Disclaimer: Mai HiME is the property of Sunrise, Bandai.


Laura Bianchi exhaled slowly; the sound of her breathing was peculiar inside the constricting space. She was the only one inside a large chamber, filled almost completely with a multitude of different machines, from external generators to a plethora of diagnostic devices, all connected to a black suit that was only a little taller than a large man. Though to anyone looking the room was devoid of human life as she was inside the very suit a group of technicians and scientists were busily observing from an adjoining chamber. High up the wall, past a pane of reinforced glass several centimetres thick, they went through their checklists.

"CPC setup complete," a technician announced, looking up from the status displays in front of him. A few excited nods followed from the people that were with him. This was the moment they had been working for so very long, a project the upper echelons of the Foundation had little faith in. Understandable, for what they were attempting went beyond all the previous attempts at harnessing the power of the coveted higher order matter.

"Neural Linkage, initialize," another voice began to speak up, and now Laura did tense up. The accomplishments of the scientists weren't her accomplishments and so she did not feel their elation at bringing their creation to full life. Around her the suit remained dark, whether she had her eyes open or not, that didn't matter in the slightest.

The next part was important for her, as the suit depended just as much on technology as it did on the human operator. And that operator was her, an honour she had been given, no, an honour she had earned, through diligent training and effort.

She felt a tingling through her body, as expected, but the real thing was different than what she had been preparing for. The small tests in establishing a limited neural link were nothing to the feeling of being truly connected to the powerful machine.

As if from a great distance she heard the words spoken, "Complete."

Now she knew that the connection had been made, even if they hadn't confirmed it to her, for around her the dark helmet was no longer dark. She could see through the machine's eyes into the chamber beyond, a mere thought changed the normal vision to the infrared spectrum and back. Gauges and lights danced around her head and she willed them to stop. For a moment they did, but it didn't last long. A sigh escaped her lips; it would take her some effort to fully control the device.

"Confirmed control, neural link established," Laura spoke, not only through the microphone in front of her mouth but also through the vocal processor of the suit.

Another cheer erupted from the assembly in the control room, but they weren't done yet and they knew it. While the basic functions of the dark suit, as well as the compatibility of the pilot were important it wasn't the true focus of the "SERVANT" project.

"Meta-parameters set, Z-Type Reactor critical, power flow, zero," the lead technician reported and the scientists held their breaths. They were anxious to show their superiors that it wasn't only the prime research division, among them the likes of Joseph Greer and his android, or the late Kuga Saeko and the research that had led to the creation of the artificial Valkyrie, Alyssa, that could show results. They believed they could go further, and as the three hundred years since the last Festival were running out they were driven to make their own mark.

Standing leisurely against the back wall of the control room John Smith, ostensibly the chief of the "Public Relations" Division, watched the proceedings in silence. Webs within webs, his preparations for his final contingency were coming along nicely.

"Second type, Highly Advanced Materializing Equipment," Laura spoke, "System start."


Mai HiME: The Golden Millennium

"Star of Misfortune"


Pain wracked his body, either from the fall or the attack that had caused it, or more probable, from both. With great effort, for he found that he was more tired than he could remember ever being, he opened his eyes, fully expecting to be imprisoned by the soldiers of the Foundation. The cavern was as it had been before, sparsely lighted and, with the exception of his own presence, empty as it should be.

Reito groaned, forcing his body to move, to come back to his feet. How long had he been unconscious, he wondered. Whatever operation his assailants had planned was sure to be under way, maybe it was already over.

The intentions of the Searrs Foundation in the cursed land of Fuuka had never been a mystery, what they were after was control over the maidens of the Festival, the ones they called the Valkyries, and through them the very star that had determined the fate of the world for uncountable centuries. Valkyries, an apt name, in Norse mythology they were the elite troops of the chief god Odin. Heroic women in life who continued to serve as legends in death. Fitting for the girls who served the Obsidian Lord's schemes through turmoil in life and then, through the Pillars, in death.

Even with the destruction of the star it was now clear that they had not given up their goals in the slightest.

And now they had accomplished what should have been impossible, to forge a connection between a girl and the power to materialize higher order matter, the very energy that had knocked him out none to gently.

The next step was sure to be to neutralize all the HiME, as they had tried before. Slowly, in the dimmed light of the chamber and the broken pillars, he started to walk back out to the surface, step by arduous step, with his vow driving him on. He had failed once, but never would he let the people he cared about be thrown into another nightmare. His progress was slow, certainly at first when he could barely move his body without fainting on the spot, but as he pressed on the flashes of pain that shot through his nerves started to lessen and, eventually, disappeared in its entirety. He just hoped, a feeling that grew weaker when he left through the temple shed he had come in by, when he saw that it was already night, that he could get to them in time.


Crouched on all fours as if sniffing the ground for the scent she was looking for, Mikoto moved through the gathering gloom in search of her brother. They were supposed to eat dinner together, but instead he had not shown up. Her brother, missing again, wasn't something she even wanted to consider. Before Mai had been able to call after her, either to tell her to stop or to be careful, the catlike girl had already bolted out of the third story window and into the gathering of trees.

But no matter where she looked, she couldn't find him on the campus grounds anywhere. Looking about she felt uneasy, even under the covers of the trees and the undergrowth. The night was surprisingly quiet, even the night critters like the crickets were silent.

When the doors of the church opened her sensitive eyes picked it up immediately by the change in the lighting. Brushing some shrubbery aside, she peered out, recognizing the person leaving and feeling some disappointment that it wasn't her big brother. But maybe she could help her nonetheless.


Replacing the habit, that ridiculous black robe she was forced to wear, into the large dresser Nao returned to where she had placed her school uniform. Or, as she was fond to calling it, the pedo-bait. Luring men into dark alleys only to rob them blind, since she had lost Julia she hadn't done it much anymore. The risk now was greater, as she had unfortunately found out after she had been beaten squarely by Fujino, that bitch. If her powers, and her mother, hadn't returned to her in the last second that mob would have taken her.

