San clambered up the rocks, avoiding the wetter ones neatly. The vertical distance shrank quickly and soon she found herself peering into the same wooden pagoda that she had sat under just the night before. The lamps and torches were cold, and there was nobody present in the garden. She rose and stalked across the paving stones silently. While San hated betraying Aiko's trust like this, his green sanctum was the perfect spot for one such as she to infiltrate from.

The wall surrounding the garden was climbed effortlessly and after a brief glance around, she leaped to the nearest building. San crouched low on the roof, unsure how to feel about the moonless night. It gave her dark-clad figure more places to hide, but it also made it harder for her. Her night vision had started to go away recently, and she cursed the sheer amount of fire that obstructed her vision every night in the camps and buildings. The sky itself was lit by the reflections of the many lamps and flames of the city, the few clouds lending a slight orange glow. There was no moon.

The vast majority of the sky was darkness, the pinpricks of stars obscured. It made the shadows more unpredictable. San began her search. Ashitaka and she had shared their knowledge of the Imperial complex, and they'd made a list of places for her to search tonight.

A shadow shifted in the corner of her vision, and she settled down into her own shadows so as not to draw any attention by stopping her motion. No further movement followed, and she couldn't make out anything in the glare from the lanterns at street level.

She waited for several minutes. Then several more. Finally, her patience was rewarded. Here, hidden as she was by the curve of the roof, her eyes had more room to adjust than the area she was spying on. There was a figure there. She couldn't tell if the figure –presumably one of these kagekata fellows—had seen her or not, or if they were just on lookout. The man left the area with only the slightest rise from his position, and if she hadn't been paying attention San probably wouldn't have noticed which way he went.

Now she had a choice. Should she stay and continue searching, or return? San shook her head. No. There wasn't a choice! She had barely arrived, and they hadn't seen her, she was sure of it. Her hand went back to check the scarf hiding her white hair. That would definitely give her away if seen, but it was still tied securely.

Another minute, she told herself. Then on to the places they'd discussed. To keep herself occupied now that her target had departed, she thought. It had been odd, working closely with Ashitaka again. Yes, it had all been business. But she'd been with him, and not hiding behind a mask. He'd not been either, as far as she could tell. She's seen every hint of sadness, fear, and determination in him, he'd been hiding nothing. Her lip quirked in a twisted smile. Now that she knew him for what he was, he hid no longer. At least there was honesty in that.

She rose and leapt to the next roof after a running start. The firelight from the lanterns below would obscure her nicely from most people looking up, so it was mostly individuals seeing her from above that would be the problem. San reached the first location without incident, and jumped to the ground silently. She peered around and under the nearby stands of bushes, but no trapdoor could be made out. Sounds came from around the corner, and she sunk behind them immediately.

A pair of samurai walked by, armor clanking. San watched them pass with narrowed eyes, then ducked around the corner they had come from. The guardhouse wasn't far, then. It was too late for civilians to be out and about, and Eboshi had confirmed Ashitaka's suspicion by telling them that the Capitol complex had a strictly enforced curfew.

Another pair of noise sources came closer, and San reached down to scoop up a small stone before skittering up the side of the building, leaping then climbing then hauling. She was on the roof before the next set turned the corner. San casually tossed the stone up near the corner where the bushes were, causing the guards to stiffen and freeze, holding weapons hilts and hafts cautiously. She smiled to herself at their confusion, then moved on. She enjoyed the challenge of not being seen, and besides, it never got old anyway.

She neared the place where the hidden entrance was suspected to be, and now all she had to do was wait. It did not take long, however. Something so complex and necessary as a secret prison was sure to have some coming and going from it, no matter how hidden its entrance. A pair of samurai emerged from around the corner and approached a patch of shadow, and, after a furtive look, unlocked and raised up a trapdoor.

