parted to reveal her long, shapely thighs when she 
moved.
On her brow she wore a golden tiara with that strange crescent and lightning
symbol she favored.
	"Good, you're all here," she said simply, moving to stand in front of
the throne where Beryl had once held court. "Then let's get straight to the
business at hand. I'd linger longer, but I'm afraid I have some family 
business
to take care of soon."
	"So this is it, then?" Nephrite grumbled. "The moment of judgment, so
to speak?"
	"Yes." Tethys turned to look at him with her ancient, powerful eyes and
even he couldn't repress the quiver that ran up his spine when they focused 
on
him. "So let's start with you, Nephrite." Tethys gestured behind the 
generals,
to the collection of humanity milling about the throne chamber. "I told you 
to
go out into the world and do something for me. You... did not much of 
anything.
Except you saved a large number of humans from the chaos in Tokyo."
	"Yes... yes, my queen." Nephrite sighed. "I have spent my time
meditating on the stars, trying to understand what the future holds for us. 
I
have spent many hours trying to figure out what this new kind of war you 
plan on
making us wage will be. I have to admit that answers have not been easily
forthcoming."
	"I see... then why should I spare you?"
	Nephrite opened his mouth but no answer came out. He just stared at her.
Tethys seemed to sigh, and began to raise her hand.
	"My queen, if I may?"
	Zoicite looked up as a new voice broke into the conversation. A human
boy had stepped forward, right into the midst of the four of them. He was
startled both by the boy's bravado, and his beauty. He was like a Greek 
statue
come to life. His face was regal and fine-featured, with fluid lips and a
delicate nose. His eyes were intense blue and framed by wide lashes. His 
long
red hair fell around his shoulders, with one lighter, almost translucent 
lock
draped roguishly in front of his left eye. He wore a fine-tailored uniform 
of
white with gold trim and knotted ropes around it. It made him look like a
prince. Zoicite could only stare at him, his fingers tapping the side of his
chin as he smiled.
	"Don't overlook what your man Nephrite has delivered to you," the boy
said with a smooth, almost rehearsed cadence. "We may be mere humans, with 
no
magical powers, and all refugees at that. But if treated well, we can be
exceptional allies. You will find no better case study of humanity than this
cross-section here. And if trained and equipped properly, they will be 
effective
servants in your kingdom." He bowed slightly. "All we ask is a chance to 
survive
and prosper. Nephrite had the foresight to see how this would aid you."
	"Did he now?" Tethys smiled slightly, looking the boy up and down. "Is
this true, Nephrite?"
	"Um... yes?"
	"Good enough, then." Tethys turned to Zoicite, and Zoicite looked
anywhere but at her eyes. "Zoicite." The voice was like a crashing wave. 
"You...
I should have expected, of the three, that you would be the only one to 
disobey
me. You think I didn't learn of your adventures? How you taunted the girl 
Ukyou,
perhaps even turned her against us? Do you know what she is, Zoicite?" There 
was
a pause. "DO YOU?"
	"N-no..." Zoicite quivered. Tethys' eyes bore into his and Zoicite
hastily added, "My queen."
	"She is a force not to be trifled with." Tethys turned around. "Because
of what you did, because of your actions alone... she now carries the weapon 
of
Sailor Saturn, the Silence Glaive."
	Kunzite stiffened. Nephrite sucked in a breath. Zoicite, for his part,
could not get more afraid than he was now. He made a valiant effort, 
however.
	"Of all the people on Earth," Tethys said slowly, "the one who could
most upset my plan is her." She let out a long breath. "But that is neither 
here
nor there." She turned back to Zoicite and raised her hand. "What do you 
have to
say in your defense, Zoicite?"
	"I..." Zoicite stared into the face of oblivion. He could beg for mercy.
He could try to excuse himself. He could fight stupidly. But none of that 
would
matter. Zoicite wanted to live. "I can't say anything to defend what I did." 
He
stood up, proudly. "I won't say anything. I did what I had to do. It wasn't 
my
fault Ukyou arrived where she did. And so what if I attacked her? She 
threatened
me, threatened you! I had to try and deal with her! She was a fool for 
letting
me go, and a greater fool for threatening me!" Zoicite clenched his fists. 
"My
only regret is that she lived!"
	Tethys looked at Zoicite for a moment. Then she smiled a small, secret
smile. "Very well." She lowered her hands. "You live."
	Zoicite had too much dignity to swoon. He settled for merely returning
to a quivering wreck, but from relief rather than fear this time.
	Tethys, meanwhile, had moved on to Kunzite. "And you?"
	Kunzite placed one hand before him, palm up. A swirling ball of white
light appeared. It was so bright that Zoicite could not look at it. He could
feel its power, however. It was ten times, no... a hundred times stronger 
than
any power Zoicite had ever felt before. It was pure concentrated life force, 
the
likes of which he hadn't seen since the height of the Silver Millennium.
	"I have been gathering power from the humans of this world," Kunzite
explained. "From the places where nobody looks. The villages of the African
deserts, the steppes of Russia. I have gathered here enough power to fuel 
our
Dark Kingdom for a hundred years."
	"Is that it?" Tethys said, sounding disinterested.
	Kunzite frowned. "Yes. It took me a great deal of effort to gather this
much power without any of the forces in this world noticing. With this much
power, we could shatter mountains."
	"I see." Tethys shrugged. "I don't need more power, Kunzite. You better
defend yourself well, or I'll have you killed."
	Kunzite smiled. "Very well, my queen... how about... THIS!" He thrust
his palm forward and the ball suddenly snapped out at her. Zoicite gasped. 
He
had never seen a spell cast that fast before. Converting all that ambient 
energy
into destructive force in an instant was no easy task. The ball streaked in
towards Tethys, who had enough time to raise a single eyebrow before the 
blast
erupted all around her. The entire throne room shuddered, pieces of rubble
detaching from the ceiling. The humans screamed and bolted and clung to the
walls. As the light cleared, the only thing left where Tethys was standing 
was a
crater almost ten meters across and a large cloud of vapour so thick it 
blocked
off all sight.
	"I learned that sometimes, one must grab opportunity when it presents
itself," Kunzite sneered. "It took me days to prepare that energy. Carefully
constructing it so that it would transform from harmless essence to 
dangerous
power in an instant." He turned to Zoicite. "I told you, you had nothing to
fear."
	"Kunzite, Kunzite, Kunzite..."
	The oldest and strongest general spun, his cape fluttering around him.
His mouth dropped open in shock. Tethys was walking out of the mist. There
wasn't so much as a scorch mark on her.
	"You always were dumb, Kunzite. Pretty, but dumb," she said. "I told you
there were only two things I would not forgive: treachery and gross
incompetence. You, I'm afraid, are guilty of both."
	"H-how? That's impossible!" He threw up his hands. "That amount of
energy would have blown through any spell Beryl could have used to shield
herself! Only Metallia at the zenith of her power could have withstood such 
an
attack!"
	Tethys smiled. "Metallia is not as frightening as her reputation would
have led you to believe." She looked down at her hands. "It was a very 
difficult
battle, I'll admit. Even if she wasn't able to will me out of existence, she 
put
up a terrific struggle. Sealed and weakened and almost dead after what Queen
Serenity did to her, she was still almost more than a match for me." She 
held
out her hand towards Kunzite, who could only stare in shock. "And that's how 
I
won. Because of what you are doing right now. You are just waiting for me to
strike the final blow, aren't you? Your plans failed, your ultimate attack 
was
nullified... and now you have nothing left. So you just wait for the mercy 
of
death. I thought at first that she had built us that way deliberately. That 
we
were designed flawed, so that we could never rise up against her.
	"But I was wrong. What use did she have for such a massive flaw in her
army, when she had the power of a god over our very existence? No. The 
answer
was more insidious. She did not realise that we had all been built that way,
because that flaw had also been made into her. Oh, we fought a great battle, 
but
all I had to do was endure. In time, she ran out of attacks, out of gambits.
Every time I survived, she lost a bit more of her will to fight. In the end, 
she
wasn't even trying to defend herself. She screamed defiance to the end, but 
she
let me consume her.
	"Because that is how she was built. Her mother, her father... whatever
you wish to call it: it is Chaos. It is a force of darkness born in the 
hearts
of every evil deed a man has ever committed. It feeds on conflict, on war, 
on
struggle. So it created Metallia, and all her brothers and sisters and 
seeded
the universe with us." She chuckled. "So that we could draw out champions. 
So
that we could wage fantastic wars and Chaos could feed. We were all, each 
and
every one of us, designed not to WIN wars... but only to fight them. To 
cause
them."
	Tethys eyes narrowed. "That ends now."
	With a snap of her fingers, Kunzite simply exploded.
	She looked at the assembled horde. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my brother
is about to arrive uninvited. I must be there to greet him properly."

*

	The door opened once more, letting in an intense stream of light.
Kunikida held up his hand to block out as much as he could. A woman stumbled
into the darkness, the two massive green zoanoids that had been holding her
chuckling evilly. Between them was a tall eel-like monster with dark purple
skin. The blinding corona of light was coming from it. The woman staggered
across the room and braced herself against the wall.
	"You led us on a nice chase, girl," the eel zoanoid said in a voice
distorted by a buzz like a transformer. "But don't even think of escaping. 
This
room is surrounded by zoanoids on all sides. Any attempt to escape and we 
will
be forced to take... measures." The thing snickered, prompting its two huge
compatriots to break out into harsh braying laughter. "I don't know what
Commander Gyro wants with you, but he only said to take you alive. Intact 
was
optional."
	The door slid closed again. Kunikida stood up and walked over to the
newcomer. Her short black hair was rising and falling as she took deep 
calming
breaths. There were bruises up and down the length of her arm and her blouse 
was
torn here and there.
	"Are you okay?" he asked.
	"I'm fine," she replied. She turned to look at him, her black eyes
flashing in the darkness. "But I don't have much time. I'm very sorry to be
rude, but I'm looking for a woman who was captured by Chronos. She's tall, 
with
long brown hair she wears in a ponytail, and she calls herself Azuma. Have 
you
seen her?"
	Kunikida didn't look over to where the woman was. But he could feel the
eyes of his ex-friend on his back now. They bored into him from behind.
	"Why are you looking for her?"
	"I need her help." The woman, who Kunikida could now see had to be no
older than Momiji, sounded serious. She also looked very familiar. Kunikida 
was
certain he had seen her somewhere before. It was like when he met one of 
those
tiresome politicians. The ones that you constantly see across the room at
parties but thankfully never get the pleasure of actually being introduced 
to.
	"Wait a minute..." Yaegashi looked up. "How can you be looking for
someone? You were captured, just like us, weren't you?"
	"No." The young woman looked down, at something she was carrying in her
palm. Kunikida could make out a small pair of lights there. Then she clasped 
her
hand again, cutting the light off. "I let myself be captured. I need to 
speak
with her, and I didn't have time to waste searching. This was just the 
quickest
way."
	"You're... you're serious?" Yaegashi was dumbfounded.
	"Who are you?" Ryoko asked, cutting straight to the point like always.
	"My name is Akane Tendo," she introduced herself.
	"You're the one they're looking for!" Yaegashi burst out.
	"You're... Ukyou's friend," Kunikida murmured.
	"You know Ukyou?"
	"Well enough..." He paused. "We worked together, for awhile."
	"Listen, we only have a few hours left. Is Azuma here or not? If she
isn't... then I need to get out of here before Gyro shows up."
	Kunikida stepped aside and pointed at the tall scientist. Akane nodded
her thanks and walked across the room to her. She stood over the woman for a
long moment. Azuma just stared back up at her, an amused smile on her face.
	"You know why I'm here," Akane said simply.
	"Of course," Azuma replied snidely. "But don't expect I'll help you just
because you ask."
	Akane took another deep breath, and her form seemed to loosen. She knelt
down, placing her eyes level with the woman whom Kunikida had called friend. 
She
reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Matsudaira... Azusa. This
doesn't have to end this way."
	"Don't call me that!" Azuma angrily slapped Akane's hand away. Akane's
hand halted in mid-air and curled into a fist. Then it loosened and she let 
it
fall to her side. But she never once lost eye contact with the other woman.
	"I know what you're going through," Akane said. "I've seen it. My sister
showed me." Akane opened her palms and Azuma gasped at the lights there.
	"Those are..." she trailed off.
	"The star seeds. Aptom is dead. My sister survived the attack, but
before she did she saw into his heart. She showed me what she saw there. 
I've
seen what the demon is doing to your mind. I know how it can twist and 
pervert
every good thing inside you. How it snakes into your thoughts, whispering 
dark
things only you can hear. But that isn't you, Azusa."
	"You... deluded little girl," Azuma stood up, forcing Akane to retreat.
"Do you think showing me the corpses of the Sailor Senshi changes anything?
Aptom was never meant to survive. Before he was even sent on his mission,
everything was in place for this day." She smirked. "Everything, everything
since the beginning of time has been building up to this moment."
	"Listen to her, Azusa!" Kunikida shouted. "This isn't the answer you've
been looking for!"
	Akane glanced at him, then stood up and faced Azuma. "You're right."
Kunikida and Azuma both stopped, stunned by her words. "I've seen it. I've 
been
to the other side and back. I think I saw it there... Call it God. Call it
Buddha. I saw the thing that exists in a state so perfect that it can not 
even
be fully remembered in this profane realm." Akane clasped her hands around 
the
star seeds. "Ever since I have come back, I have felt its hand on me. I've 
seen
the world moving according to its plan. I KNOW that this is destiny." Akane
lowered her head. "It's huge. It's bigger than you can imagine. It is fate. 
It
is purpose beyond anything we understand. Against it, we are nothing. 
Against
it, we'll be like dust on the wind."
	Akane snapped her head up, and suddenly she was rimmed by a soft red
glow. It cast a fiery light on everything in the room, reflecting in Azuma's
brown eyes. "And I don't care!" She walked right up next to Azuma, pushing 
the
taller woman against the wall. "My name is Akane Tendo! I am not a pawn! I
refuse! I once told a man that I did not want to know the future, because I
intend to write my own. This is the moment where I start doing that! If God
himself wants to strike me down, he better start, because I'm not going to 
stand
by while the world tears itself apart anymore."
	She reached out and latched onto Azuma's arm. "YOU can choose your own
destiny, Azusa! We all can. You didn't choose to be like this. You had your 
will
stolen from you by a demon. But you have a choice. You can fight it. Nothing 
can
take your soul from you. Nothing! If you believe you can fight this thing, 
you
can! The only way you lose your soul is if you choose to let it go!"
	"I..." Azuma faltered. "You don't know what you're dealing with, little
girl..."
	"I know exactly what I'm dealing with." Akane stood back. "You have to
make a choice, Azusa Matsudaira. Take the easy road, or struggle and fight 
and
perhaps lose it all."
	She was doing it, Kunikida saw. He stared in wonder. Who was this girl?
What was this power she had? It wasn't the strength of chi. He had seen 
Ukyou
and Ranma and a dozen others use that power. This was something deeper, more
primal. It wasn't magic. It wasn't something mystic or arcane.
	Was this the strength of conviction? Kunikida looked down at his own
hands. He had known what that power felt like, once. The strength that came 
from
truly believing that what you were doing was the right thing. That you were
fighting evil. That you could make a difference with your own hands. He had 
lost
that, somewhere along the way. He had lost it to age and a life of 
bureaucracy
and compromise. He had lost it in the face of a world that grew darker and 
more
dangerous with each day.
	He had lost it when he had watched his daughter die...
	No.
	He had lost it when he had went beneath the earth with a loaded gun,
prepared to kill her.
	He raised his head, and saw that the power of Akane's words had affected
everyone else. Even Koume, who was barely conscious with her injuries, was
sitting up and taking notice. Azuma could only stare at Akane, rattled to 
the
bone by her sheer presence.
	"NO!" Azuma shrieked. Her hand came up, so fast that you could barely
follow it. She was holding something there, some kind of weapon. Akane was 
too
close to see it. Too close to do anything about it. Kunikida made his 
choice. He
would do something with his own hands.
	He grabbed Akane from behind and threw her to the side. Even as he did
the hand came up and pointed at him.
	"CHEMICAL BUSTER!"