Standing only in her underwear she took her time in getting dressed, though she had a meeting planned with a rather annoying little girl it didn't matter much to her if she had to wait. There was always business enough anyway, especially since she had been made to work in the church, an offset to her less than exemplary behaviour. Indeed, sending problematic people to the church had often produced a change of heart. Sister Yukariko called it redemption from the troubles of overwhelming youth, but others called it by its more accurate name perhaps, traumatisation.

She had the church beat though and instead of reforming her, making her break with her sinful ways, the old building had become instead a new venture for her, giving advice to the girls who needed it. For a price, of course.

A much safer way to get some cash, though not remotely as profitable as just swindling it from degenerate guys was. Nao did want to break with that lifestyle, but it wasn't because of the preaching of the older Sister now in charge as she considered that little more than hypocritical bullshit. A woman who still couldn't take the honest, well mostly honest, talks with her inside the confessional had no right to lecture her.

Now dressed Nao quietly went outside, starting on her way to a quiet pool nearby in the forest. Better to get that over with and go back to her dorm as she found she was in no mood to go roaming the streets again tonight. Every time she did she wondered what her mother would think if she really knew what she was up to, or maybe the older woman already did. Already she had discovered that the innocent girl she had left behind when she had fallen into a coma had changed a great deal, with no innocence left in her young eyes, only a barely disguised bitterness with the world. Nao tried the good girl routine with her mother, the last thing she wanted was to upset the only one who really loved her, but sometimes the mask slipped. A few pointed looks, a sarcastic remark, were a few glances for her mother into the girl she had become.

She didn't go out baiting guys that much anymore, not because it was dangerous to her, though it certainly was, but because of what it would do to her recovering mom should she get hurt. One time since her mom's recovery and the loss of her claws and Child she had gotten on the wrong side of a pair of fists. Though she had gotten the guy down in the end, utilizing his key weakness by placing a knee in his crotch and a blow to his neck, there were only so many times you could say you fell down the stairs. That was assuming nothing worse happened, something she couldn't cover up with a lie.

Barely a few steps away from her 'office' Nao abruptly came to a stop as she saw a dark shape moving rapidly towards her, its speed too great to make even the thought of moving out of the way. So, before she knew it, it crashed into her, sending them both tumbling down in a small heap.

"Ouch," Nao involuntarily uttered, landing roughly on her behind. As if on instinct her left hand tensed, as if to slash at the assailant with a pair of claws, even though she didn't have her element anymore she could still make some ugly scratches with her own nails. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, a familiar feeling for the girl when she went hunting and, if she was honest with herself, a most pleasant sensation.

"Nao," Mikoto said in a whine, looking down at the prone girl beneath with imploring eyes.


"Why have you brought me here?" Alyssa called out. Her voice was rarely raised, but under the circumstances that could hardly be avoided. The wind blew strongly around her, whipping her blond hair around with little trouble. The square platform she had been made to stand on offered little shelter for the nightly winds.

The rebuild suspension bridge, with several opposing pairs of pillars keeping the road aloft, stood alone in the watery expanse. No mountains, trees or buildings, were anywhere near enough to keep the natural elements at bay.

Standing alone on one of those large towers of concrete Alyssa glared at the equally solitary girl standing on the other side.

"Straight to the point," Arika said with a mock sigh, "Can't you take a moment to enjoy the scenery?"

Alyssa did not respond to the taunt, nor did she let her eyes wander to what was around her. Stars, their twinkling white, were set serenely in the darkened sky. Beneath them the water broke on the pillars and further away the trees ruffled in the wind. On the water separating the two land masses that the bridge sought to connect a cruise ship sounded its horn. If she had been there with Miyu she would have enjoyed being on top of the bridge, vulnerable to the elements, but her best friend wasn't with her.

"Insolent little girl," Alyssa said again, her voice strictly business, "I ask again, why have you brought me here."

"It's a symbol," Arika said, recalling the suggestion Laura had made to her.

"You tested your power here once before, a signal for the Golden Fleet to move in. Now I'm going to do the same, only I won't fail."

"What power are you speaking of?" Alyssa said, taken aback by the other girl's zeal, but trying not to show it. She only half succeeded.

"This power," Arika said with contempt for the child that, in her eyes, was a failed experiment. Her auburn hair, tied in two braids that fluttered in the wind, turned completely gold, glowing as her body started to glow. All over Fuuka thirteen girls felt a burning sensation on their skins, each of them in a different place, but all of them the same.

Now Alyssa showed, for the first time during the encounter, her obvious surprise as she looked upon a visage she only knew from a mirror. So she had told the truth after all, like herself Arika was an artificially created HiME, but what she was doing was supposed to be impossible. With the collapse of the Star none of the HiME, Alyssa included, had been able to use the higher order matter. Her widened blue eyes looked to the moon that shone behind the glowing girl where a twisted form materialized out of nowhere, blocking part of the sphere from sight. The red Star, harbinger of many a cursed destiny, defaced the Earth's sky once more as if nothing had happened.


With some trepidation, her head often going from left to right, to the sides of the path she travelled, Shiho walked under the trees that she knew would lead her to the meeting place. It appeared before her and, had she not heard two voices talking, she would have immediately gone over to stand in the clearing the pond naturally provided in the canopy of trees. But she had heard voices and though she was doing nothing wrong, no curfew had existed in the academy for months, she did not want to be seen by just anyone.

Careful to refrain from stepping on any twigs or other things that would give her away she hid behind a tree at the edge of the clearing, looking beyond it to see who was using the secluded meeting place aside from her.

