A/N: In most Japanese school systems, the "weekend" consists of Sunday only. Therefore, in this story, when "weekends" are mentioned, I mean only Sundays.

Thanks for being patient as always, guys. I'll continue to do my best!

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Darkness. There was nothing but darkness, filling the atmosphere like a black hole. It swallowed up everything in its path, leaving its victims powerless against it. Everywhere Kisshu looked, there was never anything but this familiar black emptiness. He'd been born in it, raised in it, and now he thrived in it. He knew nothing else but this. His people, too; they had grown accustomed to this blackness. An entire culture, species, civilization. They had once had everything they ever wanted, only for it to be stolen from them by the likes of humankind.

But it won't be like this forever.

If only things could move faster. He was tired of all of this seemingly useless labor. Slaving away day in and day out, only to taste defeat over and over again. If it weren't for those wretched Mew Mew girls, earth would have been his for the taking by now. Every attempt he'd made thus far to destroy them had been for naught. Somehow they always rose to the challenge he presented them, stubbornly so.

And Ichigo was the worst of them all.

She was stubborn and hard-willing and Kisshu somehow always underestimated her. She was always surprising him by how strong she was. Perhaps that was why he had fallen into some kind of obsession with her. If he could only get to her to come to his side, the aliens would win in no time. Then the other Mews would become useless and earth would be theirs once again.

Although...

Now they had that new Mew Mew, the fox girl. He ventured to say her name out loud: "Amaya." The name rolled off of his tongue. She was a lot like Ichigo in a way, but harder. She was rough around the edges where Ichigo was soft and sweet. She was chipped and broken and missing some of her pieces, whereas Ichigo had yet to understand the complexity of the pain she'd gone through. Perhaps, Kisshu thought, that was where Ichigo was lacking. Perhaps the pain this new girl had clearly gone through in the past was what made her so much more effective than Ichigo was.

An idea sparked to life in Kisshu's mind. The idea was so brilliant he couldn't help but grin devilishly. "Earth will still be mine. And I'll use you, Mew Mew Blackberry, to retrieve it."

Amaya loved to sleep. Every day at school, she yearned to finish her homework, hurry home and take a nice long nap with Aja curled against her side. She basked in the bliss of Sundays, when she could sleep in to her heart's content. With her constantly growing fox genetics, she'd begun to form a strange type of a routine: she came home, napped with Aja, snacked on anything that had meat in it, went outside to play chasing games with Aja, then came back inside for dinner and a bath. Days when she had to work long shifts at the cafe were especially taxing on her because it meant no nap and no fun.

Ryou had been kind to her. He'd agreed to allow her Sundays off so that she could relax and enjoy her much-deserved weekend.

Amaya now lived for Sundays, it seemed.

However today, on this particular Sunday, Amaya was not happy.

Every few months, Ms Rosbe hosted for a small group of visitors to come and visit the shelter. Most of these visitors were newlywed couples who were looking to polish their consciences with a good deed or two; at least, that was how Amaya saw it. To Mamaya, it was a kind act of good will to try and give the shelter kids, and couples who couldn't bear children, a second chance. They were there to possibly pick out a new son or daughter.

Today was said day.

Normally when this day rolled around, Amaya was every bit as inhospitable as possible. Ms Rosbe had recited the lecture to her so many times, she could probably remember it whenever needed. Amaya didn't mind; whatever kept the strangers away from her would do. It was because of her attitude that most visitors were uninterested in taking Amaya home. Most parents who were looking to adopt wanted younger children as well, so Amaya was almost always free.

Unfortunately, that usually was not the same for Mamaya. The younger always felt bad for Ms Rosbe having to deal with her elder sister's attitude, so she was always on her best behavior when visitors were around. She would offer lemonade, a place to sit, a hanger for their jackets. Most visitors who met both of them were shocked that the two of them could even be sisters at all. Some had tried to adopt Mamaya and leave Amaya but Amaya had demanded to Ms Rosbe, and Ms Rosbe agreed: the Nikini sisters were a package deal.

All in all, the visiting days were just a bother to Amaya. She hated having to clean her room, dress nicely, and play a part that wasn't true at all. All the other kids acted like this was the one day they lived for, praying that the next couple would pick them. It was like picking puppies from the pound. It sounded sick. Amaya could live with her quarters as long as the innkeepers made sure they knew she could bite.

