Haru:

Thirteenth Moon

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry for the LONG update. Been doing some things here and there, as I'm back to school again in order to get some needed credits to make me a full-fledged sensei. I think I have Hakkai to thank for that... XD... well anyway, as the rehearsals are underway, and owl eyes has Emily flabbergasted beyond everything else, and Team Axis on the run...what on earth is going on in Oblivion's mind? Also, some surprise visits here and there, and one involves some pink-haired feline. Plus, the debut of the Sephardim! Why is Asato so ANGRY?! R/R PLEASE~~~!!!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bey Blade, Sakura Taisen, and Asato Tsuzuki and his 12 original Shikigami, as they are owned by their respective authors. I own the OC's and some terminologies portrayed and written herein, though, so no SUING~~~!!!

Oblivion

Bits and pieces of shards fly past, shards of different muted colors, some more vibrant than the others. They all flit about him like so many spectral butterflies, a little too flighty; as they soon all take off again even as he just reaches out to touch them to see if they were real.

He knew he was floating in some void, an endless void, dark as far as his eyes could see.

But was he even awake?

Another rush of those spectral butterflies fly past more hurriedly, suffusing him with a sudden onslaught of so many muted colors, just so many, and he paused and looked around, trying to think. They all came by him along with a rush of ice cold water, the bubbles all frothing about him, magnifying each and every one of them as one could see under a magnifying glass, looking like miniature versions of a rose window of a cathedral and some miniature kaleidoscopes all in a burst of different patterns and shapes.

He reaches out with a hand to the light, the light which had begun to appear after a long time of being in the dark. Bubbles frothed as he did, and they passed somewhere above his line of sight, making a pretty strand of bubbles like huge pearls on a string. How long was it since he last saw it?

But the light was cruel to him, taunting him, jeering at him. The more he stretched out his arm to grasp whatever it was, that light, the more it seemed to float away from him. He struggled, then he shook his head, then reached out again, but the light was just too far for him to reach. Light, boundless light, life-giving light, warm light, something which he had so wanted to reach for so long, always just within a hair's breadth away from him. He wanted the light.

One of the many shards of those spectral butterflies flew a little too close to him and he turned to look at it distractedly, and was about to bat it away like some annoying fly, when he thought he saw something.

Darkness.

Criss-crossing lines that were etched onto something.

Blood...

The sound of some faint heartbeat.

Fading.

Spiraling down to nothingness.

Flashes of what it was.

Memories...?

The shards all flitted about him, whirling about him, like some rushing tornado, so fast, until they all showed what they were bits and pieces of, like a very fast, grainy, old 8 mm movie.

He was crying.

Those lines...those wretched lines...wires...cutting into his wrists, cutting into everything.

It was painful, very painful. The more he struggled to get free, the more he got entangled, and made the lines burrow deeper into the fragile skin of his hands, arms, neck, and legs, drawing blood, lots of it, feeding the darkness, feeding the light.

Wires-faces-crosses-wings-darkness-shards-broken windows-voices-meadows-scythes-bullets-blades-cries-screams-LIGHT-

The light shattered and he fell, screaming, into the darkness.

He was.

He was screaming.

He was screaming and falling.

He was screaming and he was falling oh my GOD----

Althaea's eyes opened suddenly, her breathing very rapid. She was reaching out to the light, the light, and in her suddenness pulled some of the small tubes supplying her blood off, leaving thin tendrils of it coursing down her right arm.

What was it...?

The monitor beside her started beeping shrilly, and there came running footsteps.

"Doctor..." The nurse looked over her shoulder. "DOCTOR~~~!!! Come QUICK~~~"

"What has happened?!" The doctor's eyes widen. "Damn it! How the heck did she manage to pull them OFF?!"

"I don't know, doctor...it was just so sudden..."

"Sugiyama! Idou! Get the medi pak, QUICK!" The doctor ran towards Althaea's bed, shaking his head in disbelief as the blood from the severed tubes dripped slowly to the floor, some of it spreading just as slowly across the formerly white immaculate blanket. "She's going to die of hemorrhage...what the hell was she THINKING~~~?!"

There was a door slamming, then came running footsteps. "DOCTOR!"