It was then that San moved in. As the door closed behind them, San shoved the tip of her dagger into the seam of the crack, keeping it ever so slightly open. She grinned as whatever locking mechanism was prevented from doing its job, and after an anxious minute of waiting in almost plain sight, she levered the door open again and ducked inside after them, leaving a twig in the gap to keep it open behind her. San didn't worry too much about getting stuck down here, she could always kill someone and steal their key if it came to that.

The passage beneath was made from hewn stone, guttering torches lighting everything in a dull smokey red, with plenty of deep shadows for her to hide in. She'd snuck around wearing white for so long –to be like her family– that now, wearing black seemed almost cheating. Creeping down the passage, San evaluated her objectives. She'd found the passage, she could potentially just return with this knowledge to make a plan for extracting Kaya. But she could just as easily return with even more information, and curiosity was driving her ever deeper underground, despite the lingering feeling that the earth would swallow her at any second.

The passage sloped downwards, until she came to a taller room. The ceiling was held up by timber beams, interlocking and crisscrossing above her, almost outside the reach of torchlight. Voices echoed in the chamber, and it only took San a moment to decide to scale the beams, her bare feet and sure grip making easy work of them. She looked down at the figures entering the room.

There were six of them, four guards and two very important-looking people with exquisite robes and lofty accents. There was something… off about two of the guards, but San couldn't put her finger on it, as they looked like any other palace guards she'd seen. It was something in their movements…

"Do you think they'll represent a threat, my Lord?" A querulous, nervous tone.

"Of course not. I've been aware of every move they've made in this city." This voice was low, gravelly, but also incredibly sure of what they were saying.

San risked a closer look, widening her eyes to soak in the red light. The second, confident figure was bent slightly, as if by age, but their voice didn't sound particularly so. He went on. "Their interactions with the nobility have been interesting, to say the least, but it's almost time to wrap up this charade."

"Forgive me sir, but perhaps we should wait until we know their motivation for being here."

San's eyes narrowed. If they were talking about what she suspected… This was bad.

"It's simple. They want to take my throne. It's the only reason that Mononoke and Eboshi have allied themselves together." The man paused, and San's mind began piecing things together. This was not just an important man. This was the Emperor Hiroto Yamasaki. And then he paused, as if thinking of something, then spoke again. There was an unmistakable satisfaction in his tone. "Speaking of Mononoke… welcome, child of beasts."

San's breath halted in her throat as the Emperor turned in her direction. He wore a deep black robe, with dark green hems and linings. He carried a cane to support his bowed frame, but a katana was also tied at his waist. His eyes, sunken and black, searched the darkness for her, and a smile twisted his features, which seemed prematurely aged. This foul being was Aiko's father?

San crept back further in the shadows, but something caught her eye, and she turned.

There was another figure sharing the darkness with her. San's eyes met the kagekata's through his mask, and the figure slowly brought a thin blade before them, glinting in the dim light.

"Thank you for cooperating with my trap," Yamasaki went on, his guards positioning themselves around him again, the other man making his way to the doors as rapidly as his ceremonial robe would allow him. "You were easier to snare than I thought. Disappointingly so, in fact."

San wasn't looking at him, keeping her concentration on the warrior gazing steadily at her, but she heard his tsking. With a trio of solid clangs, locks were drawn over the heavy doors, and the room was sealed shut.

The Emperor shook his head. "Child of gods, scourge of the west, Princess Mononoke, caught so easily. No wonder your bestial relations were vanquished so pitifully by Eboshi's firearms."

San snarled, and the kagekata leapt at her.

In one smooth motion, San leapt back and drew her dagger, parrying the first blow in a shower of sparks. She alighted on another beam, darting back down it as the shadow warrior followed, black dagger cutting the air as he dove for her again. She dodged under the blow, wind ruffling her makeshift hat, and she slashed at his belly.

A vibration ran down her arm as it came into contact with something hard, and she winced, swinging around the pole to an adjoining beam. The cur was wearing armor!

