Chapter Six: Devil's Night
Like always, when she had no guests, it was dark.
It's not like there was a point to having light anyway. Nothing had changed in 2000 years. Well, there was more salt sand build up, but that certainly wasn't something she really cared to look at.
She was setting at her tea table, head resting on her many arms, crying, like she always did when she was alone. It might have been hours since Urd and Mara had left, it might have been days. There was no way to tell in the dark. Besides, time here was disconnected from the outside world. Sometimes years passed in here while mere days passed in the world of humanity, sometimes time stood still for decades. It was better when that happened. Entire centuries could sometimes pass in a night.
She could have been passing the time spying on the world, but all her soulmates were a thousand years and a universe away. The human world without them held absolutely no interest. She might have forgiven them for the horrors she had endured, might have sought redemption for the evil she had inflicted against them in return. She might even pity the poor creatures. But in 3000 years, nothing about them had changed. They couldn't change, and never would unless the future she had sacrificed everything for could be achieved.
She sighed. Did Ukyo even remember her? The last time she had been able to observe the chef, she had been oblivious to her past self. While it was an encouraging sign that she had somehow summoned her armor, it was no guarantee that she had accessed the particular memories that related to her. Ukyo might have remembered only her marriage to Lin-Tzu, or random memories of her life as Lin's Guardian.
So here she sat... alone... in the dark. How many centuries had she passed this way?
She didn't even have the excuse of pretending to examine Mara's coding to occupy her anymore. She'd given her report on it to Mara to give to Lind. And who knew how many years it would be before Lind could take the time to come and play chess.
In fact, she was so busy moping, she almost didn't notice when something actually happened.
It took awhile before she finally realized the worldnode was requesting her attention. It had logged an access request. Several of them in fact. But they were so garbled, it couldn't tell where they were originating. All it could tell was that an authorized node was seeking to connect to the Midgard worldnet.
But, there shouldn't have been any active nodes still in service.
Six monitors materialized in the air in front of her as she blinked the tears from her eyes, one hand feeling around for her handkerchief while two more tapped on the glowing keys that appeared on the table. By the time she had wiped the tears away, she was using her other three hands to access multiple secondary keypads, linking Shiva Prime to her secret connection to Yggdrasil. With Yggy's help, she soon determined that the request was so garbled because it was very weak and distorted due to the fact it had multiple sources, and they were all out of sync.
Twenty minutes of analysis, and the application of several hundred filters later, she had been able to clear up the signal sufficiently to be able to tell it was originating from eight separate locations in Tokyo, but those were just reflections from the origin. The fact that they were out of sync, the signal being delayed from the various sources by milliseconds probably indicated that the various reflection points were different distances from the original source.. Yggy's analysis suggested that the signals were being reflected through some sort of dimensional gate from a single source on the far side. An additional thirty minutes of analysis, and a consultation with Phoenixmoon, and she whistled as they finally managed to decode the logon request entirely.
She had no idea how it was possible, but somehow an active Yggdrasil Seed AI node was trying to connect to the Worldnet. It was sending connection requests every five seconds, over a long range hyperspace frequency reserved for the old Imperial Fleet, using a priority request protocol reserved for Lin-Tzu's personal use. The signal was bouncing through the gate from the Seed, wherever it was on the far side.
"Can we even send an acknowledgement or establish two way communication?" she asked no-one in particular. Yggdrasil and Phoenixmoon took it as a request anyway, and began to analyze the possibility.
Urd looked at the slim, black-clad butler with a puzzled look on her face. She looked back down at her notes again, then over to Mara, who was observing the dark young man from a rooftop with her.
"Okay, I can see quite clearly from Phoenixmoon's notes that this Raijin Hasai is a fantastic match for Miss Kino. If it hadn't been for Kodachi screwing things up for them, they'd still be a couple. What I don't get is why I can't even remember this guy being in the notes previously. I could have sworn her "Senpai" was named Freddy or something, and I don't remember their relationship as being anywhere near this intense or complicated, just your run of the mill schoolgirl crush, and a broken heart when he decided to date Kodachi over her."
