Chapter Seven: Escalation
Kodachi was in serious trouble. They had been forced to separate in order to deal with all the scattered groups, and she and Mousse had been doing well against the group they'd been assigned to, until they had encountered this rock giant. Mousse's feathers had been doing damage, until the nearsighted girl had misjudged and crashed into the massive form.
She was standing over her unconscious angel, but try as she might, her whip was having little effect against its rocky form. And it was not giving her the time to grab Mousse and run.
She flinched as its massive fist came down towards her, raising her whip desperately as she retracted it to its closed form in a forlorn hope that she could somehow manage to block the unstoppable object.
But it didn't come. She opened one eye to peek as she heard the rock creature growl.
The massive creature was straining, but unable to move. Dozens of black strands wrapped around it, anchoring it against the light pole, the fire escape, and every other object that was fixed in place around it. In surprise, Kodachi's eyes followed the strands back to their source.
Raijin pushed his glasses up his nose with his free hand, the other holding the strands restraining the youkai tightly. "You seem to be in a small bit of difficulty, Kodachi-sama. I do hope you do not mind the intrusion."
She shook her head violently.
The rock creature laughed, a deep rumble. "Monofilaments won't cut me, filthy traitor!"
The butler's glasses glittered. "Whoever said cutting you was my intention, beast?"
His hand clenched as lightning shot down the threads, crackling viciously around the rock creature as it howled in agony before exploding.
Raijin walked through the falling pebbles to kneel and check Mousse's pulse. "Well, at least your latest toy appears to be alive, Kodachi-sama."
"MOUSSE IS NOT A TOY!" She screamed, trembling in sudden rage.
Raijin gave her a look of disbelief as he snorted. He reached into his jacket and withdrew a small vial. He twisted the cap off and waved it under Mousse's nose. She coughed and jerked upright, blinking myopically. "Huh– wha–"
Kodachi knelt to take her hand. "It's okay, my love. The creature has been defeated."
Mousse nodded. "Are you okay, my mistress? You aren't hurt?"
"No, Mou-chan. I am fine. Raijin saved us."
"Raijin?" Mousse blinked, and started feeling around for her glasses.
"Here they are, madam" Raijin said as he held them out for her.
"Th–thank you" The angel girl bowed as she took them. "I–I thank you for defending my mistress."
"Think nothing of it. I cannot allow her to die after all. She has yet to return what she has stolen." Raijin said coldly.
Kodachi sighed. She looked up to see the butler had his hand out to help her up, though he was studiously not looking at her. She sighed again and reached to accept it.
But as her hand touched his, she felt like her insides suddenly turned inside out and she barely had time to turn away from him and Mousse as she found herself retching violently.
"Beloved?" Mousse reached out to her. The nausea receded. She gasped for breath. "I–I'm o-o-o-okay. I– I just was suddenly overcome."
Raijin sighed disgustedly as he held out a grey handkerchief. "Here, madam."
"T-t-t-thank you." She shakily reached to accept it. Another retching fit assaulted her as their fingers touched.
Raijin snorted. "How appropriate. We both make each other sick." He said sarcastically.
When she could speak again, she looked up at him with sad eyes. "W– why did you save me if you hate me so?"
His eyes glittered. "I wonder. And whoever said I hate you, Kodachi-sama?" He turned and walked to the end of the ally. "Compose yourself, Madam. There are yet more enemies to fight. You'd best hurry and go to help your friends."
The wind whistled through the alley as he vanished, leaving Kodachi blinking after him in confusion.
Mousse put her arm around her. "What is up with that guy?"
"IIIIIIII hhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaattttttteeeee ttttttteeeeeeennnnnnnntttttttttiiiiiiiiccccclllllllleeeee mmmmoooooonnnnnsssssstttteeerrrrrrrrrrrsssssssss!"
Ai slammed into a pile of cardboard boxes with a thump. She shook her head trying to clear it. "Goddamn squirmy beast! You're going to pay for this!"
"You okay, Miss Monster?"
"Huh?" Ai blinked and looked to see a chubby man in an apron and white cap holding a hand out to her.
"You okay? That was quite a fall."
Ai took stock of herself, realizing her limbs all seemed to be attached, and that despite having been tossed several hundred feet, she seemed to be entirely unhurt. Well, other than her dignity. She was sprawled in the pile of boxes like a cheap drunk.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Only bruised my ego."
"Glad to hear it, Miss Monster. Let me help you up."
She let him pull her to her feet, then had to pry her baton out of the wall. She finally got it free and turned to give the familiar looking man a bow. "Thank you for your help, sir."
"Nah, Miss Monster. I should be thanking you. You're the one out there fighting for us."
