Chapter 6: The Commanders

Merry Christmas! (Or belated Christmas to those of you in different timezones) Here's your gift! My new chapter! (Or cookies if you want those instead)

A lot will be revealed this chapter. Eh he he.

I'm revealing Luo's secret! Yay!

And here I am with responses once again starting with my two regular reviewers!:

Anisademongirl: It's not dumb! I could have easily gotten it off from the Internet so no worries! I'm sorry for killing them… Just a heads up, more will be dead. I should change the genre to tragedy too… And thank you for the compliment :) but truth be told, I might have good ideas but I'm a terrible writer.

Scorpius: Nope sorry they're all wrong. I was originally making her water, but I got a better role. I have to change it now. The **** was Mizu and ***** was Water, so now I guess I have to change stuff cause I changed my original plot. A bit. But the original hint still applies. The truth is in the appearance! And I know I switched to first person there, I was debating on the for a good five minutes. Anyway, the "tomatoes" were Rin and Len. And MAYU'S HERE! I couldn't resist, so I added her bunny and axe. XD

You two are the best. ^.^

And oh! A new reviewer!:

Magical Witch Auri: hey~ thanks for reviewing! I stole the road roller though, the Kagamines are going to kill me. ~.

So one more thing guys, if you want to have an OC in the story, please PM me or review with a name, appearance, and personality. Thank you~

Anyway, random comments paragraph here. 1) I was reading a fanfiction the other day and the author was kinda upset about how in LenxRin fanfictions, Miku is always the bad person. Not in mine, yay! I don't like that either. I always pictured Miku as a happy person… (whoever's fanfic it was, sorry I can't remember) 2) I know Rin eats oranges but I've been eating a lot of clementines lately. Like a couple per day. I feel like I'm turning into her… O_O

Now that that's over with, let's get on with the story!

Jaa~ Enjoy~

…

Recap:

"Lenka-nee!" Mayu came running. The little girl wore armor over her white dress and held a rapier. "We need to go! The Demons slaughtered about 100 witches to the east of here!"

"What?!" The Drafted exclaimed. Miku frantically asked. "Do you know who was there?!"

Mayu didn't even make a comeback. "A survivor who called herself the Witch of Leaves said that they belonged to groups led by two witches named Merli and IA?"

"No!" Rin gasped.

"Let's go." Lenka stood up.

Rin tugged on her sleeve. She stood up, and fire blazed in contrast with her blue eyes. "We're coming with you."

…

A frigid wind brushed through the clearing, littered with corpses. The once lush grass was either ripped out or smothered in crimson. In the center, two groups faced each other. Light and Dark. Good and Evil.

Angels and Demons.

A Demon stepped forth. She seemed high ranking. Her armor and outfit slightly differed from the rest. She had green hair like Gumi's, but a darker shade.

"A General." Mayu informed the Angels quietly.

The Demon grinned and gave a little mocking bow. "Sonika." She jeered. "Pleased to meet you."

"Sonika…" Mayu mused. "Mass murderer?"

"That's the one." Sonika looked unaffected. "I presume you are Mayu? First General of the Angels? Oh yes, there is someone along our ranks who would like to see you."

The crowd parted on the Demons' side and a lone man walked forth. "Mayu." He hissed, glaring at her. "Remember me? I still remember your crimson blood flowing on my fingers."

Mayu trembled. It… couldn't be. "F-father?"

The man laughed and tried to rush towards her. Sonika swept her hand out, causing him to crash to the ground. "You had your fun, Rinto. Back into the ranks."

The man glared for a moment before spinning on heel. The crowd enclosed him as he backed off.

Mayu's hands shook. She couldn't see straight. The rapier was limply grasped in her hand. She switched it out for her familiar axe, trying to calm herself.

"General Mayu." Lenka spoke up by her side, concerned, but keeping calm and professional. "You need to stay cool headed."

"R-right." Mayu fruitlessly tried to still her shaking hands. She glanced at the crowd once more, managing to pick out her father's face. He smirked at her.

The blood spurted across her body as she desperately grasped the axe's handle.

No.

Hands grasping at the last gift her mother gave her.

No!

His alcoholic breath washing over her as she spotted the malicious glint in his eyes.

NO!

