Haru:
Eighth Moon
AUTHOR'S NOTES: A Team Axis attack at the middle of the night. WHOOIEEEEE~~~~!!! GO, DRAGOON/DRANZER~~~~!!! Who's that mysterious girl that pops out of nowhere, riding a -Relic-?! And acting lessons up in full throttle! Featuring the cast of Bey Blade in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream! This chappie is dedicated to Lei X Kai fans out there, as they act Queen Titania and King Oberon, respectively. BTW, do male theatric thespians wear leotards and LEG WARMERS....?! OO;; Oh, this Lei X Kai pairing would only be for the duration of this chappie and succeeding others, for the whole run of the play arc. THIS IS NOT YAOI~~~!!! Costumes provided by Max. Is he Tomoyo Daidouji's ancestor?! Only time would tell. LIGHTS, CURTAINS...ACT (look for it in the succeeding chappies)~~~!!!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bey Blade, Sakura Taisen, and Asato Tsuzuki + his 12 original Shikigami. They belong to their respective authors. The OC's, some terminologies, and factions-bent-on-world-domination are mine, though. So don't SUE ME~~~!!!
There was a loud hiss as steam was let off from one of the pressure valves, and Takao nodded. "This side, clear."
"This side, clear." Kai swept his red brown gaze over at the dimly-lighted portion of the Hiwatari Heavy Industries compound a few feet away. "No suspicious movements, whatsoever."
"Roger that." Takao sighed. "That's good to hear."
"..." Kai closed his eyes. "We're not out of the woods YET, Kinogu. Geez. Why on EARTH did Daitenji-kacho allow a slack-off like YOU get inside the Kagekidan, ANYWAY?"
Dragoon turned SD, waving his arms over at the still unperturbed Dranzer, several gargantuan twitches on top of its head. "What was THAT supposed to MEAN, HIWATARI~~~?! I'm NOT a SLACK-OFF~~~!!! I got into the Kagekidan by means of my skills and innate INTELLECT~~~!!!"
"Intellect? I thought it was NIL," Kai replied. Dranzer had its arms crossed over its chest.
Takao turned into a burning SD ogre, his eyes devilish little slits, gazillions of pulsing twitches on top of his head. "HI-WA-TA-RI~~~!!! That's IT you little stuck-up SNOB I'm going to GET you REAL GOOD~~~!!!"
SD Dranzer sighed, a small white cloud escaping from its mouth. "I thought you've been doing that for the whole year ALREADY? That's funny, I STILL haven't been feeling so threatened, lately."
"GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR......."
"And HEY, why are you so ANGRY? I was just merely telling the TRUTH. Don't even TELL me that's not TRUE. You're just about the laziest, most USELESS, most FREELOADING Sigil pilot I've EVER met."
SD Dragoon started waving its arms over its head in a very furious manner, its several gargantuan twitches multiplying into a gazillion tiny ones throbbing about its head. "That's IT I've HAD IT HIWATARI you are SO DEAD~~~!!!"
SD Dranzer shrugged. "Do whatever you like, Kinogu. I'm not stopping YOU."
SD Dragoon got out its Tenryuuga katana from the very ornate scabbard behind its back, its blade glowing a bright blue from Takao's chi reaction from the -Nirvana- Crystals. SD ogre Takao's nostrils were blowing with steam. "I'm going to slice you up into sashimi so FINE Kenichiro's going to have a VERY HARD TIME distinguishing SIGIL GUARD from SINEW~~~!!!"
"WhatEVER."
"TASTE MY FEARSOME CHOP OF DEATH~~~!!! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH~~~"
"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM~~~~~~~!!!!"
There was a sudden explosion that almost knocked Dragoon off its feet, if it weren't for Dranzer's quick thinking and held it up. Takao blinked. "What...what was THAT..."
Kai's red brown eyes narrowed.
"BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM~~~~!!!"
The second explosion sent them reeling back. Close up view of Kai's slanted red brown eyes, narrowed even further. "Damn it, they really don't know when to QUIT!" Dranzer got its pair of Hou'ouen katana, its blades a furious glaring red. "Kinogu, drop the antics and cover ME!"
"Roger THAT!" Takao said, his Tenryuuga glowing a bright blue again, the blue crystal emitting a beam that shot straight up to the heavens.
