Chapter Ten: Gazing into the Abyss

Nabiki winced as she fingered the bandage on her shoulder. It wasn't really a bad wound, as the broken strut had only penetrated to the bone and not gone through, but it hurt like hell. At least the bleeding had stopped, and no arteries had been cut.

She looked out the canopy of the turret she was in and noted that the fire was dying. The forest they had ignited when they crashed through the shields had been fairly damp, so the flames were starting to become smoldering patches. She looked up over the trees and blinked in surprise to the see the Earth starting to rise over them.

Humm, guess the ship is flipping. She frowned at the brown planet and noted that cracks seemed to be racing across the surface as the ship continued to invert itself, and then she could finally see the growing vortex that had swallowed half of Japan. It's like it's eating the planet.

Something caught her eye. A golden mist appeared to be rising from the planet directly towards the ship. It was faint, and hard to see against the desert terrain and the clouds of dust starting to cover them, but it shimmered in her eyes like a sunspot reflecting from a mirror and drew her attention in. Then the mist hit the edge of the shields and surprised her as it passed right through them. It resolved into a glittering cloud of individual motes that appeared to be making a beeline directly at the ship.

She blinked and threw up her shields as she hit the intercom. "Uh, guys? Something weird seems to be headed right for us."

"Have enemies arrived?" Tao-Ching responded.

"I don't think so, it's coming from Earth. It's like a cloud of... what the hell? They look like butterflies." She blinked again as the horde of fluttering wings hit her shield and ignored it like they had the Tianlong's. "Shit they just went right through my shield!" She threw up her arm as they rushed the canopy.

"Nabiki!" Tao-Ching yelled, "Are you okay?"

Realizing that she wasn't feeling anything she opened her eyes and cautiously lowered her arm. "Wow."

"Are you okay?" Tao-Ching repeated.

Nabiki was staring in amazement at the creature perched on her arm and tilting its head at her curiously. It let out a questioning chirrup. She blinked repeatedly at it as she answered Tao-Ching. "Yeah, I'm fine. They don't appear to be hostile."

"What?"

"Um, they look like little anthropomorphic female dragons with butterfly wings. They appear to be able to move right through the hull. One of them is on my arm looking at me. Huh? Hey, it's got writing on its wings!"

"Say what?"

"Yeah, it's in romanji. J-O-R-M-U-N-D-G-A-N-D-R in a circle around a logo that looks like a serpent biting its tail, and under it are the words 'Unit 1985683'."

"Jormungandr?" Ying-Ying's voice came back, "That's the name of the Midgard Serpent."

"That is correct." a new feminine voice came over the intercom. "Please do not panic, my sub-units have arrived to help me repair the Mu-San. My mother, Goddess Sarhia asked me to assume the duties of the Seed that Xi'an Chi destroyed, as Mu is inexperienced with her shipself. I am the Midgard Serpent, Jormungandr, and the former worldnode for your reality's worldnet during the Silver Millennium. You may think of me as Mu's sister, and your servant."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "You're a snake?"

"No, Nabiki-sama. I am a form of dragon, one who exists in the primal data space of reality. You could probably best visualize me as a sentient computer program that doesn't require hardware. We were created by Unity eons ago, but I am one of only five who remain on Earth. My sub-units that are arriving were the remnants of this universe's version of me, as my existence in this universe appears to have been terminated."

"So, these little dragons are like drones?" Tao-Ching asked.

"Yes." Jormungandr answered. "They are conceptualized subroutines used for interacting with physical reality and are based on the appearance Goddess Sarhia assigned to me. As I have no actual physical form, they are a useful tool to allow me to work within your three dimensional environment. I have summoned them to assist in repairs, as the Mu-San's onboard repair systems are insufficient to heal her at speed. They are simply too primitive, and converting them is taking too long. I am preparing to upgrade the Mu-San to Asgardian technological standards, so you will be seeing some major changes to the ships form and interior shortly. Additionally, if you permit, my sub-units can tend to minor injuries."

The glowing fairy dragon on her arm chirruped again as it tilted its head the other way.

"These things are all over the ship now." Tao-Ching's voice came over the intercom. "We sure they are safe?"

"If she's Sarhia's daughter, we have nothing to worry about," Ying-Ying said with a relieved sigh. "We can trust her."

"Who's Sarhia?"

"One of our soulmates. We haven't all met her yet, but she's one of us. She's a goddess."

"A real one? Like Belldandy and Urd?"

"A much older one than either of them, but yes."

"So you are in control of the Mu-San now?" Clove asked.

"No, I basically am the Mu-San now, I have installed myself into it, and I am in the process of integrating it as my physical substrate, much as you have the former shell of Herb. While I do not require a physical substrate to exist, it is far more efficient for me to inhabit a central cortex optimized for data management, what you would refer to as a computer mainframe. I will basically replace the ships Yggdrasil Seed as the central A.I. Mu and I are networked, and share a relationship similar to your current one with Konatsu. We are two entities, and two bodies, yet we are also one. This will allow me to restore Mu's neural net to her primary body, and be able to physically separate from the Mu-San as she could before. Mu has requested that I assume the primary responsibility of controlling the Mu-San until she has become experienced enough to manage her on her own."

