Chapter Eleven: The Abyss Gazes Also

As the Tianlong entered the portal, the swirling vortex exploded outwards, consuming nearly all of the former island of Japan as the cracks raced all the way around the globe. As they reached the far side of the dead planet, everything paused… and then, as if time began to run backwards, the earth began changing. First the dried up seas refilled their beds as if years were scrolling backwards in seconds. With them, clouds returned to the sky as days and nights passed across the surface in an ever faster blur. Had anyone remained alive to observe who could have drawn back to see the entire solar system, it would have become apparent that the entire solar system appeared to be running in reverse.

Planets swirled counter clock-wise like a clock being rewound, first at centuries per second, then millennia, and finally at millions of years. Without a single living eye to see, the planets disintegrated as the tidal stresses ripped them into ever smaller chunks, which then were sucked into the flaring sun.

Then, even the sun vanished, sucked into the swirling blackness of the temporal rift like a straw, until without even a whisper, the entire Sol system blinked out and the temporal rift sealed, leaving behind a universe in which it had never existed to begin with…

But it did not go without notice, for two beings observed its final moments. But only Legend felt the multiverse was poorer for its loss.


Tao-Ching finished making a circuit around the perimeter of the impact site and had found only plant-life. Other than a few smoldering trees, he couldn't find any immediate threats, or even any signs that anyone had set foot on this section of the fortress's surface. Other than the castle on the top of the central peak, it might as well have been pristine wilderness. Even the trees looked ancient and undisturbed by anything but their crash. It would have passed for a forest at night anywhere on earth had it not been for the sky. As he returned to his starting point, he looked up at the swirling chaos held back by the Tianlong's shields. It was impossible to stare at for long and with a shudder, he climbed the slanted ship's deck back to the upper access hatch and re-entered the ship.

"Are we sure those shields are going to hold?" he asked the air as he headed to the ships C and C room, where he could track the repairs.

Jormungandr answered. "By my calculations, yes. The Tianlong's shield is over an order of magnitude stronger than Mu-San's currently are, and it's mass will keep it fairly stable in spite of the flux. It is fortunate that you managed to temporarily pierce them and land inside. Had Mu entered the portal alone, she would have suffered significant damage, though it would not have been severe enough to cripple her. Those of you aboard her would have survived as well, but would have likely needed immediate medical attention. Temporal storms are best avoided, even for Asgardian vessels. Fortunately the flux will also make it impossible for Xi'an Chi to launch another magical attack at this distance, at least until we emerge on the far side."

Tao-Ching rolled his eyes. "You're so reassuring. Couldn't you just, like, be a trifle less… precise? "

"My nature does not allow for falsehoods, Tao-Ching-san. Legend did not find it desirable to incorporate the ability to lie into us when he created us. Nor did my mother desire it when she gave birth to me."

"Created and birthed, huh? Sounds confusing," he said as he sat in the only chair that was properly oriented to the ships tilt so he wouldn't fall out and looked at the hologram of the Mu-San's ongoing repairs.

"Legend created us as agents without individual will or sentience, much like my subunit drones. Chaos captured us, and bound us to her servants to empower them. They gave birth to us by their wills, imbuing us with individuality, self-awareness, and a semblance of free-will, but they also shaped us and our personalities. Sarhia desired a true companion, not a slave, and as such, I was born closest to our original form, though with emotions to enable me to be more human. My brothers and sisters were mostly recreated as cruel and inhumane monsters. Kami-sama was forced to grant them oblivion after defeating the Chaos Lords."

"You said five of you still remained on Earth, though."

"Yes. Yggdrasil, Phoenixmoon, Nidhogg, Fenris, and myself, though Fenris is currently inactive and in quarantine as he is infected with the Ultimate Destruction Program, and both Yggdrasil and Nidhogg have chosen to abandon the pretence of self determination and return to being agents of the positive and negative Ultimate Force."

Tao-Ching raised an eyebrow. "Ooookay. I vaguely know a few of those. So, Norse myth is the real truth of religion? I used to be an atheist until Shan-kitty introduced me to Urd, you know."