Mara gave her an "I don't know" shrug. "Phoenixmoon did make a point of saying that the timequake had left some major alterations in the timeline. Could it be that he's only existed since the quake?"
Urd frowned. "It's possible. His last name sounds really familiar, though."
Mara nodded. "Of course it does. Ano Hasai was the old guy that Peorth gave the wish to at the club, remember?" She came over and rubbed Urd's shoulders. "The timequake was a direct occurrence from that wish, so it's quite feasible that the entire Hasai family was drastically affected by the granting of the wish."
"True." Urd looked at his notes again. "He's got a mishmash of youkai blood in him, the most recent being his grandmother, who was a spider. He's likely got some interesting youkai abilities, but that damn program completely forgot to include a rundown on them. He's following in the family tradition of serving as a Butler to a select group of families. His grandfather works for the Director. His father was the Hibiki's butler, but died three years ago in a car crash. He's assumed the family obligation, and taken the position even though he's still in highschool. Practically begged Old Muhashi to allow him to begin his service the day after Tao-Ching took his little trip. Huh. Looks like he was already in town a week before, already setting up his transfer to Furinkan, moving his stuff from Kyoto. I'd almost guess he was waiting, like he knew Tao-Ching was going to be going back in time."
Mara shrugged. "Makes sense if the Hasai clan viewed his service as repayment for Tao-Ching fulfilling the wish."
"Yeah, I suppose. That little scene he made with Kodachi at lunch was kinda weird though. I couldn't tell what he felt for her. I hope it doesn't spell trouble for getting him hooked back up with Jupiter."
"At least we have a prospect for her. We don't even have any leads on Mercury or Venus yet, or who their happy ending is supposed to be with."
Urd sighed. "Don't remind me." She stood straight and turned away from the roof's edge toward the access door. "Come on, let's go home. My head is pounding, and I just don't feel like being out and about tonight."
Mara nodded, looking out over the city. "Yeah, know what you mean. I can't put a finger on it, but something really feels weird. The whole city feels off. It's making my skin crawl."
Urd nodded, taking a last look across the cloudless sky. "It feels like a storm is coming," she muttered before exiting through the door.
The tall blue haired youkai gave Emeraude a glare as he strode towards the throne. Once, he might have almost passed for human, even with the slit pupiled eyes and cat ears that adorned his skull, but the metal that formed half his face made that impossible now. The whir of gears could be distinctly heard as he came to a stop before the throne and bowed.
"The portals are complete, and the reavers are waiting for full dark, Lord Wiseman."
Xi'an Chi's implacable mask rose from where he had been petting the black dragoness to look at the cyborg. "Have they been briefed on their mission?"
"Of course, my lord. They are to slaughter everyone they encounter to create the Circle of Blood. Each troop will leave the node they are at in approximately four more hours and follow their set path to the next node. Once they have created the circle, they will proceed to secure the Tokyo tower region in preparation for stage two."
"And Demande's command?"
"They are also prepared. Their ships will land around Crystal Tokyo in sync with my troops in the other world. They will annihilate the remaining humans and secure the Palace. Demande intends to seize Serenity's crystal and slaughter the remaining inhabitants."
There was a chuckle. "Of course. Let the fool have his playtoy. All he need do is spill sufficient blood."
The cyborg grinned. "My fool of a brother will be quite surprised to find himself included in the sacrifice. Pity I will not get to see the look on his face."
"Ahh, of all the flavors of hate, that which exists between siblings is always so fascinating."
"What of your playtoys, my lord."
"Have our agents ensure that they are all aboard our little trap and underway within the next three hours. It would not do to allow them to accidently die before I have finished extracting every last drop of suffering from them for my sweet little pet."
Saphir clicked his heels and bowed before turning to relay his master's orders.
Tao-Ching and the senshi had examined the crystal in which Serenity was encased for over an hour, but it was of no use. Ami's computer couldn't get readings on it, and none of their attacks had even scratched the surface, not even Usagi's Haliation. They were back in the guest quarters discussing their options when an officer for the palace guard arrived.
