Author's Notes
Fluff is still in short supply, I'm afraid. Apologies. Think of it as a reward for fighting through the action - much as it is for the characters. :)

Let's get back to it!


Chapter 12: Last Stand

Konoka stood perfectly still, fingers digging into the tree bark. She had done more or less what Secchan had told her, but she knew in her heart that if her guardian knew just how close she had stayed to the scene of battle, she wouldn't be pleased. The truth of it was that she couldn't just run away again. If Secchan and the others were going to do battle for her sake, the very least she could do was to stay and bear witness. So here she was, hiding behind a tree, with nothing to do but watch once more. Not that the battle was an easy thing to witness. It had started all right, with Secchan facing three monsters. They were huge, much bigger than the costumed demons that Konoka remembered from earlier, and scary, but she trusted her friend. Secchan could handle three of those creatures in her sleep.

Then their reinforcements had arrived. That was when the tree Konoka was hiding behind began to suffer some serious bark abuse. There were literally dozens of the monsters, some huge and horned like the first three, while the rest, by far the majority, were the lesser costumed demons. She was almost glad that Secchan had so firmly rejected her offer to fight. The mage had lied to her friend about how she felt. In truth, her head was splitting, and the sickness she had downplayed so much was a constant nausea at the back of her throat that threatened to overwhelm her at every sudden movement. Though she hated to admit it, Konoka knew she would have been a liability out there if she had tried to fight. But even without her, Secchan didn't have to stand alone. Thankfully, Kaede and the others weren't far behind the new influx of demons, and as they too joined the fight, things began to look a little more equal.

Since then, Mahora's finest martial artists had been holding their own. The lesser demons fell easily, but the bigger ones were nigh indestructible. Even the monster that Secchan had paralysed in that first attack had yet to be dispelled. It lay prone at the edge of the worst of the fighting, unmoving apart from the odd twitch of its arms. Konoka found herself feeling oddly sorry for the creature. It might have been an enemy, but it had been summoned through no choice of its own. To die like that, forgotten and in pain, was something that the young mage couldn't wish on anyone, even a demon.

She was still watching the maimed beast when she felt it – a pulse than ran through the clearing like depth charge in water. Nothing moved, but she felt it as a tremor in her bones, deep in her ears, as if it were a noise so low that no human could hear it. She scanned the faces of her friends, recognising the same awareness in their shocked expressions. They had felt it too. The fighters, each and every one of them, simply stopped in one frozen moment of time. Then it happened, slowly at first, but accelerating with terrifying speed – the demons changed. Konoka's eyes were riveted to the demon she had been pitying only a few scant seconds ago. Its eyes changed first, from yellow cat's eyes with narrow pupils, to glowing red. It seemed to expand, both in height and breadth, its muscles bunching under charcoal skin. Then it moved. The creature hauled itself up on its hands, its claws digging into the torn earth of the forest clearing, and howled. The sound wasn't born of pain, despite the wreck of its lower body, still paralysed thanks to Secchan's sword-stroke, but of anger and terrible bloodlust. A moment later, the sound was echoed, every demon raising its head to howl its rage to the sky, in a deafening cacophony. It was horrifying. The young mage clutched at the tree in front of her, sliding down it as her knees gave out.

"What…?" she whispered, needing to express herself lest she go mad. "What happened to them?"

As suddenly as they had stopped, the demons surged into motion once more, renewing their attacks on their human foes. But they were different now. The human intelligence they had shown before, using decoys, working towards complex battle strategies, that had vanished, to be replaced with the pure instinctual movements of pack predators with their prey. There was no thought driving them, only hunger, and that made them infinitely more dangerous. Konoka bit her lip as she leaned forward, face pressed against the tree's rough bark, staring into the clearing.

