It had been several hours. I couldn't put it off for any longer.

I had already spoken with all the commanders about their plans for the next day. Since it was now obvious that Blackmore knew we were coming, many of the Executors that would have been part of the assault on the main building would instead go after key outposts and deployments of MBI's PCM in the city, weakening their ability to respond to the main attack. The extra bodies would have been useful back when this was going to be a surprise attack and we needed to secure as many places in the building as we could before MBI could respond, but now that was pointless. Undoubtedly they will have already done any preparations for our arrival, and Matsu's previous uploading of the virus made finding the servers a non-immediate goal.

I had spoken with Merem with what he had found in the sewers. The answer was numerous tracks leading to a lot of collapsed tunnels, all of which leading towards MBI's main building. It was baffling how Blackmore had so many Dead stored in MBI's basement (after all how was he keeping them all fed?), but that was the only conclusion that we could draw. We were working with a distinct lack of information since the tunnels were now collapsed, but I could only assume that the entrances had been hidden, both from me and from Merem's rats. Such as it was, there wasn't much else we could do about it. In spite of the forced retreat the Executors had taken out many of the attacking Dead, and the rest had dispersed and disappeared back into the sewers. We would have to keep an eye out for them during the attack, but there just wasn't enough time to do anything about it before hand. As for Merem himself, he had vaguely claimed that he 'had his own mission' as far as the assault was concerned before he disappeared on me. I wasn't sure what to make of that, but given how he and Blackmore were friends of a sort, I probably couldn't rely on him.

I had spoken with Nero, Sakura and Matsu. I was very much relieved to find them all in good health. I was a little alarmed though at just how active a role Sakura played in the inn's defense. I mean, I get that things were dire enough that she couldn't sit on the sidelines, but she had also finished the attackers off as well. Still, regardless of my worrying it was impressive, and the woman beamed at me when I told her as such. And I made sure to praise Matsu for her quick thinking and deployment of the virus.

After that, there was only one left.

I finally found her in a storage closet of some sort, standing over a make shift desk. Her back was turned to me, so I couldn't see what she was working on. I'm sure she heard the door open, but she didn't acknowledge it at first. "Rin…"I said.

Rin still didn't turn, continuing to silently sift through the bits of paper in front of her. The silence stretched on and I felt it eating away at my resolve. I couldn't just let it lie like this. Eventually, I spoke again. "Rin, I'm-"

"Don't."

My mouth snapped shut. There was a lot of emotion in the one word. Weariness, bitterness, and yes, anger. And yet, it was not quite the vitriol I expected. She continued. "Don't you dare try to apologize. Do you think I didn't know what could happen? Do you think she didn't? Besides, I'm sure that you heard the report of what happened by now. Blackmore wanted her specifically. It wouldn't have mattered if she stayed behind."

"But maybe I could have-"

"Maybe a lot of things could have been done differently." She interrupted. "That doesn't matter right now. We still have an Ancestor to take down, and we need to focus one that."

I moved up behind Rin, gently placing my hand on her back. "Musubi… deserved better."

Rin tensed at the contact before I felt her soften a little, and she finally paused her hands before looked at me, her eyes tired and wet. "Yes… yes she did."

I pulled her in close for a hug, and let out a soft noise from my throat as I held her. "I'll make him pay. I promise."

Rin was silent for several long moments, pressing her head into my chest. Eventually I heard her take a deep breath before she pulled back. "Right… well. I was actually working on that."

I arched an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was going to help you turn yourself into even more a living weapon then you already are."

That caused me to blink in surprise. "Wait, what?"

Rin turned back to the stack of papers in front of her, which I now noticed with some surprise was my research which I had kept in the shed back at the inn. In spite of the damaged that had been caused to the inn itself, the shed had been left more or less intact because none of our attackers knew or care what it was. I guess someone (probably Merem), had assigned someone to clear it out before Blackmore noticed. Rin said "I was pretty close to finishing the ritual for altering the circuits around your eyes to create Mystic Eyes of Flame. As soon as I got back from… I had some new motivation for completing it." she said flatly. "I've combined the some of the techniques I developed when integrating my own artificial eye with your own for reinforcing the concept of Fire. That along with the Churches notes give me something which will probably work."

"Probably?"

She paused before continuing. "There is a about a 1 in 20 chance the procedure will make you go blind."

I took a moment to look at the ceiling and think about it. Then I looked back at Rin. "I can work with those odds."

She rolled her eyes. "I thought you might. You're just lucky that your own nature is going to be doing most of the hard work. Alright, we should do this as soon as possible so you have time to adjust. You get some of the Church healers just in case, I'll… find a better place to perform the procedure."

"If they're done healing the Sekirei, the space they used for that will probably be best."

Rin nodded and the two of us started off down the hall. As I started think about the ritual circle that was already in place, I realized that I had in fact forgotten to speak to someone. "Oh, I forgot to see Homura once I got here," I muttered. I had already been here for at least a few hours, and I had yet to see him. "I think I was told he settled in down this way." I said, pointing down another hall. "Might as well check in with him before we get started, if he's awake at least."

