I can't draw boobies or battles.

This story FINALLY won the small story poll in November. But I made a serious mistake in FILFy that required me to take four more days to rewrite/write large segments of the chapter. That pushed back work on this until Wednesday.

On top of that, I once more underestimated the time I would have over the past few days thanks to enforced Family Time™ due to Thanksgiving. I started to try and get the battle, the ambush, out but I realized it was not going to be up to my standards. It would take at least a day and a half of solid work to get it there, so I have decided to put out a far smaller version of the chapter. I'm sorry for everyone who wanted the full combat portion, but at least this way, you all have something, even if it's too short to sink your teeth into, and I have more time to work on it. I will be trying to get it done on top of my other projects in December, but my priorities for this coming month is already set, hence my unwillingness to work on this chapter longer than I have already.

Okay, so I once more underestimated the time I would have over the past few days, thanks to enforced Family Time™ due to Thanksgiving. I apologize, but it was the best I could do.

I started to try to get the battle, the ambush out but I realized it was not going to be up to my standards. It would take at least a day and a half of solid work to get it there, so I have decided to put out a far smaller version of the chapter. I'm sorry for everyone who wanted the full combat portion, but at least this way, I have more time to work on it. I will be trying to get it done on top of my other projects in December, but my priorities for this coming month is already set, hence my unwillingness to work on this chapter longer than I have already.

This has now been edited by Hiryo and Grammarly. The name issues has been addressed and I hope that we were, between us, able to catch enough of the mistakes that the chapter is now more enjoyable for you all.

Chapter 11: Talk Time, Prep Time

Kiba sat surrounded by his friends, as each of them took turns remonstrated with him for his actions leading into the fight. Yet Kiba was unrepentant. "They were using copies of the Holy Swords, I was literally tortured for, in an attempt to prepare myself and my friends to wield! They were being led by Valper Galilei the man who led the Holy Sword Project! Once I saw his face, I couldn't stop myself. My dead friends, their memory would not have allowed me to."

"While I can understand losing your self-control once you saw Valper, you were overreacting well before that, and we can't condone you losing yourself like that once the fight started. Your anger at inanimate objects is self-destructive and crazy even by my standards Kiba," Ranma said with a scowl, pulling back from where he had been drawing a cartoon dick on Kiba's cheek.

Everyone else looked at him and he shrugged. "A sword is just a thing. It is the hand that wields it, which brings the skill. He poked Kiba in the sternum, his finger thumping into the other man's chest hard enough to leave a bruise and draw grunt of pain from him. "Don't blame the target for this holy sword project. Blame the people who actually allowed it to occur, and the person who controlled it. Valper's at least a proper target for your anger. Swords, they're just hunks of metal. And adding the word holy or demonic just means they have magic in them, that's all."

"The Holy Swords are so much more than that!" Irina barked, shaking her head irritably. "Still, I agree with the rest of what you said."

"And regardless you still have to be punished for putting your vengeance over the welfare of the rest of the team." To one side Rika and her partner Tajima nodded firmly to Saeko's words. The two of them were glaring almost as hard at Kiba, as Koneko and Ranma, given how his actions had put them both in danger as they stormed through the building. "So what kind of punishment should we give him?" the swordswoman asked.

Ranma smirked, holding up a permanent magic marker, "Anyone else want a go?"

While Kiba winced, Saeko frowned, "While amusing, that is a little too childish I think. Perhaps that on top of something else? After all, in my opinion, the worse thing a swordsman or woman can do is lose themselves to anger in the middle of a fight. So the punishment must be both humiliating and horrendous enough to make him fear a repeat."

"I just want to give him one good whack upside the head," Rika muttered.

"Yeah, that'll do for me too. Although if he was a SAT trooper and acted like that, he'd be hazed something fierce. None of us might have died man, but your actions could have led to at least me and my partners dying, that's not something we're going to forget anytime soon," Tajima growled.

"Hazing's a good idea. I think that we should hit him in his pride. Have Gasper choose his clothing for him," Koneko said, from where she was leaning her head against a surprisingly receptive Gabriel.

The Archangel was stroking her hair lightly, while watching the unconscious Valper with all the intensity she could muster, not noticing how Xenovia was looking as if she had swallowed a lemon as she stared at the Nekoshuu. If that was because she didn't like seeing a devil that close to an angel, or if she was jealous of the head pats, Koneko didn't know or care.

At that, Kiba's stoic facade finally broke and he looked up appalled at the very idea, while Ranma and Saeko asked in stereo, "Who's Gasper?"

Koneko explained who Gasper was and the way he liked to dress, which caused Ranma's eyes to narrow. He didn't like the idea of the little guy being locked up like that, although if he couldn't control his own magic, and Rias wasn't strong enough to create an anchor for him, that was understandable. However, more importantly, his Sacred Gear sounded so powerful that it definitely gave another target for any kind of attack on the academy. Still, he nodded. "Yeah, putting the so-called Prince in drag will definitely be enough punishment I think."

Gabriel had been silent during all this staring from Kiba to Valper, a faint frown on her face that nonetheless looked glorious on that almost perfect countenance. Yet her thoughts were dark, far darker than her appearance suggested. That such a man would ever be able to wear the cloth that is beyond worrisome. Have we fallen so low without Father to motivate us that such as this creature could join the Church that was begun in Father's name?

Yet now, with Kiba protesting and begging for a lesser sentence, Saeko had already moved on, joining Gabriel in glaring at Valper. "With that out of the way, I feel we need to move on to question this one."

"Agreed," Sona said, looking up from where she was looking at one of the Holy Sword replicas, a deep frown on her face. The idea of even imperfect, easily drained copies of the Excalibur Fragments was a dangerous one, and she and Tsubaki had been taking notes on them and everything else they had found so far. There was something odd about the studio building that was bothering her, something off about the dimensions, wasn't adding up. "We have a lot of questions here, specifically why is this, in fact, occurring here at all."

Rika grimaced, looking at the young woman who her mind had labeled 'high profile political target #1, to Gabriel and then Irina and Xenovia before going back to Sona. "Are you actually asking that, or was that rhetorical?"

Lips twitching, Sona nodded her head to the older woman's question. While I am not happy to have normal humans involved in our affairs, at least they seem reasonably intelligent. "About half rhetorical you could say. I understand why we would be targeted like this, I am wondering more about the timing," her eyes flicked to Gabriel and her two hangers-on for a second then back to Rika. "As well as how much they know and who exactly is targeting us."

