Chapter Four: Masters and Slaves

Authors note. Warning. Sensitive readers might find parts of this chapter disturbing. It's meant to be.

The emerald dragon woman materialized on the landing platform with a growl. She lashed out at the dark haired girl who tried to approach her with a medical kit, blood splattering as she went flying. She ignored it as several other identical girls moved to tend to her. Just the sight of their faces made her want to scream at the moment.

She staggered to a wall and leaned on it, blood dripping from the numerous cuts she had received from Ukyo. What the hell had been up with that girl? Not only had she been using some strange weaponry, instead of the spatula she was supposed to have been welding, but she was far better than their intelligence had rated her. The same had been true of that damn dragon-girl, though catching her had been all too easy, curse it all. She raised her eyes to glare at the slave-girls and snarled again. Her claws itched as she fought the urge to slaughter the whole roomful. But fun as it would be, it wouldn't address the real cause of her anger, and her master would chastise her for breaking his toys.

Still, she had completed her mission, so she was certain to be allowed a reward. She took another look at the slaves and licked her lips, relishing the thought of asking for one to dine on. The imagined screams made her shiver in anticipation. They wouldn't be as delightful as Rubeus's had been, but she could take so much longer to enjoy herself.

Those thoughts gave her the energy to stand, and she lifted the hand she had struck the slave girl with, smiling as she licked her blood off her claws. It was so sweet, and promised of the delights that would come when she claimed her reward. She giggled as she felt at the cuts, their pain already lessened. Another hour or so, and they would be healed.

She left the entry bay, striding down the corridor to the teleportal to the command bridge while ignoring all the identical faces scurrying about their various tasks. As she entered the bridge, she looked out the main window, down at the barren surface of the Earth, and the small glimmer that marked Crystal Tokyo, nearly indistinguishable in the vast desert around it. Soon, the humans would be no-more, and they could proceed with their conquest of the past and erase this horrible timeline from existence.

"Welcome back, Emeraude," her masters voice came from the shadows at the back of the bridge. "Your mission went well, I trust?"

She knelt in front of his throne and looked up at him worshipfully. "Yes, master. The one called Ukyo was much stronger than anticipated, but I put up enough of a fight to make her believe she overcame me. The prototype has been delivered, and they believe for the moment she is the Dragon's Child."

Red eyes blinked at her from the shadows at the base of her master's throne and a throaty chuckle came from the indistinct figure. Emeraude ground her teeth silently at the intruder in her place at her master's feet.

"Very good, my pet." She felt her master's eyes upon her as a glint came from his eyesocket. His implacable mask betrayed nothing, but she could feel the pleased smile. "Now what reward shall we give you?"

She couldn't help herself as her eyes flicked to the nearest of the identical slave girls, then back to the red eyes mocking her from shadows next to the throne. Her master chuckled.

"But of course, my pet. You must be hungry." He motioned to one of the slaves, who obediently came to stand before Emeraude. "Entertain us, my pet."

Her breath caught as she looked at the nude slave girl. She swallowed hard. Was he reading her mind? Could he see her fury at the usurper?

Nervously, she stood and leaned down to kiss the short slave girl, who looked up at her with trusting emerald green eyes, completely oblivious to what was about to happen to her. She closed her eyes as the intoxicating scent of honey and cinnamon invaded her nostrils and made her salivate. Her eyes opened again to look into those bottomless green eyes, then downwards to look at her buxom figure, her alabaster skin, the generous breasts. They rose and fell as the girl panted softly in anticipation, her nipples already growing erect. Emeraude licked her lips before her eyes rose to the black figure watching her with amusement from the cushion where she had once lounged. Those red eyes chilled her. Despite her form, nothing human lived behind those eyes. Only the cold pitiless heart of a predator.

But her master was watching her as well. He was waiting for her to enjoy her well earned reward. To watch her as she showed him her appreciation of his generosity. He would be disappointed in her if she did not play with her treat properly before devouring her. She put the interloper from her mind as she closed her eyes once more and leaned forward to kiss the slave girl again, allowing her scent to drive everything but lust from her mind...


The girl huddled in the farthest reach of the huge bed as the others looked on.

"What's wrong with her?" Ranma whispered gently to Ying-Ying.

The ghost girl shook her head. "I don't know. She's been completely shielded, and she's too terrified to let us examine her thoroughly."

"Can you fix her?" Akane asked worriedly.

"I don't know."

Tao-Ching put his arm across the door and gently pushed the crowd back. "Guys, I know we are all worried. But look at her. We're scaring her to death. Back off and let the professionals work."

Ukyo looked at them pleadingly from where she had chosen to guard the door with Kanna as it slid closed, leaving only Clove, Ying-Ying and Rei in the room. Clove sighed. "Professionals, yeah right," she said morosely. She looked to the other two girls. "I guess that means me. Let me try first."

She moved slowly to the bed. The girl's eyes focused on her in fear. Clove held up her hands soothingly. "It's okay. I won't hurt you. See? No weapons," she said in Mandarin. She closed her eyes for a second as her black dress shimmered and poofed. "None at all, okay?" she said as she stood naked and slowly turned. "See? I have nothing I can hurt you with. I just want to set on the end of the bed and talk to you, okay?"

The girl nodded nervously, her head moving too rapidly in her fear. Clove slowly sat down, doing her best to make no threatening moves. The chain coming from the girl's collar clinked as it shifted, sliding down the slope created by her weight to touch her hand. The girl shivered. "Are– are– are y-y-y-ou, m– my m-m-master?" she asked, her voice almost pleading.