Rin made a soft noise. "I was told Tsukiumi picked a room down this way too. Might as well do the same."

So two of us walked in silence down the hall, not really sure what else to say to each other before we split to visit our respective Sekirei. As it turned out we were saved that bit of awkwardness and we both ended up stopping outside of the same room. My brow furrowed. "Wait, I thought this was…"

"But I thought…"

The two of us looked at each other for a long moment. Then, as one, we turned and pushed the door open. There was a startled scream from inside the room, and a quick glance confirmed that, yes, both Homura and Tsukiumi were in the room, and yes, they were both very naked.

There was another long, awarded silence, the Sekirei looking at us in embarrassed shock, and the two us looking back nonplussed. Eventually, I did the only thing I felt would be appropriate response upon learning that Homura had finally solved his woman problems: I raise my hand, palm presented.

"Up top!"

I was then promptly smashed into the back wall by a torrent of water.

After I had finished drying myself off, I found Homura sitting hunched over in one of the common rooms. I knew Rin had pulled Tsukiumi to the side to have a chat with her, though I wasn't quite sure why. Still, it seemed like Homura was expecting something similar, so I decided to oblige him. I walked over to him and started to say "So-"

"Shirou, I'm sorry." He interrupted without looking at me.

I blinked in confusion. "Ok…" I said slowly. "For what?"

Homura turned towards me and opened his mouth, but he paused. It was his turn to look confused, though in his case it seemed to be more internal. "I… well, you know. I sort of assumed…"

I let out a sigh. "Let me guess, your gut is telling you that you betrayed me somehow?" Homura nodded slowly and I continued. "That's probably some combination of our bond and your natural instincts. Well, in spite of what your subconscious believes, I'd like to think that it's clear that I have no problem you seeing someone else. Romantically, sexually, or otherwise."

The other man shuffled his feet and rubbed the back of his head. "I know, but… there's more to it than that. I mean… Sekirei don't have relations with one another. That's just not something that happens. I know intellectually that both of our situations are unique, and both our Ashikabi are (probably) okay with it… it's just uncomfortable breaking that unspoken taboo."

"I've been told that makes the sex better." I remarked dryly.

Homura shot me a dirty look. "Shirou, I just had sex with another person's Sekirei. With Tsukiumi. I've having a bit of an existential crisis here."

I gave a slight frown at that. "Are you regretting it?" I asked with some concern.

"No!" he exclaimed before he calmed down, standing up to pace a little. "I mean, I don't think I do. Tsukumi is strong, driven, and… beautiful. Even though two Sekirei have never done this before, I want…" he trailed off and let out a sigh. "But, I'm worried this is all a heat of the moment sort of thing. Tsukiumi's probably going to come to her senses tomorrow-"

"Homura," I interrupted, "You do realize that you are the only man Tsukiumi actually respects, don't you?"

The man stood up straight. "Wait, really?"

I rolled my eyes. I'm getting an infuriating sense of déjà vu, I thought to myself, thinking about how terrible I was at picking up on these things years ago. I put my hand on his shoulder. "She hangs out with you more than anyone else at the inn, she always focused on the two of you growing stronger together, and she considers you above all others her rival. That's respect." I said before take a breath. "And I can tell you that you're better than any other man in this city. You've stuck by me through all of my crazy bullshit and you've never stopped trying to protect the other Sekirei. You're a great man Homura. Don't ever think otherwise."

Homura looked at stunned, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly at what I said. Eventually he managed to get out "You… you really mean that?"

"Of course I do. And don't be worrying about the future when you have something good like her in the present." I paused before I added. "Especially since there's a decent chance were all gonna die tomorrow."

Homura looked at me nonplussed for a moment before a laugh burst out of him. "You were doing pretty well until that last part."

"I haven't had a male friend in, like, five years. I'm a little out of practice." I said, taking a deep breath. "Anyway, You good?"

Homura paused, and after a moment he nodded, a small smile crossing his lips. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Great. With that nonsense out of the way…" I raised my hand over my head, palm presented.

My Sekirei looked at me flatly. "Shirou, I'm not high-fiving you. It's crude, it'd be disrespectful to Tsukimui-"

"She's not watching."

Homura stared at me for a long moment. Then his eyes shifted left and right. A small grin formed and he finally fulfilled his duty as my bro and high-fived me.

It was then we heard Rin shouting from the next room over. "Was that the sound of you two high-fiving?"

"No!" We both said as one.

Blackmore stretched out his limbs a little as he strode through the hallways of MBI tower, mentally making sure he had addressed every last detail before the dawn arrived. He was aware how those Dead he had sent against the Church in the city were not as effective as he had hoped, and even if they were the Church was still most likely to attack at dawn anyway. After all these years he had a fairly good idea of how the Church operated, and it only made sense that they would wait until dawn to attack a vampire. Not that it will help them, he thought with a grin on his face. Yume had already ascended to complete her given task, and should be returning by then. It would be cutting it a little close, but it should be fine.