"Your pardon sir, but we've been requested by Lady Pluto to deliver supplies to the vessel that you will be using. Unfortunately we're very short handed. May I beg for your assistance? I have only a three man squad to oversee a half dozen supply vehicles. We have had some issues with rogue elements in the city looting improperly supervised supply shipments. I would feel much better with your protection, my lord."
Tao-Ching looked over at Ranma and shrugged. "We might as well all go. I was thinking about heading that way soon anyway. This way we got a ride."
Ranma looked at Akane, who nodded. "Sure. They've had a couple of hours to check it out. I'd like to see what it looks like now that I'm not yawning my head off."
"Yeah, getting to see a real artifact from the Silver Millennium sounds neat!" Usagi chimed in. "I'm bored sitting around here with nothing to do."
Nabiki stood up. "I'll get Clove and the others."
The guard bowed. "Lady Konatsu, Lady Clove, and Lady Kanna left with Miss Mu about an hour ago, at Lady Ukyo's request. They should already be at the ship, Lady Nabiki." The guard scratched his head. "It was rather confusing. They borrowed a single driver and a large flatbed, in order to have room for the twenty or so Lady Konatsu's." He sounded quite bewildered.
Akane laughed. "Sounds like she's gone Naruto again. I seriously need to get her to teach me that trick."
"Nyah. Great-grandmother not even teach Shan-Pu how make shadow-clone yet, mrrrrr."
Tao-Ching laughed as they followed the guard out the door. "I'm not sure how I'd feel about a dozen of you, little cousin. You might give me a case of terminal nosebleed with that many cat girls all at once."
Shan-Pu gave her cousin the evil eye. "Hentai," she purred, only mildly chastising.
Nabiki gave her smug grin. "Yup. Just the way I like him."
Ying-Ying was waiting for them on the upper deck when Clove and Konatsu had arrived with Mu and Kanna. Konatsu had allowed all but one of her clones to poof when they had arrived, and was walking next to Clove when they came into the view of the ghost girl. Her blue eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh my god! Ko-chan! You're separated!"
Konatsu waved as she shook her head. "No. Clove and I are still right here!" she said, pointing at Clove's head cheerfully. "But Clove gave me a wonderful suggestion. I can let her run the body, while I control a shadow clone!"
"So you're projecting a clone? But you look so solid!"
Konatsu grinned. "I'm borrowing Clove's youki. She's got so much I could make a thousand of me!"
Clove giggled. "Let's not get carried away, dear. I have no idea how quickly that many clones would drain me unconscious."
Ying-Ying threw her arms around the clone. "Still, this is wonderful!" She slipped between Clove and Konatsu and wrapped an arm around each. "Now I can hug you twice!" She smiled at them and turned to look for Mu. She smiled at her too as she said, "Ohh, you look cute, Mu!"
Clove had convinced Mu to put her maid outfit back on, and had even talked her into a pair of detached angel sleeves, but she was still pantyless. Clove had made that less obvious from the back by giving her an oversized bow with wide ribbons that hung to her knees. And when Clove had suggested shoes, Mu had chosen a pair of stiletto heeled maryjanes, amazing Konatsu at the fact she could walk with no problems in the five inch heels. Clove had just shook her head. It made perfect sense to her. Just another programmed gimmick.
Mu was blinking at the Zhulong. "This is ship Mu see in head. Is mistress going to lock in small room with chair now?" the diminutive girl asked forlornly.
They all blinked. Clove slipped out of Ying-Ying's grasp to pat the diminutive girl on the head. "No, honey. No-one is going to lock you in a small room. I promise."
Mu looked at her with wide trusting eyes and nodded. "Thank you mistress. Mu does not like small room." She blinked, mystical circles beginning to swirl in her eyes. "Mu go away now."
The gem in her forehead glowed as the lines along her skin flared into light. "Yggdrasil Seed 0000879 active. Link to all ship systems active. Initiating full diagnostics. Diagnostics complete. All systems functional. Main power supplies at 89%. Weapon's systems fully operational, energy reserves optimal. Imperial Vessel Mu-San fully functional." Her eyes lifted to where Uyko was emerging from the hatch and she assumed a formal "at attention" as she saluted. "Greetings, Lady Guardian Ukyo Kuonji. I am the Imperial Command and Control Tactical Warship Mu-San. We are at your command.