Clove shook her head. She winced as the girl started to cry. "Don't– um..." she started to say, then realized what she had done wrong. She sighed in despair. "May all the gods that exist damn him," she whispered in Japanese.

"Clove?"

She held up a hand to the two other girls. "Stay there. And I apologize for this in advance, but please, I beg of you, trust me." she said miserably.

"But–"

"I know how his mind works. I know what's got to be done. Curse him, but I know what has to be done." Tears streamed down her face. "If we're to have any hope of getting her to trust us, trust me. Please."

Rei put her hand on Ying-Ying's shoulder to keep her from moving forward. "It's alright, Clove. I think I know what you're planning."

"I'm sorry, please forgive me."

"W–would you rather I did it, Clove?" Ying-Ying asked softly.

"Could you, Ying-Ying? Could you actually make yourself do it? You know what will happen."

Ying-Ying bit her lip "I– I–" She looked away.

"You can't. And I won't let you try, my flower. I can't bear to let this sin be on your conscience. I have so many sins already. One more doesn't matter."

"We all have our sins, Clove." Rei said gently. "Just... just get it over with. We can't start figuring out what's wrong with her until she lets us get near her."

"Or even if it is her." Clove turned back to the girl, who had curled into a ball clutching a pillow as she had stared in incomprehension at the other girls. It was obvious she hadn't understood a word, and her wide green eyes held fear... and a desperate longing that broke Clove's heart.

Too many times. She had seen that look too many times. Shame burned deep inside her. How could I have ever have thought that this was the look of love? How could I have inflicted this misery on so many innocents? I've destroyed so many girls. So many hearts yearning for love that I twisted into this same awful parody. How can anyone forgive me when I cannot forgive myself?

She felt as Konatsu wrapped her mental arms around her. We all make mistakes, Clove-chan.

Mistakes? I've stolen the hearts and wills of I don't know how many people, used my magic to take away their ability to do anything other than serve me. Just like Xi'an Chi has done to her. She looks like Zhu-Shu, but even if she is, she isn't. What makes her a person has been stolen from her. We need to find out more, and the only choice Xi'an Chi has given us is going to force me to perpetuate the crime. To someone who could be my sister... to... to my– my–

And that is why it will be okay. Because she is your soulmate. Because we are her soulmates. We cannot trust responsibility for her very soul to anyone else if she is Zhu-Shu.

And if she is not? What then Ko-chan? I will still be guilty of stealing her will, of shackling her unwillingly to my beck and call. I will be stealing away from her everything that she is, just as I tried to do to you.

It cannot be helped Clove. All you can do for now is to be the kindest and most caring master she could ever hope to have. To protect her from all harm as I have vowed to protect you. Be the kind of master I have desired to serve for my entire life as a Kunoichi. For her sake.

The girl was still looking at her, tears in the corners of her eyes as they lay locked on the hand touching her chain. As Clove's fingers lifted to cover the chain, that longing turned into a desperate hope. Her fearful eyes rose to look at Clove's again.

"Are– are y-y-y-you m-m-m-m-y M-m-master?"

Clove's hand closed around the chain, her tears falling on the cold metal as she gripped it tightly, feeling tendrils of energy swirling between it and her hand. The spell was complex beyond anything she had ever felt before, layer upon layer of enchantments making a web too tangled for her to sort out without days, maybe even months of study. But it was still recognizable as what it was – a slave contract. A magical deed of possession that would bind the girl to her and make her unable to do anything but serve.

((Are you my master?)) it whispered.

She looked into those emerald eyes. Eyes the same color as her own. The eyes of Legend's daughters. Could he forgive her for this if she was truly Zhu-Shu? Could he forgive her for this violation of her sister's soul?

((Are you my master?)) the spell demanded. The chain seemed to vibrate in her hand as if it were eagerly anticipating her answer.

There would be no going back.

"Are you my master?" the girl whispered, the faintest of echoes of hope in her voice.

"I will gut you for this Xi'an Chi." Clove promised.

"Are you my master?" her voice was a plea.

"Yes. I am your master." Clove said in Mandarin through clenched teeth.

The chain glowed as the spell responded to her words, and the girl's eyes went blank. Mystical circles swirled and died in them as she smiled. Then they refocused on her, and the happiness in them broke her heart. She threw herself across the bed to hug Clove enthusiastically. "Master!"

Clove's hand glowed as she placed it on the back of the girl's head. She closed her eyes as she felt the girl's mind open itself to her, the magical barriers that had enveloped her earlier and made her impossible to read recognizing her and allowing passage. The other two girls looked on with held breath as Clove probed deeper and deeper before she finally opened her eyes and let out a sigh that contained as much relief as it did worry.

"Thank all the gods. It's not her." She shuddered. "It's not Zhu-Shu. She's a clone, a construct." She held the girl tightly. "Her name is Mu-Sān." Tears streamed from her eyes. "Damn him to all the hells. He's made another one," she sobbed.

Ying-Ying's breath caught. "Mu two?"

Clove nodded. "She's a copy of this universes Zhu-Shu, but I can't feel the Dragon's Blood in her."

Rei's wings flared, crackling. "Then that means Blackmoon has our Zhu-Shu," she growled.