…

"Mayu!" Lenka gasped as the little girl suddenly fainted. She barely used a flap of her wings as she rushed over and caught her. "Mayu? Mayu!"

Worried murmurs quickly spread across the Angels. Lenka snapped her head up. "What are you doing?! Someone, take her back to the City!" An Angel quickly dashed forth, and Lenka handed Mayu to him gently. His white feathers gleamed as he flew off.

"Oh dear." Lenka spun at Sonika's voice. She was grinning sadistically. "So your General was traumatized, was she? A shame. Young people really do have a lot of talent." She said ominously. "So. You third in command?"

"Second, now." Lenka tried to reply steadily.

"Second?" Rin asked in confusion. "Aren't you first now?"

Lenka ignored her at the moment. Can we risk it to summon Commander? Who knows what she is doing? What if she's busy? She glanced at their odds. Mayu was down. This battle was called on the last minute and the odds were not in their favor.

She grimaced. He stomach churned with anxiety. "We need a sacrifice."

"I'll do it." She was shocked as a Angel stepped forward without hesitation. "I never wanted to be reborn." He explained, seeing her expression. "I just want to rest in peace."

"But your goal!" Lenka protested. She should have been happy to have a volunteer. "You're giving it up so easily?"

"I want to rest in peace." The boy repeated, his blond hair ruffling with the wind. His one green eye shone and she was sure the other one was too behind his eyepatch.

Lenka sighed. "What's your name, child?"

"Oliver."

"Oliver, may you rest in peace." Lenka's heart clenched.

"Thank you."

"I propose a sacrifice for thine summoning, Protector." Lenka began to chant. "A boy by the name of Oliver. I call upon thee, the one us Angels have blessed. Thou art our Protector, Commander, the one we have blessed with part of the sacred power of Angels. Please, come at once, in honor of our contract. Commander of the Heavens, stand before me!"

Lenka could hear the shocked cries of the Drafted as Oliver began to glow. A tear formed in the corner of Lenka's eyes. Oliver merely smiled as his Angel form shattered into pieces as he retreated to the Afterlife.

In his place stood an army of confused witches and humans. And leading them all was her.

Commander of the Heavens.

Her brown hair swayed slightly. Her blue clothes ruffled with the wind.

"It's time, is it not?" She spoke.

"Thank you, Commander. I apologize if the timing was inconvenient." Lenka kneeled.

"Not a problem, Second General." The Commander smiled softly. She stared out at the people gathered before floating gently in front of the Angels.

"Now." She extended her one wing. "Shall we begin?"

…

"Luo!" Miku gasped as the Commander of the Heavens stood in front of the army. The Commander cast a glance back, slightly surprised. "Princess?"

"I didn't know you were a Commander, Luo!" Miku murmured softly.

"Shall we discuss this later?" Luo asked respectfully.

"Of course." Miku replied in the same tone.

"Miku-chan!" Rin hissed. "What's going on?" The humans and witches stared at her in utter confusion.

"Quick!" Luo ordered. "Explain while we hold off the Demons." The Angels charged as Luo sweeped her hand out, yelling commands they couldn't hear over the chaos.

"Commanders are a special term for a kind of witch. Most witches are just called Witches unless they have a Rank because titles are based on Rank not ability type. We would call Luo the Witch of Heavens. But officially, she is a Commander. A Commander is a type of witch that's ability grants them control over a magical species or something of the sort. SeeU is the Commander of Animals, but her status as a Goddess overrides that. Most Commanders could probably be Goddesses, but there are only twenty Goddesses. The majority of the Commanders gain their powers naturally but Commanders of extremely powerful species of magical creatures have their power granted to them by the species. Luo was probably granted the power. A lot of Commanders hide their abilities too though. They can be quite dangerous." Miku explained quickly.

"Why?" Len inquired.

"A Commander's duty is first to their contracted species and second to the witches." Miku replied darkly.

"So…" Neru trailed off.

"If the Demons decided to attack us, though their Commander can try to talk them out of it, if they really wanted to, their Commander would have to help and lead them. And unless they attack us by themselves without their species having an ulterior motive, they cannot be punished." Miku explained.

"Oh…"

"IF YOU'RE DONE EXPLAINING, WE NEED HELP!" Lenka screamed from the battlefield. The Drafted scrambled to their feet and joined the battle.