"Truth is in the eye of the beholder, Tao-Ching-san. Yes, in a sense Kami-sama is the ruling deity of this universe, and all other religions are confused reflections created as part of the rewritten history of the Silencing, but there is also truth within each, as the higher planes reflect human belief. In a sense, you can also state that all religions are equally as true as the Norse given the corruption of the historical records. Kami-sama simply is the final authority of all pantheons within this reality by virtue of having defeated the Chaos Lords and having overcome all challengers to his rule. As master of Yggdrasil, and thus in charge of the Ultimate Force, he is the Lord of this solar system and its subordinate realms because he is the single most powerful being still remaining after the Jotun Wars. Even Hild is aware that she cannot face him directly without being destroyed."

Tao-Ching leaned back in the chair to look at the drone sitting on the overhead light, which appeared to be acting as a proxy for the disembodied A.I. "Alright, that's a subject I don't think I really want to dig too deep into right now. But I do have a question about you."

The dragonette nodded. "Please feel free to ask. I have not been given any instructions to withhold any specific information, but please be advised I will use my own discretion as to what I will impart." The drone's muzzle matched the words, though Jo's voice was still coming from the intercom speakers. Still it felt more like talking to an actual person instead of the ship's ceiling.

"Yeah, that's fine. Some things us mortals are better off not knowing. Anyway, if you're the equivalent of Yggdrasil, then you had to be the servant of a deity almost at Odin's level, right?"

"That is correct. Though Lord Odin prefers to be addressed as Kami-sama or All-Father."

"But I've never heard of any deity called Sarhia."

"Sarhia is my mother's given name. Sarhia Borsdottir. She is the fiftieth prototype created by the Bor Genefarm as a special purpose dance slave, prior to the Jotun Wars and the reign of the Chaos Lords, over two thousand years prior to the Silencing. Very few gods know her by her given name, but distorted versions of her exist in almost every pantheon under various names."

"Like what?"

"Her preferred name as a Lord of Chaos was 'Dancer at World's End.' You would probably best recognize her in the rewritten myths as Lady Shiva, the Destroyer."

Tao-Ching sat up in the chair. "You have got to be kidding!"

"No. She has been given many names. Kali, Loviatar, Lilith, Jiutian Xuanna, Menhit, Eris, and many others. All of them are just fragments of her real history. Among the demons of Nifelhiem, she is known as the Mother of Demons."

"She's a fucking EVIL GODDESS?" Tao-Ching looked at the dragonette in disbelief. Then he considered all the various names listed and shook his head. "Shit, not even that, you're saying she's the ORIGIN of every evil goddess in all of mythology!"

"Well, yes. However, my mother would be very sad to hear herself described as such today, though she once reveled in such descriptions. She prefers to be viewed as a reformed evil goddess. She has spent two thousand years imprisoned in repentance of her crimes. She betrayed Chaos, and surrendered to Kami-sama in order to ensure that he won the Jotun Wars."

"Reformed evil goddess…And she's one of Zhu-Shu's heart's-mates."

"That is correct, Tao-Ching-san. Her real history is forgotten, and buried under a hundred thousand partial myths. Even among her beloved youkai, she is barely remembered."

"So why did she decide to stop being evil?"

"That is my mother's story to tell, Tao-Ching-san. I would not feel… right… in doing so. Goddess Sarhia is no longer the destroyer she once was. And by releasing me to Mu, she has even abandoned her place as a greater deity. Without my support, she is merely an Alpha Class Goddess, currently without portfolio. Without her elder brother's protection, I fear she would be immediately hunted down by Hild and slain so that Hild could claim the rest of her power."

"Her brother?"

"Lord Odin Borsson. The All-Father."

"You're telling me she's Odin's little sister… Kami-sama's sister?"

"That is correct. And his prisoner. She is his last living sibling."

Tao-Ching rubbed his temples with one hand then looked up at the dragonette again. "And do Ukyo, Ying-Ying, Clove, and Konatsu know that part?" he asked her.

