Strategy

Pirika walked slowly down the hallway with her hands tightly clenched at her sides. She needed to calm down if she was going to face Matilda and didn't want to appear suspicious. When she reached the great room, she paused briefly before walking inside. This was where most of their meetings took place. There was a large, circular stone table in the middle of the room with benches surrounding it. She hated sitting on such a hard surface. The stone walls hid many items of use such as maps, blueprints and even display monitors, but the room was uncharacteristically dark. She noticed Matilda standing with her arms folded over her torso with a frustrated frown. Marion and Kanna sat on two of the benches and abruptly stopped their conversation when Pirika entered.

"Faust said you wanted to see me?"

"Over two hours ago," Matilda replied bitterly. "You missed the meeting."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Just fill me in."

Matilda glared at her with a tightened jaw. Marion held her hand over her mouth to hide a giggle, and Kanna frowned at her with disdain.

"There's no need to be disrespectful," Kanna said under her breath but was ignored.

"We both know this was pointless," Pirika sighed, "so just tell me what you want, Matilda."

"It's Captain," Kanna corrected her.

"Give us some privacy," Matilda said sternly. She didn't remove her irritated gaze from Pirika's face and balled her hands into tight fists.

Kanna and Marion left without resistance, and Kanna rolled her eyes at Pirika before the door was closed.

Pirika took a step forward and heavily exhaled. She stared into Matilda's eyes with great apathy despite her frustration; Matilda matched this expression with anger.

"You really have some nerve."

"Whatever," she repeated under her breath.

"I know you don't like me. I don't care. I don't like you either. You're my subordinate. You do what I tell you to do. You don't understand that concept?"

"Are we being honest here?" Pirika shrugged her shoulders.

"What?"

"Because let's cut this short." She matched her eyes with bold annoyance. "We all know the reason you have this position, so let's not pretend you have some authority."

"You're the only one who seems confused about my authority." Matilda's voice twisted into a snarl. "Do I need to teach you a lesson on learning your place?"

"We're being honest, remember, Matilda?" Pirika took a step forward and clenched her fists tighter. "The only reason you have a problem with me is because Hao's attention is divided."

Matilda took a step forward, but Pirika ignored it.

"You should stop spending all of your time worried about what he's doing with me and do your job."

"You're out of line and completely off base."

"As a matter of fact..." Pirika cracked a faint smile. "...why don't you ask Marion and Kanna what they do with him when you're away on your missions. I can tell you that's much more interesting."

Matilda flung a dagger at her without warning then placed three of the small weapons between her fingers on one hand and a larger knife in the other. Pirika dodged the blade that was aimed at her face but didn't react when Matilda charged her. She stood still during the attack; she had no time to counter and was unarmed, and within seconds Matilda was holding the sharp blade of the knife at the woman's throat.

"You want to try me, Pirika? I have no problem with killing you right here."

"You're bluffing." Pirika's indifference irritated her. "Hao wouldn't allow that, and you know it."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Matilda slightly pierced her skin with the blade.

A numbing sensation overwhelmed Matilda's hands suddenly, and she involuntarily dropped the large knife. She tried taking a step back but couldn't will her limbs to move. When she looked down large blocks of ice covered her feet and hands. The freezing surface pained her skin, and she slightly clenched her teeth.

"I don't have to play with knives, Matilda," Pirika said with condescension. "Unlike you, my brother and I actually have abilities that are useful to Hao."

With those stinging words, she walked away from her. Matilda clenched her teeth as the ice quickly thawed and threw the daggers at the door once it was closed.

"You have to stop letting that woman get under your skin." His warm tone startled her suddenly, but she didn't turn around. "She only said those things about Hao to get a rise out of you, and you fell for it again."

"Shut up, Nichrom," she replied bitterly and gingerly rubbed her hands.

"I don't understand why you're so jealous of her." He walked past her and sat on one of the benches. "Never mind. Of course I know why."

He ran his fingers through his hair slowly then scratched his neck. She stared at him with hateful eyes then paced back and forth in front of him. The beige t-shirt and denim jeans he wore distracted her; she needed something else to focus on.

"You hate Pirika because Hao pursued her for months and wouldn't rest until he had her."

She didn't respond and clutched her arms tightly over her torso.

"He wanted her for power; nothing else, Matilda."

"I know that, but it doesn't give her the right to be a brat."

"She would have killed you if she focused enough of her energy. You can't be so reckless with her."

"Pirika needs to be taken down. She needs to be taken off of that high horse."

"You're not the one to do it." He tapped his hand lightly against his thigh. "Even if you succeeded you can't defeat her brother. Horo would easily kill you."

"Whose side are you on?" She rolled her eyes. "Captains are supposed to stick together, right? That's what you always tell me."

"Yeah, but as captains we have to pick our battles. We can't let our emotions dictate who and when we fight. You know that."

"I hate her," she growled through clenched teeth. "I just want her to leave. Or die."

"That's Hao's decision to make." He stood and placed his hand on her shoulder, stopping her pace. "You have to respect that."

She rubbed her face with her hand and grumbled as he headed for the door.

"The only reason Hao recruited her was because she was important to Anna. You know how much he hates her."

Matilda giggled suddenly and weakly smiled at him.

"I knew that would make you feel better," he said. "Now pick up these knives at meet us in the Red Room."

"Wait, Red Room? Why?"

"Hao called a meeting. I don't know what it's about yet," he replied.

Matilda stared at the floor as he exited and frowned. Hao rarely called meetings with his captains, allowing them to act independently, and the Red Room was usually reserved for important events. Excitement and slight fear filled her brain as she calculated the possibilities. Something major was about to happen, and she had to be prepared for it.