"Great! Give me the gauze pads. Sanada, go get some new IV tubes and micropore plasters, quick! Idou, ready me 0.05 cc gel coagulant, 1.23 cc alpha, beta and gamma stabilizers...watch out for the aether limiter! Sugiyama, prepare to neutralize the aether stress...minimal reload!"

"Y-yes, sensei!"

The frantic voices all disappeared into the background, but Althaea took no notice of them. Above her, the light separated into miniature kaleidoscopes of multi-colored bursts of color, going round and round before her in a rather dizzying pace, and the shards fell spiraling towards nothingness.

What was it...?

It was...

"~~~" Takao dropped down on his seat with a sigh. "No more hell weeks. PLEASE. I don't want to go out with Kai ever, EVER AGAIN. Please. I promise I'm going to be a GOOD boy from now on. I promise I won't eat sushi sandwiches EVER again. PLEASE!"

Lei blinked. "Sushi SANDWICHES?"

Max nodded knowingly. "It wouldn't taste half as bad as long as you don't dump mayonnaise, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and pickled scallions on them." He made a smacking noise with his lips. "It really brings out the flavor of the BREAD."

Yuri turned green. "Pickled SCALLIONS? Damn, I think I'll PASS."

"Kinogu's stomach's built like a tank, and no indigestion would be able to make it shut down, even if he has to eat plates of sushi sandwiches, natto shakes, and maki scramblers the WHOLE month." Kai sat down beside Lei. "And that's not yet counting the tofu ice-cream."

Yuri turned even greener.

"HEY! It's HEALTHY EATING~~~!!!" SD Takao fumes, his eyes devilish little slits, as he glared over at SD Kai, who was now coolly unwrapping his otherwise harmless tuna-mushroom melt on wheat.

Kenichiro unwrapped his own ham and cheese sandwich. "Takao-senpai's really adventurous, and we really can't blame him. Besides, it's what makes him balanced, as he says."

SD Kai's eyes were closed, as he munched thoughtfully on his sandwich. "Balanced in what sense, Hasami? All I could think of is that he's balanced on his right and left sides and not much else."

SD Takao turned into a burning SD ogre. "Say WHAT, HIWATARI~~~?! Oooohhh you are SO DEAD~~~~!!!"

SD Max tried pacifying him with a wave of his egg salad sandwich on rye. "Hey, hey, calm down, Takao..."

Lei unwrapped his Sicilian pizza melt and looked over at Kai. "Well, at least Takao's not giving you any hard time, Kai. I really thought that it was the end for the both of you when you faced off that rogue -Relic-..."

"It WAS a good thing Takao didn't manage to get sick when he was running down the hallway to the hangar with that hideous sushi sandwich clamped in his mouth." Kai frowned. "Except where the HECK did that -Relic- come from? Certainly not Team Axis."

"You're absolutely right, Kai-senpai." Kenichiro retrieved a thick folder from the brown envelope beside him and put it on the table. "All Team Axis -Relics- are accounted for. As with our -Sigils-...yes, Dr. Mizuhara did a great job accomplishing each and every single one of our units, including those of the Imperial Capital Defense Corps, and still some unaccounted for. I guess that rogue wanted to get a bite out of the remaining -Sigils- in our possession."

"For what purpose?" Lei asked.

"I have no idea, Lei-senpai. I mean, if that -Relic- was from Team Axis, it must want it because it'll be able to retrieve their operative...who's still far from recuperating, by the way. If it WASN'T from Team Axis...it must be because it wants to gain more power by stealing a more powerful -Sigil-..."

"He'll not exactly start his own -Sigil- collection, or something, right? I mean, the -Sigils- and -Relics are supposed to be top military secrets," Takao said, recovering from Kai's insult barrage (^^;;).

"Could be some runaway faction of some sort," Kai replied. "My father isn't exactly that popular at the Ministry of Defense nowadays, partly because Daitenji-kacho still refuses to hand the Kagekidan over to him just yet. And partly because he's a miserable old bastard. He's as evil as a Ministry puppet can go. There are some powerful people who support him, and still there are others who don't. I'm betting it's a faction who knows the Kagekidan's secrets inside and outside. And they're out to get us for just being in the way."