Ukyo raised an eyebrow as she returned the salute. "You were christened the Zhulong."
Mu bowed. "That is correct Commander. This unit has been symbiotically merged with the entity designated Mu-san. We are no longer the Zhulong. All ships identification codes have been reset to the name Mu-san."
"Under who's order?"
"Unknown. All data between Silver Millennium date Jun 10 1023 to present have been deleted. Internal sensor logs indicate this unit has been in stasis and separated from this vessel for 967 years. No other data remains as to where this unit has been during the missing timeframe."
"I see. Do you recognize me?"
"Affirimtive. You were scanned and logged immediately upon the ship's reactivation, and your self identification was recorded. Additionally, according to my owner, you are the reincarnation of my designer and first commander, Song Orihime, the Dragon's Guardian. My remaining memory files indicate you were last aboard me five weeks prior to my last complete logs. You deployed me to Mars to await transferral of command to Princess Ares, Lady Phoenix, as her personal vessel. I arrived on Mars, and was transferred to the Royal Docks. All subsequent records deleted."
"Your owner?"
"Yes commander. This unit is owned by Princess Clove Draconis of the Musk. She has commanded me to follow your orders as my captain and commander, Lady Guardian."
Ukyo shook her head. "Well you're acting normally for a ships core, other than being part of Mu's body. I really wish I had some way to see what other tampering might have been done," she said as she turned back towards the hatch.
"No tampering to AI core detected. All harmonic codes are in order. Kernel protection systems are intact. I am as Goddess Sarhia wrote me. No core functions have suffered intrusion, only external interfaces and secondary systems."
Ukyo turned back to her so fast her neck nearly snapped. "What did you just say?"
"No tampering to AI core detec-"
"No, no, about who wrote you!"
"I am as Goddess Sarhia wrote me. Yggdrasil Seed Core AI designate 0000879 was written by Goddess, First Class, Sarhia, on Silver Millennium Date Layue 10 1011 and assigned to the Midgard WorldNet for general purpose use as a naval warship core. I was chosen for the Zhulong core on Silver Millen-"
"Never mind that. You are saying you were written by Sarhia?"
"That is correct. I was written by Goddess, First Class, Sarhia. Sysop of Midgard Worldnet Mainframe Jormungandr."
Ying-Ying was looking at Ukyo. "Could it really have been her? Is it possible another Sarhia–"
Ukyo chuckled. "No. It's her. She always used to joke about her 'prison job' while she was in custody. I just didn't know she programmed Yggdrasil Seeds. No-one in the Federation had the skill to craft them. It was one of the 'issues' the High King had with Serenity. The Kingdom of the Moon was the sole supplier for them. They were the only Kingdom in the Federation with a still functional transdimensional gate and trade agreements with Asgard."
Ying-Ying nodded. "Kami-sama told me that the treatment of the Seeds by the Kingdoms of Earth is one of the primary reasons he has prohibited trade between realms. They were intended to be assistants, not slaves."
Ukyo sighed heavily. "Yeah. One more reason to find a way to remove that collar and free Mu, as well as the Seed."
She turned back to Mu. "Will you follow me to bridge?"
Mu bowed again. "Of course commander. I would ask to make one request, for Mu."
Ukyo raised an eyebrow. "Of course."
"Please do not close the door to our interface chamber. Mu does not like being locked inside."
Ukyo nodded. "Come on. I'll tear the goddamn door out of the frame for you."
While tearing the door out was impractical, Ukyo did the next best thing and sliced it flush with the frame using Wrathseeker. She had the soldiers take it out to dispose of as Mu took the seat nervously.
It became clear why the idea of having the door closed would have been a bad idea the moment she sat down, as the seed transferred its primary awareness to the ship, leaving Mu in control of the body. She wandered the bridge freely as Ukyo verified the ship was functional, the Seed's interface cable trailing behind her like a long silver tail emerging from her lower spine. So long as they made sure not to step on it, the curious girl seemed to forget all about it. Ukyo joked about it at least being a reason for Mu to wear her all too short skirt.