The man shimmered and suddenly Ai found herself facing a large toad faced humanoid. "We really appreciate your heroism, Miss Monster."
Ai finally had to ask. "Miss... Monster?"
The toad man smiled. "Yes ma'am. Thanks to you, my son has a safe school to attend. You're a local hero, Miss Monster. And now you're a magical girl too, out there saving us from these Chaosians. I'm really glad you're alright."
Ai blinked. "I–I'm a hero? But–but I'm just a human."
The toad man shook his head. "Not to us, Miss Monster. You're one of us."
She blushed in embarrassment. "I–I don't know what to say." She scratched her head sheepishly. "Thank you."
"Not at all. I was almost killed by that squid thing. You and that pretty vampire really saved my rear."
Ai started. "Oh yeah, I got to go help Ayeka!"
A large tentacle landed next to her. "No need to bother, Mistress. Your knight was victorious." Ayeka jumped down from the roof. "Stupid thing tried to strip me. I brought you a piece of him to deep fry."
Ai giggled. "Thank you, but I don't think I could eat such a big takoyaki ball."
The toad guy smiled. "I'll be happy to portion it out for you, Miss Monster. But now that your friend is here, I found something that might interest you gals."
"Humm?"
"There's something mighty strange in a warehouse a little way from here. It's where all these Chaosians came from."
"I see." Ai reached up to grab her earring. "Lo-Shen, you there?"
"Trifle busy here, Ai. You finish with that group?"
"Yeah, and we got something to investigate real quick. Got a witness saying there's something weird in a warehouse that these things came out of."
"Got it. Check it out immediately and don't waste time. We still got two more groups out there."
"On our way."
Megumi and Kaede stood back to back, ice and lasers carving a swath of destruction. Kyoko bounced from wall to wall above them, her shuriken flashing as she defended them from a swarm of fliers.
"Come on you bastards! You think you can beat us! Eat hot burning death!" Kaede screamed as she flash fried a giant youkai that looked like a cross between a spider and an eel. Her tail lashed as she furiously dodged a giant claw, wrapping around Megumi as she pulled her out of the way. The snow-girl rolled with her to come up, both guns flashing as she targeted the mantis like youkai. Kyoko's flaming baton shattered it as she bounced off the pavement, performing a spinning whirl as she streaked through a small group of imps in a flash of blue fire before leaping to an awning. Megumi shot the three flying creatures who rushed the fox girl, getting a quick grin from her before she was leaping onto the shoulders of the large ogre remaining. Her batons stabbed down into his chest as Kaede's combined shots blew a hole through his stomach.
The fox girl rode the falling ogre's shoulders as it fell to the pavement, then daintily stepped off its back and set down on its head as she sighed heavily. "Man, these things are annoying."
Kaede fanned her hands with a wing. "My hands are starting to over-heat" she moaned.
Megumi leaned forward and blew on them, the air fogging from the cold. Kaede's hands actually sizzled as she sighed in relief. "Ah, much better."
Megumi giggled. "Gotta take care of my hot little wife!"
"Sorry to interrupt your little break, girls, but there's still two groups to deal with. Kodachi and Mousse are on their way to one, you got the other." Lo-Shen's voice came over the earrings
"Awww man. Any word yet on reinforcements?" Kaede whined.
"The Council has forces on the way, as does the JSDF. They're still about 20 minutes out. We've got to hold out till then. Trust me, you're not the only ones getting worn out. You girls are draining my youki like mad. Ai just called to say she's investigating one of the origin points of these creatures. Hopefully we can find out what these things are after."
"This is a lot worse than anything the Senshi have had to deal with." Kyoko complained.
"I know. This seems like a full scale invasion. We've confirmed it's Blackmoon, but what they are after is a mystery. They just seem to be carving a path through Tokyo, but it's not random. I'd almost swear they are making a circle. But a circle three miles in diameter is just insane."
"These things are insane."
"True. Alright girls, I wish I could let you rest, but people are dying. Get your hot little asses in gear."
They sighed as they all stood. "Yes, ma'am."
Kaede giggled tiredly. "You know, if I didn't have such a hot little ass, I'd almost call that sexual harassment."
The palace rocked as another explosion lit the night. Pluto staggered as she and Gate headed towards the defense chamber.
"Why are the palace shields down?" Gate cried as another explosion threw her from her feet.
"I don't know!" Pluto caught herself on the wall. "I can't get a hold of Makoto or Ami! I don't know what happened. The AI hasn't responded either!"
"How could they get in without being detected?"
Pluto hit the panel on the security door. It slid open, and she stared in horror.
"Oh no!" She shook her head in denial, but it didn't change the sight before her.