"Mu does not wish to accidently hurt Mu's friends again, so Jo-chan will help her." Mu chimed in. "Mu does not know how to control her shipself very well, or know how to fight like her friends can. Mu is very sorry she couldn't avoid the bright light that hurt her."

Nabiki let out a sigh of relief to hear the slavegirl's voice. As Ying-Ying and Clove tried to assure Mu that getting shot hadn't been her fault, the fairy dragon on her arm hopped over to her shoulder and chirruped at her again as it nosed the bandages. "Sure, if you can fix me, go ahead," she told it.

It nodded, and dissolved into a cloud of glowing motes that poured into her wound. Nabiki blinked before she realized her shoulder didn't hurt anymore. She lifted the bandage to see the bloody hole in her shoulder was gone. The cloud of motes emerged from her skin and drifted back into the form of the fairy dragon that looked at her questioningly and chirruped again. She smiled at it. "Thanks."

Then a crackle of thunder above her made her look up. "Oh shit, we're entering the vortex!"


Darkness closed in, and the world turned inside out...

Kodachi stood on the roof of the Tokyo Tower observation deck and shuddered.

I never thought I would be here again. She looked down at the spot where, if Mousse hadn't intervened, her life would have ended. Maybe it would have been better if it had. Maybe the hearts I have stolen would have been released to return to those they belong to.

"If you had died, who would be here now, the only one who might be able to end this invasion before it gets worse?" Mousse said quietly from beside her. Kodachi started and looked at her.

"Can you read my mind now?"

Mousse shook her head sadly. "No. but your face makes what you were thinking all too clear."

"Mou-chan, what am I going to do?"

"That is a question for later, Mistress. Now it is time for the shedding of blood, and our hearts must be locked away until it is done."

"Is that the Amazon way?"

"Yes. A warrior does what must be done to keep the tribe safe. I could not be prouder of you than I am that you chose to come of your own free will. No matter what kind of youkai you may be, you share an Amazon's heart."

She drew a deep shaky breath as she gripped Mousse's hand tightly. "But I am so terrified I will fail. I don't know what I am doing."

Kaede stepped next to her and looked out over the army scurrying around beneath them. "You don't need to know right now, Dachi-chan. In fact, I think if you did know how to control your powers, you might do worse. We learn how to limit our abilities so thoroughly, it's hard to let loose of them again. You're stronger than any other succubus in the Accord I know. That's why this might work."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then Lo-Shen pulls us out, and we try another way. Either way, it's going to create a lot of confusion and chaos which will buy us time."

Kodachi fingered the band around her throat. "So all I need to do is take this off?"

"Yeah. And I am going to be right here next to you to try and help you with the side effects."

"Side effects?"

"Ever drunk sake, Dachi-chan?"

She nodded.

"This is probably going to be a thousand times stronger than that. You're going to get drunk like you have never been drunk before, and maybe feel sicker than you've ever felt. Just remember, it's not going to physically harm you. It's a perfectly natural thing for succubae on an energy high. And the more you drink, the more powerfully you will draw in more. Mousse and I are going to be right here, and we're going to put that collar back on if it becomes too strong."

"Too strong?"

"You're going to be drawing from a wider and wider area, so if it looks like you're going past the outer walls towards our side, we'll stop you from hurting our troops."

"How badly is this going to hurt those below us?"

Kaede sighed. "We're a subspecies of vampire that feeds on the emotional energy of desire instead of blood. Just like with a normal vampire, if you drain enough, they're going to die. We can effectively drain enough life force from a person to disintegrate the bindings between atoms and leave nothing but dust. However, that requires direct contact. Indirectly like this, you can still drain enough to kill some of them, and incapacitate the rest."

"I–I see." She sighed. "I did not realize I was such a danger to those around me."

"Only because you haven't been trained yet, Dachi-chan." Kaede patted her hand. "There's one more thing I need to warn you about."

Kodachi nodded. "Okay."

"You may not only get their raw emotions. You might also get flashes of their sexual fantasies. Normally, that merely allows us to fine tune our behavior to be the most appealing lure for our prey, but given that crowd down there, some of them might be pretty nasty."

Kodachi shrugged. "I am no innocent, Kaede-chan. That experience at least I have had before, when I was captain of the Hebereke gymnastics squad. I didn't know it was because I was part succubus, but I am prepared to cope with it." She turned sad eyes to look back at Raijin, who very studiously had his back turned to her as he spoke quietly to Katana. She looked around at the others arrayed around the observation deck, keeping watch on the troops below. Then she looked up at her uncle.

He gave her a nod. "Proceed niece. Let us see if your powers are as strong as Lo-Shen believes."

She nodded and looked at Kaede. Swallowing hard, she tried to assay a grin. It was definitely a failure. She reached behind her neck and unlatched the choker.

At first, she didn't feel anything…but then a familiar sensation came to her. She could feel the eyes. The eyes turning towards her, the eyes watching her, the eyes devouring her. All her life they had been there. All of her life she had felt them, felt the hunger in them. Felt the feeling of being looked at and desired.