As well, the Ghouls and Dead he had been using to keep the Church busy had retreated to their chosen locations, and would be ready for when he needed them next. He had to admit, while he had never put overly much investment in the technologies of man, the cryogenic devices MBI had been developing based on the original Sekirei stasis pods were proving invaluable in managing his more mindless minions in the middle of a populated city. He could just stick them in tubes and he wouldn't have to bother feeding them until the time came to release them.

Speaking of minions, he was… disappointed in the performance of the hybrids that evening. As far as he knew, they had not managed to kill even one of Kotomine's annoying entourage before being annihilated themselves. Only Kochou managed to survive, and while he was glad that the most valuable of his Apostle Sekirei had escaped, he was still forced to chastise her for her failure. Of course, that was nothing compared to what he had in mind for that mad dog Karasuba's insolence. Her defection had limited his options, and he would need to allocate precious resources to make sure she didn't cause any more trouble.

Still, he had already taken steps to address that, and reward a faithful servant in the process. The results of his craft on Natsuo to 'heal' him were… far better than expected to say the least. The man and his Sekirei were now more than willing and able to see his job through to the end, something which pleased Blackmore a great deal. Now there was only one thing left to deal with.

Blackmore finally reached his destination and threw open the doors to Minaka's office, finding the man sitting behind his desk typing away at something. He didn't look up at first, instead merely commenting "While I do appreciate you taking out one of my biggest rivals, you do realize you've created a rather large mess for me to clean up, don't you?"

Blackmore waved his hand dismissively. "It matters not anymore. We're moving into the endgame."

Minaka looked up and arched an eyebrow. "Cleary. You've already got your formal wear on." He remarked, sparing a few moments to look at Blackmore's avian-like form before standing up. "But even so, we can't set a bad precedent. I mean, we're ushering in the new Age of the Gods! We can't start it off by just blowing up a building! I mean, if we're trying to go for a 'rebirth from the ashes of the old world' motif we'll need to explode way more than that!"

The vampire let out an amused hum. "I will keep that in mind. However, it could not be helped, as I needed some way to distract the Church while I claimed the core."

"Ah yes, and how did Shirou Kotomine and his ilk fair?" Minaka asked with some curiosity.

"Better than I would have liked. I expected that he would survive, but for losing all of my assets in the area I would have expected for at least some of said 'ilk' to have perished. I even lost chief Half-Dead minion when he became unruly."

Minaka hesitated briefly at that last sentence before he shrugged. "Ah well, sacrifices must be made after all." He then spread his arms wide and a manic grin split his face. "Besides, this just means the main event will be even grander! With the likes of Shirou and his companions, the new Age shall be ushered in by a battle the likes of which the world had never seen! AHAHAHAHAH-HRUK!"

The man's mad laughter was cut off as he went into a sudden coughing fit, and he pulled a handkerchief out of his coat pocket to put to his mouth. After a few moments it finally subsided, and the man shook his head before he looked at the cloth in his hand. Blackmore did not fail to notice the slight frown that formed on Minaka's face, or the ever so familiar scent coming from the cloth. The vampire quirked his lips as he said "Perhaps we want to hurry this new Age along?"

"Ah, yes. Yes of course." The man said as he walked back to his desk and picked up a tablet. "I loaded this up with a control application for everything we need to start the next stage. I just have to press the button and show begins."

Blackmore put on an expression of curiosity and held out his hand. Minaka arched an eyebrow but moved and handed the tablet to him. Blackmore carefully tapped the screen to test the interface. It seemed simple enough. "This will do everything?"

"More or less. Now, as you said we should begin, so if I could have that back…" he said reaching out for it.

A smirk crossed Blackmore's face as he pulled the tablet away. "I think not."

Minaka blinked dumbly. "Wait, what?"

"With things progressing as they are, I believe I should take control of things from here on out. With the Church becoming more aggressive they're bound to interfere and, well, it will require someone with more experience to keep things on track."

Minaka's expression switched to one of panic. "What!? No! We're partners! You can't just shut me out-!" The man started to reach for the tablet but he was suddenly cut off as a chain shot out of one of the darkened corners of the room and wrapped around his arm, halting him. Minaka turned to see a woman in a black ninja gi emerging from the darkness, a kusarigama held in her hands. The midnight wings growing from her back marked her as one of the hybrids.

"Minaka, I would like you to meet Miho," Blackmore said cheerfully. "She'll be watching over you until the current unpleasantness is done with. Can't risk my partner getting hurt, can I?" He laughed as he turned to leave. "Don't worry. I promised you that you would get to see the new Age. You should be able to see what comes next from this office just fine."

"No!" Minaka cried as he strained against the chain, reaching out towards the retreating vampire. "I can't be left out now! Not when I'm so close! Give it back! Give it BACK!" His whining fell on deaf ears however, and the doors shut behind him as Blackmore strolled out of the office.

Minaka stood like that for several long moments before he let out a sigh, his arm flopping down to his side. He started to move but Miho pulled on the chain as he did so. He frowned and turned towards her. "I just want to get back to my desk. So if you don't mind-" with that last word Minaka jerked his bound arm, and the hybrid's eyes widened when the motion caused her to stumble forward slightly. Her eyes then narrowed, but she gave a flick of her wrist and the chain unwound off of his arm.