Dragoon held its katana aloft. A glowing blue -Wind Sigil- appeared beneath Dragoon, rotating quite slowly. Furious winds started about the bright blue glow of the katana blade.
Takao's eyes narrowed.
"TATSUMAKIGIRIKEN~~~!!!"
A furious tornado started up about Dragoon, scattering debris about. It then made a diagonal swipe, unleashing the tornado towards the dark part of the Hiwatari Heavy Industries' front side, with a force strong enough to knock several buildings out of the way.
"-SHINING GUARD-~~~!!!"
There was a flurry of several glowing white feathers, and a sudden bright shaft of white light that started beneath them. The feathers served as a very powerful shield that met Takao's attack head-on and dissipated it to nothingness.
"~~~!!!" Half-shot of Takao's very surprised face. "Nanda...NANDATTE~~~?!"
The light abated, and Takao looked up. A cream colored mech greeted his gaze, slim and delicately proportioned like that of a built of a young woman's. There were 3 pairs of wings behind its back, looking like a seraphim's wings, and feathers floated gently about it, glowing softly with their own light.
"..." Takao's deep blue eyes widened. "A...-Relic-...?"
There was a sudden burst of flames, and Dranzer appears right above the strange mech, its eyes glowing red. Kai gritted his teeth. "If you think you could scare us with THAT cheap magic trick, then you've got another thing coming, you anemic TIN CAN~~~!!!" Flames burst about his twin Hou'ouen.
"SOUENSEN~~~!!!"
Dranzer makes a twin swiping motion of its katana blades, sending furious twisting columns of flame towards the enemy.
"..." The cream mech just looked up.
"Gabriel...-Blue Cross-..." a soft female voice called out.
The feathers suddenly started swirling about it, turning into a furious swell of swirling water that closed above the mech and shielded it against Dranzer's attack. It then shot straight towards Dranzer like an avenging spear, and there was nothing Kai could do but try shield himself with his arms at the suddenness of this shield-attack.
Dranzer gets thrown off, the fiery red mech slamming itself way hard onto a derelict building some 20 feet away, Kai's eyes squeezed shut from the pain.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH~~~!!!"
"KAI~~~!!!" Takao yells.
Sirens were heard in the distance, and Takao looked over his shoulder instinctively. The Imperial Capital Defense Mobile Unit is on its way to help them...but he can't risk having them caught in the crossfire, now the mysterious enemy in question threw his leader out of whack. He has to protect them.
Dragoon gripped its katana, attack stance. Takao glared at his opponent. "No matter what happens, I will protect the good people of the imperial capital...and I WON'T lose! You HEAR me?"
"..." The delicate-looking mech just turned to look at him (it has EYES?! OO;;), the water falling over it in a spray and reverting back to glowing feathers once again. Takao allowed himself to give a small self-satisfied smirk. "Heh. You think I'm scared of you?! That'll be just like a dream. I NEVER run away from a FIGHT~~~!!!"
"As I do too." Dranzer slowly got up from the rubble, steam coming out of the pressure valves somewhere above its fluted shoulder guards. Kai glared at his opponent, his hair covering half of his face, his red brown eye that was peeking out very narrowed (translation: VERY, VERY HANDSOME~~~!!! *o* *o* *o*). He then gave a small smile. "Hmph. What was that?! Surely you Axis brats could do better than THAT. Come on. You want a piece of us that bad, then go get us yourself. Or are you just chicken?"
"..." The cream colored mech just stayed still.
Dranzer slowly walked over to where Dragoon was, and Dragoon turned to look at it.
"Eh Kai, up for some rhythmic gymnastics?" Takao asked him.
"I was just waiting for you to say that, Takao." Kai looked over at their opponent. "Do you think we could make it in about 10 seconds?"
"If by some miracle I Rave, we'll do it half of that." Takao grinned. "Too bad Max isn't around so you can flame more flamingos."
"Heh. I'll do it later." Kai nodded. "OK. On the count of 3."
"1..." Dragoon gripped its katana tighter.
"2..." Dranzer got his twin katana.
Both Takao and Kai's eyes narrowed at once.
"3~~~!!!"