Clove nodded, looking down at the now smiling girl. "She doesn't know anything. She's got no memories before the moment she woke up out on the table. She's little more than a doll created to be a slave. She doesn't even know how to talk beyond that one phrase, though she can understand Mandarin, and is apparently programmed with basic knowledge of her duties as a servant." Her hand clenched, purple lightning crawling around it. "How–how does he keep surviving to continue these ATROCITIES!"

The door slid aside at her scream to reveal Ukyo, her armor blazing and Wrathseeker at the ready. Mu let out a scared noise and hid behind Clove, peeking out in terror at Ukyo.

"What's going on!" Ukyo demanded, the door behind her filling up with equally curious faces.

"Blackmoon has Zhu-Shu. We've been had." Rei said, wisps of flame swirling around her hands as her eyes blazed. "That bastard Xi'an Chi is playing with us!"

"Huh? Then who is that!" Ukyo pointed to Mu, who ducked completely behind Clove with a squeak.

"She's a decoy." Clove said bitterly. "No, not even that. She's a cruel joke. A game he set up to torment us. He must have already had Zhu-Shu long before you ran into that other dragon-girl. He gave her to us just to force one of us to have to bind her as a slave, knowing it would be the only way we could discover that she's not Zhu-Shu. I had to complete her contract in order to unlock the magical barriers sealing her mind." She lowered her head in shame. "He's forced me to become a slave master again. Forced me to bind another girl as a possession."

Ukyo's eyes hardened. She cursed as she stuck Wrathseeker into the floor and strode across to the bed. Clove flinched, expecting the worst, knowing she deserved it, but the blow she was expecting didn't fall. After several seconds she looked up to see Ukyo holding out her hand.

"How do you bind her?" Ukyo asked angrily.

Clove blinked. "Huh?"

"Goddamn it Clove, I can feel how much you're hurting! I'm not going to let you bear it alone!"

"But– but–"

Ukyo's hand reached down to grab the chain still clenched in Clove's hand. "This is my fault. I let them fool me. I won't let you take the punishment I deserve! Now tell me how to contract her too!"

Clove shook her head. "No." She gently removed the chain from Ukyo's hand. "It wouldn't work even if I did. It's already encoded." She laughed bitterly. "Gods, what a horrible joke. Once, all I dreamed of was having Mu as my pet. To revenge myself on her stealing Shi away from me." She reached over to pet Mu's head soothingly. "It's okay, little one," she said in Mandarin. "Look at everyone here. I want you to understand that these are my friends, and they will all take care of you. You don't have to be afraid."

Mu peeked under her arm up at Ukyo. "F-f-f-friend?"

Ukyo closed her eyes and seemed to deflate. She opened her eyes again and looked down at the scared girl in pity. She gently held out her hand. "I'm afraid I don't speak Chinese, but please don't be afraid of me. I'll take care of you. And I'll find some way to free you from whatever spells are binding you."

"I-i-if she's not Zhu-Shu, who is she?" Akane asked from the door.

Clove sighed. "Her name is Mu-Sān. Mu number two. For all practical purposes, she's a doll. A playtoy created by Xi'an Chi from the Zhu-Shu who once existed in this world. Like the Mu I once knew, she's a copy of the Dragon's Child." She shook her head as the chain in her hand shimmered and suddenly shrank to just a few links dangling below Mu's collar. "A failed copy. Her body is an exact duplicate, but the Dragon's Blood is not in her."

"I-i-is she human?" Usagi asked.

"Yes. She appears to be, at least physically. She has almost no free will to speak of because of the spells on her, but once I've figured out how to remove them, she'll be as human as any of you. But her mind has been altered to make it impossible for her to rebel, and conditioned so she will instinctive try to please me. So, please, be kind to her. As far as she is aware, her life started the second she woke up on the table in the dining room. She can't help what she is, or what has been done to her. Now that she has a master, she'll calm down and not be so terrified." Clove finished sadly.

Ying-Ying wrapped her arms around her. "I'm so sorry Clove."

Mu was happily smiling as Ukyo petted her head. Clove smiled sadly. "It's okay, Ying-Ying. I promise I will take much better care of this Mu than I did the last one. I owe her that for my foolishness."

Tao-Ching cleared his throat. "Good. Now that that is settled, I have to ask the nasty question. Is she a boobytrap?"

Clove shook her head. "I couldn't find any compulsions or hidden commands in her head. She's harmless. It's that collar that worries me. I can't make heads or tails of the spells on it yet. They are too sophisticated. As much as it pains me to say it, don't let down your guard yet. She's as innocent as a newborn kitten and as devoid of any sense of right and wrong as one too. If the collar has any traps in it, there's no telling what they might be. For all I know, Xi'an Chi might be listening to every word–"


"–we say right now."

The masked figure laughed softly. "How clever, Clove of the Musk. It's so amusing to see you again after so long. I did not expect for Hild to bring you back, but I see you are still as sharp as ever."

He looked down to where Emeraude was finishing her meal and beckoned her closer. She crawled over on all fours, tracking blood across the deck as she came to crouch by his throne to be petted. She looked gloatingly at the shadowy figure on the opposite side of the throne. Xi'an Chi chuckled. "Careful, my pet. My new toy is not fully tamed yet. I don't wish you two to scrap like dogs."

Emeraude pouted briefly, then tilted her head to look up worshipfully. "Did I please you, my master?"

"Quite. You put on a beautiful show, my pet."

"Thank you, my master."