By the time the others arrived an hour later, they had already become comfortable with her presence on the bridge, and the novelty of Konatsu roaming the ship independently in a clone had worn off. It actually took Ranma ten minutes to realize that Clove was sitting on the bridge with Mu, examining the collar, while Konatsu was showing them around the ship she had just finished exploring.
Ukyo had looked askance at the week's worth of supplies that had been delivered from the palace, but shrugged when the guard leading the squad had told her it had been by Pluto's orders. They had it loaded within a half hour, and by the time they had finished, Ukyo was satisfied they were space worthy. She put in a call to the Palace, and was answered by Holo Ami.
"Is the ship functional?" she asked Ukyo when they connected.
"Yeah. Other than her primary AI core having somehow been implanted in Mu, everything seems to be fully functional. I am about to take her for a shakedown flight."
Holo Ami nodded. "I–I know that it is not exactly your responsibility, but it would be of great value to us if you could perform some reconnaissance as well. With the loss of our fleet, we are effectively blind as to Blackmoon's movements. Any data you could acquire could aid me in determining what defense we may be able to make."
"No problem. We'll take a–"
The holo went fuzzy as a massive explosion lit the skyline visible through the skylight. "What the fuck was that!"
"My sensors indicate the city in which this vessel is currently located is under orbital bombardment." The seed answered. "I detect five cruiser sized ships in high orbit dropping solid mass projectiles. Configuration unrecognized."
Ukyo looked at the spiky vessel displayed in the hologram "Ugly things aren't they?"
"That's what Rubeus's ship looked like. It's definitely Blackmoon." Clove supplied as she comforted a cowering Mu.
Another explosion rocked the city, this one closer.
"Commander, I recommend evasive action. The fall pattern is rapidly approaching this location."
"Get us prepped for flight!"
"Affirmative, Commander." The ships comm crackled to life. "Attention to all non crew, This vessel is departing in two minutes. Please clear the ship!"
A third explosion was close enough to see the actual fireball. Ukyo looked at the shaky holo of the Ami at the Palace. "We're taking off. We'll do something about those ships. Keep the palace defended. We'll be back!"
Tao-ching burst onto the bridge. "The soldiers are clear, and the hold hatch is secured. Where do you need me?"
She pointed to a station. "Main fire control!" She looked over as the rest came tumbling in. "Rei! That central station is yours. Usagi! Left bay window! Ami, right! Makoto, Mina take the remaining two stations. Everybody else, hold on!"
Ukyo grabbed the two joysticks that rose up out of the command chair's armrests, and pushed them forward gently. The ship shuddered slightly as they moved forward, then tilted upwards as she headed them for the skylight. "Brace for impact!"
The skylight shattered as the dragon's head smashed through, and then they were in clear air. Ukyo pushed the joysticks full forward as to her right a small holo of the ship unfurled her wings. Just in time, as the rearview display filled with a fireball and the museum vanished.
Ranma looked over from where he had grabbed a hold of the door frame to brace himself. "You got any places for us?"
"Yeah, Deck Four! You should find about a dozen defense stations! Take your pick. Konatsu! Can you take any that we don't have people for? They're simple. Just point and pull the trigger."
Her clone nodded as Clove stood, ready to follow the others. "Don't go anywhere, Clove. Keep working on that damn collar! We could be in serious hot water if Xi'an Chi has some way to control this ship through her!"
She nodded as everyone else left the bridge,then looked at the people remaining. "Okay girls, this ship was built with you in mind. Ami, you're at the shield station. Those two large crystals can absorb your bubble blast and use it as an enhanced shield. The ships main shields can handle energy weapons, but if you see anything like a missile or a rock, stop it. Usagi, you are at the ships damage control station. See that holo of the ship? It will show anywhere we've taken damage. You should see a slot in the console under it. That's for your Moon Rod. You can use you powers to repair the ship. Makoto, Mina, you're both solidly attack positions. You can launch your attacks directly at any target you see in your displays. The screens will absorb and amplify your attacks as it transfers them through the hull. Tao-Ching, that's the ships standard weapon's command and control. You have a 720 degree Heads Up Display. Tell everyone where to shoot. Rei, that seat drops down into the mouth. It's specifically made to power up your Phoenix form. You are this ship's primary weapon. Sorry to put it so bluntly, but it's the truth. We built this thing to boost you to damn near god level attack capacity. You can one shot anything smaller than the Tianlong."