"Ah, that makes much more sense," Rika nodded.

"In that case, I'm gonna go get the alcohol," Ranma said.

"Aren't you underage?" Xenovia asked, cocking her head quizzically.

"I'm uncertain why you think that'd even matter," Ranma said cheerfully, his fingers flicking in the age-old sign of the five-fingered discount. Moments later Ranma was back with a bottle of bourbon and sake in either hand. "So, let's wake the asshole up and get him good and drunk. Then the questioning can begin."

"There is just something wrong about this," Sona muttered, watching him move towards their prisoner as Saeko opened the unconscious man's throat. "There has to be some magical means of helping this along right?"

"I can tell if he's lying, but actually getting him to answer our questions, that is rather harder. I cannot compel him to answer unless he sincerely repents his evil deeds and that he will never do, as he does not see what he did as wrong." Gabriel said with a scowl.

Sona shrugged. "I can make him lightheaded and make the alcohol impact him all the more, that's about as much help as I can be. As far as I know, there's no magic spell to force someone to answer questions."

"It's still better than torture," Rika replied, then flinched at Gabriel's suddenly appalled look. "Hey, I said it was better, I never tortured anyone! Well, except with my singing voice."

"Heh, truer words were never spoken," Tajima said with a grin.

The questioning went about as well as could be expected. Alas for everyone there, Valper was astonishingly a rather cheerful drunk. Between bouts of hiccuping, mad giggles, which were so high and surreal sounding that Koneko and Ranma both shivered at the very sound of it, and snorts of laughter and moans about funding. His superiors never understanding his vision, and other things mixed with some actual information. It painted a picture of what had happened to Valper since he had escaped the righteous wrath of the Church after it had discovered the lengths he was going to in his experiments. Apparently he had been picked up by a Fallen Angel, who wanted to restart the Great War.

"Who!?" Sona barked, becoming serious after having watched the start of this interrogation with a bemused look on her face. "Who is it? Who is ordering Fallen Angels and other Grigori assets into Kuoh?"

"KEhehekehee! That'd be telling," Valper replied in a high, almost childlike tone. "Can't say, can't say, can't give you a clueeeee…."

"Okay, that is getting really freaky," Ranma muttered, looking over at Gabriel. "Was there any truth to what he just said?"

"Um… yes actually," Gabriel replied with a sigh. "I think he really can't say."

"A spell to hide the individual's name," Tsubaki said, speaking up for the first time since she and the rest of Sona's peerage had arrived. "That is highly unusual, but certainly doable."

"Let's move on then," Rika cut in, willing to take their words for it and wanting to get this over with. She then leaned forward, flashing the priest her cleavage deliberately, all the better to get him to talk. "But what is his big goal, come on, you can tell us…"

In the highly susceptible state Valper was in right now, he took this almost as an order, although his listeners wished he didn't sound like an evil chuunibyou child as he did, "Hehehehe, The Great War, the ultimate laboratory to create the ultimate swwoooord. Weld the Excalibur Fragments, three of them into one piece, then kill those two idiotic exorcists."

He cackled for a full minute at that point, only stopping as Tajima forced another glug of whiskey down his throat. "Heeheh, agghlllk."

"But that's on the Church's side. The Devils could simply refute that, hunker down and let the allegations pass, right?" Ranma asked, while the two exorcists stewed at being called idiots by this man, held back from saying anything by Gabriel's gentle hands on their shoulders.

"Not if they use the same Excalibur fragments to point directly at the Church for the murder of two Pillar Clan heirs and their peerages," Sona said scowling. "Tensions are always high, the allegations would fly either way and, well, I could wish that we don't also have our own warmongers, but all three Factions have them. So yes, it could ignite the Great War."

"Would it spill over into the human world?" Tajima queried to which Sona looked away, a slight headshake her only answer. Gabriel and the exorcists too also looked a little worried and he groaned. "Great, just fucking great. I so did not sign up for this!"

Before anyone else could answer that rather rhetorical exclamation the now thoroughly drunk Valper giggled again. "Kekkeheehk, the two sides would go to war, then the Fallen would sweep in and kill everyone. My new master would take over, supplanting the moron Azazel, with his lack of leadership, and his obsession with sacred gears and the war would finally end with a victory for the truly enlightened Fallen! Those who know the truth, that peace is a lie, that war eternal is the most glorious laboraYYAK!"

Ranma idly smack them upside the head, just enough to make him stop speaking, before gesturing to the Archangel, asking conversationally, "So tell me, this master of yours. How would you rate him against Gabby here?"

Gabrielle blinked. "Gabby?" she asked, cocking her head to one side. "Is there some significance behind shortening my name?"

Ranma ignored her and the glares he was getting though, looking at the man. Valper stared at Gabrielle for a moment, then giggled. "Oh, I'd rate his chances quite highly! Stronger by far!"

Putting aside her confusion about Ranma's creating a nickname for her, Gabrielle raised one arctic eyebrow at the former priest. "He's not lying," she declared idly, "he truly believes that. Although, whether or not that is the case, we will have to see. Let us shift the questioning for now. I think we've come up against a hard limit we can't go past let's see what else we can get out of him please. First we need to know more about where the forces would come from to do this dead. Even with the element of surprise the forces we defeated here would not be enough for that."

"Hahahahahahk, secret, secret, secret, secret hidden with maaaaggiiiic, with maaagiiic…," Valper sang.

Everyone shuddered, even Gabrielle, who muttered about having heard such noises from the original fiends of Hell. "What would it be though?"

As Valper continued to sing, it fell upon Sona and Gabrielle to answer that question. "Hmm… I think that it would have to be a teleportation array, something of the sort that we have in the ORC club room and the Student Council room. In that manner, they could get a significant force right onto our doorstep. We would feel the magic of it but be unable to stop the spell before the Fallen came through.

"Okay, let's find the array then. I need a break anyway," Ranma said pushing to his feet from where he had been squatting next to the ex-priest and current crazy bastard. "If it's hidden by magic, it might be something we can find through non-magical means right?"

"…perhaps," Sona replied, looking over at Tsubaki. Tsubaki nodded instantly and left the room with Ranma. With the rest of Sona's peerage helping, the two were able to figure out where, judging by the shape of some of the rooms around it, a hidden room could be in about fifteen minutes.

At that point, Ranma looked at Tsubaki, who was one of many girls his father had made deals with when he was younger. "So, is there any reason why I can't just knock this wall down?"