Red eyes glared at her as a hiss could be heard. Emeraude smiled viciously.

"Ssssssssso why do you watch? I want to kill them. I want to ssssssssspill their blood."

"It amuses me, child. Take poor Clove there. So penitent. So tormented by her past. Look what love has made of her. She used to be such a strong willed and wayward little toy. So eager to take whatever she wanted. She made such a fun little game piece until she tried to bite her master in order to save her precious Weapon's Master. That fool Hild put a broken toy back on the playing field in her anger over losing her daughter's lover as a pawn."

The red eyed figure hissed. Xi'an Chi's expressionless mask turned down to her. "Still, I suppose I should thank her. After all, her foolishness delivered you right into my hands, no?"

A flicker of red cut through the image of Clove floating before the throne, followed by a hiss of frustration.

"Patience, little one. She will taste so much better once she has been properly prepared. Their feast of despair is but just begun. Now, we let them hope, let them believe that they have the slimmest of chances to win, before we make our next move."

"Sssssssssuch a bother. Why wait? Sssssssssspill them now." Red eyes looked at him questioningly. "Why thessssssssssse gamessssss?"

"Curious are we?" He chuckled. "Dragons and kittens. Always too curious." He petted her head. "Still, you might as well know." He pointed at the hologram, "Like your former friends, I am from your universe. My Mistress Chaos sent me here, to replace the pale shadow of myself this universe's Xi'an Chi had become." He waved at the slave girls cleaning the blood of their sister off the floor before the throne. "Behold, the fruits of a thousand years of futility and impotent rage. My doppelganger was a fool. He allowed his place as Chaos's favored to be usurped by a silly Vampiress and lost Clan Scorpion to Fairy Tale. He spent a thousand years experimenting with your doppelgangers in a futile effort to regain the power he had wasted. But I do have to thank him for the one thing he succeeding in doing." He cupped the dark figure's face. "He discovered the secret to unlocking your true power."

The black dragon-girl blinked at him. "Sssssssssecret?"

"Despair. Misery. Suffering. Look at that silly bitch Clove. Once she was an outstanding weapon. Like a true dragon, she took what she desired, and added it to her hoard. Now, she has 'happiness' and 'love'. She's become a pathetic weakling who let herself be shackled to what she knows is a trap, even if she can't yet deduce what the trap is. With little more than a nudge, she's already violated the precious 'morals' she is trying to force herself to conform to in her effort to obtain her 'soulmate's' approval."

"Ssssssssssssssssoulmates!" the dragon-girl hissed derisively. "Betrayersssssssssssss." Her tail lashed agitatedly.

"Precisely, my pet. And that is why I have devised my 'games'. I will make them suffer for your pleasure. I will make them experience all the despair you could ever desire them to feel. I will lead them through hell in order to unlock your ultimate power. The more they despair, the stronger you will grow."

The black dragon girl purred in pleasure while Emeraude hid a smile behind her hand.

Enjoy sitting in my spot for what little time you shall have it, bitch. Once my master has empowered you, he will take that power from you. And then I won't have to pretend one of your mindless little clones is you when I am stripping your flesh from your bones!

Xi'an Chi's eye glittered at the purring dragoness. "Does the thought please you so, Zhu-Shu?"

The other dragon girl recoiled. "No! Not Zhu-Sssssssssshu!" She spat a fire ball to burn on the floor.

"Then what should I call you, my sweet?"

Sharp teeth gleamed in the darkness. "I am a black dragon. You may call me Sssssssssshadow. hizzzzzzzzzz..."


Ai blinked when Lo-Shen barged into the cheerleader's locker room, followed by two cats. The other girls paused in their warm-up to look at the lavender haired mage in surprise.

"Oh, um, hey Lo-Shen, what's up?"

"We need to talk, Miss Konjou."

The white furred cat sighed. "Are you really sure this is the best course, Archmage?"

All five girls blinked simultaneously.

Lo-Shen looked at the cat impatiently. "Best course, no. Best currently available option? Yes." She looked back up. "Okay girls, gather round. And yes, the cats talk. And no, they are not bakeneko."

The cheerleaders looked at one another, then shrugged before sitting down on the benches in front of the Amazon elder. "So what's this about, Lo-Shen?" Ai asked.

Lo-Shen crossed her arms. "You're being recruited to pretend to be the senshi."

"Say what?" Ai managed in a strangled voice.

"I said, you are going to pretend to be the senshi. Apparently, they are in the future along with Ranma, Akane and Shan-Pu, as well as Konatsu, Ying-Ying, and the other five who went missing at the Club opening. I know you know that Akane and Zhu-Shu were teaching them martial arts. Yesterday, I found two unconscious Blackmoon sisters tied up in the dojo and the remains of a gate after I went to investigate a massive energy surge above Tokyo. Between what I managed to find out from these two and Urd and Mara, apparently they defeated the person behind that cat girl who blew up the gym, but got stuck in a wormhole to the future. What that means is that right now, almost all of Tokyo's more formidable defenders are AWOL. If Blackmoon attacks again, there's just me and two kitties to stop them, because Goddesses aren't allowed to interfere in the mortal realm outside of the limits of their assignment, and Ke-Lun is tied up defending the village. So congratulations, girls. You're it."

Ai blinked. "So, basically, we are going to be turned into a magical girl combat squad whether we want to or not?"

There was a knock on the door. "Um, Lo-Shen-sama? We came as you requested." Kodachi's voice came through the door.