Minaka walked back to his desk and sat, staring blankly at his computer for a minute. Finally, he forced himself to turn his head and look at one of the few pictures he had on his desk, one from back when they first discovered Kamikura Island, which framed himself, Takami, and Takehito. He reached out and pulled it towards him, his gaze focusing on the third person in the picture. I guess it's finally over for you, just like you wanted, Minaka thought to himself. You did not deserve that hell that you were put through. Would that I... The man let out a breath as he leaned back in his chair. Still, as they say, he thought as he looked towards the door, to where Blackmore had left after taking control.

A ghost of a smile crept onto Minaka's lips. Just as planned.

Matsu blinked blearily as she knelt down on the floor, shaking her head to get rid of the tiredness. As a Sekirei she had a relatively high endurance (compared to normal humans), and had managed a few hours of sleep, but the events of the night had been… stressful to say the least. She had been trying to manage the Church's communications after they had gotten hit, tried to pin-point where the attacking Ghouls had come from, and engaged in a number of cyber-skirmishes with Kochou. So far she had managed to keep the Church people safe, but little else was accomplished.

She had been relieved when she had found that Shirou was fine, and had arrived at the same vacant complex she had taken set up in. She got to see him briefly, and he did thank her for uploading the virus when she did… but that was all he had time for. His mother and sister were now involved, and he had to deal with that on top of preparing for the dawn assault. And then there was Rin and… and…

Matsu rubbed the side of her head. No, I can't think about now. Mourn the dead when the battle is over, she thought to herself. Still, she couldn't completely ignore what she was feeling, the pain of losing one of their own. It was partly why she had sequestered herself to one of the cramped bedrooms when she should have been finalizing the plans with the others; she needed at least a few moments to cope. As for why she chose that particular room…

The Sekirei let out a sigh as she looked down at Miya's body, lying prone on a mat. The priests had tried to use their magic to heal her, but so far she hadn't come around. They said that they healed as much damage as they could find and that she could theoretically wake up at any moment, but there was no way of telling when. There was something inherently unsettling about how the 01 just lay there, the greatest of all the Sekirei laid low. Oh god Miya, how did we get here? Matsu thought mournfully. She wasn't about to say things were better back in the day, but at least they made sense. The humans wanted them for their power, and they fought them off, even if MBI was pulling the strings. Now though? There were mages and vampires, a plot in which the Sekirei were nothing but fodder, and even if they won the day those remaining of her kind would have to brave a world filled with darkness just beneath the surface. How could you leave me to handle this myself?

Matsu was the 02. People knew it, but no one aside from a select few really thought about what that meant. The numbers stamped onto their bodies was done by human hands, and they had picked her out of the first nine to be the 02 because her power was deemed that most… potent asset next to the 01. This had diminished somewhat when the other brain types had been found, but it didn't change the fact that she was the second in command, the one who was to take over in case the Queen could not be reached. It was more of a formality than anything else though, as no one really expected the 01 to ever fall. Least of all herself.

She closed her eyes as she, for the first time, tried to think of everything she would have to do if she assumed control. I'll have to make sure that Kouten is secure, she thought to herself. She had known about the island for some time, and had even developed a few ideas of how she could assume command of it if the time came, but she'd have to put that aside for later. The Holy Island would be extremely useful in the upcoming battle, but she wasn't sure how well she could control it, and failure to do so properly could prove… destructive. For the time being she would instead focus on directing the Sekirei. But for all of her ability to gather information and administrate, she wasn't a leader. She couldn't rally a team or inspire loyalty like others could. She couldn't-

"Report."

The word caused Mastu's eyes to snap open, and she nearly jumped as she straightened in surprise. She looked around for the source of the voice for a few moments before she recognized it, and looked down. Miya Asama had not moved and inch, but her eyes were open and she was staring at the ceiling. "Miya-tan!" She said in surprise. "You have no idea how glad I-"

"Report."

The word was not said any louder, but something about the tone caused Matsu to shut up immediately, and a sudden spike of fear ran through her. She had not heard that ice cold tone of voice in years, and the eyes that stared at the ceiling were devoid of warmth. Something deep in her core told her that she would not be asked a third time.

Matsu took a few moments before she sat up straight, removing her glasses as she did so. "You have been unconscious for approximately 7 hours." She said, her voice steady and clear. "Shortly after you left the inn, it was attacked by Blackmore and several Sekirei/Vampire hybrids. Blackmore stole the Jinki and left, and we were able to kill the remaining creatures with no losses. However, much of the inn had been destroyed in the battle, and the area was no longer safe, so we regrouped at a Church safe house."

She paused for a moment to see if Miya would react to hearing about the destruction of her home, but the woman remained motionless. Matsu continued. "One of the hybrids was a brain type, and though she got away I managed to use one of her devices to directly access MBI's mainframe and upload the virus. The Sekirei are now safe from remote deactivation. Regardless, Church forces were simultaneously assaulted and forced to regroup. Though there were losses, the counter attack is still planed for dawn in approximately 1 hour."

