Hello Witchblade archive :)

So this is my first attempt at a Witchblade fic.

I know there is a LOT to the lore of Witchblade, however, I warn now that I have only watched the anime. I've read a bit concerning the comics and its characters, however, I have not attempted to use that which I do not fully comprehend. I am to understand that a few things I did here are quite similar to events that occur in the comics. I just hope I did alright with it.

Anyways, this picks up three days after the events at Tokyo Tower in the finale.

Without further adieu, I do not own Witchblade, any of its characters or anything else pertaining to it, save for this fic of course.


Masane Amaha's lifeless body lay in the middle of a lush and dense forest. The last memory of the most recent barer of the witchblade was standing atop Tokyo Tower. She had tapped into the power of the gauntlet that had so tragically changed her life, and as she had willed it to be, destroyed all of the iWeapons and simultaneously brought about the end of her life. Her only hope as consciousness returned to her, was that she had successfully destroyed the witchblade, so that it could never seek out and eventually consume Rihoko.

Masane's eyes weakly opened and as the haze of what had happened to her dissipated, she took in her environment. It was night, and she was surrounded not only by exquisite and vibrantly colored plant life, but by unearthly yet organic structures as well. Looking herself over, she found she was dressed as she had been before her final transformation, yet as she examined her wrist, the witchblade was gone.

"What the hell?" She quietly asked.

With the little strength she had, Masane pushed herself upright, and got to her feet. Her balance wavered slightly, unsure of where she was, if she was alive or dead, or what she was supposed to do in this place, wherever it was. But then, there was a voice; a familiar voice that called to her from the brush, a voice that quietly begged, "Mommy?"

"Riko?" Masane whimpered.

"Mommy…" Rihoko's fear riddled voice again begged of her mother.

Immediately Masane's blood rose to a boil in her veins. If she was still in possession of the witchblade, she had no doubt the adrenaline alone would have been great enough to spark a transformation. "I'm coming, Riko!" She shouted as she dove into the dense brush. She pushed so hard, her clothes tore and her flesh ripped on the trees and other various structures throughout this odd place. Finally she came out and into a clearing of thick and deep grass. There was nothing as far as she could see in any direction and worse yet, Rihoko had stopped calling for her.

"Riko?" Masane shouted.

The dark sky above her rumbled and churned. Before long, lightning streaked through the sky, cracking and shrieking in the silence of brush that surrounded her. Then yet another familiar voice broke through the din, its tone laced with madness as it beckoned, "Yasuka…"

There was no doubt in Masane's mind; the voice was her own. The look of raw determination on her face slowly faded as a figure came into view. Another crack of lightning briefly illuminated the familiar red armor Masane had donned in her final battle. Slowly, her doppelganger approached, the metallic chime of her armor chilling Masane to her core, freezing her completely. She was terrified at the sight of herself, she couldn't move, couldn't speak; all she could do was watch and listen. Listen as the creature before her laughed, quietly at first, then louder and louder still before finally extending her blades.

Within just a few feet of this creature that bore her resemblance, Masane finally regained control of her body. She turned and ran back into the brush in the hope that she might lose the creature. But as she ran, the sounds of the creature behind her, that constant laughter, the harsh crashes her armor made on itself as she pursued Masane; she knew she'd never escape.

Masane returned to the very spot in which she woke, just as her adrenaline had all but burnt out. Unable to take another step, she stopped and doubled over, her hands braced on her knees as she attempted to collect her breath. In that moment of rest, she realized that the forest was silent once again. The laughter, the incessant metallic wail; they were gone. She straightened herself out and just as she thought she had evaded the creature, her eyes widened slightly as her body went stiff and cold. Her head slumped down, and the last thing she saw were the blades that had pierced her chest.

"Only human," Masane's armored doppelganger muttered before retracting her blades, allowing her limp body to fall back to the earth, exactly as it had been when she first woke. Within seconds, the blood on Masane's blouse and the wounds she had suffered both vanished. Slowly her eyes flickered open and her nightmare began once again.


Rihoko Amaha's eyes opened in her bed in Reiji Takayama's home. It had been three days since Masane had sacrificed herself to protect Rihoko. Reiji had done his best to explain to his daughter, why Masane had to leave them, yet try as he had to be strong; Rihoko saw the pain her father felt. She rolled onto her side to face her nightstand, and her vision slowly focused on the last thing she had given her mother before she left; that small and delicate shell. With tear-riddled eyes, Rihoko carefully picked the shell from the table. Simply gazing at it for a moment brought her tears to subside. Holding it brought her mother closer to her, and as she gently wrapped her little fingers around it, she rolled back onto her side.

"Mom," she quietly muttered before falling back to sleep.