Tamao paced nervously in front of the dining room table and fiddled with her fingers. She stared at the floor until Ren swiftly entered the room.

"Where is she?"

"She went with Yoh to the park," she replied. "He wanted to look for them."

"Why didn't she just tell him? They're wasting time."

"Lyserg is tracking the kids. As soon as he has an area, we'll look. Anna just wants to keep Yoh busy for now."

Ren sat in one of the chairs and rested his hands on the table. He was angry and frustrated but knew those emotions wouldn't help the situation. Tamao sat beside him and paused hesitantly before considering what else to say.

"I called Ryu and Manta," she said. "They'll be here soon."

"We'll need more than them to storm Hao's camp," he sighed. "We're outnumbered."

"...I know."

"We'll need Yoh."

She didn't respond immediately. Her eyes fell softly against the table with a worried frown. Ren sensed the discomfort and shifted his weight in the chair, leaning against the back and staring weakly at the ceiling.

"It doesn't matter how many people we gather," he said with fatigue. "We won't get anywhere without him."

"Anna doesn't want to involve Yoh," Tamao sighed. "We need to...find another way."

"Hao won't give up Mei or Hana without a fight," Ren said through slightly clenched teeth. "Yoh's the only one powerful enough to challenge him."

"There has to be another way."

"Yoh is stronger than all of us, including me." He made no attempt to hide his bitter tone. "You know I wouldn't admit that to anyone."

"I know," she mumbled.

"He's stronger than all of them. And most importantly, he's stronger than Hao. We won't get them back without him. It's that simple."

"His power has been dormant for years," Tamao sighed. "I don't even know what good it would do to involve him."

"You're trying to protect Anna. I really don't care about that. Hao has my daughter, and I won't let you or anyone else sabotage getting her back."

"Ren..."

"Yoh is just as involved in this as I am," he said with a growl. He needs to know his brother is still alive, and if she doesn't tell him I will."


When Matilda reached the Red Room, she waited nervously at the entrance as a chill ran the entire length of her spine. She didn't understand why the uneasiness overtook her confidence; there was too much excitement building in her brain. As the stone door opened slowly, she paused a few moments before stepping inside.

The Red Room was exactly that: red. The stone walls were made from hardened clay mixed with rock particles, leaving a carmine surface. Nichrom was the only other person in the room, and as he smiled at her she lightly calmed her nerves.

"They're not here yet," he said. "I think we're early."

She sat beside him at the round table and tapped her fingers against the hard stone surface. The door remained open, signaling to them there were more people coming, and she smiled when a new person emerged. The extremely tall man was wearing black and didn't return her gesture. He nodded politely, however, and stood across from them in front of the table.

"Nichrom, Matilda," he said with a low, authoritative voice.

"Luchist," Nichrom replied. "It's been a while."

"Hao isn't coming. There's something important he must tend to."

Matilda exhaled weakly with disappointment, and Nichrom leaned forward in his seat to rest his arms against the table.

"What happened?" she asked.

"He didn't elaborate," Luchist replied. "but he gave me our instructions."

She bit her bottom lip and tried to regulate her heavy breathing. Her emotional attachment to Hao was obvious to everyone there, but she wanted to appear indifferent nonetheless. It was an action she failed miserably doing, but she needed to try.

"The plan is simple. He wants each of us to fight Hana."

"What?" Nichrom said with a frown. "He's a kid."

"He's not ready to fight yet," Matilda added. "Isn't this sudden?"

"Bring two members from your team with you to the training." Luchist ignored their protests. "There will be nine of us. We're not allowed to give him any fighting tips, and we can't hold back."

Matilda mumbled something under her breath they didn't hear.

"So...basically we're trying to kill him?" Nichrom's question sounded more like a statement of fact, but he paused.

"The goal is to teach him survival," Luchist said. "If we go easy on him he'll never learn to defend himself or adapt."

"What if we accidentally kill him?"

Matilda stared at him with widened eyes and noticed the seriousness in his expression.

"According to Hao, that is nearly impossible. The additional team members are there for our protection."

"I don't need protection from an eight year old," Nichrom mumbled.

"We don't know all of his capabilities," Luchist scolded, "and his raw power needs to be controlled. I seriously doubt he's learned that yet."

"So, how much time do we have?" Matilda asked and scratched her ear.

"He wants Hana ready to fight him in two days."

"Two days?" Nichrom heavily exhaled. "That's not enough time. He'll kill the little boy."

"There are things about Hana we must not be aware of. Hao is confident he can fight. We have to trust him."

"Where will everyone else be?" Matilda asked as her nerves weakened her voice.

"Strengthening our defenses. It's only a matter of time before Yoh and his friends attack," he sighed. "Our head start is probably already gone."

"He wants Hana ready before they find us," Nichrom confirmed.

"More than likely."

"I need to know who you're choosing for this," Luchist shifted the subject slightly. "We start tomorrow morning. Hao wants a report."

"Horo and Fudou," Nichrom said quickly. "Definitely."

"What about you, Matilda?"

She tapped the table and rubbed her nose.

"If you pick Kanna and Marion, you'll die," Nichrom teased.

"Shut up."

"It's an obvious choice, Matilda," Luchist added. "Pirika is the strongest on your team. She has to be one of them."

"Yep," Nichrom said with a giggle.

"Pirika and...Faust," she said bitterly.

"That will do." Luchist made his way to the door.

"Hey, wait!" Nichrom called to him and stood from the table. "What about you, Luchist? Who are you picking?"

"That should be obvious," he said. "Marco and Jeanne."