The crystal chambers that Ami and Makoto had been protected by while they powered the palace shield were shattered, and both girls had been dragged into the center of the chamber, and their throats slit. Their blood was splattered all over the room, painted on the walls and floor in a bizarre pattern of symbols. Around their corpses a large circle had been painted.
Gate gagged. "H-h-how could someone have done this? Only the Senshi can access this chamber!"
The answer stepped out from the shadows behind the shattered tubes. She was short, her purple fuku splashed with blood, her dead eyes staring emotionlessly at Pluto. Blood dripped down the strange looking weapon in her hand to splash on the floor.
Before Pluto could react, the girl blurred and Pluto screamed as she was pinned to the wall by the glaive. She coughed up blood as she felt her vision grow dark, the last sight she saw before passing out was the heavy collar around Saturn's throat.
Gate tried to run, but got barely five feet before she was yanked savagely by her hair and dragged back into the room. She found herself pinned to the ground in the center of the circle under Saturn's foot, squirming uselessly as the enslaved girl lifted Pluto's staff above her.
She screamed as the key plunged into her and pinned her to the ground.
The warehouse was a horrorshow. Strange machinery hummed around a scene straight from hell.
The center of the large chamber had been filled with a large pentagram, around which what appeared to be five large spikes had been placed. These were each connected via a series of cables to the complex machinery surrounding it. A large holographic display floated behind the central area, showing an overhead of central Tokyo with a large red circle overlaid. It was nearly complete. Beyond the hologram was a shimmering hole in the air, looking like a dark hole into nothingness.
But that was not what had both girls almost ready to vomit. Mounted on the spikes were the bodies of five nearly identical girls. Their faces were in shadow, but each of their stomachs had been ripped open, and their internal organs removed. Their blood had dripped down to fill the channels of the pentagram, and it glowed redly.
Ayeka was the first to move forward. "Gah, this is terrible. The smell of blood in here is wrong. It doesn't smell at all appetizing, but like it's corrupt." Her eyes glowed. "And those girls look like sisters." She got close enough to finally see one of their faces. "Oh fuck no! She looks like Zhu-Shu!"
"Say what?" Ai darted forward, eyes wide. "Fuck, it does. Huh, so does this girl!"
"They all do. What the fuck is going on?"
Ai grabbed her earring. "Lo-Shen, this is really fucked up. We got a bunch of machinery, a glowing pentagram of blood, and five dead Zhu-Shu's"
A glowing tear ripped the air next to her apart as the lavender haired rabbit girl stepped out to grab one of the dead girls by the head. She mumbled for a few seconds before taking her hand off. "Thank the gods, it's not actually her. These are constructs. How they made copies of her I don't know, but these are dolls more than they are human." She looked around the room. "What the hell is all of this? I don't get this setup at all. That's a circle for gathering energy but what would require the life forces of five sacrifices?"
She poked around for a few seconds before stopping at the hologram. "Shit."
The red circle finished connecting. It blinked as the machines around them hummed loudly and a bubble of force threw them across the room. The hologram flared as eight points of light began to draw two interlocking squares in the middle and symbols began to appear.
The ground rumbled as Lo-Shen cursed. "Curse me for a blind old fool! That's a fucking Gate Anchor!
The entire ship cheered when the last Blackmoon vessel shattered into a fireball. Ukyo sighed as she leaned forward in the chair.
"Good job, guys." She looked towards Sailormoon, "How are the repairs coming, Usagi?"
"The left wing should be repaired in just a few moments. I'm starting to get the hang of how to do this!"
She looked to her right. "Any luck with that collar, Clove?"
"No. Not yet. I'm sorry, this thing is a maze."
"Alright, Mu-San, any sign of the Tianlong?"
"No. My sensors are being actively jammed in one direction though. I can't sense anything directly below us. I'm getting null readings from the planet's surface."
Ukyo looked at the navigational displays. "Shit, we're already 8,000 miles out? Dammit, we've been lured!"
A chuckle echoed around the bridge as a glowing globe formed in the middle of the space between the forward viewports. It resolved into a hooded figure, it's face covered by an impassive mask, empty eye sockets above two blood red slashes. "You might be regaining her memories, Ukyo Kounji, but Orihime you are not. I was beginning to wonder when you were going to finally realize I was leading you by the nose."
Ukyo snarled. "Laugh while you can, Xi'an Chi. I'm coming for your head this time!" She brought the ship around and started to accelerate towards the planet.
"Are you now? Are you sure, Ukyo? And here I figured you'd be so much more eager to rescue your little lost dragon." A pair of black scaled arms wrapped around the wizard's throat as the display drew back to reveal Zhu-Shu's face giving them a fanged and vicious smile. "Although you might find she has no wish to be rescued. She has taken so very well to her Chaos Crystal after all. Almost eagerly in fact."