"How much longer," a girl's voice, one that she recognized as belonging to her classmate Mikoto, said. Even if she hadn't heard the words the tone was enough to display the impatience. Shiho bit her lip; she did not want to be seen by Mai's roommate and certainly did not want to let her overhear her talk with Nao.

"Not much longer," Nao replied, "This shouldn't take all that long and then I'll help you out with a brother-search, like old times. But first I have to take care of business."

Mikoto's shoulders drooped, but didn't press the issue. Nao was willing to help her, but as always that had to happen at the red haired girl's pace and not before. Briefly she considered going out alone again, but the previous lack of results kept her seated on the small wooden boardwalk, her feet dangling above the pond's murky surface. Perhaps she ought to go back home, it was very possible that her brother had returned in the time she had been gone.

Nao thought about leaving as well, though she had no real interest in looking for Mikoto's older brother she also didn't just want to return to her dorm just yet, after all the night was still young. If she was lucky the search might even prove interesting, though little of late on the campus ground had been that. Shiho was late, a rare occurrence since it was usually, and deliberately, the other way around.

Behind the tree the hidden girl started to realize that her classmate wouldn't be waiting much longer, and that if she were to leave it would not be easy to arrange another meeting. But just as she was about to reveal herself an odd tingling sensation began on the top of her head, the same feeling as earlier only this time it persisted for more than a few moments.

If she thought she was the only one to sense it she only needed to look at the two girls at the pond, both had their heads raised and were looking at the moon as it shone through the clearing, or rather at the thing that now blocked part of the moon, as well as its reflection in the quiet water, from their sight. Mikoto was the first to leap to her feet, with Nao close behind, all three recognizing the sight of the thing that couldn't be.

A twig snapped behind them from the path, as if stepped on by a heavy boot. Even before turning around Nao knew it wasn't Shiho who was approaching them. Clad in dark uniforms, all their features hidden, a group of soldiers trained their guns on the two defenceless girls.

Prudently, and not without a great amount of fear, Shiho hugged the tree that was her camouflage tighter.

"Hands above your heads," the lead soldier demanded, "and slowly make your way towards us."

Briefed on the dangers their targets had formed in the past the team leader was nonetheless surprised to see no fear in the young girls, something their ominous presence, not to mention their weapons, should have caused. Mikoto's face distorted in a feral snarl, fully intending on showing the soldiers of the Searrs Foundation no quarter. Her brother's disappearance made a lot more sense now, as well as the disturbance in the wildlife she had noticed before. They were behind it and the mere thought of her brother captured, or worse, was enough to set the protective girl into a frenzy.

Nao just smirked, putting the tingle of her skin, right where her mark used to be, as well as the reappearance of the cursed star together. If the soldiers expected them to be without weapons, they were mistaken.

Flexing her fingers she willed her old element into existence, and for the first time since that fateful day they appeared.

"Julia," she shouted next, taking satisfaction from the soldiers' start when an eight-legged form burst from the ground in front of them, imposing herself between her mistress and the unfortunate soldiers.


On a mountainous road, a range that formed a natural border for the land of Fuuka and the next prefecture, a bike rounded a corner, fast. Natsuki relished the feeling of speed, driving her bike had always been about cutting loose. Problems hardly mattered if you were racing over roads where the tiniest slip-up could send you crashing.

This time was different though and she wasn't going as fast as she could, savouring the ride more than the velocity this time around. A pair of arms gripped around her waist more strongly as she again sent the motorcycle around a corner, leaving them almost touching the ground at the sharpest point in the turn. A squeal, barely audible through two helmets, escaped her passenger and Natsuki couldn't help but grin. In just about any situation she could find herself in with Shizuru this was the only one where she was truly in control.

But was she really in control, she wondered as her face flushed. Halfway towards the next bend in the road, ever winding up the mountainside, her passenger's grip changed as a hand came up higher, caressing her stomach clad in her tight fitting biker suit, to finally rest just below one of her breasts.

She could just imagine the flirtatious smile Shizuru must now be wearing, but she made no move to stop the older girl from holding on to her like that, though she did question whether that squeal earlier had been wrought of fear at all. Most of all Shizuru held complete faith in her and probably, no matter how wild the ride, would not feel afraid at all. Did I miscalculate? She asked herself; instead of pulling one over on her passenger she seemed to have done the reverse. The display of obvious affection didn't set her at ease as she was still unsure of how to deal with such intimacy.

Unlike the teasing of student council members Chie and Aoi there was no romantic relation between her and Shizuru. She loved the older girl, but to her it still wasn't the same as the romantic love she couldn't reciprocate. Fortunately for her Shizuru seemed to understand this once again, and after a few odd days, weeks, after the end of the Festival their relationship had pretty much returned to the way it had always been. Pretty much, but not completely, considering the unabashed caresses that came her way every now and then. Not too much, lest it upset her.

Natsuki did wonder though where most of her discomfort had gone off to. At first the thought of Shizuru kissing her and touching her like that had send her reeling, but now she found, as time went by, that it didn't bother her quite as much. That last touch even felt kind of…nice.

Her blush deepened, her thoughts touching upon the memories of going bra shopping with the older girl, in the early days adding to her already formidable collection and, after its horrible demise, to find replacements. Shizuru had a way with touches that felt better than they should.

Easing back on the throttle Natsuki slowed the bike down as they drove over a straight stretch of road, a look out spot coming up from where the whole prefecture could be observed. She remembered driving there; after hearing the truth about her mother, before she was to learn the truth about her friend, when a trap set by Nao had send her careening over the roadside. Her helmet and strong suit had kept her from more serious harm when she hit the pavement, but it was Shizuru who had really saved her then.

A lone cloud past the moon, and the road ahead became lighter, a small line reflecting the serene light of the orb in the sky. Abruptly Natsuki hit the brakes, shouting out a cry of warning, but like in her memories she had only moments before the front tire got snagged on the trip wire, sending both girls and the bike rolling on the harsh ground.