The following morning, Reiji and Rihoko sat silently in the front seats of his vehicle. Reiji could strategize his way through the end of the world if need be. His intellect and gift for strategy were stronger than any who would have filled his shoes at the Doji Group. But even with all of his strengths, there was only so much he could do for Rihoko. He constantly racked his brain for things to say, things to do that might ease her pain. His thoughts consumed him day in and day out, and try as he did; he only felt more and more distant from the poor girl.

Reiji slowed the car in front of Marry's Gallery, and without a word, Rihoko reached to the handle. Just as she opened the door, Reiji struggled to add a bit of light to his tone as he quietly spoke, "I'll pick you up at five, Rihoko."

Rihoko turned back to see him smiling somewhat, though his face was practically stuck in his trademark scowl. She contrived a weak smile and replied, "Okay. Good luck today, dad." Rihoko stepped from the car and closed the door behind her. Still keeping a faint smile on her lips, she waved goodbye and headed towards Mariko's.

"Rihoko!" Mr. Chou happily greeted as he came out onto the sidewalk. "How are you doing this morning?" The two quickly collected each other in a tight hug as Reiji watched on. He hated that he couldn't comfort Rihoko the way he knew she needed; the way Masane had trusted him to. Of all the things he promised Masane, he swore that he would take care of Rihoko always, and that meant returning to work. He could never take her with him and he already knew that the kind folks at Mariko's would be best suited to take care of Masane's princess while he was working. None of them seemed to mind the company of the little girl, though they all felt every bit like Reiji; unable to offer her the only comfort she so clearly longed for.

Reiji struggled to keep himself together, and pulled his vehicle around the corner only to find Yusuke Tozawa leaning up against his car, obviously waiting for him. He slowed as he came up to the would-be journalist and rolled down his window, "It's good to see you."

"Yeah likewise," Tozawa half-heartedly replied. Reiji knew that Tozawa had strong feelings for Masane, and after his public defense of her during her final confrontation, he was extremely grateful for what Yusuke had done. "Have you and your boys found anything of Masane's?"

"Not yet," Reiji replied.

Tozawa had something on his mind, but his pride kept him from being too forward. He lightly kicked a pebble as he worked up the courage to speak, "You know, if you ever need anything…I mean with Rihoko…"

Tozawa didn't finish and he didn't have to. Reiji gave him a respectful nod and replied, "Thank you."

"Yeah, you're welcome," Tozawa quietly replied.


Once again Masane tore through the woods, running as fast as she could to escape her fate. Yet again, she found herself where she awoke, and again she found herself staring at the same blades she once bore. This time however, her doppelganger offered her something other than the usual. The madness in the witchblade's tone only added to the terror Masane felt, "Why do you continue to fight, Yasuka? You're dead, remember?"

As she choked on her own blood, Masane spoke, "Ri…ko…"

Again her armored duplicate laughed. She twisted the blades causing Masane to scream in pain, before finally withdrawing them and allowing her lifeless body to fall to the earth once more.


Rihoko sat at a table in Mariko's Gallery, a simple coloring book before her. Her head rested in her palm as she carefully filled in the lines. The sadness that hung in the air was unmistakable. Chou, Naomi, Michael, even Mariko all avoided conversation and therefore avoided the tears that would come if they attempted to speak with her about Masane. Tozawa stepped to the door and sat at the table opposite Rihoko. Ever since he had defended Masane, he seemed to be the only one Rihoko would openly speak with, "How're you doing, kid?"

"I'm fine," Rihoko replied. All of her typical excitement and joyfulness were nowhere to be found. Her eyes never detracted to him; she merely continued to color. Tozawa's heart was bleeding at the sight of the poor child. If only he could have done something, anything to save Masane, to spare Riko this suffering.

He quickly contrived a smile, sat back and nonchalantly spoke, "Boy I sure could use somethin' to eat."

"What'll you have?" Mariko asked without turning her attention away from the TV.

"Nah I don't want anything of yours Marry. What I could really go for is one of little Rihoko's dishes," Tozawa replied. He leaned forward and asked, "What do you say, kid? Feel like makin' some breakfast for us?"

Rihoko's crayon stopped in place. Without meeting any of their eyes, she closed her book, slid from her seat and slowly walked towards the kitchen. As soon as the kitchen door swung closed behind her, Mr. Chou immediately burst into loud tears, "I just can't stand seeing her like this!"

From the table, Tozawa's charade had vanished from his face as he replied, "None of us can. Just try and keep it together, Chou." He closed his eyes as his fists balled up in anger, "We all need to keep it together for Rihoko's sake."


At the former site of Tokyo Tower, Takayama stood aboard a debris-covered barge with his old assistant, Hiroki Segawa once again at his side. Not more than a day after Tokyo Tower and the surrounding area were decimated by Masane and the witchblade, had the Doji Group gotten a hold of Takayama. Truth be told, Reiji Takayama was a wealthy man. There was no need for him to return to work, but the promise he made to Masane, the promise to provide the best life possible for Rihoko brought him to accept their offer; oversee the cleanup of the Tokyo Tower site.