Tsubaki frowned, trying to use magic to peer into the wall's structure but failing. "I cannot see anything within, so I would recommend caution, but if there was anything truly powerful it couldn't be hidden magically, so there won't be a trap of anything similar."

"Ranma nodded, then was abruptly holding the same weapon he'd used to cripple Riser. Tsubaki stared at it, feeling the power of the Demonic Blade. She watched then as he used it to cut into the wall, creating an arch then puling the wall out, his fingers sinking into the masonry, a sign of strength that she could only shake her head at seeing a human do. He then tossed it aside, revealing the room within, a plain six by six room of concrete.

As Ranma and Tsubaki were searching for the array, Sona and Gabriel continued to question the ex-priest. Gabrielle ended up with a number of names of former associates of Valper that had known what he had been doing in the Holy Sword Project and had not blown the whistle. Some of them had even gotten away with it and Gabrielle would cheerfully hand those names over to the Pope. She would so do in person, no matter how bad it was for his elderly heart, to make certain that justice was done.

Other names were of people who had fled at the same time from the Church. Since one of them was in Japan, and three of them elsewhere in the world, Gabrielle supposed that they would allow the one in Japan to be hunted down by Kiba, and the others would belong to the Church.

By the time Ranma and Tsubaki returned, they had gone back to the attack. "Sona-sama, it is indeed a teleportation array, hidden in a small basement-like room. "The array is designed to reach out from here to wherever the other end of the array is to create a temporary portal. It can be activated from either end, but I assume that whoever is on the other end is either waiting for a specific time or a signal from us here."

"If we destroy that array, will that stop the attack?" Saeko asked, frowning.

"Nonoonononono," Valper replied giggling. "My master, faaar closer, cloe, slosws, close to here anyway. Fallen can fllly flyyy you see. The portal, just easier and faster."

"If the attacks going to happen anyway, I say we let it happen on our own terms then," Ranma said with a nod. The others, even Gabriel, nodded agreement to that. It was better to have the enemy attack you where you were expecting them than to let them set the time of the battle after all.

But with that question answered and Sona and the others thinking about what that fight would entail, there was still one question that had to be answered. A question Saeko put into words, looking from Sona to their prisoner, "So what do we do about him? It's your call Sona-san. This is your territory, well yours and Rias-san's anyway."

"But he belongs to us!" Xenovia yelled, looking angry. "His crimes were committed under the auspices of the Church and so we must be the ones to deal with him."

"His crimes are against Kiba," Ranma interrupted from where he had reclaimed a place by the door. "Or do you think you really have a better claim to justice than he does?"

Xenovia winced, but at least she was honest enough to recognize she was in the wrong. After a second, she nodded her head, looking away.

Sona smirked at Ranma, nodding her head at his words, then looked over at Kiba. "He's yours, Yuuto-san," she said simply.

Kiba's eyes lit up and he barred his teeth in something that was not a smile at all, before looking at Valper as a sword appeared in his hand. It was a wide-bladed longsword with a glowing red blood trail along the side of the blade, which widened into its own guard before merging with the hilt. This was a special blade Kiba had been waiting to use for just this moment. It was called the Sword of Betrayer, a Demonic Blade that he had created while reflecting upon the spirits of his dead friends. "Is there any way we can sober him up?" he requested coldly. "I want him to know what's going to happen."

Ranma left again at that point along with Saeko. While he was prepared to allow Kiba his justice, or vengeance, at this point, he didn't know where one began and one ended here, he didn't want to see murder done.

Koneko and the other devils stayed. Gabriel stayed too, while the two exorcists left, both of them praying under their breath.

"Do you recognize me, 'Father' Valper? 'Father', you told us to call you that but what kind of father murders the children under his care? What kind of father tortures children?! But you didn't kill us all," Kiba hissed, his voice deep and dark as he squatted in front of the now sober priest, who scooted backward away from him quickly now, looking around wildly searching for a way to escape that hell-gaze. "I'm still alive, and I will have justice for my friends!"

Seeing no way to escape, Valper turned to begging. "Please, please! Spare me. Show mercy. There so much, so much more I can do, so much more to learn about the Holy Swords!" His face then twitched into what he must have thought was a cunning expression. "Your own, yes, your own power, I could help you perfect it with what I have learned about Holy Swords! Could help you become stronger!"

"And how much blood of the innocent is on your hands for that knowledge?!" Gabriel asked coldly. "I can see it there, false priest, a stain on your aura and soul that will never go away."

Kiba too shook his head. "I don't want your help! I don't want anything to do with your blood-bought knowledge! There's only one thing you could give me that would cause me to spare your life."

"Name it!" Valper shouted, his eyes wild as he looked from the vengeful Knight to the harshly judging Archangel. "Pl, please, I don't want to die! I'll do anything you ask."

"Can you bring my friends back?" Kiba whispered. Can you bring them back to life? Undo what you did? Can you give my friends back, their dreams, their hopes, their faith! Can you give any of that back?!"

Valper's face paled, but under Kiba's hard, narrow-eyed and hate-filled glare, he could only shake his head as he began to pray. "Oh God, please, save your faithful!"

At that point, Gabrielle erupted, stalking forward, pushing Sona and Reya out of the way, as she roared out, her voice like thunder that shook every Devil there like a Saint Bernard with a rat. They reeled back at the force of it, but they weren't it's target.

Valper froze, his entire body going stiff, while Gabriel stared into his very soul, his face a rictus as he felt as if every fiber of his being was being examined and found wanting. "How dare you?! How dare you pray to Father after what you have done! You might have done it in His name false priest, but you never believed! I am Gabrielle, Archangel of the Message. I can see your soul, and it is as putrid and vile as any who were called into being by Lucifer's whispers across the ether! Do not even think to cover your acts with false piety!"

Her eyes bore into his, tearing away every lie, every attempt to excuse his actions, everything that he had attempted to close himself in as a member of the Church and after, leaving only the horrid, putrescence that had become his soul. "When you die, you will go to Hell for your actions. You will never stop suffering in the afterlife, false priest. Lucifer and his vile wife will welcome you to the coals as their own," Gabriel intoned, before stepping back.

The priest was still staring after her, his face slack as he realized once and for all what price his madness would cost him. Then he gasped as Kiba's sword flicked out, so fast and so certain that at first nothing seemed to have occurred, then his head slowly started to fall to the side of his shoulders.

