Asked by a guest reviewer: "would Jasmine be mentioned sometime in the future?"

There's a lot I could say about Jasmine. She's someone Akuha loved and lost and is part of why Akuha took a liking to Moka so quick, but we know so little about her. Why did she turn on Akuha? Is she still alive at the time of this story? There's enough holes in my story as it is, so it's unlikely she'll get anymore than a mentioning.

Manor Study Room

Kahlua sat at a small square table alone, trailing her finger around the rim of a wineglass. She had never drank before. "This is what people do when they're sad right?" She stared into the eyes of her own reflection in the wine. "They drink." She had only known Yol for a week but killing her herself still put her in a gloomy mood. Talia's words were also bugging her.

"While we dawdle about, your younger sister is being held against her will, your elder sister is coming for her, and you are here to stop her."

True… Kahlua knew her older sister was coming. They only spent one year together in the Shuzen Household but they still got along fine. Pretty soon they would probably fight again. Why? So that Moka would remain hostage against her will? Kahlua knew Moka far longer than Akuha, not that she could name favorites between her sisters. She loved all three of her sisters with all her heart… didn't she?

"If it came to it once again, would you harm your sisters if Gyokuro ordered it?"

Kahlua put her hands over her face and took a deep breath. "Stop thinking this way. Not for a friend, not even for a sister could I ever betray my mother." She tried to think of all her mother had given her. All the knowledge and training from one of the most powerful beings on the planet for her daughter and protégé.

"You're not Gyokuro's daughter. You're her dog!"

Those words felt like a punch in the face.

"What do you value more? Your own sisters or your mother's approval?"

Kahlua began to cry.

"Merely shedding tears of atonement would make no difference. Harming another is what it is."

"I'm so sorry…"

"You're not sorry. You'd kill your own sisters if you were asked to."

"But it's how I was raised. I don't think, I just do until the job is over."

"I would advise you to consider thinking for yourself for a change."

"But… but it's that kind of thinking that made Akuha a traitor."

"If you've yet to decide what means more to you, you will very soon."

Kahlua thought of the coming storm and the eventual choice she would have to make. Her sisters or Fairy Tale. She drank the wine and immediately spat it out. "Eww! Tastes like liquid dust!"

XXX

Secret Tunnel System

It was an understatement to say Tsukune had no trouble keeping up with Talia. The girl ran rather slowly through the tunnels with both hands on her skirt to keep herself from tripping. After what seemed like only a minute, she stopped to catch her breath, panting hard.

"Wow," Tsukune said, unimpressed, "you need to work out."

"Lecorjamasi… are not made… for running." Talia panted, "We fly."

Tsukune was getting anxious. He needed to get back to Moka now, but only Talia knew these tunnels. He suddenly picked Talia up, his arms under her legs and back. "Just tell me which way to go."

"Ah." Talia wrapped an arm around Tsukune's back and onto his shoulder, relaxing herself in his arms. "Very well."

Tsukune couldn't help but notice that they looked like a couple cuddling romantically. He sighed as his nose bled a little. "Let's just get this over with." He sprinted through the tunnels, going left, right, or straight under Talia's direction. In no time they reached the laboratory. "Oh no." Tsukune groaned. The unconscious guards and tied-up scientists were all gone now. Worse, the container Moka was in was now empty. "They moved her again!"

"Considering such a strong, stunning intruder…" Talia brushed her finger up and down Tsukune's cheek. "Did you expect otherwise?"

Tsukune eyed the nearby elevator. Even if Moka was long gone again, he wasn't about to leave empty handed. "Talia, who's in command of the Fairy Tale operatives here?"

"The venal and vice vulgarian Galvinro. You've encountered him."

"He's that greasy lawn gnome guy in the silk suit, right?" Tsukune opened his left eye wider to imitate the person in mention. "One eye bigger than the other, the size of a ten-year-old, snorts a lot."

Talia laughed softly. "Yes, and what do you want with him?"

"Answers."

XXX

Manor Living Room

Galvinro looked down at the two dead soldiers before him. "You're saying you found them like this?"

"Yes sir. They were just lying there in a hallway."

Galvinro studied the soldier's wounds, one was stabbed the other was shot. "It can't be the intruder, and Akuha doesn't kill this way."