*

	"DAITETSU!"
	Akane looked up, then looked away again quickly. Her stomach churned.
She saw a woman running towards the man, but the man with the glasses jumped 
in
front of her, trying to wrestle her back. She was struggling, however. Soon 
she
would overpower him.
	"RYOKO! There's nothing you can do for him!"
	"Let me go, Yaegashi!" she screamed, tears burning down her cheeks as
she reached over her shoulder towards the smoking form that lay on the 
floor.
	"You'll only hurt yourself!" he responded, and with one last heave he
sent her stumbling back. She collapsed against the side of the room, her 
eyes
never leaving the gruesome image in the center of it.
	Harsh sobs began to fill the chamber, and for a moment Akane was
confused. Ryoko seemed heart-broken, but she was just crying silently, her 
face
a mask of anguish. Then Akane turned to see Azuma. She was curled into a 
ball in
front of the body. The sobs came from her. Akane stood up and walked over. 
She
laid a hand on her shoulder.
	"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shrieked and snapped her arm up. Akane caught it
in a grip as strong as steel but as soft as silk. She twisted the end of the
lethal weapon away from her. Azuma stared up at her, her brown eyes 
shimmering.
"Let me go... just let me go... oh god... I'll hurt you, too... let me 
go..."
	Akane was sickened. She was angry. She was scared. But none of that
showed on her face as she smiled. "I forgive you." She pulled Azuma to her 
feet.
The gesture stunned the woman, who could only stare. "Now come on. We have 
to
get out of here."
	Azuma nodded dumbly. Akane wrapped her fingers around the other woman's
hand, clasping it like she would that of a childhood friend. She turned to 
the
other three captives. "Follow me. Stay close. One of you will have to carry 
the
injured woman."
	"The hell with that..." The woman with the red hair began to lever
herself up. She only had one good arm, the other was in a makeshift splint. 
And
when she stood up one of her legs refused to stop shaking. But her eyes 
fixed on
Akane. "Nobody is carrying me! If we're making a break for it, I do it on my 
own
two feet."
	Akane smiled and nodded. Then she turned to the door. "Azusa, can you
use any of your powers?"
	"I... I don't think... I don't want to touch..."
	"It's okay." Akane took a deep breath. "Everyone stay close."
	The door wall exploded out with a single kick. She was moving before the
splinters had even stopped falling. Elegen had been true to his word. There 
were
dozens of zoanoids in the hallway. They were those big green horned-lizard 
ones,
and a few of the smaller ape-men. The first one was caught off-guard. Her 
fist
doubled it over. She kneed it back, sending it sprawling down the hall. She
turned and pivoted, launching her foot upward. It caught one of the green 
ones
on the chin. The thing flew up into the ceiling.
	Then Akane was past them and her elbow blew another hole in the wall.
There were more zoanoids here. They were not so surprised. She screamed and
struck out. It was just like back at the school, a million years ago when it 
had
still just been her and Kunou and dozens of stupid boys. The monsters were 
much
stronger than that crowd of jocks and geeks had ever been, but Akane was 
much
stronger too.
	She burst through the next wall with barely a delay. She could see the
others running behind her. The zoanoids were about to close ranks behind 
her,
cutting them off. Akane snarled and grabbed an ape-man by the hair under his
chin. With a roar she spun and released him like a missile, bowling over the
creatures that had been attempting to form a blockade.
	But she had lost precious time. There were more of them coming. Akane
couldn't take them all on. She closed her right hand tighter around
Matsudaira's. In her left hand she clenched the star seeds. They pulsed. It 
was
like a heartbeat that ground through her body.
	"CHEMICAL BUSTER!" Matsudaira yelled, and a spray of green acid washed
across the charging ranks of the zoanoids. Akane turned away from their 
screams.
She heard Matsudaira whimper. She squeezed Akane's hand, and Akane tightened 
her
own grip.
	One more wall, this one not thin wood but thick concrete, and they were
outside. Akane shook her hand as they ran, trying to force away the pain of
punching a hole the size of a human being into almost half a foot of 
concrete.
Yet another reminder that she wasn't as superhuman as Ukyou, as Ranma... as
Chris. She felt the star seeds pulse in her clenched fist again.
	They had been taken to the section of the city nearest the Orochi
Murakumo. The signs of the battle with it were clear. Entire buildings had 
been
gutted, the skeletal remains of homes and offices were everywhere. The 
streets
were torn and cracked. There were flames everywhere, and the wind was full
of white ash. The rampaging behemoth was not that far away. Akane could see 
the
back of its massive shell. In front of it was an army of zoanoids. Lasers 
and
blasts of sound flashed into it. Explosions roared around it. But it just 
kept
advancing.
	But now that they were out in the open, everyone could see them. There
were hundreds of zoanoids on the streets, but Akane mainly ignored them. The
hyper zoanoids were here. The tall grey-skinned rhinoceros, the recently
mutilated Elegen and their black insectile leader. The only one missing was 
the
one with swords for hands. Akane quirked up her lips, finding it odd that 
she
would find pleasure in such a small fortune.
	"Okay, Akira..." she whispered. "Now is a good time for that rescue..."
	Then a light flashed from the sky. It was a blue bolt, a strike like
lightning that fell from heaven and smashed into the earth halfway between 
Akane
and the hyper zoanoids. The elite bio-weapons stopped their advance, and 
Akane
paused in shock.
	"Ikazuchi!" the one that resembled a beetle roared. "What are you doing
here? Get back to the fight!"
	"A moment, if you please, ZX-Tole," the newcomer said in a voice as
smooth as silk. "I would have a moment of time for this young lady." He 
walked
towards her. He had changed. His skin was a soft, almost royal, purple. Thin
blue plates were positioned around his body. They served not so much as 
armour,
but as decoration. They looked almost like they might be clothing, instead 
of
growing straight from his flesh. The only truly inhuman thing about him was 
the
organs growing out of his limbs. They pulsed like beating hearts, giving off 
a
fine blue glow into the air. Akane could feel the power radiating from him. 
It
was more fighting spirit than she would have thought possible.
	But his face hadn't changed. Even his hair was styled the same, though
it was now neon blue. It had that same arrogant smirk. The eyes had that 
same
frenzied gleam of mixed adoration and lust. He even stood exactly the same,
offering her his hand.
	"Kunou..." Akane breathed. "Oh, Kunou... I'm so sorry. What have they
done to you?"
	"Done to me?" Tatewaki Kunou laughed. "Akane Tendo, I have been
elevated! Look at me!" He gestured to himself. "I am beyond a mere man. I 
have
realised the ultimate promise of the human genome. Billions of years of
evolution and the greatest science in the universe had combined to produce 
the
creature that stands before you." He smirked, and raised his hand. The 
organs on
his arm began to pulse more rapidly and a shimmering blade of sparking blue
energy emerged from his fist. "I have become a god among men, a higher 
being. I
am no longer Tatewaki Kunou. I am Ikazuchi!" There was a sound like thunder 
as
he drew down his blade. "The first of a new race. I am neo-zoanoid. I am the
future!" He held out his free hand to her. "Come and join me, Akane Tendo. 
This
is surely the sign of destiny. Together, we will be the Adam and Eve of the
world's salvation."
	Akane looked over at Matsudaira, who was blinking in confusion. Then she
turned her eyes back to Kunou. Her eyes narrowed and when she spoke, it was 
with
focused anger. "I'd rather die."
	Kunou paused. Then he sighed and rubbed his temple. "I had hoped that
time would temper your fiery spirit, Akane. But I am afraid that you will 
not
see the truth until it is shown to you by force."
	Akane shifted, setting herself into a defensive posture.
	It was then that a hand clapped onto his shoulder. Kunou blinked and
looked behind him. Daigo smiled, the expression making his scarred face only
look more grim.
	"I believe the lady said no."
	"Who dar-"
	Daigo backhanded Kunou with enough force to send him through the remains
of a nearby building. There was a roar and the huge rhino zoanoid was 
charging
at Daigo's exposed back, bending his head down so his deadly horn would bury
itself in his unprotected flank. Then the world shuddered as a huge green 
form
fell from the sky and landed right in front of it. Gan screamed something
incoherent and his hands snapped up and wrapped around the charging monster. 
It
grunted and wrapped its own arms around him. The ground beneath them split 
apart
and cratered.
	Elegen was floating up and over the rhino when several silver flashes
filled the air. The eel man snapped up his hand and his aura sprang to 
sparking
life. Three switchblades hovered in the air in front of him, trapped in a 
field
of electromagnetic force. "That trick only works on me once," he snarled, 
his
voice an electric buzz. The blades fell to the ground.
	"Heh," Edge said as he too leapt off a nearby rooftop and set down
between Akane and the hyper zoanoids. He smiled, his manic eyes flashing. 
There
was blood on his clothing, on his cheeks. He didn't seem to notice. "Then I
guess I'll just have to take you down the hard way." He laughed, a loud 
high-
pitched sound. "To tell the truth, I've been looking forward to that since 
you
showed up!"
	Daigo, meanwhile, was facing off against the leader of the hyper
zoanoids. ZX-Tole towered over the imposing young man, but Daigo wasn't 
backing
down. He set himself firmly, raising his arms. ZX-Tole looked down at him 
with
his strange red insect eyes, his inhuman expression unreadable.
	"Back away, kid," ZX-Tole said. "This has nothing to do with you."
	"I'm afraid it does." Daigo cracked his knuckles. "I don't know what you
want that girl for, but a true man, a virtuous man does not leave a person 
like
that in your clutches!"
	"Akane!"
	Akane turned. There was Kunou again, emerging from the building
seemingly unfazed. He was running right for her. Akane turned to face him, 
and
heard the roar of an engine. Her eyes snapped to the side just in time to 
see
Akira skid around the corner. She was leaned over so far on her bike her
shoulder-length hair skipped across the cracked asphalt. She snapped 
upright,
her machine zigging and zagging between the potholes and craters without 
slowing
down. In fact, she was speeding up.
	She hit a overturned car and the motorcycle went airborne. Akane gasped
as the bike flipped end over end, and even Kunou could only stare in
stupefaction. But Akira wasn't even fazed. She twisted her body, turning the
tumble into a controlled spin. The rear wheel of the bike came down on 
Kunou's
gaping face, flattening him. There was a screech of burning rubber as Akira 
came
to a halt, twisting to land in front of Akane.
	"Get on," she said.
	"R... right..."
	Before Akane could react there was a loud grunt of pain and Daigo flew
past them. Akira gasped and turned to face where he had landed. He crashed 
into
a wall with enough force to crater it. "Daigo!" she shouted.
	"Don't worry," ZX-Tole said, his insect voice sounding reserved. "He'll
live." The massive hyper zoanoid was approaching them now, and to 
demonstrate
his resolve he snapped up one hand. A line of red light erupted from a lens 
that
had been hidden under his armour, blasting a hole in the road just behind 
Akane
and Akira. "But you aren't going anywhere."
	Akane felt Matsudaira squeeze her hand. She tightened her grip on the
star seeds. They were digging into her palm. They pulsed. Akira paused 
suddenly.
Her eyes slowly left ZX-Tole and turned to Akane. They traveled down Akane's 
arm
and settled on her clenched fist. The star seeds pulsed again, and again. 
They
were beating now.
	Akane grit her teeth. "We don't have time for this."
	"Commander Gyro has ordered us to capture you," ZX-Tole told her. "I
would rather be fighting that beast, but I have my orders."
	"You don't understand!" Akane shouted at him. "If we don't leave now,
none of this matters!"
	"What?"
	"Tell him, Matsudaira!" Akane looked at the woman, then back at ZX-Tole.
"In less than an hour... when the sun would have set, none of this will 
matter.
Gyro, the Orochi, Kunou, me, you... the world will end! We have to stop it!"
	"She's... she's right..." Matsudaira clutched her head with her free
hand. "Even now, Pharaoh 90 is coming through the portal, called by 
Susano-oh's
power like a beacon. When he arrives, he'll merge with this planet. He'll be
unstoppable. Every living thing on earth will only serve to feed his 
nihilistic
energy. Not you, not any zoalord will be able to stop him from bringing 
Silence
to this world."
	There was a a short pause.
	"I'm not even sure he can be stopped. Not even now."
	"We have to try," Akane insisted. She looked into ZX-Tole's inhuman
eyes. "We can't waste time fighting each other."
	ZX-Tole stood over them for a long time, the sounds of the battle around
him raging. In the distance, the Orochi unleashed another volley of breath
weapons, blowing dozens of zoanoids into dust. ZX-Tole looked over at it.
	"That battle isn't going well." He paused. "No number of normal zoanoids
will defeat Murakumo. It will be necessary to deploy Team 5 and our new neo-
zoanoid against the threat. If... if you happened to escape while we were 
busy,
I could hardly be blamed for that, could I?"
	Akane smiled. She looked at Akira, who was already gunning the bike. A
moment later, the three of them were streaking down the street at breakneck
speeds. Just before they turned the corner, Akane saw Kunou stand up again. 
He
was about to chase them, when ZX-Tole backhanded him through a building. 
Then,
as they began to vanish from sight, Daigo walked up to ZX-Tole. The 
scar-faced
young man looked at the hyper zoanoid. Then he turned and pointed to the 
raging
dragon.
	Akane got the impression that if ZX-Tole could have smiled, he would
have.

*

	Yomiko Readman had read about heroes. In the stories they were brave and
true, never backing down. She had crawled into bed with them at night and 
walked
down the street in their embrace. Heroes were good people, strong people who
made the world better just by being there. She had always been in the 
company of
heroes, but she had never really been one herself.
	Yomiko had read stories about how heroes didn't realise they were heroes
until everyone else already had. She wondered if someone would read the 
story of
her life and label her a hero. She had just been a girl who had loved books. 
She
had loved them so much that they spoke to her, and when she spoke to them 
they
listened. She had thought she was strange, but one man had changed that.
	He had been a hero. He used to write a journal. In it he told tales
about his adventures working for the British Library as their top agent. 
Tales
of intrigue and battle and adventure in exotic locales. She had read them 
and
loved him in the telling. He had taught her with his stories, taught her to
understand herself, her powers and her place.
	When he had died, it had only been natural that she would step into his
shoes. His story wasn't finished, as far as she was concerned. So she 
continued
on as The Paper, despite that all she really wanted to do was curl up with a
book and while away the years. So had she found herself involved in her own
tales of intrigue and battle and adventures in exotic locales. But she had 
never
starred in those tales. Looking back at them, they always seemed like a 
story
told about someone else. She was not that brave, not that clever, not that
lucky.
	She had really begun to believe that she might have been living in a
world like those in the stories. That maybe good would triumph over evil and
true friendship would prevail no matter what. Then reality had come crashing
down.
	Her friends were all dead, or worse. She had returned to this country
seeking solace, and found only worse horrors. She had read in many books 
about
how horrible war was. But reading the stories, and experiencing them... they
were two different things.
	So she drove down the country lane, her eyes firmly on the road. In the
back of the jeep there were five suitcases, four of which were full of 
books.
She kept her mind off them and on the road ahead. It was dark. The sun had 
risen
hours ago, but the darkness had not left the land. The only lights were the
glorious sea of stars overhead and the hollow balefire that was the sun's 
corona
behind the unnatural eclipse. It was so dark she could barely see five 
meters
ahead, but she did not turn on the headlights.
	Headlights would attract attention in this darkness, and she didn't want
attention. She had a precious cargo to transport. The girl in the seat next 
to
her was sitting back. Caught in the hollow of her neck was a small 
flashlight
which flickered slightly with every bump Yomiko hit. It was focused on a 
book in
the child's hand. A book Yomiko didn't dare look at.
	Well, not after she had almost crashed them into the tree. When Hotaru
had offered to drive after that, Yomiko had laughed and assured her that
wouldn't be necessary. She had read the entire operator's manual all the way
through, after all. She was certain she knew how the vehicle worked.
	In a way, she was glad she wasn't reading. She blinked owlishly at the
thought and chuckled. She would never have pictured herself thinking such an
absurd notion. But not reading did give her a chan-
	The explosion came out of nowhere. Yomiko screamed, and she could hear
Hotaru yelling too. They were rising up into the air. The entire front of 
the
jeep had become a plume of smoke and flame. Yomiko snapped her hand out,
grabbing Hotaru's book. With a thought and a swiftly yelled "Sorry about 
this!"
she willed the book asunder. Her free hand wrapped around the girl.
	A moment later the world went black as the paper surrounded them both in
a protective cocoon. She felt the ball bounce and tumble as it was thrown
across the landscape by the explosive force. When they came to a rest she
lowered her arms and the shell dissolved around them in a swirl of white, 
like
feathers blowing on the wind.
	"What... what happened?" Hotaru sounded calm. She looked up at Yomiko
expectantly, but not with fear. Yomiko still wondered at the girl. When she 
had
woken up, Yomiko had told her about Ukyou's decision and the girl had 
accepted
it without a word. Yomiko had asked her about it, and Hotaru had merely 
shrugged
and said that she had faith. 'Faith'... what did she mean by that?
	"YEE-HAW!" A voice cried from the darkness. "Now that is what I call a
Bar-B-Que!"
	Yomiko stood up, her hand slipping from her coat with three sheets of
paper held stiffly between her fingers. "Stay down, Hotaru," she said 
softly.
	"Stay down, Hotaru," the voice called back mockingly. "Lady, you should
be worried about yourself!"
	Yomiko frowned and spun, sending a pair of airplanes flying into the
darkness. She heard them strike trees, but nothing more. She saw a dark 
shape
skip by in the shadows. The fire of the burning jeep was far away. She had 
been
blown back deep into the trees. She squinted behind her glasses, wishing she 
had
some light, any light.
	"Not that I ain't gonna kill that bitch," the voice shrieked. This time
Yomiko did see a shape dash between two trees. She flung another volley, and
both trees toppled over, their trunks split. They landed with a resounding
crash, but the voice only laughed. "Almost got me that time! Wanna try 
again?"
	"Damn you..." Yomiko threw again, but again the shadowy voice was not
there.
	"I tell you what. I just want the girl. You leave her. Run away like a
bitch, and I won't eat you too." The voice sounded calm, almost urbane.
	"Not a chance!" Yomiko called back. "I've dealt with vampires before."
	"Oh I know," the voice replied. "Yomiko Readman. Also known as, 'The
Paper'" He said her codename in a deep, mocking tone, then laughed 
hysterically.
"What kind of fucking lame codename is that? 'Oh no, look out, its THE 
PAPER!
She's gonna collate us to death! And there's her partner Captain Stapler, 
and
his sidekick Pencilneck!'"
	Yomiko wanted to tell Hotaru to run, but she knew nowhere was safe. This
vampire was fast, faster than the others. And it wasn't planning on fighting
fair. If the girl went too far away from Yomiko's protective influence, it 
would
be all over. So she just tensed herself and waited.
	"I read all about you in the files of that big library they got hidden
under London," the man said, chuckling. Yomiko paused, her heart skipping a
beat. She had never made it back to the British Library. She had never even 
made
it back to London before Integra had found her. "Now that place was a gas. 
And
by that, I mean gasoline." He laughed. "Man, the only thing that went up 
faster
than those moldy old books was that moldy old man who was down there with 
them!"
	"BASTARD!" Yomiko shrieked and ran towards the voice. The paper in her
hand snapped out, forming into a lance. She swung it around her once, twice, 
and
ten trees fell down about her. She saw a figure high above, coming down at 
her
from the light of the stars. She braced herself and thrust the halberd 
upward.
	Then the sky was lit by fire. A tongue of crimson flame that roared down
the length of her weapon, burning it to ash before it could reach him. She
gasped and rolled back, just barely escaping the flame. When she came to her
feet, he was standing in the clearing she had created, surrounded by 
hundreds of
tiny fires.
	He was short, with dark skin and a black jogging suit. He wore a black
knit cap with an Egyptian Eye of Thoth inscribed on it in gold thread. His 
face
was a ruin of piercings. One eye was missing, and he was grinning viciously.
	"This entire forest is fucking bone dry after this hot summer," he
explained as he stood there. "Whole shitty county is a fire hazard." He held 
up
one hand, and there was a wand gripped there. Yomiko gasped and leapt back 
as
another wave of flame erupted from the nozzle, creating a line of burning
vegetation between them. But even as she dodged, his other hand came up. In 
it
he was carrying a large blue and yellow contraption that looked like a gun. 
She
snapped up a small shield of paper, but only felt something wet splash
harmlessly against it. The stream covered the paper, running the acrid 
liquid
down the length of her arm. She sniffed. It smelled awful, with thick fumes.
	Then she recognized the smell.
	"That's right, bitch. I came prepared for you." He held up the nozzle.
"In the one hand, may I present my best friend, your world war two surplus
retrofitted and fully serviceable American-style flamethrower! Useful for
cleaning out machine gun nests and getting rid of pesky household stains!" 
He
held up his other hand. "In the other, may I present a Super Soaker (tm) 
filled
with good old-fashioned gasoline! Or petrol, as you snotty British bastards 
like
to call it."
	"Hotaru, run!" Yomiko yelled.
	"She ain't goin' anywhere," the man grinned.
	"Damn you!" Yomiko backed up a step. She was running low on paper. She
had expended most of the stuff she was carrying on that last attack. "Why 
are
you doing this? She's just a little girl!"
	He laughed. "I guess I just have issues. Too bad for you!"
	Yomiko closed her eyes. In the stories, this was the point where the
hero came up with a clever plan to save the day. But this wasn't a story.