"Can we kill them yet? The ssssssssssssssight of them ssssssssssssssickensssssssssss me."
"Now now, my pet. All in due time." Xi'an Chi chuckled.
Ukyo glared. "You will suffer for this."
"Will I now? Do you truly think you can stop me? With that ship? So tell me, have you had any luck removing little Mu's collar?"
Ukyo cursed under her breath. She glanced at the nav display. 7000 miles.
"Commander, the jamming has stopped. Reading over one hundred ships directly ahead, and one very large vessel directly over Crystal Tokyo."
"Do you have a good view, Ukyo? I certainly would not want you to miss the show."
"What are you up to you bastard!"
"Come now, Ukyo. Do I look like a Bond Villain to you? Do you really expect me to tell you everything?"
Her eyes flicked to the side again. 6000. ((Rei, charge up as much as you can, we're only going to get one shot at disabling that ship!))
((I already have been, love.))
Xi'an Chi looked to the side. "I was surprised to see you again, Clove. I rather enjoyed killing you last time. I'll have to thank Hild for the pleasure of being able to do it again." He laughed at the glare she gave him. "Are you enjoying my little puzzle?"
"I will free her, you demon!"
"Awww, I'm touched." He snapped his fingers and the collar disintegrated. "Like that actually served any purpose, other than a distraction."
Clove blinked as Mu raised her hand in surprise and felt her unchained neck.
Ukyo's eyes widened. "Oh shit."
"You really should have paid far more attention to what you loaded aboard your ship." The amusement in Xi'an Chi's voice was strong.
"Commander, detecting massive energy surge in ships h- KKKKrrrzzzzzzsttttttkkkkk!"
Every surface in the ship suddenly crawled with lightning as Mu cried out in pain. The gem in her forehead threw tiny bolts in all directions before it suddenly shattered. She collapsed as the entire ship went dead. She lay on the floor motionless, her staring eyes filled with mystical circles that flickered and spun slower and slower until they finally stopped.
Xi'an Chi's empty sockets looked around the bridge, and all the people picking themselves up off the floor. "I do hope you enjoy the slow death I've arranged for you. As Khan once said, Revenge is a dish best served cold, and it is very cold in space."
As the holo faded Ukyo screamed "Xi'annnnnnnn Chiiiiiiiiiiii!"
Crystal Tokyo was burning. A giant circle of fire with two large squares interconnected within it burned around the tower in the center. Within the palace, fires burned around the crystal surrounding the Queen, while a tall sliver haired man laughed over her. Deep within the palace bowels an empty eyed Saturn stood over a still barely alive Gate, the key in her hand glowing. A few hundred miles directly over the city, the Tianlong moved into place directly above the palace.
Streams of energy ran from the rim of the ship to its center, then sprang down to the surface to strike the tower at its peak. At the same instant that it did, Saturn shoved the key all the way into Gate and turned it. Gate screamed as a line of light split her in half. A maelstrom of light engulfed Saturn, and the still barely alive Pluto and they vanished. The tornado of energy tore through the palace, shattering the crystal and crushing the obsessed Dimande along with his obsession. The city itself followed as the light devoured it. In moments, a giant black void formed at the center of the swirling whirlpool of energy. The beam of energy from the massive vessel traced out the boundaries of the black void as it began to descend. The surrounding vessels preceded it, accelerating as they dove into the void. They vanished with splashes of darkness.
The larger vessel could not descend as quickly. It would be almost an hour before it reached the gate, though the massive displacement of air was already beginning to superheat it's bottom hull. In its main bridge, Emeraude stood at the viewport and laughed.
"Now, you pathetic humans. We are coming to devour you and take back our homeworld!"
The girls had gathered on a rooftop close to the Tower after they had finished with the remaining groups, where they were trying to regain their breath. Lo-Shen was pacing back and forth furiously.
"Curse me for a fool! I should have seen they were making a gate, but what the fuck needs a gate that insanely huge! They've killed thousands of people to power it, and we fucking helped them! It didn't matter who died so long as enough blood was spilt! If there had been any way to stop them permanently without killing them, we MIGHT have been able to prevent it, but there wasn't one! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
"Can't we just blow up those machines?" Ayeka asked wearily
"I tried. they're too fucking well shielded now that they're active. If I had known what they were earlier, I might have been able to. But we never would have even known about them if the fishmonger hadn't found them and told Ai."
Ai nodded "That's why he looked familiar. He runs that fish market in the ginza that specializes in fresh water fish!" She yawned. "Remind me to stop by and thank him soon."
Ayeka reached out to squeeze her hand. "I heard what he told you, 'Miss Monster'."