She had learned to revel in the feeling. It had been like an addiction, her own insatiable hunger. It was what had driven her to seduce, humiliate and control her gymnastics squad at Hebereke, it was what had fueled her seduction and more or less rape of Makoto in front of Raijin, before she had taken his virginity in front of her. It was what had fed her exhibitionist displays as a gymnast, her endless "search" for "love" that had driven her from one boy or girl to another until Akane had done to her what she had done to so many others, and a different kind of hunger had replaced it.

She fell to her knees as she felt more and more eyes upon her. Almost involuntarily, she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. She wanted to scream. The joy she had once felt at the sensation was gone, and only revulsion remained.

"Dachi-chan?" Kaede asked softly. "Are you okay?"

Kodachi shivered again. "I–I will be fine. I must do this!"

Below them, the scurrying of the troops had become confused. More and more of the small figures appeared to be stopping and looking up at the tower. Kodachi swallowed hard. "I can feel their eyes. Like slime crawling all over me."

Mousse's hand touched hers. "I am here."

She nodded. "I feel so dirty. They don't just want to fuck me. They want to defile me, to humiliate me, and then torture me to death. Or eat me! I am getting flashes of fantasies so disgusting I can't even describe them. Oh kami… what sort of creatures are these?"

Mousse was suddenly shoving her aside "Watch out!"

Something slashed through the air where her head had been and slammed into the deck of the tower. She stared at the object in shock for a second before she realized it was the blade of a large scythe.

It was shaped like a stylized bat wing, sharpened on both sides and dark as midnight. It merged into a sculpted figure of a hooded and cloaked woman, her hands clasped together in front of her. Below her clasped hands, the cloak swirled into a shaft of black steel that extended almost six feet to a flanged mace head on the far end.

And standing on that shaft was a pair of steel soled platform stilettos. They were several inches thick, and the heels were needle sharp. They were strapped to a pair of pale feet, perfectly manicured nails painted a deep blood red contrasting with almost alabaster skin. Kodachi followed the legs up with her eyes, realizing the voluptuous figure was completely naked between feet and neck. She was almost six foot tall in heels, with a muscularly athletic body, and generous breasts with pale pink nipples only slightly contrasting with her skin. She stood on the shaft easily, with an aura of supreme self confidence despite being over a fall of several hundred feet. Her hands were braced on her hips in a stance of pure arrogance and only her head was clothed in a close fitting full head mask of blackened steel as smooth and featureless as an egg. From the back of that steel enclosure, a thick chain swung, connecting her head to a large six sided lantern with a top shaped like a pagoda roof and glowing panels concealing the light source within. It swung back and forth like a pendulum as the featureless mask looked down at Kodachi.

"Now now, Dachi-chan. It's impolite to eat someone's army without asking, you know." The girl's voice was mocking, and somehow… familiar.

Sesshomaru had drawn his sword and stepped forward, but the masked girl raised her hand and tossed a small device to the deck. A shimmering shield appeared between the girls and their protectors as she turned her mask towards him.

"My apologies, Lord Sesshomaru, but my master's instructions are quite clear. You are his prey. As much as I might desire to test my skill against yours, I must decline. Prince Sapphir will be here in mere moments. My job is to merely prevent you from causing too much chaos before he arrives. While finding you here in the middle of our camp is surprising, we did anticipate a possible assault by you." She laughed. "That you brought my targets to me is simply a delicious bonus."

The director's eyes narrowed. "Both your voice and your scent are familiar, girl. Name yourself!" Kodachi turned to look at her uncle. He thought so too? She turned back to the naked girl as she responded.

"Familiar, my lord?" she laughed. "Indeed. But I am afraid the only name I can give you is… Scythe." Her mask turned to look towards Ai. "These girls and I are… shall we say, old acquaintances? We have… unfinished business."

Ai glared. "I don't know who you are, but if you're looking for a fight, we can give you one."

Scythe laughed. "Perhaps. That remains to be seen. And we do indeed know each other, so very, very, well." She laughed again, a soft gloating laugh, as she focued on Kodachi again. "You could say I have been waiting a thousand years to see you again."

Her mask tilted to the side. "However, my darling, if my troops are sickening you from here, I'd suggest you put your collar back on before you are down in the middle of them. I would hate for them to rape you to death before I've had my way with you."

"Wha–" Kodachi got no further as Scythe stepped off her scythe and began to fall. Her hand grasped the shaft and the blade sliced through the deck as it was wrenched free. They heard her laughter descending and then the scream of steel being cut. The deck gave a lurch as Mousse grabbed at Kodachi but lost her footing and collided with the rail. The deck started to tilt as Sesshomaru and Ayeka's father both tried futilely to penetrate the shield. Kodachi grabbed her collar as it started to slide off the edge and then screamed as the entire tower began to collapse. The deck split apart as if it had been sliced and she found herself falling.

Instinct kicked in and she spread her wings, desperately trying to orient herself as the tower fell apart around her. She heard a scream and looked to see Ai falling below her. In a near panic, she tried to find Mousse, only to see that the glowing angel-like figure was clutching Ayeka and Megumi, and that Kaede was trying to get a better hold on Kyoko. She gulped and dove, her uncertain control insufficient to avoid the falling debris. She felt her left arm get sliced as she hit a falling piece of metal, but she ignored it as she snatched the cheerleader's hand. The pain made her scream as she flapped desperately to slow their fall, and she let go of her whip to grasp Ai's arm with both hands. She managed to reduce their speed to something survivable before another piece of metal slammed into her back. They crashed to the pavement as a fall of metal tumbled around them and dust obscured everything.