*

	It should have been obvious, in retrospect. It was at the centre of the
darkness. The one place in the city directly under the black hole sun. The 
tower
was huge, a massive skeletal pyramid of interlocking girders. The park that
surrounded it had once been beautiful but was now a mass of blighted plants. 
The
grass had turned black, the flowers had wilted and withered into white 
husks.
And at the very top of the tower, where the massive communications antennae
were, there was a dark force.
	Akane could feel the star seeds responding to it. They were still
beating steadily in her hand. She could see nothing, but knew the darkness 
was
up there. That was where it would all be decided, one way or another. It was
almost over. The dark sun overhead seemed to loom closer to the earth. How 
much
time was left? Enough. There had to be enough. She placed the seeds in her
pocket, trying to forget about them for now. They made her uncomfortable.
	Akira gunned down on the tower, her body bent over the bars of the bike.
"You know, I've lived in this city all my life, but I've never been here 
once,"
she observed.
	"Really?" Akane braced one hand on her shoulder and stood up. Matsudaira
clung to the back of the bike for dear life, and Akane could hardly blame 
her.
Akira had a tendency to throw caution - and the laws of physics - to the 
wind
when she drove. Personally, Akane would have found another way around that
zoanoid/aragami fight that didn't involve driving along the SIDE of a 
building
for nearly twenty meters... but she wasn't driving. "I went here with my 
class
once." Akane thumbed the hilt of her sword free from its sheath, gripping it
with her free hand.
	"Yeah?" Akira swerved to avoid a crater in the road. Up ahead the
blighted mass was beginning to stir, just as Matsudaira had warned them it
would. Akane could see the bleached white skeletons of the unfortunates that 
had
wandered too close to Telulu's first barrier. "Remember anything useful?"
	"Not particularly," Akane replied. She removed her hand from Akira's
shoulder and took a steadying breath. She let her chi flow through her as 
she
rested one hand on the sheath of her sword. Then they were into the park. 
The
plants came at them from all angles, long white vines with black blotches of
blight running up their lengths. They twisted and snarled through the air 
like
mobile roots, some of them as thick across as her head. Akane spun her sword
around her in a tight arc and the closest attacking plants were sent 
crashing to
the ground. But those were replaced quickly.
	Akira wove and spun the bike and for a moment it was all that Akane
could do to keep her footing. But Matsudaira grabbed the back of her blouse,
steadying her. Akane didn't have time for thanks, her sword was too busy 
singing
through the air around them. But no matter how fast she cut or how well 
Akira
dodged, there were always more tendrils. For a single heart-stopping moment
Akane was sure they wouldn't make it.
	Then they burst through the mass and into the clear air. Akane looked
up. The massive bulk of the tower was directly overhead. Akane could see the
elevators and stairwells. It all looked so mundane, so banal. Just like when 
she
had been here almost five years ago.
	There was a screech of rubber as Akira spun the bike on its side, trying
to stop its forward momentum. For a moment it looked like the inertia she 
had
built up on her suicide run into the clearing would skid the bike right past 
the
safety of the tower and into the toxic jungle again. Then her foot came down
with startling force, halting the bike instantly and smashing a lopsided 
hole
into the ground. Akane nearly lost her balance, but Akira caught her arm.
	"How do we get up?" Akira said as she helped Akane down.
	"Up the stairs," Matsudaira replied. "There's a barrier, but Telulu
won't activate it unless she feels threatened. Secrecy is her best defense 
at
this point, and she isn't about to announce herself to the world yet."
	Akane looked around, then spotted a single form slumped against one of
the support pillars. He wasn't human. He had orange skin and short slicked 
green
hair. He was shirtless and his head was lolled against his chest. His arms 
hung
lifelessly at his side.
	"Kusanagi!" Akira shouted in concern. She ran past Akane and towards
him. Akane hesitated a moment then sheathed her sword and followed, but kept 
one
hand on the hilt. Akira knelt next to him and grimly bit onto her glove,
removing it with a tug of her head. She placed her fingers on his neck and
frowned. "He's alive... barely."
	"You know him?"
	"He's one of the good guys," Akira assured Akane. "Damn. I wish Kyoko
was here. Or even Tiffany." She placed her hand on his forehead. "I don't 
know
the first thing about first aid."
	Akane sighed. A few months ago she would have pushed Akira aside and
done her best to help. But... she knew her limits now. Akane's knowledge of
medicine was pretty much limited to knowing how to inflict injury.
	"I... I can help."
	Akane nodded to Matsudaira, who approached Kusanagi with some
reluctance. The woman hovered over him, her eyes afraid. Then she took a 
deep
breath and knelt before him. She sat there for a moment, just placing her 
hand
on his chest. Then she reached into her tight black dress and withdrew a 
vial
full of some strange green liquid. Akane watched her closely but said 
nothing.
She had to trust Matsudaira. She had to trust that she was keeping the 
monster
inside her at bay. Matsudaira tilted Kusanagi's head back and held his nose
closed with one hand. When his mouth lolled open she poured the contents of 
the
vial down his throat.
	The result was instantaneous. Kusanagi screamed and threw her back.
Akane caught her, falling back with the force. The orange-skinned man stood 
up,
clawing at his throat and gurgling. Then he began to spit and shudder. He 
slowly
calmed down, taking deep breaths. His head lowered and he began to rub his
throat, his eyes closed.
	"God damn... what the heck was that stuff?" he muttered.
	"Are you okay?" Akira asked.
	"Akira?" He opened one eye a fraction and looked at her. "I think I'm
alright... my head feels like I spent all last night inside a bottle of 
vodka,
but otherwise..." He trailed off. "Momiji!" He began to push past her. "They
have Momiji! I have to go!"
	"Wait!" Akira clapped her hand on his shoulder, halting him. "We have to
come up with a plan. Charging in blindly won't accomplish anything."
	"Let me-" Kusanagi stopped short. His eyes had focused on Matsudaira.
She was kneeling in front of Akane, her eyes downcast. The young man's eyes
narrowed and the three gems on his chest began to glow faintly. "What the 
HELL
is she doing here?" he roared.
	"She's with us," Akane informed him, standing up.
	"She's with that witch!" Kusanagi corrected her. He clenched his fists
and flexed his arms, long backwards curved blades tore free of his forearms. 
"I
knew I should have finished her off when I had the chance! If I'd known she 
was
going after Momiji..."
	"STOP IT!" Akane stepped in front of him, throwing her arms to both
sides to block off his advance. "She saved your life!"
	"She can't be trusted!" he insisted.
	"Kusanagi..." Akira began, but he silenced her with a glare before
turning his attention back to Akane.
	"I don't know who you are, little girl, but I am not about to let that
witch live!" he insisted.
	Akane didn't have time for this. She ground her teeth, trying to keep
her temper from exploding. She needed Kusanagi's help. She would not let him
hurt Matsudaira. Not while the woman could still be saved.
	The question suddenly became moot as a high-pitched whine filled the
air. Akane winced and slapped her hands over her ears, as Akira did 
likewise.
Kusanagi, however, roared. His hands crossed over his chest and Akane could 
see
the mitamas on the backs of his hands vibrating slightly. He collapsed to 
his
knees, his screams petering out to dry heaves.
	"I should have guessed that you'd turn on us, Azuma."
	Akane spun at the sound of the voice. A woman with long red hair stood
at the base of the stairs. She had a cruel but beautiful face, with flashing
pupilless red eyes. She was wearing some sort of strange outfit that looked 
like
it had been pieced together from the remains of a stereo system. The 
speakers
were over her hands like oversized gloves, with the system controls arrayed
across her chest. She was holding up one arm, and Akane could see the 
speaker
pulsing as it released the sound. She began to walk towards the group.
	"Eudial." Matsudaira stood up, seemingly unaffected by the sound. "I'm
not Telulu's slave anymore."
	"Like I am?" Eudial laughed.
	"We can fight it," Matsudaira pleaded. "The daimon inside doesn't have
to control us. We're human. We have souls. You don't have to do this."
	"No, I suppose I don't." Eudial smiled. "But I want to. I'm not like
you, Azuma. Before I was chosen, I was nothing. Just a worthless woman, 
wasting
her life teaching useless, ungrateful brats." Her smile transformed into a
sneer. "How I hated them. How I hated them all, with their pride and their
ignorance. I watched the news every night and I saw nothing but decadence 
and
filth. This world isn't worth me giving a damn about it, Azuma. I'm not 
about to
care if Pharaoh 90 consumes it all." She threw back her head and laughed. 
"So
don't think I'm like you."
	"If that's your choice, fine!" Akira shouted, and suddenly exploded past
Akane. Small clouds of dust kicked up in her wake and her hand trailed back 
as
she twisted her entire body. Eudial only had time to blink before Akira 
reached
her. With a single motion that spun her entire body like a corkscrew Akira
smashed her fist into Eudial's face. The woman was sent flying back, 
followed by
a contrail of dust - straight into one of the massive metal supports. The 
metal
rang like a bell and Eudial slumped to the ground. Akira stood up straight,
rubbing her ungloved hand. "Sorry about that. But you shouldn't be dead..."
Akira trailed off.
	Eudial was standing up. She was chuckling, and there wasn't a scratch on
her. Lines of red light were radiating down from her face, snapping and 
shifting
at strange angles before vanishing into two small gems on her torso.
"Surprised?" Eudial asked. She straightened. "This is the Sound Buster 
armour,
Mark 2, patent pending! I removed the flaw of the original design and have 
now
come up with the perfect weapon for defeating you righteous martial 
artists."
She smirked. "The Sound Buster absorbs any vibrations sent against it, even 
from
your most powerful attacks. Those vibrations only add to its power, which I 
can
release at will... like THIS! SOUND BUSTER!"
	Akane grabbed Kusanagi and leapt to the side as Eudial thrust both her
speakers towards them. A sound like thunder, but continuous and 
ear-splitting,
rushed across the plaza. The ground split and exploded in its wake as the 
wave
of sound tore across the landscape, creating a trench almost a meter across. 
The
blast hit the support of the tower and the entire structure seemed to 
vibrate
for a second. Akane landed, hissing in pain. She hadn't even been close to 
the
actual destruction, and she could feel the waves of the weapon still 
thrumming
inside her.
	She dropped Kusanagi and looked around desperately for the others. Akira
had easily moved to safety, but Matsudaira appeared to not be so lucky. From 
the
looks of it she had managed to dive away from the worst of it, but her leg 
was
bent at an odd angle. Either she had landed badly, or the Sound Buster must 
have
caught her a glancing blow.
	Eudial was laughing. "The only one of you I have to worry about is
Kusanagi," she pointed out as she reached for the dials on her chest. "But 
this
weapon is perfect. With a mere adjustment I can change the frequency of my 
sound
waves and shatter his mitama like glass."
	"No!" Akane roared and her sword hissed from its sheath as she ran
towards the woman. Akira was two steps ahead of her, but neither would reach
Eudial before she finished. Then they all stopped.
	The toxic mass of creepers surrounding the plaza exploded outward. Akane
skidded to a halt. The air filled with an electric buzz as the tall form of 
the
hyper zoanoid Elegen stepped into view. A few vines tried to snatch at him, 
but
any that came too close just exploded as the massive field of power around 
him
ground through their wooden flesh.
	"Elegen..." Akane growled. Her heart sank. For a moment, she had hoped
it was reinforcements. Eudial watched the newcomer with narrowed eyes.
	"You..." He pointed at Akane. "ZX-Tole may have let you go, but I'm not
about to let him make such a mistake. Gyro will drag the truth out of his 
mind
and he'll be destroyed for disobeying." He stretched his body, the aura
intensifying around him. His long eel like neck twitched. "I have sworn to
protect ZX-Tole with my life, and if that means disobeying him on this, then 
so
be it!"
	Akane turned to face him, but suddenly Akira was in front of her,
blocking her way with one arm.
	"I have this, Akane."
	"Akira?"
	Akira smiled thinly. "After fighting Kyosuke, this freak is nothing."
She sighed and frowned. "You have to get past Eudial, Akane. Someone has to 
make
it to the top of the tower and stop this."
	Before Akane could respond, Akira shouted and her body was sheathed with
a thin corona of blue light that flickered like waves. She rushed past Akane 
and
straight at the hyper zoanoid, who only stood there and opened his arms wide 
to
accept her charge. Akane grit her teeth and turned to face Eudial, who was
looking at her strangely.
	"I have to get past you!" Akane pointed out, emphasising this with the
tip of her sword.
	"You... you don't have a chance of defeating Telulu. Or even her pet
daimon." Eudial smirked and reached up to her chest; Akane gasped as she
realised what that meant for Kusanagi. But when she turned the dial there, 
the
whine cut off. Kusanagi coughed and stood up, glaring at her and rubbing the
seeds in his chest. "That boy, however, might have a chance."
	"What?" Akane blinked. "But I thought you said..."
	"That I don't care about the world dying?" Eudial smiled. "Oh, don't
mistake me. I don't." Her smile turned into a frown. "This is far more 
personal.
Telulu... I don't care what happens to the world, but that bitch will PAY 
for
humiliating me. For stealing my rightful place. For... for killing..." She 
took
a deep breath and her smile returned. "Needless to say, I'm in this solely 
for
revenge now. It's not like anything can stop Pharaoh 90. He's already on his
way. He knows where this world is now." She glanced up. "In less than thirty
minutes, he'll arrive."
	She chuckled. "He'll merge with this planet. The waves of his being will
infect the entire world. Every living thing will become a part of him, and 
die.
He will bring the Silence... the absolute end of everything. No power on 
Earth
can stop him." She looked down at them again. "So you better hurry, 
carrot-boy.
Your revenge is waiting for you."
	Kusanagi glanced at Akane. She looked at him.
	"Go."
	He nodded sharply and leapt straight up, vanishing into the tower in an
orange blur. Akane took a step towards the stair but Eudial moved to block 
her
path.
	"Not you," she said pointedly.
	"Why not?" Akane shifted her sword around. "You said it yourself, what
difference can I make?"
	Eudial's mouth became a thin line. "No. I don't think so. You have
something you're holding back." She pointed the speaker of her weapon at 
Akane.
"I think I'll find out what it is."
	Akane could feel the star seeds beating. She had placed them in a pocket
right next to her heart. She placed her hand over them reflexively. They 
wanted
to help. They wanted her to use them. She closed her eyes. She didn't know 
how.
But she didn't need to.
	She suddenly understood that THIS was why she had come back. For this
moment. The seeds stopped pulsing. Akane could take them. They were meant 
for
her. They were meant for Akira. Together... the two of them could defeat 
Eudial
and Elegen with their power. Akane glanced back. Akira was floundering. She 
was
retreating from the flying form of Elegen as he snatched at her, just one 
inch
outside of his deadly field.
	Akane didn't need to know how to use them. The souls of the Sailor
Senshi would come to her. All she had to do was give in. All she had to do 
was
surrender. Just go with the flow of the power...
	"NO!" she roared and pulled her hand away. She gripped her blade. "Not
like that!"
	"What?" Eudial looked at her strangely.
	"I'll defeat you as a human being!" Akane screamed. "I won't devour
them! I'm not like him!"
	"Like who?"
	But Akane didn't answer. She just charged in, and her sword slashed
through the air faster than Eudial could react. The blade smashed into the 
side
of her head and she staggered back. But she was smiling. Red lines of light 
were
trailing from the point of impact to the collectors on her chest. Akane 
could
only stare, seething in futile rage.
	"Heh. Fool. Fight as a human, then. And die as a human! SOUND BUSTER!"

*

	The blood was cold.  It still clung to her, the heavy stickiness of it
plastering her hair to her scalp and staining her clothes, but it was cold 
and
dead and really not very interesting at all.
	Vice sighed.  She'd dreamed of ripping apart Goenitz with her bare hands
more than once, but she'd always envisioned it being far more satisfying 
than
this.  The body the man and woman had left was nothing more than an empty 
shell:
a lifelike enough statue, but there was nothing vital in it.
	Mature had been better.  Vice closed her eyes, leaning against the side
of a building to take the weight off her mauled leg.  That had been 
marvellous.
The smell and taste of it, the feeling of Mature's broken body convulsing
beneath her, all of it had been far more... exciting than any other kill 
that
Vice had performed.  Was it because Mature too had carried the blood of the
Orochi?  Laughing joyously atop the ruined body, she had felt so close to 
it, so
close to the god, that she could almost have reached out and touched him.  
Her
heart had beaten in her ears, her blood sang in her veins, almost, almost 
she
had lost herself in the joyous dirge of the blood and pain and death.
	But not quite.  It had left her almost unable to stand for half an hour,
however.
	She had hoped Goenitz would be it, his power what she needed, his blood
her ticket to rapturous communion.  But there was no power left in the 
soulless
husk the man Kusanagi had left in the park.  Just disappointment.  Like
butchering a side of beef.
	So she opened her eyes and continued limping forward.  The chaos of the
city swirled around her, but aside from one unlucky police officer who had 
tried
to lead her to safety, she didn't participate in it.  Kusanagi had knocked 
her
out for several hours, but precisely how long she didn't know.  The 
unnatural,
unholy eclipse hung directly overhead, having not paused in its motion since 
it
began, making estimation of time near-impossible.  But from the coolness of 
the
body, Vice estimated it must be late afternoon by now.
	Presently Vice slowed to a stop again. The leg Kusanagi had torn apart
throbbed.  The blood had long since clotted, but the muscle of her calf hung
only by tatters.  Forcing it to bear even the tiniest iota of her weight as 
she
limped was agony, but Vice was not a woman to shrink away from pain.  Quite 
the
opposite, in fact.
	No, she wasn't stopping for the sake of her leg.
	She raised her eyes to the sky, focusing on the black disc of the sun.
She drew in a deep breath, scenting the chaos and blood and screams of the 
city,
orienting herself.  Tempting as that was, the chaos that flowed from the
silhouetted sun was an order of magnitude greater.  It flowed over her in 
waves
like warm water, causing her to breathe more deeply and her face to flush.  
And
it was connected, somewhere.  With time, she could find where that chaos had 
its
anchor on Earth.  She was sure of it.
	Vice didn't truly expect to live out the day.  Her god had fallen long
since, her master was dead, and she was alone and crippled in a city gone 
mad,
where alien titans and monsters risen from the primordial earth were 
clashing.
She didn't really welcome the prospect, but leaving this glorious cauldron 
of
death was even more unacceptable.  But before the day ended, she was going 
to
find the architect of this.  She was sure she would find them beneath that
unearthly black disc.  And then she would see what their blood tasted like.
	She drew in a breath, shuddering slightly, her nipples pressing
painfully against the sticky fabric of her dress.  That would be it.  It had 
to
be.  That blood would bring her to where she was searching for.  To the 
Orochi.
	But to succeed, she had to hurry.  So she opened her eyes, and looked
down, and found herself, all unexpectedly, gazing at her death.
	"So it was you," Chris noted.  He floated in the air before her so he
was at eye level.  Every so often a tongue of purple flame licked around 
him.
His intact eye gazed at her with the cold certainty of the grave.  The burnt
hole in his chest, the blackened and split skin of his child's arm, the ruin 
of
his face and the hollow flickering eyesocket, all seemed as bothersome to 
him as
stray hairs out of place.
	Vice wondered how she could not have sensed his approach.  His power,
the Orochi's power tainted by death, radiated from him like a furnace.  She 
knew
instantly that she could no more have defeated him than she could have 
snatched
the sun from the sky.  Even trying was utterly futile.
	She laughed and attacked.  Before she had taken a single limping step,
he raised one hand, and her world was briefly consumed by flame and pain.  
She
found herself lying in a crumpled ball next to the crumbled remains of a
building. She raised her eyes, and the godling was there again.
	"Instead of attacking me, Vice, why not listen instead?  I'm not here to
kill you, actually."
	She grinned.  Her lower lip was split and bleeding.  The familiar
coppery taste set her pulse to racing, but in excitement rather than fear. 
"Oh?
I don't believe your finding me was a coincidence."
	Chris smiled slightly too, although he obviously found her distasteful.
"I could feel you.  Whatever it was you were doing was tugging slightly on 
the
Orochi's power.  I actually thought it was Goenitz, so I came to 
investigate."
	She levered herself to a sitting position. "Goenitz is dead.  That's his
blood on me.  Mostly."
	He nodded. "I should have guessed.  But that's alright.  You'll do
fine."
	"And what will I do?"
	His lip quirked up.  "I told you, I could feel you tugging at the Orochi
power.  And I've felt you do it before, too. You're trying to reach it, to
embrace it fully, to let it consume you.  But you can't.  Your temperament, 
your
dedication, your effort... nothing wrong with that.  But the Orochi's blood 
in
you is too thin.  His power in you may smoulder, but you will never kindle 
it
into the bonfire you're looking for."
	She laughed. "So, did you come here to taunt me?  I didn't think you
were the sort."
	"I'm not.  In fact, I'll help you."
	Her laughter cut off sharply.  She levered herself up against the wall,
leaning hungrily towards the dead child.  "How?"
	"Don't be dense.  You know how.  Goenitz could do it.  You knew what he
did to Rugal, infusing him with the Orochi power.  And Leona... did you even
know about Leona?  Well, it doesn't matter."  He held one hand out.  In his 
palm
arose a swirling ball of purple flame.  "I have mastered the power of the 
Orochi
far more than Goenitz ever could have.  I can give you what you're looking 
for,
Vice.  But for a cost."
	"And what cost is that?" Vice purred.  The irony of the body of the
child she'd once tormented offering her this power was delicious.  Of 
course,
this being was far from that child, no matter what he looked like.
	"You'll die," he said matter-of-factly. "Of course, you probably knew
that.  Like Rugal, your body can't handle channeling the fire of the Orochi.
Unlike him, you're at least of the Orochi blood, so how long you'll last, I
don't know.  A day, a week, maybe two.  But take this power and use it, and 
it
will kill you eventually.  I can't lie to you about that."
	Vice laughed. "This city is full of the dead and dying.  It's only
appropriate."
	"So it doesn't bother you?"  He arched his remaining eyebrow, and though
his gaze was as opaque as ever, she could hear the need in his voice.
	She narrowed her eyes.  "You knew it wouldn't.  Just like you and your
friends knew who the avatar was.  Don't try to deceive a deceiver, my dear
little boy.  You knew exactly what I'd answer.  But very well. If it helps 
your
conscience, I'll take your power and I'll take it freely." Yawning, she
stretched the kinks from her back. "Now that that's through... what do you
really want in return?"
	Chris was laughing slightly to himself.  "Touche.  I want a favour,
Vice.  Just one favour, and then you can do whatever you want."