Rei smiled. "I don't mind being a weapon for a just cause, my darling chef. Point me and shoot."
"Remind me to kiss you later."
"You'd better."
"They've filled the defense stations. Ying-Ying, Ranma, Shan-Pu and Akane are on forwards 1 through 4, Nabiki , Kuno, Kagura and the Konatsu's are in 5 through 12." Tao-Ching reported. "Okay, Kagura, this is really simple. There's a big red x on that glass panel right in front of you, see it? Okay, if you move those two sticks, that x will move too. Put that x on an enemy and push on those red buttons. That's all you gotta do."
Ukyo smiled. "A youkai windwitch from the Sengoku era, in a gun turret. Even I'm having trouble believing it."
She looked over to where Clove was intently studying the collar, while Mu set with Kanna sedately occupying her lap, looking as calm as she ever did. Mu was hugging her, which seemed to be helping her stay calm too.
She looked back at her displays. "Alright, leaving atmosphere in thirty seconds, in range of those bombing ships in two minutes."
Ranma's chuckle came over the intercom. "Yeah, let's do this!"
"Can you believe it! We're actually all wives now!" Kyoko gushed as they settled around their usual balcony table at the Club.
Kaede was examining the silver and ruby ring on her finger. "I love these rings Lo-Shen summoned up. I know it's supposed to be gold and diamonds, but I love the color of these rubies!"
Ai chuckled. "Hey, gothic style suits all of us better anyway." She lifted her soda. "Here's to the merry monster wives of Furinkan high!"
They giggled as they shared in the toast. Ayeka's eyes gleamed. "And to the substitute Senshi!"
"Here here!"
Ai looked around the table, stopping at the newly winged succubus across the table. "Hey, Dachi-chan. It just occurred to me, we kinda got so carried away, we never did get to see your weapon."
Kodachi smiled sheepishly. "It was kind of a strange weapon. I was expecting a ribbon, but all I got was a very large long stemmed rose made of metal."
"A rose, huh. Well you got to admit it does suit you. Wonder what it does?"
Kodachi shook her head. "I never actually tried it. I got so caught up in the oath ceremony, and then I got to play bridesmaid for you."
"You and Mousse should have let Lo-Shen marry you too!"
"No. I would have loved to, but I promised my Uncle I would behave more responsibly. He told me that if I can show him I am involved in a true relationship, he will approve my marriage to Mousse. Considering my past, I cannot fault him for it. He has said if I remain with Mousse for one year, he will pay for a grand western style wedding for us, even if we are both wearing gowns."
"I said I will be happy to wear a Tuxedo if they can simply accommodate my wings." Mousse groused. "I would even change to male for the ceremony if you didn't insist you wish to marry me as a female."
Kodachi shook her head. "No. I want to marry my angelic Mousse. You will not be Mu-Si for our wedding!"
The tenshi sighed, but it was obvious she was far from unhappy. "But of course, my darling demoness."
Ai laughed. "That settles it. We're going to be singing Akuma to Tenshi no Kiss for your wedding reception!"
Kodachi giggled, then yawned hugely. "I must admit you did a fantastic job singing DISCOTHEQUE, but I fear the last several hours of partying to celebrate your marriage has exhausted me."
"Awwww. Bummer. It's a school night, so we've all got to go to separate houses." Ai sighed. "We really got to do something about getting jobs so we can get our own place."
Kodachi smiled. "Surely your parents won't object to my inviting you all to stay at my house tonight, will they? I would never deny newlyweds their wedding night bliss."
"Really?"