"How about those guys in the powered armor suits? We killed one earlier but there were two to begin with."

Galvinro nodded his head. "That would make sense. They use combat knives and guns."

Kahlua stepped forward. "I don't think so." she spoke up, "Those guys are really tough. Even one of them wouldn't need to take a stealthy approach against what we have left."

"Well then who else could it be?" Galvinro spat.

Kahlua bit her finger lightly and pondered. "I'd hate to say it, but the likeliest person would be Tal-"

A boy with messy white hair suddenly burst through the double doors. The soldiers in the room sprung their guns up and took aim.

"Who are you?!" Galvinro demanded.

"It's me you dunce!"

Galvinro recognized his voice. "Hrothmund? What happened to your armor?"

"Talia…" Frederick's head sunk. "She turned on me and helped the intruder."

Galvinro chuckled. "Why? Did you touch her in a nice place without her permission?"

Frederick grabbed Galvinro by the collar and butted his head against his. "Listen to me! Four years ago, I withheld information about Philidor's only daughter."

"You reported she was dead."

"I lied about that, as well as what her real name was."

"Why?"

Frederick relaxed and frowned. "I hoped she would come back to me some day."

XXX

Tsukune blew through the hallways, disarming the manor guards and Fairy Tale soldiers with ease. Any that didn't run ended up getting their fist bruised upon hitting the brick wall that was Tsukune's face. Tsukune was angry, but not at Fairy Tale for the moment. He was angry at himself, for losing Moka when he so easily could have rescued her, and for putting himself in a position where he would be forced to trust Talia. Tsukune looked back at the girl that abandoned her heart four years ago, following him as he cleared the hallways.

"Yes my friend?"

"I'm not your frie-" Tsukune paused. He always liked to make new friends, and he liked to believe that almost anyone could be redeemed. Akuha lost her heart once too, but found it again seven years ago.

"Please," Talia smiled, "do continue."

Tsukune looked away from her. It wasn't just that she was pretty, but that she also seemed so friendly and kind. Her past actions spoke otherwise. "She's trying to gain my trust," Tsukune thought, "but… should I give her a chance?"

"While reason demands that you turn away, your gentle heart tells you to trust me, mais non?" Talia slowly placed her hand on his shoulder. "You are fortunate to be raised by both parents. It is a blessing not often recognized. Through them you learned charity and virtue, and you have many friends to show for it."

"And you think I'll do as you ask because of that?"

"No." Talia slid her hand from Tsukune's shoulder to his cheek. "You'll do as such because neither you nor Akuha can rescue Moka on your own. Your concern for the well-being of others brings about uncertainty, and Akuha places all she has into battle with nothing left to spare."

Tsukune brushed Talia's hand aside. "How about you? What can you bring to the table besides more crazy plans? You can't fight."

"No, but you hardly need to when you're a people-person."

Tsukune made a dissatisfied look. "Look, no offense, but you're slowing me down and I think I can find my way from here." He turned away. "I'm going on alone." He ran off.

"Don't get lost!" Talia called in a playful manner.

XXX

Galvinro watched as his men fled through the halls from the intruder. "Stop running!" he shouted, "No one told you to leave your posts!" He moved to the center of the hall and spread his arms out to get in their way, and was immediately trampled under a flock of soldiers that didn't notice him. "Cowards! Get back here!"

Another soldier helped him up. "The guy is a vampire or something. We can't even slow him down."

Galvinro rubbed a boot print off his suit. "In that case, the only thing we have that would stand a chance is a vampire of our own."

Frederick felt all the soldiers look at him. "Don't look at me. I can't beat him without the armor."

"I wasn't talking about you, fool." Galvinro spat, "We are being buried by enough of your inadequacies as it is!" He pointed at Kahlua, whom drearily stood in the corner. "At least she knows how to fight."

"I agree…" Frederick sighed, "she's the best we've got, but she doesn't exactly have a winning record."

That was true. Kahlua is pretty tough but she was helpless against Akuha and the human special forces during the freeway battle. Also, Galvinro hadn't forgotten that before this, Kahlua had just recovered from a different battle she lost to Akuha. If only they still had that dragon with them, the one Gyokuro told them to execute. It's not like Yol would find out what happened to her sister. "Fine," Galvinro said, "I'll personally see to it that the intruder dies."