"~~~~" SD Takao turned into an angry inflated Jigglypuff. "Damn. Why the heck have they thought of appearing just NOW after a relatively smooth, hassle-free hell week and just BEFORE the gala itself?!"

"Well, it's the way their minds work, Takao-senpai. It's a good thing that the Heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne himself didn't pull out of our opening gala tonight." Kenichiro blinked. "Haven't you realized this is just totally ODD?"

"..." Yuri had become quiet.

"I just don't get it." Max blinked. "Whoever its pilot is, why would he still want to get a -Sigil-? -Sigils- and -Relics- aren't that much alike. -Sigils- are more suited for close combat dueling than for aether casting. And besides, have you seen the controls of Miss Althaea's -Relic-? Mom finally managed to tame those -Seraphim- guarding the -Relic-. And GOD I think the pilot controls the -Relic- from that wicked chain-trap device in that cockpit."

"Just put it this way. Imagine if there was somebody out there who has already joined both -Sigil- and -Relic- principles...don't you think that's a little too scary?" Kenichiro told Max.

"Yes, VERY scary." Takao shuddered. "Just think. He'd be able to fight and CAST powerful aether attacks at the same TIME!"

"..." Kai looked up from eating his sandwich. "2 perfect examples to that would be Edelweiss and Falcrest. They ARE the -Limiters-...in order to bring about the balance between the -Sigils- and -Relics-, they were accorded powers almost equal to God himself. And they were created in order to subdue and defeat Oblivion if it should come to it. If all the -Sigils- and -Relics- were accorded with that kind of power, then our world would vaporize in an instant."

"I sure hope it won't come to that." SD Max held his egg salad sandwich on rye to his mouth, grinning cutely (think a Mokona GRIN! ^o^). "Well, no use moping over it. Here's to a perfect GALA~~~"

BBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM~~~!!!

The explosion came so suddenly the 6 young pilots almost fell off their chairs in surprise. Kenichiro's eyes were wide. "What the heck was THAT?!"

Several Kagekidan personnel ran towards the huge glass windows of the dining room, some of them pointing towards a billowing cloud of smoke in the distance. The shrill cacophony of sirens added to the growing tension within the building.

"No, not another..."

"When will those Team Axis operatives ever learn?"

"Damn it, not on gala night..."

"Oh, just when I was JUST getting into my Faerie Trooper act..." SD Max mumbled, looking helplessly cute biting on the edge of his sandwich as he looked out of the other window along with Kenichiro, Takao, Lei, and Takao. Takao turned murderous SD.

"And NOW they decided to GATE CRASH~~~!!!" SD Takao was waving his arms over his head very frantically. "OOOOOoooooHHHHhhhhh why don't they just quit it ALREADY~~~~?!"

Kenichiro's eyes turned into little beads. "That's...not where I think that EXPLOSION is...or is it...?"

"!!!" SD Max pushed SD Kenichiro out of the way a little, his eyes wide. He then pointed at it, his entire body shaking in rage. "THAT'S IT~~~!!! NOW THEY'VE COME TOO FAR~~~!!! THAT'S THE HANGAR~~~!!! HAVEN'T THEY HAD ENOUGH ALMOST TURNING DRACIEL INTO SCRAP METAL ALREADY~~~?! I SPENT AN ENTIRE DAY WAXING HIS ARMOR BY MEANS OF KAI'S TOOTHBRUSH~~~!!!"

All of them turned SD. Several stray hairs stuck out of SD Lei's coiffure, accompanied by a huge sweatdrop. He looked like an amiable cat. "Errh...MAX..."

SD Kai started to twitch. "So THAT was where MY toothbrush had gone to..."

SD Lei sprouted black striped white cat ears as he turned to look at SD Kai, who by now had sprouted several gargantuan twitches. "K-Kai..."

The double doors to the dining room opened, and Dr. Mizuhara came running in, who paused to lean over and catch her breath. She then swiped her arm. "IVANOV~~~!!! KON~~~!!! Suit UP~~~!!! If we don't stop that rampage, the entire complex would undoubtedly all fall down our heads---we have to stop that thing at all COSTS~~~!!!"