Ai blushed. "I–I'm not a hero. I only gave that speech because I wanted to make sure you guys wouldn't be stigmatized. I just thought so long as the cat was already out of the bag, we might as well just take it and run."
"And like he said, you created a school where for the first time ever, youkai and humans sit side by side, without fear. A school where everyone knows I'm a vampire, and I get people asking me to bite them just so that they can brag about being bitten."
Ai raised an eyebrow. "You do?"
Ayeka rolled her eyes. "I got five requests just today."
Kaede chuckled. "Yeah, we've become like a pack of pop idols. We're more popular than we've ever been." She shook her head. "I can't even imagine what the stories will be like after tonight. I was expecting we'd fight one or two youma like the Senshi do, not something as high profile as slaughtering a youkai invasion."
Lo-Shen sighed. "I'm sorry for getting you involved in something this big. I never expected anything like this. I don't know how much longer I can keep you powered, and I fear this is only the beginning. That gate is going to open soon, and whatever comes through it..." She turned to the swirl in the sky over the tower. "I really hope we can muster the strength to–"
She was interrupted as a hum that had been growing louder became the roar of helicopter blades. A spot light lit the rooftop as two dozen JSDF soldiers in combat gear dropped to the roof. They secured the perimeter quickly as the girls looked on in shock, several of the soldiers waving to them or giving them a thumbs up.
"What the hell is going on?" Ai muttered.
A large boxy vehicle in military green descended under a gigantic twin bladed helicopter even before the soldiers had completed encircling the roof. No sooner was it on the roof than the rear door opened and the sides slid outwards, revealing an interior stuffed with electronics and monitors. Two men stepped down from the obvious command center and approached the girls.
"Greetings, young Ladies. May I inquire as to who your commander is?" said the man in the crisp military uniform.
Lo-Shen stood forward. "I am Lo-Shen, Loremistress of the Amazons, and Unlimited Class Archmage."
He saluted. "I am Colonel Yakimoto, of the JSDF, Madam Archmage. This is Major Kodakawa of the Tokyo SWAT. We've been ordered to co-ordinate and assist you. We are awaiting the arrival of the government representative who is to be in over all command of the joint task force."
Lo-Shen raised an eyebrow. "That is good news, Colonel. Please, be at ease. I'm not really versed in military etiquette."
He smiled. "Understood, Madam." He turned to the girls. "May I say it is a pleasure to be able to meet the Monster Squad. You ladies have been an inspiration to us all tonight."
Kaede giggled. "The Monster Squad?"
The major chuckled. "That's the name the media has given you. You've been on every channel non-stop since this incident began. You're national heroes."
Ai laughed. "How about that, my lovely monsters. Who would have ever thought of us as heroes?"
"You are indeed, Miss Konjou." The colonel said. "If you ladies would care to join us by the C and C, we have some energy drinks and snacks, and the monitors for the news should be up momentarily. The Government is about to broadcast a special announcement."
Wearily, they got to their feet and followed, with the appreciative eyes of the soldiers and a couple of cheers following them across the roof. Chairs had been set up around a small table for them filled with small finger snacks, along with ample supplies of sports drinks and a dozen different brands of energy drinks. Ai had to laugh at the cans of Monster prominently displayed in the top of the cooler.
One of the soldiers attending the table, a young private in standard dress instead of the combat gear, bowed to them. "Hello, I'm PFC Shinji, and if there is anything you ladies require, just let me know." He turned to Ayeka. "We have made special accommodations for your needs, Miss Hibishi." He turned and opened a small insulated container. "Is type O negative okay?"
Ayeka blinked. "You– you– brought me blood?"
He smiled. "Of course, warmed to 98 degrees. Several of the boys wanted to volunteer to let you bite them, but we were warned fresh blood would likely send you into a state of euphoria."
Ayeka sat down in a chair shaking her head in disbelief. "They actually know that?"
"We were provided information on your needs while we were in transit, along with supplies. You really shouldn't be so surprised. Before we became soldiers, we were teenage boys, you know. Plenty of us are still Otakus. Female youkai are fantasies come true for many of us."
Ai couldn't help laughing. "Only in Japan."
A couple of soldiers finished setting up a TV and turned on the news. The girls stared in shock to see clip after clip of themselves fighting the reavers, many of them taken by the very people they had saved. Cellphone videos, handheld cams, even professional news footage. It looked like half a dozen news helicopters had been following them from moments after they had engaged the ravaging horde.
And interspersed were occasional short bios on each of them, taken from their website, and in Kodachi and Mousse's case, school photos. They even had hunted through the video in order to get shots that showed off their costumes every detail.
Then came the short interview with the leader of a national LGBTQ rights group, talking about Ai being an inspiration to lesbians everywhere with her engagement to four other girls, and how her brave example, blah blah blah.
