The light sound of rain pattering against the glass above somehow dominated Misato's senses. Her eyes focused on the plant before her. It reminded her of one of Hikari's corpseweeds; long, slender, curved over at the top due to the weight of the zombie-like head that would normally be suspended from the end of it. This plant however, did not have such a grotesque fixture. Instead, it was adorned with a leaf covered spherical growth the size of as beachball.

Sitting now on an outdoor chair, she was curious to see what was under the large leaves that surrounded the object, but in fear of causing harm she stayed her hand. Every so often the plant would seem to twitch, causing the orb to bounce lightly from its suspended position. Misato observed the ground where the plant grew was starting to dry out and become cracked again.

Now with practiced ease, she stood up, walked to the warming machine near the door into the rest of the manor and retrieved a literal bucket of blood. Carefully, she poured the blood around the plant evenly, and the ground instantly seemed to revitalize. She stopped after pouring about a third of the bucket into the ground. Though she could not see it, Misato knew that the vitae would now slowly be drawn into the plant after picking up minerals in the soil. She returned the rest of the bucket to the warmer, before sitting back down in the chair and resuming her vigil.

How long would it be, she wondered, until Hikari reemerged from the plant. What would she be like? Would it even be her anymore, or would this simply be Alura Une with Hikari's memories. The questions were almost as endless as the possibilities of what could be. But one thing was certain; there would be changes. Misato had long since accepted that her relationship with Hikari had gone from "yeah I've read her file" during the angel wars, to "we're basically lovers" in the current timeframe. Whether it was the time she spent with Hikari in the forest last year that started it, or if there was always some kind of fascination there to begin with, Misato didn't know. All she knew now was other than her obsession with Shinji, trait shared by all of the other girls, Hikari was a central fixture in her life now… and one she wasn't sure she could live without.

"Please come home…"

IV: Transfigurations, Part I

The fires that burned within the Tokyo-3 crater had gone out over a day ago. Though casualties where high, there were still many mutated angelic abominations still living with the field of magical radiation. Though the old LCL was all burned away, and with it the infected plant life inadvertently created by Hikari, the magical radiation created by Third Impact persisted, causing any living thing foolish enough to linger here to mutate or simply die of exposure to it.

The angelic monsters were being drawn to a certain spot near where Mayumi conducted the ritual. They knew not why they were being drawn to the shadow of the pyramid, but here they were, waiting. They did not need to wait long. High above, a streak of fire seemed to be heading straight for the crater, though there was not a single human nearby to witness the event unfold. What appeared to be a bladelike shard of crystal was falling to Earth but starting to slow enough to not cause a massive explosion on impact, instead sticking partly into the ground. The monsters shuffled towards the impact point.

With a sound of cracking crystals, the shard shuddered then a moment later fell apart, revealing the crouching form of a girl inside. She was a slight thing, slightly less than 152cm in height with long white hair and a simple white dress covering her slim frame. She stood up, her eyes opening revealing deep crimson that beheld the monsters before her.

"You poor things," she whispered as she hopped out of the crystal husk, her uncovered feet missing the shards of crystal on the ground. Her eyes beheld their pain in as much as they beheld their twisted and almost eldritch forms. She walked up to the closest one, and placed her slender hands on its body.

The fiend shuttered as if having something drawn through or out of it, and its form began to look more humanoid. The extra eyes closed, seeming to melt away into the rest of its flesh, extra mouths closed and sealed, additional limbs shriveled and faded, and its posture became more human. When the task was finished, the fiend was no more, replaced with a young man who bore a pair of white wings. Tears welled up in his eyes and he fell to his knees before the girl, giving thanks and expressing unending gratitude. Seeing what had taken place, the other shuffled forward eagerly waiting their turn to be healed by the girl, as three more objects fell a short distance behind where she landed.

Three larger metal shards of similar shape hit the ground and melted away revealing the forms within. The first, an angel with stormy grey hair and light blue tinted armor of regal design stepped down. His four wings, matching his hair color, were wreathed in Saint Elmo's fire and the occasional spark of loose electrical energy. The second wore similar armor, but sported long black hair and the armor was also just as dark. Radiant holy energy seem to ebb and flow around him, as dark ribbons seemed to trail from the forearms of his armor.

The last opened revealing an angel in lighter red and black armor. A sword held in right hand, planted before him within his metal conveyance, kneeling as a crusader in prayer. His face covered by a smooth black and red mask, with golden light coming from the eyes. His head covered by a hood slowly raised to take in the scene before him. All of the cloth showed red and black, adorned in flame patterns. Despite the lighter armor, he was the largest of the four arrivals being well over three meters tall.

"We seem to have arrived on target, Lord Azrael," the storm-licked angel noted.

"Indeed, Ramiel," the deep voice of the angel of vengeance replied. "Strange to see so many misshapen fiends here."

"They were human once," the girl healing the creatures spoke, her voice much softer and pleasant compare to the echoing thunderous sounds of the other angels. "There is a lot of left-over Ethereal Radiation here, left over from the Lilim's attempt to initiate third impact on their own terms."