"You're joking right?" Frederick said dully, "You're no match for your own worthless henchmen let alone a vampire. You aren't even a good tactician."

"What I do have…" Galvinro motioned a soldier nearby, "are some very exotic resources." A large steel canister was brought before him.

XXX

Tsukune began to regret leaving Talia behind after coming across yet another dead end. Perhaps carrying her and using her as a guide again wouldn't have been so bad, but it wasn't like he had the time to go back and find her. This mansion was so big he was getting lost in it.

The wall suddenly burst open and Kahlua rushed out for a surprise attack. Tsukune felt a reflex kick in as he dodged and went for a counter attack. Remembering Akuha's training, he sailed around the wing-blade and punched his opponent across the face, knocking her on her bottom.

"Huh?" Kahlua said in a daze, "That's Akuha's technique."

Tsukune let her get up and try again, moving around a vertical slash and delivering a flurry of successive blows. Kahlua flew back and landed face-down. She tried to stand again but faltered. She wasn't charmed to feel no pain like she usually was before a fight.

"Wow, I guess you aren't as dumb as you look." came another voice, "or more likely, Akuha just did a good job at training you." Galvinro slowly came down the hall pushing a canister almost as big as he was. At least a dozen of his men followed behind him.

"Thanks for saving me the trouble of finding you." Tsukune said from where he was. "Now just hand Moka back to me and I won't hurt anyone else."

Galvinro sat on the canister like a stool. "You think you can make demands on us? Sure, you have vampire blood and have learned some of Akuha's fancy Kung Fu gimmicks, but Fairy Tale has dozens of more operatives on your level and Gyokuro has always been Akuha's better. You've still got a long way to go before you're even considered a threat."

Tsukune sighed. He wanted to talk this out, knowing that Galvinro was coward, but the little man still seemed very sure of himself. Sure Fairy Tale had more to throw at him, but Galvinro himself had only Kahlua left. Maybe the guy was more deluded than he thought?

Kahlua held a depressing face as she raised her wing-blade. "Your orders?"

"Don't be so hasty." Galvinro turned the lid of his canister. A cold mist vented out as he opened it. "This is all I need." He pulled out a frozen, gross looking dark-green worm the length of a grown man's arm. "You wouldn't believe how much this cost me."

Bite-sized Monster Dictionary: Infandu, Latin for 'unspeakable', are a race of frightening and extremely rare parasitic creatures born not of the Earth, but of another dimension. Little else is known about them other than that sunlight is absolutely fatal to them, thus they often hide deep underground or within a host body.

It didn't take long for the worm to thaw out and begin squirming in Galvinro's grasp. Tsukune readied himself for whatever the worm might do. Galvinro suddenly shoved the worm's head against his chest and it ate into him, slipping inside through the hole it made. Kahlua and Fairy Tale soldiers stepped back as their commander screamed in pain. His bones snapped as his entire body, starting with his stomach, expanded and became a bloated grotesque mess. Tsukune felt his stomach turn as he looked away while Galvinro felt a bottomless hunger overtake him. The wobbling mutant turned to the nearest source of meat, his own soldiers, and quickly devoured them as he rapidly grew in size. When only a shocked Kahlua was left, what was once Galvinro now had the body of a fat beetle or maggot with a torso coming out at the front. It had two enormous scythes for arms, an extra pair of small skeletal arms, and a bubble-like hollow belly. Six glowing orange eyes were lined below a horn on its head. It was the size of mammoth.

"OM nom nom nom nom nom!" Galvinro viciously chewed.

Monster Dictionary Extended Entry: Upon infection, a host body is rapidly mutated into a nightmarishly horrifying form in effort to make it more suitable as both a living nest and a food gatherer. While gaining unearthly strength, the host also gains an unquenchable hunger. The first recorded infected host consumed an average of 24,000 pounds of flesh and bone per 24 hours, three times the consumption rate of a blue whale.

Kahlua put her back to the wall, staring open-mouthed as the abomination swept past her and headed straight for Tsukune. Galvinro ran into him like a speeding locomotive, plunging him through at least six walls and tossing him into what he recognized as the ballroom he had been in a day ago.