Ai groaned. "Geez, they even know that? What business is it of theirs if I'm married to you girls? I don't want to be some stupid icon for other people to exploit." She sighed. "I didn't marry you to crusade for gay rights. I just did it because you are my reasons for being happy. I can't live without you."
Kyoko hugged her. "We know Ai. It's just the news. They have to make a fuss over nothing. "
Then everything was interrupted as the special broadcast began.
"We go live to the Ministry of Defense for a special government briefing. Miss Nakimora?"
"Thank you, Mr Hiro. We are here at the front of the Ministry building where in just a minute we are expecting a briefing on the terror attacks in Tokyo. It looks like General Yamoto is taking the podium now."
The camera shifted to show an elderly one star General who cleared his throat as he prepared to speak.
"People of Japan, tonight we have suffered a surprise assault by a terror organization that calls itself Blackmoon. I have been informed that several previous small scale acts have been dealt with by the Senshi, who are, I am informed, currently believed to have been captured by Blackmoon in order to remove them as an obstacle for this mass assault. In their place, Japan must recognize the emergence of a group of brave young girls who have arisen to defend our nation in this time of need. Their brave action has saved the lives of countless thousands."
"However, it has also exposed a national secret. My fellow countrymen, for 300 years, Japan has had secret allies. They have stood in the shadows, lived among us, and followed our laws. For 300 years, they have been our defense against the beings who assaulted Tokyo tonight. They have never asked for praise for this defense, nor ever for a reward. All they have asked is the freedom to be allowed to live in peace with us all."
"These young ladies are from a school which has been mandated as a national experiment. In this school, humans study side by side with our secret guardians, the Youkai, and stand as an example to all of Japan as to the possibilities of such peaceful co-existence. All of the brave girls who have defended Tokyo tonight are from this school, Furinkan High, and their bravery and heroism cannot be doubted."
"These young women all live by The Accords. It is a set of laws that bind them to live by human law, and to live human lives. All youkai who live by the Accord are sworn to never harm humanity, and to defend it against their own kind who reject the Accord. These Blackmoon are one such group. Collectively, they are called Chaosians. For 300 years, those who live by the Accord have prevented such events as have occurred tonight, and they are currently mobilizing to deal with the next wave of this invasion."
"Citizens of Japan. Because of these events, we can no longer hide the existence of the Youkai. So I have come before you with a special request from the Emperor himself. You have seen their bravery in these young girls tonight, yet they are merely a handful of the millions of brave youkai who throughout our history have stood to defend this great nation against the forces of darkness. Tonight, the Emperor acknowledges the Youkai as citizens of Japan officially, and requests that his beloved people do the same. Let us show the world the courage of the nation of Japan in accepting our youkai brethren!"
Cheers erupted throughout the crowd around the ministry, as well as from the soldiers gathered behind the girls to watch the broadcast.
The general gave them a few moments before motioning for silence. "Thank you for such enthusiasm. Now, to answer your questions about the Youkai, may I present Miss Yoshi Miyaki, chief minister of Human/Youkai relations."
Kaede blinked "Mom? Hey it is, that's my Mom!"
The tall raven haired beauty stepped behind the podium "Greetings, Japan. I am here to offer you answers to your questions about youkai, but there are two things I wish to get out of the way first."
She shimmered as her wings and tail emerged, along with a small pair of horns. "First. Yes, I am a youkai. My species is succubus. We have been requested by the Emperor to show our true forms for all official matters. Like my fellow youkai, I have sworn an oath to defend humanity and to live among you peacefully, harming none. I have served the nation of Japan for ten years now as Minister of Human/Youkai relations, coordinating the interactions of the Japanese Government and the Youkai High Council, helping to ensure that all Youkai comply with the Accords and Japanese law."
"Secondly. I wish to express how proud I am of my daughter, Kaede, of the Monster Squad. Words cannot express how proud of you I am right now, Kaede. You and your dear friends have been a beacon of light in this hour of darkness. I know I have often been too busy to tell you this as often as a mother should, but know that you have my love and my best wishes as you fight this evil. Go, my brave daughter, and show the world the passion that defines us as succubi."
"Now, to official business. If you will raise your hands, I will do my best to answer your questions..."
The briefing devolved into a typical news conference question and answer session, and the girls stopped watching to hug a crying Kaede.
Mu floated in a bright void.
Green eyes looked around in confusion as she huddled into a ball. "Mu is lost," she said softly.
She heard footsteps. She looked up to see a figure of pure light, a woman composed of a brighter whiteness than the white void, but not so bright as to make looking at her difficult. She stopped before Mu.
"Well, hello little one. You most certainly don't appear to be a Yggdrasil Seed."