Kodachi groaned and used her good hand to force herself upright, her arm and back making her grit her teeth, and she could taste blood, but she was glad that none of the falling steel had hit them. She looked over to Ai. "Are–are you okay?" she gasped.

Ai shook herself as she sat up and groaned herself. "Did anyone get the number of the car that hit me?"

Kodachi gave a "heh" as she looked at her arm. The cut was bad, and bleeding heavily, but didn't look like she'd hit an artery. She winced as she tried to bend her elbow. Ai crawled over to her and winced as well. "We gotta stop that bleeding."

Kodachi nodded. "Use–use my bow."

Ai nodded and looked around, seeing a sharp jag of metal nearby. She used it to slice the ribbon, and quickly used it to bandage Kodachi's arm. She sighed as she finished tying it. "We need to get you proper attention soon, but that's the best we can do for now."

Kodachi nodded, and tried to get her feet under her, but had to stop when the pain in her back nearly made her scream. She panted as she shook her head. "I can't stand."

Ai looked her back over, gently untying the corset and letting it hang to the sides. "You're not bleeding, but you have one hell of big bruise. I'd say the corset material probably saved you from something a lot worse."

Kodachi nodded. "Thank you. It doesn't hurt so bad without pressure on it. But I still don't think I can stand.

Ai stood and looked around. "Can't see shit in this dust, but it won't last long." She cocked an ear and took several steps off in one direction. "Shit. I think soldiers are coming. We gotta get out of here." She turned back to Kodachi. "We gotta find the–" her voice cut off as a flicker of darkness seemed to pass before her and a horrified look came to her eyes. Her eyes rose to Kodachi's and she tried to say something but no words came out.

Then Kodachi screamed as Ai's head fell forward and her now headless body collapsed to her knees.

Scythe's naked figure stood behind her, the deadly weapon still extended from her swing. That blank mask angled towards Kodachi, and even through the steel, she could feel the cruel smile.


Lo-Shen staggered and let out a gasp as she felt a massive drain in her youki occurring. She looked over at the mage trying to scry the battlefield for the group that had gone, but the globe was still showing nothing but a chaotic swirl of light. The mage looked up at her. "Are you okay?"

"We need to find out what is going on! Something just happened and took out a large chunk of my remaining youki!"

The scryer blanched. "I am trying Archmage. There is an interference zone covering the entire area inside that barrier."

Lo-Shen growled. "Dammit!" She looked up as a soldier ran up to the Colonel nearby and saluted. "Sir! We have a report that Tokyo Tower has collapsed!"

The Colonel scowled. "How?"

"Unknown, Sir. The observers say it appeared to simply fall apart as if it had been sliced to pieces."

The Colonel's eyes turned to meet Lo-Shen's. "Magic?"

Lo-Shen nodded. "Or possibly a superior chi user. Sesshomaru could cut the tower apart if he thought it necessary." She looked into the shimmering field that was distorting the view inside. "With that blocking scrying, it's impossible to tell what's going on."

The Colonel nodded. "We should have an observation satellite in place in a few more minutes."

Lo-Shen pounded her fist on the railing. "Dammit! If I wasn't so low on youki, I could try forcing a hole in the barrier. With that drain, I've barely got enough to keep the girls powered for more than another ten or fifteen minutes."

"Are you Archmage Lo-Shen?" a soft voice asked. She turned to see an attractive dark haired woman who looked to be in her late twenties dressed in a business suit.

"I am."

The other girl bowed. "I am Rin Kuno, the Director's assistant. I apologize for arriving so late, but I have brought a solution to your youki shortage, if you are willing to allow their assistance."

"You're the Director's personal mage?"

"Yes, Archmage."

"You can call me Lo-Shen, dearie. What have you brought?"

Rin turned to motion to a group of people who had been waiting nearby. A woman separated and approached. The woman was small, and by most standards could be described as "cute" despite appearing to be early middle aged. She bowed, and Lo-Shen felt a striking sense of familiarity.

"Greetings Archmage. I am Mikasa Onimura. We have come to aid you if you will allow."

Lo-Shen blinked. "Onimura?"

"Yes, Archemage. I am Kyoko's mother. With me are the other members of the Onimura clan within Tokyo. If you will allow us, we will provide you with all the youki we collectively share." She smiled. "Will you, for my daughter's sake, accept an entire clan's worth of foxes?"

Lo-Shen smiled back. "I am an Unlimited Class Archmage, Onimura-san. Are you willing to trust me to release such power once given?"

"We are aware of the risk, Archmage. But you have given my daughter your power, and she has given you her trust. For her, we are willing to risk all. This is a battle that must be won at any price."

Lo-Shen bowed. "You humble me."

