Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Otome/Mai-HiME. Sunrise Does. I do claim ownership for my original characters and my story.

Mai-Otome: The Next Generation

10

Rika's glare intensified as the man's smirk did not disappear from his face. "What are you looking at?" She asked bitterly as she stalked towards the laser bars that barred her from freedom. His smirk widened, "I'm just trying to enjoy watching a stuck-up bitch like you in a cage. Always looking down on others and now look at you. Even your own father turned against you."

Gritting her teeth, Rika did not reply to the guard's comment. He was right as far as she could tell. She had learned to not trust others early in life, growing up without a mother and with a father that was more than distant did that to person's soul. Her twin sister was the only one she trusted but after she left, Rika had felt completely alone. While Osamu's betrayal did not completely surprise her, it still hurt her.

The guard turned his attention to Mika after realizing, quite proudly, that Rika had remained silent. "And you, Rika's loyal dog, you're stuck there as well. Not even your own dog had your back. She disappeared at the first sign of danger. Man, now on days you can't trust anybody can ya'?"

Before Mika had a chance to say anything, both she and Rika flinched at the sound of a shot and watched as the guard clutched his stomach as blood began to flow freely. The two incarcerated women watched as Rei stepped into view and walked towards the guard who had fallen to his knees and was grunting in pain. "Sorry for being late Mika-sama," Rei apologized calmly as she kicked the man in the face, causing him to fall backward, "But I'm here." The man tried making a move to his gun holster but was too slow as Rei made quick work of putting a bullet through his skull.

Mika grinned proudly towards Rika, "See? I told you she wouldn't leave us here." Rei heard Mika's comment as she kicked away some of the man's brain matter before reaching out to deactivate the laser bars, "Thank you for trusting me Mika-sama. When I saw Osamu motioning his guards, I figured I wouldn't stand a chance defending you both against them so I decided this was a better course of action."

"It definitely was." Mika said as she and Rika walked out of the cell. Rika's nose scrunched up as she saw the blood and pink gushy stuff sprayed around the man, "You could've been a little less messy about it." Rei shrugged, "It got the job done."

"He deserved it." Mika commented as they walked towards the elevator. Rika sighed, "True, but I think I got some of his brain on my boot."

-TNG-TNG-TNG-

"Will it sound wrong if I say I'm enjoying this a little bit too much?" Yuuki asked as she stopped to catch her breath after taking down five more guards that had stood in their way. Nao laughed, "Nope. It would only back up Nina's word that I'm actually your mother."

Duri walked up to the pair of red-heads with a scanning device in her armor-clad hand. She had opted to keep the armor on, saying it was for protection but secretly it was more because Yuuki had mentioned she looked like a "sexy super soldier" with it. The last part, of course, she would never admit out loud. "The scanner shows another wave of approximately ten men coming from that hall," she pointed at the west hall, "and five from the north. According to the tracker, my sister and the others should be farther down the north hall. If we hurry we can evade the larger group." Nao nodded, "Then let's move."

Whilst they were able to remain unnoticed by the compound's radar, as soon as they made their way inside and attacked the first guards, Osamu was informed of the breach and he ordered his men to attack and stop the Otomes at any cost.

Rei followed the two older women as they made their way towards the lab where the girls remained unconscious. The alarms were blaring and every few minutes a group of armed men ran by them. None of them seemed to notice them or just didn't care as their orders were strict in their objective. "I wonder why the alarm system went off," Rei wondered out loud.

"I'm not sure, but whatever the reason, it has been enough of a problem for all of these men to not have been able to control it by now." Mika said as she quickly entered the code into the keypad as they reached the lab. The doors slid open and the three women stepped inside. "Rei, grab Kiyo Kruger while I grab my equipment," Mika ordered as she went through the various counters. "Rika, meanwhile you need to go get Neliel and meet us in Platform 7 so we can leave on the hovercraft."

Rika nodded and went into the elevator inside the lab that connected directly to the platforms and lower levels where she could get to Neliel. While Rei made her way to collect the teenager, Mika checked the chart and panicked upon realizing that since they had been in the cell, the girls had not received the sedative they were supposed to get every couple of hours.

"Damn, she's heavier than she looks." Rei complained as she managed to grab a hold of the young woman bridal-style.

"That's all muscle that's about to kick your ass!"

Rei's eyes widened in shock when she failed to move out of the way of the teenager's fist as it landed in her face. "Damn it!" She dropped the girl to the ground and staggered backwards holding a hand to her face.

"Kiyo!" Kiyo's adrenaline pumped hard through her body as she turned towards the voice that had called her. Standing in the door was Nao, Yuuki, and an armored figure. "Iron-Man?" She asked with a mocking tone realizing that it was her sister. Ignoring the comment, Duri sighed in relief, "I'm glad to see you alive Kiyo."