Matsu took a deep breath. "I… am not sure how much you are aware of what happened at Higa International, but Shirou's initial goal of rescuing his sister succeeded, with two more hybrids and many more Dead neutralized. There was also the unexpected… defection of Karasuba, as she has winged herself on Shirou and now fights with us." She hesitated. "However, it seemed that Blackmore's true goal was Musubi. He ripped out her core before retreating."

When Miya finally responded, her voice remained flat. "Do you know why?"

Matsu shook her head. "I do not. It is reasonable to assume that Blackmore now possesses all 8 Jinki, but the only clue I have to his desire for the core was that he mentioned Yume."

There was a long period of silence that followed. Eventually, Miya spoke. "And what of Takehito?" It was only because that she had known her for so long that Matsu noticed the slight hitch in Miya's voice.

Matsu swallowed. "The Church has the body." There was nothing else to say.

Again, there was nothing but silence in the room. Miya remained motionless, but Matsu was too afraid to say anything else. She had heard about the destruction the 01 caused when she was forced to lose her husband a second time, and what it meant terrified her. Before Takehito, Miya had always been a cold and detached woman, but she also had a sense of professionalism and didn't kill when she didn't have to. But that night Miya had killed a number of innocent bystanders with her attacks. Sure it was at night in a business district and the majority of people had left, but those buildings Miya had torn into had janitors, late works, and a few vagrants. However, at that moment Miya wasn't thinking about it, and Matsu was scared of the harm a cruel and vengeful 01 could bring to those who just happened to be nearby.

After was seemed to be ages, Miya finally said "We are going to war."

Matsu swallowed. "Of course. The Church-"

"The Sekirei are going to war." Miya corrected, her voice becoming hard. "Contact every remain Sekirei in the city. Tell them to await their Queen at MBI plaza. Tell them we are to annihilate MBI and any abomination joined with them in this city."

"W-what?" Matsu said in surprise. "Are you sure-?"

"Tell them that if they don't obey, I will personally hunt them down and slaughter them for defying my command."

Matsu froze. Just moments ago she had been dreading trying to take command of the Sekirei in the city. Now that burden had been lifted from her… and for all of their sakes, she sincerely wished it hadn't. Regardless of how much combat the various Sekirei might have seen, none of them could be ready to deal the undead she had seen thus far, especially the hybrids. It would likely be little more than sending them to the slaughter. She wanted to point this out, but Matsu knew that Miya simply didn't care. And at that moment, there was only one response she would accept. "Of course, commander." Matsu said as she put her glasses back on.

Miya said nothing for a second before she said "Is there anything else?"

Matsu hesitated before she made her decision and said "Actually, I have something for you." She reached to the side for a box she had stored in this room, one of the many she had grabbed from the inn before she left. "I had a feeling that you would… be in a mood like this when you awoke, so I rooted though some old things and…" she opened the lid and tilted it toward her.

At first Miya didn't move, still staring at a fixed point on the ceiling. Eventually, with glacial slowness, the woman turned her head to look at what Matsu was offering. Again there was a long pause as she took it in before her face finally changed expression: she arched her eyebrow slightly. "You kept it." She said flatly, though this time it was not as devoid of emotion.

"I kept all of them. For posterity's sake." The bespectacled woman said with a shrug. "However, given what had been happening… well I thought it was appropriate."

"…You thought correctly."

I didn't go blind. I was pretty happy about that.

On the other hand… "This is a little underwhelming." I said as I squinted at a block of wood, watching it burn as I felt the prana flow through the new quasi-circuits in my eyes. "I mean, it's great that it's working, but I figured I would be able to incinerate something like this instantly rather than make it ignite and burn a bit faster." I tried focusing a little harder, but a dull pain started to creep up behind my eyes so I cut it off.

"I suppose it's amazing that you're able to use it at all mere minutes after I finished." Rin remarked dryly. "I don't have much of a reference to work with, but I imagine that other magi have to take much longer before being able to use new Mystic Eyes at all." She let out a breath. "Such as it is, you'll probably be able to use them at one hundred percent soon, but for now don't push them too hard. If you start feeling pain, then it's time to lay off."

I gave her a look. "Let's say, hypothetically of course, that I instead use them constantly and push it as far as I can go. What's the worst that could happen?"

Rin gave me a flat look back. "There would be more prana surging through your eyeballs than you could handle, it would compress and ignite, and your head would explode." She said. "Hypothetically, of course."

"Right…" I said slowly. As much as I wanted to see what my new eyes were capable of, I wasn't going to take Rin's warning lightly.

"Sir?" I turned to see an Executor poking his head into the room. "The operation is going to start in ten minutes. Yukia and the spe- your companions are waiting out front for you."

I grunted. "Well, best not keep them waiting then."