Mikasa bowed as well and turned to the rest of the group. She stepped forward and spread her arms. "She has accepted us," was all she said. The rest of the group nodded, and one by one disappeared into glows that flowed into the foxwoman. Her ears popped out and one by one, with each member of the clan that joined with her, she grew another tail. With the last one joined, she fairly burned with foxfire as she turned, her eyes shining with a pure azure light and a billowing cloud of tails forming a halo around her. She stepped up to Lo-Shen and smiled.

"We are the hundred tailed fox, Archmage. A form that has not been seen on this world for ages. It is the most secret and sacred art of the Onimura clan, a means of a final defense in the greatest of need. It is a once in a lifetime thing, and we can only maintain this form for a few hours, but while we are joined, our energies are multiplied exponentially. Accept us, and aid our Kin and her loved ones, please?"

Lo-Shen bowed. "I thank you most gratefully for this honor and to be allowed to see such beauty. Gladly will I accept your aid." She straightened and placed her palm against Mikasa's and closed her eyes as the light grew too bright to see…


"I can't even begin to tell you how cathartic that felt, my love." Scythe said as she twirled her weapon and jauntily placed it over her shoulder. She casually stepped through the debris towards Kodachi as the other girl tried to scramble backwards despite the pain, only to be blocked by several girders. She looked around desperately for her weapon, her eyes locking on it just as Scythe placed her foot down on it. She looked back up in terror.

"Now now, my love, no need to panic just yet. I've been waiting for far too long for this moment to just kill you," the masked girl admonished.

"Who–who are you?" Kodachi managed.

"You don't know me?" Scythe asked mockingly. "I'm shocked. I figured you of all people in this wretched dimension would recognize me, lover." Her weapon dropped and the point of it caught Kodachi's choker from off the ground and dangled it in front of her. "After all, without this on, you should be able to taste me even among all of my army." She placed her free hand over her breast. "You used to tell me how much you savored my taste."

Kodachi couldn't deny it. The feeling of Scythe's eyes on her were indeed far stronger than those she was still feeling from all around her, and far more nauseating. "Savor is not the word I would use."

The naked figure cocked her mask curiously.

"How odd. You're not actually feeding on anyone are you? You're rejecting all of our energies. You could have healed your injuries, and drained half my army by now, but you haven't." She lifted the scythe again and dropped the choker into her hand and looked at it curiously. "Without this on, you could never control your feeding, but I can feel you actually rejecting me! And not just me either, you're rejecting everything! You can't process it, can you? You're refusing to feed!"

"I—I don't know what you're talking about." Kodachi said uncertainly, her eyes still locked on the featureless mask.

Scythe tossed her choker into her lap. "You might as well put that back on, my love." She laughed bitterly. "How ridiculous. They sent you in here to feast, and you can't eat anyone! In fact, you look like you can barely stop from vomiting." She grounded her scythe and sighed. "Pathetic. You're even weaker than she was." She jerked a hand back towards where Ai's headless body still knelt. Her mask turned skywards. "WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU?!" she screamed.

"I–I don't know what you are talking about!"

Scythe's mask looked back down at her. "What did that bitch and her stupid friends do to you, Dachi-chan? It's like you're some pathetic follower of the cursed ACCORD!"

"S–so? I–I'm a Kuno! It's my honor to follow the Accord!"

Scythe stared at her for long seconds as a slight trembling arose and she gripped her scythe tighter."So… I am already too late." What could have been a sob came from her masked form. "You're totally ruining my revenge," she complained.

Kodachi winced as she locked the choker back around her neck. "What have I ever done to you to merit revenge? What did Ai do? We've never met you before!"

Before she could react, Scythe was behind her, the blade of her weapon against her throat, and the cold steel of her mask against the back of her ear. "You may not know it, but you have, beloved. I've waited for a thousand years to show you how much I still love you, and reclaim you as my own. And now, all I find is a pathetic child! I want my wild and dangerous demoness back! My deadly Black Rose. And your lovely fangs have been pulled."

She shoved Kodachi to the ground and stood, putting her platform sole against Kodachi's cheek, the needle thin heel against her throat, and pressed her face into the pavement. "A pity. I was so overjoyed to see you again, even if it was in her company." The scythe gestured off in the direction of Ai's body again, the hatred in her voice dripping. "I hoped to eliminate her and take you for my own again, but there's no point," she said angrily. "You're ruined goods. You're not my Kodachi at all!" She raised her scythe above her head like an axe. "You god-damn bitch! You've ruined everything!" she screamed as the scythe started to descend. Kodachi closed her eyes and cringed.

But the anticipated blow didn't fall. Instead she heard metal clang against metal.

She opened her eyes again to see a pair of pink stilettos, with pink bows adorning them. She blinked. That was impossible. Ai was….

She felt Scythe jump back and lifted her head to see the utterly impossible. Ai stood there, lowering her baton from where she had blocked Scythe's blow. But… Kodachi's mouth opened and closed several times in disbelief.

Then the headless body tossed Ai's head in front of her. "Watch that for me, Dachi-chan, this bitch and I have a score to settle."

Kodachi stared. "Ai? But–but… how?"