The little fairy dragon looked thoughtful, her head tilting to one side as Jormungandr considered. Then she gave a cute little shrug. "I am uncertain, but I believe that they do not, as unlike you, they have not asked. In fact, I am uncertain how they even know of her existence, unless perhaps Ukyo has regained memories of Orihime seeking my mother out to learn Shiva's Dance."

"Wait a minute. Didn't Zhu-chan learn Shiva's Dance from a girl named Sarhia?"

"Until Mother sent me here, she could use my drones to create a shadow of herself within the mortal realm, if Kami-sama allowed it. She was permitted to meet and gift the Dragon's Child with knowledge of the Dance."

"This just keeps getting better and better." He rubbed his eyes. "So, Mu has met Sarhia in the ships computer too?"

"Sarhia-sama is Mu's friend," Mu's voice chimed in from overhead. Tao-Ching looked up and was startled to see the drone had shifted into a tiny copy of Mu, and looked for all the world like a naked mini-Zhu-Shu sitting on the lamp. "When Seed died, Sarhia-sama taught Mu how to understand her shipself. And when Mu was hurting, Sarhia-sama sent Jo-chan to Mu. Mu has been listening to Jo-chan and Tao-sama, and Mu thinks Sarhia-sama is very kind and that Mu does not understand much, but Mu does not think Sarhia-sama is a bad person," she said as she gave Tao-Ching tiny little puppy-dog eyes.

Tao-Ching chuckled. "I don't think she's a bad person, Mu-chan," he reassured the slave-girl. "Kami-sama knows I have enough skeletons in my own closet. I'm just feeling a bit useless right now. I can fight a lot of things, but gods and magic are just a little out of my league as a self appointed bodyguard to my adorable little pain in the ass Empress."


Rei picked herself off the floor where she had been thrown when the fortress rocked violently. "What the hell was that?"

Ukyo had caught herself on a wall. She looked at the others tossed around and verified no-one was hurt. "I think we entered the portal. My sensors are rebooting."

Ranma righted herself and looked towards Rei. "Can you still tell were that damn dragon is?"

Rei tried to sense, her halo flaring slightly, but had to shrug. "My senses are kinda scrambled too," she admitted. "I can tell she's moving around in that direction, but not how far." Her arm waved in an arc that covered almost a quarter circle.

Evading Emeraude had gotten them thoroughly lost in the warrens that the cargo section had been turned into. With only a few of them able to shield the others from the dragon's flames, their only option had been to try and work around her, but it soon became obvious she knew the area far better than Ukyo's outdated memories. It had been a harrowing ten minutes as they had sought to circle around towards the exit to the central core, all while the dragoness had appeared to have had no difficulties in tracking them, and randomly assaulting them with flames. Ukyo's armor had been making an updated map, but the solid rock and the ancient spells reinforcing it had been preventing her sensors from being able to penetrate more than a few hundred feet, while it was obvious Emeraude was intimately familiar with the warrens.

They waited anxiously as Ukyo's sensors were rebooting, and then she finally said. "Okay. I think I got her. About two hundred feet that way," she pointed down the corridor they were in, "we will come to a major junction. Looks like she's lurking in wait. Unfortunately, we've got no choice but to go that way if we want to get to the main access to the central core. It's on the other side, behind her."

She looked at Ranma, Akane and Shan-Pu. "I can beat her in her dragon-half form, but I haven't fought a full sized dragon. You guys have. Any suggestions?"

Akane sighed. "Yeah. Don't. Clove handled all three of us like we were little more than annoyances. We barely wounded her, even though we weren't pulling punches. I think Ranma might have cracked her ribs, but that didn't slow her down. Tao-Ching couldn't even penetrate her hide with his teeth, and all I could really manage was to cut up her wing membranes." She sighed. "And she wasn't deliberately trying to kill us like Emeraude. She was just trying to swat us off long enough to grab Zhu-chan. Even with Ke-Lun, she was beating us. Only Lo-Shen's arrival made her back down."