If she had been driving as fast as that first time the fall could've been truly disastrous, but this time she wasn't running from painful memories and had safely slowed down before the trap. The bike came to rest a few meters away from them, scratched but otherwise still intact.

"Natsuki," Shizuru whispered, trying to rise to her feet while throwing off her helmet. A crack had appeared in the windshield, but it had kept her from suffering the same faith. Some of her clothing was ripped from the fall, and her movements were agonizingly slow to the younger girl's eyes.

"I'm fi-," Natsuki started to reply, but the words got caught in her throat as from an alcove at the side of the road a group of masked men rushed them, reaching the Kyoto girl first. One soldier lashed out hard with the end of his gun, striking her in the back of her head. She hadn't stood a chance, going down in a heap.

Next they moved for Natsuki, who launched into a summersault, kicking out halfway against the soldier's chest. Angrily she tore off her own helmet, throwing it hard at the second soldier, whom she now recognized as belonging to the Searrs Foundation. The fall had hurt her less, for even though she had cried out for Shizuru it had only been a second before the crash, so only she was prepared. No ruinous marks were visible on her outfit; unlike the dress and jacket combination Shizuru had been wearing hers were made for this. Precisely for this reason she had been taking care not to drive to recklessly, but that had been taken out of her hands. Any pain she felt from the fall was buried under the rush of adrenaline and anger as she kicked a third soldier. But others were coming from behind her now and she knew she couldn't beat them all. Should she run, she wondered? If she was quick about it she could jump the railing and skid down the slope. It would be dangerous, but staying with the force that was coming for them was no less risky. Even as she considered her escape she knew she couldn't leave Shizuru alone.

A tingling sensation made itself known then at her side, but given the circumstances that already had her body on edge she hardly noticed it. Nor did she notice the appearance of the red star near the moon. Natsuki sat hunched, ready to spring up like a cornered wildcat, when the soldiers pointed their machine guns at her. Maybe she could get at one of them, her agility hadn't diminished in the slightest, but getting only one of them wouldn't help her or Shizuru.

A soldier behind her cried, an instant before a huge dark shape came up from the slope and through the protective railing, tearing it apart as if it was nothing. The black snake, red eyes glowing maliciously, crashed into all the soldiers behind Natsuki, its body almost touching the lithe girl's back as well as the fallen bike on its other side.

"Orphan," Natsuki whispered, her shock at the sheer impossibility of the situation only increasing, but not slowing her. Almost forgotten by the remaining troops, who let loose a barrage of bullets that did little to hurt the snakelike Orphan, Natsuki sprang up and shot past the first line of soldiers. Let them deal with the snake or vice versa, she thought, focussing her drive on the guy that had struck, in a most cowardly manner, her friend. One kick and the gun flew from his hands, another one to land on the bridge of his nose, making him reel back and away from the prone girl at his feet. Cupping both hands she lashed out one more time, a punch into his stomach to bring the man down.

"Shizuru," Natsuki whispered urgently, lowering herself to cradle her friend's head in her lap. She wasn't moving, a panicking thought laced through her mind. She looked for blood, but thankfully saw none. Not that it meant anything, if she was bleeding internally that might very well be even worse.

Now behind her shots continued to ring as magazine after magazine was futilely emptied into the dark serpent. It watched them do it until a snap of a boy's fingers commanded him forward, knocking them out as well with its heavy body.

Another snap of fingers and the Orphan vanished, leaving the mountain road in silence. Natsuki looked up from her charge to her unlikely saviour, standing nonchalantly on the railing with perfect balance.

"It's still not over yet," Nagi said, brimming with his confident arrogance, lust like she remembered him. Behind him she saw the red star shining against the moon, just like it had been the night after their victory party over Searrs, the very same organisation that had come back to haunt them now. He had stood looking over her like that then too.

"That Arika girl is the key to everything."

"Why are you telling me this," she demanded.

Nagi shrugged, "To give you a fighting chance, it's much more interesting that way."

"Another one of your games is it?" Natsuki said bitterly, cradling Shizuru even more.

"So nice to see you again too, Natsuki-chan," Nagi said, sounding so sad at her rudeness that it could be nothing else but sarcasm, "this isn't my game. At least, it wasn't yet, but now..."

Turning his back on the two girls, easily balancing himself on the narrow metal beam, he jumped of the edge, disappearing from Natsuki's sight. She knew, even without looking, that he was long gone from the mountainside ere she got up to see.

"Searrs," She said angrily, remembering her mother's death, "I won't lose another person I care about to you or First District."

She needed to get Shizuru to a doctor, and quickly, but the Hospital was too far away. Also she was sure the Foundation would block all entrances and exits into Fuuka, so she'd need to fight to get her friend the help she needed. Natsuki knew she couldn't risk that, knew also it would be nearly impossible to carry her on her bike without people shooting at her.

"Duran," Natsuki called out, her eyes never leaving the cursed star in the sky. If Nagi had returned with his Orphans, and Searrs was making its move once more into Fuuka, then maybe her powers had returned to her as well. A breeze, cold as ice, caressed her cheek, before crystals of ice shot out of the ground around her.


Hidden away in a quiet corner of Fuuka a large command vehicle oversaw the continuing operation.

"It's confirmed, the star has appeared," a lieutenant said, looking up from his observation post to the commander.

West nodded, but what he really wanted to do was curse the timing of its appearance. He had read all the reports, compounding his own knowledge of the formidable defences the small prefecture could mount in time of need, but only so long as the star the brass was after existed. Without it there were only thirteen girls, of which they had already gotten one, and no real problem for the well trained Special Forces.

It wasn't unexpected though; he had already gauged the frame of mind of the girl in charge to be somewhat impetuous. Now the star was back before the Valkyries could be safely incarcerated, making the operation all the more dangerous and, to be honest, all the more precarious. Now was the time to strike quickly before they were able to regroup and, like the previous time, launch a coordinated counter-strike.