"So as you sow, so shall you reap and thy actions will bring their just rewards," Gabriel intoned, bowing her head in prayer as Kiba stared down at the corpse at his feet.

OOOOOOO

At the same time, outside the room where Kiba was dealing with Valper, Ranma and Saeko were talking to the two police officers who had been very obviously staying out of the questioning of Valper, even though both of them seemed to know where it would end. Equally surprising, both Tajima and Rika were on board with Ranma's idea of setting up an ambush.

Rika seems to see his surprise at that and she chuckled mercilessly. "If you know an attack is going to happen and you can't attack them first, or in some other way stop it from occurring, the best you can do is mitigate the damage in some fashion. If you lot put up a bounded field around here that keeps the damage to the real world at a minimum right?"

"From what I understand, yeah. And if we're going to be fighting Fallen Angels, they won't even leave bodies behind," Ranma said with a shrug. "They're the neatest enemies I've ever fought."

"That's an idea," Tajima said. "Can we go on the attack? Can the demon girl in there maybe figure out a way to follow a magical trailer something to their own base? Call in an airstrike on it, maybe?"

Around them, several of Sona's peerage looked over with unkind eyes at the policeman for the somewhat disparaging note in his voice, when he spoke of Sona. One of them, Tomoe, actually began to stomp over towards them but Ranma waved her off.

"Sona would have suggested something of the sort if it was possible. But even if it were, we'd be fighting on their ground, with all the advantages that it gives them. Besides, unless you've got missiles with some kind of magical payload, I doubt it'd do much against the more powerful Fallen Angels there. Low-level ones maybe, I've noticed in terms of speed and skill they're not much better than humans, but the stronger they are, the more immune to normal weapons they become," Ranma replied.

Saeko chuckled, "While I would dispute the idea that even low-level Fallen Angels are on the same level as normal humans even the two of you, no offense, are not normal. And he's right that normal weapons can hurt them. I have been all armed with a normal sword most of the time I've faced them, and I was able to hurt both devil and Fallen with it, without ki-charging."

Rika smirked suddenly, rubbing her hands together gleefully. "Oh, that's so nice to hear. But if that's the case, perhaps we should bring in more police?"

"Hell no!" muttered more than one voice from around them, while Tsubaki took a slightly more diplomatic stance. "While it might seem somewhat inevitable given the advancement of technology that the world governments would learn of the Three Factions, I am afraid what help police officers, in particular, would be in this case would be very minimal and not worth the loss of life."

"Have the police and the government been able to bring in any more martial artists?" Ranma asked. When Rika shook her head, he shrugged his shoulders. "In that case, Flower-chan's right, it's probably not a good idea, unless there are more SAT people in the area?"

While Tsubaki scowled at being called flower girl, despite knowing that she, in fact, shared a name with one, it was a nickname she had long outgrown, Tajima replied for the policemen. "None in fighting shape, unfortunately. Like you were told, our team ran into a buzz saw. The only other one who is still alive is our captain and he is having a lot of trouble both coming to grips with the supernatural being real and putting a new team together. Rika here took it mostly in stride and that kind of forced me along for the ride," he added ruefully.

The tanned policewoman laughed, "Yeah that was one heck of a trial by fire in terms of realizing there's a whole supernatural world out there. No matter how long I live I don't think I'm ever going to forget the site of a giant snake woman shooting acid out of her tits!"

"Wait, how would that even… never mind," Ranma trailed off shaking his head, "I don't think I want to know. Anyway, back to the fight. I'm afraid that the most help you're going to be is as snipers for the most part."

Rika nodded. "As it is, in my team I'm a sniper, so that's fine by me. But if we think the fights going to escalate out of the building, we can help set up a lot more than that. How strong are these bounded field things, the spell you threw up around this building? I mean if we start using munitions like breaching charges, will it hold up against that kind of thing?"

At that, Tsubaki stopped glaring futilely at Ranma to nod brusquely. "Yes, that kind thing would indeed be contained in the bounded field. Exorcists like that variety you fought here of course use such all the time and exorcists both loyal and excommunicated can put up bounded fields."

"Actually that's a thought too. Those exorcists and their guns, they could hurt you Devils right? Could they hurt the Fallen? More than our own guns anyway?" Tajima queried.

"No, but feel free to take them anyway," Tsubaki said with a look of distaste over at the pile of guns that they had brought together after the battle. The two female exorcists were more interested of course in the Excalibur fragments, and the artificial swords created to mimic them, than anything else.

"In that case, I think we need to get started, we'll head back to the police station and raid them for supplies, though we might need you along to tell them what's going on Ranma."

"And as a general pack mule. The stuff we're going to get isn't exactly light," Rika interjected, before turning to Tsubaki, who she had gathered was Sona's second-in-command at this point. "Will we feel this bounded field thing going up and once it's up, how will we enter it?" Rika asked. "I'm presuming that's kind of difficult to do from the outside."

"Not unless you have magical senses you won't feel the field no. As for entering Ranma will be able to knock for you and one of us will be able to bring you in then," Tsubaki said before her brows furrowed and she turned to stare out one of the windows, one eyebrow rising. "Himejima-san is here."

Seconds later, the lady in question hopped through a window by Ranma almost bumping into him. "Ara, excuse me," she replied politely as Ranma backed away, although he couldn't stop her breasts from squishing against his chest as she passed them by. The smirk on her face told Ranma that Akeno had done that purpose.

Saeko had seen it too. She quickly looped an arm around Ranma's, pulling him away from her and almost glaring at the black-haired girl. I do not need another girl after my man, thank you so much!

"Fufufufu," Akeno let out her signature laugh at the possessive action but then asked seriously, "What is going on? I sensed the small bounded field around this building and that Koneko and Kiba were both here." She looked around the room they were in, noticing the pile of weapons, and the two unknown police officers. "Has something happened?"

As Tsubaki and Saeko began to explain what was going on, and the two police officers left with Ranma to raid the local police district's armory, elsewhere in the building, another conversation was taking place. "Are you certain we should stay for this, Lady Gabrielle?" Irina asked, looking at her superior questioningly. "Isn't this a matter between the Fallen Angels and the Devils now that we have the holy swords back?"

"It might be, if not for the fact that the one behind their theft is also the one leading this attack," Gabrielle said with a shake of her head. "That means he has committed a crime against the Church as well. Besides, I would rather not leave our friends in the lurch."