Especially lately, because Amaya's teeth were growing sharper by the day. When Ms Rosbe came into her room for the first time that morning to check on her, she was studying them in the bathroom mirror. Aja was sleeping on Mamaya's bed but she was surrounded by other stuffed animals, so Ms Rosbe hardly noticed her. Amaya found that as long as Aja didn't move, she looked just like a stuffed toy.

"Amaya why are you pulling at your teeth? You're going to rip out a tooth by accident," Ms Rosbe chastised.

Amaya turned toward the woman, fingers still prying her lips from her gums. Like this, her predatory fangs shone like pearls in the light, exposed for Ms Rosbe to see. The woman frowned and leaned in toward Amaya's face, squinting as if it would help her see better to do so. Amaya released her fingers from her mouth and wiped them on the towel hanging from her bathroom vanity.

"Amaya, your teeth haven't always looked like this, have they?" she murmured. "They're very sharp."

Amaya simply shrugged.

Ms Rosbe seemed to have been too busy to really be concerned, because she straightened herself up and put her hands on her hips after that, looking down at Amaya in that way that she always did when she had a long lecture coming up. Her eyebrows arched as her brow furrowed and her eyes began to plead. "Please Amaya, I'm begging you: be on your best behavior today. I know that you have no intention right now of any of these people adopting you, but you never know. Maybe if you give them a chance, you'll find a place for you and Mamaya to be able to call a home."

Amaya huffed. She hated when Ms Rosbe got like this to her. No matter what or who she stayed with, her parents were dead and she was an orphan. Imposing on someone else's household wouldn't change that. She'd done it once with the Shirogane's and that hadn't turned out well. She'd been safe thus far at the shelter; she liked it to stay that way. "I don't want a home," she muttered stiffly.

"Why not? You're a wonderful girl, Amaya. Someone would be lucky to adopt you and your sister," she urged.

The girl's temper was beginning to short-circuit. Normally Amaya was very good at holding her tongue with Ms Rosbe. She'd never lashed out at her or even disobeyed something that Ms Rosbe told her to do. Whenever this subject in particular was brought up, it made Amaya moody. Perhaps it was the confusion with her DNA and the new animal instincts inside her that finally caused her to break. "You don't have to lie, you know. Who the hell wants to adopt kids this old? Especially when they're so fucked up."

Ms Rosbe's eyes went wide with shock. Amaya had never cursed before. Even when the words left her own mouth, Amaya felt herself pause. Her heart skipped a beat and for a moment, she wondered if Ms Rosbe would scold her. Her words had been harsh. But she meant it. Visitors saw her as juvenile. She needn't even open her mouth. She had the looks for it: her wild red hair and mis-matched colored eyes, and now her sharp, fang-like teeth. Her behavior when the people were around only backed up their assumptions. No one wanted to adopt a girl like that. Sure, Mamaya could play the part for a day or two, but if she were ever adopted by a strange family she would act out too and Amaya knew it.

Ms Rosbe opened her mouth as if to console her but Amaya interrupted with harsh words: "I'm pretty sure even if anyone ever adopted us they would return us here anyway - I mean after they saw the therapy bills and all that cra-"

"Amaya!" Ms Rosbe snapped.

Amaya clamped her mouth shut. Part of her regretted back-talking to Ms Rosbe, but she meant what she'd said. Perhaps she had gone about it the wrong way but she couldn't help it. She hated this.

"Your attitude is uncalled for and not needed. I've been nice to you, but don't think that I can't be mean, too. I know nothing about what you've been through, but it's no excuse to take it out on the people who are only trying to help you."

Amaya looked up at Ms Rosbe for a moment. Her eyes were stern and honest, but behind her thin veil of certainty, Amaya saw a flash of unease. She was worried. Amaya could probably tell why. She'd never talked to Ms Rosbe like this. She was acting out and she knew it. Ms Rosbe was probably wondering what kind of trouble she'd gotten herself into. Amaya felt bad for acting out, but at the same time she was too angry to apologize. Her emotions were all over the place. She felt like a bomb waiting to explode. Why was she feeling like this? What was wrong with her all of a sudden?

She didn't want to explode all over Ms Rosbe. She was angry but she wasn't sure why, and she knew that it wasn't really at the woman. She'd taken it out on her enough already. Frustrated and confused, she began to stomp toward the door to leave the room and situation and attempt to escape her feelings. She was stopped when Ms Rosbe's gentle hand closed around her wrist. Amaya looked over her shoulder. When she did, her hair flew behind her shoulder, exposing her neck. She growled, temper flaring once more. "What?"