"Secchan…"

The swordswoman's blade flashed through the air, parrying strike after strike as four of the massive demons pressed forward, giving her no space to counterattack. The whirling circle of the steel kept the claws at bay, but that was all, a temporary measure at best. Mana was in much the same position, forced to block the barrage of attacks with the barrels of her twin pistols. Unlike Secchan though, she was able to get off the odd shot when her pistols swept through an appropriate arc. But although one or two of the monsters collapsed, felled by the enchanted bullets, many more were able to take the damage and continue fighting. Kuu Fei chopped and pivoted in the midst of a pack of the monsters, doing her best to turn defence into attack. Demons flew through the air as punches were converted into crushing throws. Kaede danced through the press of enemies, evading blows against her rather than blocking them. She had summoned her maximum number of shadow clones, and was doing all she could to sow confusion among the demonic ranks.

Konoka clenched her fists, grinding her knuckles against the bark. She had seen enough battles now to see how this one was going. The Mahora four were on borrowed time, surviving but not making any progress against the mass of their enemies. All it would take was a single mistake, and things would go from bad to worse in a second. It was just a matter of time before one of the demons got lucky and landed a blow. The mage was shaking, though whether it was fear or frustration, she wasn't sure. Surely there had to be something she could do? Almost unconsciously, she began to creep forward, crawling on hands and knees through the underbrush, watching wide-eyed as the battle unfolded.

Kaede was the first. Somehow the greater demons seemed to be able to sense which of the clones was the real ninja, and closed in mercilessly. Five of them surrounded her, separating her from her other selves, attacking with single-minded intensity. The ninja dodged and weaved, blocking some blows, ducking others, but even she couldn't handle five such opponents all at the same time. As she side-stepped to avoid the scything attack of one demon, she was suddenly directly in the line-of-attack of another. Realising her mistake, the girl spun, hands coming up in a desperate attempt to block. Too late. The second demon made solid contact, raking its claws across her shoulder, ripping cloth and flesh. The force of the blow threw her backwards and sideways, straight into the punch of a third demon. The creature's knuckles smashed into the girl's face, driving her to the forest floor.

"Kaede!" Konoka was on her feet before she knew it, heedless of the danger. Only one thought was in her mind, to get to the girl's side. But someone else beat her to it. Konoka's voice hadn't been the only one shouting the ninja's name.

A volley of shots rang out, and the demons surrounding Kaede fell back, nursing fresh wounds. One took a round directly in the skull, and imploded into vapour as it was dispelled, one of the few greater demons to fall. A second later, Mana was standing over Kaede's fallen body, guns raised menacingly. Her teeth were bared, her breaths short and harsh, as she faced off the circle of monsters. Konoka could only stare at her. It was as if she was another person. This feral, passionate girl was nothing like the cool emotionless Mana that she knew. Black blood glistened in a wide spray across the miko's face and stained her clothing, a testament to the chaos she had wrought in the demonic ranks. She looked more like a goddess of death, Konoka thought, than a priestess.

The demons were cowed for a moment, but their hesitation was short-lived. A growl burst from the throat of the nearest of them, to be echoed by the others as they threw themselves towards their new opponent in a frenzy of fangs and claws. Mana's pistols sounded, and battle was joined once more, this time over the supine form of the fallen ninja.


"What?" Negi froze in place, staring into Mari's face. "What did you say?"

The mage bowed her head, repressing the urge to scream. "You've released the demons' true nature. They're not like the demons you might be used to. They're not intelligent, or even human-like. They're killers, pure predators. Without me holding them back, they'll revert to type."

Negi blinked, shocked, and sank earthwards until he was standing in front of the pair, still holding up the unconscious Asuna. "My friends…" he whispered. "Konoka-san…"

Mari shook her head and clenched her hands to her chest. Why did it have to be like this? Why could things never be simple? The weight of the guilt inside her made her stomach feel like it had turned into a ball of lead. She would be responsible for the deaths of those girls, each and every one of them. Was it worth it? She bowed forwards over her rigid hands, knowing the answer to that question before she'd even finished thinking it. Of course it wasn't. How could it be?

Somehow the words found their way out. "I can't…"

Sugiyama leapt to his feet from where he had fallen, staring at Mari in horror. "Wait, Fujiwara, what are you thinking?!"

Her head snapped up, and her eyes met his. "I can't do it. I just can't." A tear ran down her cheek, and she realised she was crying. "I can't be responsible for killing people."