…

At first, it seemed like they had an advantage.

Rin gritted her teeth as she dueled with a Demon. She hated this. Though her skill had proven her one of the best in the Academy, she was still out of the league of the more experienced members of the Draft. While she twirled with a rapier, sending a Demon fully to the afterlife once in awhile, Miku's tornadoes scattered a few with ease. It seemed to take a lot out of her though, as she didn't react quickly enough to the next attack, causing Len to slice his sword through the Demon bearing down on his sister.

Rin watched as the two Hatsunes stood back to back, one by blood and the other not. They were completely in sync. Slice, gust. Chink, whirl of wind.

"Rin!" A back brushed against hers, and she was aware of Neru. "Pay attention!" The Witch of Lightning began unleashing an attack that she had been practicing. Pressing her hands close together, she let sparks fly between them. As the space expanded, the sparks transformed into bolts. Bolts weaved in and out throughout each other within the space of her hands.

"Kaminari Kumonosu! (Thunder Web)" Neru turned her palms outwards. It sprung over a couple of low ranked Demons who were back to back in a circle. Neru snapped her fingers and the Demons shrieked as they disintegrated to ashes.

"Nice, Neru." Rin murmured enviously. She tried to picture her mana, searching within for an ability, to no avail. It seemed just beyond her reach. She snapped back to reality as a Demon leapt at her.

They still had the advantage. With Luo commanding everyone even better than Miku, the Angels slowly forced the Demons back. Everything will be fine.

Was that too naive?

…

Luo towered over Sonika as the Demon General tried to rise to her feet. Her eyes, normally a milk chocolate, turned dark. "Form: Tenshi Saibankan (Form: Angel Judge)." Her long brown hair flowed out to waist length, let out of its usual hair style. Her one wing in Commander Form switched to two, pure white feathered wings. A rapier appeared in her hands, dotted with jewels. She wore a white dress that was simple and intricate at the same time. Lace sleeves adorned it. A small tiara fit on her head.

"Rapier of Heaven." She recited the words of the spell, her face seemingly emotionless. "This creature before me has done many wrongs to the Angels. Shine, Rapier!"

The sword glowed. Its glow flickered through the colors of its many jewels. Orange, green, purple, red. Endless.

"Control me! And bring forth thy judgement!"

Luo's body seemingly moved on its own. She unleashed a flurry of attacks that the Demon had a lot of trouble avoiding. Cuts dotted her arms and legs.

"That was merely warm up." Luo stated with a sigh. A battle cry sounded behind her, and she momentarily spun around as other Demons tried to lunge for her.

She didn't see Sonika grab Rinto and as quickly as possible, chant a spell.

But she did feel a new, innocent and good, but also malicious presence behind her back. And as shivers creep up her spine, she spun around once more to face her.

Her archenemy. Her rival.

A loyal comrade, but then again, a Commander's duty is to their species first.

…

"SeeU-san!" Haku, the scout that SeeU had sent on ahead suddenly burst through the trees. "There is a disturbance up ahead!"

"Disturbance?" SeeU inquired, already going through a list of possibilities of what it could be.

"It looks like Angels against Demons. Or some magical creatures. However, I saw Miku-sama and Luo-san too, but Luo-san looked like an angel!" Haku panted from her run.

"I see." SeeU was mostly clueless of what was happening up ahead, but if their princess was there, there was only one plan of action. "We're going to go help the princess. Let's go. Shiro, Kuro. Haku, ride Kuro." She ordered, expertly climbing onto Shiro's back.

"H-hai." Haku timidly and clumsily climbed on. Kuro muttered something about an "incompetent rider" underneath his breath. SeeU shot him a glare.

"Follow!" SeeU called to the others. They began to march in a defensive formation.

"Yoru!" SeeU commanded.

"Yes?" The midnight cat made her presence known from a nearby tree. She calmly licked her paw.

"Can you lead us there based on Haku's memories?

"You want me to expend power, don't you? Fine." The Shi cat leapt down onto Kuro who gave a growl of warning as her claws dug into him. "Sorry, Ku-chan~" The cat sang.

"Don't call me that!" Kuro snapped.

"Right. Well." She turned to face Haku who stared at her, frozen. "What are you doing? Lower your head!"