Tsukune landed flat on his back with the sight of a scythe-arm dropping down at him. He rolled to the side as Galvinro rapidly stabbed at the floor after him. Remembering Akuha's advice to take the offensive, he leapt up and punched the monstrosity's carapace. It didn't seem to do much, and it further bruised his fist much like punching Hrothmund's armor had. Galvinro then chomped at Tsukune and tore a small chuck of his hip off. Tsukune cried out in pain as he landed, grasping the open wound with both hands as blood slipped between his fingers. Galvinro wasn't fast, but he was strong and near-impervious. With his prey already crippled, he darted an arm toward Tsukune to finish him off.

Talia stepped in the way and strangely stopped Galvinro's attack with just her right hand. At a closer glance, she was wearing Hrothmund's gauntlet, partially covered by her frilled sleeve. In her left hand she held the dragon orb forward, and a blast erupted from it that propelled Galvinro far across the room.

Tsukune stared at his open-wound, expecting himself to black out at any moment, but the wound was healing so fast he could literally see it close before his eyes. The bleeding subsided. There wasn't even a sharp pain.

"You display an impressive healing factor." Talia said, halfway facing him.

In spite of all the punishment Tsukune had gone through today, the worst he felt for the moment was 'tired'. "Because of the vampire blood."

Talia shook her head. "No ordinary vampire heals so quickly. There is something else inside you."

"I think I've noticed." Tsukune stood up. "So…" Across the room Galvinro had recovered and was looking their way. "You got another crazy plan? They're what you 'bring to the table'."

Talia looked by the hole in the wall Kahlua was climbing through. "Among other things."

Kahlua steadied her wing-blade. "Talia?" she gasped with a puzzled look, "You… you are helping him!"

"I am thinking for myself," Talia said with a serious demeanor, "and you are taking orders from a bug that made a meal of his subordinates."

"But, the mi-"

"Mission?" Talia raised a brow. "The mission must be important to you if you would kill your friends and ruin your sisters for it." Her tone darkened. "I hope cutting Yolnahbrii's throat open didn't trouble you too badly. Surely you understand that the scant reward for completing this mission is to undergo more like it."

Kahlua frowned and her eyes watered. "But…"

Talia pointed at Galvinro. "Are you going to let that tell you what to do?"

Galvinro was already creeping toward them. "Talia." he said in a unpleasant, monstrous voice, "I should have figured that someone so secretive would be a traitor."

"Galvinro." Talia looked up and down the disgusting creature. "That form suits you rather well."

"I'll show you just how well." Galvinro leapt at them. The horn on his head cut through the ceiling as he went. Tsukune and Talia leapt opposite directions to avoid him before he landed. "Kahlua!" Galvinro growled, "Deal with the traitor! The boy is mine!" Tsukune hopped onto Galvinro's lunging arm, ran up it, and hit him across the face. It was no more effective than his last attack.

"Tsukune." Talia called out. She took off the gauntlet and held it up. "Would you like to borrow this?"

Tsukune had to admit that the gauntlet would be useful, but with the dark power inside him, he felt he was playing with enough fire already. "I wont use anything stained in blood."

Talia looked amused. "Can you really afford to be picky in this situation?"

"I want to save Moka, but I don't want to lose myself trying."

Galvinro leapt up and landed on Tsukune. Tsukune felt his ribs snap then slowly begin mending themselves back together again. First he gets body-slammed by a dragon, now by this maggot creature. He slipped out from under Galvinro and was immediately swatted again by the massive scythe-arm. He was propelled out the doorway and into the large grand entrance hallway, a little more than halfway across the room. A number of servants saw him and fled in panic.

"Ouch…" The pain Tsukune felt was unimaginable, but it was slowly fading away like before. As impressive as his healing factor was, it would probably reach its limit soon if he couldn't hurt Galvinro at all.

Galvinro slid after his prey, walking on his scythe-arms with haste. The house-sized chandelier at the center of the ceiling high above suddenly fell and came crashing down on Galvinro, shattering loudly. Shards of glass landed in front of Tsukune. Kahlua landed from high above beside him, having been the one that had cut the chandelier cord.

"Arrrrgggghhhhhhhh!" Galvinro burst out of the pile of broken glass in rage. "You would betray Fairy Tale too?! You would betray your mother?!"

"I wouldn't look at it that way!" Kahlua yelled loudly, while retaining a somewhat miserable facial expression, "You're not you anymore, and Talia technically outranks you anyways!"