"Friends? Lady Gabriel they are Devils and devil sympathizers," Xenovia said, scowling. "While I am fully cognizant of the fact that that Yuuto was deeply wronged by the church and the Holy Sword Project, that does not mean that his turning into a devil should be overlooked, and the others have no such excuse."

"Except for Issei, since he would have eventually died, without training and he had to become a devil to get that," Irina began, speaking up for her friend who had arrived with the rest of Sona's peerage. He and Saji were stationed with one of the bishops up on the roof. This was more to keep the two boys, who had a rivalry going on, since Issei had joined Sona's peerage, out of trouble than anything else.

Xenovia looked at her, then rolled her eyes. It was obvious that Irina had a soft spot for Issei, but she sure as heck didn't. The boy was a lecher it was that simple. Instead of addressing that though, she turned back to Gabrielle. "If you are certain my lady, then we will do all we can. But realize that if it looks as if we are going to be overwhelmed, our main priority will become getting you out safely. The church and heaven cannot afford to lose you."

Gabrielle laughed a bright tinkling sound that yet somehow reminded both of her listeners of the sound of the bugle call to a charge. "Oh, I don't think you have to worry about that."

Kiba, Koneko and Sona moved out of the other room at that point, nodding to Gabriel. "You will be staying around to help then, Gabriel-san?" When Gabriel nodded, Sona smiled, "I see why my sister, when she isn't a bad mood about you being more popular anyway, thinks so highly of you. In that case," she began to gesture down at the ground, and water slowly formed there, moving around until it started to take distinct shapes, creating a map of the surrounding street blocks. "I think we need to get down to planning and you three need to go and get your weapons."

OOOOOOO

The captain of Rika's SAT team looked from her to Tajima then to Ranma. "This is one hell of a large percentage of our local ordnance, as well as a few things we officially don't have access to. Four of the experimental remote-controlled anti-air guns based on the American CROW system? Those things weigh a ton, but I note you didn't ask for any of the Humvees. And why the hell do you want that much or our APDS and SAPHEI rounds?"

Rika smiled sardonically, her tone mildly playful yet also serious and Ranma idly thought that perhaps she and Akeno would get along. Both of them seemed to have something of the same type of humor. "Well captain, you know that old saying 'be careful what you wish for'?"

"Yes, I also know my fucking duty as your commanding officer. What the hell did you find? Is it more creatures like that, that thing we fought, the one that wiped out the rest of our team?" the older man asked, his voice a low authoritative growl that said it better be good without the need to verbalize the words.

"Um, sort of captain. As far as we can tell, basically, Kuoh Academy is going to be invaded by about a company or more of similar creatures. So we need the firepower," Tajima said.

The captain blinked at that, then asked, "What's wrong with your hand Tajima?"

"Heh, I slapped something I shouldn't have. It'll go away in time," Tajima said, wincing. He had indeed smacked Kiba upside the head, but even though he was a Knight, Kiba was more durable than most humans were and the slap had hurt Tajima as much as it might have hurt Kiba.

The captain scowled and turned his attention on Ranma who was leaning against the wall by the door with his eyes closed, the picture of nonchalance. "And you're this Ranma character? The one the government is touting as the one to maybe let us find a solution to these supernatural issues?"

"Well, one that doesn't boil down to sticking our heads in the sand and hope we don't get too big a reaming before the problem goes away, yeah, that's me," Ranma replied with a smirk. "And before you ask, I hardly understand half of the weapons they named on that list, but I do know we're in for a tough fight and any way to even the odds is a good idea."

The older man stared at him for a time, then nodded abruptly. "Come on then, let's get you kitted out. And I'd be interested to see if you really can lift one of those monsters."

A few minutes later he gasped as Ranma lifted the remote-controlled Gatling gun and its assembly up in the air above his head. "Anything else?" he asked cheekily, and the man just shook his head and began to show the others around the armory. When weapons began to disappear into Ranma's pockets and sleeves though, he'd decided enough was enough and went to have a lie-down. "Just lock up after you leave and you better believe your after-action reports will have to be work of literary art later on."

OOOOOOO

"Cousin Rias? I didn't know you were back in the underworld!" said a small red-haired young boy dressed in Victorian-style noble dress, as he raced forward, hugging his cousin. Actually, the relationship in terms of blood was Aunt, but Rias had let it be known that she was far too young for that name, which had some strange connotations in the human nation that she liked to stay in. Millicas wasn't certain what those were but was more than willing to go along with her foibles.

Rias hugged him back, smiling slightly, "You weren't supposed to know I was back just yet. I'm sorry to say Millicas but you were called here under false pretenses."

Behind Millicas, the two members of her brother's peerage that comes with Millicas, Souji Okita and Beowulf, the descendant of the original hero of the same name, looked wary at that. Souji was her brother's Knight and had, when alive, been a captain of the Shinsengumi, a group of samurai who served the Bakufu government during the late Shogunate era. Beowulf was known as the strongest Pawn in the Underworld.

"Can you explain that Lady Rias?" Souji asked, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "It sounds, as one of those characters in your favorite anime say, troublesome."

"Oh, you have no idea Souji, no idea at all. Come inside all of you," Rias said, gesturing into the solar that Serafall had taken over upon their arrival at the Sitri estate. "Some of this, I think needs to be explained by a neutral party."

"I say again my last, troublesome," Souji muttered, nodding his head over to his fellow.

They found Serafall sitting down on one side of a coffee table, with her feet up on the table, and her head thrown back, with one arm over the back of the sofa. She waved them all in, then grinned at Millicas. "Hey Millicas-chan, you're still looking as cute as ever!" She reached out and pinched his cheek, causing him to pout. "As much as I don't like the woman, I have to admit that Grayfia can at least contribute to making a cute looking kid."

Millicas chuckled, while behind him, the two members of the underworld's strongest peerage shivered a little at the look in Serafall's eyes. The rivalry between her and Grayfia was long and pronounced, and something neither of them wanted any part of.

Rias was of the same opinion, and besides, this was not the time for such things. "Lady Serafall, I think we need to tell Millicas why we've asked him to come," she said softly.

The Maou Leviathan pouted but turned her attention back to Millicas. "Tell me Millicas-chan, have you heard about Rias' upcoming arranged marriage to Riser Phenex?"

The story didn't take long, although she did have to provide her opinion on the evidence that Rias had discovered. Souji, the one who knew the most about magic between him and Beowulf, quickly asked many of the same questions Serafall had asked. Then he examined the copy of the magical signatures Akeno and Rias had been able to glean from their study of the compulsion and memory altering spells and eventually he sighed, muttering 'troublesome' under his breath again before he nodded firmly. "Yes, the signature of Lord Zeoticus is in there."