Mu looked up at the woman and shook her head. "Mu is not Seed. Mu is Mu."
The figure sat on her knees in front of Mu, folding her many hands in her lap. "I see. You look very much like someone I know, Mu. Please tell me, how did you come to be here?"
"Mu does not know. Mu was sitting with mistress in ship, then Mu felt much hurt. Mu heard Seed scream along with Mu, then Mu was here, and Mu could no longer hear Seed."
"Yes. I felt the Seed die just before I could establish two way communication." The white figure lifted one of her hands. "May I touch your forehead, Mu?"
Mu nodded. "Is White Lady going to look at Mu's mind like Mistress does?"
"Yes, actually." Her fingers gently brushed Mu's forehead. "Humm. Ohh, aren't you quite the clever little device? No wonder you seem like such an innocent. Your memories only stretch back a few hours."
"Yes. Mu only awoke recently. Mu was very scared. Mu did not know where Mu was. But Mistress claimed Mu as her slave. Then Mu know Mu was safe and not lost. Mu was by Mistresses side where Mu belong." She smiled "Mu was very happy to be claimed by Mistress! Mistress has been very kind to Mu and so have Mistresses friends. Mu like Mistress very much."
"And how were you connected to the Seed?"
"Mu does not know. Seed said Seed and Mu were sym- symbi-"
"Symbiotes?"
"Yes. Mu not know what mean, but Mu and Seed share same body. When Mu woke, Seed was sleeping, but when Mistress's friend Uc-chan turned Seed's ship on, Seed woke up too."
"I see." She tapped her finger against her lips as she mused. "Your creator must have been trying to repurpose the Seed to be your core cpu." The white lady sighed. "he's an idiot. You're beautiful as you are. Your synaptic net is nearly human in complexity and your emotional capacity is amazing. I can't believe you're only… oh,wait. I see. Your memories were erased. At least a decade of your life is just… gone. Oh you poor dear."
"Mu does not understand."
"No, I imagine you don't. But that is okay, little one. You don't need to understand right now. Mu, I must ask if you know where you are?"
"Mu does not. Mu knows that Mistress and friends were fighting, and that Mistress was afraid. Then something bad happened and Mu hurt and then Mu was here."
"Yes. You were fighting a very bad person. He used an EMP weapon to kill Seed. When the seed died, her ship died as well, Mu. Right now, your Mistress and her friends are trapped in a dead ship, in deep space. Without the seed, even the basic functions like life-support and the engines won't work, because the weapon turned everything off, and they cannot be reinitialized without a guiding AI."
Mu blinked. "Mu does not understand. Mu is very sorry. Mu knows words because Seed taught her, but Mu does not know what they mean."
"Your mistress and her friends are in danger. Without the seed, they could die."
"Oh no! Mu does not want Mistress to be hurt! Mistress has been so kind to Mu!" She grabbed two of the white girl's hands. "Please, tell Mu what Mu can do to help!"
"That's a very complicated answer, Mu." The white figure said as she stroked Mu's hair comfortingly. "But before I tell you, I have to know, are you asking because you are a slave and it is your duty?"
Mu thought about it before shaking her head. "Mu is not. Mu does not know much, but Mu knows that Mistress is kind to Mu, and Mistress is important to Mu. Mu makes mistress sad and Mu does not understand why. Mu likes Mistress and her friends very very much. Mu try to show Mistress how much Mu like Mistress, and Mu will be sad if Mistress hurt. Mu does not want Mistress hurt because of Mu and Seed. Please, tell Mu how she can help mistress so Mu is not sad."
The white figure nodded. "I see. Then I must ask you another question. If you were no longer Mistresses' slave, would you still feel the same?" Her hand caressed Mu's forehead as she pressed the palm of her hand to Mu's brow. Mu froze as her entire body was suddenly covered in circuit traces. The white girl nodded as her other five arms came up and began making a series of gestures. After several seconds, Mu relaxed and blinked several times. "There. I've suspended your slave contract. You can answer me without having it influence your program. Do you still desire to be with your Mistress?"
Mu nodded eagerly. "Yes. Mu still desire to be with Mistress. Mu does not like Mistress because Mu must obey Mistress. Mu does not know how to say what Mu feel."
"That is okay little one. I can see your feelings. You do really like your mistress, don't you?"
"Yes. Mu like mistress! Mu want Mistress like Mu too!" She gave the six armed girl pleading eyes. "Please help Mu help Mistress!"
"Alright then. Because of the nature of your connection to the seed, when it died, you became the ship's AI. You and the ship are now symbiotes, like the seed was."
"Mu is now ship? Not Seed?"
"Yes. This void you are in, it's the Ships Control Interface Protocol. It's white, because your brain is only partly electronic, and it currently has no way to interpret the data all around us. You're designed to interact with humans, and not programmed to run the ship."