They shifted their -Chi Regulator- gears to maximum at the same time, and the 2 Sigils quickly struck from the opposite sides like masterful samurai, true to the attacking styles of the famous clans they were from. Their swords glinted a very furious shade of bright blue and fiery red, respectively.
"KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH~~~!!!"
There was another explosion, and a fiery tornado went up the sky, from which several beams of blue and red light issued forth, scattering about the dark battlefield. The reinforcements stopped a few meters short of the ring of unbelievably strong auric chi that erupted 500 meters all about them, sending electronic transmissions out of whack for a 5 km radius around the battlefield.
"Chi level too strong," Kyousuke Harada said, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed the elemental tempest that was raging before him. "We can't risk getting too near; that psychic field would literally blow all of us up into smithereens..."
"Sir, if this keeps up, the Sigil output would rapidly drain due to this very strong upsurge of auric energy," Satoshi Saionji said, looking up from the steam-powered monitoring computer that was installed in one of the mobile monitoring units. "Steam pressure rapidly decreasing at a rate of 0.05% per second...at this rate, the -Nirvana- Crystals would get liquefied...!"
"We can't do anything about that now," Harada said, his blue eyes narrowing even further. "Damn it."
"Dragoon's -Chi Regulator- output reaching Rave point!" Daisaku Ueno said, perspiration erupting on his forehead.
"NANDA~~~?!" Harada's eyes went wide. "What is Kinogu THINKING~~~?!"
He went over to the communications port, grabbing the headphones from one of the other Mobile Unit personnel manning the direct line to the Kagekidan then quickly turned the knob to the appropriate frequency. "KINOGU~~~!!! Can you read me?! KINOGU~~~!!! What the hell do you think you're DOING?! KINOGU~~~!!!"
The radio issued nothing but static.
"Shit..."
"Daitenji-kacho! Dragoon's attempting Rave! Should we cut off Phaser Limit?!" Taro Sendou spoke into the butterfly microphone (OO;; I'm just making this up) tersely.
"..." There were a few moments of silence. "He's gone beyond the limit. All we could do now is just pray he comes back from that alive."
"S...sir..."
"CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH~~~"
"EEEEEYYYYYYYAAAAAAHHHHH~~~~!!!"
"~~~!!!" Harada ran to the door of the Mobile Unit van then saw several of his other men running around in the inferno, fire burning through their clothes from the falling burning debris that came from a building beside them. Several other soldiers tried putting out the fire by means of their steam generator powered water pumps and hoses, but it was no use. There was another explosion, and debris flew up into the air before pelting other soldiers down below, like some horrible travesty of a meteor shower.
"EEEEYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~~~~~~!!!"
Meanwhile...
"Daitenji-kacho!"
"..." Daitenji-kacho looked over his shoulder in the control room of the Kagekidan. Max, Yuri, Kenichiro, and Lei were all standing on the raised platform behind him, looking over at him with very tense expressions on their faces. Max was clenching his fists. "Daitenji-kacho...if that maelstrom continues, it'll burn the imperial capital to the ground...!!!" the blond young boy said.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~~~~!!!"
"Daitenji-KACHO~~~!!!"
"Very well." Daitenji-kacho turned to look at them, his deep brown eyes narrowed.
"Mizuhara!"
Max's bright blue eyes narrowed.
"Kon!"
Lei blinked.
"Hurry to the Hiwatari Heavy Industries compound and curb that catastrophe before it engulfs the entire imperial capital in flames. Hasami!"
"Y-yes, Daitenji-kacho..."
"I need you to help them in outfitting their Sigils with the -Nirvana Obsolete-."
"!" Yuri's eyes went wide. "But Daitenji-kacho..."
"There's no other way. Those Sigils' -Nirvana- Crystals would liquefy and still the enemy would keep on going. We have to stop the enemy before it reaches the imperial palace." Daitenji-kacho looked over at Kenichiro. "I trust you on this, Hasami."
"Y-yes, Daitenji-kacho~~~!!!"
"Good." Daitenji-kacho looked over at Yuri. "Ivanov, come with me."