"It's time," Commander West spoke into a special communications channel, one who brought him in direct contact with their own secret weapon. He looked towards the side wall of the vehicle, to the special launch platform. All around there were four, but at present only one was in use, only one would have to suffice.


Laura heard the command to sortie, knowing it to be too soon for that man's liking, but she could understand her underclassman's enthusiasm in these matters, for she felt it too. The reports on the last mission in Fuuka had spoken volumes of the danger and prowess of the Valkyries, but every day that she saw them in school was a day in which she knew she could beat them. Placed originally in reserve, until the materialization of the red star, she had to resign herself to only getting a small piece of the action, maybe only getting her hand at a few tenacious girls while the rest was already in their hands.

This scenario suited her better, now she could truly demonstrate all that she had done to gain mastery over the SERVANT suit, the Searrs Responsive Valkyrie Assault Neutralization Taskforce, her robe of battle and so far the only one of its kind.

Normally a protective battle suit it was the specialized components that made it shine and all the harder to control, but she had mastered it as much as she could in the short time that had been available between the suits completion and the end of the Festival. Still, it had been months since she had used the modes unlocked by manipulating the higher order energy released by the star, that which the Valkyries could manipulate at will.

Her cabin shook slightly, but the highly attuned dampeners incorporated in her gear evened it out before she could feel it. A launch pad extended itself to the outside, taking her with it.

"Laura Bianchi, SERVANT, taking off," she recited the proper procedure by heart. Bending at the knees the hydraulics launched her up high, far higher than a normal person ever could. The Neural Link was behaving within acceptable parameters, transforming the suit into a jet with a mere thought. Nothing appeared any different to her, though the shape of her armour had changed considerably. Once again she mentally paid homage to the scientists who had managed to harness the power of the Valkyries so that it could be used against them.


"Team seven, proceed," the leader of the eight squad announced, clearing the channel immediately after. His right hand went up, giving silent signals to his own men which they relayed with equal silent hand signs.

Carefully at first, but making haste as they left the cover of the trees the team moved to the church front entrance, sure in the knowledge that the other group would soon enter the church from the rear. Together they would corner the woman in a vice grip within the building. A simple operation, all the more so since the woman was reportedly in an advanced stage of pregnancy, and so she shouldn't be able to offer much resistance.

Ducking against the wall to the left of the door he signalled two of his closest men to knock it in, the wood splintering quickly under the onslaught. With the way open before them the leader moved in first, his men spreading out behind him, their guns covering every part of the congregation hall.

It was unlikely she had any time to prepare for their arrival, but with the likes of their targets one could never be safe enough. Wielding a bow she could attack them from a distance where she wouldn't be hindered by her decreased mobility. But there was no one there.

As the eight squad moved forward the seventh appeared from the other side, a shake of their commander's head telling him all he needed to know. The church was empty. Did she get behind them somehow and escape?

The thought settled into certainty, the Sister of the church had the ability to use illusions and she had used those to get away from them. But she was still not very mobile, so she couldn't have gone far.

"Everybody out, she has fled into the forests."

Out went both squads, following their commanders into the woods around the church, the endless woods where someone could hide in almost plain sight and not be noticed. They were professionals and, even if it took them all night, they would apprehend their targets. Of that there was no doubt in any of their minds.

Near the altar Sister Yukariko and Vlas, his eyes shining an alluring red, calmly observed the bodies of the fallen soldiers of the seventh and eighth squads, lying about the place. None of them would be rising any time soon.


"Akane, what's wrong?" Kazuya worriedly asked, dragged along by his hand through the many trees. If he thought their flight was preposterous he just needed to look into his girlfriend's face to know better, even if he didn't understand it.

It had happened at the campus gate, sudden and unexpectedly Akane had backed away from him, looking at the moon in horror. He didn't understand what she was looking at, at least not at first, nothing seemed different to him about the moon. Was it something he had done, he couldn't help but wonder, but to his recollections their date had been great.

"It's back, it's back," she had started to mutter, over and over and then he had understood, at least he thought he did. They had made a vow never to keep anything from each other and he was aware of her greatest secret, the one she had feared would make him hate her. She had told him everything, and though it was hard to believe he remembered her fight with the monster, she called it an Orphan, and then the sensation of dying.

Akane remembered that event as well in full, reliving the terror of that horrible moment in its entirety. Losing her Kazu-kun again, she couldn't face it. When he had embraced her in an attempt to sooth her she had again broken free, grabbing his hand before breaking into a dead run.

Akane didn't know where she was going, nor did he know where she was leading him, but all the shaken girl wanted was to get as far away as possible.

Neither had any idea of how long they had been fleeing, but all to soon the tree-line broke and they stood on one of the many white-paved roads within the academy's wide campus grounds. Their luck, already a doubtful matter to Akane when she had seen the red form appear out of nowhere against the backdrop of the moon, would not be getting any better.

How she had thought the nightmares were over when her most precious person had been returned to her, when she and the others had wiped out the star. It was as if waking up from an enduring nightmare, but how surprised she had been to find herself in a locked hospital room in the psychiatric ward. Last thing she remembered she had been in the bamboo grove, crying her eyes out surrounded by green sparks. Of what happened next she had only flashes, brief periods of lucidity before her mind shut itself down to protect her from the immense emotional pain. Days, weeks, she had no idea how much time had really gone by, her memories collectively not even spanning a day, let alone the period of time she knew now had actually past. Yes, she had been in the bamboo grove and, next, she believed she had been in a public restroom, giving out a cryptic warning to Shiho, who at that time did not understand a word she was saying.

But now she felt it all over again and she knew she hadn't truly gotten over it yet, her discomfort in being around Miyu, who had joined their side and had been fundamental in her getting Kazu back, had been the only sign of this. But she had refused to let herself think about it.