"H-huh...? Y-yes, Dr. Mizuhara..." Lei answered, blinking.

The 2 pilots burst out of the dining room, even as many of the Kagekidan personnel were beside themselves with terror. Dr. Mizuhara was quiet even as SD Max and SD Kai were arguing in the background.

***What are they thinking, so brazen of them to come right now, even as the Heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne has honored us with his presence...?*** Dr. Mizuhara's bright blue eyes narrowed. ***Be alive, Yuri, Lei...!***

There were flashes of red light, even as the siren went off down the hallways leading to the hangar.

***DAMMIT, where the hell did this thing come FROM~~~?!***

"CODE KAMI~~~!!! CODE KAMI~~~!!! All personnel to your BATTLE STATIONS~~~!!! I REPEAT~~~!!! CODE KAMI~~~!!!"

***...*** There was a camera shot of the lower portion of the face. The lips were curved in a languid smile. ***Baka.***

"We mustn't let them go near the -Sigils- at all costs, she says," Yuri was gasping, even as they ran down the corridors, their dinner jostling all around their stomachs as they did so. "Any ideas...?"

***Kai...*** Max's bright blue eyes became wide. ***BEHIND YOU~~~!!!***

"I haven't," Lei replied, gasping. "We could try shoving them off from the hangar, for one."

***~~~?!*** There was a really frightening screech of torn metal. ***GGGGGUUUUWAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH~~~!!!***

"That'd be fun." Yuri gave a lopsided grin. "Except I don't think those bastards would be ceremoniously unequipped for their gate crashing."

***Shitsurei.*** There was another camera shot of the lower portion of a face, this time around, the speaker was smiling in a mild manner. ***It sure seems that even I do not know my own strength...***

"Of course. That would be most improper and VERY rude." Lei nodded, his cloth-bound jet-black pigtail bobbing behind him as he did so. "Then you'll just have to blow them off before they decide to run off with the -Limiters-."

***KIIIISSSSAAAAMMMMAAAA~~~!!!*** Dranzer flared up, even as his 2 katana burst into flame. ***MOERU~~~!!! AKAI SHINPUUGA~~~!!!***

They now reached the hall of portraits. Yuri grinned even wider. "Heh, let's see them bow down to my -Eidolon Sniping-~~~!!! Let's show them, Lei!"

The furious attack was repelled by a white barrier. Camera shot, side profile, lower portion of the face. ***SUGOI~~~!!! Ne, Setsuna, will you teach me THAT~~~?!***

"Right with you." Lei's golden amber eyes flashed. "They're going to regret the day they've messed with the Kagekidan!"

"Don't let them near the hangar~~~!!! Protect it at all costs~~~!!!" Souichi Oda gritted his teeth even as he ordered his men to fire. "Dammit, why the hell are they so adamant in winning back that -Relic-~~~?!"

"..." Camera shot, lower portion of the face. "This is such a pity. No women around to even rid me of my boredom having to look at all of you for the last 36 hours. Where is the justice in this world?"

"The only woman I know who's fitted for your perverted taste is locked inside that complex," his companion told him, shaking his head. "Even if she is, you're not supposed to touch her. We've strict orders from the Order not to touch her, or even let a strand of her hair fall off from her carefully-arranged coiffure. Or have you forgotten?"

"Baka, how the HELL are we supposed to rescue her from that evil prison if we're not supposed to TOUCH her~~~?!"

"The orders from the ORDER only involve your EVIL HANDS defiling her PURITY~~~!!!"

"My hands are EVIL and yours are NOT~~~?! Those HANDS have groped MORE than what they should have GROPED for the rest of all ETERNITY~~~~!!!"

"You perverted maniac, I haven't groped anything less than those nikuman I had for BREAKFAST~~~!!! No wonder they were very adamant in lopping your HANDS off~~~!!!"

SD Heirschell's forehead exhibited little spasms. "Say WHAT, you stupid monkey~~~?!"

SD Gransol clenched its fists. "Who you calling 'stupid monkey', you PERVERT~~~?!"

SD Branueil twitched, a very black aura about its head. "OI."