Takao gritted his teeth as another psychic blow was delivered to Dragoon, sending him crashing through buildings a few feet away. The sirens were all blaring from all around them, and the people of the imperial capital were rushed to the underground shelter, a good 10 km away from the battlefield (the compound's located 10 km away from any residential area). The night was filled with terrified screams and crying children, as the inferno raged on about the 3 fighting mechs.
Takao coughed, and blood splattered on the 6 grip throttle panel before him. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Ouch...darn it..." he gasped.
"Kinogu! Are you alright?" Kai asked him, Dranzer standing in front of Dragoon, in an effort to protect Takao from the avenging Relic.
"I'm fine...although when I try...ouch...to move...splinters seem to be piercing....OUCH~~~!!!...my chest..." Takao gasped.
"Lie easy for now, Kinogu, that was quite a beating you took when you did Rave," Kai told him. "You haven't even qualified for a preliminary training program as permitted by Dr. Mizuhara..."
"HEY~~~!!! I took off almost ALL of that stupid Relic's energy blasts and that's ALL you have to SAY~~~?!" Takao yelled, twitches growing all over his head, until he doubled over and yelped again.
"OUCH~~~!!!"
"Correction. You took ALL of the Relic's psychic blasts." Dranzer readied to strike with his Hou'ouen again. "How incredibly stupid was THAT~~~?! Whatever. Just stay put like a good little boy you are before you get yourself into MORE trouble. Wakarimashita ka...?"
"HAI, wakarimashita." Takao just turned murderous SD ogre. "I'll get you for THIS someday, Hiwatari."
"Not in another 1,000 years." Kai glared at the Relic, as Dranzer took another attack stance, reminiscent of that legendary swordsman with an eye patch on his left eye (or was it RIGHT?! OO;; I stand corrected here!). "Well then. I have to send you off to hell whence you came. Any last words?"
"..." The glowing feathers just kept on swirling about it (^^;;).
"Heh. Are you mute or just plain STUPID~~~?! Alright, anemic tin can, don't say I didn't warn you." Kai's eyes narrowed. "Moeru~~~!!! REIENKEN~~~!!!"
A ring of flame blazed up about Dranzer, along with a glowing red -Fire Sigil- slowly rotating beneath it. It then joined the Hou'ouen together, and there was a brilliant flash of red light, as the flames increased about the sword then slowly died out, revealing a long sword (RIDICULOUSLY long sword) with an arched hilt reminiscent of unfurling phoenix wings. Several glowing, burning red feathers floated from the leaping tongues of the flames by means of the hot draft.
Kai shifted his -Chi Regulator- gear to maximum again, then hurtled towards the cream-colored mech, flames going on about him, his katana a blade of furiously burning flames.
"HOU'OUSENKEN~~~!!!"
"~~~!!!" Takao was aghast. "HIWATARI~~~!!! What the HELL~~~"
Dranzer struck with his flaming brand, the cream colored mech setting up another psychic shield just in time before the katana made contact. There was another glaring white light, from which issued several arrows of burning flame, scattering throughout the battlefield.
"I have to...protect the...mobile unit..." Takao gasped. Dragoon gripped his Tenryuuga, from which a glowing blue wind issued forth.
"AOI KAZE~~~!!!"
There was a furious wind that issued forth from his sword, and it managed to repel some of the fire bolts from coming into the innocent civilians' contact. But there were some that escaped, and Takao shook his head violently as some of the fire bolts shot out towards the medic unit.
"~~~!!!" Takao's eyes became wide and unseeing. "NOOOOOO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!!!"
But before it made contact...
"AQUA HOLTZ~~~!!!"
There was a flash of green light, and water splashed over from nowhere, as if a great phantom tsunami had come in straight from Tokyo Bay itself. It repelled all the fire bolts that came towards the medic unit's way, and all were saved.
"!!!" Takao was very happy to see who it was. "MAX~~~!!!"
"And Lei," Max said, grinning. Draciel went towards the fallen Dragoon, and it held out a hand. "Can you stand up?"
"Yeah, I think so..." Takao replied. Dragoon grabbed Draciel's hand and got up with rather arthritic difficulty. "My ribs are shot, though...I can't even breathe properly. Every time I do, splinters seem to be bent on choking me to death..."
"Let's hope that won't happen." Max looked over at where the battle was still raging on. "So how many operatives?"