Lo-Shen grinned. "Not just you."

She opened the door to let Kodachi and Mousse into the room, motioning them to set down.

"Alright girls. Down to business. Kodachi, Mousse, The cheerleaders. Cheerleaders, Kodachi and Mousse. Make kissy faces later. I've brought you all together because combined, you might equal the Senshi. Me and the kitties are going to be your tactical advisors, and I'll help with support magic. I can hit a lot harder as artillery than I can as a frontliner. Mousse, Kaede, you're aerial support. Kodachi, Kyoko, you are going to be our mobile light assault – hit and run. Ai, Megumi, you are both mainline defense. And Ayeka–"

"Tank, right?" The vampiress smiled. "I've played my share of MMO's"

Lo-Shen smiled. "You've got at least a hundred times the 'hitpoints' of anyone else here."

"So long as I get fed before we fight, I've got a hundred times that."

"But still, you're asking us to fight Youma." Ai interjected. "I mean, I know we're all skilled fighters, and everyone but me is a youkai, but do you really think we're going to be able to slug it out with Youma?"

Lo-Shen smiled. "As you are right now, dear? No. But I am an Unlimited Class Archmage. I will be forming magical contracts with all of you, which will enable you all to draw on my magical power to grant you each a unique set of abilities and weapons."

Kyoko clapped her hands. "You mean a Pactio? Like in Negima!"

Lo-Shen raised an eyebrow. "Not quite, but you get the gist. It's actually a familiar contract. I'm going to make you all my familiars."

Kaede giggled. "Oh my. My mom used to be a mage's familiar when she was much younger. She always brags about how great the sex was."

Lo-Shen rolled her eyes. "Succubi." She sighed. "Anyway, by making you a familiar, I will be forming a magical contract that empowers you to be what basically amounts to my own small magical army. Seven of you is pretty much the limit of how many I can link to without creating compacts that are far more binding than I will allow any of you to form. I'm using you as a temporary defense force, not binding your souls for eternity as my slaves."

"Thank goodness for small favors."

Lo-Shen gave Ai an amused glance. "I still have my fur-lined handcuffs you know."

Ai wrapped her arms around Ayeka and Kaede, the two closest to her. "Too bad. You missed your chance, you naughty rabbit-girl. I am quite thoroughly possessed already." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Of course, you might make a nice dessert some night."

Ayeka giggled. "Only if you share. No more keeping treats to yourself."

Ai kissed her. "Of course, my love. I promised I wouldn't do anything to make you feel neglected again."

Megumi raised her hand as she smiled at the other two. "So, um, what exactly does becoming a familiar involve?"

Lo-Shen rubbed her hands together and cracked her knuckles. "A magic spell, a drop each of your blood, and some space for me to draw the circle. You got some chalk?"


In another part of Tokyo, the sound of a hum filled an empty warehouse. Small crackles of lightning began to form around an odd swirl appearing in mid air. They grew stronger as the swirl became a vortex, and then opened into a gate. As it stabilized, a buxom, naked, black haired figure stepped through, then was followed by nearly a dozen more identical figures. They carried various boxes, or rolled carts carrying pieces of heavy equipment. Within just a few minutes, they had unpacked and set up a complex looking device that surrounded the hole in the air.

As the final piece was assembled, most of them stepped back as one of the duplicates activated what appeared to be a power supply. The gate stopped swirling and stabilized into a transparent window, showing what seemed to be a sophisticated complex on the far side. The group of doppelgangers re-entered the gate as more came through, dragging heavy cables, and more carts of equipment. Soon, the warehouse was swarming with the identical girls, busily assembling a massively complex device. One of them finished connecting what proved to be a holographic projector, and as she activated it, an over head view of Tokyo came into view, showing seven more blinking dots set in a perfect circle around Tokyo tower and encompassing over a third of the entire city. They blinked serenely for a few seconds as lines of code scrolled across the screen, then a second image overlaid itself on the eight dots, lines connecting them in a geometric design within which numerous symbols were written, surrounded by a massive circle...


"Alright, so what's our sit-rep?" Tao-Ching asked as they gathered for breakfast, all of them yawning due to the short night.

Mu bustled around cheerfully keeping glasses and plates filled. They had tried to make her sit down to eat with them but the poor girl had looked absolutely miserable until Clove had finally told her she could wait on them with a sigh. At least they had managed to get her to wear clothes, though the ones she had chosen had quite naturally been an excessively short skirted french maid's uniform that would have been at home in an ecchi anime. Clove hadn't been able to make her choose anything less revealing than the obviously intended for bedroom cosplay outfit with it's barely covering sleeveless top, small apron and very small mini skirt, and had been unable to convince her to wear either a bra or panties with it. She just cried miserably every time anyone had tried to put them on her. It had become obvious that she'd been conditioned to remain overtly on display to her master as part of her programming. That the skirt was at least an inch too short up front and several inches too short in back – obviously intended to show off the panties Mu wouldn't wear – appeared to be the only reason she hadn't taken it off yet, as she was making a happy smile as she scurried around in her uniform and stockings, flashing everyone as she refilled glasses and plates. While obviously intending to cause nosebleeds, the fact that they were all aware that she was programmed to act that way instead of doing it because she wanted to was making them more uncomfortable than appreciative.