*

	"DAMMIT!" Ranma shouted and punched. The tree exploded in front of his
fist. The top of the tree crashed to the ground and there was a raucous
explosion of feathers as a murder of crows burst up from the forest canopy 
and
went wheeling away into the unnatural darkness. Ranma watched them go for a
moment, then sighed and shifted his pack on his back.
	"Did that make you feel better?" Minako asked acidly.
	"Yes," Ranma replied truthfully. Hitting things always made you feel
better. He glanced at her oddly, wondering why she didn't know that.
	She was sitting on a stump nearby, massaging one foot. The shoe that
belonged on it sat next to her, looking odd as it rested on the dark green
grass. Her pack leaned against the stump beside her. And behind it Ranma saw 
a
flash of white. A long slim tail vanished from sight as it skittered behind
Minako. Ranma ignored it.
	"I just think it might not be the best idea, making such a big noise,"
she pointed out.
	"If you're just gonna complain the whole trip, you didn't have to come
with me," Ranma pointed out in return.
	That brought her up short. Ranma nodded and crossed his arms, smirking.
Served her right for upstaging him back at the village. Ranma had stormed 
out of
the room, packed up his meagre possessions and started marching out of the 
town.
When Minako had stopped him to ask where he was going, Ranma had been forced 
to
think. Then he had told her he was leaving England. He was going to train. 
He
was going to learn how to fight the monsters.
	Minako had glanced at him strangely. He remembered the next conversation
clearly.
	"You already can fight the monsters, Ranma," Minako had told him.
"You're a better martial artist than any I've ever met. You can kill them 
with
your bare hands. They fear you."
	"That ain't the point," Ranma had grunted out, shifting his pack. "Sure,
I can KILL 'em. Sure, I can HURT 'em. But I can't BEAT 'em." He had 
struggled
for the words for a moment. He was never good with words. "It ain't enough. 
Ya
kill a dozen monsters, kill a hundred even, and what difference does it 
make?
Not much. Everyone in this place is just waiting for the axe to fall. They 
just
wanna spit in the face of death one last time. They just wanna yell and 
fight
and struggle because that's all the monsters left 'em with.
	"Even Ukyou is like that. I used to think she'd never give up. I used to
admire her spirit. But she ain't fightin' anymore. She just wants it over. 
She's
tired. Well, she can drag herself down, but I ain't falling in with her!" He 
had
smacked his fist into his palm. "I'm Ranma Saotome! I win! That's what I do. 
I
have to back down, but just to learn how to really fight these guys. Not 
just
how to kill 'em, but how to beat 'em. How to end them. How to make sure no 
other
place ends up like England. I'm gonna learn what it takes. And I ain't gonna
learn it here, with these people who just wanna wipe that smug grin off
Millennium's face before they die."
	Ranma hadn't realised he was drawing an audience. He hadn't realised
that most of the soldiers had been listening to him talk. Not until he heard
them begin to mutter amongst themselves. Not until he saw Minako look back 
and
forth among them. Many of them had looked angry, but a few had looked 
shocked.
One had been smiling at Ranma. He had nodded.
	"Wait here." That's what Minako had said. Then she had run back into the
town. A few moments later she had returned with her own pack. He had raised 
an
eyebrow, and she had looked at him with the same expression she used when 
she
was fighting vampires. "I'm coming with you. Because I want to learn how to 
do
that too."
	"You aren't going anywhere!"
	Ranma and Minako had turned, and there had been Integra. Her long hair
had been blowing behind her. Her glasses had glinted in the darkness and her
eyes were narrow slits behind them.
	"You are the weapon I need to end this war," Integra had said to Minako.
"I won't let you slip through my fingers." Minako had gazed at Integra, 
unable
to answer. "You think you have any choice in this, girl? This is WAR! You 
will
fight because it is what you will do! All the people of this country, their
ghosts cry out for vengeance! The blood spilled on these shores must be 
repaid
in turn!" Integra had raised her arms and brought them down sharply, her 
voice
slowly reaching a fever pitch. "I will not let this land be ruled by freaks 
and
mutants and the unholy hordes of the undead! For every pain they have 
inflicted
on us, I will return it threefold! In the name of God and the glory of the
Church of England I will smite these monsters from the face of the Earth! 
And
YOU, girl, are the lightning bolt I will wield. You are my seven plagues. 
You
are my great flood. You will cleanse this world of evil!"
	"No." Minako had stood there, looking at Integra calmly. "I never
realised it, until I met you. My mother... my father... they never would 
have
wanted this for me. Fighting and fighting until all that's left is killing
them." She had looked down. "I'm not going to end up like you. Not leading 
good
men to their deaths on a fool's crusade."
	Integra had raised her hand, and there had been a gun in it. Ranma had
started to move. Minako had started to flinch. Then there had been a flash 
of
cold grey steel and the gun had fallen in two pieces.
	Ukyou had stood next to Integra, the long menacing shaft of the Silence
Glaive resting easily in her fingers. Her coat had blown out behind her. Her
black lotus eyes were cold as ice. Ranma was struck for a moment by how 
right
she looked. Ranma had never paid much attention to religion. But he would 
carry
that image with him for the rest of his life. To him, it would always be the
thing he thought of when someone talked about avenging angels.
	"You don't need them," Ukyou had told Integra. The slightly older woman
had spun on Ukyou. Both stared into the others eyes. "I'll kill him for 
you."
	"You?" Integra rolled the word in her mouth.
	"I can destroy a thousand vampires with a wave of this Glaive," Ukyou
had assured her. "I just need one good shot."
	Integra looked down at the remains of her weapon. She thought for a long
time, then she reached into a pocket and withdrew a cigar. She lit it and 
took a
long draw from it. She breathed out the acrid smoke through clenched teeth; 
the
cloud flowed right into Ukyou's face. Ukyou didn't even blink.
	"Alright." Integra had turned and walked away. After a moment, Ukyou had
followed her. Ranma had been left standing in the middle of the street.
	"She's gonna kill herself."
	"What was that, Ranma?" Minako was working back on her shoe with one
hand.
	"Ukyou, she's gonna kill herself..." he said, slightly louder.
	Minako looked down. "Probably." She sighed. "It's a suicide mission.
Sneak into the heart of Millennium, strike it down with one blow. No matter 
how
many vampires she takes down with that strike, there will be ten more ready 
to
kill her."
	Ranma looked at the tree he had broken. He looked at his fist. He had
been so angry. So angry that when Ukyou had not spoken a word to him, he 
hadn't
said a word back. Everything between them had been said. The hot anger had
simply drowned out all reason, and he hadn't been able to see it in front of 
his
face.
	"She drove me away..." Ranma muttered, awe creeping into his voice.
	"What?"
	"She knew I wanted to go on that attack... she knew what would happen."
He looked at her. "She drove me away. She cut me out."
	"I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed," a sarcastic voice said from
behind the stump. Ranma tried his best not to think about who that voice
belonged to.
	"What are you two talking about?" Minako looked confused.
	Ranma looked at her, then down at his fist again. "Damn it. I shouldn't
have left."
	"But what about that speech you made-"
	"This isn't about that!" Ranma interrupted her. "She's my friend. My
oldest friend! She's gonna get herself killed over nothin'!"
	"Wait. I'm confused, I thought you hated her..."
	"I did... I do..." Ranma grabbed his head. "I hate this feeling crap!"
He took a long breath. "Listen, just cause she's a bitch, doesn't mean she 
isn't
my friend. What happened between us, back in Japan... with Vega and Ran... 
I..."
Ranma couldn't figure out how to say it. He knew his temper. it tended to 
burn
bright, but burn quick. He just didn't have the temperament to carry a 
grudge
for too long. And screaming at Ukyou, screaming at her and breaking a few 
trees,
had been... he felt cleaned out. Like something toxic was gone now. Now that 
he
had said it. Now that he had done something about it, it just didn't seem as
important.
	"I have to go back for her," Ranma said, turning to head back the way he
came.
	"Oh, fine..." Minako threw up her arms. "You know what they say, 'boys
will be what will be, will be'."
	Ranma glanced at her strangely.  "What?"
	Minako blinked, then cocked her head to the side and smiled.  "I'm
pretty sure that's it..."
	Ranma grinned. Then he turned around.
	He felt it a fraction of a second before she screamed. He was spinning,
spinning and reaching for her, but it was too late. The blast had come 
literally
out of nowhere. It just caught her from behind. She flew forward, her body 
going
limp. He caught her, the breath exploding from her lungs. He felt the ground
smash into his back and he rolled with it, careful to keep Minako safe.
	When he came to a stop he frantically checked her pulse. He drew in a
sharp breath when he felt it. It was weak, but there. Minako was tough, even
when she wasn't in her V form. Ranma frowned and slowly stood up. He could 
feel
the power nearby. It was impossible not to. Even if Ranma had been blind and
deaf, the source of that power forced itself on you. It wanted you to feel 
it.
It wanted you to know it was there, and that it made you look like an 
insect.
	"Bison..." Ranma growled.
	This was the first time Ranma got a good look at the man. He had heard
so much about him. He had been behind Vega. He had been behind the Dolls. 
But he
had never been there. Last night, in all the explosions and fires and death, 
he
had been a dark figure looming above the battlefield. There and then gone in 
an
instant.
	He was huge, a towering mountain of a man with a body that was probably
almost three hundred pounds of muscle. He wore a red military uniform with a
blue cape that flickered in the wind behind him. A cap was pulled low on his
brow, the bill shadowing his eyes. They still glowed, a deadly blue shining 
from
the darkness. He was grinning, a giant grin of gleaming white teeth. There 
was
joy in that grin, but not any kind Ranma ever wanted to experience. He was
floating, his heels a half-meter above the ground and his arms crossed.
	"Ranma Saotome," Bison acknowledged. "My Dolls told me a great deal
about you. So you are the one Vega became so obsessed with. I can see why. 
You
have great potential, boy."
	Ranma gave a single dry chuckle. "I'm Ranma Saotome," he said, assuming
a stance and summoning his chi. "Of course I have potential."
	Bison laughed, a loud, manic sound. "You amuse me, boy. Rarely have I
seen such bravado when faced with my true power." He unfolded his arms. "I 
like
that." He offered his palm to Ranma. "Why don't you come with me? I can 
unlock
your true potential."
	"No chance." Ranma frowned.
	"Pity." Bison shrugged. "I guess we go back to the original plan." Then
he frowned, and Ranma felt his knees weaken. His stomach twisted. He was
sweating. This was Bison's power, beating against his will. Trying to wear 
him
down. He snarled and forced his hands to remain clenched, his stance to 
remain
firm. "You will serve my purposes, Ranma Saotome, one way or another."
	"Over my dead body!" Ranma screamed and leapt forward. The air between
them flashed and cracked as their aura collided. The grass around them was 
blown
out in concentric waves. Bison laughed and caught Ranma's fist in mid-air.
	"That... can be arranged."

*

	Chizuru knelt at the edge of the crater, her fingers resting on the lip.
The psychic backlash here was so intense she couldn't ignore it. Whatever 
had
happened here, it would probably linger for years. And here... the trail 
ended.
The Outer Senshi had come to this place and then... simply vanished.
	No.
	That wasn't true.
	There was something here. A trail of something that clung to the world.
It wasn't the Outer Senshi, but it was a part of them. Chizuru couldn't 
quite
understand it, but she nodded and stood up. She could follow that trail to
wherever it would lead her. She brushed her hair back over her shoulder and
turned to follow the psychic path.
	Her heart skipped a beat.
	Chizuru remembered this woman. She had been there, six years ago. She
had stood in the center of the village, little more than a slip of a girl 
then,
surrounded by burning buildings and bodies piled five high. She had been
laughing. Chizuru had never learned her name. She had been too busy hiding. 
Too
busy running.
	The woman did not look well. Her clothing was torn and shredded, barely
clinging to her body now. The blood caked across her body was probably doing
more to hold it in place than any of the remaining seams. She was leaned 
over,
her head tilted to the side and her eyes fixed on Chizuru. Clouds of blood-
flecked steam erupted from her mouth with each shuddering breath she took.
Her eyes were the same scarlet colour as her hair.
	Chizuru faced her for a long second. Then she took a step back. The
woman sprang forward. Chizuru had trained to fight for six years. She was a
master of several disciplines of martial arts and could perform feats that 
some
would call superhuman. She didn't even see the blow coming. It just slid 
past
all her defenses and tore into her chest. She flew back, a stream of blood
tracing her path through the sky. She passed through the remains of a store 
and
out into the next street.
	Her hand came up and Chizuru hissed and she clamped it over the wound.
Five vertical slashes, right above her heart. They were deep and blood 
flowed
from them freely. She didn't want to see them. She knew that bone must have 
been
visible, bone that had been the only thing that kept her heart from being 
torn
from her chest. She staggered to her feet, forcing her body to respond 
despite
the pain.
	The woman exploded through the rubble. One of her legs was a bloody
ruin, but that didn't seem to bother her. This time Chizuru met her rush 
with
more caution. Somehow she caught the woman's outstretched arm and redirected 
her
to the side. The woman screamed and slid along the ground, leaving a red 
smear.
She collided with a building with enough force that the three-story 
structure
shook visibly. Chizuru stared as the woman leapt to her feet instantly, not 
even
stunned.
	"Riot of the blood..." Chizuru breathed. There was no way she could beat
this opponent. Not in a straight fight. But even as Chizuru watched, she 
could
see the power consuming her enemy. The energy of the Orochi was surging 
through
her veins, and blood was dripping from all her wounds in a steady stream.
Chizuru nodded to herself.
	She didn't need to fight this opponent.
	Chizuru waited for the woman to commit herself to another charge, and
then leapt. Like a red streak the Orochi-kin passed underneath her and 
Chizuru
alighted on a rooftop. She was taking another leap, having no time to pause,
when it happened.
	He appeared before her like a vengeful god, which, she supposed, he was.
She only saw a glimpse of his ruined face before she passed by him. Then the
pain exploded up her body. She screamed. Her body plummeted. She could do
nothing to control her fall as her side slammed into the corner of a 
building
with enough force to drive the air from her lungs. She tumbled like a 
ragdoll
into a narrow alley, landing badly on the hard ground. Something cracked 
deep
inside her.
	She was still screaming. She hadn't even noticed the impact with the
building, or the fall. She bit her tongue and the coppery taste of her own 
blood
flooded her mouth. It choked off her scream and brought her back to her 
senses.
She forced one hand under her and pushed herself up.
	Her legs were gone. Where her knees should have been, there was nothing
but blackened stumps. She stared at them for a long moment. The pain was 
slowly
fading. She felt light-headed, like she had just woken up from a restless
slumber. She vaguely realised she was going into shock.
	Chris floated down between the walls of the alley. His child's body was
a ruin, torn apart by the power he was wielding with such abandon. His feet
never touched the ground, and he just hovered above her. Chizuru saw the 
Orochi-
kin standing at the end of the alley, but Chris was between her and Chizuru.
	"I'm truly sorry about this," Chris said, and his voice sounded
reasonable and sincere. It was like he actually believed it. Chizuru stared 
at
him, and clenched her fists.
	"SORRY!" she snarled. "You're SORRY!" She wanted to strike him, but
couldn't. She couldn't even push herself up. Her strength was draining away. 
The
wound in her chest and the loss of her legs... she was dying. Hot tears 
began to
flow down her cheeks. It wasn't fair! It wasn't supposed to end like this!
"Don't mock me with false pity, you monster!"
	"Monster?" The scarred face of the dead boy looked faintly offended.
"Chizuru, you said yourself back in that restaurant that you would have 
killed
me if you'd been able to. You can hardly complain about the same logic being
turned against you."
	Chizuru wanted to say something profound, something pithy. She wanted to
spit defiance back in his face and die with a smile on her lips. It was one 
of
the ways she had always pictured it ending. Hadn't she told herself she 
would
defeat the Orochi or die trying? Oh, but that tasted bitter now. What was 
death
to a twelve year old girl? Even one who had watched her entire family die?
	She didn't want to die. It hurt. She was afraid. She was eighteen years
old! It wasn't fair! She just wanted to live! She didn't care about the 
Orochi
anymore! All she cared about was the creeping feeling of darkness on the 
edge of
her vision. She was cold.
	Chris was turning away. The Orochi-blooded bitch howled and began to
stalk down the alley. In a few seconds they would pass each other, and it 
would
be all over. He was going to have her do it. She was going to die here.
	She began to reach toward him. She wasn't certain what she was going to
do. Beg for mercy? Swear fealty? She didn't know. She just wanted to live. 
It
couldn't end like this. Not here in some refuse-filled alley. Her mouth 
croaked
something that might have been a word, then she slammed it shut.
	No.
	She wouldn't give him the pleasure.
	"Sister..." she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. She had
fought on to the bitter end. Chizuru could do no less. Pluto, Rose... the
others... everyone... "I'm sorry..." she breathed, and lay back.

*

	Kusanagi bounded through the tower with the skill of an acrobat. His
feet never touched down for more than a split second before he was off 
again,
slaloming through the girders, missing the massive metal tines by inches. He
had transformed halfway up, the blast of his transformation tearing a hole 
in a
half dozen girders. He snarled as he came up to the observation deck.
	Blue lightning exploded. The thin floor blew upward. Kusanagi rose
through the seething light and geysering shrapnel like an avenging angel. He
could feel the energy flowing through his entire body.
	Kusanagi landed on the floor and took it all in with a single glance.
The room had become warped. The floors and ceiling were impossibly far away,
their edges rippling and twisting when you didn't pay attention. The inside 
of
this space was much larger than the observation deck of Tokyo Tower had any
right to be. The walls were black, with liquid patches of red light pulsing
rhythmically along their lengths. The windows showed a twisted, corrupt
cityscape beyond.
	In the center of it was the form of Susano-oh. He was an adult, a tall
bare-chested man whose body disappeared beneath the torso into dozens of 
twisted
feathered snake-like coils that sunk into the floor. His eyes were raised to 
the
sky rapturously, black light leaking from their corners like tears. Around 
him
were a dozen jagged pieces of what looked like ceramic. It looked like the
ceramic that had been developed by the government to block the Kushinada 
effect,
the one material that could shield him from the crippling effects the
Kushinada's death would have on the aragami.
	Standing directly in front of the man was her. Kusanagi had never met
Telulu, but he still knew her on sight. She was gazing out across the city, 
her
arms raised and outstretched like wings, and she was laughing. Her tight 
green
and black dress hugged her slender figure, the threads that wrapped about 
her
arms and legs glittering in the half-light.
	"KUSANAGI!" He turned and saw Momiji. She was attached to one of the
impossible walls by some sort of cocoon of hardened green slime. She was
smiling at him. "I knew you'd come for me."
	"Unfortunately, he has not," Telulu cut in, the echoes of her laughter
still lingering in this strange space. "He has come for me."
	Kusanagi looked away from Momiji. He didn't want to see what they would
look like when he started to walk towards Telulu instead of her. He said
nothing, only flexing and deploying his deadly blades.
	"Nothing pithy to say, Kusanagi?" Telulu had yet to look at him, but she
crossed her arms. "Why not just take a moment to enjoy the view with me? A 
front
row seat to the end of the world. It's not something you get to see every 
day."
	"Shut up!" He roared and flashed forward. A second latter he slammed a
foot into the ground and leapt backwards. The floor where he had been 
exploded.
He snarled and swept away the dust cloud with his arms. His eyes narrowed as 
he
looked up at the woman floating just above Telulu.
	"Valkyrie, kill." Telulu snapped her fingers.
	"Valkyrie is engaging the enemy!" the metallic woman shrieked and the
jets on her back roared as she blasted towards Kusanagi.
	"YOU ARE IN MY WAY!" he roared back and met her head on.

*

	By the time Tethys arrived, the battle was almost over. The titanic
dragon, its body immense even by the standards of the skyscrapers of Tokyo, 
was
still rampaging. But it was fighting a losing battle.
	The forces of Chronos were arrayed around it on all sides. Salvos of
energy launched like broadsides from the zoanoids burned deep scars into its
turtle-like hide. Whilst its breath could vaporize an entire legion of 
enemies,
they were not allowing it time to do so. Small specks, like ants, ran across 
its
body. Humans. Martial artists. They struck with virtual impunity, their 
blows
not strong enough to do more than annoy the beast. But together they were
slowing it down, distracting it just enough for the army that was facing it 
to
assemble.
	And assemble it did. Thousands of them, with more arriving every minute.
Chronos was throwing everything it had at the dragon. Everything but the
important ones.
	She hovered in the air for a moment, looking down at the hill from which
the commanders of the zoanoid army were monitoring the battle. There were 
two of
them, alike in power but otherwise like reflections in a funhouse mirror. 
One
was a stately man, tall and fair-featured with a long regal cloak. The other 
was
a beast of a man, his face weathered and his clothing a more modern business
suit. They were directing the battle below, coordinating the zoanoid army 
with
silent power. As they watched, the beast tried to unleash another blast of
hellish energy against them.
	They rose their hands in unison and the beam shattered around an
invisible globe dozens of meters away from them. The stray sparks of the 
blast
burnt holes the size of homes into the ruins of the city.
	Tethys sighed. There wasn't much left of Tokyo. The part of her that was
human regretted that. It was strange, to feel that way about people she had
never met. But those feelings, those emotions, they were a part of her now.
Hayato was not gone: he had become a part of her whole. She could remember 
his
life, his purpose, with crystal clarity, even as she could remember her own. 
She
could have just as easily have adopted his form as this one, but she knew 
the
power of symbols and names. Getting the Dark Kingdom to accept a former 
youma as
their Queen would be hard enough, if Kunzite was any indication. Expecting 
them
to accept a human would be pure folly.
	As she watched, a blue streak flashed across the battlefield, smashing
into the monster. It reeled back, more stunned than injured. It seemed 
Chronos
was willing to commit some powerful resources to this fight. She would have 
to
hurry if she wanted to make an entrance before the matter became moot. After
all, there was a play to be performed here.
	Tethys willed herself through space and appeared in front of the two
generals. They stopped, stunned by her sudden appearance. She was not 
worried
about attack. It wasn't just that she overpowered them - although she did - 
but
that she knew that they could little afford to turn their attention away 
from
the beast. She smirked, keeping her back to them.
	"Who are you?" the bestial one demanded.
	"My name is Tethys," she responded. "And I am here to deal with this."
	"What do you mean?" the more civilised one asked.
	"I have bigger fish to fry than this one, and can't allow myself to be
distracted," she explained as she began to walk forward. She allowed her 
magic
to flow at its fullest glory. To all eyes, she appeared no different, but 
now
even the most base and dense creature could sense her full majesty. All eyes
fixed on her as she strode across the ruined landscape. All activity ceased 
as
Tethys allowed them to feel the full presence of a god. She was no wounded,
mewling creature trapped in a cave. She had power, and the will and talent 
to
wield it well.
	"You." Tethys didn't raise her voice, but her words boomed across the
entire city. The behemoth paused, all eight of its heads craning to examine 
her.
She allowed it a moment to observe her before raising a single finger and
pointing at it. "If you surrender now, I will spare your life and the life 
of
your people."
	"Who are you, to make such a foolish demand of the Orochi?" the thing
bellowed.
	"If you do not, I will kill you now."
	"Do not try my patience, puny woman!" The eight heads laughed and, as
one, they unleashed their powers. Tethys could have met the blast with main
force, but she chose not to be there. Her body evaporated like mist before 
the
sun, condensing again a half-kilometer above the battlefield. The breath of 
the
Orochi melted a hole into the earth, leaving nothing but swirling magma in 
its
wake. Tethys sighed.
	"You know what the remarkable thing about life on earth is?" Tethys
asked the thing, drawing its attention. It looked up at her, its eyes 
widening.
She raised one hand, and its body went rigid. She raised the other, and 
slowly
the Orochi began to rise into the air. The great beast began to jerk and 
spasm,
its body futilely trying to fight her grip. "All of it consists mostly of
water."
	Tethys threw her hands to the side violently, and the Orochi exploded.
Great geysers of green blood tore it apart from the inside. The necks 
swelled,
the skin stretching taut and then bursting in all direction like a shattered
balloon. One head screamed as it was sent flying into the air. Tethys idly
snapped her fingers and that too was blasted into nothing as she violently
seized control of its internals.
	Great thuds resounded across the battlefield as the remains of the
Orochi rained down on the city. A section of Tokyo almost three kilometers
across had been painted green by the explosion of gore. Tethys smiled grimly 
and
floated back down to the hill where the masters of Chronos awaited her.
	The bestial man, with his white hair and weathered skin, was giving her
a much more wary look now. He backed up a step when she landed. The other 
was
only gazing at her calmly. He inclined his chin slightly in silent thanks 
and
she allowed a more genuine smile to grace her lips.
	"You know I could do the same thing to either of you?" Tethys asked. It
wasn't a threat, just a declaration. She had never met the regal man's
companion, but she knew his type well enough. The Dark Kingdom was full of 
youma
who only respected power and those with the willingness to wield it with 
brutal
efficiency. The regal man, conversely, would understand from her words that 
she
would be satisfied with her display of power.
	"Perhaps you can, but I would rather thank you not to. It will take
weeks to get the stains out as it is." Tethys looked over in surprise. An 
old
woman was approaching them, her body so shrunken with age that Tethys might 
have
mistaken her for a youma if she could not easily tell different. Her body 
was
covered in green blood.
	"Yes, quite..." the tall man's lips quirked up in a smile. "So, to what
do we owe your sudden intervention?"
	Tethys was about to respond, when she was interrupted. She backed up a
step, falling into a martial stance. As she did, her clothing swirled and
shifted around her into something more appropriate for battle. Her weapon
materialised from thin air in her grip. Once, it had been Beryl's staff. Now 
all
that remained of that was the orb that made up the pummel. Otherwise, the 
entire
thing had been reformed into a lance of black metal.
	The air literally ripped as the newcomer arrived. He exploded into the
world, and the world shuddered in turn. The first thing Tethys felt about 
him
was his power. It was immense. It didn't just rival Metallia's, it surpassed 
it.
The gulf was not so vast that she was truly afraid, but she was nonetheless
cautious as the man stepped out of the swirling light.
	He was of medium height, with elegant, alien elfin features. His hair
was short and his eyes large and expressive. His ears were long, tapered to 
a
point. His lean body was clad in a pristine white suit, with a kerchief 
tucked
into the vest pocket, and simple black gloves. He floated in the air before 
her
for a moment, then his feet settled on the ground.
	For a long moment, the air between them grew tense. His expression
wasn't exactly hostile, but neither was it friendly. It was the expression 
of a
man who has met his equal and never expected to. It was an expression of
confusion and curiosity. Tethys relaxed her pose, the tip of her lance 
dipping
to the ground.
	"LORD ARKANPHEL!" the regal man exclaimed. He fell to one knee, bowing
his head before the man. His more bestial companion paused a moment, his
expression growing briefly angry, before he followed suit. Arkanphel looked 
at
her a moment longer, and then gestured for them both to rise.
	"Who are you?" he asked. His voice was human. The accent was odd, and
the tone of his voice was strange, like he wasn't much used to asking 
questions.
	"My name is Tethys, I am the Empress of the Dark Kingdom." She didn't
bow, but she did nod her head slightly.
	"You... are powerful..." He raised a hand. "A strange anomaly. You
should not be here. Even more than the other anomalies."
	Tethys narrowed her eyes. "Are we going to fight, then?" She raised her
lance. Arkanphel paused, then turned to look behind him. He had felt her use 
her
power. He looked out across the city towards the ocean. There, a huge wave 
had
risen. It was fifty stories tall, its immense form suspended in front of the
city.
	"Impressive," Arkanphel murmured. "But I have seen better."
	Tethys smiled. "I'm certain you have. But I didn't come her to fight,
Arkanphel. I came here to save the world." Arkanphel turned to her, raising 
an
eyebrow. "One of my brothers is coming to this world." She pointed up at the
eclipse. "Through the tunnel in time and space he burrows like a maggot. 
When he
gets here, he will try to merge with this green Earth."
	"I see..." Arkanphel looked up at the eclipse for a long moment, not
bothering to shield his eyes. He raised his hand again... and Tethys grabbed 
it.
	"I wouldn't, if I were you," she warned.
	"Oh?"
	"The power required to destroy that gateway with brute force... the
backlash from it could very well crack the crust of the planet. At the very
least, this entire country will be sunk beneath the ocean. Millions, maybe 
even
billions, will die in the aftershocks."
	Arkanphel shook off her hand. "I will not let this world be destroyed. I
am not finished with it yet."
	Tethys smiled. "Then I suggest we wait."
	"Wait?" the old woman bounced forward. "For what? If that creature is as
powerful as you say, won't a fight on this end of the portal do just as much
damage as attacking it now?"
	"Yes." Tethys looked across the city, to the only building as yet
untouched by the battle. The Tokyo Tower looked almost pristine, directly
beneath the black hole sun. "But I don't think that will be necessary. My
brother does not realise it. But his kind is destined to lose. It is... his
nature to be defeated."
	"And is that also your nature?" Arkanphel asked.
	She narrowed her eyes. "Not anymore."