Ms Rosbe's eyes were wide with incredulous surprise. "Amaya," she said slowly. "What is on your neck?"

Amaya stood for a moment in confusion, frowning. What the hell was she talking about? There was nothing on her neck except for . . . well, except for her Mew mark. Uh oh.

Amaya slapped a hand over her neck as if to hide the evidence and scrambled for something to say. Her flaring temper diminished as her panic rose. "I-it's nothing! I burned myself at school, that's all."

It was a crappy lie and Amaya knew it. But she had never been good at coming up with excuses or lying to Ms Rosbe. She was always able to tell when she was hiding something. Usually Amaya didn't mind because she hadn't had much to hide from the woman until now, but if she found out about the things Amaya had gotten herself into lately, she'd be in big trouble for sure.

"I know it can't be a tattoo. Did someone give it to you?" she asked.

Amaya fumbled for words. What could she say? What could get her out of this mess?

A growling sound came from the other side of the room, causing both Amaya and Ms Rosbe to turn their heads. Aja had moved from her hiding place in Mamaya's pile of stuffed animals and stood in the middle of the bed snarling, shoulders lowered dangerously, fur standing on end. She was growling at Ms Rosbe, probably thinking that Amaya was in danger.

Ms Rosbe screamed.

This was a mess. Amaya pulled at her arm in an attempt to release herself from Ms Rosbe's grip, but the woman had only tightened her fingers in fear. Aja took a few steps closer in warning and let out a lethal snarl. Ms Rosbe pulled Amaya's body behind hers and took a step away from the fox. "Amaya, how did this animal get into your room?!"

Amaya stuttered uselessly, too immobilized to think of anything to say.

Aja growled and wound her legs as if preparing to pounce.

That shocked Amaya out of her silence. She'd never thought about Aja hurting someone. Would she really hurt Ms Rosbe? She certainly did not want to find out. "N-no! Stop! Aja, don't hurt her!" Amaya shouted.

The fox paused, lowered her ears and returned to Mamaya's bed with her tail between her legs. Amaya sighed in relief.

Then Ms Rosbe whirled on her, eyes so angry Amaya saw fire behind them. She'd seen Ms Rosbe angry at her before, but never this angry. Now she was enraged. Her words came out of stiffly locked lips, her voice menacingly low: "Amaya Nikini you are in so much trouble."

Amaya gulped. What a nightmare.

A few minutes later, Amaya found herself sitting silently at the foot of her own bed with Aja sitting in her lap. Ms Rosbe paced back and forth in front of her, scanning the room as if searching for anything else that could be used in the lecture that Amaya knew had to have been coming any second now. She dared not say a thing in case it set the woman off even further.

She mentally cursed herself. She knew she should have told Ms Rosbe about all of this sooner. About Ryou, the cafe, Aja... and now it had all blown up in their faces. She shouldn't have kept quiet about it for so long, but she had hoped that by keeping it a secret she could try to deny that any of it had even really happened. She had even hid most of it from Mamaya. Her younger sister was never one to pry when it really mattered, but she must have been worried.

Still, how would Ms Rosbe react if she tried to tell her that she was a Mew Mew?

Not well, that was for sure. She would probably call her crazy, or a freak, if she even decided to believe her at all.

Ms Rosbe's pacing continued. She'd been going at it for quite a while now. Amaya wondered how much longer she was going to wait. The suspension was killing her. Maybe she knew that and this was part of the punishment. Aja sat restlessly in Amaya's lap, nudging at the girl with her cold, wet nose. Amaya was too afraid to even wipe the wetness from her arm. The smallest movement might make everything worse.

After what felt like an eternity, Ms Rosbe turned to Amaya. She glanced down at the fox in her lap and then quickly looked away, as if not even wanting to acknowledge it being there. She drew in a breath, eyebrows arched down in obvious anger. When she spoke it was low and firm. "Get dressed. Look nice. Be decent. Impress me. Then we can talk," she said. She took one more glance down at Amaya's lap. "Have that under control."

Amaya nodded obediently.

Ms Rosbe stood there for a moment, just staring, probably thinking whether or not she should start her rant now or later. She decidedly walked away and left the room, choosing to wait until later to unleash her big rave. When the door slammed shut behind her, Amaya finally released the breath she hadn't even noticed she was holding. She slumped down to the bed and groaned.