The head in front of her opened its eyes and looked up at her. "I got no idea." Her body took a step towards Scythe, placing itself between her and Kodachi and raising her baton as she took up a stance. "But something tells me it's either her or me. Only one of us is going to live through this." Kodachi struggled to set up, and pulled Ai's head into her lap as she looked towards Scythe.

Scythe was laughing; a sound on the verge of madness. "Gods, how stupid of me! As much as cutting your head off thrilled me, I should have seen this coming," she said, one hand on her mask as the laugh trailed off bitterly and she straightened. She twirled her weapon as she looked Ai up and down.

"I'll bet you're wondering why you're still alive, aren't you?" she asked. She stopped the spin with the weapon straight out to her side. "Behold! The Scythe of the Martyred Virgin," she said sarcastically. "She's chosen you to challenge me for her possession. The bitch!" She swung it down into the ground angrily and released it as her hands rose to the collar of her mask. She twisted and lifted her head off her shoulders, then dangled it by the chain as she grabbed her weapon again. She waved the scythe as she said, "She drinks the souls of those she kills, but every so often, instead of killing outright, she tests her possessor by creating another Dullahan like myself."

She casually walked over to a pile of debris and hung the chain over a girder. Her masked head and the lantern swung back and forth like an insane pair of fuzzy dice as she lifted the scythe into a combat stance. "I never should have cut your head off; I should have split you top to bottom instead. But it's been such a long time since she's tried to free herself of me, I was careless." Even though Scythe had no head, both girls could feel the burning hatred in her glare. "I should have known she would pick you." The hatred in that last word was almost enough to freeze the air.

Ai twirled her baton. "So, if I kill you, I stay alive." The voice came from the vicinity of her missing head, and Kodachi looked down to see that Ai's eyes were closed again.

Scythe laughed bitterly. "Alive? Hardly. You're already dead. You've just been cursed to become the undead. Nor are you a full Dullahan yet either. Without this–" she raised the scythe, "–you're incomplete." She twirled the weapon again. "She's getting desperate. As you are, you're not even a challe–"

She broke off as a black sword shoved through her chest between her bare breasts, then staggered forward as it was withdrawn and she whirled to intercept the second swing. Ayeka hissed as she glared over their locked weapons, her blood red eyes blazing and her black sword burning with the orange fire of her chi.

"I will kill you, you monster!" Ayeka screamed as Scythe stepped back, the cut in her chest closing.

"Will you, vampire? Do you dare to face a sanctified holy weapon? I need but pierce your heart and even you will die." Scythe said contemptuously. "Iscariot created me to combat those like you. Even though I serve a different master now, I am still more than your match." She spun the scythe lazily. "But I can be merciful. My business is only with these two. Run away, and the worst you will face are my troops. Don't make me kill you a second time."

Ayeka's only response was to leap at the headless woman. They met in a clash of steel, Ayeka growling as she rained blow after blow on Scythe, but the naked girl's twirling weapon intercepted them all.

"I will destroy you for what you have done to my mistress!" she screamed as she continued the relentless assault, but Scythe almost seemed to be toying with her. Even when Ai's headless body attacked as well, Scythe hardly seemed to be troubled. Her scythe twirled and blocked both girls as she twisted and dodged. Even the supersonic shocks from Ai's baton appeared to be deflected as Scythe wove between them like a snake.

"Goddammit!" Ai's head cursed. "How the hell does she know my baton style?!"

Kodachi looked down to see her eyes were open again. "I don't know. She acts like she knows us. Like she knows me. She kept calling me her love."

Then Ai's baton went flying past and stuck quivering in the girder behind Kodachi, and Ayeka shrieked as Scythe's blade was buried in Ai's chest. Her headless body staggered back as her head cursed, and her hand went to the hole in her chest. Then a feral grin came to her lips as the hole sealed itself. "So. I see. I'm already dead! I can't die again."

Mad laughter came from Scythe as she bound Ayeka's blade and kicked her in the chest, sending her tumbling. "Oh no, you little imposter. Your body can't be killed," she said viciously. Her body pivoted to focus on Kodachi as she lifted the scythe, screaming "But your head can be!" as she threw.

Kodachi screamed as the blade tumbled towards her and time seemed to slow. She saw Ai's body leaping to intercept the spinning scythe from one side, Ayeka leaping at it from the other, but she could see neither of them was going to be in time. For a long second she froze, staring at the approaching death for them both and then tried to turn and throw herself and Ai's head out of the path, knowing it was already too late…

White fire burned across her vision. Unbelievably, she watched as Mousse snapped her hand around the scythe's shaft, and flipped, reversing the blade's direction before crashing into the ground and tumbling several times, coming to rest upside down against some of the fallen debris, her glasses flying away. Time snapped back into motion as Kodachi turned back to the battlefield.

Ai's body and Ayeka's had collided together and were tangled in front of her, but beyond them Scythe's form stood in shocked stillness. Guttural noises came from her as she suddenly twitched violently and then a spray of blood erupted from her neck as she collapsed to her knees and fell forward.

Kodachi's eyes sought out the scythe. Mousse's wild throw had gone far wide of Scythe's body, and the weapon had embedded itself into the lantern that had hung from Scythe's mask. Blood dripped down the blade as the chain scraped link by link over the girder, and then they both fell to the ground. The lantern's panels shattered from the impact, and Kodachi gasped as she saw a face, the scythe's blade piercing it's forehead.