"Akane," Kazuya said warily, bringing the black clad soldiers coming towards them on the path to her attention. Neither of them, physically or mentally, had been around the previous incursion of the Searrs Foundation, so they didn't know of their intentions. But both of Fuuka's students were already on edge by their flight and couldn't think of these soldiers, looking menacing in their full-body uniforms and rifles, as a good thing to encounter on an otherwise deserted road in the evening.

Kazu pulled back Akane's hand and placed her behind him. A shot rang out from one of the guns in response to the movement, a direct violation to their demands.

"Kazu-kun," Akane breathed, looking at the different expressions that crossed the boy's face in rapid succession, surprise, fear and pain. He tried to act brave when he looked into her widened eyes, but even though he clutched his shoulder he couldn't hide the blood leaking from his wound quickly enough.

"Don't move and you won't get hurt," one of the soldiers cried out, but Akane no longer heard him, or anything that went on around her, the blowing of leaves in the wind, a lone cricket chirping or the heavy footfalls of military boots. She was back in that horrible place in her mind where her Kazu was dead.

"Kazu-kun?" She whispered, and then again more loudly, "Kazu-kun!"

A scream of pure agony left her mouth, overwhelming all other sounds in the area. The soldiers stopped their approach and even Kazuya fell back a step from the raw pain coming from the young girl, who shouldn't have yet known such pain but did.

Their hesitation cost the soldiers dearly, for they recognized the girl as one of their targets too late for them to act. She should've been intercepted at the gate, but for some reason she had slipped past those squads and into their zone. To late did they see that these two weren't bystanders returned from a date as a howling wind seemed to swirl around the pair.

A pair of tonfa appeared in Akane's waiting hands and her scream changed, a desperate calling from a desperate girl, "Harry!"

Again a swirl appeared in the tumultuous wind and metallic tiger, its hide shining like gold in the soft light of the moon and the more direct lights of the lamp posts around the path, came into being.

The soldiers tried to shoot, but Akane was calling again, "Love Love Tornado!"

Kazuya gaped at the devastation when the explosion of wind had passed, glad for the darkness of night to shield most of it from their eyes. One lamppost, bent in the middle, flickered off and on, giving light to the ominous sight. Lampposts were destroyed, trees uprooted. The three of them, tiger included, stood in the only spot left unharmed, the eye of the storm. Beyond that there was only a shallow crater, many meters wide, the pavement completely wiped out. Broken pieces of stone had been scattered all around, with most of the ground beneath it as well. As he looked the cloud of debris started to settle.

Kazuya gulped, none of the soldiers were anywhere in sight and he could do nothing else but consider them dead, or at the very least badly hurt, wherever their bodies had been flung to. The pain in his shoulder had not lessened in the slightest, but at that time he welcomed it, using it to keep him from going hysterical and maybe make the biggest mistake in his life. For the first time he was afraid for, and of, Akane. She showed no remorse for what she had done, though her eyes looked haunted still, it wasn't because of what she had just done. He knew he had died and his life-force stored elsewhere, but now he realized that he really knew nothing of what had gone on in the time he was gone. Part of him wanted to run far away and not look back.

"It's alright, it's alright," he said instead, taking Akane in his arms. He suppressed a grimace from his painful shoulder and knew, when she started trembling and crying in his arms, that he had done the right thing.


At the pond the dirt path leading to the wooden ramp as well as the trees beside it had turned into a different, tightly woven, forest. Thick strands, small strands, but all of them extremely sticky had transformed the dark path into a white jungle of webbing. Within it, as trapped as the trees and the dirt, was the squad that had come for them.

Nao grinned wickedly; one barrage of her Child had ended the fight before it could even begin. It was almost a shame, the men hanging helpless before here reminded her of nightly activities, of the fun she had while taking a stab at the unfair world. Again useless men had come for her, something she could hardly leave unpunished.

"Let's she what you brought with you," she remarked, passing Julia by and moving up the way to her prey, rendered completely harmless. Unlike the other HiME she wasn't sorry to see the star returned. Out of all of them, even revenge seeking Natsuki, she had used her given powers for her own gain the most and would gladly use them again. Perhaps she would even seek out more of Searrs' men; she had no doubt many more had come crawling around, to pay them back for trying to catch them. Like last time she figured she'd best have her fun and as she had been bored to begin with, this was a nice enough distraction for an otherwise boring evening.

"Nao!" Mikoto cried out urgently before the redhead had even come halfway to the men she was considering to get better acquainted with her claws, just like all the others who had underestimated her.

Reflexively she jumped back at the outcry, only just in time to see a black shape cross the space she had just been standing. Its back draft nearly knocked her over, but she held her footing, looking as the small black jet flew to the edge of the trees before flying straight up. As it slowed down the thing changed into a humanoid form and hovered out of reach above the forest.

"What the hell are you?" Nao gritted her teeth, filled with anger as she realized she could have been completely torn up by the cowardly charge.

"Valkyries," an amplified female voice coming from the hovering machine, contemptuously said, "Your opposition to the Golden Millennium has come to an end. Prepare yourselves."

"Bloody fanatics," Nao growled, then looked sideways to her two companions, "Julia, catch her when she comes near, Mikoto, you just stand back."

But Mikoto vigorously shook her head. "Miroku!" She called out, her arm raised towards the sky. Many times before her sword had come to her, but unlike the other elements this time it didn't. Tied more strongly to the HiME star and the Obsidian Lord it resisted the call of the girl who had rose up against them.

"Stay back I tell you," Nao demanded, her voice broking no dissent. She couldn't look to see if she complied though; the black machine was already on the move again.

Shifting back into a jet form it shot straight for her, but though she was ready for the move this time she could only barely jump out of the way, finishing her escape with an uncomfortable roll on the uneven ground. Small twigs and pebbles caught in her clothing, damaging her uniform, while a rock, barely as large as to fit in her palm, scraped open her elbow. The discomfort was minor though compared to a frontal hit by the black jet.