'Did I mess up?' Aja whined.

Amaya sighed, staring up at the big white ceiling above them. She shook her head. "No. I should have told her about you much earlier."

The fox cub gave a wordless whine and nudged Amaya's cheek with her nose. Amaya smiled weakly and scratched her gently behind her ears. "Don't worry, Aja. I've pissed her off tons of times before. It just sucks now because I know I actually need to be nice to the stupid guests today. But if I'm good enough, maybe she'll let you stay here with me."

Aja let out a high-pitched whine. 'Don't wanna leave...' she whimpered. 'Scary out there.'

In the back of her mind, Amaya saw an image of herself when she was eight, shivering and cold in a dark alleyway trying to pull her sleeping sister away from four greasy thugs. She flashed a grim smile. "I know," she murmured to the fox cub. "Things are scary out there. Really scary."

About an hour later, Amaya found herself standing in front of her full-length mirror with her dark red curls pulled half back in a little black bow. She wore a black knit sweater and white pleated skirt that resembled her school uniform and a simple, 10 karat gold bracelet with her name etched on it. It was the last and only thing she'd had from her old home. She'd worn it on the night of her mother and father's death.

The girl sighed. She felt uncomfortable. She never dressed this nicely. She was even wearing mascara. Sure, most girls her age were already dressing like this and wearing much more make-up than she was, but just looking at herself in the mirror was making her feel ridiculous. What if the adults thought she looked stupid? What if the other kids in the shelter made fun of her?

She sighed again and turned to look over her shoulder. Aja was staring up at her from the floor, tail wagging slowly, tongue sticking from her mouth as she panted excitedly. 'You look pretty!' she barked.

Amaya grinned grimly. "Thanks, Aja," she muttered. Somehow the fox's compliment did not make her feel any better.

She took another glance toward the mirror, scanning herself from bottom to top. Seeing her mis-matched eyes, she immediately felt her spirits lower even further. She felt her throat begin to constrict, and her eyes began to burn as they watered up. She fought to keep herself from crying. She couldn't risk making her make up run down her face like a raccoon. "Who am I kidding, Aja?" she murmured. "I look stupid. I'll never look like one of those normal girls. My face, my hair...It's all just-just..." She sighed, unable to think of a suitable word for the cause of her sadness.

A knock on the door made her jump. Was Ms Rosbe getting angry at her for taking too long? Had she already messed up her chances of getting back in her good graces?

She hadn't the time to think about it. The door opened and Amaya held her breath. But instead of a tall, angry brunette woman walking through, her younger sister stepped into the room. She said nothing, just held out a small white box for Amaya to take. She was dressed nicely as well, with her hair down and straight to contrast the short green dress she wore. With the color of her hair and the tanned complexion of her skin, she looked like an exotic princess. Amaya had never noticed just how much her sister was growing up right before her.

"I know that it bothers you, so I borrowed them from Ms Rosbe. Don't worry, she won't notice. She never uses them. The box wasn't even opened yet. Don't take too long to put them in, Ms Rosbe will get impatient. She says you have four minutes," Mamaya explained. She deposited the small white box into her sister's hands, then disappeared back out the door, shutting it quietly behind her.

Amaya looked down at the box in her hands and frowned. She pulled the tab out from inside of it and opened the flap, pulling out a small jar. She brought it up to her eyes and looked at the clear liquid inside. A small, round object was floating around it. She stared at it before realizing: it was a colored contact lens. It was blue, so she could put it in her right eye to make it look like her eyes were both naturally that color.

She looked at the box and noticed there was something else inside of it too. She reached in and pulled out a small square piece of paper. It was full of messy, scribbled letters that looked a lot like Mamaya's writing. Amaya turned it upright and began to read: "Amaya, I found this and figured you might be able to make some use of it. I know that your eye colors make you feel like a freak so this can be for when you need some normalcy. Also, don't be too beat up about Ms Rosbe. She'll go easy on you as long as you tell her the truth. Good luck! - Mamaya!"

Amaya flashed a tiny grin. "Oh 'Maya. If only you knew...I can't tell her the truth," she muttered to herself. Could she even eventually tell Mamaya? she wondered. She looked at the jar in her hand and smiled. "Oh well. I might as well try this out."