As Mu was serving her a portion of fish cakes, Ukyo answered Tao-Ching's question with a sigh. "I've more or less come to the conclusion that there's almost nothing we can do to help this universe. Based on the state of the city around us, the small number of humans still surviving, and the condition of the entire planet, this battle is over and done with." She put her fingertips together in front of her face and shook her head sadly. "It's become a war of attrition against a superior force, and we don't have a battleship armed with a wave motion gun in our back pocket. Blackmoon has devastated this Earth to the point that it is unlivable. If they didn't have Zhu-Shu, I'd vote we just investigate a means to revive Queen Serenity and King Endymion, and get the hell out of here. We'd have a much stronger chance to stop Blackmoon in our own universe than here."

Tao-Ching nodded. "Yeah." He rubbed his temples, doing his best not to pay too much attention to Mu's bare rear under her tiny skirt being poked out towards him as the serving girl bent to serve Nabiki some eggs. "I swear, the Empress has a knack for getting herself kidnapped."

Ukyo rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it."

Kagura looked at Mu's extremely low cut decollage as Mu refilled her glass. "Do you truly suspect this girl is a spy? She seems more interested in being used for sex than intelligence gathering."

Half of the table looked at Clove, who sighed and nodded. "Please forgive her for acting like this. It's how all of the slave girls in Xi'an Chi's palace acted as well. And while I have as yet detected nothing suspicious within Mu herself, it is best to assume that anything she sees or hears is known to Xi'an Chi. That quite probably extends to myself and Konatsu as well, as the bearer of Mu's contract. Her own personal understanding of language is limited to Mandarin, and despite her behavior, she's mentally only about as developed as a five year old, so she doesn't really comprehend much of anything, and is acting primarily on instinct. Sex and being a servant are pretty much her intended purposes. Xi'an Chi wouldn't have bothered to educate her for anything else. And even when I figure out how to break the slave contract, I'm afraid she'll probably keep expecting everyone to play with her. For her, it's no different than waiting on tables."

She petted Mu's head, and the girl beamed as she clutched her empty serving tray to her chest, looking like she was about to melt from joy.

"It's this that's probably the spy device." Clove continued as she touched the heavy ring around Mu's neck. "Her collar is of a level of sophistication approaching the divine, more complex even than Zhu-Shu's goddess seals. I cannot comprehend even a small fraction of it's spell structure yet. By forcing me to accept her contract, Xi'an Chi has effectively removed me from play. You cannot trust me either in planning or the execution of any rescue plan. The chance that Xi'an Chi will be aware of anything I or Mu am involved in is too great."

Tao-Ching growled. "Which basically means he's neutralized the closest thing we have to a mage like himself."

"I am no match for him, Tao-Ching. I was little better than an object to be toyed with before he drowned me. Once he stuck that chaos crystal in me, I could no more disobey him than poor Mu here. He spent hours raping me and making me beg him for more. He outclasses me in raw power as much as I did that pathetic ifrit, Rubeus." She shuddered at the memories.

"You're still a vastly more capable mage than anyone else here, myself included." Ying-Ying said as she reached over to grasp Clove's hand comfortingly. "But, unfortunately, you're right. Even with all the wards we both have up, it's too risky to assume they can block something that is as much of a complete unknown as that collar." She sighed. "We're probably going to have to wait till we get back and can ask Urd and Belldandy, maybe even Skuld, for help. As good as Skuld is with complex devices, she might be able to help us remove it safely. Until then–" She shrugged helplessly.

"Well before we can plan to rescue Zhu-Shu, do we even have a clue where she might be?" Akane asked.

"The soldiers I was with say that the Blackmoon has a big ship in orbit, something they call the Fortress." Ranma said. "It's like a mountain, a giant rock with a castle covered by a big dome on it, and armed to the teeth. It's Blackmoon's flagship. It's the command center for everything."

Ying-Ying gasped. "Oh no."

They all looked at her.

She closed her eyes as she sighed. "It's got to be the Tianlong. Lin-Tzu's dreadnaught. He shot it from the sky over the Empire during the final days."

Ukyo snorted. "Shot it down? Hardly. He slipped traitors aboard to sabotage her! He crippled her before she ever had a chance to be in battle! How dare that bastard steal my ship!" Her fist slammed into the table, making everyone jump and causing Mu to drop her tray and scurry behind Clove again as she peeked wide eyed at Ukyo.

Tao-Ching sighed. "So I take it you are familiar with the ship in question?"

Ukyo's eyes narrowed. "Yes. The Tianlong was my personal command. She was Lin's aerial palace. If she had been in service when Xi'an Chi had assaulted the Imperial Palace, it would have changed the entire outcome. He never would have been able to overrun the Palace, and Lin would have been safely aboard the Tianlong instead of vulnerable and nearly trapped."

"That would explain why he took it out ahead of time. He probably planned to salvage it from the start." Tao-Ching leaned back. "There's no telling what he's changed in the last two thousand years, but the basic layout has to be similar."

Ukyo nodded. "It's a roughly circular mountain, two miles in diameter, about a mile from crest to bottom. The bottom is pure armor, about 20 feet thick, and enchanted to protect her from re-entry and weapons no matter how powerful. The Rim is a defense perimeter, about a quarter of a mile high, reinforced and covered in heavy cannon emplacements. Behind the rim is the Palace grounds, an artificial environment encased in mystical shields nearly as powerful as those on the bottom, centered on Lin's summer Palace. We took the whole damn mountain it was on and honeycombed it with enough tunnels and chambers to pack a fifth of the Imperial army on it. You've got to figure a crew of roughly a half million at a minimum. Not to mention five landing bays with enough space to park twenty or so battleships, and around a thousand hangers for fighter craft. It took thirty years to build her and she was in service for less than a week before Xi'an Chi's saboteurs crashed it into the Himalayas. Over a hundred thousand military personnel went down with her."