Passing over her retreating body Julia shot another large volley of webbing, but the Laura was too fast for it with her suit in jet-mode. Like before she didn't let her flight carry her far, transforming again into a human form, skidding on the dirt for a few meters before coming to a stop. A large halberd appeared in her hands, surprising all the three girls, one of whom was still hidden, as only HiME should've been able to do what the black clad girl had just done.

"An Element?" Nao questioned, her eyes narrowing suspiciously, but none of the other girls had an element like that, so it couldn't be one of them. Or could it? The halberd had some resemblance to Shizuru's naginata, a devilish weapon she only remembered all to well; only this thing was black and that girl should've had no more reason to come after her. As light-hearted as it had sounded, and a tad insincere, the graduate had apologized for her actions. More importantly though, the prideful woman would never side with Searrs.

"Who are you?"

Predictably no reply came other than a renewed rush for her life. Though slower than the jet the speed of the black suit in humanoid form was still faster than a normal human's, calling upon much of the pilot's instincts when going all out, and more than Nao could hope to dodge. The increased reach of the halberd would cut her apart if she attempted to roll out of the way again.

"Annoying pest," Nao shouted, weaving her own trademark strings from her hands to hold the halberd's blade in check. For a moment it worked, but then the blade gleamed darkly and the crimson threads broke apart.

"Got you," Laura said at the same time as Nao cried out for Julia. In complete synch with her mistress the spider Child shot out a new barrage of webbing, not aimed at their overpowering foe, but at the one who had summoned her back. The redheaded girl held her hand high, as if to strike against the armoured form with her sharp claws in a descending arc, perhaps the only chance of attack left to her before being skewered. But her arm held fast even with the blade nearly through her stomach. The webs hit her hand and her arm, the momentum of the stuff transferring to the girl.

She flew through the air, letting her own Child's attack carry her away from the debilitating strike. Laura stopped short, her halberd still aimed forward like a spear, its blade resting in the spot where it should have gone through solid flesh. Even though the orders were to capture the thirteen maidens alive, if possible, she had deemed this one to be too wild and dangerous. Her opinion changed, it wasn't just the power of the star that made this girl so much of a problem, she was just too cunning by nature.

Using her arm that was still enveloped by webs as leverage Nao flipped in midair, coming to the end of her escape flight. Feet first she hit the many layered webbings that were spanned over the previously open space of the dirt path, her left foot coming dangerously close to breaking through the protective goggles of a face mask. If it had there was nothing the man inside could do, his body held immobile by the many strands.

Nao stood upright, but vertically, against the wall, her feet sticking to those webs for a few seconds before she simply hopped down. Using her red claws to break the webs on her hand she landed lightly on her feet. Unlike her victims she could not be caught that way. Again Nao grinned, an evil gleam visible in her eyes, but to Laura it just smelled of false bravado.

Then it was her turn to dodge quickly, the thrusters on her feet and at her waist, propelling her upward just in time. In the small time she had been distracted Julia had thrust forward, meaning to disembowel her with her own barbed blade of a tail. Laura somersaulted over the spider, letting her own weapon make a full circle with her before attempting to cut away the Child's head. Another distraction interrupted her before she could make good on the opening as Mikoto threw herself against the long pole attached to the blade, her mighty jump causing the weapon to miss.

Laura tried to complete her aerial roll, but Mikoto held on tight to the pole weapon, taking her off balance. From her free hand she shot out a many-pieced metallic whip to dislodge her unwanted passenger, but the agile girl twisted around the black pole out of harm's way. Instead the tail piece of her whip hit her own weapon, its impact threatening to upset her flight further. Releasing her element and retracting her other weapon the two girls fell away from each other.

Both girls landed while Julia turned back around; now Laura stood on the wooden walkway, her way forward blocked and only shallow water on all other sides. She could still fly though and though her halberd clattered on the dirt a distance away from her she was hardly trapped.

Elongating her red claws to their full length, confident that they could cut even through the heavy black armour, Nao ran forward. This woman, this machine, or whatever it was, had to go. Only a few times before had she so truly come close to being killed and she, or it, made it all come back to her.

"Julia, cut her in two," she commanded.

Completing the turn with her eight legs Julia complied to the order, again lunging forward with her blade appendage. Laura fired off her thrusters in response, flying back over the pond and in front of Julia, leading the spider to the middle of the shallow body of water. There her advancement stopped and Laura changed tactics, becoming a jet again before taking to the air.

Nao, her feet making the wood beneath her crack and whine, clearly saw the disastrous turn her impetuous command had brought them, the loss of the halberd hadn't stopped the machine at all. The fast jet was coming down again, now behind the large spider woman. Julia couldn't turn around fast enough and the distance was too large for either Nao or the unarmed Mikoto to cross in time.

A black flash went through the Child, the only sign that she had just been cut open across the middle.

"Mama," Nao cried in disbelief, thinking the loss of Julia would again take her mother away from her. Green sparks started to form around Julia's head, her form starting to disintegrate from the top on down. Nao thought she knew what would happen, but then a stabbing pain laced through her heart. Losing balance she fell of the end of the wooden walkway, having the presence of mind to roll in her fall. For a few anxious seconds her head remained under water, her face pressed in the mud, before she rolled over. Immediately Mikoto was beside her, her young eyes filled with concern for her friend.

"Run aw-" Nao started to say, but the words caught in her throat before she could utter them fully. Was this what her mother had felt, even through her coma? She wondered as she fell into black oblivion.

"Nao!" Mikoto cried while in the middle of the pond Julia finished her disappearance.