"H-hai!" Haku complied and Yoru pressed her paw to her forehead, slitting her green eyes. Haku let out a little yelp, but didn't move. After a couple of seconds, Yoru removed her paw. "I see."

"Well?" SeeU asked.

"Don't be so impatient, See-chan!" Being a Shi Cat, Yoru was an excellent tracker. If someone had memories of where she was supposed to go or if she got her paws on anything that had been to that place, she could track it. However, this skill expended a lot of energy. "Jeez." Yoru yawned. "After this, I'm taking a nap."

"Just hurry up, Yoru." SeeU sighed.

"Ok, ok. Let's go." The feline landed on the ground, and began picking her way through the undergrowth, everyone else following.

…

"Ashuri." Luo struggled to keep her voice calm. "Fancy seeing you here."

"What?" The Demon Commander yawned. Everyone sweatdropped. She seemed to have been sleeping when she was called. "What's going-" She rubbed her eyes, analyzing her surroundings. "M-matte! Why am I…" She unfolded her dark demon wings, glaring at Sonika. "Sonika." She started darkly. "How many times have I told you not to call me during my afternoon nap-"

Sonika squeaked. "I-i apologize, Ashuri-sama! B-but we needed you here-"

"Oh?" The girl straightened, regaining her dignified persona. She hovered above her species, black wings fluttering gently. Her long twin tails reached her waist, her blond hair flying in the wind. She wore a pretty red dress at first, that matched her innocent crimson eyes, but with a snap of her fingers, her appearance changed. "Well, if you are in Judgement form, I suppose I should be in it too." She addressed Luo before she called upon her new form. "Form: Akuma Saibankan (Form: Demon Judge)." Her dress was a darker form of Luo's, and an obsidian scythe lay familiarly in her hands. Her hair melted into black.

Luo tensed, but an authoritative voice cut through the tension. "Wait!"

Miku stepped forward, glaring accusingly at the Demons. "How could you ask a child to accept a contract with you?!"

"I'm twelve!" Ashuri cried indignantly.

"Exactly! How dare you-"

"How dare you?!" Ashuri retorted. Everyone stared agape.

"What?"

"I was powerless!" Ashuri snapped. "Who wants the hybrid daughter of a hybrid and a human? Who is barely even witch? The Demons offered me power. I could barely do any spells right! I still can't! When I try to make a barrier, a bottle of mineral water appears*! The Demons offered me a place to belong! I never had any friends! I snuck out of Magia once and met a little human boy with blond hair, but another little girl stabbed his eye and killed him. And I killed her! So when the Demons offered me a contract, of course I wouldn't refuse! And you, Miku-sama!" She drew out the 'sama'. "You, who never seemed to even notice the pain of the hybrids, dare to argue about this? Sure, you're kind to them, but you never noticed them suffering under others, did you?!" She screamed.

"I-i-" Miku stammered, backing away.

Luo opened her mouth to stop the tears streaked, red-eyed, Demon Commander, whose hair glowed silver in rage. However, a new voice broke through them.

"Stop!"

…

SeeU froze as she stared at the battlefield in front of her. Watching the Demon Commander scream at the princess, "... never noticed them suffering under others, did you?!"

It was true. While the hybrids weren't publicly abused, some were privately if they thought you weak enough.

"Kishiyouru-sama?" A witch asked, her tone formal. "Are we going to attack?"

SeeU paid her no heed. She stepped forward, screaming. "STOP!"

She watched as everyone's attention turned towards her. The Demon Commander, blinked, her hair turning back to midnight black. "N-nee-sama?"

…

I don't think anyone was expecting that! Well, new twist. As hinted in chapter 4, SeeU is a hybrid, and the sister of our new Demon Commander and OC, Ashuri. Credits go to Magical Witch Auri!

Hopefully, the Commander concept wasn't all that confusing?

If I'm going too fast, please tell me!

It looks like Ashuri-chan was bottling her feelings up for a while…

Oh and the * is Perrier. It's a type of mineral water.

This battle will be continued in Chapter 7!

Important: I made some changes to when this happening so please reread the last couple of chapters. I also planned this out. It will be ten chapters, the tenth being the epilogue. 'Kay? (This is the climax already, aww, how sad. I feel I won't be describing all the months, just the beginning, the middle (here) and the end. You guys can interpret the between.)

Ciao~

~Hana