*

	Link cooed softly at the mitama in her hands, gently lulling the
consciousness inside to sleep.  She cradled it against her cheek for a 
moment,
savouring the living warmth, before placing it in the sack with the others.  
She
hadn't quite kept count, but she estimated they'd gathered nearly a hundred 
of
the precious treasures from the battlefield that was the city.  Some of them 
had
still been in shape to resist, of course, but Chris took care of that.
	Reminded of that, Link frowned and moved to take a closer look at the
corpse beside her. She carefully lifted the plasters, glancing underneath 
each
of them, then nodded, removing each in turn.  After redonning the corpse's
clothes, she turned to the bag behind her.  "It's done."  How delicious it 
was,
she reflected, to not say 'over'.  How wonderful, to never have to say it 
again.
	Chris's eyes opened, and he sat up.  He looked down at himself.  The
clothing was still frayed and torn, particularly the large hole in the chest
where Shampoo's sword had run him through, but the skin underneath was pale,
ever so slightly pinkish, and whole.  Chris raised his hands, flexing his
fingers, causing the muscles to twitch under the now unblemished skin of his
arms.  "A superb job."
	"It's not perfect," Link felt obliged to point out.  "I'll need more
time and a better method of exposure to completely reverse the deeper 
cellular
damage, and of course there's minor damage in the places I didn't apply the
solution to."
	Chris chuckled. "Still, it will do. Thank you, Link.  This will make
life a lot easier."
	"Well, you provided the Moss of Life for me, so it's only fitting I make
use of it for you.  However, I have to admit that this process may not be
perfect.  This reconstituted flesh may not have the durability of the 
original."
	"That won't be a problem, as long as you can continue to cultivate more
of the moss.  I suppose I'll just have to keep you around." He laughed.
	Link couldn't keep herself from smiling, though she had found doing it
made her face hurt.  "Of course you will."
	Chris reached up, feeling the smooth lines of his face... then his fist
suddenly dug into the unmarred skin.  Link blinked as, with a sickening 
sound
of tearing flesh, the dead man ripped out his eye and some of the flesh
surrounding it.  Black traces of blood and clear fluids from the moss 
plaster
leaked down the torn cheek.
	"I... take it that wasn't a wound you got in some fight?"
	Chris turned to face her for the first time.  His remaining eye was
glassy and cold.  "No.  Just something to help me remember."
	"I see.  Doesn't it affect your peripheral vision?"
	He blinked, the ruined eye twitching spasmodically, then laughed again.
"I hadn't thought of that.  Apparently it doesn't, in fact."
	"Interesting."  Link made a mental note to study the phenomena later.
"So, what did that woman know?"
	Chris glanced over at the small, damp bag, his expression becoming
serious. "That was a close thing.  She was associated with Sailor Pluto.  
But
now I know what that group is up to.  It won't be difficult to avoid them."
	Link nodded.  "And what about what's going on here today?"  She glanced
up at the still, silent, darkened sun.  She could just barely feel the 
resonance
of the power behind it.  Another fascinating phenomena.
	Chris snorted. "She didn't know anything useful.  I'm pretty sure it's
some Sailor Moon villain.  Nothing to worry about."
	"Oh?" Link raised an eyebrow.  "There's a lot of power being organised
here."
	"More than you know," Chris smirked.  "Arkanphel's here.  And someone
else near his level, as well as a few zoalords.  Which is why I'm not 
worried.
Even if whatever it is escapes, they're going to destroy it.  Eventually."
	"And you're not going to help?"
	Chris shook his head.  "Not practical.  It's obvious I've been lucky up
until now, but I can't risk letting news of my existence spread.  I'll end 
up
like Ukyou, being attacked every time I turn my back and never accomplishing
anything."  He glanced out over the burning ruins of the city.  "I think 
it's
clear that I'm here to accomplish something.  And it's not to fight with the
likes of Sailor Pluto, or even Arkanphel.  Not directly, anyway, and not 
yet."
	Link leaned back, one hand idly stroking her bag of mitamas.  They slept
fitfully, not yet completely under her control.  But since Murakumo's 
insistent
calls to all the aragami had abruptly vanished, it would only be a matter of
time.  "So, should we be getting out of the city just in case?"
	"Oh no, I think I'd like to watch a bit longer yet."  He grinned
lopsidedly.  "I just wish some of those idiots would figure out to go to the
Tokyo Tower and stop this before it really starts."
	Link raised an eyebrow.  "Oh?  Whatever's behind this is at the Tokyo
Tower?"
	Chris laughed, rising to his feet and straightening his jacket. "Of
course, Link.  It always is."

*

	Ukyou was moving on auto-pilot. She responded to questions she didn't
really hear. She moved around obstacles she didn't really see. She fought
battles she wasn't really aware of.
	The Glaive sang in her grasp. It felt like it was molded to her hands.
It was an extension of her arms. For over a decade, Ukyou had dedicated 
herself
to learning how to fight with a weapon many considered bizarre. It was 
unwieldy.
Its head was too large, its shaft too long. It failed in every evaluation of 
a
weapon, But Ukyou had made it work. She had trained against the raging sea, 
day
in and day out. She had made that weapon work.
	For him. Oh god it hurt. It hurt worse than she had ever thought
possible. She had been through every torment she could think of. She had 
been on
the brink of death more times than she cared to admit. But this pain in her
heart, this empty black pit hurt more than anything else. It was all she 
could
feel, it was all she could acknowledge. She was amazed she was still moving,
still walking, still talking. But she had trained so many years for a 
greater
purpose. She had mastered that weapon, bizarre as it was, for a reason.
	For a while, she had thought that she could transfer that hard-earned
skill to a simple wooden staff. But that hadn't been why she had trained. 
She
had trained for this. Its shaft was too long, its head poorly formed for
striking. But Ukyou could wield it like it had been in her possession for 
years,
not hours.
	A dozen vampires in under five seconds. She had moved into them, and the
Glaive had appeared in her hands. She wasn't even certain how she had 
summoned
it. It just came when she called now. She had made it a part of her. As much 
a
part of her as her hands or her eyes or her heart. The long shaft had spun
between her fingers, cleaving two monsters in twain. She danced back, 
dropping
the weapon and kicking it back up so it rebounded off the face of a creature
trying to claw at her, toppling it back into its peers. She caught it and 
bent
backward, striking a monster behind her. Another grabbed her from the front, 
a
savage bearhug. She twirled the Glaive around her neck and beheaded it.
	A second later and it was all over. She hadn't even needed to draw out
any of its deeper powers. She could feel them through the blade. It hummed, 
a
constant low key pitch. Just under the range of human hearing, but Aaron 
could
hear it. That sound, that constant perfect tone was all that stood between 
this
world and the Silence. All she had to do was will it still.
	"Are you alright?"
	Integra was asking her a question. Ukyou responded that she was fine.
Aaron focused, just a moment. No-one had heard the commotion. It had 
happened
too quickly. They weren't aware. He informed her of such.
	"Good." Integra moved over to the helicopter the vampires had been
guarding. With a flick of her hand Ukyou banished the Glaive back to 
wherever it
remained when not in use. A few seconds later and they were rising into the 
air.
A dozen commandos were in the back. The best Integra had.
	They were all going to die.
	Victoria had been left behind. Her orders had been simple. Keep the men
alive. They probably could have used her firepower, but Ukyou had argued 
that
this mission required stealth. Victoria was many things, but a well-trained
thief she was not. Ukyou herself remembered the time she had not been so 
good at
this kind of thing. Everyone in Furinkan had known Ukyou was following 
around
Akane, back when she first arrived.
	Then she had just kept getting better at it. The void chakra, she
supposed. It wasn't only the font of perception and understanding, it was 
also
the source of deception and illusion. Working it was like working a muscle. 
As
it grew stronger, it was only natural Ukyou became better at these kind of
things.
	The Ex Machina came into sight ahead of them. Ukyou would have been
impressed by the sight, if she had really been looking at it? It was almost 
a
kilometer long. Ukyou might have been able to destroy it from afar. But then 
she
would be testing the limits of her control. There was too much chance of the
Silence growing out of her control. Plus she knew that wasn't how it worked.
Blow the zeppelin out of the air, and the Major would not die. It just 
didn't
work that way. He would survive everything but a final confrontation. The 
only
way he would be dead was if Ukyou saw him die.
	That was the way the stories worked.
	They managed to get very close before they were spotted. They got even
closer before the enemy guns opened fire. Integra was a fantastic pilot, 
much
better than Ukyou would have thought. But even she wouldn't be able to dodge 
so
much incoming fire. Ukyou slid out onto the landing struts. She stood there 
for
a moment, the wind blowing through her hair and causing her coat to flip 
wildly
about her. The missiles and cannon fire flew in. They travelled in slow 
motion.
	Then her hand snapped up and the Glaive was there. "AEGIS SILEO!" The
incoming fire exploded harmlessly against a wall a few meters in front of 
them.
Integra wheeled and dove right through the suddenly empty sky. Missiles were
chasing them and Ukyou blocked all she could, but she couldn't be 
everywhere.
They were coming in from all angles now.
	"Disembark!" The order cracked like a whip.
	Ukyou leapt, and the commandos leapt with her. They were above the
zeppelin, so they all landed on it. The helicopter went up like a firework
behind them. A few of the men didn't make it. Integra did. She barked some 
more
orders and the men split up.
	Their orders were simple. Mayhem and destruction. They had bombs and
they were to set them off whereever they could. Cry havoc and let loose the 
dogs
of war. They wouldn't accomplish anything. Any damage they did could be
repaired. They would be lucky if they lasted five minutes. But they didn't 
need
to survive. They only needed to distract. Give Ukyou and Integra enough time 
to
make it to the command center undetected, unseen.
	He would be there. Ukyou knew it. He would be sitting back in his chair,
his hands steepled in his lap. He would be smiling. He would be laughing. 
Right
now, he was probably praising his enemies for such a bold strike. He would 
be
picking apart their strategy. He would be unravelling their plan.
	"We don't have much time," Ukyou said automatically.
	Integra nodded and Ukyou picked her up. She almost flew across the top
of the zeppelin. Then she was running further and further down it. Her feet
barely touched the metal shell as she ran. She was the wind. All her energy 
was
in the heart of her wind chakra, pumping it up. She moved so fast, her body
became so light, that gravity lost its grip. She ran down the edge of the 
great
machine, angling down. She came up underneath it.
	Even her skill could not let her run along the bottom of the ship. So
with a mighty leap she pushed herself one last time. Her free hand snapped 
out
and caught the handle of a door. Her foot kicked it in. She was through a 
moment
later, placing Integra against the wall. There was a vampire there. He 
didn't
get a chance to be surprised.
	"Which way?" Integra asked.
	Ukyou closed her eyes for a moment. "Up, and right. This way."
	They moved through the vessels like ghosts. Once again, Aaron was
surprised at how skilled Integra was at this. They moved quickly. The ship 
was
rocked by the occasional explosion, but they were all far away and moving
further with every step. The vampires were swarming towards the attack. It 
was
going to work. They would get their one shot.
	Ukyou's hand tightened around the Glaive. One shot. She had to focus on
that. She had to remember how much was riding on this. The pain in her heart 
was
nothing compared to that one shot. It was too important. They had to 
succeed.
They HAD to succeed. With the Major gone, Millennium would be broken.
	Then what?
	Don't think about that. It was just another thing. She would deal with
it when it came, just like everything else. Besides, everything important 
had
been done. Akane was gone, gone a long time ago. She could only pray the 
girl
would be safe. Hotaru was gone, gone with one of the strongest people Aaron
knew. She would be safe. Her destiny was over. Ranma was gone. He hated 
them...
oh, god how that thought hurt, but the important thing was that he was 
leaving.
It had worked exactly like she had wanted it to. He had been driven away, 
away
from her, away from England. Now the only thing left was her.
	Ukyou held up a hand. Integra stopped. There was someone up ahead. He
was coming closer. He hadn't sensed them yet, but he would soon. Ukyou 
gripped
the Glaive tighter, debating whether to strike or flee. They didn't have 
time to
flee. This had to be finished now.
	Ukyou dashed into the hallway and her blade came up. The enemy dropped
back, screaming in surprise. He was faster than the other vampires. Not 
much,
but enough. What should have been a fatal blow only tore his cap from his 
head
and sent a few oily black hairs falling to the ground.
	"Aw fuck, and that was my favorite hat!"
	Ukyou paused, staring. Yan Valentine stood in front of her. His missing
eye stared grotesquely at her. The entire right half of his body was now 
also a
ruin. Horrible burns traced down his arm and leg. Her blade dipped slightly.
There was something wrong here... something Aaron could sense at the tip of 
his
tongue.
	"Hey, you're that Ukyou chick!"
	"Yan Valentine..." Ukyou growled. "You're dead."
	"Not yet," he laughed. "I take a lickin' and keep on tickin'." He
smirked. "So that's what happened to that thing. I was wondering why the
wonder girl didn't use it!"
	Ukyou stalled, the blade falling. She recognised it now. It wasn't a
taste, it was a smell. A scent that was familiar. He reeked of it. It 
permeated
his being. She backed up a step, mouthing 'no' over and over, but no sound 
would
come out.
	"Heh," Yan gestured with his ruined arm. "I know, I'm just not the stud
I used to be. Blame that bookworm bitch. Blew up my motherfuckin' 
flamethrower!
I LOVED that thing! And she set me on fire!" Then he laughed. "Of course, I 
just
grabbed her at the same time. You know, all that paper she carries around, 
all
those dry old books in her pockets, she went up like a candle!" He smirked.
"Women burn better than men, you see. It's all the fat in their tits. It 
took me
a few weeks of experiments to figure that one out."
	Ukyou didn't want to hear this, but she couldn't block it out. This was
real and was happening now. This wasn't something she was just doing. This 
was
something here and now, something that could not be denied.
	"Sucked she was so friggin' crispy by the end that she couldn't even
make a good after-battle snack. Of course, there was still that little gir-"
	There was a loud hum, as sharp as a whip cracking. Ukyou stood on the
other side of Yan now, the Silence Glaive still extended from her strike. 
For a
moment everything was silent. Then the ship began to creak. A long line 
appeared
in the walls. It extended across the entire hallway, bisecting it perfectly.
The walls and floor and ceiling began to drift away from each other.
	"Fuck, bitch, I wasn't finished yet!" Yan growled as his own face began
to slowly inch apart. Then he simply vanished, his body unravelling in all
directions at once. Ukyou didn't care. She barely even noticed. She could 
feel
the power of the Third Circle flowing through her. It made the pain stop. It
made all the pain stop.
	She had failed. She had failed at everything.

*

	Akira slipped back, the soles of her boots leaving a skidmark on the
stone floor, and just kept out of range of Elegen's deadly field. The hyper
zoanoid snarled and reversed direction to float towards her.
	He was slow. Without his tentacles, he had no way of attacking her at
range. But with his aura, she couldn't even approach, and he was fast enough 
to
dodge if she tried to launch a chi blast at anything other than point blank
range.
	Akira began to chuckle as she cartwheeled away from him again. She was
certainly getting her fill of electricity today. But Elegen was as much more
powerful than Kyosuke as a powerline was above a nine-volt battery. Still, 
maybe
she didn't have to get close to affect him.
	Akira landed from her cartwheel and as she did, her fist slammed into
the ground. Her fingers dug into the thin crack between two flagstones. 
Elegen
was bearing down on her again, and Akira met his inhuman eyes and waited.
	Then she screamed and leapt up, her arms pulling the entire flagstone
free. A thin square of white rock, almost a meter on each side, flew up into 
the
air and towards the monster. He chuckled and snapped out his palm. The 
energy of
his aura coalesced and there was a loud crack like thunder. The stone 
shattered
into a thousand pieces, the harmless rubble showering down around him.
	"Nice try, kid."
	"I'm not finished yet," Akira replied as she began to slowly circle
around him. Elegen was content to watch her for now. He even crossed his 
arms as
he waited for her to try her next gambit. The problem was, she didn't have 
many
advantages here. The only thing she had going for her was room. There 
weren't
enough things around to use as weapons. The occasional park bench or trash 
can
were all made of metal, meaning he could stop them in mid-air. Then her eyes
settled on her brother's bike.
	She smiled again, and looked up. It would be a risk. It would be a huge
risk. She might not survive. But... water was all about adapting. Fitting
yourself to any situation.
	"Okay, tough guy." Akira smirked and spun her arms around her in an
elaborate flowing kata, before snapping them in front of her and releasing a
slow breath. "Let's finish this!"
	She leapt straight up. Elegen's eel-head jerked in surprise, then he
rose to follow her. Akira landed on a girder, coming down with enough force 
that
she bent the steel slightly. Elegen was chuckling as he landed a few meters
down the girder from her.
	"Idiot girl, did you think this was a good idea?" His perpetually open
sucker-fish mouth quirked in what might have been a smile. "Up here, I can 
do...
THIS!"
	His aura surged, and the lightning snapped down the length of the girder
towards Akira. She felt it licking along the bottom of her feet as she leapt
away. She latched onto another girder just above, her fingers bending the 
metal
slightly. Elegen laughed and reached up to grab that one too. Akira was away
before he did, her fingers slipping free just a second before the deadly
electricity caught her.
	She kicked to the side, knocking a small hole in a girder and sending
herself flying in a new direction. Elegen cursed and floated to follow her. 
His
arms snapped out, tapping a metal I-beam here and there. Electric arcs 
snapped
and flashed around Akira as she rebounded from position to position, always 
a
second ahead of Elegen's attacks. She circled him, her breath beginning to 
come
harder and harder.
	She was slowing down.
	The flash of an electric arc ran up her leg. She screamed and bounced
away, flipping around a beam like a gymnast. Tears leaked from her eyes.
	No. She couldn't run out of energy now. She was so close.
	Two more evasions later, Elegen guessed her pattern and there was a
deadly shock waiting for her when she grabbed another pole. She screamed 
again,
trying to pull away as her body froze up. With an effort of will, she pried 
her
hands free and somehow dodged the next three strikes, just keeping away from 
him
on instinct alone.
	She had been fighting too long. She was exhausted. There was nothing
left to give.
	No. Just a little longer. Just a few more steps ahead of him!
	"Give it up, girl!" Elegen cried. "There is no escape!"