Ai's head whistled. "I'll be damned. She hid her head in the damn lamp." Then her eyes widened. "Oh my fucking god…" she whispered.

Kodachi was still staring too, unable to pull her eyes away from the head's blue eyes, and blonde hair. Then, she had to look down at the head in her lap, and back.

Ayeka was up on her knees as well. She had a wild look in her eyes as her nose twitched. She growled as her entire body trembled. "Oh gods" she whispered. "The blood." She whimpered. "Mistress. The blood…" she dropped her sword as she wrapped her arms around her stomach, shaking violently. "I smell so much of your blood!" she screamed in agony.

Ai's eyes looked at the agonized girl, and down at the blood still pouring from Scythe's neck, then back over to the face revealed in the lantern. Understanding came as she looked back at her vampire lover with sympathy. Ai's body reached out to touch Ayeka's shoulder. "I understand, my pet. You have my permission."

Ayeka howled as she launched herself forwards and grabbed Scythe's shoulder to bring the body to her lips, Scythe's blood covering her cheeks as she gorged herself. Ai's body turned back and walked over to Kodachi to reach down and pick her head up by her hair. She sat it on her neck, and it almost popped as it rejoined like it was magnitized. Ai stretched her neck a few times, then tugged hard on her hair and with a pop, it detached again. She grimaced as she let it attach again. "That's gonna take some getting used to." She looked down at Ayeka. "Oh my poor poor pet."

Kodachi looked at the vampiress, now on her hands and knees, ravenously licking up the pool of blood even as she was shivering violently. "Wha–whats happening?"

Ai sighed. "She's bound by the accord to never drink human blood without the human's permission. She's driven by her overwhelming need, and was constrained by the binding. The smell of so much all at once was torturing her. And her overwhelming need to drink every last drop is going to torture her too…" Ai's eyes were moist. "I am so sorry my darling Ayeka…"

Kodachi heard a noise to her side and looked over to see that Mousse had righted herself and was patting around for her glasses. She gave a relieved sigh before her eyes went back to the face in the lantern as Ai walked over to it and pulled the scythe out from between its eyes. She sighed again in sadness as she realized what the vampiress was going through as Ai gently closed Scythe's eyes…

Her eyes. There could be no doubt that Scythe's face and Ai's were the same. She looked back at the vampiress, who was openly crying as she couldn't stop herself from licking up the other Ai's blood to the last drop. Even with her choker back on, she could feel the girl's feelings of shame and guilt at being unable to control her desperate need.

Kodachi's eyes snapped back to Ai as she heard her gasp. The scythe in her hands was glowing. They both stared as the glow detached from the weapon and descended to the head in the lantern. It hovered there for a few second before wavering and shifting as it grew into a taller cloud, and then finally into a ghostly copy of Ai. The ghost clasped its hands in front of her and bowed. "I thank you, my other self. You have freed me from the bondage of the Blackmoon. I am sorry for being forced to fight you, and for killing you."

Ai shivered. "Are–are you really me?"

The ghost nodded. "From the universe in which Blackmoon resided. For almost a thousand years I have been bound in service to their dark desires. And before them, to Iscariot, after they executed me." She indicated the weapon in Ai's hand. "The Virgin can be forced to select a new owner if one knows the proper spells. After I was captured by Iscariot, they made me their assassin. But I was freed from their control by Bunny Queen Nibiki, and served as her general along-side Kodachi, until the accursed Senshi drove us from Earth and killed both my queen and my beloved. I was dragged aboard the ship as the youkai escaped Earth – against my desires – and enslaved again by the Black Crystal." She looked around. "However, now is not the time. You are not safe here. My troops have been ordered to create a cordon around the tower's ruins, but you do not have very long before Sapphir's ship arrives and this whole region is destroyed. You must find your friends and escape!"

Ai grimaced. She looked down at Kodachi. "Can you stand yet?"

Kodachi tried again, then shook her head. She looked up to see Mousse standing over her. "Mou-chan. You were wonderful. You saved me again."

Mousse blushed as she knelt and gently cradled Kodachi in her arms. "I am sorry I did not arrive sooner, Mistress. We didn't make the most graceful of landings, and Miss Ayeka, Miss Megumi and I were separated. If I hadn't heard you through the dust, I couldn't have found you." She gently lifted Kodachi and stood. "I will be your legs for now." She smiled as Kodachi put her good arm around her.

Kodachi looked over at Ai, who was looking sadly at where Ayeka was almost done consuming Scythe's blood. "I–I know this must be hard, but you seem to be handling it well, all things considered," she said, trying to be encouraging.

Ai laughed bitterly. "No, Ko-chan, I'm not. But I can't afford to go into a screaming fit of hysteria right now or we're all going to die."

A coughing fit announced Megumi's arrival. She looked worse for wear with a ripped outfit, and was holding her right arm to her side with her left. "Oh thank the gods, you're okay!" she exclaimed as she saw Ai.