But Millicas' reaction was much more telling. His normal smiling happy face shifted into one of shock, anger, and sadness. "But, but why?! Why would Grandmother and Grandfather do this?"

"That is the million-dollar question isn't it?" Rias asked as she hugged him to her side, nuzzling her head against the top of his. "From my perspective, there's no really acceptable answer. However they internally justify their actions, they not only treated me horribly but Akeno too. Moreover, all so that I couldn't get out of marrying Riser Phenex. It's utterly bizarre, but the evidence is somewhat overwhelming."

Millicas slowly nodded as he worked through all that had been said, his small nose scrunching up as he thought it through. "I agree. What can I do to help?"

Serafall instantly pulled him into a hug, squishing him against her breasts and nuzzling into the top of his head as his arms flailed out to either side and his face disappeared into her chest. "Yes, yes, that's the way a kid should be. So heroic and helpful to your kind oneesan. Mmm, and you're so cute and cuddly and fun-sized!"

Rias growled, reaching forward and pinching the back of Serafall's hand hard enough to leave a bruise on anyone else. "Let him alone you, you shota-lover!"

"Ha! I'm not a shotacon, I'm a Sona-con!" Serafall exclaimed proudly.

On Earth, as she and the others were talking tactics, and where to place their traps, Sona shivered, twisting around rapidly, her eyes wide behind her glasses. "What was that!?"

"Someone walked over your grave," Ranma said, nodding his head sagely. "I've seen that look a few times. Mostly in the mirror admittedly."

Back in the Sitri estate, Millicas had been successfully rescued from death by boing-boing, and the plan explained to him as he sat gasping for air, his face a bright red. Eventually, Millicas nodded, understanding the part he would have to play. He looked at his cousin though. "Do you want to confront them about this?"

"Not particularly, not yet," Rias drawled, her face conflicted as she looked down at her hands in her lap. "I thought, I mean, I've known all my life, I thought, anyway, that they loved me, that Mother and Father were simply blind to this one fact, that they couldn't understand I would never come to love Riser once we married. Now to find that they were so in favor of it they stripped me of any willpower to truly fight back or run away, that is painful beyond imagining." She looked up at them, her face strained by the need to hold back her tears. "No, I have no wish to confront them just yet."

The others looked away to let her a moment to compose herself, even Millicas, who himself was distraught at what this was going to do to his extended family. Oooh, what is Dad going to do once we bring him in? Ugh, I would so not like to be Grandfather when that happens.

After a few seconds Rias recovered enough to smile at them all in thanks before saying, "Besides, I've been feeling for a while that I need to head back to Kuoh Academy."

"I still say my sister will be able to handle anything that goes on without you," Serafall said with a half-grin.

Rias shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not doubting Sona-san's ability to deal with threats or the exorcist currently in Kuoh with Gabriel. I'm doubting her ability to get along with Ranma without coming to blows."

Remembering what she knew of the young man in question and her sister, Serafall could only not her head that. "Well, we don't actually need your personal testimony, now that we have a recognized and witnessed testimony that we can use instead and Millicas is willing to act as the go-between you and your parents. In fact, it's probably best that you don't be there. That way, we can take personal interactions out of the table," she went on, smiling coolly. "At least for our initial attempt to separate the Gremory and Phenex clans on this matter and then make it an internal clan issue. We will need you though when we start to really go after your parents on that score," Serafall said. Showing once again that regardless of her normal devil may care, childish attitude, she could play political hardball with the best of them.

Rias nodded in agreement at that, and the talk turned to Millicas' role in things once more, with Rias and Serafall talking him through that in detail. Once that was done and relieved by the need to not take part in the next portion of their campaign against her parents, and whoever had known what they were doing to her, Rias teleported back through the still locked teleportation array to Earth and Kuoh.

Once there, she found a message on the Occult Research Club's answering machine, the red of the message button in the darkness grabbing her attention the instant she came out of the teleportation spell. She listened to the message, growing surprise, and then shook her head, setting the phone down as she opened the nearest window and began to fly out. "And all this happened in the few hours I was away!?"

Soon Rias was winging her way over the city, using her magical senses to discover where the others were and found where Sona was putting up a bounded field. Entering it, Rias spotted two of Sona's peerage, who waved their hands towards her and pointed to a specific building. Moving in that direction, she found two people in police uniform, SAT style, who she didn't know, Ranma, Saeko, Sona, and her peerage, along with Gabrielle, and her two hangers-on gathered on the roof as one of the police officers pointed around them at various other buildings.

She landed on the rooftop, and Ranma turned to her, smiling as she moved up to them. "So, since you're here, can we assume it went well with your nephew and Serafall?"

With a wide smile, Rias moved over and gave him a hug for his concern, very deliberately pressing her chest against his. Ranma flinched at the touch but didn't try to back away, putting in arm around her shoulders. "Thanks for asking, but I rather think that my own personal drama should be taking second fiddle to what you all found here. Your message was rather abrupt Akeno," she added, turning to look at her queen. "Care to tell me more now?"

While Saeko began to pry Rias off Ranma as he held up his hands now and tried to look martyred with scant success, Akeno quickly handed the telling off the task of explaining what had occurred to Kiba, both because she hadn't been here at first and because she was too busy giggling to speak. Judging from his face Ranma wasn't certain whether to return Rias's hug, flinch, and take it, or run for the hills, and it made for a hilarious expression.

During the explanation from Kiba and Gabrielle, Rias was introduced to the two policemen, and she nodded her head respectfully to them. She had known for a while, thanks to Ranma that the humans knew about her and the supernatural but seeing to honest-to-goodness police officers becoming involved in this was still highly unusual.

The fact that they basically had raided their own armory, as well as called in more heavy munitions, was frankly just a little frightening. Oh, that kind of thing wouldn't work on a high-end devil like herself, Akeno, or Koneko, but the last was because she was a rock, and had most of her magic tied up in aiding her durability and strength. But guns and such as that would work on low skilled Fallen and Devils, if not quite as well as it would on humans.

"I agree with the idea of letting them come through on our terms, that's not a bad plan at all," Rias muttered, "even if it is quite all or nothing. Still, whatever that fool things, there's no way that one of the Grigori could be involved in this. I'll wager that we only are dealing with low level Fallen, and maybe one or two midgrade. Perhaps, with a lot of exorcists thrown in as well."

