"So who actually did it? You or Cole?"

"Did what?"

"Blew up my old Viper."

- James McCaffrey and Heather Medway

"You're gonna be a bad motherfucker."

- Miguel Ferrer

"It's morphin time."

- Lord Drakkon


Blub.

Mia was dead. At least in the physical, technical, and legal definitions. It didn't really bother her, though. Now she was in a place completely isolated from the world where all she could do was rest. Rest, and provide nurturing protective power to her hundreds of daughters.

Glubblub.

She had died at a peaceful old age. If you saw her, however, you'd think she was still in her vivacious 20s. But nobody ever saw her these days. If you looked in her direction, all you'd see was a round metal container with some serial numbers and a decorative Otome symbol on it. This was her private, special place. Only the Academy elites knew there was a lady taking an eternal beauty rest in here. Not too shabby, considering she was probably close to 200 years old.

Glub.

The nano-preservatives were like a miracle skin cream keeping her body in its prime from so many centuries ago. Some of the older instructors on campus had to worry about wrinkles while Mia got to live for eternity in the comfort of her perfectly realized girl-body. It made her feel young and powerful again, and she generated plenty of extra power for sharing.

Her death certificate said she had died of natural organ failure. Her obituary said she was preceded in death by her husband and was survived by three children. Her eulogy celebrated and mourned her as a national heroine. It was all completely true.

But she wasn't a corpse. She had too much life and too much consciousness left in her. Now she was a supercomputer, a power generator, and an automated defense system all rolled into one. Her eyes were always closed, but she still saw everything. Her lips were always slightly parted as her lungs breathed liquid electrons. Her reddish-brown hair floated weightlessly over her shoulders. Her slender fingers and nimble toes twitched on and off sometimes. The rest of her body might move if something was exciting her. But she mostly stayed still so she could devote all her body's energy to her super-conductive brain and her super-powered children.

Drink your milk, girls. It'll give you strong bones. Heh.

There were others like her who were used improperly. Overtaxed. Exploited by evil owners who held no respect for the Otome system. And that was sad. But Mia's caretakers weren't like that. They valued her far above their own wants and needs, and that made her happy. She had more friendly faces looking after her here than back when she used to be an empress.

She loved this place. It was far underground and withdrawn from all the worries of the modern world. It was secluded. The inside of her reservation tank was peaceful. It was warm, it was bright, and it had a light fruity scent. It reminded her of Kishu.

Burblub.

They knew how to keep her operating happily. They were practically her worshippers. High Priestesses of the Mia School for Performing Arts. She'd probably crinkle up and dissolve into dust if she spent one second outside of her preservation chamber, but who would be crazy enough to want that? This was paradise. She could float perfectly still for months at a time and she never had to worry about her glutes getting out of shape.

She used to have second thoughts about what she was really getting into when she told the Academy she'd volunteer. But that was back in some long ago years while she was alive. Now she had no regrets at all. This was a far nicer afterlife than just being a pile of bones in some dusty old box, or looking down on the world from some sappy ghost castle up in the clouds. She got to keep being helpful even though she was dead.

It was funny how she never felt so much like a free spirit until she was sealed inside a five ton water boiler.

Blurbgub.

Mia didn't need to be afraid of the future anymore. The accelerated mental computations she'd been using the moment they brought her online had shown her all of that. Those strange dreams she used to have that didn't mean anything? It turns out they meant something—A Founder could visualize possible future outcomes resulting from calculated actions based on past and current events. And when those outcomes were something undesirable, she could carefully instruct her followers (through little electronic pings and signals, but no direct communication) what to do to take a better course of action.

Those dreams were hints that her brain was subconsciously already doing the "Founder thing" before she ever became a Founder. Visualizing the worst possible outcome, and putting her consciousness in the middle of it so she knew exactly what her sisters were experiencing. She just didn't have the computational resources on her own to realize what it meant, or do anything to resolve the conflicting information.

But that was all long ago, in a different past that couldn't possibly happen anymore. Now she was perpetually having a happy dream. She saw little blinks of potential disasters every now and then, but her followers always listened to her closely and took every countermeasure to make sure those bad things could never happen. A rogue statesman trying to unseal some ancient prohibited weapon here, a potential asteroid impact there. She was their high-tech oracle.

Bubble.

There were about twenty of them in her dim secluded bedroom that morning. Her eyes never opened and there was a 4-inch-thick titanium chassis surrounding her, but she could see around her bedroom just fine with her digital extra-senses. This bedroom, as it were, was essentially a cave swarming with massive power cables and some sparse industrial spotlights. Mia's private geological retreat.