"Could you even BELIEVE there's only ONE operative?!" Takao shook his head. "I've never seen anything like that Relic before...the way it moves, and attacks..."
"...must be a new Relic..." Max said. He shook his head. "Darn it, if only Kenichiro were here...his -Sensor- would be a REAL great help..."
"I'll go help Kai," Lei said, coming up behind Max and Takao. "Those fire bolts would still come shooting towards THIS way, and besides, Max would need to secure the area."
"Spoken like a true master of a battlefield," Max said proudly. "I just knew burning those flamingos should come in handy someday."
"HEY! Don't come back in pieces, Lei!" Takao called after him as he made his way towards Kai.
"Right. I have no intention in planning to." Lei nodded. "Well then, Driger, we have to go help Dranzer. IKUZO~~~!!!"
There was a burst of white light from behind Driger's chi-powered jet pack, and off it shot towards the still raging maelstrom.
Kai was still attacking and defending liberally as their heated fight would allow, and as he could see, the pilot of the Relic in question was very good as to even dodge his attacks in Rave mode. But his quick eye saw that the strain was getting to the pilot, because the psychic bolts the pilot was tossing time and again towards Takao a while ago was becoming quite weaker as their fight wore on.
***I'll get you, you fiend, even if it KILLS me,*** Kai thought angrily. Several hissing bursts of flame and pure aetheric-psychic energy formed whenever the 2 mechs clashed, and the heat was getting too intense even in the well-protected cockpit of the Sigil. It was made to withstand temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees, but the fight exactly wasn't what the designers at the Hiwatari Heavy Industries had predicted: for some strange reason, the Relic's psychic attacks were making Kai's innate fire aether abilities go out of whack and in turn was taking its toll on him.
***Damn it, won't the pilot even QUIT~~~?!*** Kai then felt the first signs of his Rave Syndrome, as Max liked to call it (it was actually called the Barrier Syndrome, and the symptoms were all clear indications of reactions to the Kyrieans Effect; the pain it caused to the mind and body were really catastrophic); and now, he was beginning to feel the first waves of fear. But Kai Hiwatari was a Sigil pilot with no fear; he wasn't the Captain of the entire Sigil Squadron of the Kagekidan for nothing. He was going to nail this Axis operative, and he wasn't going to give UP that easily.
Panting, gasping, Kai gave all of his strength at every swing he took, and was heartened when he saw that the cream colored mech was buckling under the pressure, and it took a shaky step backward from the last swing he gave. The Kagekidan Captain pressed on. "You think you could get away from your treachery, you Axis devil?! You think you could get away from those many innocent lives you have so cruelly taken AWAY~~~?! Did you honestly THINK destroying the imperial capital 4 years ago would totally make us lose heart in protecting what is rightfully OURS~~~?!" Kai's pupils dilated (O.O WOWZA~~~!!!) and his lips were drawn back in a snarl. "DO YOU THINK YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH THINKING THAT YOU ARE A GOD AND COULD DO ANYTHING YOU COULD PLEASE WITH US~~~?! You Axis devils are all the SAME~~~!!! YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALIVE~~~!!!"
The Reienken burned even more furiously, and Kai swiftly struck. But the pure psychic overload had just become too much for either of them, and everything erupted in a twisting, furious column of fire, and there was a scream that shattered the stillness.
And Kai knew no more, save for a bright white light that enveloped him.
Very soon, everything became deathly still.
"..." Takao was deathly pale the morning after, several spirit orbs hovering above his head, as he clutched at his own script. "Never...never would I go out on another patrol with Kai EVER again. Remind me. Please DO remind me."
"Well, you did pretty well, Takao, and Kai was all praises for you," Max replied, grinning. "Suffice it to say, he was just ever so quiet at the hospital ward a while ago and I guess he's just too overwhelmed with shock that you actually did something worthy of getting noticed."
"It was a good thing you all got back safely, Max-senpai," Kenichiro said, his deep green eyes widening in awe. "Daitenji-kacho was really scary. I mean, he was pacing around the control room and everything, and...he was really worried about what was happening to you guys out there, and~~~"
"Well, at LEAST the imperial capital wasn't burned down, although it NEARLY happened," Yuri said, nodding as he looked his lines over sipping a cup of tea. "I think the entire Ministry of Defense is in an uproar, and now, the entire Imperial Capital Defense is under fire. They almost got to the 'secret weapons' we have stored in the Hiwatari Heavy Industries underground laboratories."