SD Fimbrethil tried to pacify SD Branueil, who by now was clutching its aether pistol. "Maa, maa, don't get too angry, Yusaku..."

A ringing gunshot was heard, as a light blue aether bullet went a hair's breadth through them and disappeared into the darkness beyond. Wolfborg was aiming its aether magnum at them. "Have you idiots finished talking already, or do you all want to breathe from your foreheads...? Come on, we have a play to catch, and I'm pretty sure King Oberon wouldn't want to wait for his Queen now, would you? I'm telling you, it's a BAD thing to be at the receiving end of those nasty flaming katana blades, as you all well ought to know."

"Wow...super-stupid STRENGTH~~~!!!" SD Gransol pointed at Wolfborg. "Ne, Yusaku, he could snipe, too! Can I go play with him?"

"..." Branueil looked over at Wolfborg, still casually clutching the aether pistol. "Listen here, you brat, we're here for 'Lilith'. Give the -Limiter- and the girl to us, then we assure you, we won't bother you again. Is that a deal?"

"Who are you working for, and what business do you have with the -Limiter- and the girl you seek?" Yuri's eyes narrowed.

"Don't make me repeat it a second time." Branueil just continued looking at him. "Or is it too much for your miniscule brain to handle? Our orders are plain and simple, and I highly doubt if a moron like you would be able to stop us. Even if you could SNIPE."

"..." Yuri was just quiet. ***They're pretty strong, and they're NOT from Team Axis. Who are they...?***

"You have no business with 'Lilith', and you have no business with the -Limiter-. Why the hell are you still holding her prisoner?" Branueil pointed its aether pistol at him. "Or is it that you're too pigheaded to admit you're all DONE for?"

***I've a feeling they'll ALL be back, and this time around, they're all going to do their errand right,*** Max was telling him as he lay there on his hospital bed, surviving that horrendous ordeal with just a scratch on his forehead. ***And when they do, we won't be able to do something to stop them.***

"It's easy to see that you're not working for us," Yuri replied. "And we have no business holding 'Lilith' or the -Limiter-, either. But you're trespassing on Kagekidan property, and it's my job to protect the Imperial Capital, the Heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne, and the Japanese people. I won't let you get away with harming any of them, again."

The speaker's slanted purple eyes narrowed. "Why don't you spare me that crap and just shut up already...?"

***Draciel, Dranzer, Dragoon crippled. In a matter of 15 seconds. SHIT~~~!!!***

"Time's up. Game over." Branueil's middle and index fingers (^^;;) started tightening about the trigger. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

It happened so fast. Just before Branueil could pull the trigger, a flash came from the darkness to his right, and Gransol only had enough time to turn towards that direction, its pilot's mouth agape.

"YU-SA-KU~~~!!!" Gransol pointed. "Beside YOU~~~!!!"

"...?" Branueil looked slowly to its right.

"You're not going ANYWHERE~~~!!!" Lei's golden amber eyes flashed. "SANKUUGA~~~!!!"

There were 3 flashes of white light. Branueil just stepped out of the way, avoiding the 3 deadly slices of Driger's extended chi claws. Lei's eyes became wide and unseeing, his background becoming very black. ***Na...NANI~~~?!***

"Heh, I almost didn't see him COMING~~~!!!" Gransol's pilot grinned. "Pretty fast reflexes, though. Is he one of the latest models?"

"Shut up, you stupid monkey, and just ACT~~~!" Heirschell got its double lance (^^;; think Zidane's double ended thief swords) and prepared to attack. "INCOMING~~~!!!"

Wolfborg let out a volley of gunshots from his aether magnum towards their direction, to which Heirschell deflected the aether bullets out of the way, before leaping towards him and attacking him head-on. "A sniper's useless for close combat. Or haven't they taught you THAT in Kagekidan Academy? Let's see a master close-up combat duelist in ACTION~~~!!!" The double lance's blades glowed a fiery red. "SOUENKEN~~~!!!"

"~~~!!!" Yuri's eyes widened, managing to parry Heirschell's attacks with his aether magnum, to which several sparks flew from contact. He gritted his teeth as he tried to hold him back. "Damn it..." Wolfborg's right hand glowed a faint blue.