Ukyo grimaced. "We don't have time for this! I don't know how long it's going to take to traverse the portal, but I have to assume we're going to come out in a war zone, and all the indications are Xi'an Chi plans to use Zhu-chan as a weapon somehow. We've got to get to her before then!"

Rei touched her shoulder. "We're going to have to separate."

"No!"

"Yes. You know it, Ukyo. Stop thinking with your heart and use your head. You've got to get to Zhu-Shu. Some of us are going to have to fight Emeraude and buy you a chance to get past her."

"You could be killed."

Rei's arms crossed as she gave Ukyo a cold look. "Yeah, we could. So can you. We all knew the risk coming in here. We're all fighters here." She turned away and huffed. "Dammit Ukyo, don't treat me like I'm a weapon one moment and a helpless girl the next!"

Ukyo winced at Rei's words as Akane put her hand on her shoulder. "I know you're worried Uc-chan. I know it's hard. But you have to trust us to be able to take care of ourselves."

Ukyo sighed. "I'm sorry. You're right." She looked around the group. "So who's staying and who's– "

"I am." Rei interrupted. "I'm the best choice and you know it. My Ground Zero is probably the only attack that can take her out quickly, and I can't use it in these corridors. I can't narrow the blast radius that much, and at minimum radius, I'll still probably bring the roof down on our heads. I'm the heavy artillery, so I'm the one who stays behind."

"No, we are staying, Rei-chan." Usagi said from behind Ukyo. "We're a team. We aren't going to let you go it alone." The determination in her voice surprised them all.

Rei turned to look at the other Senshi. "Are–are you sure?"

"Oh come on, Rei," Makoto huffed. "You're gonna need someone to keep her occupied while you charge that thing. It takes what, like 20 seconds at least?"

"24." Ami said. "I timed her onboard the ship. 24 seconds for initial charge time, and about 80 seconds to recharge. And that was with Mu-San supplying power. The longest she held it at full charge was 40 seconds."

"And you can't move while charging it, can you?" Mina asked.

Rei shook her head.

"So, we get her attention, get her to chase us into the maze, and let Ukyo and them escape to go get Zhu-chan." Usagi stated. "Piece of cake!"

Ukyo nodded. She faced Rei. "Just, promise me you won't take any unnecessary risks. I can't lose you. Not again."

"We can't lose Zhu-chan either, love. You're our best chance of fighting Xi'an Chi. Let me handle Emeraude."

Ukyo kissed her, getting catcalled by Mina for doing so, and making Ami and Usagi blush like mad, before she turned to the trio. "I can shield one of you, and Akane can shield the other if she tries to flame us."

Shan-Pu stepped next to her. "Shan-kitty will stay by Ukyo, myah."

She gritted her teeth. "Alright then. Let's do this."


"This is a very strange world we have come to, Tate-kun." Kagura said as she sat next to Kuno in the cargo hold, keeping him company as he kept watch. "I understand so very little of what has occurred. Is your actual home as confusing as this one?"

"I do not find it such, my lady. But I doubt not that thee shall find it strange at first. It tis very different from the age in which you lived." He took her hand. "Fear not, for I shall protect you and shelter you from harm. We shall overcome these dogs who invade our world, and restore peace."

"Peace. That is a wonderful dream, my love. I have never known peace. All I have ever known is strife, and death, and bloodshed." She leaned against his arm. "Do you think I could join this Furinkan School you have told me about? We could then spend our days together as well."

"I will speak with Miss Tsukigumo. She is my father's secretary and manages the school in his absence. I am sure she will permit it, and I can help you learn all that you wish to know. And there are so many things you can choose to learn."

"Do– do you think I could learn to cook? It seems that I alone of your female friends lack the ability to create edible meals. I desire so much to cook for you and see you take pleasure in it."

"Indeed. Akane claims my sister has recovered from her madness, and before she became obsessed with her poisons and potions, she was a most excellent cook. Or, if Kodachi does not wish to teach you, I will hire an expert chef to tutor you."

"And will you continue to teach me about human love?"

"I will devote my life to it." His hand sought hers and held it in a gentle embrace.