"Which leads to the next question." Takao looked over at Max. "Since when did Daitenji-kacho have prototype -Nirvana Obsolete- engines in HERE?! I thought it was STILL in development?"
"I guess that's what Daitenji-kacho wants the enemy to think," Max replied, nodding. "But Lei and I were surprised last night, too. We never really thought that we were to test drive the prototype. But everything went well, thank goodness. The engines were supposed to be outfitted as soon as the Axis siege starts again...I think it sort of started last night."
"So...meaning to say..."
"The -Nirvana Obsolete- engines were already in development even during the start of the WHOLE Kagekidan project 4 years ago," Kenichiro said as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "But it's still not perfected yet...there are still some tweaks here and there that need to be done..."
"And yet Titania rode high last night." Max was grinning. "Hey, I think Daitenji-kacho's so impressed by what happened last night as to give Lei one of the plum parts. But of course, I'm only kidding. Lei's really talented, as what Mom's telling me."
"Speaking of which, where is Dr. Mizuhara...?" Yuri asked.
"Looking over the patient in the hospital ward. I do hope they finish soon." Max blinked, then waved. "Hey! The MEN of the MOMENT! Hiya, Kai, Lei!"
"Shut up, Mizuhara, don't start," Kai growled. He sat on the seat beside Yuri.
"..." Lei was just quiet.
"Lei, Daitenji-kacho just sent you your FIRST major role-script," Yuri said, tossing the script to the still quiet Chinese young man. "You would be playing Queen Titania opposite Kai's King Oberon."
"Eh???" Takao's eyes were very wide. "But...but...that's EVIL~~~!!!"
"Evil WAS when Daitenji-kacho decided to let YOU join Kagekidan, Kinogu." Kai shuffled his script. "Well...shall we start...?"
"..." Daitenji-kacho was frowning. "Complete resistance to the Kyrieans Effect...?"
"More like SHE'S the living example of a perfect Kyrieans Effect." Dr. Mizuhara was shaking her head. "She could control those aether and chi waves at will...what on EARTH have they done to HER? Subjecting her to the Kyrieans Effect for such a very long time...it's a real miracle she's still alive..."
"In theory, if you are completely in synch with the Kyrieans Effect, you would be able to unleash a very powerful energy surge...and, the only other person who managed to do that is none other than Asato Tsuzuki himself."
"-Nirvana Cross-...?" Dr. Mizuhara sighed. "But he's gone completely catatonic, and there's no telling if he'll ever come back to the world of the living again, Daitenji-kacho. But how on earth could they have done such a thing..."
"She's alive, but just barely." Daitenji-kacho's eyes narrowed. "Those chains that were binding her...those were not ordinary chains. They've been bound to her for as long as those fiends have known of her imminent coming. You've read about the legend of Christian Rosenkreuz?"
"Yes." Dr. Mizuhara looked at him sharply. "Don't tell me..."
"300 years ago, he came into great renown as the semi-mythical founder of the Rosicrucian Society...their members were adepts at practicing magic, blending both Christian and hermetic principles. Anyway...there were also legends that tell of a different story. Supposedly, Rosenkreuz had a younger sister. It was said that he loved his younger sister very much, that when she died, he had her sealed, and never suffered anyone come close to her, for he thought that their mere presence would defile her, for he thought his younger sister so pure. But...his sister never really died, and as the legends say...she survives to this very day, sealed in the Tomb of Metatron. She was immortal, like her brother, but...for some strange reason, Rosenkreuz decided to die a mortal's death, for there were a lot of people who wanted to wrest their power from them for their own evil gains...suffice it to say, they waited 300 years and soon found the person they were looking for, after unsealing the Tomb of Metatron. With it, the secrets of both Relics and Sigils."
"The Holy Grail of Eternal Life. Yes, of course. Everybody wants to live forever...who wouldn't...?" Dr. Mizuhara's bright blue eyes became sad. "It is her eternal night...and those chains that bound her are indicative of her inheritance and who she really is."