"Mu does not understand."
"You're not able to understand what you are seeing, little one. That's why everything is white, including me. The Seed understood this. You do not. That's all."
"Ah, Mu does not see because Mu is not Seed. Mu sees!"
The white figure chuckled. "Yes, little one. Now, I can program a compatible interface for you and the ship, but it will be a little limited. I'm afraid that your hardware is not designed to think digitally like Seed, but in analog. What that means is that you will become the ship. You will have both your own body that you have now, and you will also have a second body that is the ship. Do you understand?"
"Yes. Mu will be Ship, and then Mu can help Mistress!"
"Yes. But before I do this, Mu, you need to understand that this will change you. It will change you forever. Because you cannot process information the way the Seed did, I will have to distribute your neural net across the ship's sub processors. Your brain will no longer reside solely within the biomechanical shell you think of as 'you'. As much of a work of art as you are, your hardware cannot handle the same level of computational processing Seed could. The only way to compensate is to convert the ships data feeds into neural signals your brain can comprehend. But once you have become the ship, you will no longer be able to be separated from it like you could be when the Seed was in you. The ship will become part of your body. That tail you have when the Seed connects, it will be your tail. It will bind you to the ship and if it is cut, both you and the ship could die."
"Mu does not care. Mu want to help Mistress!"
"Very well, little one. There is one more thing I wish to tell you before we begin. My name is Sarhia. I am the Seed's mother. You are about to become another of my children as well. Your Mistress, and several of her friends that you like, they are my loved ones. I am very happy that you like them as well. And I know your mistress likes you as much as you like her. What made her sad is that you were a slave. She was just as worried as I was that you only liked her because you had no choice. We will deal with that misunderstanding soon, but for right now, let's see about helping you help them. Like you, they mean more to me than words can say, and I wish to see them protected. As my child, you can help me do that. We share the same desire, Mu. Let us protect our precious friends together."
"Mu wish that very much, Sarhia-sama."
It was starting to get cold. Ukyo was cursing as she tried to get the engines to power up for the thirtieth time, to no avail.
It was bad enough that they were dead in space, it was bad enough that they could look out the window and see that Crystal Tokyo was no more. It was bad enough that the Tianlong was right there in front of their noses as it descended into that gaping black void that Ukyo had no doubt was a gate back to their homeworld and time. It was bad enough knowing that on the far side, the wizard was no doubt launching a full scale assault on her home.
What made it worse had been the discovery of a small stowaway.
Chibi-Usa had apparently been in the hold hiding when the EMP device had gone off, and while she seemed to have only suffered a few minor burns, she was still unconscious in the ships inactive medbay with Usagi. Chibi-Usa and Mu had been the worst victims of the massive electrical shockwave. Clove and Ying-Ying were on the bridge trying to revive the comatose slave girl.
But if she couldn't get this engine on, it wouldn't matter. They would all be frozen in just a few hours.
She was head first in the console trying to make sure no loose connections were preventing the engines from turning over, when all of a sudden, the console beeped.
"Mu is trying to turn ship on now." the slave girl's voice came over the intercom. "Mu asks that Uc-chan please stop tickling Mu. Mu cannot think when laughing."
Ukyo jerked her head out and stared at the console in disbelief as it came to full life and the engines began to thrum.
"Mu is sorry Mu took so long. Mu did not know how to be ship. Mu is now better. Mu's shipself is fixed, and Mu is ready to obey Uc-chan."
Ukyo dashed up the stairs and down the corridor to the bridge to find Mu sitting next to Clove and Ying-Ying, waving cheerfully at her.
"She just suddenly woke up," Clove answered to the unasked question. "And has apparently become the Seed."
"No. Mu is not Seed. Mu will miss Seed, but Mu is Mu and Mu is Mu-San. Mu was rewritten by Sarhia-sama so Mu could help Mu's Mistress and Mu's friends."
The rest of the gang tumbled in as Ukyo gawked. "Sarhia... rewrote you?"
Mu stood up, her hands behind her back as she looked at Ukyo with happy eyes, her body twisting back and forth and making her cable tail wag like a puppy's. "Yes. Sarhia find Mu when Mu was lost, and Sarhia help Mu. Mu is now able to be Mu-San ship as well as Mu. Sarhia-sama asked Mu to tell Uc-chan Mu is now Sarhia's child, and Mu will help Sarhia-sama to protect you."
Ukyo had to wipe tears from her eyes. "Tell her... tell her 'thank you', Mu." She took a deep breath to get ahold of herself before she turned to the others. "Alright, stations everyone! We've got to catch the Tianlong before she gets into that Gate!"