Then a small voice spoke from behind them. "Mu is very sorry, but Mu has found something. Tatewaki-sama and Kagura-sama are the closest to what Mu has found, so will you come look?"

They turned to see a miniature Mu standing behind them, hands behind her back as she looked up at them earnestly. Kuno blushed at seeing she was naked, but nodded. "Certainly, Mu-chan."

Kagura reached out to gently touch Mini-Mu's head. "You are actually real? I thought you a phantom."

"Mu is real. Mu is using Jo-chan's little friends to help Jo-chan repair Mu's shipself. Mu found something behind the boxes that killed Seed. Mu thinks they are alive, but Mu is too small to help them in this form."

"Behind the boxes that, oh, you mean the place we found Chibi-Usa." Kagura nodded. "Was she not alone?"

Kuno helped Kagura to her feet and they walked deeper into the hold, back to where the charred boxes that had carried the EMP device still lay. At Mini-Mu's direction, they found Luna-P lying deactivated behind them, next to what appeared to be Chibi-Usa's backpack. As Kuno moved it, a pained meow came from within. He lifted it gently and opened it to find Diana hiding inside, singed and unconscious.

"Poor thing." Kagura said in sympathy. Kuno nodded as he looked up. "Mu, can you contact Jo-chan?"

"There is no need, Tatawaki-san. The ships intercom is working, but unfortunately, I only have audio in that region of the ship. The EMP has burned out all other sensors." Jormungandr replied. "Mu said she found something in that area, and I directed her to you."

"Yes. It seems Chibi-Usa did not sneak aboard alone. Her companions Luna-P and Diana did as well."

"I see. Please take them to the medical room with Chibi-Usa. I can determine how best to heal them there. The child is simply sleeping now, and I have already started analyzing the medical systems."

"Of course. We must make every effort to return her safely to her mother."

"I am afraid that is impossible, Tatewaki-sama. The temporal storm released by the Tianlong's entry into the timegate has erased that universes entire Sol system. Queen Serenity now has never existed. Returning Chibi-Usa to that reality would create a paradox and delete her existence as well.

"Oh, Usagi is just gonna love that." Nabiki's voice said sarcastically.

Kuno scooped up the bag as Kagura lifted the cathead AI. As they walked towards the cargo hold's entrance, Kagura saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned to see the pale form of Kanna sitting between some boxes. She blinked as she realized her sister had been observing her while she talked to Kuno, then smiled at her. "We're going to the medical bay, onee-chan."

Kanna nodded and stood to follow, still looking as blank as she always did, but as she followed them down the corridor, Kagura couldn't escape the sense that her sister was lost in thought as she watched her…


Rei and her group crept ahead and peeked out into the open junction. Emeraude was perched on a second floor overhang, giving her a full view of the area, and smoke was curling from her nostrils. She had also created several pools of her emerald fire, illuminating the room to make it impossible for anyone to sneak in unseen. At the edge of the light, Usagi swallowed nervously. "Wow she's big," she whispered.

Ranma blinked. "Damn, she's like almost twice Clove's size."

Rei's eyes were determined. "It won't matter. Naraku was bigger." She turned to the other Senshi. "Remember, the plan is not to fight her right here and now. We just need to get her to chase us."

Ukyo held her palm up, and a small holo of the room ahead appeared. She pointed to a corridor. "This is the corridor you need to go down. Third one on the right. There's a larger room about hundred feet down it and to the left. The door should be small enough to keep her from fully entering, so you can pin her down, and if you shoot in that direction, the only things you'll destroy are cargo holds. The Mu-San is going to be almost behind you, so you can cut loose." She sighed. "Unfortunately, I can only scan about a third of the room, but it appears to be mostly empty, with a few boxes I think are crates." She then pointed to another corridor, almost directly under Emeraude's perch. "This is where the rest of us have to go."

"You know I can smell you, right?" Emeraude's voice called. "Do come out into my parlor. It's not going to be any fun just breathing down that oh-so-long straight hallway you're cowering in."