"Absolutely. With just me, Mousse and Sasuke, the mansion is so empty. You can have the entire east wing and make as much noise as you like."
Ai was reaching for her cell when her earring chirruped.
"Okay girls. Ready or not, suit up."
"Huh?" Ai said intelligently to hearing Lo-Shen's voice in her ear.
"We've got trouble. Luna and Artemis have readings of some massive energy spikes around Tokyo, and the news is showing what looks to be fires, and some rather big and nasty youkai on a rampage."
Ai paled. "Jeezus. We're not ready for this!"
"You're all we got, dear. I'm sorry, but people are dying. Get changed and head about a mile east. That's the closest group, and they are heading straight for Furinkan."
Fifteen seconds later, the entire club was staring in shock as a pack of magical girls landed on the dance floor and raced out the door.
"Missiles incoming from the lower left quadrant!" Ami cried.
"I see em!" Ranma called back. Streaks of red erupted from below the view ports as he opened fire.
"Small craft coming up behind us, looks like fighters, Ko 1, Ko 2, they should be in your view!" Tao-Ching directed, his chair swiveling in response to his eyes moving around the holographic globe surrounding him. "Akane, you've got some coming in from your sector as well!"
"I'm on it. Looking!"
"Remind me to teach all of you about 3d co-ordinate targeting when we get a chance!"
Ukyo spiraled around a group of beam attacks as she closed in on the first vessel. "Rei, you about ready?"
"Charged up and ready when you are."
"Fire!"
Rei's particle beam leaped through the darkness to slam into the crystal ship, which flared into a ball of fire. The ship next to it was jarred sideway, directly into a Crescent Beam Shower. Explosions erupted from a dozen spots as Ukyo dodged debris from the first one. "How long till you recharge, Rei?"
"Less than I thought. Give me thirty seconds!"
"You got it." She rolled to bring the nose to bear on the damaged vessel. "Mako! Mina! Take it down!"
The ship shattered as both a Thunder Dragon and a Crescent Beam impacted it. Ukyo rolled through a formation of fighters as the scarlet beams from the defense cannons criss-crossed the darkness.
"Long range sensors detecting an additional ten vessels incoming." The ship reported.
"How long do we have, Zhulong?"
"About ten minutes until they are in firing range, Commander. And may I remind you, I am the Mu-San now?"
"Later! Just deal with it for the moment!"
"Acknowledged commander."
Mercury cried out as her bubble shield took the missile Ying-Ying had missed. "Damage negated, Uc-chan!"
Makoto added her thunder attack to the cannon fire on the port side, and explosions lit the night as an entire fighter wing disintegrated. Ukyo dodged the main cannon on the ship she was sighting in on as she called out. "You about ready, my firebird?"
Another Ground Zero gave her the answer as the Blackmoon vessel ceased to exist.
Ukyo sped through the fireball, already locked on to the next vessel. "Everyone who can, concentrate your fire!"
They narrowly missed the last ship's main cannon as the targeted ship rocked under the combined attacks of four defense turrets and Mina and Makoto. Ukyo was already past it as dozens of secondary explosions rocked it, and the last ship accidently shot it as it tried to target them. Ukyo glanced over to Clove, who had encased herself, Kanna, and Mu in a glowing shield bubble and was floating in place as the ship twisted and rolled around her. Her eyes were closed as she focused on the collar around Mu's neck. Mu was happily combing Kanna's hair as the small youkai remained impassive. At least it's keeping her calm. Thank you Kanna.
Then a pink bubble surrounded the ship momentarily. Ukyo blinked, then remembered. "What was that, Nabiki?"
"A damn rock that ship tossed at us!" she snarled. "Now I am mad! Blow that bastard up, Rei!"
"Give me ten more seconds and a clear shot!"
"Clear shot coming up, dearheart."
She sighed and took a deep breath as the last ship died. "Okay folks, you got five before the next wave gets here. Smoke em if you got em."
"Actually commander, it is still seven minutes until the new vessels will be in range."
Ukyo looked up at the roof in disgust. "Right."
