Well, I felt like writing another chapter of this but do not fret! Help Desk will return very soon with an all new episode! Don't miss it!
Taito walked through the halls confidently, his head held high and a gigantic smile plastered across his face. Sakaki followed close behind him and she urged Chiyo and Kaede to do the same.
"Um...Taito-san?", Chiyo said, not being able to properly pronounce his surname.
"Hmm?", he said, turning his head but continuing to walk.
"Uhh...won't the black-eyed men see us?", Chiyo asked hesitantly.
Taito laughed.
"Don't you worry! We'll be just fine!"
"Okay...", Chiyo conceded. She had no better idea and if Sakaki felt safe...
After a minute or so of walking, Chiyo's question would truly have an answer. Rounding the corner ahead of them came one of the alien men.
He called out to Taito with a raised palm and something that sounded like, "Biksha!"
Taito returned the gesture and spoke the same word, but when he spoke it he gave a deep bow as well.
Sakaki grabbed Chiyo and Kaede and held them close as the alien man approached and engaged Taito in a conversation in an unknown language.
Sakaki felt a sobering feeling pass over her.
'It's as if he doesn't even see us...', she thought.
Chiyo also watched the two men as well. She was more distraught than amazed.
'Something is not right...'
Moments later Taito bowed to the man again and the alien walked off, casting no glance at the girls.
"What happened there?", Sakaki asked after the alien walked out of sight.
"I told you that you have nothing to worry about!", Taito pointed out.
Sakaki nodded, feeling more confident about their new companion. He seemed honest and no matter through what odd circumstances he achieved his protection of them, it was all welcome.
Taito continued down the corridor with the girls in tow. Along the way they passed other aliens that greeted Taito with the same greeting they had heard earlier. And every single one of them seemed oblivious to the girls themselves.
All the while Taito smiled until they found themselves before a set of large metal double-doors.
"Almost there, girls. Just gotta take this elevator to the ground floor and voila! Freedom!", he spoke triumphantly as he pushed the button near the door.
As they waited Sakaki spoke in a voice near a whisper.
"Taito-san...why are you helping us?"
Taito smiled at the tall girl and answered.
"I know how it feels to be nothing but an experiment."
"Everyone be careful."
Kagura spoke for the first time in an hour. She was warning the group due to the fact that the path had become perilous. With a rock wall on one side and a twenty metre fall on the other, the group had no choice but to edge along a narrow outcropping. Kagura led the way with Osaka close behind, trying not to look down and clutching her friend's shirt tightly. Both Yomi and Tomo held Koyomiko's hands as they edged along. Taking up the rear came Kaorin and Chihiro who also held hands as they tried to ignore the vast cliff beside them.
"This is scary...", Osaka mused.
"Everyone, just be careful.", Kagura reminded them.
And so they pushed on, fighting the urge to look over the edge and feel their heart drop. As the end of the ledge neared the rock beneath their feet became less compact. Bits and pieces fell down the slope as Kagura gingerly placed one foot in front of the other. A few paces from the end of the ledge, the rock under her feet gave out.
In shock, Osaka released her hold on the athlete's shirt and thus Kagura fell. Kagura's mind swam, she had no time to formulate coherent thoughts.
Her only reaction was "Reach!"
She tried to reach and grasp the ledge she had fallen from but her face was pelted by falling debris thus proving it to be impossible. Moments later her back caromed off a rock, sending searing pain into her body. The impact threw her Head over heels. She saw the rocky ground approaching and began her final prayers.
"Such a waste...", she thought.
Yet, she never struck the rocks. A metre before impact an unidentifiable force brought her to a halt. She hung there, upside down in midair.
"No...", Kagura whispered.
Cheers could be heard above her as that same odd force pulled her upward.To her it felt so strange, so unnatural. After a few brief moments traveling in the air she was dropped safely on the other side of the ledge where her friends soon greeted her.
"Are ya ok, Kagura?", Osaka asked, bending over.
Kagura stood and brushed herself off. She was fine save for a few scrapes and bruises.
"Yay! I saved Yamigata-san!", Koyomiko cheered.