Ichigo let out a long, hard sigh. She'd been feverishly waiting on tables for three hours now and she felt like her legs were going to fall off. Sundays were always so busy at the cafe and with both Zakuro and Amaya away today things were twice as hectic. Even Mint had had to start pulling her own share of work when she was finally ordered by Ryou to start helping out. Lettuce, Pudding and Ichigo were beginning to feel like they were in over their heads.

Lettuce was sweeping the floor clear of some broken shards of glass when she groaned and leaned her weight against her broom. "It's so busy today! Where did you say Zakuro was today again, Mint?" she moaned.

Mint was fanning herself with a small piece of paper as she stood at the register, typing things in for a customer who was waiting on her. "She has a photo shoot in the morning, then she has a meeting with her agent at noon. Then she's co-starring in an episode of some television drama and then she has an interview at six. She's going to be away all day," she explained.

They all let out a collective sigh. "Amaya must be having a nice relaxing day at home. I'm jealous!" Pudding whined.

"Excuse me, waitress! Can I get some water over here?" a girl called out from a table across the room.

"Ah, can I also get some tea?" another asked.

"I'd like a menu please!"

Ichigo immediately perked up and rose her hand in attention. "Yes, right away!" she chirped.

Mint, Lettuce and Pudding watched as she hurriedly dashed away to fulfill their customers' wishes. "Wasn't she just tired and mopey a few seconds ago?" Mint mused.

"Ichigo always has energy. I don't know how she does it sometimes," Lettuce said.

They nodded in shared agreement.

The bell in the window from the kitchen rang as a plate of cheesecake appeared. Ryou took a look at the girls standing there and frowned. "Hey, don't just stand around. Get back to work! We've got a lot of customers here asking for your help! Pudding, give this cheesecake to table six. Lettuce, clear the tables at ten, four and twelve. Mint pay attention at the register!"

They simultaneously perked up just as Ichigo had and went back to work, groaning quietly as their tired muscles whined in protest.

Kisshu looked in through the familiar heart-shaped window of the Mew Mew's secret cafe base and smirked. Things were going exactly as he had wanted them to. Most of the girls were here except for Zakuro and Amaya. Zakuro was certainly not in any interest for him - he had tried that once and things hadn't gone as he had planned. Amaya being away from the others, however, that was perfect.

Now he just needed to put his plan in action. Then everything would be perfect. Then he would be able to take control of Tokyo, then Japan, and then the entire planet.

"It won't be long now. Enjoy it while you can, Mew Mews. Soon Earth will belong to the aliens."

Amaya felt like she might jump out of her own skin. Her heart pounded nervously in her chest. She held on tightly to her glass of lemonade between shaky fingers. It was as if she was performing and she was afraid her audience would see through her. She felt ridiculous trying to look like someone she so clearly was not. Everyone around her could probably tell.

She was sitting in the playroom where the children spent their free time. There were other kids all around her, talking among themselves or being asked questions by other adults. They were all younger than her, so for the most part they were naive as to Amaya's nervousness. She and Mamaya had immediately stationed themselves in the corner near the window and quietly sat on the floor together. They watched as other kids interacted with the adults who took interest in them. Ms Rosbe stood on the other side of the room answering some of their questions and introducing them to the children. She looked cheerful as always; not at all like she had a few minutes before they arrived.

"I know you don't like these people being here but they're standing between you and an ass-kicking right now," Mamaya murmured, trying to keep things lighthearted. "You should at least be thankful for that."

Amaya felt the corners of the lips tug upward as she grinned. "I guess so. But that doesn't make me feel much better," she replied. "Once they leave, I'm dead meat. Aja will get thrown out and I'll be grounded for a lifetime. I'll have to explain to her that I'm working at the cafe which will result in even more of an ass-kicking...And then she'll find out that my boss is Ryou Shirogane and I'll be dead."

Mamaya shrugged. "At least it can't get much worse than that," she said.

Amaya's heart lurched. Mamaya didn't even know the half of it; it could get much worse.

"You two look like sisters. Am I right?"

Amaya jumped. She'd been so focused on their conversation that she hadn't noticed one of the visitors had approached them. She turned to look over her shoulder at the young woman who stood there. She had her arm looped around the arm of the man standing beside her. She had long, silky looking brown hair and hazel eyes. She was average height, very thin, and looked very young. The man was at least a head's worth taller than her, with darker brown, curly short hair and a thin build. They looked happy together. Amaya wondered what had brought them to a place like this.