"Fallen Exorcists if you please," Xenovia interrupted primly.

"And I like the idea of using traps," Rias finished, ignoring the interruption. "What can I do to help?"

"That's a good attitude, although I don't think I agree with your assumptions on the scale of the attack," Gabrielle said with a sigh. "As an Archangel, I have certain powers and one of them is detecting lies. And he was not telling lies with or falsehoods when he stated that he thought that this leader of his would be able to fight me on an even footing. Mind you, that could be because he did not truly understand how much Archangels hold back on the mortal plane, but, it is still concerning. Also, you are all forgetting one thing."

She held up a finger, waiting until everyone there including the two policemen, who are still looking down at the map Sona had created and planning out where to place their own equipment, were looking at her. "No plan survives contact with the enemy. That's why they're called the enemy. I think we need backups to every plan we create here and I think we need to prepare for the worst we can think of."

Rias frowned, but then slowly nodded castigating herself for being overly optimistic. "You're right lady Gabrielle and I suppose one should always listen to the word of experience."

Cocking a blonde eyebrow, Gabrielle cocked her head to one side, looking at Rias thoughtfully. "Something about the way you just said the word experience bothers me, but I'm not sure why."

"What is the worst-case scenario then?" Ranma asked hastily before anyone could try to explain what Gabrielle might have sensed there.

"Since Valper was so emphatic about this operation not being a Grigori-sanctioned operation, and in fact was very dismissive of Azazel, we can assume it won't have any of Azazel's special operatives or his friends in the Grigori. That leaves three or four high-class Fallen that could be leading this attack. But none of them would work together on it. A single high-class Fallen will be someone I will have to deal with. But I think one of them could perhaps bring in as many as 200 mid to low tier Fallen within, and perhaps as many as 600 Fallen Exorcists. So that is the number we should prepare for," Gabriel said, smiling sadly as her companions both flinched at the very idea that so many exorcists would turn away from God's teachings.

From then on, Gabriel and the two police officers took the lead on where to set up traps, what type and so forth, while the two policemen introduced their toys to everyone, including several Automated Weapon Systems, computerized weapons that were designed for anti-air work. Rika and Ranma started to set those up on the surrounding buildings, while Tajima set up a bunker buster inside the building.

Rias took to this work eagerly, fascinated by how much control of the environment and the use of items like this could change the outcome of a fight. Sona seemed to struggle with it a bit, but eventually got into the experience, and both of them learned quite a bit about the difference between tactics in the real world and tactics in a game like the Rating Games.

"You know, if we need more firepower," Ranma said, as he slowly let a wall he'd just helped take apart back into place on top of an explosive. Used normally to blow open doors, three doorknockers had been stacked as one and would shatter the wall, throwing bits of debris along with a thousand buckyballs out into the alleyway beyond. "Maybe we should look into getting your other Bishop involved?"

"I don't think so," Rias said from where she was using her power of destruction to smash flat another building, which would then be littered with more explosives. The humans and their use of such were beginning to disturb her, and yet also interest her on a fundamental level. I wonder if I can somehow store Power of Destruction energy for later use? Ravening explosions of Power of Destruction would be a fascinating power multiplier for my peerage. "Gasper isn't the most mentally stable individual, and according to my brother I'm still not strong enough to act as an anchor to his Forbidden Balor View, let alone his vampiric powers, and let him control it."

"Besides," Koneko said, "he's a shut-in."

At Ranma's interrogative noise, Akeno sighed, straightening up from where she had just put down in a manhole cover on another kind of trap, a motion sensor that was connected to an overpowered tazer trap, which would electrocute people. "He doesn't like being around people I'm afraid. In fact, he rather hates it. He's terrified of other people, and really rather prefers to be on his own."

"That and like I said before, Gasper-kun dresses up like a girl," Koneko said bluntly as she was following a somewhat shell-shocked Tajima, carrying a car above her head to be put in a position to block one of the roads. Like the rest of the cars within the bounded field, the car was a solid object. No mechanical or electronic object, which had been cloned by the dimensional bubble spell, would work as they would in the real world. But that didn't mean that the cars couldn't be useful as barricades or other traps since the gasoline within the cars had been cloned into the bounded field.

"Wait what?" Issei asked, looking around at them all in surprise as Saji did the same.

"Gasper likes to dress up in girl clothes, or specifically dresses," Rias said with a scowl at Koneko. "It isn't because of any personal preference or anything, but, he just feels more comfortable in them."

Nearby Issei shuddered, shaking his head, "A trap!? He's a trap?! Ugh."

"Good grief," Ranma said looking over at Rias with a grin on his face. "You're entire peerage is made up of… special… people isn't it?"

Akeno and Koneko both scowled at him and said in unison "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ranma just smirked at them, and after a moment, Akeno had the grace to look away, while Koneko just kept glaring.

"However, I think that you have a point about adding more to our firepower, if only in an indirect manner," Rias said. "I still think that we will be able to contain them in the basement, there can't be that many, regardless of what that false priest told you all. But, if we're planning for worst-case scenarios, then we should also plan to take some injuries. Perhaps even serious ones."

"I don't want Asia anywhere near the fighting," Ranma growled. "She's a noncombatant in the truest sense of the word!"

"I'm not saying she should be anywhere near the fighting Ranma. I'm saying that she should be somewhere nearby," Rias replied. "I wouldn't want to put her in danger either, but we cannot ignore the fact that we might take casualties! What kind of leader would I be if I did not prepare to help troops who became wounded?"

At Ranma's growl, she shook her head, thinking about a solution. Then she had it. "Look, we're about nineteen blocks from school right? We don't anticipate the fighting to spread more than half that. What if we put Asia in the school? Should we will out of danger, and anyone going in that direction would be spotted by the rest of us and intercepted."

"Who is Asia, and why are you mentioning her in the same discussion as people being wounded?" Rika asked, pulling her head out from underneath the large remote-activated anti-air gun. Based on the American CROWS system, the gun was a local attempt to create a version that was man-portable without the need for vehicle support. It worked, but it was tetchy at best in the field, and still too heavy for anything less than two fireteams to move around, and that not very easily.

Rika was a bit in awe of the fact that Ranma was able to lift this thing up onto the roof so easily, let alone carry it and its sisters from the police station. But she sure as heck was going to take advantage of it.