"You're wasting your time, Mononoke," the Emperor stated sardonically. "My elite are the best fighters on the continent. Your heathen instinct isn't enough to win this day."

Her blow hadn't done nothing, however: the black-garbed assassin had been winded by her strike, giving San a moment to compose herself. She was in a trap, underground, and not only did the Emperor know about the Emishi, he also knew about Eboshi's schemes. She glanced upwards, and saw the slim holes in the ceiling, presumably to circulate air and keep smoke from filling this underground complex.

"Your ruse as Princess was amusing and interesting, I must admit. Eboshi's idea, I suspect. My foolish son was quite smitten by your lies. But your fruitless schemes end here, I'm afraid."

A pair of shadows leapt into the rafters farther along the room, and San took a long slow breath as she acknowledged the existence of three kagekata up here with her. She closed her eyes and listened to the creaking of the dead wood, the murmurs of the stones they supported, and the subtle breezes that wove around the movements of the other warriors.

"You took eternal life from me." The Emperor's words were a bitter growl. "So I will take you alive, so that I may spill your animal blood to see if there is anything beneficial to be gained from it." His voice gained a calculating tone. "After we're done with you, will you become a demon as well, I wonder? Or will you simply rot away?"

San opened her eyes. And then she spoke. "You claim this is a trap."

The kagekata sprung, blades flashing, but the wind had warned her; she was already airborne before they'd started moving. Her bone dagger opened the first warrior's throat before he landed. The body came to rest heavily, blood splashing on the flagstones, causing the Emperor to shout in surprise.

"You lock your doors, claiming power over me." Her voice was cold.

She darted from rafter to rafter, using her legs as springs to suddenly bat aside a strike from the next warrior, sparks illuminating the dark for a moment, showing exactly where her foot found purchase in the man's side, sending him to the ground. Using the momentum, she leveraged herself onto one palm, spinning once to then dart further back into the shadows.

This man, the Emperor, was the one who had imprisoned and tortured Kaya, Ashitaka's beloved. He was the one who had killed her forest, and the God who had loved , Eboshi had pulled the trigger. Yes, Jigo had stolen the head of Shashigami. But Yamasaki was the reason for the pain in Ashitaka's eyes, the reason San would never see her mother again. Red flared in her vision, and she bared her teeth.

"You wonder if I will become a demon, you ash-blooded coward."

San dropped to the flagstones behind the Emperor's guards, causing them to turn and draw their weapons. She stooped down to pick up the fallen warrior's blade, then turned to slash upwards at the next kazekata descending upon her. The man, taken off guard, could only block so well midair, and met the ground on his back from the momentum of San's strike. He flipped himself backwards onto his feet again, but San had already closed the gap.

His blade nicked her arm, and her dagger pierced his armor, once, twice, three times, sending him staggering. With a flying kick, San smashed her foot into the man's throat, dropping him.

Snatching the blade from his spasming fingers, San ignored the throttled gasping of the man. She only had attention for one person, and the exact process needed to break the defense surrounding him. Facing the group again, San narrowed her eyes and pointed her bone dagger at the cowering Emperor. "You tried to kill the world. You would have ended everything, just to give yourself life that you didn't deserve."

"What are you waiting for!? Take her!" the Emperor shouted, fear making itself known in his voice.

Two of his guards broke off and stormed towards her, bearing katanas and wakizashis, their thick armor clanking. San leapt up again, shoving the two kagekata blades in her garment. The third shadow warrior was waiting for her in the beams above, and slashed down at her as tried to scale the supports. She dodged the blow, the dagger's blade tugging at her makeshift hood, revealing her white hair. Allowing gravity to take her again, San danced across the stones, darting away from the vicious swings of the samurai.

San realized something as her mind calculated her next steps. There was one time when she had felt this way before, so driven and focused in the pursuit of a single goal. It had been that night she had raided Irontown alone, to kill Eboshi once and for all.