Mamaya answered the question that Amaya had chosen to ignore. "Yes. I'm Mamaya, and this is my older sister Amaya."

The woman unfolded her arm from around her husband's and knelt to their level. Amaya noticed that she was avoiding touching the floor with anything except her sandal-covered feet. As she knelt, she pulled her long hair from behind her shoulders and let it fall to her knees. "Amaya and Mamaya. Those are beautiful names. How old are you two?"

"I'm twelve," Mamaya replied, knowing that Amaya wouldn't respond. "And Amaya is fifteen."

The woman smiled. "I'm Jacqueline. I know that at your age this must be a little confusing, huh? I don't think I would like it."

Amaya looked up at her for a moment before quickly looking away. From the looks of this woman, she had no idea what misfortune was like. She wore an expensive golden watch on her left wrist. Her flowing white dress, while torn in some places, looked designer, as if the rips were done on purpose. Her denim jacket had gold buttons on it. Her handbag looked like it cost more than Amaya's hospital bills. Even the man, who stood a few inches behind her, wore an expensive looking black watch on his wrist and primly ironed semi-formal dress clothes. These people symbolized everything Amaya and Mamaya no longer belonged to.

She wanted them to go away. She could feel the woman's hazel eyes burning into her temples as she refused to make eye contact. She looked up as if searching for some kind of escape route, but when she did her eyes met Ms Rosbe's. She was glaring at her sharply, as if warning her: don't mess this up.

Amaya sighed. Walking on such thin ice as it was, she couldn't anger Ms Rosbe anymore than she already had. She had no choice. She had to be nice to them. "It's not so bad," she murmured. "We get used to it eventually."

Jacqueline smiled at her. "I suppose so," she chirped. "I hear you two are the only kids here who attend real school, is that right? What are your grades like?"

Mamaya returned her warm smile. "We go to schools that offer advanced programs. Me and Amaya are in all of them."

She clapped her dainty little hands. "How exciting! It must be a lot of hard work, huh?"

"Not really," Amaya said, forcing her voice to sound friendlier. It pained her to be so nice to these strangers, especially when they were questioning her education. "We went to schools like that before we lived here. We've always been really smart."

Jacqueline latched on to the information Amaya had provided her. "Oh? Where did you live before?"

Crap. She'd said too much. What could she say? She couldn't tell them that they were the Nikini sisters. Depending on her status, the woman could find that as a reason to adopt them and show them off to all of her rich friends. That was exactly what Amaya wanted to avoid: being shown off like some pedigree dogs she found on the street and decided to take in.

She opened her mouth to think up an excuse and execute it quickly, but she soon found that she didn't even need to. The ground suddenly shook underneath them and a loud rumbling sound roared through the air. Amaya instinctively reached for her sister to protect her. Mamaya latched onto her like she had so many times in the past. "What's that sound? An earthquake?" she asked.

Amaya hoped so, but she had a feeling this was more than that. The others began erupting into panic around them. Ms Rosbe began shouting at the kids to run to the walls and cover their heads with their hands. A few of them hid under coffee tables and chairs. Amaya and Mamaya simply held onto each other, holding their breath, waiting for what always happened next.

The glass window they had been sitting next to shattered and fell to the floor in a sea of shards. Mamaya screamed and tightened her grip on Amaya's side. "Amaya, I'm scared! What if it's the monster again?!" she cried. Tears were already streaking her cheeks. Amaya could tell she was getting flashbacks from their childhood and all the times they'd been ripped away from what they called home. Was it about to happen for a third time?

No, Amaya would not allow it. Those first two times, she had been helpless but now she had something to fight with. Now she was a Mew Mew. She didn't have to sit there uselessly and watch as her sister endured more pain. She could protect her.

A familiar laughing filled the air but this time Amaya knew it was not the Chimera Anima that had attacked her so many times in the past. This was a more masculine voice.

A growling sound behind her made her turn to look over her shoulder. Aja stood in the midst of the melee, running toward Amaya protectively. "Aja!" she cried. She took a look at Ms Rosbe, who was kneeling over a group of children protectively, trying to keep everyone calm. She shared glances with Amaya, partly worried and partly infuriated with her to see the fox standing there.

Jacqueline and her husband had backed up toward the wall, holding each other. She screamed out when she saw Aja.

"Yo! Long time no see, foxy!"