"How are you doing, director?" Segawa asked.

"For the last time, Segawa; the only thing I direct now is where the garbage goes," Takayama replied.

"Forgive me sir; old habits die hard," Segawa replied. "If you'll pardon my asking; why did you agree to this position?"

Takayama struggled with his reply. He would never allow himself to succumb to tears before his assistant. He collected himself and replied as best he could, "Being here; knowing that Masane's death saved countless innocent lives, including the life of our daughter; it makes the pain less."

"Our daughter, sir?" Segawa asked.

Takayama showed no signs of correction as he replied, "What else might I call Rihoko? Masane was her mother and I am her father; she is our daughter."

Just as their conversation had ended, a diver abruptly broke the surface of the bay and flipped his facemask off as he shouted, "Mr. Takayama, we found something down there!"

Takayama's heart instantly rose to his throat. He had dreamt of this exact moment every night since Masane's death. He desperately tried to keep his composure as he asked, "What is it?"

"A crystalline statue," the diver replied.

As the diver spoke those three little words, Takayama's world slowed to a halt. He knew Masane was the only blade barer left at the peak of Tokyo Tower, and before he could gather his thoughts, Segawa spoke Takayama's words for him with every bit of the same surprise, "A crystalline statue?"

The diver nodded and Reiji quietly exclaimed, "Masane…" He turned and proceeded to run back to the cabin of the barge as he called out, "Segawa!"

"Yes sir!" Segawa shouted in reply. He turned back to face the diver and ordered, "Get back down there! No one is to go near her, understand?"

"Yes sir!" The diver replied.

As Reiji ran to the cabin to get suited up, a single thought resonated in his mind, "I'm coming, Masane."


All eyes were on Rihoko as she quietly emerged from Marry's kitchen with a plateful of perfectly golden French toast. She delicately placed the plate of food, as well as a stack of plates and silverware atop the table behind Mr. Chou, before returning to her table with Tozawa. She picked up her crayon and flipped the book open once again. Motionless silence remained in the room until she made her next mark, "Breakfast is ready."

Tozawa immediately perked himself up. He leapt from his seat and stepped over to the neatly set table as he called out to Mariko, "How about some coffee, Marry?"

She too contrived her best smile as she replied, "Sure. Anyone else want a cup?"

Chou quickly figured out what they were doing and too played along, "I'll have one."

"Me too," called Naomi from her usual table.

As Mariko's tenants dove into the plate of food with smiles all around, Chou noticed Rihoko still in her seat, still coloring and asked, "What about you, Rihoko?"

Again a brief silence as they awaited Rihoko's response, "I'm not hungry."

Seeing their ploy hadn't worked in the least, everyone glumly returned to their seats. As Chou took a bite of his toast, he fought back tears, "Dammit Chou, don't cry!"


Moments after being alerted to the existence of a crystal statue among the rubble littered bay that was once the site of Tokyo Tower, Takayama made his descent to confirm his suspicions. If he was right, Masane and the witchblade hadn't merely been destroyed in the blast, but had indeed crystallized and separated just as the others. What he was to do with her remains was the furthest thing from his mind, all he wanted was to see her once more.

As he swung his flashlight in search of the diver who'd found her, a glimmer of her crystalline structure appeared. His eyes widened and he nearly forgot to breath as he descended closer still. There was no doubt in his mind what he was looking at as he grew closer and closer still.

On the barge, Segawa asked over a radio, "Do you see anything, sir?"

"She's here, Segawa," Reiji replied. He could hold his tears no more as he was within arms length of Masane's crystalline body. Posed with her blade-baring arm raised, her eyes closed, her face turned down and just the faintest hint of a smile on her lips, almost as though she was finally at peace in the end. However, something Reiji hadn't anticipated was the state of the witchblade. Instead of falling away from Masane, it too was encased in the crystal, and a series of red veins had spread throughout her body, all originating from the gauntlet. He had never let himself say it aloud, but in this moment, he harbored no control over his tongue, "Masane was different from the others, Segawa."

"What would you like-"

"Send our best recovery team immediately," Reiji interrupted.

While he needn't do so, Segawa gave a knowing smile as he replied, "Understood, sir."


"TELL ME YASUKA!" Her armored twin demanded. "Tell me why you continue to fight!"

Again Masane found herself staring down at the blade that had penetrated her. She once again choked on her own blood as the double retracted her blade. Masane's eyes closed and her body crumbled to the earth as the witchblade baring copy walked off, "Pathetic human."

However, as Masane's body hit the ground, something was different. Her eyes shattered open and filled with a white light just as they had when she was about to change. A look of unbridled rage came across her face as she quietly spoke, "My name is Masane." A primal roar built in her lungs before finally manifesting in a violent scream. Seemingly no longer a barer of the witchblade, Masane was changing, but into what?