In short order Rin and I exited the building, and looking to the east I was pleased to see the sun creating over the horizon. This particular safe house was located in the southern district, and the area was less densely populated than other parts of the city. Because of this I not only had a good view of the harbor, but I could also see a good part of the top of MBI Tower in the middle of the skyline. Pulling my attention back to the street, there were a handful of Executors standing around Yukia and my family (the majority were still inside). I also noticed Homura and Tsukiumi, standing in much closer proximity to each other than they used to. I felt a small smile cross my lips at how they were trying (and failing) to convince anyone watching that nothing was different.

However, my attention was drawn to an odd sight: Sakura and Nero speaking calmly to one another (with Akitsu standing silently behind Sakura). That was not to say that they had never done so for the time they spent in the inn, but the two tended to avoid each other. Normally I would have been glad at seeing to two interact, but I had other priorities at the moment as I walked up to the two. Though I did spare a second to glance at my wife's attire with a critical eye. "Emperor armor?" I asked

Nero turned towards me, giving me a good look at the dress I had not seen in a long time. It was something of a combination of a formal gown and roman plate armor, the bodice portion covered in golden plates and ornamentation, ending in short baltea (the… 'breastplate' portion exposing more than I would think was practical). The golden plates extended down along the skirt of gold and ruffled red, matching the greaves she usually wore. The rest was red and black silk, with a massive red bow around her bun and a small crown resting on her head. The woman stood with air of command as she said "In light of the event of the previous night, I deemed it appropriate."

"You have a very different definition of 'appropriate' compared to most people." Sakura remarked dryly.

"You should see her wedding dress…" I replied just as dryly before I let out a sigh and turned to the white haired woman fully. "Sakura, I need you-"

"I'm coming with you."

I blinked. "What? No, it's-"

"Too dangerous?" Sakura interrupted. "Shirou, I told you I was the only one who actually managed to kill the abominations that attacked the inn. And I would like to think that little incident at least proved that I am capable of surviving combat with those things. I'm not saying I have to charge in with you when you face down Blackmore, but the Sekirei will need my help and I'm going to give it to them."

I flounder for a moment. "Well, yes, but… I mean you can't…"

"Shirou," she said as she stepped closer to me, putting her hand on my chest. "I understand that you want to protect me, but I refuse to be helpless in this." A look of determination crossed her face. "Besides, if Rin and Nero get to go, then so do I."

I spent a few more moments trying to think of a way to dissuade her, but the longer I stared into her determined eyes the more I felt my will waning. Finally, I let out sigh and touch her hand with my own. "I'm not sure why I think I can control any of the women in my life these days," I said. "You're all so damn willful."

"We learned it by having to deal with a very stubborn man," Sakura replied primly, though a smile crept onto her face.

Homura then decided to interject. "For what it's worth, he tried doing the same thing to Rin when she first got her too. She wasn't having any of it either."

"Quiet you." I said as I rolled my eyes. "Anyway where are the rest of the Sekirei? I thought they were out here with you guys." I felt a small twisting in my gut as I remembered that we still didn't know where Uzume and Chiho were, but Kazehana had said that the two had escaped the inn, so I had to assume that they were laying low and look for them later.

Homura arched an eyebrow. "You didn't hear? Miya's awake. I'm pretty sure that they're with her at the moment."

I blinked in surprise. I didn't know when or even if Miya would awaken but I hadn't expected it so soon. The current plans didn't involve her, but she would be a major boon if she join in on the assault… assuming that she didn't go completely berserk like last night (I know, I know, pot meet kettle). "That's good to hear," I said cautiously. "Do you know if-"

I was unable to complete my sentence, as moment later Miya Asama walked out of the building.

I was caught a bit off guard as I turned my head to look at her. She was dressed in a short black gi with a grey over coat draped over her shoulders, her sheathed sword in hand. Her expression was blank, but her eyes were cold and hard, and I could feel the cold fury burning off of her. It actually took me a moment to realize that she has others trailing after her. Matsu, Kazehana, Karasuba, and Mutsu all walked behind her, dressed in similar clothes. As they all moved with a practiced ease I had only ever seen from military squad, I realized that I was watching something that hadn't happened in years.

The Disciplinary Squad was moving out.

Still, as much as I wanted to see where this was going, I felt it was best to make sure that she was on the same page as everyone else. Miya had already started to move towards us, so I moved to meet her as well .She stopped a short distance from me, her face a cold and unreadable mask. "Miya," I said, "Are you good?"

She didn't respond immediately to that, and I wasn't sure if she noticed my subtle inquiry as to the state of her mind. Eventually though she responded "Blackmore is mine."

Ah hell, I thought to myself as a small frown formed on my face. It was mine and Nero's job to locate and neutralize Blackmore, and while I normally wouldn't object to aid of Miya's caliber... "I've spoken with Nero. She told me of how you didn't exactly play nice with her the last time you took the lead."

Miya's eyes narrowed a fraction. "I am not used to people getting in my way."

"And look where that got you." I commented, and immediately I could feel the woman's cold fury focus on me. I knew that it was dangerous to talk to her like that in her current state, but I didn't have time to talk her down and I need to be sure she would at least not attack us. "Look, I don't care if you're the one to finish him off, but neither Nero or I are just going to sit on the sidelines either. So, you're going to work with us, or…" I trailed off as the temperature around me started to spike. "We have some fun now, but waste a lot of time."