"Good morning, Lady Mia!" they all exclaimed with cheerful elegant voices, bowing toward her in servitude. To an unaware outside observer, the women were showing their appreciation to a 10-foot-tall metal refrigerator.

The serious-looking woman in the lab coat was Francesca. The one with the glasses working over the computer was Cassandra. The one in mechanic overalls poking buttons on Mia's metal waterbed was Katja. And then there were at least a dozen busy housemaids working in the background to make sure everything was tidy and secure.

The funny thing was they'd built her school in a country that used to be staunchly anti-Otome. But those were days where people didn't get along as well as they did now. Otomes were heroically revered the world over, and Meister Otomes serving under sovereign leaders often became even closer friends after graduation than when they had attended the Academy as dormmates.

They worked together to solve their countries' problems. They never fought each other outside of fun sparring matches, but the world was never totally at peace. There were always one or two creeps or an interstellar threat lurking around that needed a serious butt-kicking.

"I hope the nano-reservoir temperature is comfortable this morning, Lady Mia. I replaced one of your heaters yesterday," said the school's senior mechanic.

It's very nice, Kathy. Thank you.

"You're not making much noise in there, so I'm just going to assume you like it," Katja said toward Mia's containment unit with a playful grin.

It had taken close to a decade just to build her school and get everything up and running. Today they were installing her fifth and final Column. These were specially appointed Meister-level Otomes who formed contracts directly to her so they could make sure the Founder was always highly guarded and all the younger rascals in her Academy behaved themselves.

Well, they were trying to install a Column. Mia always had final say, and she was free to reject someone they brought her if she thought there was going to be a problem. It was a little game of "How Is Lady Founder Feeling Today?"

"Why isn't Lu here yet?" Francie asked with frustration. "Can't she just get out of bed on time for once?"

"How did a girl like her get so high on the candidate list, anyway?" Kathy asked while she was adjusting some wires on Mia's resting chamber. "I'm not sure I'd put the safety of the school in the hands of someone so finicky."

"That's what the Founder Markers called for. I just follow orders here." Francie shrugged. She opened a folder she was carrying and ruffled through some papers. "Unless I'm reading these dots wrong, we're supposed to be looking for… let's see… 'Starts out kind of lazy but will rise to the occasion if people she cares about depend on her.'"

"That sounds like our Lulu, all right." Cassie cupped her hand over her mouth and giggled at her computer.

"It might be because all the other ones matching the recommended gene profile are busy being ga-ga over their boyfriends, too," Francie added. "No Founder wants a distracted Column supporting her, and the only thing Lulu loves more than food is tech stuff."

There was a sound of light feet quickly skipping down a flight of stairs. A door (i.e. a rockface) in the front of Mia's bedroom slid open and an anxious-looking young woman staggered into the room. She was rubbing her eyes tiredly and panting heavily from a long sprint. The campus on the ground above was at least a couple miles long.

"Ah. Princess Sleepyhead has finally recovered from her catnap," Francesca welcomed the new arrival sarcastically, before adding "Now get in position already!"

"Right, right. I'm on it," the girl grunted as she caught her breath. Her voice brought to mind a chipmunk who'd spent three years training to be a professional therapist. Soft, but very sugary.

Mia's potential fifth Column was certainly a cutie. She had a soft and innocent face, with bright blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. The girl's Meister uniform consisted of a white dress with a white apron and light grey pantyhose. It was accented with red cufflinks, a red neck ribbon, and red pump slippers. She had a fairly small build for a 17-year-old, definitely reserved as a high-speed attacker, but she was surprisingly big around the bust.

The girl rattled her head a couple of times to overcome her fatigue. She sighed, straightened her shoulders, patted down the front of her apron, and began to approach the Founder. Her wide-eyed klutzy demeanor faded and she became more nervous as each footstep brought her closer toward Mia.

The girl stopped at the foot of Mia's bed. She started to slowly reach out. Her fingers were shy and hesitant, like they weren't sure they should be touching something so sacred. The girl took a deep breath, and her fingerprints made contact with the symbol on Mia's resting chamber.

"Garderobe Zipang Division," the girl said quietly. "Interim Column Number V, Lulu Soir-xeku requesting Authorization."

Now there's a name I recognize.

Several names, actually. It was a strange hodge-podge of a Konalan-style given name with two different Florince and Cardair surnames. So what was this girl's story?

Mia began scanning her cross-reference databanks as part of the Column approval procedure. She found the relevant information very quickly.