*

	Akane tried to block, but the sound ignored her blade. It smashed into
her and she was sent flying. She might have cried out, but she could hear
nothing. The blast had deafened her, a part of her realised. It was a small
mercy.
	She landed poorly, her sword skittering away from her hand. It was
visibly vibrating as it came to a stop almost five meters away. Akane let 
out a
long groan and rose to her feet. Eudial was coming towards her, adjusting 
the
controls on her chest plate.
	Akane assumed a stance. Her bones hurt. Her body felt like it had been
crushed from all sides at once. She couldn't hear a thing. Eudial's mouth 
was
moving, but no sound reached Akane's ears. Akane just waited.
	The woman dashed forward, her right arm striking at Akane from a few
meters away. Akane leapt, leapfrogging as high as she could. The ground 
below
her was reduced to a fine mist. She came down at Eudial, locking her fists
together and bringing them down like an axe. The woman didn't even try to 
dodge.
The blow smashed into her shoulder and she just bent down slightly. Red 
lines of
light formed at the impact, and began to travel to the collector jewels on 
her
chest.
	Eudial smirked and said something. Akane smirked back, and grabbed her
by the neck. Eudial's eyes widened and she might have screamed as Akane 
picked
her up. Akane spun, once, twice... again and again and as fast as she could,
until the world was a blur and she couldn't stand it anymore. Then with a 
cry of
rage she let go. The centrifugal force sent Eudial flying like a discus, her
body careening out into the man-eating jungle around the tower.
	Akane spun a few more times and staggered, dizzy. Finally she slumped to
her knees and clutched her head. She could feel blood on her palms as they
covered her ears.
	She started as a hand settled on her shoulder. She looked up and saw
Matsudaira looking down at her. She had crawled over on her ruined leg. She 
was
holding some sort of salve in her other hand. She pulled her hand away from
Akane's shoulder and indicated Akane should do the same with her ears.
	The salve tingled as Matsudaira applied it, and Akane felt the pain in
her head suddenly triple. She gasped and doubled over, clapping her hands 
over
her burning ears.
	"...moments to fully recover," Matsudaira was saying. "My powers aren't
well-suited to healing. I'm sorry..."
	"I..." the pain began to lessen. "I'm fine. Thank you."
	"SOUND BUSTER!"
	Akane grabbed Matsudaira and rolled away on instinct. Still, the blast
was close enough that her controlled roll was transformed into a short 
flight.
The two women landed in a mess of arms and legs. Akane quickly began to 
extract
herself, and Matsudaira hissed in pain as her leg was turned under her.
	"You little bitch," Eudial snarled as she stepped free of the last
creepers that had been trying to hold her. "Did you really think that would 
stop
me?"
	"I had to hope," Akane said, rising. She reached up and clutched her
hands over her heart. She heard a scream from overhead. It was Akira. The 
scream
didn't stop, it just kept going on and on. Oh god... she sounded like she 
was
dying. The star seeds pulsed in her grip.
	They were meant for her. They were meant for Akira. With them, they
could win this battle. Akane closed her eyes, trying to will the certainty 
away.
It filled everything. It was a tension, like a rubber band stretched to its
breaking point. If she didn't release it soon, it would snap.
	"BUSTER KNUCKLE!"
	Akane opened her eyes just in time to see that Eudial had closed in on
her. She was punching at her, the speaker on her wrist vibrating with 
potential
energy. Akane could do nothing to dodge at this range. If that punch hit, 
she
would be killed.
	Akane began to scream.
	"URANUS-"

*

	The world had narrowed and narrowed. There was only her and the maze of
intersecting girders. Just her and the girders and him. She couldn't afford 
to
waste concentration on other things. She couldn't waste time with the rush 
of
the air, or the sounds of the battle below and above. She couldn't waste 
time
thinking about how damaged she was, how exhausted.
	She had to keep going. Anything else was unacceptable. So she did. She
didn't think about it. She just did.
	Akira landed sideways on a final girder. It bent and popped, rivets
snapping out of it. Then she was away, the flash of electricity a 
millisecond
behind. But she had miscalculated. She came down too close to him, too close 
to
escape. He shouted in joy and snapped both hands onto the girder she was on, 
and
the power came to her.
	Her back arched and her mouth froze open. She was screaming. She could
smell her hair burning. Elegen just laughed, pumping more and more energy 
into
her.
	It couldn't end like this.
	She wouldn't let it.
	For the second time that day, her heart skipped a beat and she was
almost convinced it wouldn't start again.
	But it did.
	Akira reached up, fighting through the pain, fighting past the nerve-
frying energy. She had to trigger it. Her plan had to work. Anything else 
was
unacceptable.
	She grabbed the final girder, just a hand's reach away. She screamed and
her fingers sunk into the metal like it was made of soft clay. Her arm 
twisted,
ripping it free. She tossed the metal chunk at him.
	It halted in mid-air, a half-meter from his head. "I thought I already
told you that was useless," he sneered.
	"Maybe..." Akira hissed. "But... maybe the rest of it, is too much for
you?"
	Elegen quirked his head to the side. Then he heard it. A snap here, a
pop there. An ominous creak that turned into a loud crack. His head looked
around and he realised too late what she had been doing.
	Every landing, every evasion, had all been directed. Each rebound had
inflicted a little more structural damage on the tower. Popped joints, bent
supports, broken girders. All of it around him, drawing him in. The 
electricity
cut off abruptly as Elegen floated back, but it was too late.
	Akira chuckled as she allowed herself to collapse off the side of the
girder. It was a long fall to the ground, but she was chuckling the whole 
way.
Elegen roared in defiance as almost a third of Tokyo Tower just suddenly
collapsed on him. It was a spectacular sight, an avalanche of grey metal 
pouring
down on him. He raised his arms up defiantly, and his aura expanded.
	Akira hit the ground, the air exploding from her lungs, just as the
cascade of metal met his power. "I will not let this beat me!" he screamed, 
and
his aura pulsed out even further. She could see sweat dripping down his 
purple
flesh. For a moment, she thought he would hold it.
	But then again, it didn't matter if he did or not. Akira reached over,
grabbing onto the bottom of her brother's bike. It was a massive thing, much
larger than the kind you usually got in Japan. He had gotten it custom-made.
Akira herself had spent days, weeks... years painstakingly crafting pieces,
tuning it, refining it until it was a perfect machine.
	It was much heavier than she had expected. She struggled to lift it, but
lift it she did. A single strike with a finger and the gas tank was 
punctured.
It was half full, but it would be enough. Above her, Elegen was laughing. 
The
avalanche had stopped. But he had directed all his power above him. His aura 
was
directed entirely into the air over his head. His lower half was totally
exposed.
	Akira screamed and threw her brother's bike like a javelin. It flew up,
trailing a stream of amber liquid. Akira reached down, literally and
spiritually, dragging up the very last of her reserves. With a cry she 
pushed
out her chi, blasting a wave of force up into that amber trail.
	It ignited, and chased the ascending motorcycle. It caught it just as
the bike reached Elegen. It caught it just as Elegen looked down to see what 
was
happening. His inhuman eyes widened ever so slightly. Then the bike 
exploded.
	Perhaps the explosion took him out. Perhaps not. The point was rendered
moot a moment later when several hundred tonnes of steel smashed through the
space he had been, pouring into the ground and shattering the flagstone
courtyard, throwing up a cloud of dust.

*

	Akane cut off, slamming her mouth shut.
	She couldn't do it.
	She couldn't swallow the senshi's soul. Even if it meant saving the
world. Even if it meant living. She couldn't profit from another person's 
death.
	Eudial's fist was a fraction of an inch from her face now. Akane heard a
titanic roar behind her. She only hoped Akira survived. Someone had to.
	Then she was falling to the side. She gaped as Matsudaira pushed her
away with one hand, stepping forward to meet Eudial. Her other hand raised 
up.
	"CHEMICAL BUSTER!"
	There was a flash of green and a loud bang, like a cannonshot. Then
Matsudaira was flying back like a marionette with its strings cut. She fell
down at the base of a twisted mass of fallen girders that had formed in the
center of the courtyard. She lay there, unmoving.
	Akane gaped, then she heard Eudial scream. The woman was pulling at her
smoking armour. Her fingers desperately clawed at buckles and straps. Piece 
by
piece her armour fell to the ground. Eudial stepped away from the smoking 
mass,
taking deep breaths. Underneath her armour, she had been wearing a red and 
black
dress with a skirt made of thin strips of cloth.
	Akane stood up and walked over to Matsudaira. She knelt next to the
unmoving woman and placed her fingers on her neck. The pulse fluttered 
weakly.
	"Matsudaira..."
	"I'm... dying..." she said. Her eyes were closed, and there was blood
leaking from the corner of her mouth. "Massive internal injuries... 
punctured
lung... ruptured organs..."
	"Don't talk..." Akane grabbed her hand.
	"No..." The woman squeezed Akane's hand. "Not much time."
	"Matsudaira..."
	"...better this way..." she coughed. "Can't fight the demon forever. It
consumes. Always consumes. What it does... its nature..." Her back arched 
and
she hissed in pain. "Better this way. Thank you..."
	"Don't say that!" Akane screamed. "You deserve to live!"
	"Thank you..." Matsudaira was either unable to hear, or ignoring Akane
now. "You saved me... now... my boy... my family... you have to save him for
me... please?"
	"I..."
	"I won't be there for him... you have to be... help him... please..."
	"I..." Akane bowed her head. "I promise."
	When Akane looked up, Matsudaira had opened her eyes to smile at her one
last time. Then the light in her eyes faded and her head lolled to the side.
	Akane knelt there another second, holding the limp hand. She had never
met this woman before today. She had no idea who she was, not really.
	Akane stood up and walked to her sword. She drew it from the ground and
turned to face Eudial. The woman was standing at the edge of the forest,
frantically looking for an exit. Akane took a step towards her and she 
stopped.
She turned slowly as Akane approached. The knuckles holding the blade turned
white. Eudial stared at her, sweat forming on her brow. She held up her 
hands.
	"I surrender!" Akane kept walking. "I surrender! Please!" Akane lifted
the blade. "Oh god! I surrender! Don't kill me! PLEASE!"
	Akane brought the tip of her blade up and rested it in the hollow of
Eudial's neck. The woman swallowed. A long moment passed.
	"You're not worth it," Akane said finally, and withdrew her blade.
Eudial let out a deep sigh of relief.
	Then her head flashed to one side, a geyser of blood erupting from the
stump. Her body stood motionless for a moment, then slowly toppled.
	Akane stared as the figure of a woman walked through the blood. The
newcomer tilted her head back, and her tongue darted out, catching a few 
drops
of the liquid. Her back arched and she moaned like an animal as she 
swallowed.
Akane backed up a step.
	"Vice," she hissed.
	Vice did not look well. Her clothes had been all but torn to shreds. Her
body was coated in blood. Her hair had turned a deep scarlet. Her eyes shone
with dark light as they fixed on Akane. Akane raised her sword in front of
herself. Vice smiled.
	The first blow was too fast for Akane to follow. She merely felt her
sword shake and she fell back. The second blow traced a line of pain up her 
arm.
She hissed and fell back further. When had Vice gotten so fast? What was she
even doing here?
	Akane fell to her knees and Vice charged in again, her clawed fingers
reaching for the other girl's neck.

*

	The line of blue light traced a path of destruction along the wall.
Valkyrie skimmed along, a second ahead of the beam. Her hands snapped down, 
and
bullets roared from her fingertips. Kusanagi cursed and aborted to dodge,
flinging himself to the side as her attack chewed up the floor where he had
been.
	The observation deck was in tatters. Huge holes had been blown in the
walls, floors and ceiling. Jagged twisted metal stuck out here and there, 
with
each second becoming more and more of a hazard to his dodges. The only 
things
untouched were Susano-oh's cage, Momiji's cocoon and Telulu, who was 
laughing
the whole time.
	Kusanagi snarled and leapt to the side, projecting another duet of
energy blasts at her. Once again Valkyrie darted down with supersonic speed,
intercepting the attack before they could reach her mistress. And so the 
battle
had gone. Kusanagi trying to get in a shot on Telulu, her abomination 
blocking
and then the two of them duking it out for another few seconds until he felt 
he
had another shot.
	Then an explosion blasted through the metal right next to Momiji. She
screamed, a piece of shrapnel cutting a line across her cheek.
	"MOMIJI!" he roared, and leapt up. He bounced off the ceiling and came
straight down at that metal bitch, heedless of anything but hitting her with 
his
full force. Valkyrie only smiled.
	"Valkyrie detects an opening! Fox-three!"
	"KUSANAGI!"
	The breasts of the monster detached, their supple curves morphing into
the shapes of missiles. Kusanagi had seen this trick before, and he smiled. 
With
a roar, he pushed himself back. He wasn't certain how. He just did it. He 
felt a
power flow through him, and he knew he could fly.
	He laughed and the spines on his back glowed as they unleashed his most
powerful attack. A beam of concentrated bio-energy lanced down from him and
straight into the missiles, catching them only a few feet away from the 
metallic
monster.
	The explosion echoed across the chamber, and the metal woman screamed.
She flew back, her body creating a crater in the metal floor. Smoke rose 
from
her, and bits and pieces of her armour had been twisted or destroyed by the
blast. Kusanagi could see wires pumping like veins, pistons and pulleys 
flexing
like muscle under the damaged metal armour.
	Kusanagi laughed again. He looked down. His mitamas were glowing, each
and every one lit up and burning brightly. The ground hovered four meters
beneath him. He was flying! But how? He knew that he didn't have the perfect 
set
of eight "souls" like Murakumo. He shouldn't have been able to fly.
	Then he saw the light out of the corner of his eyes. He turned and
looked at Momiji. The light was coming from her. It was shining through the
thick cocoon she was bound in. Shining from the eighth mitama embedded 
between
her breasts.
	"Kusanagi..." she breathed.
	"Valkyrie is not finished yet!" the machine-woman declared. Her engines
roared and she flashed across the room... straight for Momiji! Kusanagi 
cursed
and pushed himself towards her, not sure how, but moving through sheer force 
of
will. He wasn't fast enough. Valkyrie reached the girl first, and her hands
snapped up, tearing Momiji free of her prison.
	The girl gasped in the monster's arms as she hugged her to her chest and
spun to face Kusanagi. He stopped, floating in mid-air just in front of her.
Valkyrie smiled and began to circle around him. "Valkyrie thinks this is the
perfect shield! Valkyrie thinks you are not brave enough to shoot through 
this
one! Shame!"
	Kusanagi glared at her helplessly, his fist clenching and unclenching.
Momiji stared into his eyes, her big soft brown eyes glittering with tears.
	"Do it, Kusanagi," she said.
	"Mo... Momiji, no!"
	"If you kill me, you'll take her out too. And if I die, then all the
aragami in the city will go back to sleep. The battle will be over. The
suffering will end."
	"I..." Kusanagi closed his eyes, fighting back sudden tears. "No,
Momiji! I won't do it!"
	"You want to kill Telulu, right?" Momiji said. "For what she did to my
sister? This is your chance!"
	"NO!" He roared. "I would never... I would never hurt you..."
	"Valkyrie has had enough of talking!" the monster declared. She pointed
her machine-gun fingers at Momiji's head. "Valkyrie thinks you will 
surrender or
Valkyrie will blow her head off!"

*

	Akane rose slowly to her feet. Blood dripped down one arm. The other
clutched her blade loosely. Her left leg was twitching uncontrollably; a 
quintet
of slashes had torn into her thigh. They had missed a vital artery by
centimeters. She could barely breathe.
	Vice was torturing her to death. The woman, more animal than human now,
stalked around Akane. She was practically purring. Akane kept her in sight 
and
tried to think.
	But her mind kept going back to the star seeds. Because she had been
unwilling to use them, Matsudaira had died. Was it worth it, just to 
preserve
her own morality? If she didn't use them, Vice would kill her. Slowly.
Painfully. How was she supposed to keep her promise to the woman then?
	But...
	She had seen what happened when you started letting such things justify
your life. Chris... Chris had taken Adon's body, had taken the boy's body... 
He
hadn't killed them with his own hands, but he had taken them. And because he
had, other people had died. If Pink hadn't been stopped, she would have kept 
on
killing for him... again and again and he would have never stopped her.
	Akane did not doubt that some things needed to be stopped. Some evils
did not deserved to be spared. Some monsters could not be saved. That was 
the
lesson of the steel in her hands. That was what Shampoo's blood had taught 
her.
	But could you defeat monsters, without becoming one yourself?
	Vice tired of waiting, and came in again. Akane parried the first blow,
but the second slammed her back. She smashed into one of the giant supports 
of
the tower. She coughed, and saw blood splatter across the flagstones. Vice
unfurled her long sleeve. Akane was familiar with her trick, but could 
barely
rise, much less counter.
	She just couldn't get the star seeds out of her mind. Every time she
thought she had been pushed to the edge, given a choice to use them or die, 
she
had chosen no.
	And she hadn't died yet.
	Akane felt something hit her. Something primal. She didn't understand
it, but she just went with it.
	She didn't even bother to raise her blade. She didn't try to stand. She
just sat there and waited for the end.
	Vice roared and her sleeve snapped forward...
	A black shape materialized in front of Akane, her feet snapping up a
cloud of dust as she landed. Akira caught the sleeves between her palms, the
sound of her clap echoing across the plaza.
	Akane didn't pause. She sprang forward like a coiled spring. Vice was
stunned for a precious second, uncertain what to make of this newcomer. She
never got a chance to decide, as Akane's blade buried itself up to the hilt 
in
her heart.
	Time seemed to stop for a moment. Then Vice slowly turned her head to
Akane. For a moment, Akane thought she would strike back. That even this 
hadn't
done it. Then Vice smiled, a last, final smile. It was a smile of utter
contentment.
	Then she died. Akane let her slide off the tip of her sword. The sword
clattered to the ground a moment later. Akane turned around and fell to her
hands and knees, dry heaving. She squeezed her eyes shut. 'Remember this
feeling,' she told herself silently. 'Never forget it.'
	Akira slumped down behind her. Akane spun and ran to the girl. Akira
reached up and clasped Akane's hand when it came to rest on her shoulder. 
She
looked like hell warmed over, but she was smiling.
	"Are you okay?"
	"I'll... live..." Akira sighed. "I... I want to fight on, but I
can't..." She slowly laid back, and Akane helped her. "There's just nothing 
left
to give, Akane."
	"I understand..."
	"You'll have to go on alone..." Akira murmured sleepily. "You're the
only one left, if Kusanagi fails..."
	"I understand..." Akane thought one last time about the star seeds. Then
she stood up and began to walk away.
	"Wait... how are you going to fight them?"
	"I... I need a weapon that can kill a god," Akane explained, and left it
at that.