"Abominations," the dark angel noted. "We should put them out of their misery!"

"No, Zeruel," Azrael interjected. "These humans came here because their faith demanded it. They endured their transfigurations because they awaited their saviors… awaited us. That faith should be rewarded, not punished. They have earned their place amongst us."

"The radiation could be dangerous to us as well," the girl pointed out.

"This cannot be helped, Arael," Azrael noted. "It is providing us with cover from our enemies while we gather our strength. The others have all failed, we cannot afford to. The three of you cannot be resurrected again... there is simply too little faith left on this world."

Arael continued to focus on healing the creatures, still worried that their lingering here could be detrimental in the long term. While she could easily reverse the damage in these former humans, the stronger warrior angels were ironically harder to heal.

Concentrating, she tried to expand her awareness beyond the crater but found that the radiation which prevented their discovery worked both ways and even her psychic might could not leave the fog of death that permeated this place. A worried sound left her, but her brothers either didn't notice, or didn't care.

Shinji entered Mayumi's area of the manor. The girl had two main rooms, the first of which was her personal study and magical laboratory, which was his destination. As he entered, his enhanced vampiric sense of smell picked up the medley of the herbs drying near the window, a mixture of earthy and pleasant (if a little sharp) scents. She would eventually use these as ingredients in potions and tincers for her stockpile. Several circles with mystical sigils were drawn into the ground, permanent ones were painted in a magically impregnated paint, while temporary ones were drawn in specially prepared magical chalk. It seemed she was working on several projects lately, though closer inspection revealed very close similarities between the various circles. Her walls had several large sheets of paper with complex mystical diagrams and notes.

"Did I come at a bad time?" he asked as she worked away on a similar sheet attached to a different wall.

"Not at all, Master," Mayumi replied. "What can I do for you?"

Shinji looked around again. "You've been spending an awful long time in here. What are you working on?"

Mayumi finished her current additions to her latest diagram. "I've come across something in my research that may be of some help to us. There is a place where time and space intersect, creating a sort of superhighway that can take a person to any place they wish, and purportedly, any time."

Shinji raised an eyebrow as Mayumi continued.

"While no one has ever been to it, many still proport that it exists. They call it the 'Infinite Corridor'. I figured we could make use of it, assuming it really does exist."

"Sounds very dangerous."

"It can be," Mayumi admitted. "We obviously should not mess with time and the natural flow of it, but the potential teleportation aspects are enticing to say the least."

"The temptation to change things is too great," Shinji noted.

"That's the nature of magic," Mayumi countered. "Mages and witches are always having to wrestle with the temptation to push further than is safe. It's why so many mages burn out… they give in to their greed, and the power punishes them for it."

"It may be a good idea to leave well enough alone in this case."

"Perhaps," Mayumi admitted. "But with Hikari down, our best travel option is also lost, so I figured…"

"She'll recover," Shinji insisted.

Mayumi turned towards him, taking her glasses off and wiping her eyes, trying to hide the tears. "There's no guarantee of that, and you know it."

Shinji stepped forward, taking Mayumi into his arms. The girl immediately settled into him as he held her, no longer hiding the fact that she's been working all this time whilst fighting her tears.

"Maybe not," Shinji admitted, "but you of all people should know the value of faith. Maybe not in a higher power that seems to be actively trying to kill us of course, but personal faith none-the-less."

"It's harder to be strong than I imagined it would be."

Shinji gently rubbed her back. "Everyone is dealing this in their own way. Some are just trying to get through it, but you… you're actively looking for alternatives, and I imagine ways to try to aid her recovery as well. I recognize some of the formulas on your walls right now as natural recovery aids. I imagine the herbs are meant for them."

Mayumi nodded. "I have to do something…"

"I know," Shinji replied. "You're like me in that respect… you want to help, even if you don't know how."

Mayumi sighed raggedly as she clung harder. "You really believe she's coming back from this?"

Shinji smiled softly. "Of course… that girl is tougher than you think."

At sundown, when the sun as far enough below the mountains to the west of the manor, Shinji stood outside and waited. He didn't have to wait long. The sound of an approaching motorcycle could be made out, this one was much quieter than most of the models its rider had used before.

Dressed in normal attire with a long tied back wig of dark hair, Mana dismounted and stepped forward.

"What news?" Shinji asked as Asuka came out of the house and started moving towards Shinji's left.

"I managed to catch word of a recruitment drive from our old friends at With Light," Mana reported as she removed her wig and shook her hair out. "Seems with all the rumors that heaven will send its greatest champions soon, the time to gather the flock has come. All the major centers of faith in the region are downed from all the cult activity so they're going to pull in new recruits from the lost and damned within the ruins of Kyoto."

"Celia herself might just be present at something like that," Asuka offered.

"Agreed," Shinji noted. "We should hit them while they're weak, maybe take them out of this game once and for all. With any luck we can drag out her patsy, Dario, and any other candidates she may have roped into helping her."