"FENRIL~~~!!!"

A sword with a glowing faint blue ice blade, its hilt made of a silvery metal and entwined by lots of intricate swirling patterns, materialized from that glow. Wolfborg dropped its aether magnum on the ground and swiped at a very surprised Heirschell.

"What the..."

"YURI~~~!!!" Lei calls out frantically. Branueil's pilot's slanted purple eyes flashed. "Oi. Your opponent is ME."

Branueil fired 3 shots in succession, Driger only managing to dodge them without being able to react. The purple-eyed pilot was surprised.

***He couldn't have been able to SEE them coming...?***

Branueil fired another 6 shots, and the last aether bullet managed to graze Driger's left shoulder plate as it turned to dodge. Lei grimaced, wondering what it was, then turned to look at his left arm, which was now trickling with blood coming straight from Driger's left shoulder plate "wound". His eyes became wide. "What...what in the WORLD~~~"

Fimbrethil produced a pale green orb of light in its hands. "Daichi, why don't you go help Yusaku?"

"Eh, he'd just blow my head off," Gransol replied.

"He'll blow your head OFF if you don't, you stupid monkey," Heirschell said, exchanging blows with Wolfborg.

SD Gransol waved its arms over at Heirschell frantically, several gargantuan twitches on his head. "You are NOT qualified to call me MONKEY~~~!!!"

"Whatever."

"..." Fimbrethil's pilot had his eyes closed happily. "Now, now, children, don't go arguing among yourselves..."

"HE keeps calling me stupid monkey, that perverted sex MANIAC~~~!!!"

"Which is just the perfect name for you, you simian CRETIN~~~!!!"

"HEY~~~!!!"

"I guess it can't be helped." Fimbrethil held the pale green orb of light aloft in its hands. "I am really sorry about this, but we really ARE beating a deadline. Let's have tea some other time, ne?"

It hurled the orb of light towards Wolfborg. "Tatsuhiko-SAN~~~!!!"

"Hai!" Heirschell broke off his swordplay with Wolfborg, who staggered back from the suddenness of his movement. "Sorry about this. We really HAVE to get to our mission objective. Nice swordplay you've got there, though. See you 6 feet underground, boy."

"Ch..." Yuri's eyes became wide, as the pale green orb projectile headed straight for him, and all he could do was just raise his arms in order to defend himself. Is this the end...?

There was a sudden brilliant pink flash of light.

"Oh NO you DON'T~~~!!! Galux, MIDARE ENBUKYOKU~~~!!!"

There was a loud roar, as a full moon with an autumn maple backdrop appeared, with a series of pink slashes of light to the very colorful furiously falling maple leaves (orange, red, gold, dark brown, dark pink); as a huge spectral pink yamaneko with trailing gold and red willowy face feathers (^^;;), black-ringed orange spots and ornate gold and red shoulder/paw armor slashed through a very surprised Heirschell, who didn't see it coming. Heirschell's double lance flew off and landed with a heavy thud a few good meters away. The falling maple leaves all blew about them in a flurry.

"Na...NANDA~~~?!"

"What the HELL~~~?!" SD Gransol looked around. "Where the hell did that come FROM~~~?!"

Fimbrethil looked up the sky. "Mite..."

The full moon suddenly broke through the clouds, illuminating the mayhem that was going on all around them. Then there was a tiny golden flash of light, and a pink, gold, and red blur shot out from the sky and alighted in front of Wolfborg, scattering spectral maple leaves in a flurry.

"..." The newcomer held its right hand out to meet the projectile, to which it created a soft pink light with its hand. "Ikke~~~!!! SEIKOUHA~~~!!!"

A huge barrier was created, from gradations of pink to lightest pink at the farthest side of the shell of light, and it met the projectile tossed by Fimbrethil. There were several curling tendrils of electricity as the 2 chi radiances met halfway, to which the projectile dissipated completely. The Fimbrethil pilot's deep green eyes became wide, surprised as he was at the turn of events. "Nani...?"