"Under the same circumstances, you'd have done the same, Ukyo." Tao-Ching shrugged.

Ukyo grimaced. "I know. It just galls me that he still managed to outmaneuver me."

Mu had been looking back and forth at them as they had talked, and apparently deciding that she wasn't in trouble, crept out from behind Clove to pick up the pitcher and start refilling glasses, while giving them frequent looks to be sure she wasn't being yelled at.

Tao-Ching appeared to not be paying her any mind as he sat and thought. "So basically, he's got his own Death Star, and we've got to pull a Han Solo and rescue the Princess," he said after a few seconds, and rubbed his eyes. "Remind me when we get her back to paddle her tail for running off like that." As Mu started refilling his glass, he reached out to scratch her head, and she smiled, then scurried to the next glass, obviously reassurred.

"You're going to have to stand in line." Ukyo sighed.

Clove stood up, picking up her breakfast, and Mu grabbed her tray again to collect a generous sampling of items for refills. "I will go back into our room and let you hash out what needs to be done. I am sorry that I am just a burden right now." She bowed as Mu stepped up behind her and imitated her.

"Not true, Clove-chan, nyah. Clove-chan have own job do." Shan-Pu protested. "You fix Mu. Make not slave, mew." She looked at the slave girl sadly. "Mu be much cuter if act same way by choice, myah, not because slave."

Clove nodded. "Yes." She turned to go, Mu following her like a worshipful puppy.

As she was leaving, there was a knock at their dining room entrance, and they turned to see Sailor Pluto along with a small childlike person who was wrapped in an enormous cloak. She bowed.

"I have come to advise you that it is likely to be no earlier than the day after tomorrow that travel may resume to your homeworld."

"The Gate's still broken? Aw man!" Ranma grumped. The child-like figure glared at him.

"I am not broken! There is a temporal storm rampaging between the two planes. Until it passes I cannot re-establish contact with the Gate on your side. I just don't have enough power to force a passage and there's too great a risk of the storm escaping to the material plane, which would be a disaster!"

Ranma blinked at the irate kid. "Huh?"

Pluto smiled. "May I introduce Gate. She's the Gate of Time I am Guardian over."

"She's ADORABLE!" Usagi squealed.

Nabiki shook her head. "I'm not even going to go there."

Tao-Ching chuckled. "Nothing surprises me anymore." He looked back at Pluto. "Anyway, got two questions. First is what can we do to free the King and Queen, and second, can you provide us with a ship? We have to go retrieve our missing companion."

"Endymion and Serenity are both encased within black crystal which has proven impervious to everything we have tried to bring to bear against it. Small Lady came to you in hopes that the Silver Crystal might be powerful enough to undo the prison and free our Lord and Lady. But for a ship, we have none to offer. Blackmoon destroyed our fleet in the asteroid belt following the defeat of Venus and Saturn."

"Nothing at all? Not even a captured vessel?"

"No, nothing."

Gate was rubbing her jaw thoughtfully. "What about that one in the museum? I know it's a Silver Millennium relic, but it's still space worthy. They did fly it back here from Mars."

"The last Duke's yacht? I had forgotten about that."

Rei blinked. "Did you just say they brought back a ship from Mars?"

Pluto nodded. "It's an old ship. The Zhulong. Back before Blackmoon appeared, we were attempting to re-explore the old Moon Kingdom. They found it in the remains of the old royal docks on Mount Olympus. They assumed it was the Duke's personal yacht from the colors she was flying, but it's an unusual ship for a Martian vessel, and was found in surprisingly good condition."

"It's not Martian. It's an Imperial vessel, Lin-Tzu gave it to my parents as part of my dowry." Rei laughed bitterly. "I was dreaming of the day I was betrothed just before Zhu-Shu disappeared, and saw it in my memories. By the time we got back to Earth, the war had already started. It was the last time I ever saw them." Tears splashed on the table. "It was Lin's. She gave them her own personal transport, so they could come visit me whenever they wished."

Ying-Ying vanished from her seat to reappear in front of Pluto. "Please. Give us that ship. With it we have a chance. Not just to rescue Zhu-Shu, but to maybe help you survive."

They all turned at the laughter coming from Ukyo. Her armor burned with blue fire as she stood, still laughing. She turned to Pluto, a strange fire in her eyes. "The Gods are kind today," she said wickedly.

"Ukyo?" Ranma asked worriedly. "You okay, man?"

She turned back to the table and leaned over to put her palms on it, still chuckling. "Congratulations, people," she said triumphantly as she looked around the table and all the faces wondering if she had gone mad. "We just got our Wave Motion Gun."

There was a collective "Huh?"

Ukyo grinned like a madwoman. "The Zhulong wasn't just Lin's personal yacht. Originally, it was the command ship for the Imperial fleet, until the Tianlong was finished. There was a plan to build one for each royal family in the Moon Kingdom, but we never had time to complete them all. The Zhulong was the prototype, the testbed for what we had planned to do with the others."