Several third-generation female descendants of Emperor Kazuya had adopted the name Soir-xeku because they enrolled at the Academy and wanted to honor their Otome lineage. A later male descendant from the Soir-xeku line married a direct female descendent of the Raki/Sou line. They had a son. That son had a son. That son had two daughters. Mau Ki Soir-xeku, Fourth Princess of An Nam. Lulu Soir-xeku, Fifth Princess of An Nam. Ah-hah! Mia found the connection.

So you're my great-great-great-great granddaughter. Nice to meet you, Little Lulu.

Mia made her decision with that. She only took a cursory glance at the girl's emotional markers and service history to be absolutely sure. Aside from a minor training incident involving a spaghetti strainer and a hair dryer, everything looked legit.

Here you go, sweetie. Mia blew a little digital kiss toward her great-great-whatever to boot up girl's GEM. An authorization message flashed across her hibernation chamber as Lulu's earlobe began to twinkle.

[L.S. – FEARSOME HEART MALACHITE – CONNECTED M.R.]

M.R. Mia's staff chose to use her maiden name for her digital initials. Figures.

The girl's uniform dress disappeared, temporarily leaving her in a state similar to Mia's. White energy bands formed around her silhouette and turned into solid material.

The finished result of the transformation was a Robe that looked more like a designer swimsuit with little frilly accessories than any sort of gown. But the girl wearing it, with awe and amazement on her face, seemed to think it looked cool and it fit her well.

The mostly white combat suit was covered with red and gold streaks that signified elegance and speed. An extra layer of transparent pseudo-silk wrapped over her shoulder pauldrons to form a regal capelet stylized as closed wings, and the flight rings around her ankles tapered into triangles to create the appearance of bellbottoms.

This Robe pattern used to be tiger-themed in the past. These days it had more of a mythological griffon motif. The Master ring that belonged with the GEM was physically stored in one of the five marble pillars surrounding Mia's bed so it could be integrated into the Column network.

"Who's idea was it to turn Reborns Gundam into a catgirl?" Cassie asked from her computer.

"Huh?" Kathy replied with a quirked eyebrow.

"Cassie." Francie was holding the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger and wincing in pain. "Your extensive knowledge of old cultures is highly valued here. But nobody gets your references."

"So? How did I do?" Lulu brushed off her hip frills and turned her head toward to Cassie.

"Contract status is confirmed. Materialisation Field is holding at 100%. GEM energy output is at the higher end of the anticipated spectrum," the chief debugger read from her console.

"4.083 seconds. That's the fastest authorization out of all the Zipang Columns," Francie tilted her head with slight surprise.

"I think the Lady likes you, Lulu." Kathy smirked and did a salute with her wrench.

You represent a lot of different people's hopes and dreams, little girl. I hope you can live up to them.

Something unanticipated started to happen. The heels of Lulu's Robe partially dissolved to reveal the naked soles of her feet. The effect continued creeping upward toward her ankles and her legs. The same thing started to happen around her shoulders, spreading down the Robe until it started to unravel near her chest.

"What the?!" Lulu panicked. She threw her arms around her body but wasn't sure what she should cover up first.

"Francie, what's happening? Is it some sort of compatibility issue?" Kathy shouted to the scientist.

Cassie was frantically typing on her diagnostic console. Francie acted just mildly concerned, but the look in her eyes said she was pretty confident she already knew what was up.

The older scientist went over to her younger programmer. One glimpse at the screen's readouts told her everything she needed to know.

"Don't worry about it. She's teasing you," Francesca said to calm everyone else in the room. "She's just reminding you who's in charge. She can switch your Robe off if you don't play nice."

And you better not forget it! Heheh.

The effect ended and Lulu's Robe re-stabilized. The blonde girl sighed with relief.

"How about giving the Element a test?" Francie asked the new Column. She used the singular form of the word because she didn't know how many Elements Lulu would actually Materialise.

Lulu nodded, stretched her arms to her sides, and closed her eyes in concentration.

The Otome's forearms flashed. Her gloved empty hands were suddenly holding the leather handles to a pair of oversized shurikens that sat over her wrists. They were about two feet wide and stylized like large Greek crosses with four rounded ends. They'd be perfect for wrenching things apart, or clearing debris at a rescue site.

Lulu clicked a button with each of her thumbs, and the weapons switched to their alternate mode. With an air-slicing shwreen! a row of hidden blades spread out between each side of the Greek crosses. The curved metal filled the gaps to form completely round circles that covered the Otome's hands like large buckler shields. A pressure switch on the inside handles caused the shields to start spinning around on small whistling turbines.