The spectral yamaneko gave another loud roar as it settled right beside the newcomer -Sigil-, which swiped its right arm in one quick motion, the shell of light disappearing so, within a flurry of the same spectral maple leaves. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you certainly can't waltz right into the Kagekidan without formal invitation! I'm warning you, take one step closer and Galux would be more than happy enough to bite your head off!"

"And I don't know who the HELL you are, and you have no business butting into OUR business!" Heirschell clenched its fists. "As far as I could recall nobody's asked you to cut IN~~~!!!"

"Mao Kon, Cadet First Class, -Sigil- pilot, handler of the -Raging Earth- Galux! I'm basically here to kick you on your butts from here to the Moon." SD Galux nodded. "Heh heh heh, how I've SOO longed to say that."

Lei was blinking as he looked at where SD Galux stood. "Mao...?"

"Yoshi! You're ALL going DOWN~~~!!!" SD Galux shot one closed fist into the air. "Nobody messes my brother's curtain call just because you FELT like it! Nobody, I say, NOBODY~~~!!!"

There was a few seconds worth of silence as all mechs on the battlefield turned SD with huge sweatdrops over their heads, with the exception of SD Branueil, which had a pulsating gargantuan twitch and a VERY huge black aura instead. Several dead leaves and tumbleweeds rolled past. "U-R-U-S-A-I..."

The Fimbrethil pilot's eyeglasses became foggy as he held his index finger to his cheek (you get the idea....^^;;). "Maa...I've never seen anybody SO high-spirited and SO energetic, ne, Yusaku? And such flawless execution of technique, if I do say so myself."

SD Gransol turned to look at SD Fimbrethil with a very huge question mark on top of its head. "En? What's so flawless about it, Setsuna...?"

"It means she was able to block Setsuna's projectile without much FUSS, you stupid MONKEY~~~!!!" SD Heirschell growled, hitting SD Gransol squarely on the head with its closed fist. "Honestly if you weren't sleeping and eating all DAY you useless idiot you'd have MORE brains than AIR left inside that skull of YOURS~~~!!!"

"..." SD Yuri's eyes were little beads. "A little too overprotective perhaps, Lei...?"

"~~~" SD Lei had turned into an amiable chibi neko, stray hairs sticking out of his coiffure.

"HEY~~~~!!! I'm talking to ALL of YOU~~~!!!" SD Galux pointed to all of them, its hand on its hip (OO;; don't ask me why). "Who wants to get crippled FIRST?! What you did was VERY UNFORGIVABLE~~~!!! You ought to get MANGLED~~~!!! You ought to get turned into JUNK SCRAP~~~!!! You ought to GET~~~"

"OI." SD Branueil held its aether pistol, its pulsating gargantuan twitch starting to divide into numerous smaller ones on top of its head. "Do you want to breathe from your forehead that BAD?"

"No I don't, and NO you WON'T!" SD Galux was still pointing at them. "You'll regret patronizing me you hotheaded tin can, I'm more dangerous than I LOOK!"

"Hn. Saw through you, you brat." Quick as lightning, Branueil aimed its aether pistol at Galux, its pilot's slanted purple eyes narrowed. "Korosu."

A hail of white aether bullets streaked through the air headed towards Galux, faster than one can think. Lei's eyes became wide. "MAO~~~!!!"

"..." Mao Kon blinked, then her mouth curved into a smile as she watched the bullets come towards her. "I told you not to patronize me, didn't I? I'm NOT that EASY~~~!!!"

There was another series of flashing pink light, deflecting the bullets, and what it was became clear enough when Galux struck a defensive stance. It held 2 huge rings in its hands, glowing light pink with Mao's chi (think June's weapon from Star Gladiator).

"..." The Fimbrethil's pilot was quiet. ***Kadomony...***

Galux looked over at Wolfborg. "Sniper, unseal the -Eidolon Bullets- while I go kick him down! QUICKLY~~~!!!"

"Yes..."

"Not if I can help IT~~~!!!" Gransol raised its hands into the air, to which a staff materialized, glowing bright gold from its pilot's own chi. He then grinned. "Ikuze, Gransol FIRE~~~!!!"

A ring of golden flames appeared right in front of Gransol, to which a huge flaming spectral horned wolf leapt forth (Rayearth-esque), howling under a fiery red moon. It glared right at Galux, its many fangs bared.