"Which was?" Tao-Ching asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ukyo pointed to the Senshi. "To amplify them. By multiple orders of magnitude." Her eyes turned to Rei. "I fine tuned the Zhulong myself before she was delivered. She wasn't exactly part of your dowry. She was going to be given to you on your wedding day, along with the Phoenix rod."

Rei blinked. "For me?"

Ukyo grinned. "Yes, beloved. Or to be more exact, it was a gift for your Phoenix form. With you onboard, it could provide an infinite supply of power, and almost a thousand fold magnification of your attacks. Basically, dear heart, it's going to make your 'Ground Zero' into the biggest damn cannon in the solar system."

Tao-Ching laughed. Ukyo looked at him and grinned.

"Trust me, it gets better." She jerked a thumb at the rest of the Senshi. "It'll amplify them as well. Not as well, but still enormously. There were going to be nine ships in her series, one customized for each of the Senshi, so we anticipated the probability of multiple senshi per ship in emergencies. But best of all, I never removed the customizations I had made for its use as a fleet command and control vessel. I had still planned to use her as a backup if we lost the Tianlong, so she's a fair bit more heavily armored and shielded than usual for a ship her size." She gave a "what can you do" shrug. "And the day I needed her, she was parked on Mars." She sat back down and leaned back in her chair. "She's almost the exact opposite of the Tianlong. Small, agile, stealthy, and designed for surgical strikes and tactical warfare. If all her systems are still functional that is."

Pluto spread her hands. "She is intact, and her engines work. Other than that, I couldn't tell you. She was found preserved in an intact hanger under the ruins, and has been collecting dust in the museum ever since. The efforts to investigate and restore it were abandoned when Blackmoon attacked."

Tao-Ching pointed. "Ukyo, Rei, Ying-Ying. You go check it out and see if it's still usable for a rescue mission." he looked around. "Anyone else want to go with them? We don't need everyone to go look and see what we can do to break the Queen and King out of some crystals."

Tatewaki looked at Kagura. "I am curious to see one of these flying ships, would you care to join me, My Lady?"

"Certainly." She rose with him and looked around. "Where is my sister?"

"Myah. Little mirror girl follow Mu and Ko-chan to room. Muuu"

Kagura smiled. "I see. She has taken quite a liking to your Zhu-Shu. Hopefully she understands that Mu is not her."

Ying-Ying smiled at her. "She does. She's really quite intelligent. She's just not comfortable around people yet."

Kagura smiled back. "I confess, I don't really understand her. She's quite a bit older than I am. But she's my sister. I want her to be able to experience the happiness I have found too."

"Of course you do. She's a really cute little mirror. Give her time. Eventually, she'll learn how to have emotions."

Tao-Ching looked around the rest of the party. "Okay, the Senshi and I are going to look at these crystal prisons. Anyone who wants to come, come along, the rest of you should stay here."

Shan-Pu stood and grabbed Akane and Ranma's braids. "Shan-Pu not care about crystal, nyah. She not get to finish sleep. Take pillows and go nap, mrrrrrr." She headed for her room dragging the pair of giggling girls behind her. Nabiki waved them an amused goodbye.

"Okay furball. Let's go see what we get to break."


Clove sat on the bed, crying. Mu stroked her hair, obviously hoping to cheer her mistress up, but not knowing how. Kanna was kneeling by the door, observing dispassionately. She tilted her head.

"Why do you cry?" she asked in her near whisper.

Clove shrugged. "Because I want to be able to help my soulmates, and instead, I cannot allow them to even be in my presence."

"Dispose of the girl."

Clove shook her head. "It's not that easy, small one. I am responsible for her. Her wellbeing is in my hands."

"That is not logical."

Clove smiled bitterly. "No, I suppose not."

Her eyes shifted colors. "It is a Kunoichi's duty to protect her mistress, and her mistress's duty to take care of her servants," Konatsu explained. "We are her possessions, but we also are her children. It is a mistresses duty above all to love those whose lives have become hers to command."

Kanna tilted her head the other way, looking puzzled. "I... am furniture."

Konatsu shook her head. "No. Your master was a very bad master if that is how he treated you." She reached over to pet Mu's head, prompting the worried looking girl to smile. "This girl may be a shackle, but she has a soul, and a heart, and they have both been bound to us. It falls to us to treasure those precious gifts, and to bear the responsibility of returning her to humanity. No matter what it takes, we must release her from this curse."

"Because she is a Zhu-Shu?"

"No. Because she is a Mu. Because she is herself. She might have been made as a thing, but she has her own unique soul. And because she has that soul, she deserves to have that soul acknowledged. Even if she were just one of millions of Zhu-Shu's, she is still herself." She hugged Mu fiercely, Mu looking surprised at first before breaking out into a happy smile. "My sisters never acknowledged me. I will die before I will allow anyone to do the same to her."

Kanna nodded once, seemingly satisfied. "Onee-chan acknowledges me." She wrapped her arms around the mirror, her eyes distant.

Ever so slightly, the corners of her mouth rose...

Authors Notes: The Tianlong (Heavenly Dragon, pronounced T'ien-Lung) is a Celestial Dragon that guards heavenly places, as well as the Chinese name for Draco. The Zhulong (Torch Dragon, pronounced Chu-Lung, not "Who"like the Zhu in Zhu-Shu) is a solar dragon in Chinese myth. Mu-Sān (literally Female-two) simply shows the contempt Xi'an Chi had when he named her, both the original, and the current one. The symbol used also can be translated as mother, the original Mu's sole purpose.