*

	The sky overhead was the colour of blood. The black hole sun was near
its zenith. The flames of the fallen zeppelin rose into the sky, their glare
reflected in the clouds. The storm was coming in quickly, sweeping in from 
all
sides, spreading across the globe. Angry fingers of lightning rained down on 
the
earth. The sea rose up, smashing against the fragile land. The world was
shuddering. It was in pain.
	Ukyou stood in the center of the conflagration, looking up into the
fragile lights of the stars as they winked out one by one. Aaron could feel 
it
coming. It was rushing towards them with the speed of a freight train. The 
end
of the world. The Silence Glaive rested softly in their hands, its tip 
buried in
the ground in front of them.
	Integra was behind her, leaning against a piece of debris. Her face was
charred and there was blood dripping from her side. Her breathing was coming 
in
short, sharp gasps.
	"Heh..." She smirked. Ukyou didn't even turn to look at the woman. There
was a hiss as she lit another cigar. "Quite the show. I never knew you had 
it in
you."
	Ukyou just continued staring up at the sky. This didn't feel right. Her
strike against Yan had sheared through the entire Ex Machina. The great 
machine
had come apart around them. Ukyou had grabbed Integra and fallen, the debris
around her. The massive airship had gone up. The explosion had torn down the
buildings beneath it. It had deafened out all sound. It had blinded out all
light.
	Ukyou had just fallen between the raining debris, a dark shadow among a
rain of flame. She had landed here, and not moved one step since. They had 
come
for her, the vampires, those that survived the explosion, those that hadn't 
been
on the ship when it went up. Her Glaive had sung a song for them until they
stopped coming.
	She was covered in wounds. Blood still flowed from where a rocket had
blown shrapnel into her thigh. The Third Circle was tearing her apart 
inside.
She wouldn't be able to continue much longer. She knew, in the rational part 
of
her mind, that she should let it go. But she couldn't. It made the pain 
stop.
	It was all useless. She had set out to do one thing. She had decided to
make one stand. Just Hotaru. Just one little girl. Just let me save her, had
been her silent plea. But everything she touched was destroyed.
	"It isn't over," Ukyou said as Integra tried to stand. The woman looked
at her. "It doesn't end like this."
	Integra was about to answer when a voice began to laugh. Ukyou had never
heard the voice before, but she knew instantly who it was.
	"Remarkable! Fantastic! Un amazing show!"
	"Major Krieg," Ukyou turned around. There was a boyish young man
lounging against the side of a rather large piece of debris. He wore a 
Hitler
Youth uniform and had short blonde hair with two black tufts shaped like 
cat's
ears. He smiled and waved at her. In his lap was a laptop computer. On the
screen was a shadowy figure. He was round, almost obese, his silhouette 
filled
with darkness. Only the glint of his glasses, his teeth and his pristine 
white
gloves came through the screen. He was clapping. "I must say, young woman, 
you
certainly surprised me."
	Integra cursed and snapped up her arm, her pistol gleaming. Ukyou caught
her arm. "It's no use. He just wants to brag."
	"I can kill the messenger!" Integra snarled. Schrodinger just smiled at
her. Ukyou considered letting her do it, but as amusing as the thought of 
seeing
a cat-boy get his head blown off was, it would serve no purpose.
	"Schrodinger?" Ukyou smirked. "As he would tell you, he is 'Everywhere
and Nowhere'. It will take better than a pistol to finish him off."
	"Vhat a vell-informed woman you are!" Schrodinger said, laughing.
	"Quite a spectacular specimen," the Major said, his teeth glinting as
they settled into a rictus grin. "Und I vas beginning to think zat vithout
Alucard, there vould be no opponent vorth fighting."
	"I'm not going to play your game, Major," Ukyou pointed out. She looked
up at the sky.
	"Ah, still full of sentiment and youth, I see," the Major said,
chuckling dryly. He folded his hands. "You vill learn to see zat I haf a 
better
understanding of these things zhen you. In time, I'm certain I can bring you
around to my point of view."
	Ukyou ignored him.
	"Fraulein, vhat vill it take to motivate you?" He laughed. "Perhaps I
should slaughter all of Germany? Even now my troops are moving into my old
homeland, punishing those who haf descended from the defeatists and 
deserters."
	"But... your ship, we destroyed it!" Integra shouted.
	"'Ve?'" The Major opened his arms. "You certainly did a lot of damage,
I'll grant you. But that was my reserve force, merely a second brigade. I 
haf
already left England."
	"I know," Ukyou said. "I could feel you weren't there."
	"Then... why?" Integra shouted. "Why all this?"
	"A signal," Ukyou explained. "For the one who is coming."
	Integra, the Major, Schrodinger... they all fell silent as a new sound
flooded the burning plain. The shape that was approaching was black, the 
size of
a small building. It hovered through the air on the roar of a dozen engines. 
It
came in low, approaching straight towards them. Ukyou slowly lifted the 
Silence
Glaive. Blood trickled from her lips. She didn't have much time. Keeping all 
the
damage inside her, forcing it not to leak out into the world - it would tear 
her
apart.
	"Who?" Schrodinger murmured.
	The ship came to a halt only a half-dozen meters away. It was a plane, a
giant black cargo craft. The front of the mammoth gravity-defying machine 
opened
up, unfolding in both directions. He stood in the center of the doorway, an 
aura
of blue energy lining him like St Elmo's fire.
	"Bison," Ukyou said.
	"It is time, girl," Bison said. He frowned slightly and his body seemed
to blur and shift, then he was standing within arm's reach of her. "I will 
give
you one chance to surrender to me willingly." He held up his fist. "There is 
no
escape from my power, from my destiny to rule this world! Submit to me, 
Ukyou
Kuonji, and rule it by my side. Do not submit, and you shall still serve me
regardless."
	"No." Ukyou shifted the Glaive so it was between them.
	"You think that toy can defeat me?" Bison smiled.
	"I think we'll find out."
	"Excuse me," Schrodinger said, standing up and holding his hand forward
in a little half-wave. "I'm afraid ve haf first crack at breaking her soul,
then-"
	"Shut up, insect!" Bison roared. His hand snapped up and a blast of
light engulfed the cat-boy. He screamed as it burned a hole the size of a
beachball through his chest. He staggered back, coughing up blood, and 
collapsed
to the ground. Ukyou looked at him for a moment, but she blinked and his 
body
was gone when she opened up her eyes.
	"Vell, vell," the Major murmured. The laptop had fallen on its side, but
he had somehow adjusted the picture so that he was still oriented correctly.
"You vould be Bison, zhen. My huntress told me about you. Such a violent
introduction."
	"I have no time for you, coward," Bison snarled at the screen. "You are
a worm, a carrion-feeder that survives by supping on the anguish and pain of
war. You consume and consume without purpose. But I... I am BISON!" He 
swirled
his cape around his shoulders, clutching it with one hand. "My will is my
purpose! I am as much beyond you as a god is above the things that crawl in 
the
dark bowels of the planet. I will not stand for you to interfere in my 
dominion
over this world." His free hand rose and the laptop rose into the air with 
it.
"You hide behind your minions and your technology. You do not have the true
strength, the power to seize what you wish with both hands. To never let go!
That is my way! That is my will! I will hold this world, and all you insects
that crawl and mewl and kill each other will either bow at my feet or burn 
away
in the flames of my Psychopower."
	The Major was laughing. "Superb! An excellent var declaration! Very
vell! I accept. Please take the girl, I so look forward to facing you both 
again
one day."
	Bison's glowing blue eyes narrowed. "So be it." He clenched his hand and
the laptop imploded in a shower of sparks.
	Ukyou was already moving. The Silence Glaive shot out, straight and
true. Bison wasn't there to receive it, but that was fine. Ukyou spun, 
halting
the momentum of the weapon with a thought. It moved as an extension of her.
There was no over-extending, no missed shots. The power of the Third Circle 
made
it all so simple and clear. Aaron could feel Bison's actions, and Ukyou 
could
move in response to them.
	He was appearing again as Ukyou came back, driving the point towards his
face. There was no way he could teleport away fast enough. And not even he 
could
survive if she struck with the weapon's full fury, perhaps even tearing 
apart
half the landscape in the process.
	There was a loud clap. The Glaive hummed. It was the only sound. Ukyou
stood, holding the end of it. Bison stood, his palms firmly placed on either
side of the tine, holding it in place. A tiny line traced down his face, 
welling
with blood.
	"Remarkable," Bison commented. "That actually hit me. You drew blood."
	"I'll do more!" Ukyou declared.
	"You will not."
	Ukyou felt his will strike out at her. It was like he gathered up all
the Psychopower at once. It rose up like a roaring dragon, swirling about 
him.
For a moment, he was the sole focus of all his insane power that had spread
across the globe. It crashed down on her psyche like a landslide. He was 
trying
to batter down her will by sheer force.
	But Ukyou felt Aaron joining her. She felt him somehow channelling the
brunt of that attack into the alien darkness inside them. It fell into the 
Third
Circle like a drop of water falling into the ocean. Ukyou grinned.
	"You can't control me, Bison," Ukyou informed him. "You can never break
me. I am beyond you."
	Bison frowned, but then his smile returned. "Nothing is beyond the will
of Bison, girl."
	"No matter how powerful your will is, you can't break me." Ukyou pulled
back. "You are stronger than me. I can't kill you. But I will never lose to 
you.
The only way this can end is if one of us dies."
	Bison laughed. "Poor, deluded fool. You think you have it all figured
out, don't you?" He smiled at her, a smile full of mad joy. "Your will is
stronger than anything I have ever seen. You alone, of all the things I have
ever seen on this earth... you alone can stand up to the full force of the
Psychopower. Even now it floods into your body, and you stand. You are the
vessel I have been searching for. You think I will let that slip through my
fingers?"
	"You won't have any choice!" Ukyou cried, charging him. They exchanged
blows. Her every strike was deflected with a palm. He was good. Not just
powerful, but skilled. He could read her moves. She was moving with all the
speed of her desperation, her training and the Third Circle, everything she
could throw at him. He was playing with her like she was a child.
	"You are right." Bison grinned again. "The one with the choice here is
you." Ukyou blinked, and slowed enough for Bison to teleport back a few 
meters,
just out of her reach. "You see, even the strongest enemy, the mightiest 
enemy,
has a weak spot. There is a way I can break you, Ukyou Kuonji. There is a 
way to
make you mine, willingly and without resistance."
	"Keep talking, asshole," Ukyou growled, standing up straight. Then Bison
gestured and something appeared next to him.
	"RANMA!"
	"Now, now..." Bison gestured as Ukyou leapt forward and she was sent
flying back by a wave of force. She collided with a bit of debris. The sharp
edge cut into her. She cried out. Ranma floated next to Bison. He was
unconscious. His body was a mass of bruises. His head hung limply.
	Bison looked at him. "This boy is an astounding specimen. His soul is so
alive with confidence and potential." He clenched his fist and Ranma's body
jerked, his mouth opened and he coughed out a stream of blood. His eyes 
didn't
even flutter. "I hold his heart in my hand. One thought, and he will die."
	"Damn you..." Ukyou reached out, grabbing the edge of the shrapnel and
pulling herself up. It cut into her palm, but she didn't care. "Let him 
go..."
	"He is no match for me, of course. But he reminds me so much of my own
youth. He has the same drive, the same potential." He chuckled. "It would be 
a
shame to let such potential go to waste. Plus, he apparently can perform 
this
wonderful trick with cold water and I AM currently missing a few of my Dolls
thanks to you and him..."
	"NO!" Ukyou rushed forward again, only to be blown back by another wave
of his hand. She growled, reaching into her reserves, only they weren't 
there.
No... there was one last option. She might be able to defeat Bison. If she 
could
summon the Silence, if she could strike with enough force with just one 
blow, he
would be unmade. Even he couldn't stop the end of everything.
	He would never see it coming. He couldn't read her mind, and he thought
she would never risk it with Ranma so close. It would strike him down, his 
eyes
staring at her in surprise. It would destroy Bison. She could do it.
	All she had to do was kill Ranma, too.
	"What are you waiting for!" Integra roared. "Get back up! Fight him!"
	Bison only watched silently, ignoring her.
	Ukyou's hand was shaking. Her eyes were beginning to water. The pain,
the pain she had banished, it was creeping in. Her grip on the Third Circle 
was
wavering. Was it because she couldn't hold it until she died, her instinct 
just
refusing to let her kill herself, like a man trying to hold his breath until 
he
fainted?
	"Strike, damn you!" Integra roared. "Get up and fight!" There was a
click. "Get up or I'll kill you right now!"
	Ukyou survived, that's what she did. She was good at it. Even in the
darkest hour, she survived. She won. She had survived every comer until now. 
She
had done it all. Why should she stop fighting now? Why not kill Ranma? It 
would
be a mercy. He would not have to live in this world, this world that was
exploding as every kind of monster clawed at it. Overhead the sun had 
reached
the zenith. She could feel the darkness clawing its way into the world. It
wasn't like any of this mattered.
	It wasn't like any of it was real. Ranma, Bison, Ukyou... they were all
just fictions. Just characters from a story Aaron had read once. Hotaru 
wasn't
dead. She had never existed. His feelings for her, they were no more real 
than
anything else in this insane world. Alucard had said it. This world should 
not
exist. It could not exist. It was nothing but pain.
	"NIHILO..." Ukyou murmured, rising to her feet. The Glaive glittered in
her hand, its hum fading slowly. Bison's eyes were narrowing. She saw his 
feet
shift back. He was afraid. He doubted.
	How could he doubt? He was Bison, a caricature of a villain. He was
insane, and never doubted. He was nothing but bad theatrics. Just like 
Jadeite.
Just like Vega. Just like Hayato...
	"No..." The Glaive fell from Ukyou's suddenly nerveless fingers. "No,
it's real..." And just like that the Third Circle was gone, and they were 
just
mortals once again.
	"What?" Integra snapped.
	Ukyou fell to her knees, bending her head. "I surrender. I'll do it.
I'll do anything. Just please..." The hot tears rolled down her cheeks now. 
"Let
him live. Let him go. I'll do anything you want, if you just let him live!"
	There was a loud bang and a gasp. Ukyou looked up. A bullet was spinning
in the air, a fraction of a centimeter from her head. The smoke of the 
blast, it
too was caught in Bison's psychic grip. He chuckled.
	"Very well, Ukyou." He pointed at Integra. "Kill that woman for me."
	Ukyou clenched her hands into fists. "Please don't..."
	"If you want him to live, you will do as I command!"
	Integra stared down at Ukyou. Her expression held nothing but contempt.
She spat, the spittle impacting with Ukyou's cheek. "Do it, then." She 
crossed
her arms. "I, at least, will die with honour."
	Ukyou tried to stand, but she couldn't. Her legs wouldn't respond. She
slumped forward, pounding her fists into the dirt. "I... I can't... please 
don't
make me..."
	There was a long pause. Finally Bison snorted. "Fine." He gestured once,
sharply, and Integra flew back. Her eyes grew dim as a sharp crack filled 
the
air. She was dead before she hit the ground. "But I do not suffer well
disobedience, slave." He looked at Ranma, and in a flash of light the boy 
was
gone. "Now rise, and greet your master properly."

*

	Kusanagi could feel the tension in his limbs. He wanted to leap forward.
He wanted to rip Momiji away from that thing. He wanted to blow its inhuman 
face
off. But it was faster than him. If he made a move, it would sense it. 
Momiji
would die.
	But it couldn't defend itself. Not and hit her at the same time. Then
the only thing left would be Telulu. Telulu and an insane god.
	"Kusanagi..." Momiji breathed.
	"Damn you..." Kusanagi growled.
	"Valkyrie is counting down to one.... five, four, three, tw-"
	The monster cut off abruptly, its eyes widening. A hollow sound, like a
shriek echoing from the end of a long tunnel, erupted from its mouth. Its 
arms
went limp, and Momiji was falling. Kusanagi screamed and flashed down, 
catching
her just above the floor.
	He stood up, cradling her in his arms. She threw her arms around his
neck. She began to cry. He held her tighter. But he looked up at Valkyrie.
	Telulu was standing behind her, a trio of vines that extended from her
fingers retracting from Valkyrie's back. They held a grey-ribbed egg. 
Valkyrie
gave a deafening squeal, then her form flickered and flashed, before it was
suddenly replaced by a fighter jet. Kusanagi's eyes widened as the massive 
war
machine fell to the floor. He flew back, the world blurring, and the jet 
smashed
into the space he had been seconds before.
	Telulu pulled the egg down until it rested in her palm.
	"It's so hard to get good help," she noted indifferently, then crushed
the egg in her hand. As the shard fell to the floor a tiny black shadow 
floated
free from between her fingertips, making a sound like a child laughing 
cruelly,
before vanishing into the darkness.
	"You... you destroyed her!" Momiji exclaimed. "But... but why? Wasn't
she on your side?"
	"Of course she was," Telulu replied easily. "But she was going to kill
you. And I can't have that yet, dear sister."
	"Sister?" Momiji blinked.
	Telulu smiled and stretched one hand out towards them. "Of course.
Kaede's soul lives on inside me. I have within me everything that she was. 
Not
just the crude matter. The very essence of her being. I am your sister, the
Princess Kushinada."
	"You're lying!" Kusanagi roared. He set Momiji down, gently but firmly
removing her hands. "You're nothing like her!"
	"Really?" Telulu closed her eyes and stretched her fingers along her
cheek. "Or maybe I'm everything she ever dreamed to be?" Her pupilless green
eyes opened, focusing on him. "Think about it, Kusanagi. I am merely 
fulfilling
her dream. She wanted to cleanse this island, this corrupt nation of bigots 
and
hypocrites, and replace it with beautiful primeval life." Her hand 
outstretched
once again. "But I realise that her vision was limited. Human life is not 
the
problem, Kusanagi. It is all life. An endless progression of petty things,
concerned only with feeding and fornication. Reproducing themselves without
restraint or control. Fools speak about balance and the natural order, but 
that
is only because they cannot see it for what it is. It is suffering, 
Kusanagi. A
cycle of suffering that cannot be allowed to go on!"
	"SHUT UP!"
	Kusanagi flashed across the room, moving faster than he had ever
believed possible. He heard Momiji crying out his name, but paid her no 
heed.
There was a loud clang as he slammed Telulu into the back wall of the 
twisted
observation deck. She gasped in pain, her head rocking back. He settled the 
edge
of one of his blades against her neck.
	And he paused.
	"Go ahead, then..." Telulu sneered. "Kill me. It will do no good. Look
up, Kusanagi." He did so. The roof had come off, and he could see up into 
the
sky. The sky was swirling around the deep endless black hole that used to be 
the
sun. Not clouds, not winds, but the very sky. It was like reality itself was
being poured down the drain. "He's here! There is nothing you can do to stop 
it!
Even if I die, Susano-oh will continue to sustain him! Killing me will 
release
the Kushinada effect, but the ceramic around him protects my darling 
god-child
from it! The barrier I placed around him prevents any attack you can produce
from harming him. Give up, Kusanagi! Accept oblivion!"
	"NO!" he roared back, his throat hoarse.
	Her hand reached up, and caressed his cheek. "Then why haven't you
killed me yet?" Her lips tilted upward in a brief smile. "The same reason I
haven't killed you, Kusanagi. Because Kaede's soul is a part of me now. For 
good
or for ill. I love you, Kusanagi, just like she loved you. You love her... 
and
could never kill me. It would be like destroying her forever. If we die, our
souls will be consumed by oblivion forever... you don't want that..."
	Kusanagi growled. His body trembled. The edge of his blade drew a thin
trickle of blood from her neck. Then it pulled back. It slumped to his side 
like
it was made of lead. Telulu's loving smile twisted into a cruel smirk and he 
saw
her hand reach back, vines snapping out. But why fight on?
	"KUSANAGI, LOOK OUT!" Momiji screamed.
	In a flash he had jumped away from her. The vines of her attack
flickered uselessly through the air a few inches in front of his face. 
Telulu
stood against the wall, looking surprised. Then her head toppled from her
shoulders, still looking surprised.
	Suddenly the Kushinada effect hit him. He groaned, and slumped to his
knees. He could feel his mitamas burning. They were tearing into his body,
tearing into his humanity. They were draining him of power, draining him of
spirit, grabbing onto anything, ripping away any bits and pieces of life 
they
could to stay alive. He moaned, placing his hand over his heart. He could 
feel
it slowing.
	Then he felt arms encircle him from behind. Warm arms. He leaned back,
allowing her to support him. He felt the soft warmth of her infusing him. 
The
power that they shared, the energy of their mitamas. Eight mitamas. One for 
each
head of the Orochi. Eight souls in two bodies. He didn't know how, but she 
was
keeping him alive. An effect of the Kushinada?
	He didn't care. There were something warm and liquid falling on his
shoulder. He reached up weakly and brushed away her tears. "It'll be 
alright,
Princess..." God, he sounded awful.
	"No it won't..." she murmured. "We still haven't stopped it."
	He looked over and saw she was right.
	And then the door exploded. Kusanagi watched as the woman walked into
the room. He had met her exactly once before, but not really seen her. 
Looking
at her now, he knew this was how he would always remember Akane Tendo.
	She wore a yellow blouse and a short grey skirt with matching leggings.
Her clothes were torn and stained with blood, clinging to her frame. She 
moved
steadily into the room, her eyes locked on the figure of Susano-oh. Her
shoulder-length black hair rustled behind her as she moved.  Her body was 
rimmed
with light, a soft red light that drove back the darkness. A power like 
fire,
primal and intense, radiated from her being as she moved. She was carrying a
half-melted piece of black lacquered stereo equipment in one hand, and on 
the
other she was wearing a bulky glove that was mostly made up of a speaker 
that
was fitted over her wrist.
	"Susano-oh..." Akane said, stopping just in front of the god. She looked
straight up into his eyes. Eyes that seemed to be looking down at her, eyes 
that
leaked liquid nothingness. On his forehead, the giant blue mitama of his
godhood, a seed-shaped icon nearly a foot across, glowed softly with a blue-
black light... like a bruise in the air. She glanced over, noting everything
else into the room.
	"Kusanagi..." She held up her hand and began to adjust something on the
half-melted controls. "You better get out of here."
	"What?"
	"This device can destroy mitamas." Akane held up her hand and pointed it
at the god-being, who only stared at her passively. "I think if I turn it up
high enough, it will shatter the ones in your body like eggs."
	"Will... will that even work?" Momiji asked.
	"I... It has to." She looked up into the sky. A thick tendril, a
tentacle as thick as the moon, was crawling its way out of the hole in the 
sky.
"If we kill Susano-oh, it should close the passage."
	"Will that be enough?" Kusanagi stood up. He was tired. Momiji had saved
him, but all his energy was gone. He felt... he felt weaker than he had ever
felt before in his entire life. "He's already here."
	"It will be enough..." Momiji murmured. Then she was running towards
Akane. "But you can't kill him!" She grabbed the woman's arm, and Akane 
lowered
the speaker. She looked at Momiji.
	"What is it?"
	"The demon!" Momiji said. "You have to kill the demon!"
	"The demon?"
	"The one inside him! You have to shatter the darkness inside him. He...
he's in pain. But... he doesn't hate us. Susano-oh..." She closed her eyes. 
"He
is the god of destruction, but also of rebirth. He is the cleansing storm 
that
sweeps aside a dying forest to make way for new growth. He is an end to
corruption. He doesn't want this world to die anymore than we do!"
	Akane stared at her.
	"You have to believe me!"
	"I do..." She looked down at the device in her hands. "I'm just not
certain I can do that..."
	"Of course you can," Kusanagi walked up to her. "Think about who built
it. Those witches. They turn on each other like dogs. I've seen them do it 
again
and again. They hated each other more than they hated us. I bet that 
red-haired
witch made a way to kill this thing. Just to spite Telulu."
	Akane looked down at the device. Then she smiled. "I think you're
right." She suddenly grabbed Momiji's hand and placed it on the controls, 
she
began to turn the node with her fingers. "Say when."
	"Uh... when?"
	Akane removed her hand and stepped forward.
	"What?" Kusanagi blinked. "What are you doing?"
	"Trusting in God," Akane said, but there was a trace of irony in her
tone. Then she raised her hand and took a deep breath. "SOUND BUSTER!"
	Kusanagi slapped his hands over his ears and he thought Momiji screamed.
The sound erupted across the room, a loud tone like the ringing of a temple
bell. A egg-shaped wall of green light blazed into being around Susano-oh, 
but
it shimmered and flickered. The jagged ceramic pillars around him cracked 
and
shook, finally exploding into a hail of debris. Ironically, the force field
protected them from the blast. Susano-oh's mouth opened wide and a cry like 
a
million animals dying erupted from his mouth. Then... then the giant mitama 
on
his forehead cracked.
	He slumped to the ground, and from the cracks in the mitama a dark
shadow issued. It was tinged with purple, flames leaking from the thin 
lines,
and there was a sound like cruel laughter... then nothing.
	"Did it work?" Momiji asked, but Kusanagi could barely hear her. Akane
was lowering the weapon again. And then Susano-oh stood up. He looked at 
them
for a long moment. His eyes shone the colour of the sky after a storm. He
smiled.
	Kusanagi yelled as a wave of force hit them. He snapped out his hands,
gathering up Akane and Momiji as they were thrown back. The god's body had
exploded, turning into a column of blue light. The column rose into the sky,
smashing into the dark sun overhead.
	For a moment, the tendril of darkness fought it. But then, it was pushed
back, back into the black sun. A second later the bottom of the column rose
after it, the speed defying description. Then it smashed into the darkness 
and a
sound like a million thunderclaps echoed across the city. The light flashed
across the sky, trailing along the edge of the horizon. In its wake, blue 
sky
could be seen. In its wake, the sun emerged, shining bright and clear.
	Kusanagi smiled in relief, but then he saw the tower. He could hear it
groaning. That final blast had been too much for it. Cursing under his 
breath,
he picked up the two women and dashed for the nearest window. He only hoped 
he
had enough strength left to survive the fall.