Kodachi stood on the roof looking at the weapon her henshin had given her. It looked like a large, long stemmed rose, made of metal. There was a handle next to the flower, but it was odd. It only felt comfortable when she held it with the stem forward, and the flower below her hand. And the long stem was segmented, each segment bearing four "thorns". It was as strong as steel too, and about three feet long.
She looked down to where the other girls had already started to engage the youkai who appeared determined to kill everything in sight. She needed to get down there fast.
She looked at the weapon again. It looked so damn familiar too. She knew she had seen something like it before. She gripped it firmly, like she would have her ribbon baton, and noticed something. Her thumb was resting on what felt like a button. Curious, she pressed it.
With a clank, the "stem" fell apart.
She looked at the suddenly much more familiar weapon in her hand now, the individual segments spaced about a foot apart along a chain, and grinned.
"How very appropriate, a Rose Whip."
With a gleeful giggle, she lashed out to wrap the end around a fire-escape and swung down to join the fray.
Ayeka had charged in sword swinging, without the slightest hesitation. Ai and Megumi were close behind.
"Shit, what kind of youkai are these? I don't recognize half these species!" Ai yelled as she sent a creature that looked like a skeletal centipede flying.
"Thats because over half of them are species that refused to join the accord!" Megumi yelled back. "Watch yourself, most of them are poisonous!"
A line of explosions went down the street as Mousse streaked by in a strafing run. She barely pulled up in time to fly up the face of the building at the end of the street in a streak of blazing white. Kyoko was perched on an awning, using her batons in shuriken form to knock down several of the creatures who could crawl along the face of the buildings. Kaede hovered overhead, glowing bolts shooting down drive creatures back to cover the three in the thick of things.
Then a madly giggling Kodachi dropped in to land on a lightpole in a dramatic pose. "Now villains you shall feel the thorns of Kodachi, The Red Rose of Furinkan!" Her whip lashed out to toss one of the creatures attacking Ayeka flying.
Ai blinked. "Is that what I think it is?"
Megumi shot the creature about to strike Ai, freezing it in place. "Yeah, it's Ivy's Alraune. Goggle at it later!"
Ai dodged under a scythe-like weapon and lashed out at its owner, the shock wave smashing it into a nearby wall. She growled. "Dammit, I know magical girls aren't supposed to actually kill, but these thing want our heads!"
"Then kill them back, Ai." Lo-Shen said over the earrings. "This isn't an anime, and I am an Amazon elder. This is an order. You are authorized to terminate. These things have shown no mercy! They deserve none!"
Ayeka chuckled. "You mean that, boss? We're bound to only kill in self defense."
"You are defending every single human and youkai these things are trying to slaughter and avenging those they already have. Every one you leave alive will kill someone else. Obey your oath. Kill them. Kill them all!" Lo-Shen's voice was tight with anger.
Ayeka's grin was scary as her eyes began to burn. "Mistress, your deathknight awaits your command."
"You heard her, my minion. Start leaving corpses."
That made things much easier. Ai's baton became a blur as she stopped pulling her punches and Ayeka's glowing blade left a trail of blood. As the pair waded down the street, Megumi leaped to a fire escape to rain ice down around them, while Kaede burned paths down the street. Kodachi looked uncertain as she bit her lip. "Are are you certain, Lo-Shen?"
There was a crackle over the earrings. Then a male voice cut in. "Kodachi! Stop this at once! You are a Kuno."
She blinked. "Uncle?"
"Yes, Kodachi. All of you. This is Director Sesshomaru. As of this second you are authorized agents of the Youkai council. Until we can mount a counter offensive, you're the strongest defense we have in the field. I don't know where these Chaosians sprang from, but they are killing everyone. Over a thousand are dead as of this moment. This must end. Follow Lo-Shen's command. Leave none alive."
Kodachi nodded. "Understood, Uncle. I will do my duty as a Kuno," she acknowledged sadly.
She lashed out at a creature trying to leap for her as she stepped forward off the pole. Her whip retracted, along with its head. She landed on the street, glistening trails below eyes as cold as ice.
Brightly colorful, in lace and ribbons, death began to stalk the streets of Nerima.