"All right, Koyomiko-chan!", Tomo shouted and gave her daughter a high-five.
"She did save you Kagura. You should thank her.", Yomi prodded.
That statement was the final nail in the coffin. Everything that Kagura had pushed down deep into her being erupted in one fantastic outburst.
"There is no way in HELL I'm thanking that freak child of yours for saving my damn life!", she screamed.
Tomo and Yomi stood still for a moment, letting the information absorb. Koyomiko, on the other hand, broke into tears almost immediately.
"Yamigata-san hates me!!"
"You're damn right I hate you! You little freak of nature!"
"My god, Kagura! What the hell has gotten into you?", Yomi reprimanded, kneeling and pulling her child close to her.
"Yeah, Kagura! She just saved your life! Don't you dare talk about my kid that way!"
"If it means having to put up with your unnatural kid, I'd rather be dead! And if you think I'm leading you any further you can think again!", Kagura said as she stormed off into the trees on the side of the path.
Tomo and Yomi comforted their child as Kaorin and Chihiro looked on. Osaka seemed nervous. She stared at the group doting over Koyomiko before making a slight grunt and running into the forest in pursuit of Kagura.
"That bitch needs to learn a lesson!", Tomo said once Koyomiko had stopped crying.
"All she thinks about is herself.", Yomi sighed. "She'll come back when she's ready."
"What about Osaka?", Chihiro asked.
"She'll talk some sense into Kagura.", Tomo said.
"...Do you seriously think that?", Yomi asked, her face placid.
"...Maybe?"
Kaorin stayed silent and gazed offhand at Koyomiko. Something about the little girl bothered her. Not to the point of insults and rage, but in some ways she knew what Kagura must feel. Just looking at Koyomiko sent shivers down her spine.
"Kagura! Kagura!", Osaka called as she stumbled haphazardly through the undergrowth.
Now she was honestly concerned. She had had her suspicions about Koyomiko but after the incident moments ago she knew that the girl could pose a serious threat. Who knows what she would be like when she got older? Would her power become more out of control?
The questions stormed her mind and she knew the feeling well. Her mind was usually full of theory and hypotheses on a daily basis. At this moment though, most of her attention was spared on the whereabouts of Kagura.
"Kaaaaaguuura!", she called again, listening to the echo.
She stepped forward, a bit slowly due to being exhausted from running and yelling. It was then that she noticed a form behind a tree up ahead. Even from a few metres away she knew it was Kagura.
"Kagura!", she exclaimed as she ran up to the girl who was sitting curled against the trunk of the pine.
"So you did follow me.", Kagura mumbled.
Osaka nodded. "I'm with ya all the way."
Kagura cracked a halfhearted smile.
"I'm glad someone is."
"I know when stuff is dangerous.", Osaka said as she sat down beside Kagura.
Kagura sighed. She had thought to go back and apologize, but instead she followed her gut instinct and decided to do what she knew was right.
"What are we gonna do now?", Osaka asked.
Kagura steadied herself for what she was about to say.
"As strange as it sounds...We need to help Dagon find Koyomiko."
Dagon trudged down the mountain with his accompaniment of six armed soldiers and the rare and exclusive Class C Vorpal Lysis Demodulator. This dangerous device took the form of an extremely compact tube positioned at the knuckles of a specially made glove. When fired, from close range due to the range of the projectile, the Demodulator would attach itself to the flesh of the target and use high powered radiation to dissolve the nucleic acids within every cell in the host body. Therefore, the target would fall dead in moments and the genetic code would be completely destroyed. With only one charge in the tube, Dagon could not afford to miss.
He knew this as he led the group down the mountain. They had passed through sector U-13 twenty minutes previous and had indeed witnessed the remains of a fire and leaves cleared away, signifying a presence there recently.
"They could not have gotten very far.", one of the alien soldiers pointed out.
"Do not underestimate the abilities of that child. For all that we know the group may not even be on this mountain.", Dagon said.
"She is just a child.", the soldier spat.
"Not just any child, you fool! She is the catalyst for Armageddon!", Dagon explained.
The man fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"She is still a human."