"Have you been told about the Sacred Gears?" Rias asked. When Rika indicated that yes she had having seen Kiba in action, she went on. "Asia has a sacred gear that allows her to heal practically any wound. I think that with her involved, we could keep casualties to a minimum."

"But she's my adopted little sister, and I don't want her anywhere near the fighting," Ranma growled. "If we're thinking that this fight is going to be that dangerous why don't we send for your brother? Or Sona's for that matter."

"Beyond the fact that were supposed to be independent and protect our territory on our own in order to prove that? The teleportation array to the underworld is now locked by Maou decree. I can't get through it from this side. I'd I don't honestly think it will be that dangerous, I'm just doing what Gabrielle said we should, planning ahead for the worst situation."

"… Fine, Ranma grumbled after a few minutes of silence. If you lot will expand this bounded field barrier or whatever it is to include the school, I'll go get Asia and explain to her what is going on. But it's up to her whether she agrees okay?"

"Do you honestly think she won't?" Rias asked gently.

"No, I don't, but at least I'd like to give her the option."

However, what happened when Ranma went home was quite a way beyond his expectations. Nodoka was still awake, going over some paperwork with Kasumi, and both of them insisted on hearing what was going on too seen the annoyed and irritated expression on Ranma's face. When he explained what they were up to, Nodoka understood why they were setting up this ambush, although she was a bit concerned about the level of preparation going into it. Yet despite how quickly Asia agreed to help, Nodoka wasn't about to let young Asia be involved in this without any defense. "I rather think that we need to provide a guard for her."

Ranma frowned at that, and at the way that his mother was patting the covered sore that she always kept nearby just in case. She was okay with it, he wasn't about to say otherwise. Especially nowhere she could hear him, or sense his thoughts, in that strange mother telepathy manner of hers. But she certainly wasn't up to fighting the supernatural. But I know who could be he thought suddenly, clicking his fingers. "Actually, that's not a bad idea. And I have just the person in mind."

"A quick question," Kasumi asked. "Could my sacred gear be a help? We still don't understand all it, but certainly fighting is next to impossible and correct?"

"If not for the fact that we don't know how it would impact the group of people already determined to fight, with indeterminate numbers, I might say yes," Ranma responded, noting the look of annoyance on Kasumi's face. "As it is though, I don't honestly see it being of any use. Sorry, Kasumi."

Kasumi sighed but nodded, while Nodoka took some more convincing that she shouldn't get involved. But eventually, Ranma left the house with Asia on his back, heading to school. Specifically, he was heading for the Student Council Room, where he found a certain duck in a cage.

The duck quacked at seeing him, quickly putting away a nail file, which he had been using on his bars.

"None of that Mousse, I've got a little question for you. How would you like to be let out of prison on a bit of a worker's program sort of thing?" Ranma asked.

The duck quacked again, making a go on just with one wing, while Asia smiled at it through the bars. A moment later, she was blushing brightly and turning away. Though not quite as well built as Ranma was, the slightly older Mousse was still a little too attractive for Asia to deal with after a lifetime spent within the church.

"So let me get this straight. You think these Fallen Angels will be attacking through this portal thing. And you, the local Devils… are they really all devils?" Mousse interrupted himself, one eyebrow rising behind his glasses as he finished buttoning up his long white shirt. When Ranma nodded, he shook his head. "Weird. Still, it makes sense they'd want to protect their territory, and that you'd join them in doing it. And you wish me to protect the little healing maiden?"

Again, Asia blushed at the respect the Chinese boy put in those words despite his slightly teasing tone while Ranma replied, "Yep, that's it in a nutshell."

"If it was anyone else, I'd turn you down. Getting involved in this would be far more than I am really comfortable with. Still, since it is a Healer you are asking me to protect," Mousse sighed then shrugged. "I'll do it. My honor as a member of the Joketsuzoku would not let me do otherwise." He then glared at Ranma, "But the next time Xian Pu is around Saotome I will prove once and for all that I am the better man for her!"

"You want her, you got her dude. I've only got room in my life for one lethally dangerous purple-haired girl thanks," Ranma said with a chuckle. "Heck, the next time she shows up, I'll tie her up and present her to you with a pretty pink bow."

Mousse flushed at the imagery this put in his mind but then scowled, trying resolutely to dispel it. "Bah, as if I need your help in capturing my Xian Pu's heart." Ranma gave him the best deadpan look he could, and Mousse flushed for an entirely different reason now roaring back, "Shut up!"

"Oh, and if I were you, I'd stay away from Akeno, the black-haired girl you ran into the other day. She's the kind who holds a grudge, and given how much she likes electrocuting things, that might end very badly for you."

"Right, yes…" Mousse gulped, shuddering as she remembered the lighting Akeno had tossed his way. "I'll stay close to the school, just keep her away from me until she cools down. Unless you think apologizing would help?"

"I doubt it, Akeno's freaking furious with you. Then again, so would any girl after being felt up by a blind-as-a-bat duck," Ranma quipped.

Pushing his glasses up his nose, Mousse glared at Ranma, "I hate you Saotome."

Ranma smirked, "And I bask in your hate."

Watching the two of them, Asia could only giggle. Are they enemies, or are they friends? I wonder if they even know the answer to that one.

Eventually, however, they were ready to go. The close-combat team led by Ranma and consisted of Kiba, Koneko, Tomoe, Tsubasa, the two exorcists, Saeko and Gabriel, would head into the house. If the enemies came through in small numbers, they would handle it for a time and call in the others from their more distant positions for help. In that case, it would become a close in grinding battle, but one of small numbers against small numbers, strength against strength with the locals having an edge in ability and being able to rotate their troops out to match the numbers of their enemies. If however the enemy came out in greater numbers, or something unexpected happened, they would retreat, and the battle would continue outside the building.

"Comms check," Rika uttered into her com-bead, from her position on a distant rooftop, eyeballing the building where the battle was going to commence. "Everyone online?"

Everyone answered in the affirmative, and Rika smiled grimly. "All right Gabriel-sama, you're up. Let's see what's behind door number one…"

End Chapter

So a bit of a cliffhanger, it's true. But since I only started working on this on Wednesday, and then barely had a few hours a day to work on it afterward I am afraid it was the best I could do.

I also made the decision not to go into detail on the conversation with Millicas. I will save that kind of thing for the confrontation with the parents, where everyone will learn about their motives about forcing Rias and Riser to.

And as I said, I will continue to work on the combat scenes for the next chapter regardless of the rest of my workload in December. I won't promise to be able to get it out, but I can promise to try.