Galvinro roared like a Tyrannosaurus. "Fine, more food for me!" There seemed to be a lot of broken glass pierced all over him.

Talia watched from the doorway to the dance hall. "The carapace of an Infandu isn't the least bit firm, but it is thick," she whispered to herself, "thus it is near impervious to blunt force, but quite susceptible to cutting."

Kahlua leapt forward with her wing-blade and Galvinro swung his scythe-arm. The wing-blade easily cut off Galvinro's arm like butter. "Normally I'd say I'm sorry…" Kahlua said as she landed, "but to be honest, I don't really feel that way for once." She leapt again to slice off Galvinro's other arm, right as the giant maggot suddenly vomited a stream of green acid-like sludge at her.

Tsukune cringed as Kahlua tumbled over the floor crying in pain. While she had mostly avoided the sludge, a bit of it got on her wing-blade, and it quickly melted away leaving only a stub. It didn't look like it would heal back like before. Galvinro pounced onto Kahlua, crushing her into the ground. He leapt up and landed on her again and again until Tsukune shoulder-rammed him mid-air and knocked him away. Galvinro was hardly phased and quickly started charging back at them.

Kahlua put her hand over where her other arm used to be. "It hurts!" she squeaked.

Tsukune grabbed her one arm, wrapping it over his shoulder to help her up and leapt across the room with her out of Galvinro's way. "Can you make another blade with your arm?" Tsukune said as they landed, "It's the only thing that seems to hurt him."

"But you're in better shape. Shouldn't you do that?"

"What?" Tsukune looked at her. "Me? You mean I can morph my arm too?"

Kahlua nodded. "Of course. Anyone with vampire powers can." She looked to Tsukune's right arm. "Just focus your energy and it's as easy as opening a closed fist."

Tsukune stood up and held both arms in front of him. Through Akuha's training he had gotten pretty good at focusing energy, but after concentrating it he didn't know what to do next. "There's more to it, right?"

Kahlua looked from Tsukune's unsure face to his hands and suddenly bit onto his lower arm. Tsukune's reaction was to shake her off, but she didn't seem to give or take any blood. Instead Tsukune felt his energy move as if on its own. Kahlua released, and Tsukune's arm began a frantic, initially painful change. Though it didn't feel any heavier, it took the form of a single, enormous, hardened bat-wing-shaped great sword, as opposed to Kahlua's five smaller blades. Tsukune marveled at the weapon, unsure to be aroused or frightened by it.

Galvinro released a big blob of acid at them, now trying to keep his distance. Tsukune shoved Kahlua to safety just as the acid splattered on him and splashed all around. The acid hissed and burnt into the stone, making a shallow crater until it dissipated, and Tsukune stood up looking fine. The armor and shirt he wore had completely dissolved. Only his pants, shoes, and wing-blade remained.

"What?!" Galvinro shouted. The boy's healing had to have reached Gyokuro's level to have taken it so easily.

Tsukune felt as confused as his opponent was. The acid had burnt so deep that it disabled whatever allowed him to feel pain, but then his body repaired it all so quickly, much faster than it ever had before. From his battle with Griggs, to the Capricorns, to Hrothmund, to now, he seemed to be getting stronger the more he got hurt. Not questioning the good fortune, he rushed toward the maggot creature and chopped into his chest.

Kahlua lay on the ground with Talia squatting beside her, watching the fight. "How could anyone heal from that?" she asked, "He's just a human with vampire blood."

"The blood is far from ordinary. The more his body is destroyed and rebuilt, the more it alters him to be like the original owner."

"Moka?"

Talia made a mischievous smile. "Not quite…"

Tsukune grabbed the back end of Galvinro's maggot body with his left hand, lifted him off the ground, and threw him back into the floor. He then chopped, sliced, and shredded Galvinro until he was nothing but a carved, limbless, immobile mess. Feeling that the fight was over, Tsukune raised his blade and it reverted back to a normal hand. "I'm not gonna kill anyone else today." he said, "Not even you."

"And I'm not gonna tell you anything." Galvinro growled, "You think I'll beg? I've been dead since the moment I shoved that worm into my chest."

Tsukune stared the maggot creature down. "I guess even a coward can face death when he doesn't value his life."