"And that is why use of a Class C is required.", Dagon said. "Before her powers grow out of control."
"How do we know for sure she is the Beast?", the man asked.
"She has already killed! She protects those who follow her. She was born of virgins. It is only a matter of time before her powers mature and are used for sinister purposes. What more proof do you need?", Dagon said.
The soldier regarded Dagon with a malicious eye.
"Why do you care to save humanity?"
"If they are destroyed, we are destroyed. Thus by this simple act we are victorious."
The doors slid closed and the elevator began to descend. The group stood still for a bit, then Sakaki broke the silence with a question.
"Taito-san, back in that room...Who were the girls that escaped? What were you talking about?"
"Ah, they are just some Japanese girls who gave birth to a rather special child and then managed to escape with her."
"Do you know their names?", Chiyo piped in.
Taito thought for a moment before answering.
"Tomo and Yami...or something like that."
Taken aback, Sakaki spurted out a confusing string of words.
"Those are our friends they must have gotten caught with us Oh...they...we need to find them Taito-san!"
Taito's attention was immediately caught.
"If I knew where they were I would bring you to them. But don't you worry, I'll get you out of here so you can go look for your friends."
"Why are you so nice to us, Taito-san?", Chiyo asked.
"Like I said, I know what it feels like to be an experiment. I know how you feel and how Kaede feels.", he smiled.
"Thank you, Taito-san.", Sakaki smiled.
"It is my pleasure.", he said as the elevator doors slid open to reveal a vast room that resembled an airplane hanger.
"Is this...the exit?", Sakaki asked, noticing the light at the end of the tunnel beyond the vast doors.
"Wow...", Chiyo said as she joined Sakaki who was standing in the center of the immense room.
"Gah!", said Kaede.
The two girls turned in time to see Taito clutching Kaede in a headlock, his face unchanged from his normal happy grin.
"What are you doing!?", Sakaki demanded.
"I said I would let you humans go.", Taito said. "Miss Kaede here stays with me."
"What!?", Chiyo exclaimed.
"I still hold my obligations to the Dagon. Now, please go before I change my mind."
"What do you mean by 'obligations'?", Sakaki said.
"Just go! Just leave before I am forced to do something I won't like to do.", Taito demanded.
Sakaki stood still, she knew at this moment she must be brave. She looked at Chiyo as well, knowing that as mothers they had a responsibility.
"We are not leaving without Kaede."
"I guess we should wait for Kagura to come back before we move.", Kaorin suggested.
"Hell no! We should just go to the town without her! It's not like she doesn't know where we're headed.", Tomo said.
"For once I have to agree.", Yomi said. "Kagura was acting very immature and if we head to town without her she may learn her lesson."
"MmmHmm!", Chihiro nodded in agreement.
"What about Osaka? She didn't even do anything! We should wait for her at least!", Kaorin spouted.
"No!", Koyomiko said, her arms crossed. "Osaka Baa-chan is a meanie who wants to hurt me with Yamigata-san! Let's go without them! Teach them a lesson!"
"That's the spirit!", Tomo gave her daughter a high-five as the group began their trek once more.
Kaorin sagged behind a bit, absorbed in her thoughts of discontent.
'It's like Koyomiko cast a spell on them.', she thought.
"Kaorin, are you ok?", Chihiro said, intruding into her personal thoughts.
"I'm fine.", Kaorin stated offhand.
Chihiro tilted her head. She knew her girlfriend was lying.
"Seriously, what's the matter?"
Kaorin's face went blank.
"Something about Koyomiko-chan...just doesn't feel right."
"Huh?", Chihiro asked.
"Not only does she have weird powers but doesn't it seem like Tomo and Yomi are controlled by her?", Kaorin mused.
"What!? Don't say things like that! Koyomiko-chan saved Kagura's life!", Chihiro reprimanded.
"I know but doesn't it seem a bit dangerous that-",Kaorin was cut off.
"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!", Chihiro said, walking away from her girlfriend to rejoin the group.
Kaorin sighed. She knew how Kagura must have felt. Yet, she also felt that she knew something the others simply could not see.
Oh no! What exactly IS Koyomiko!? Stay tuned!