Sugiyama looked like he was about to shout something, but Negi spoke first. "Is there something you can do?" His initial shock had given way to a determined focus.

"I'll dispel them. I summoned them. I can dispel them."

"No!" It was a shout. Sugiyama took a step forward, face contorted with rage. "This might be our only chance! Have you forgotten what's at stake?"

"Of course not!" Mari held his gaze even as she flinched from his anger. "But there'll be another chance. We don't have to let people die. We don't have to kill them. I can't become a murderer, Hiroyuki. I won't!"

She turned away, reaching into her shirt once more for the enchanted papers she needed to work the dispelling rite. But no sooner had she brought them out than Sugiyama swept them from her hand in one swift move. They scattered to the ground, gleamingly white against the grass. Mari winced as he gripped her arm, grinding the bones in her wrist together.

"You little fool," he hissed. "You would throw everything away just when our goal is in reach. Well I won't let you. Everyone's expendable. You're expendable. I'll kill you before I let you ruin this operation."


Konoka stood on the very edge of the battle now, a single tree between her and the bloody violence just a few feet away. She was torn in an agony of indecision. Kaede was still on the ground, still unmoving, which meant she must be badly hurt. Mana was holding off the attacking demons for now, but who knew how long she could hold out? Perhaps if Konoka could make it close enough to get the ninja into the range of her magic she could heal her. But could she get close enough without being attacked herself? Her words to Secchan echoed in her head. She had promised to hide, to stay safe. Could she break that promise?

A scream, suddenly cut off, jerked Konoka's head around. That had been Kuu's voice. She was just in time to see the girl flying backwards to crash into a tree not six feet from Konoka's own hiding place. Her eyes were closed and her arms hung limply by her sides. The young mage gasped as she spotted the blood soaking through Kuu's uniform, welling through the ripped cloth that covered her stomach. A greater demon was closing on her, fangs bared.

Konoka looked around desperately. Mana was fully occupied defending Kaede's still form, red now mingling with the black blood that marked her face. Secchan… The mage spun around to check on her friend. The swordswoman fought ferociously, and fallen demon bodies and the thick layer of black blood on Yuunagi's blade bore witness to her prowess. But she was still surrounded. There was no way either of them could make it to Kuu's side in time.

Suddenly, Konoka realised that she had no choices anymore. She couldn't just watch a friend die without doing something, not for all the promises in the world. She was up and running in a moment, pounding over the short distance to fling herself in front of Kuu. She wasn't even sure what she could do, but it was all about instinct now. The mage spread her arms wide and stood firm, trying to call on her magic, envisaging her only aim – to protect. She didn't flinch, even as the demon swung at her, claws extended.

"KONO-CHAN!"

Secchan's scream was the first thing that registered through the ringing silence that had suddenly descended. Konoka's eyes flickered open. She didn't remember having shut them. She was still stood, arms spread wide, but now there was a golden radiance between her and the demon, a shining shield of light. The demon's taloned hand was flat against it where its wild swipe had been stopped dead.

She couldn't help herself. A delighted smile spread across her face. She had done it! She had protected someone with her magic! She looked past the demon that was still pushing uselessly against the magical shield, to see Secchan's face. The swordswoman was staring at her in amazement. Then the girl's eyes opened even wider, and even through the golden haze of her barrier shield Konoka could see the fear in them.

"Kono-chan! Behind you!"

The mage spun around, hands raised protectively, and another shield blossomed out of nowhere to block the raking claws of the second demon. This blow was stronger though, and she was flung sideways, away from Kuu's slumped figure. The first demon didn't hesitate. With the barrier between it and its initial prey gone it took its chance, talons sweeping around, angled to slice through the young Chinese's throat.

"No!"

The motion was instinctive, with no thought involved at all. Konoka threw herself forward, putting her body between Kuu and the monster's claws.

The shield didn't move with her.


End Note
You know me by now, right:)

Blame the love of cliffhangers on too much Doctor Who as a child. I know I do. :)

Tune in for the next installment... soon!