Then she did a double take as she took in the ghostly form of Scythe and then down to where Ayeka had curled up on her knees after having consumed all the blood, her face in her hands and making muffled sobs, the guilt and despair overwhelming the usual estatic effects of the blood. "What the hell happened?" Megumi asked.

Ai sighed as she knelt next to the vampire girl. "It's a long story." She hugged Ayeka. "Hush, my pet. It's alright. I'm right here."

Ayeka sobbed. "But, I'm so horrible."

"No. I understand. It's alright. I understand." She petted the crying girl's head. "You can't blame yourself."

"How can you even bear to look at me?" Ayeka sobbed. "She– she smelled just like you! I– I couldn't control the bloodlust!"

Ai reached around her. "It's alright, my love." She lifted Ayeka's face and kissed her closed eyelids gently. "I forgive you. I understand. Please don't worry. I could never blame you for being what you are. You're my beloved vampire, for now and forever." She pulled Ayeka into a hug, and gently pressed the raven haired girl's face against her neck. "Now, be a good girl and bite."

"Miffstress?" Ayeka's muffled voice was barely audible.

"Bite. Take a drink and calm down, my love. Let me prove how much I love you. Please. I need you functional. We've got to find Kaede and Kyoko and get out of here."

"Buff– buff"

"No buts. Drink!"

Ayeka's head moved slightly and Ai's face grew blissful for several seconds until Ayeka's head pulled away. She gently pushed the girl upright and gave her a gentle smile. "Better? You see, I'm right here."

Ayeka sniffed, but nodded. "Yes, mistress."

Ai leaned forward and licked the trace of blood at the edge of Ayeka's mouth. "Good. I need my faithful deathknight. Okay?"

"Yes, mistress."

Ai looked at her ghostly self. "How much time do we have?"

Scythe shook her head. "Not long." She pointed off to her left. "I believe your other friends came down in that direction."

Ai nodded and grunted as she stood. She went over to Scythe's head and picked it up. "Ayeka, can you carry her body?"

"What, why would you do that?" Scythe protested. "Just leave me!"

Ai shook her head. "Hell no. I ain't leaving your body to the mercy of these beasts you commanded. You're getting a proper cremation."

"Please! You don't have time to waste! Just leave me! My body will be burned to ashes when Sapphir arrives! That's why you have got to leave!"

Ai growled, then reluctantly nodded. "Alright. Ayeka, Megumi, help me lay her out properly."

They nodded and quickly turned Scythe's body to lie on its back and crossed her hands across her breasts as Ai finished breaking the lantern to extract her head and lay it against her neck. She turned to look at the ghost. "I guess this is goodbye. Wish I had more time to get answers out of you."

Scythe nodded. "I am sorry. But hurry. Go find your friends." She turned to Kodachi. "Be well, my love. I am sorry for the pain I caused you, both in this life, and your other."

Kodachi nodded. "My other self. You were lovers?"

Scythe nodded. "Since our days in St. Hebereke, until Iscariot captured and executed me, and drove you to join the Chaosians. You convinced the Bunny Queen to spare me after they tried to make me assassinate her, and we were reunited for several years before the Banishing. But go now. Perhaps in yet another life we will meet again." She turned back towards her body and faded from view.

Ai turned at the sound of a shout, and raised her new weapon, but let out a relieved sigh when Kaede appeared, followed by Kyoko and Raijin. "Ai! Thank heavens. We gotta get out of here! The Director and Ayeka's father are trying to cut a way out of here. Come on!"

Ai nodded and looked at the others. "Let's go."


They ran back the way Kaede had come, hearing gunfire start up ahead of them. They broke out of the dust cloud to see the huge man with the Vulcan mowing down a path through the soldiers trying to rush Sesshomaru and the elder Hibishi. Both the white haired daiyoukai and the raven haired one were barely visible whirlwinds protecting either side while the female, Katana was watching for them.

"We've got them!" she cried as they ran to join the group. She waved them to go ahead of her as she and Raijin took up the flank. "Objectives secured! My Lord, we're in the shield!"

Sesshomaru nodded as he cut down a half dozen troops and sheathed his sword to make a series of symbols with his hands. A large sigil on Beowulf's back glowed and a shimmering field appeared around the group, Ayeka's father joining them inside.

Sesshomaru however remained outside. He turned back to the horde rushing towards him, and then suddenly appeared to almost explode as he abandoned his human form and resumed his true shape. The gigantic demon dog howled and then lowered his head to blow a cloud of black miasma into the onrushing mass to screams of agony.

They started moving through the dark mist, and Ai shuddered as they passed the dissolving corpses. Kodachi hid her face in Mousse's shoulder while Kyoko's hand managed to find its way into Ai's.

"I had heard of Lord Sesshomaru's powers, but this is far more horrible than I imagined" the tiny foxgirl offered as an explanation.

Ai nodded as she felt Ayeka wrap around her arm on the other side. She looked to the vampire girl and the still traumatized look in her eyes. "It's okay, my pet." She looked ahead. "Look, we're almost to the barrier. We'll be safe– "

Her words were cut off as the sky behind her turned bright scarlet and a brilliant beam of light lanced down from the black heart of the portal. The ground rocked as the dust cloud still around the tower exploded and the shockwave threw them to the ground.