Kiyo grinned, momentarily forgetting about the woman whom she had just punched, "Where'd you get the iron-man suit?" Duri did not answer as she suddenly spotted a blonde woman appear out of nowhere and grabbed Kiyo forcefully, a syringe pressing dangerously into her neck.

"Do not struggle or I will inject this into your system and you will be dead within seconds." Mika warned as she held the stiff Kiyo with her back against her. She had stayed behind a large cabinet when she saw Kiyo attack Rei and quickly grabbed a syringe that was in her lab coat pocket and decided to take action. They were so close to achieving their goal and she wouldn't let anything stop them.

"Let my sister go." Duri's voice was dangerously calm as she took a step forward. Rei walked up beside Mika with her gun pointed to Kiyo's head, "One more step and you're going to wish Mika-sama had killed your sister with the poison instead of me blowing her brains out."

Yuuki saw Duri's fist clench as the dark-haired woman, whose nose was bleeding, kept the gun pointed to Kiyo. The brunette could not do anything as she was stuck between death and death.

By now Diana, Kanade, and Yasashi were regaining consciousness as they sat up on the beds. "What's going on?" Yasashi asked as she looked around the room, her sight slightly blurry. "Kiyo!" Diana called in horror as she saw the situation the brunette found herself in. Kanade got off of the bed, "What is going on?"

"Shit." Mika muttered as she saw the other girls were now awake as well. "Let's go." Rei shook her head, "No Mika-sama, you go on and I'll make sure they don't follow you."

"But-" Mika was about to argue since she knew the woman stood no chance against the Otomes with only a pistol. "Go Mika-sama." Rei reassured her with a smile. Mika sighed and took Kiyo into the elevator.

Rei turned back and saw Nao coming at her but she managed to evade her, "Nao-chan, you are so predicatable." Nao quirked a brow, "Nao-chan?"

"Don't you remember me Nao-chan?" The dark-haired woman asked as she kept her gun pointed at the red-head, "I know a lot of years have passed but surely you would've remembered your favorite cousin ne'?"

"Rei?" Nao asked confusedly, "That can't be…" As she inspected the woman closer, she was able to catch a glimpse of mirth in the russet eyes, one that was too familiar as it brought her back to her childhood and teenage years, "But, everyone thought you were dead." Nao took a deep breath, keeping the tears back, "You disappeared…where did you go?"

"That's not important now. I have a job to do." From the corner of her eye, Rei saw the girl who looked very much like a younger Nao and realized she had take advantage of Nao talking to her to get over to the girls who had just woken up. "We have a job too, and that's to stop you." The voice caught Rei's attention but within a second she found herself pinned against the wall by the armored Otome, her gun flying right off her hand with her feet dangling under her as Duri held her by her shirt. Nao could hear the furious tone that laced the girl's voice right before she pinned Rei. Moving towards her, she placed a hand on Duri's shoulder, "Don't hurt her, Duri. We need to get your sister now."

Duri did not think twice and released the woman before leaving after Kiyo. Rei looked up to find her cousin's extended hand, and could not help a surge of anger overcome her. Gritting her teeth, she bolted up and moved towards the cabinet. Nao was unsure of what action to take as her long-lost cousin dumped various items on the ground before extracting a small black box from it. Rei took a few steps away from the Otome, "You have a family, a position many would kill to have, and just by looking at you, seeing the happiness you posses, makes me hate you."

Yuuki and the rest of the girls stood silently as the woman, whom Yuuki realized was her aunt if what she had heard was true, grew furious towards a confused Nao. "What are you saying Rei?" The column asked as she stepped towards her cousin, now growing worried as Rei opened the box and produced a small controller form the inside. "I have a job Nao," Rei's voice was soft and weirdly calm, "And I have to do it."

Pressing the code that Mika had instructed her, Rei activated the system of various mines and other explosives that Rika had placed around the compound to ensure that when the moment came, she would be able to have the upper hand on her father and destroy the compound. The mines were placed strategically so that when they went off, the compound's support structures would be blow away and the compound would be buried underneath the massive weight of the unsupported earth above.

Nao's lime eyes pierced through Rei, "What have you done?"

"You have three minutes to get out of here unless you want to get buried alive." Rei threw Nao a small chip, which the red-head caught effortlessly, "Take this to operate one of the hovercrafts and escape. I was ordered to blow up the compound if anything like this ever happened, but they didn't say I couldn't save anyone."

"What about you?" Yuuki asked as she stepped forward to Rei, "You must come with us." Rei did not meet her niece's eyes, "I can't go."

"Oh damn it, we don't have time for this." Nao's voice was laced with annoyance and before Rei could do anything, darkness enveloped her.

Duri's heart pounded loudly against her chest. She could feel the blood pumping through her veins in an ill attempt to escape the adrenaline that coursed through her body. She reached the platform and spotted the blonde scientist that pulled Kiyo roughly towards a hovercraft. She could see her sister struggling slightly but giving up when the syringe prodded her neck.