"Don't get me wrong, I like being me, but I like the idea of taking you with me even better." Galvinro leaned his head forward. "Plus the sight of ripping you apart myself would haven been simply delicious…"

Talia approached and stood beside Tsukune. "Forget about interrogation. An Infandu host becomes an arthropod, which lacks the nervous system to feel pain."

"Did you read up on this creature in a book?" Tsukune asked.

"Not quite. Do you recall those creatures in the lab? They are failed attempts to create what the Capricorns turned out to be, created primarily from tissue samples of Infandu."

Close behind them, Kahlua stood staring at Galvinro with a gloomy look. She was no fool. She knew that in the heat of the moment, she had given into her emotions and just betrayed her mother. Though she seemed calm on the outside, in her mind she began to panic. Any thoughts she had for the future had turned to ashes, and now all she could think of was to go to her mother and beg for forgiveness, which she knew she would never get. She quietly changed her left arm to another wing-blade, not raising it on Tsukune or Talia, but over her own heart, and hesitated.

"Hehehehehe…" Galvinro softly chuckled. "You're all going to die down here." He bent his head down and ripped off his own stomach with his teeth. His body collapsed into a corpse and dozens of new Infandu worms spilled out and onto the floor. Tsukune, Talia, and Kahlua leapt away as the worms spread out, some slithering straight for servants of the manor that were watching.

"Tsukune, Kahlua!" Talia said from the air, flapping her wings, "Do not allow those parasites to find another host!"

Tsukune nodded. "Got it." He leapt to one side one the entrance hall and began stomping the worms flat before they got to anyone. Kahlua however just stood still, confused and unsure whom to listen to while the worms moved down the other side of the hall unchallenged.

"Kahlua! Regardless of your allegiance do you concur that letting the Infandu roam is really the best course of action?"

Kahlua snapped out of her trance and looked as the giant parasites ate into their new hosts.

XXX

Trofimov Manor

The rooms and hallways that staged any fighting certainly showed it, bullet holes and scorch marks were everywhere, but none of it was beyond repair. Viktoriya's guards had routed the attackers, and of the fifty Fairy Tale agents only six had gotten away, including their leader.

"Still…" Akuha sighed. She looked around the demolished dressing room where she had tried on the Chinese Dress the other day. "Rukt should've been here."

Viktoriya shrugged. "It was Tsukune's idea to take me to Hrothmund's, and you know Rukt would never let me out of his sight." She made a weak smile as she stared off into space. "One time I got tired of Rukt always following me around, so I ditched him while I was out shopping. Next I met some boy. He seemed nice, until he knocked me out and held me for ransom. He never saw a dollar though." She eyed the white bedsheets Akuha was still wearing. "How long do you plan on wearing that?"

"Well my original outfit is so torn up I can barley recognize it." Akuha gestured toward the rest of the room. "And all these dresses were burnt in the fighting."

"Our female guard uniforms are probably too big for you, but I think some of my old clothes should fit. I'm only a little taller than you."

"Got anything in black?"

"Afraid not, but my mother quite liked that color, and I still keep some of the clothes she wore when she was younger. They should fit too."

Akuha couldn't help but recall that Vicky's mother was wearing black the moment she killed her. "On second thought, I'll just wear some of your clothes."

"Umm… okay."

A guard entered. "Madam Shuzen, there are three visitors at the door that claim to know you. One of them is a vampire."

Akuha raised an eyebrow. "Hair color?"

"Excuse me?"

"What color is the vampire's hair? Pink? Silver? Blonde?"

"None of those ma'am. It's red."

XXX

Hrothmund's Manor

Tsukune and Kahlua ran while Talia flew, all moving out the giant front double-door and into the gardens that surrounded the manor. More than forty Infandu hosts were tearing the manor apart from the inside out. Tsukune and Kahlua both stopped and readied themselves as one Infandu host came out the door after them. Kahlua chopped an arm off and Tsukune punched it back through the door, but it quickly recovered and growled at them.

"Enough!" Talia flew down and landed behind them. "Say you can hold your own against such a high volume of Infandu, it would merely allow them time to spread."

Tsukune gulped. "Spread?"

"If one host left the manor, the entire city would fall within a day or two. Can you even imagine what the Infandu would do with twenty-five-million bodies? Not even Rukt or the Dark Lords would be able to stop that."