"But I don't think Sophia Rosenkreuz would even want to be alive after 300 years. Not now. When she has suffered so much. Those Axis Knights would cut her up like the proverbial 'golden goose' that she is and realize too late that they are wrong."
They were silent. The only sound came from the new patient's faint breathing.
Dr. Mizuhara sighed again, and nodded. "I will see to the Relic. Those -Seraphim- weren't exactly friendly a while ago. I'll try persuading them once again."
"Do that. I'll talk to the boys later. I'm afraid this is just the beginning of their nightmares." Daitenji-kacho nodded. "Good day, Judy."
"Good day, Daitenji-kacho."
The door closed, and Daitenji-kacho looked at the patient once again. She was very pale, and a cold blue tinge was upon her lips, but she was alive: the only other thing that was very striking in this girl was that her hair shone like that of faded autumn, a very rich red brown color, that seemed to glow with its own dying embers; dying, but just.
"'Sophia'," Daitenji-kacho said softly.
"Sophia" had just come come alive into a nightmare all over again.
Max was showing Lei his latest creation (that of a white silk dress thrown about a model's slim body and strewn with lots of hand-painted silk flowers and leaves with sprays of pearls and a crown of leaves, flowers and pearls in the hair, and beautiful crystals strewn about the dress and the hair like tiny glittering stars,; all done in wonderful watercolor) which Lei would wear as Queen Titania when they heard a lot of angry voices in the hallway.
Yuri, Takao (who was still visibly wincing), and Kenichiro stopped hopping around in great leaps across the glass-walled room (like that of a dance studio....^^;;) and blinked. Kai, who was memorizing his own lines leaning against the double bars for stretching exercises (^^;; I don't know what they're called...they're the ones that ballerinas use for stretching exercises), frowned, and looked up, his expression wary.
"I must say, sir, you CAN'T come barging IN~~~"
"Where's DAITENJI~~~?! Mizuhara?! I have to talk to them, they've gone too far~~~"
"PLEASE sir, you can't go that WAY~~~"
Takao blinked again. "Uh...hey...who's..."
But before he could say anything else, the double doors leading to the rehearsal studio banged open, and a man strode in, wearing Western-style clothes (American 2-piece gray silk suit and very luxurious fur cape-coat) and holding a walking stick made of the finest maple wood and a shiny gold knob at one end. He had a very angry look on his face.
Time stood still. At last, Kai shuffled his script again, straightened up, and stared at the newcomer with a fierce red brown gaze.
"Hello and well met, Father," he said rather pleasantly. "How has the day treated you so far...?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AUTHOR'S NOTES: A LOT of Japanese terms...pardon me if the translations are a little crooked.
TATSUMAKIGIRIKEN = Whirlwind-slice-sword = Slicing Whirlwind Sword
SOUENSEN = Twin-flame-flash = Twin Flame Flash
REIENKEN = Spirit/soul-flame-sword = Soul Flame Sword
HOU'OUSENKEN = Phoenix-flash-sword = Phoenix Flash Sword
AOI KAZE = Blue-wind = Blue Wind
Moeru = BURN~~~!!!
Ikuzo (^^;; well, sure SOUNDS like IT...) = Let's GO~~~!!!
Wakarimashita ka? = Do you understand?
Hai, wakarimashita. = Yes, I do.
Nandatte = What THE~~~?!
Nanda = same as above
Katana = Japanese sword
The battle scenes above are akin to some of the Super Robot Taisen sagas I've missed SO much doing on the PSX. It's like a homage to the almighty chibis~~~!!! Hail, MAZINGER Z~~~!!! ^o^ Christian Rosenkreuz is that semi-mythical founder of the Rosicrucian Society which was known to have adepts skilled in the use of magic blending Christian beliefs and hermetic principles (Amber K, True Magick). The Sophia legend is entirely mine (unless Rosenkreuz REALLY has a younger sister named Sophia, and I kind of run into it in serendipity or something....Oo;;). Metatron is the chief of the -Seraphim-, which, according to most angelic hierarchies, are the highest class of angels. I've kinda put some Iron Maiden Jeanne torture kind of thing in here, but her torture devices aren't thorns and she's not enclosed in that hideous looking tin can (sorry, Iron Maiden Jeanne fans).