And just like that night, San realized that she didn't much care what happened to her, so long as her target was destroyed. But there was something different. She was not who she had been before.

She'd seen the goodness of humanity firsthand, now. The forgiveness of Ituse, the strange kindnesses of Eboshi, and the undeniable loyalty of Ashitaka and Chen. She'd learned and been taught so much, but here she was, killing out of hate once again, fully dedicating herself to the demise of another. A small voice piped up in her mind then, a second, much smaller doubt. If she died here, she'd never get a chance to fix things with Ashitaka. Like a tiny blade, it pricked at her resolve.

But it was too late for such regrets. San heard shouts of alarm spread, muffled through the doors to the chamber, announcing the arrival of more soldiers. She was unlikely to make it out of this alive. And this time, Ashitaka wasn't here to save her.

The Emperor and his two guards –the strange ones, she noted– were making a break for one of the exits, the fool finally realizing that perhaps he had made too great a gamble exposing himself to Mononoke.

She was faster. Blocking the doorway, San drew out the kagekata's blades. "Maybe you're right on one thing, you small, foolish man who thought he could kill the world."

"I am the EMPEROR, how dare you filthy my station with your meaningless words!" His face was red now, and he'd drawn his katana in a shaking grip, his cane lying on the ground.

"Maybe I am a demon," San stated, gaze nailing the bent man in place. "Maybe I am a spirit of vengeance, sent to stop you from destroying this world further." She bared her teeth and wished with all her might that they were sharper. "My mother is dead, and I inherited her crown. I am the Queen Mononoke, come to erase your stain from this world."

The two guards between them exchanged a glance, then looked to their emperor. There was something in their gazes, a deliberation, a silent communication, but San didn't have time to translate it.

The other two samurai finally reached her, shouting as they charged in, blades raised.

San leaned down, putting her weight on her front foot, bracing herself. The lead warrior's katana descended, and she moved. In an instant she was past the pair, the gap between her and the Emperor lessened in an instant. The two remaining obstacles between her and her target took up stances, ones that seemed somehow familiar to her. They moved like Eboshi, she realized, but it was ultimately unimportant. They were slow.

Her hand flicked, once, twice, and the kagekata's blades left her hand with immense speed. Blades flashing red in the torchlight, the two warriors deflected the projectiles, but her aim hadn't been to kill them. It had been to distract them.

San flung herself through the air between the two fighters, the fang of her grandfather rising in her hand as she soared straight for Emperor Yamasaki. He slashed at her, his katana beginning a desperate path towards her neck. But he'd started too late, and she was too fast. His blade cut into her shoulder, and San could feel the steel halted by her collarbone.

She met the panicked eyes of the man she was killing an instant before her blade sank into the soft flesh of his neck. San expected to feel some kind of satisfaction, some kind of resolution in seeing such fear in such a despicable being. But she only felt the grim relief of an undesirable task completed.

And then her world became one of pain.

...

Ashitaka and Chen walked together down the road back to the city gate, Chen's face hidden by a ghoulish mask. "Well, that went better than expected!"

Ashitaka could hear the grin on the man's face, but couldn't bring himself to mirror it. He allowed himself only grim relief. The samurai had agreed to consider following them, to defend the Emishi against the oncoming war. Ashitaka and Chen would return on the morrow, to confirm their decision. "It's something," he said, gaze drifting up to the peak of the island's mountain, where the palace stood. "You were right, however, they seem like good men."

"Well, you just have to give them a way to show it." Chen looked to Ashitaka, blue eyes visible through the mask. "And there are few ways better than fighting for a righteous cause, I know that from experience."

Ashitaka nodded absently, taking a deep breath to fight back his fatigue. They had another long day of pretending tomorrow, and hopefully San brought back some valuable information from her–

A distant howl tore through the night, and it was not a simple call to the moon. Ashitaka could already hear a desperation, a sorrow in Hitori's voice. The wolf's call was answered from behind them by a pair of voices, louder, and a moment later Ashitaka heard the cry of Tsume and Kiba, echoing in his mind.