The blocky wrenches had turned into circular saws. There was a third switch near Lulu's thumbs that could launch the spinning discs off of her forearms like chakrams, but…

"Uh. Can you wait until we're outside before you try that out?" Francie asked cautiously.

Lulu agreed and shut off her whirring mechanical weapons. The extending blades closed and restored the equipment to their original cross shape. She blinked and the weapons disappeared from her arms completely.

"How about the field test, then?" Francie said once everyone in the room was safe from immediate decapitation. "Cassie, you stay here and keep an eye on the Founder. We'll be back once we see how Lulu performs."

"Roger." Cassie nodded at her machine.

"Lady Mia, please open the door to the courtyard," Francie politely requested.

Sure thing, sis.

One of the side doors in Mia's bedroom opened seemingly on its own. The housemaids were the first to leave. Francie, Kathy, and Lulu started to follow closely behind.

Just as the new Column was about to skip out of the room, she stopped at the last minute. She glanced over her shoulder toward Mia's container with an optimistic look on her face.

"Thanks, grandmama. I hope we can be friends."

Aww. You take care, sweetheart. I think we'll get along just fine. I've got an old war buddy who would probably want me to look out for you, too.

Cassie started noticing something odd on her monitor. She waved her hand to the other women to stop them from leaving.

"Francie, I'm getting some weird vibrations from the protection pod. I think she's… turning in her sleep?"

Kathy quickly jogged back to Mia's bed and studied the structure. She seemed more bewildered than concerned.

"Beats me," she said. "I've never seen her do anything like that before. It's definitely not environmental stress."

Francie went back to Cassie's computer. She scratched her chin as she leaned over the younger programmer's seat and read the feedback monitors.

"No, not sleep-related. Pattern's too consistent for REM activity. And it's too tame to be some kind of repeating seizure."

Francesca tapped her fingers on the edge of the desk, testing a theory to herself. She traced her index finger over the screen to measure the lines displayed on the monitor. She tapped her fingers to the desk again, and then compared back and forth.

The professor smacked herself on the forehead for not figuring it out sooner. "For real, Mia" she muttered under her breath.

"It's a rhythm," Francie said with a raised voice everyone could hear.

"Huh?" Cassie and Kathy asked together.

"Our party girl is dancing in there." Francie chuckled as she crossed her arms over her lab coat. "Sample this waveform and enter it into the system. The computer needs to know it's a good thing when it sees this."

Cassie rapidly entered the changes into the computer. Lulu and the rest of the Academy staff left the bedroom together, and the door sealed shut behind them.

It was all silent now. Mia was left so she could rest by herself.

She enjoyed having time like this. These peaceful moments where nothing disturbed her. The only things she had for company were the sound of rippling water and some occasional rising bubbles.

But Mia was never really alone. If she ever felt lonely, she could use her nano-sensors to check on what all of her daughters were doing across the entire world. If she ever detected one of them was scared or in trouble, she could send some other daughters to go help her.

"I appreciate the help, dear. But can you at least try to take this a little more seriously?" a gentle maternal voice thundered through the liquid filling Mia's ears.

Who the heck said that? Mia "looked" through her pod to find out.

It wasn't Cassie. She was absorbed in her tech work and not making a sound.

Mia then "looked" through the void within her pod.

Her suspended consciousness glanced upward. Nothing. Downard. Nothing.

Wait. Which direction was Windbloom HQ from here?

Mia quickly reviewed her geographic data and "looked" in the desired direction. And then she saw her.

There was a second figure floating in the void with her. Another hibernating female presence about the same physical age as her. She was skinny dipping in the cosmic ethers just like Mia, with her arms crossed modestly over her bare chest. The only thing she had that made her readily identifiable was a mop of fluffy pink hair hanging down her shoulders.

Oh, hi Boss.

Mia Sou cheerfully greeted Fumi Himeno.

"It's nice seeing you, Cassiterite." Fumi's angelic non-voice flowed from her motionless lips. "I was expecting you'd join my company sooner rather than later. You're the one who destroyed the Diamond, after all."

The Diamond… ? Mia took a few nanoseconds to compute that ancient reference.

Oh.

Nina's GEM? her consciousness-voice asked. That was your Diamond, right?

"Well, I can hardly call it mine anymore. Not after Artai got their hands on it and turned my Pure White into their Ultimate Black. But yes," Fumi responded.