There was a long, tense moment where Miya and I stared at each other, taking measure. I knew that if it was just me there would have been a decent chance that Miya would have just cut through me and moved on, but with Nero at my back… Finally, Miya let out a breath. "Fine. But I still will be the one to kill him."

Before I could let the tension bleed out of me, Karasuba let out a low laugh. "Oh, I knew claiming you would be fun, but this is going to be beautiful. If there wasn't the fun of battle coming up I would fuck you senseless right now."

I glanced over at Karasuba, and a frown crossed my face. "I thought I told you to get healed up."

The woman's still burned face grinned back at me as she sashayed over, and I idly noted how she had opted to shave her head to make her hair even. "Oh, don't worry, I let them put me back together again. But I didn't want to get rid of the results of our first date. It means so much to me…"

"The feeling isn't mutual…" I said dryly, feeling a little uncomfortable at how she was looking at me.

"Oh, how could you say such a thing to your Sekirei," She said still moving closer. "I'm sure you'll warm up to me. After all, I can see the real you, deep beneath the mask you wear."

"I…" I started to say, but I found myself unable to form the right words under her gaze.

"Come on, don't be shy," she said softly. "Just let-"

Karasuba suddenly cut herself off and froze as tendrils of shadow drifted into her path. She glanced over to see Sakura standing close, her aura of shadow growing as she scowled. "We've been over this…" she said. "Or do I need to remind you?"

Karasuba looked like she was about to retort, but she was stopped when Aestus Estus suddenly appeared under her throat, and she looked to the other side to see Nero staring at her imperiously. "We have not properly been introduced. I am Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, wife to the one you have so willful bound yourself too, and I as well do not approve of your advances towards him. I shall tolerate you as an ally, but do not think for one instant that I approve of you as a consort!"

At that moment, with the both of them threatening Karasuba with certain death, Nero and Sakura locked eyes, and gave each other a cut nod. I had mixed feeling about the two women finally getting along by mutually wanting to kill a third party, but I think I abandoned 'normal' relationships a long time ago. To be honest I was a little surprised that Rin was not joining in as well, though the magus was giving the Black Sekirei a look that was less than friendly.

However, Karasuba didn't look particularly threatened. In fact, she smiled even wider as she took a step back. "Ah, don't worry you two. I'll be on my best behavior, I promise." The other two women frowned and, very reluctantly, withdrew their weapon/magic. Sakura looked particularly displeased that she had not been given a reason to dispatch the Black Sekirei, though said Sekirei didn't seem to notice.

I suppressed a sigh as I finally let myself relax a little, the heat around me dying down. I didn't have long before a new voice said "Nee, why do all of you have to be so tense?" I was so focused on Karasuba that I was taken completely off guard when Kazehana suddenly latched onto my side, her soft body pressing itself into mine. I gave a small start as I turned to look at her and she gave me one of her usual sultry looks. "We're all teammates now, so everything should be friendly!"

I ignored the glares that the wind Sekirei was now getting from Nero and Sakura, looking at her with a frown and wondering when she had managed to sneak up on me. "We are about to engage in a battle for the survival of at least one species against an undead lord. I think a little tension is to be expected when focusing on the upcoming combat."

"Yes… speaking of which…" I felt a tap on my opposite shoulder. I turned to look, but it was only Kazehana's hand reaching around the back of me. I turned back to look at her in confusion, and in that moment of vulnerability, her head darted forward and she kissed me.

I went ridge from the sheer surprise, even as the wings of purple light erupted from her back. Wha… what?! I thought numbly. In light of everything else that had been going on, I had completely forgotten how Kazehana was unwinged. Well, not anymore as it would seem, but why in God's name would she go and do that?!

She pulled her head back from me and smiled. "03, Kazehana, accepts your alliance. Forever and ever." She gave a small quirk of her lips and looked off to the side. "Of course, in light your current situation, I think it would be best if we keep this an open relationship."

"…Wha?"

She let out a small sigh, and when she spoke it was in a much more serious tone than I was used to. "I would have loved for there to have been a proper courtship between us, but things have moved too fast. I… can't afford to be incomplete." She stood up a little straighter. "So, even though you have made your position clear, I have chosen you to be my Ashikabi. I suppose I'll have to wait till after the world is saved to begin seducing you."

"We'll see…" Our heads turn to find Nero staring at the wind Sekirei, a curious frown on her face.

I let out a breath and removed myself from Kazehana's grasp. That… no, don't have time to deal with that right now, focus on the mission. "Alright, everyone listen. We're moving out in-" I check my time piece "-three minutes. Matsu already knows where she's setting up shop but the rest of us are headed to MBI tower. We don't know what's waiting for us when we get there, so we may be forced to split up if secondary objectives present themselves. Make no mistake though; our primary goal is to kill Gransurg Blackmore. All of you Sekirei are sticking with me till then or I tell you otherwise." I looked over at Miya. "Will there be a problem with that?"