"The area is still quite dark due to the prevalent overcast conditions combined with the smoke from the endless fires," Mana pointed out. "This would be a perfect opportunity for Mari to get her mojo back."

"A good victory would definitely help her dour mood as of late," Asuka agreed. "Though she keeps my bed warm at night… ironic as that is… she's been feeling so useless with all the holy threats she can't reasonably face."

Shinji sighed. "We're going against a church cult," he pointed out. "This will still be dangerous for her."

Footsteps from behind drew the attention of all three of them. Mari stepped out onto the porch holding a cup of blood that was still steaming from the stove.

"I'm okay with danger," Mari insisted. "I can't keep hiding from our enemies, otherwise what good am I?"

"You don't have to do this," Shinji insisted.

"I want to," Mari countered. "Please, Master… let me do this."

Shinji remained silent a few more moments before finally sighing. "Alright."

"We should hit their rally point tonight," Asuka offered. "Weather may be favorable for vampires, but if they start making promises to the masses and we just arbitrarily slaughter them in front of their potential followers…"

"We turn them into martyrs," Shinji completed the thought. "Very well. Let's put an attack group together and head out."

You've, never know pain before,

Cain before,

But I'm gonna show you

You've, never been drained before,

Shamed before,

But I'd love to share

You've, never known insane before,

Deranged before,

I'm here to show you,

I… OWE… YOU… NOTHING

In a darkened area of Kyoto, a sprawling house that has been converted into an evil brothel can be found. The sounds of amorous lovemaking could be heard throughout the home, coming from rooms made private only by sheets of cloth hung over the doorways as curtains. In the largest room, the busty vampires known as Carmilla sat in a dark room at the far western side of the house. Though she could hear and feel the activities nearby, she took no pleasure in them. Instead, she drank blood from a wineglass and sulked in the darkness.

Ever since the last member of Shinji's Harem had been found, prospects for brides for the Dark Lord all but disappeared; none of the girls measured up in any meaningful way. Sure, they were pretty… sure they had the skills… but they lacked the soul… the passion… that certain…

"Je ne sais quoi," Carmilla reminded herself of the proper term. She had no words to describe it… but it was a tangible quality. She had found it in a few girls, all of whom either died in the JSSDF attack on her Tokyo-2 home over a year ago, or were otherwise lost. Miranda had that quality, but her betrayal after Mari's precluded any idea of keeping her alive. And of course there was Mari herself.

"I was too hasty to kill Miranda," Carmilla whispered to herself. "Now Mari will need to be broken before she can be remade… I can only hope that that certain Je ne sais quoi isn't lost in the process of breaking her." She heard her door open softly. Only one person was given permission to enter her chambers unannounced, and that was her personal handmaiden, Elizibeth.

Carmilla looked up to see the girl standing before her, still dressed in a dark outfit more befitting a rogue than a servant; tight black pants that perfectly showed the slim but sexy shape of her lower body, complete with a perfect thigh gap. Over the knee boots protected her during her travels, and a tight-fitting tunic with long sleeves showed the girlish shape in her modest breasts, delicate arms, and hands with slender fingers. Her face was beautiful to Carmilla, with long raven black hair that normally framed it, now tied back and hidden under her cloak. Her hood had been lowered as she entered revealing her pale skin, and almost ice blue eyes that seemed alight with life. To Carmilla, Elizibeth was the most beautiful creature in the world. Beautiful like herself, just in that girlish almost innocent allure that Carmilla lacked.

"What news?" the mistress asked. Her tone was more a friend than a mistress.

"The bait has been taken, Mistress," Elizibeth reported. "A girl who is believed to have been Mana Kirishima Belmont was given the information that With Light is recruiting here in Kyoto. Knowing the situation with that cult, Shinji will act on this information."

"You have done well," Carmilla praised her servant. "We must capture him or one of his Harem. I will make them tell me where Mari is, and I will have her once more."

"Do you believe your plan will work?" Elizibeth asked.

"Honestly," Carmilla admitted, "I don't… but I'm out of options. I can't fulfill the prophecy of the circle without brides, and only Mari is worthy of that position."

Elizibeth hinted at no disappointment, but asked anyway. "I cannot fulfill those requirements? Am I too small?"

The younger girl squeaked as she found herself pulled onto her Mistress's lap sitting sideways, and kissed. She immediately fell into that kiss with practiced ease despite the suddenness of it.

"My dear Elizibeth," Carmilla whispered seductively, "I would not give you up, even to the Dark Lord."

Smiling softly, she lay her head against the ample chest of Carmilla, and the vampress gently stroked her head as she settled in. "Thank you, Mistress."

"After tonight," Carmilla continued to whisper, "I need you to return to Styria. Once I have broken Mari I will be taking her back there, and she will need to be retrained."

"I am honored you trust me with such an important task," Elizibeth softly replied.

"My dear Lizzie, you are the only one I can trust for this now…"