Mia suddenly felt a hint of regret that sent her back about 200 years.

Hey, uh… we're not going to have any… problems about that, right? Since I'm the one who… snicked her?

Fumi shook her head and flopped her watery pink hair while never actually moving her head.

"I would have made more of an effort to hear the girl out from your position. But you never explicitly violated any of my rules. You acted as any just Otome should. She attacked your Most Devoted first."

Mia was starting to detect a pattern.

So that's it, then? Whoever beats Mother Fumi's great successor wins a Founder spot? Would you be having this conversation with Arika if she was the one who beat Nina?

Fumi lowered her head sadly. Again, while remaining perfectly still.

"No, I wouldn't ask the Blue Sky Sapphire to become a Founder. Never her. Not after the travesty they did to her mother."

Mia's audio-memory replayed the sound of an explosion and some guy yelling about a "Valkyrie Core." The bastards never even acknowledged that poor woman as a person.

Mia's mouth bubbled with a small "Hm."

I guess that's not much different from how I talked Akane out of ever doing this. Her type doesn't always hold up so well if you put too much stress on them.

"That was an important thing for you to recognize. I'm glad to work with you as a Co-Founder. That Malachite can only be truly happy staying at her Devoted's side."

Mia bubbled with a more playful "Hmph."

The Mother of All Otomes came to me with a higher calling. You're the Master of us all. It's not exactly something we can turn down.

Fumi's sleeping eyelids twitched with the slightest of doubts.

"I'm not sure I understand. Did you not choose this on your own? I thought you offered yourself as part of your final will."

Mia was now the one doing the nodding-without-really-nodding trick.

Ah. That's just because I knew your guys really wanted my help with one of the new schools.

"Would you have avoided this if you didn't think we needed you?" Another eyelid twitch from the Ultimate Headmistress.

Hm. Well, now that I'm here and I see all the nice things that come with this… Probably not. Kishu and the kids can sleep in peace in the family mausoleum. I get to be everyone's favorite cyborg goddess.

Mia's mouth exhaled in relaxation. Then another idea crossed her thinking-system.

So… I've been wondering, you know that "greater plan" they always talk about with you? What's that all about?

Mia detected some humor growing on Fumi's statuesque face.

"Even if I had one, I'd be leery about sharing it with you. I'm not sure you'll keep it guarded with the same caution as me. You're a reliable Founder. I care about you as any mother cares about her daughter, but you're very… chatty."

Fair enough, Mia thought on a plane of her expanded mind she knew Fumi couldn't hear. But then she started thinking:

About that vision, though? With the Cardair and Florince flags, and Yumi, and then me and Akane…

"An impossibility." Fumi decisively thundered. "It's an outcome that has been completely prevented from happening. Nothing like it can ever happen now that I have many other Founders helping me. No sisters will have to fear suffering such grief anymore."

Mia bubbled with a little more agitation. She still wasn't totally convinced.

Yeah, but how did you let it get to a point where something like that even could happen? From what I saw, it looked like an even worse version of the war we already had 50 years before that. And it was going to just keep getting worse after Akane booted me off the stage.

Fumi paused to calculate the question. Mia thought she saw the faintest of blushes appear on the Primary Founder's face. Then Fumi simply said:

"No one is flawless."

Guess not. Mia sighed in meditation. Can't put all the blame on you, anyway. I probably did some stuff that could have lead to that future.

"No one should carry all the responsibility on their own, Sister Mia. It's better that we learn from our miscalculations together."

Blurble. Mia's slightly parted mouth curled into a smile.

Spoken like a real philosopher. I like you.

Mia heard a peaceful melodic chime echoing through the ether-void. Instantly, she realized the frequency wasn't for her.

Fumi turned in the water without turning. Her attention focused upward.

"If you'll excuse me, my Columns are requesting my assistance."

Bubbles slipped through Mia's lips with a chuckling rhythm.

Don't let me hold you up. I'll focus on my own girls over here. Give me a call the next time you want to chat. You'll know which hot tub to find me in.

Fumi's apparition performed a small curtsy and faded into the void.

Mia was left by herself again. She closed her consciousness-eyes and went back to doing what she loved most: Being a battery for her precious, hopeful little daughters.


Author's note: I am listening to "Silmaril" by Oonagh so hard right now.

Author's note 2: You can pretty safely assume Fumi saw the same vision as Mia in chapter 4, and she immediately told the rest of the Garderobe admins "Uhhhh Yeah, we're letting Catgirl retire so she can get out of the system. Like RIGHT NOW."