However, Miya was not listening. She was instead looking into the sky with a frown on her face. I followed her gaze up into the sky, but didn't see anything at first. Just before I was about to say something however, I noticed a distortion high in the atmosphere. I Reinforced my eyes to get a better look at it, and after a few moments my eyes widened in surprise. "Is it just me, or is there a giant rock with glowing wing things dropping down onto the city?"

The rest of the assembled party looked up, and I heard a few of the Sekirei gasp in surprise, but it was Matsu who helpfully exclaimed "Kouten!"

I turned towards her. "You mean that space island which can kill everyone everywhere?" I asked. Matsu didn't turn to look at me, but she nodded her head. I turned back to look at the descending island with growing alarm. Fortunately it appeared to falling 'merely' fast enough to create a slight pressure wave around it rather than the massive fireball it normally should have been dropping out of orbit, so it was clear that it was slowing itself down somehow. I was still hoping that it was going to stop at some point, because at its current speed it would still be rather cataclysmic for the city if it hit. I turned to Miya and said "Err… I appreciate your enthusiasm, but unless that thing is capable of picking off individual targets, I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from using that." I shifted slightly and my stance became tense. "Unless you don't care, in which case I will have to do more than ask."

Miya however didn't look at me, still focusing on the falling island. When she spoke though, I noticed that her expression had change to one of shock. "It's not me." She said softly. "I didn't summon it."

I blinked. "What do you mean it's not you? I though you told me that you were the only one who could control that thing."

"I am. And yet…" Her brow furrowed in concentration. "I don't understand. Someone else has assumed control, at least partially. Even then I should be able to get it back, unless…" She took a sudden breath. "Unless someone has triggered the Ritual of Succession."

I was going to ask her to elaborate, but it was at that moment that both mine and Rin's phone rang. We looked at each other in confusion and pulled out our respective devices to see who it was from, and were only half surprised by the answer: MBI. I guess Minaka wanted to do some more boasting, probably about the new floating island descending on the city. It also seemed that the call was patching into to some kind of broadcast, so it was likely that every Ashikabi in the city was getting this.

So imagine my surprise when it was not Minaka that appeared on my phone's screen, but Blackmore, standing atop the roof of MBI in his true form and giving the camera a short bow. "Ladies and gentlemen of this city, I must inform you that I will be standing in for your regular host this evening."

I blinked in confusion at the image, wondering why Blackmore would ever be standing out in direct sunlight. Unlike a normal Dead Apostle an Ancestor would not be destroyed outright by the sun, but he would be severely weakened. I looked back up at the falling island and realized that it was coming down directly on top of the tower, though it had continued to slow. After a few moments it looked like it was going to come to a stop just above the skyscraper.

My attention was brought back to the phone when Blackmore resumed speaking. "I will admit, part of me wondered if it was a little foolish to reveal myself to you all when there was nothing to be gained from it, but all of you out there who know and oppose me already – and I know that you are listening – will not gain much from this. And besides, theatricality has a magic all of its own." Blackmore spread his arms wide. "And so without further ado, we shall proceed. I am Gransurg Blackmore, servant of the most high Crimson Moon. And I declare that the curtains fall on the time of man!"

Kouten finally slowed to a stop just above the skyline. The was a moment of silence before the glowing wings beneath the island started to darken, the brilliant white starting to fade and change hue to a more red color. Soon the wings were a dark, blood red, and the shadows that played across the surface of Kouten started to deepen and grow. A felt a static charge build in the air around me, and in a sudden burst darkness exploded outward from the floating island, and a curtain of shadow began to expand over the city. I had just enough time to turn and see the rising sun disappear behind it.

"And let the third and final stage of this Sekirei Plan… begin."

A/N: Welp, time for the final battle everyone. I'm not certain how many more chapters there are left, but it's somewhere in the 3-4 range. For now I'm going to make sure that my other fics get some more attention and then probably write this to completion.

I also want to address Miya a bit, mostly because she's acting so differently than she did in canon. Now, I'm sure most of you understand what she's been through, but the thing I've always gotten from Miya is that, well, she's selfish. She's never cared about her duty as a Pillar, she tried to leave everything behind and run away with Takehito, and the latest chapters of the manga really seem to imply she's acting on her own motivations. So, in my mind, it is perfectly in character for her to use her status as 'Queen' to mobilize the Sekirei without caring how well they would fair. Oh, and if you're wondering why she doesn't seem to have any more beef with Karasuba, she still does. It's just that Karasuba is so far down on her shit list at the moment that Miya honestly doesn't care so long as the woman obeys her… which Karasuba is perfectly fine with because she always wanted the 'old' Miya back.

On a slightly different note, I had planned on writing another chapter of Birth by Fire before this one but… I'm having some trouble. There a bit in the middle I just can't seem to make work, and it's ruining my progress. This is a problem for this fic because of Nero, namely her Imperial Privilege. Or to put it simply, there is one more Servant yet to be introduced into that fic, they are kind of a big deal, and Nero particularly favors their skills. I've kind of written around that for now, but it's starting to get tiresome and I'm not sure how to handle it. I'll try to think of something though.

Till next time.