Although she was not entirely aware of the powers of her robe, she had learned earlier that instead of materializing a singular-predetermined weapon, she was able to manipulate the photons around her into either solid objects, be it a wide range of weapons, or use the raw power and energy in them to create pure-energy missiles and such.

Moving her hands closer to her, she summoned the energy and within seconds of focusing on the density and trajectory of the energy mass, she launched it at the craft.

Mika jumped back from the exploding hovercraft and fell on her back. Kiyo took this chance to get away from the scientist. Duri appeared by her side, pulling her away from Mika who was in the process of regaining her footing. "Are you okay?" Duri asked worriedly, afraid the explosion had been too large and had hurt her sister. "Yea, I'm okay. "Kiyo replied truthfully.

Shaken with fury, Rika was unsure of what to do. She had heard the tintinnabulation coming from the compound speakers that she knew would only activate if Rei had set the bombs to go off. She knew that by now, she would have less than two minutes to escape if she wanted to make it out alive. Mika looked up to see her, and as their eyes met in that instant, defeat and disappointment coursed through that brief instant were they knew it was over.

Nao and the others reached the platform and saw a lone hovercraft while the other one was still in flames. Duri turned to them and Nao was relieved to see Kiyo beside her. Kiyo motioned to her sister as they saw Rika standing there with a child in her arms. Something told Nao she knew the woman, that she had seen Rika before but she was unable to place her thoughts on exactly who she was thinking about. She had little time in her hands and knew that all of their lives were in danger.

Mika turned to the Otomes and realized that Nao Zhang carried an unconscious Rei in her arms. Her gaze moved to the three girls whom they had kidnapped, their eyes wide in shock at what was going on around them. Kiyo Kruger stayed by her sister's side while Yuuki Zhang stayed close to her mother. In that brief instant, Mika realized the painful truth that she had been denying all those years. They were happy because they had each other, a family of individuals who chose to willingly protect and love each other no matter what.

"They have something I have longed for all these years. How ironic that in my final moments I realized how much time I have wasted."

Down the hall, Rika could hear the heavy sprinting steps of her father's soldiers. Osamu did not know what the soft ringing of bells meant, but by now he had probably figured something was wrong. The last hovercraft had a limited capacity and she knew there was no fighting against the Otomes. Rika ran towards the blonde scientist and then the two approached the Otomes who were making their way to the hovercraft while Duri watched their back. Duri stiffened when the two women approached them but Kiyo motioned her sister not to worry. Kiyo could see that something had changed in their eyes. As the two women walked towards them, they looked down to the child in Rika's arms and a gentle love had replaced the anger and hatred that had been visible before. Kiyo thought back and remembered where she had seen a look like that. She remembered her own mothers as they sat quietly by the bed of Duri when she was unconscious. Kiyo reached out and put a hand on her sister's shoulder, she knew the love of two parents when she saw it.

"Please take Neliel with you. She had no fault in this." Rika's voice began to break. She tried to be strong but it was a futile attempt. She gazed down to her daughter's sleeping face and saw a soft smile gracing her lips. Neliel slept as only a child can, free from the knowledge that the world is a cruel place. After placing Rei in the hovercraft, Nao turned to the woman, "We won't leave you here. Surely we can fit somehow." Yuuki raised an eyebrow, surprised that her mother was trying to save the women who had kidnapped her friends and who were guilty of everything that had happened. Nao glanced at her daughter but said nothing. She herself was as surprised as her daughter, but she knew deep down why she was doing it. She had learned in her life that everyone deserves a second chance. However it isn't often that fate allows us that chance to make amends to those we have wronged. Nao of all people knew how rare those chances were, and if she could create one here, she would.

Rika shook her head, "You must hurry," she handed Neliel over to Nao who grabbed the child tenderly, "There is no space and I must stay here to make sure my father does not escape." Mika took a hold of Rika's now-free hand to show her support before speaking up, "We will amend for what we did by ending Osamu's reign. There is only one way."

The sound of bells grew increasingly loud, signaling that mere seconds remained before the explosion. The metal door that barred Osamu's men from entering was being attacked by the soldiers and it would be a matter of moments before they achieved their goal of entering. Mika quickly activated the hovercraft and set the coordinates so it would take them back to Garderobe. She did not mention anything about the creatures since she knew that once the command center was demolished, they would no longer have enough power to stay in the dimension. If that failed, the girls whose DNA was taken to summon them would be able to defeat the creatures without a problem.

"Hurry please," Rika ushered them into the hovercraft. Nao sighed but said no more. She could tell the women were serious about not leaving and wanting to make up for their mistakes. If this was how they wanted to atone, she could do nothing about it. Mika placed a small chip on Nao's hand as the Otome boarded the craft, "Use this to save Neliel please."

The motor of the craft roared to life and within seconds, it was on its way to Garderobe Academy.

-Review please? :)