From behind the tree, still safely hidden since the start of the encounter, Shiho also felt like screaming. She hadn't come down to the secluded spot for this; all she had wanted was some more advice from her knowledgeable classmate concerning how to deal with boys, or actually, one in particular. Her big brother, as she still called Tate, was captivated by another girl, she knew that. But she also knew that she couldn't just simply give up and that's why she had to deal with Nao, an act she otherwise would never have considered. But she wasn't like Kanzaki Reito, whose easy manner and charisma might actually sway Mai away from her big brother. She was just little Shiho, who had always been sheltered by her big brother.

"You have to be decisive," she remembered the redhead telling her once, a favourite piece of advice, "And always strike from behind if you're going after your rivals."

Back then she had balked at the thought, even though during the Festival that was exactly what she, or more precisely her subconscious, had done.

Laura, in her powerful black armour, touched down on the dirt, turning back into a human form to reclaim her weapon. Next, she would use it on Mikoto.

Decisive, and from behind, she thought, holding on to those words. In her hand a flute appeared and, with trembling hands, she brought it to her lips, playing a clear, if shrill, note.

Yatagarasu, the one legged crow, appeared out of the shadows behind Shiho, revealing both of them. It crowed loudly, and a flurry of explosive darts shot out to the grounded girl. The attack came on too quick, to sudden, giving Laura barely enough time to cross her arms in front of her.

It didn't stop the black armour long, but a few seconds was all Shiho was hoping for. If Nao couldn't beat the nightmarish creature she had no intention of trying herself. On the back of her Child she steered Yatagarasu towards the other HiME, directing him to take the fallen girl in his one clawed foot.

"Get on," Shiho urged, giving Mikoto all the prompting she needed. With Nao held by the large crow and the catlike girl, who had surprisingly been unable to get herself in the fight, a rare occurrence, holding on to her back, they flew off.

Uncrossing her arms again, seeing the smoke coming from her armour, but otherwise noting no substantial damage, Laura gripped the pole of her weapon. Heaving the blade out of the ground with little finesse she looked at the webbing and her tied soldiers, considering what to do with them. She thought about cutting them free, but thought better of it. Perhaps this would be a lesson to them. Failure wasn't something she, or the Foundation, tolerated.


With a hiss of a vacuum being broken, a soft mist spilling out of the metallic box, the lid of what looked like a silver coffin slid open. A strong, though delicate looking hand, gripped the edge and slowly the figure within sat up. She was alone in the underground chamber below the church where her equipment had been returned. The secret chamber in the Director's mansion was a secret no longer so they had returned it, with extra security measures, back to their old hideout.

Her red eyes trailed to the displays around her, trying to find a confirmation that her maintenance cycles had been cut off prematurely. Checking her internal chronometer she knew that it had not, everything had gone as it was supposed to. But then why was she alone? Why wasn't her young miss there, as she had promised? Alyssa always had something to do, but she had always made it a priority to be there when she woke up.

Resolutely Miyu ascended the stairs out of the basement, suspicions turning to fact when she entered the congregation hall. Searrs soldiers lay scattered around.

"Miyu," Yukariko said, sitting in prayer in front of the altar, her Child still facing the prone pack.

"Sister Yukariko," Miyu said, not asking how the chess piece horse had returned or what had happened to the soldiers. Only her first priority mattered, "Where is Miss Alyssa."

"I don't know, all of a sudden it came back and then the soldiers came. I had to stop them, but I can't just go out there."

Miyu nodded, inside the building the pregnant nun was at her best, surrounded by her faith. Going outside wouldn't be prudent for her, but the same did not hold for the android girl.

"I'm going to find her," Miyu said.

"I'll pray for you."


Shiho swore, a stark contrast to her good girl image, but given the situation not inexcusable.

"Lower," she said, directing their flight to skim just above the treetops. Hopefully the dark crow's flight would blend right in with the colour, or lack thereof, of the trees in the moonlight. It might have worked, but all three girls were in their school uniforms, the white fukus making too clear a contrast with the rest of their surroundings.

"What am I doing?" she asked herself out loud, confused about what part had seemed right to her. Anxiously she looked behind her, sure to see the black jet in close pursuit, but hoping that it wouldn't be. No deities were listening though; another dark form was closing the distance fast.

Even with their light uniforms the flying group was hardly visible at all by normal means, but the black armour had more than normal means to its disposal. To the heat seeking sensors the crow and its passengers were lit up like a beacon.

In the same way that she had dealt with Julia, using the sharp edges of her jet-form's nose, Laura planned to simply run right through the crow.

"Keep her safe," Mikoto said tersely.

"What?" Shiho replied, but the other girl had already let go of her waist. Before she had even spoken Mikoto had already jumped of Yatagarasu's back. Is she running away? Shiho thought with disbelief. She could understand it, wanted to do nothing else herself but get away from the black spectre that was after them.

But then she saw, Mikoto had not jumped down into the trees, but up, keeping herself in the jet's path, making a collision unavoidable. At that speed it would surely go right through her, like a knife through butter.

"Miroku!" Mikoto cried again, but this time the sword did respond, appearing in her eager hands with a red glow. The attack on her friends, she could not allow the unforgivable acts to continue. Even if it killed her.

In full flight Laura changed to her humanoid form, bringing her heavy halberd to bear. The two girls collided in mid air, both coming to a full stop as both black edged blades struck each other, sparks flying everywhere. Gravity caught them both and before they knew it branches snapped under their fall. Using all the strength she could muster Mikoto held herself above Laura, letting the armoured girl take the full brunt of their crash. Even so she couldn't prevent smaller branches from cutting into her skin. Fully in her battle fury she hardly noticed it, all of her attention was focused on her enemy.

Shiho kept her Child going, their flight taking them away from the place the two opponents had fallen into the sea of trees. There was nothing more she could do but honour Mikoto's wishes and get Nao to safety, wherever that could be found in a land overrun by enemy soldiers led by a black devil.