"Heh, kawaisou!" Galux lightly leapt up. "Let's see if you can handle fighting girls in close combat! Galux, cream HIM~~~!!!"

The spectral yamaneko roared, then shot towards the horned wolf, its fangs and its claws bared, the swirling maple leaves scattering behind its wake.

Galux hurled the rings towards Gransol. "Ikke~~~!!! SOUKOUHA~~~!!!"

"Heh heh, SUGOI~~~!!!" Gransol brandished its staff. "Come and get me and hell PRAY you don't get BURNED~~~!!!"

There was an explosion as the 2 weapons' attacks collided. Galux and Gransol met halfway and leapt at each other, fangs and claws slicing through.

Fimbrethil held its hand to its visor (^^;;). "Aa, what a devastating combination attack! Never thought the Kagekidan cadets had it in them all along!"

"Save your praises for later, Setsuna, we have to STOP that Eidolon Sniper." Heirschell held out its hand. "Come on out and let it ALL rip, Heirschell! GRAN NOVA~~~!!!"

A ring of swirling winds appeared before Heirschell, to which a huge spectral eagle soared forth, screeching for all its worth. It shot like a bullet towards Wolfborg, which had its aether magnum held forth, an ominous black aura emanating from the gun barrel (OO;; uh, its...SNOUT?!), aiming for the sky.

"YURI~~~!!!" Lei calls out again. Driger prepared to come to Wolfborg's aid, but Branueil was just too fast. It had the aether pistol directly aimed at Driger's head point blank before it could even move.

Close-up shot of the Branueil pilot's slanted purple eyes, narrowed. "Checkmate."

Lei's eyes became wide and unseeing. ***Shimatta...***

"~~~!!!" Mao's eyes became wide. "LEI~~~!!!"

A series of pictures moved in Lei's mind, moving so fast like a very fast 8 mm picture.

Plink.

*^*Power...?*^*

An abandoned tower.

Plink.

*^*Do you desire power...?*^*

Shattered glass.

Plink.

*^*Then so be it...!*^*

Wires-faces-crosses-wings-darkness-shards-broken windows-voices-meadows-scythes-bullets-blades-cries-screams-LIGHT-

"~~~~!!!" Lei held his hands to his head. Pain...so much PAIN~~~!!!

The -Raziel Tree- appeared beneath Driger, glaring brightly with a blinding white light, as the sudden upsurge of aether threw all of them down in one grand sweep.

"GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH~~~!!!"

Kai, Max, Takao, Kenichi, Dr. Mizuhara, Daitenji-kacho, and Mr. Hiwatari all looked up at that precise instant all hell broke loose.

Dr. Mizuhara's coffee cup fell from her hands and shattered on the floor with a resounding crash.

She looked over at Daitenji-kacho, who was monitoring the entire battle from the control room deep within the Kagekidan as she was also, and saw something in each other's eyes they were afraid to recognize but understood.

No.

It was what they had feared.

And in his hospital room, Asato's eyes were narrowed with rage.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

AUTHOR'S NOTES: PHEW! Glad that's over. Quite lengthy, yup, I'm planning to upload back to back chappies on this one. What do you think? ^^;; You really don't need to guess who those mysterious pilots are. The plot gets even more convoluted. Somebody help ME~~~!!!

Easy Japanese Ver. 2:

Oi = Hey.

Maa, maa = Now, now.

Sankuuga = Three-Heaven/Sky-Fang

Souenken = Double-Flaming-Sword

Midare Enbukyoku = Chaos-Waltz

Seikouha = Sacred-Light-Wave

Ikke = Go!

Yoshi! (sounds like "yosh") = Alright!

Sugoi! = Great!

Soukouha = Double-Light-Wave

Korosu = Kill

Ikuze! = Another version of "Go!"

Shimatta = Damn.

Kisama = Bastard

Nikuman = Stuffed pork bun

Urusai = Shut up.

Fimbrethil (OO;; no it's not Japanese, I think it's Elvish or Entish...I stand corrected here!) = Name of the most beautiful Entwife of all (LOTR) as

said by Treebeard; name means "slender willow bough"