Amaya's blood drained from her face. Oh no, not him. It was Kisshu!

The alien appeared from a ripple in the sky just above the now shattered window. He grinned devilishly, sharp teeth poking out from underneath his slightly parted lips. Amaya's heart pounded. If he said too much, everyone in the shelter, including these strangers, would find out that she was a Mew Mew! What would Ms Rosbe do then? She'd be kicked out for sure!

Aja growled behind her.

Mamaya's fingers tightened around her arm, digging into her skin lethally. "Amaya, I'm scared. What do we do? What do we do?!"

Amaya had no idea. She couldn't just stand there. She had to protect Ms Rosbe and the kids. She had to protect Mamaya.

"I've got a fun bunch of Chimera Animas for you today, foxy. You'll be much too distracted to go and help your comrades." He laughed evilly, eyes glowing bright yellow. Then he disappeared into thin air and reappeared inches away from Amaya's face. Amaya backed away and pulled her sister behind her to protect her from the evil alien. "That is," Kisshu said, "unless you decide to cooperate."

Amaya had no choice. He had made it obvious that they knew each other now.

"Amaya, what is going on?!" Ms Rosbe shouted.

Amaya swallowed the lump in her throat. "Cooperate how?" she muttered.

Kisshu's smile widened, but it was in no way friendly. It was wide; so wide it looked unnatural. "Work for me."

Amaya frowned. "You must think I'm really stupid if you think that'll work on me. Why would I ever work for you?" she retorted.

Kisshu disappeared into a thin ripple of air once more. When he reappeared he was behind Amaya, grabbing her sister by the throat and pulling her against his chest. He pulled her up into the air with him, a knife to her throat. Mamaya screamed and struggled, tears streaming down her face. "Because if you don't, I'll kill her."

Amaya's heart skipped a beat before it began pounding mercilessly. "No!" she screamed. "Don't touch her!"

"Work for me," Kisshu said.

Amaya clenched her fists at her sides, shaking in both fear and anger. How could she allow herself to have lowered her guard so much? He had gotten a hold of Mamaya so easily. How could she protect her sister like this?

Mamaya let out a scream as Kisshu dug the knife into her throat a little. A small trickle of blood dripped down the pale skin at her neck.

"Okay! I'll do what you want! Just don't hurt her!" Amaya shouted. Tears stung her eyes. She couldn't watch this, no matter how much she knew that this what he wanted. She had no choice. With the stakes so high, she had to comply.

He grinned and dropped the girl. She landed with a thump against the carpeted floor, coughing and holding her throat. Amaya ran to her sister. "Mamaya, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I never meant to get you involved in this. I'm sorry!" she cried.

Mamaya looked up at her sister, and when their eyes met it was like they were strangers. Amaya paused in shock, unable to say anything. Mamaya had never seen this part of Amaya before. She was confused. She was scared. She had every right to be. If she were in her position, Amaya would be scared too. "I'm sorry," Amaya whispered again. She squeezed her sister's hand in hers.

"Don't go back on your end of the bargain, foxy. It's time for you to kill those Mew Mews once and for all."

Amaya looked up at him with fire in her eyes, still clenching Mamaya's hands. "The hell I am! Why would I do that? And how dare you lay a hand on my sister!"

Then his hands were at her throat. She gasped for air that wouldn't come to her. She saw Aja jump at the alien with her teeth bared, but he swatted her away with an easy swipe of his hand. "You will work for me. Whether you want to or not!" he cackled, and then she felt him push something into her mouth. It was jelly-like and slippery, and it immediately began sliding down her throat. She knew that whatever it was could not be good, but the more she struggled the harder he pushed down on her windpipe.

Then she swallowed it.

"Amaya! Amaya, are you okay?!" Mamaya's voice rang through the air, but Amaya could no longer process what she heard. She could only sit there.

Kisshu released her. "Now you're mine," he snarled.

"Amaya! Get away from him!" Ms Rosbe shouted.

Amaya said nothing. She did nothing.

"Now, transform," he demanded.

So she did. She reached for the pendant that was waiting for her in her skirt pocket. She kissed the surface, and instead of it glowing bright and pink like it usually did, it let off a dark, ominous aura of black. It emanated a kind of energy that Amaya was unfamiliar with. Part of her was suspicious of this. Another, more dominant part, was only focused on complying with her orders.

"Mew Mew Blackberry! Metamorphosis!"