*

	"-understand it!  Why?  Why can't I help her?"
	"I have told you already.  Without the Power of Dios, she may not be
saved."
	The witch entered the room, soundless despite the thousands of hooks
which slowly tore off her flesh.  The last act, of course, was already in
progress.  She remained in the shadows between the stars for the moment,
awaiting the time to play her part.
	The princess was upset.  Tears rimmed her eyes as she shouted at the
witch's brother.  "But I have the Silver Crystal!  It can do anything!"
	"Hmm.  I often wonder: if a star seems dim, is that the fault of the
star, or our own fault for not seeing clearly enough?"
	The princess gave a long, slow blink.  The witch's brother smiled
indulgently at her, and continued, "Perhaps the crystal itself is indeed
flawless.  But a heart which has a flaw in it cannot hope to bring out the 
power
you need."
	"What's flawed about my heart?" the princess protested.  "I'm the one
who's supposed to use the crystal!"
	"You have no need to convince me of that," he said calmly.  "Perhaps,
however, the universe has yet to be convinced of your worthiness."  He 
leaned
forward, cupping his hands in front of his face.  "The nature of my sister's
torment is a flaw in the fundamental fabric of reality.  To mend it, you 
would
need to be larger than reality itself.  That crystal alone will never take 
you
there.  Indeed, nothing can.  Except..." he trailed off meaningfully.  "But 
no.
You do not want to walk that path."
	"What path?" she demanded.  "I'll do anything!"
	"I have no doubt that you would," he replied, "but this isn't a path
that I should show you.  Our mutual friend would undoubtedly disapprove."
	"So... you won't help me?" The princess didn't seem to quite believe it.
	"No.  Indeed, all I could do is throw obstacles in your path.  After
all," he said with a sad little smile, "I don't want you to save her."
	"I'll overcome any obstacle!" she insisted.  "And I don't believe what
you're saying!  Looking at that kind of suffering... even you have to feel
something!  I know you do!  You're her brother!  You loved her!  You told me
that!"  She was standing imperiously again, talking with the full force of
unshakable conviction.  "Love isn't so easily extinguished."
	"If you believe you can prove that to me-"
	"I can and I will!"
	The witch's brother leaned back, frowning at the princess as if
considering something carefully.  Finally, after a long and tense moment, he
spoke.  "There are already several students in this school attempting to 
find
the path to the Power of Dios.  They know that the only way to get there is 
to
possess the one thing here that is, like the power, an eternal miracle."
	"And what is..." the princess began, and then noticed that the witch's
brother was staring beyond her.  She slowly turned, and as she did, the 
witch
came out of the shadow.  Her red dress flowed behind her like a trail of 
blood.
"...that..." the princess finished in a half-whisper.
	"You already know," he said solemnly.  "My sister, Anthy.  Her
suffering, her torment, is eternal.  It is a miracle that could not have 
been
created by the powers of man.  She is the Rose Bride, and through her, you 
may
learn the way to the Power of Dios."
	The witch met the gaze of the princess with a calm, unflinching
detachment.  The princess stared at her for a moment, as if trying to pierce 
the
illusion, but finally looked away as she realised she didn't, in fact, want 
to.
The witch felt an ever so slight moment of satisfaction.  In the end, she 
too
was just another shallow, petty, flawed human.
	But Anthy would miss Utena.  A little.
	She blinked as the thought rose unbidden, then shook it off.  Her
brother was glancing at her with an expectantly raised eyebrow.  The 
princess
was on the verge of turning away.  The witch hurried to seize the moment 
before
it slipped away.  "I will lead you to where you must go, Miss Tsukino."
	The princess nodded, her face set in determined lines. "I understand."
	"However," her brother interrupted, "this is not a trial to be
undertaken by just anyone."  As the princess turned back to him, he held out 
one
hand.  Nestled in the centre of his palm was a small white ring, with the
insignia of a rose.  "Take this.  It is a symbol of the covenant you have
formed this day.  With it, you will open the gates to the castle where 
eternity
dwells.  But I must warn you one last time, this path..." he trailed off as 
the
princess snatched the ring away.
	"You don't need to warn me.  I'll show you that there is nothing that
can't be saved."

*

	The light was fading again, but this time it was not a cold darkness
that crept into the world like a cancer. This darkness was a gentle one, 
like
the soft darkness of sleep. Kusanagi quirked up his lips in a thin smile. 
Man,
he was beginning to sound like Kunikida. If he didn't stop all this 
philosophy
he'd end up balding with a giant wart on his nose too.
	They'd spent several hours of time here, lingering on the ruins of the
tower. Mainly, they'd spent it unconscious. Only Momiji had stayed up the 
entire
time, nursing their injuries as best she could. Kusanagi didn't really have 
the
heart to tell her his arm wasn't broken, and so he wore the sling she had
crafted without complaint.
	He looked at Momiji now; she was smiling and talking with the other two.
He paused, just examining her features for a moment. For the first time 
ever, he
didn't see her sister when he looked at her. Just a girl, a normal human 
girl.
Even if she was the Kushinada, she'd never had any real powers. Not any that
could have shaken the world. But in the end, she'd played as much a role in 
the
outcome as he, with all his strength.
	Akane was the only one being quiet now. She merely gazed off across the
field of man-eating vines, her hand on the hilt of her sword as the tip 
rested
on the rubble in front of her. It was where they had placed Matsudaira's 
body...
until they could make sure she got a proper burial.
	Kusanagi sighed and stood up, walking a bit away from the group.
Matsudaira... she'd turned out good in the end. He'd never trusted her. 
Never
trusted any of the TAC, truth be told. He'd always cut them out. He wondered
briefly if Telulu could have been saved.
	He closed his eyes. He saw it again, the head toppling slowly off her
body. As she had died, she had not looked like a demon. She hadn't looked 
like a
monster. She had looked like a girl. A girl Momiji's age. He had hated her,
hated her more than he had thought it was possible. But in the end, when she 
had
died by his hand he had felt...
	Nothing. Not regret. Not satisfaction. Just oddly hollow. The feeling
had still not receded. He wondered if it would ever go away.
	He wondered if he wanted it to.
	He chuckled. Damn, he could feel that wart forming. He scratched his
nose, just to make sure.
	"No, Momiji, it isn't over."
	Kusanagi looked over. Akane had spoken, and her voice had been full of
the same conviction he'd heard up in the tower. She was glancing back at the
girl, who was staring at her.
	"The aragami will go to sleep... most of them." Akane held up her sword,
the red sunset reflecting along the polished metal. "But Chronos is still 
our
enemy. And there are other things out there. Worse things."
	She paused. "And something... something more."
	"You're going to keep fighting, aren't you?" Akira asked. Kusanagi
looked at her. Somehow, she had crawled out from under the tower before it
collapsed on top of her. She was remarkable. A few hours ago, she had barely
been able to stand, now she was moving around like she had slept a week. 
He'd
asked her about it, and she'd just smiled and said 'The river always flows' 
and
refused to explain any more.
	"Yeah." Akane looked at her. "I'll need help, though. I can't fight
alone."
	"I'll help!" Momiji instantly volunteered, throwing up her hand. Akane
looked at her, smiling in a way that made all the worries of the last day 
fade
from her face.
	"Hey, Princess, don't go throwing yourself into something without
knowing what's going on!" Kusanagi protested.
	Momiji puffed out her cheeks and narrowed her eyes at him. He threw up
his hands. Akira chuckled.
	"I wish I could stay, Akane."
	"But you're going after her, aren't you?"
	"Yeah..." Akira looked towards the sunset. "I made a promise, after
all."
	Momiji gasped and clutched her chest suddenly. Kusanagi was by her side
in an instant. Akane and Akira stood up quickly. "This... isn't possible!"
Momiji said, her face a mix of confusion and fear.
	"What is it?" Kusanagi asked sharply.
	"Him," Akane said, looking across the field. Kusanagi followed her gaze
and saw the two figures rapidly approaching. One was a small child, barely 
four
feet tall and obviously no older than ten. He floated through the air, his 
legs
hanging limply beneath him. His clothing was torn and frayed, stained with 
blood
and burned. His features might have been attractive, but the ruin that was 
his
right eye caught all of Kusanagi's attention.
	His companion was another girl. She wore a tight, revealing outfit with
a Chinese style to it. She was sitting astride a wasp the size of a small 
horse.
The wasp was a creature of beauty, a creature composed of amber and wood and
leaf-like wings. Kusanagi's eyes narrowed when he saw the mitama suspended 
in
the centre of its golden body.
	"Wait a minute," Kusanagi said, pounding his fist into his palm. "That's
one of those crazy hot Chinese twin chicks!" He paused as the two of them 
came
within earshot. "That means... you're the WORM!" Kusanagi pointed accusingly 
at
the little boy.
	He took a step forward, but Akane settled a hand on his shoulder.
Kusanagi looked back at her, but she was staring at the boy as he floated to 
the
ground, or at least a few inches above it. "You're exhausted," she said. 
"And we
can't beat him in a straight fight."
	"Oh, hello there, Akane," the boy said cheerfully. "Good work. I should
have guessed it was you."
	"What do you want, Chris?" Akane said. It wasn't a demand. She just
sounded tired. Not angry or afraid, just tired.
	"Congratulations for saving the world, or at least Japan." Chris knelt
in front of the largest pile of rubble, raising one hand over his head. 
"I'll
take it from here." His words were mild, but what happened next was not. A
bright purple flare raced down his arm, and he smashed his fist into the 
twisted
mass of steel. It exploded up around him, sprays of molten metal arcing 
across
the rubble and sizzling where they landed. As the smoke and debris cleared 
he
was floating up into the air again, and clutched in his hand was the 
foot-long
cracked mitama that had been Susano-oh's soul.
	"The mitama!" Momiji stepped forward. "What are you doing with that?"
she demanded, balling up her little fists.
	Chris glanced at her idly and smiled. "It's a gift for my friend," he
replied, floating over to the girl on her hovering wasp. She took it from 
him
eagerly, clutching it to her chest. "We felt a Kushinada die. Glad it wasn't
you, Momiji."
	"Wait a minute," Akira said. "Doesn't that mean all the aragami are
supposed to be dead?"
	The girl on the wasp chuckled; a manic, happy chuckle. "Obviously, there
are ways around that. Especially when you are dealing with a genius 
herbalist
like myself."
	"So..." Akane looked at Chris again, her expression still tired. "Are we
done here?"
	"It doesn't seem like anything else useful is here," Chris mused,
tapping his unmarred cheek. "So, Akane... coming?"
	Akane stared at him a long moment. And then her eyes flashed. The
fatigue vanished from her expression. Her lips thinned. Kusanagi could feel 
the
sudden heat pouring off her. "You... you have the nerve to ask me that? 
After
everything that happened?"
	Chris floated slightly over her, staring down at the young woman with an
expression that was equal parts confused and slightly offended. Akane just 
met
his dead-eyed gaze unflinchingly. Finally, he shrugged. "Fine. I'll manage. 
I
hope you appreciate that I keep promises rather better than you do."
	Akane's expression fell then, and she looked down. "Chris... for what
it's worth now. I'm sorry I couldn't help you like you wanted." She paused. 
"But
we all make our own choices in life. I see that now. Whatever you choose 
now,
whatever paths you take... you do it for yourself, for your own reasons. I 
can't
do anything but make my own choices, and I can't follow you where you're 
going."
	"You're right, Akane. I write my own destiny." Chris began to float up
and away from her. "Stay alive, Akane. One day, I'll show you that future."

*

	In the thick, creeping darkness, Hotaru lay naked. She was vaguely aware
of what was happening to her. She knew there was pain and worse things than
pain. But her mind had gone Away. She had retreated, away from the pain and
darkness.
	Alone with nothing but herself, she reflected on how Ukyou should have
just let her end the world. She had been happy then, for a moment. But she 
had
learned that hope was a cruel and fickle thing. It existed only to weaken 
you.
It existed only to allow the pain to strike deeper and truer than it had 
before.
	Hotaru had learned this lesson, not when the vampire had come. Not when
the nice woman had died. Not when the monster had come for her. No, she had
learned that hope was a cruel thing when she had finally died. Her body had
given up. Tortured to the breaking point, she had finally just given in and 
let
herself die. She might have smiled at the end, knowing that at least she was 
not
going to have to live in this vicious world any more. She had died and been
Somewhere Else, somewhere where she had felt peace.
	Then she had woken up.
	The doctor was a tall man, thin in that way only those who have spent
years hunched over books and lab tables could be. His hair was oily. His 
face
was gaunt. His eyes were always hidden behind a pair of thick goggles. He 
had
smiled at seeing her and turned to his companion. His companion was a blonde
woman with a haughty face who wore an immaculate white lab coat.
	"Ze process vorked, you see," he had pointed out.
	"Yes," the woman had agreed. "But she is still just a child. The chip
has revived her, but she carries none of her potential, none of her power."
	"Ja, ja..." The Doctor had agreed. "It shall take more experiments to
unlock her." He chuckled. "The Major wants her to be a fine weapon. A weapon 
to
wield against this woman Ukyou. A weapon of unparalleled destruction."
	The woman had agreed, and so the two had set to work. Hotaru had been
quiescent through the whole process. She didn't know how long she spent 
there,
in that stinking blood-soaked lab. Her mind floated apart from her body and 
the
horrors that were being inflicted on her. They were remaking her into 
something
inhuman, and she knew that life was cruel and vicious and pointless.
	But Hotaru didn't care. She was beyond caring now. With her mind safely
Away, she was immune to any torment life chose to inflict on her. She knew 
it
would fall away. Soon the things they were doing to her would break through 
even
that last defense and then she would live in torment forever. That was the 
way
of the world, and she had no doubt it would happen. It filled her not
with sadness but with regret.
	If only other people could understand this. If only other people had
touched the heart of Oblivion. If they could, they would understand. The
Buddhists were right. Existence was suffering.
	Hotaru jerked in her restraints. Someone had said her name. The Doctor
looked at her oddly. The woman had left. She had injected Hotaru with 
chemicals
and fluids, then left on some other errand. The Doctor had stayed. But 
Hotaru
knew that it was not him who had addressed her.
	Hotaru made a sound like a mewling kitten. It had said her name again,
and she could not deny it. It broke through the shell she had wrapped around 
her
mind without effort. It was too big.  It filled the world around her with
tension. What was it? What was this thing? This overwhelming presence that
pushed at her?
	The answer came to her as swiftly as she thought it. She knew already
who this was. It had all names. It had no names. Hotaru looked up at the
ceiling. She mouthed the word that came to her mind, but made no sound.
	Then it told her why. It told her why she had been chosen. It told her
why she had been allowed to die, to find peace, then live again in this 
world.
It had been done so she could get to this moment, so that she could hear its
voice. For a moment Hotaru felt rage: blinding, monstrous rage. She hated it
for doing this to her. It had allowed her to be brought to back to this 
hell.
What had she done to deserve such a fate?
	She calmed down almost instantly. Even she could not hear it, not truly.
She was closer than any being in this world to it, and still its message was
dimmed by her finite nature. It wanted her to be the messenger. To translate 
its
will into reality. It was reaching for her because its other prophet had
rejected it. She was the last hope for the world. She was the only one who 
could
deliver its message. Hotaru paused, and then she understood.
	"Thank you," she whispered, her voice hollow.
	"Vhat vas zhat?" the doctor said, leaning over her.
	She reached up and Silenced him.
	Her power flared. Ukyou had taken from her the Silence Glaive and with
it much of her power to tap into Oblivion. But she was still Sailor Saturn. 
It
was a fundamental part of her nature. It shivered through her as she
transformed. But she knew that she would look nothing like the old Saturn. 
Her
uniform would be adjusted to fulfill her new role.
	Hotaru sat up, the dust of her first convert falling to the floor. She
looked at the door for a moment. The great presence was gone, but she knew 
what
she had to do. She had a message to deliver, a message that would change all 
the
world. She looked to the right and saw a camera there, watching her with
emotionless mechanical efficiency.
	Before she left the room, before she started educating all the vampires,
ghouls and other abominations that stood between her and the Antarctic 
surface,
she gave her message to the camera and all the things that watched her 
through
it.
	"All things end."




		End Hybrid Theory Book 2: Spark To A Flame



Deceived by my eyes and all I was told I should see
Opinions not mine the person they taught me to be
One night in the dark a vision of someone I knew
And in the darkness I saw a voice say I'm you.

Inside me a light was turned on
Then I was alive

(chorus)
If you close your eyes your life a naked truth revealed
Dreams you never lived and scars never healed
In the darkness light will take you to the other side
and find me waiting there you'll see if you just close your eyes

Hearts uninspired trapped inside somebody's dream
Too close to the fire yet cold and so numb with the pain
But the fever has broken and the river has run to the sea
Washed to the ocean and saved by your voice inside me.

Inside me a light was turned on
Then I was alive

(chorus)

Never thought I would be here so high in the air
This is my unanswered prayer
Defined by another so much wasted time
Out of the darkness each breath that I take will be mine

(chorus)

If you just close your eyes...

		-"Just Close Your Eyes", by Waterproof Blonde


*

	It had been the mention of America that triggered it. A flash of memory
about a man standing on a street corner with a suitcase. Nabiki had kept
smiling, kept asking the right questions. But while her mouth moved on
automatic, her mind had slipped into his mind like a midnight breeze. Unseen 
and
unfelt she had plumbed the depths of his memory, dragging out the names of a
dozen sleeper agents all across America. Foolish men and women, infatuated 
with
the idea of living forever. People willing to kill for it.
	It sickened her. Some things weren't worth any price.
	So she had smiled and made terms with the man. She had promised to get
in contact with two of the best free agents she knew. And she would. She was 
a
woman of her word and always lived up to her end of the bargain. Those were 
the
rules, after all. You couldn't win the game, if you didn't play by the 
rules.
	Nabiki blinked suddenly and rose up in her bathtub. "Speaking of people
who break the rules..." she grumbled and sighed. She didn't even know why 
she
bothered keeping her 'bodyguards' around. Certainly she owed the old man a 
lot.
But looking after two teenage martial artists for him was not her idea of 
fun.
	At least the young, brash one with his skateboard and pigtail reminded
her in an amused way of Ranma in his younger days. The other one, his 
taller,
more serious older brother... he reminded Nabiki of... Nabiki shoke the 
feeling
off.
	Sometimes you win the game. Sometimes you lose. The game goes on.


			Hybrid Theory Chapter 21: Opening
































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