Hitori smells the blood of our sister! San has been taken by the mountain of cage and stone! The Moro Tribe is coming!

Ashitaka's blood froze, and he looked to the palace again, illuminated by the orange torchlight. No light came from moon or stars; the sky was empty. Ashitaka ran, a relentless energy filling him, pushing away the fatigue.

"Ashitaka! I'll get my men! Listen for Hitori's voice, she can guide you!" Chen called from behind him, but Ashitaka wasn't listening. His mind was fixed on one thought; that of San dying, alone in the depths of a prison.

He would prevent that future. By his name, by his honor, he would do it. His hand tightened on the katana at his waist. And he would remove anything that got in his way.

San, I'm coming.

…

The howl was audible through the walls of Eboshi's chambers, and she looked up from her work. An instant later a mental message tore into her mind, terrified and sorrowful. Even you, lover of my brother, please help my sister I could smell her blood and hear her cries and I could do nothing but listen!

Ituse and Toki lurched from where they were reclining, Toki rushing to open the nearest window. "Did you hear that?" she asked, and then a moment later two more howls came from across the lake.

"San's in danger," Eboshi stated softly, placing her paintbrush in its place, and the women looked back at her in surprise.

"What!? How did you know that?"

"What's happened?"

Eboshi looked up, gaze cold. The two exchanged glances, and worry crossed their features.

Toki narrowed her eyes, figuratively tossing aside her previous question. "What are we going to do?"

Ituse spoke next. "We are going to help her, yes?"

Gunlady, Eboshi, Saryu, please, you're the closest, you're the only one who can get here in time to save her–

Eboshi stood slowly, deliberately, as everything she'd built, her plans, her position, her reputation rocked perilously as she sorted information in her mind. San had been caught, she might already be dead. That means that the Emperor would know about Eboshi's treachery, and would send his soldiers after them. There was a way to get out of this. She could take her people and leave, this very moment before the alarm had sounded, and they might escape. It was the only way to keep everything she'd worked so hard to make. No. Not everything.

The Lady Eboshi of Irontown clenched her eyes shut, taking a deep breath and letting it out. And then she threw it all away, for the sake of a few young lives.

"Of course we're helping that fool of a girl. Toki, prepare your squad for battle and meet me in the antechamber as soon as you're all ready." The warrior nodded and darted from the room, already calling out. "Ituse, notify Ganzo to collect my family and get them to safety. You will then take everyone with you, leaving non-essentials behind. You'll leave the city and direct the main caravan to head to the emergency meeting location beside the east river." Eboshi met Ituse's eyes. "If I do not return, you are in charge. The decisions made after that, to fight or flee, and the lives of our people, are in your hands. Do you understand?"

Ituse nodded slowly, eyes widening. "Yes, my lady. But, you will…"

Eboshi shed her outer garment, exposing her empty shoulder. "But first, call Dayihata. Tell him to bring his masterpiece. I'm ready to give it a field test."

Ituse stood, nodded once, then moved to leave, but hesitated at the door. "My lady?"

Eboshi pulled out her pistol, checking that it was in perfect order. "Please, Ituse, we don't have much time."

"Thank you for everything."

Eboshi looked up from her weapon, and smiled. "Thank you, my friend. Now go."

Ituse returned the expression, and it was forced through a strain of worry, fear, and determination. Then she left the room.

Eboshi stood alone, the breeze from the window shifting the loose strands of hair that had escaped her bun. Once again, she'd been caught in the winds of fate, streaming behind Ashitaka and San without regard for simpler beings. But once again, Eboshi fully intended to survive the storm that followed them.

Hitori. I am coming. Be ready to guide us.

...

Hey, thank you all for being so patient with me. We're in the final stretch of Part 2, now, and I don't intend to stop until it's complete.