Kahlua looked shocked. "…and I just stood there and let them…"

"Kahlua!" Tsukune snapped, "This is Galvinro's fault not yours." He looked back at the doorway as a horde of Infandu hosts gathered. "And that monster knew full well what he was unleashing." The Infandu hosts avalanched toward them. Outmatched, Tsukune, Kahlua, and Talia fled.

Kahlua looked up at the glass ceiling a mile above them, recalling that they were underwater. "Can these creatures drown?"

"Infandu need to breath." Talia said, flying above them, "Sealing this district off and flooding it can work."

Kahlua stared at an airlock on the wall as she ran. It was big enough to fit a whale through. She broke off from Tsukune and Talia and ran toward it instead. "Talia!" she called back at them, "Tell my mother that big-sis killed me!"

Tsukune stopped and looked on. In his head he quickly pieced together what Kahlua was about to do. Someone grabbed his wrist the moment he almost ran after her.

"No." Talia said to him, "Stay here and you'll be swept away too. Would you put your friends through such an ordeal?"

Kahlua reached the airlock door and changed her sole left arm back to normal. She punched the door and felt her fist nearly break while the thick steel hardly dented, but she punched again anyways. "Mother will never know I betrayed her and I would be helping my sisters at the same time." A number of Infandu hosts were getting closer. "You want to know which meant more to me? My answer is 'both'!" An Infandu bent down and bit off Kahlua's right thigh. She screamed but still continued hitting the airlock. At least seven Infandu were upon her, stabbing and biting at her until the airlock broke and water spilt out.

As Tsukune and Talia were nearing one of the tunnel entrances, massive mile-tall steel doors slowly began to close in order to seal the manor property off. An automated voice spoke from loudspeakers Tsukune couldn't see. "Warning: a breach has been detected. Shutting automated doors. Please evacuate the area or head to an air-tight safe room immediately."

Tsukune looked back as he ran, but all he could see now were Infandu hosts and water rushing out to cover everything. He and Talia made it through the large doors just before they closed. Water smacked the door with a loud impact and Infandu could still be heard screaming. There were few other people around, watching and wondering what had just happened. The largest manor in the city was quickly flooded over, along with everything that was in it. For a while, no one spoke.

"Ironic isn't it?" Talia said, "Akuha once did the same to kill a thousand people, but this time Kahlua saves twenty-five-million."

"Just like that." Tsukune just stared at the towering steel doors. "How am I gonna tell Akuha?"

Talia poked her finger on her mother's necklace. She couldn't care less that the manor she grew up in was now lost to the seas. Anything she ever loved in that house died long ago. She had no home, nor did she want one. "I killed Kahlua."

"What?"

"I killed her with her loyalty. She could not leave Fairy Tale and live with herself, not like her sister. Akuha had already made this choice seven years ago."

Tsukune turned to her and sighed. "I guess you're not so bad. From this moment, I trust you… umm… a little more I mean."

Talia smiled. "A little is fine."

XXX

Earlier…

Talia stood in the hidden laboratory where Moka was being held, staring down the hidden passageway Hrothmund had just chased Tsukune into. "Gentlemen…" She turned around to the three Fairy Tale guards with her. "Get ready to move Ms. Akashiya."

"Is that really necessary? No one can beat Hrothmund when he's got that armor on."

"Even so, the Black Devil always has a trick up her sleeve, mais non? Fairy Tale would do well to always keep Moka just out of reach from her would-be rescuers."

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

The first poll I did asked which OC people liked the most. It wasn't much of a poll as there were really only two options, and I put it up mainly just to try out the feature. At the release of this chapter however, I have opened a different, more genuine poll.

"What arc did you find the most enjoyable (or least horrid)?"

Tsukune's hometown arc. (Assassin chapters 1 - 18)

Yōkai Academy arc. (Assassin chapters 18 - 31)

Clíodhna arc. (Black Tears chapters 1 – 11)

Sure 'Black Tears' is better written and tells a more coherent narrative, but it's much darker and more OC filled. Assassin was more lighthearted, it stayed within the bounds of the canon story, and while hammy at times it had something of a charm to it. I'd honestly like to know which readers prefer.

I would open this poll at a more appropriate time, such as the end of the Clíodhna arc, but being the unreasonable slacker that I am I decided to just open it now.

Update: poll closed.