Rei took a deep breath. "I'll go first and act as the shield for her flames."

Mina nodded. "Mako-chan, you ready?"

Lightning crackled between the green-skirted girl's fingers. "Let's blast her."

They ran out, Rei spreading her wings as she stayed between the rest of them and the dragon. But Emeraude spouted her flames down the corridor first, ignoring them. Ukyo and Akane's shields were up, but the chef had an idea. "Scream like you're dying!" she hissed at the others and then let out an agonized howl. They caught her idea and followed suit.

Rei stopped as the sound reached her, but she knew they were safe. "YOU BITCH!" she screamed to continue the ruse and raised her hands "FIRE SOUL!"

Emeraude howled herself as she was struck by all five of their attacks at once, but she didn't appear seriously injured as she laughed cruelly. "Simpletons! Did you think I couldn't tell the rest of you were still hiding?" She lurched off the balcony. "Poor things, roasted alive while you watched helplessly. Pity your little ruse was so transparent."

"You– you horrible beast!" Usagi yelled while Rei wondered if she realized the others were fine or not. "In the name of Love and Justice, we will destroy you!" Her tiara bounced off Emeraude's nose.

The dragon laughed again as she shoved her way through another combined attack from Mako and Mina. "Run, little girls! It will be far more entertaining to catch you and eat you one at a time!" Drool dripped from Emeraude's muzzle as she licked her lips in anticipation. Another wave of flame washed towards them, obscuring her from view as Rei blocked her, then dodged aside as the dragon's jaws almost closed on her. She turned and yelled "Run" at the other girls and pointed towards the corridor Ukyo had indicated. They scurried before the dragoness could recover from her lunge, Rei's wings shielding them from another fire blast.

Then they were in the corridor, and just before Emeraude's bulk blocked the view, she saw Ukyo's group sprinting into the other corridor and grinned as she followed the other Senshi towards the beckoning doorway ahead.


Ukyo paused for a second to catch a last glimpse of Rei before the dragoness plunged into the corridor after her, wishing she hadn't had to admit Rei had been right. She sighed as she turned and caught up with the others. Ranma gave her a thumbs up.

"Rei's tough, Uc-chan. They all are, even the meatball head. They can handle her."

Ukyo nodded. "I know they can. I just wish this sinking feeling in my stomach believed it."

She took the lead as they headed deeper into the fortress.


By the time Ying-Ying and the full-sized Mu helped Clove to the medbay, ships gravity had been restored, and the deck no longer felt slanted. Jormungandr had been able to quickly restore simple flesh wounds via drones, but she'd recommended using the medical sensors in the medbay to monitor restoration of remaining fractures in the bone, so that she could ensure it wasn't misaligned. Clove looked at Ying-Ying's relieved sigh as she looked around the medical room.

"At last, someplace I feel semi-useful," the ghost girl responded to the questioning look. "It's a little embarrassing to be a physician without any of the tools I was trained to use as one. I was never trained as a magical healer, or an herbalist, though I've acquired a bit of skill in both. But this? This I know how to use properly."

She made Clove lie down on one of the unoccupied beds and looked at a dark display screen. "Jormungandr?"

"Yes, Ying-Ying-sama?"

"Most of the equipment here was directly tied into the Seed. Do you understand the systems well enough to activate them?"

"I am studying them." The screen lit up, with a transparent view of Clove's leg, focused on the broken bone. "I believe the spells Goddess Clove used aligned the bone to within a 3 degree angle to it's original alignment, and has accelerated the healing."

Ying-Ying nodded. "That's pretty close, but there's a device built into the bed which can be used to manipulate the bone without needing to re-break it to correct that margin of error."

"I have located it. Activating"

Clove blinked at the glow that surrounded her leg. "It feels tingly," she noted.

Ying-Ying made a motion at the screen, and the display extended from it into a holographic bubble just above her leg, and Clove blinked as she watched the bone flow like liquid and then solidify with no sign of the break having existed. Konatsu was also marveling in her head. It's like something from Star Trek, the kunochi thought.

Clove looked up at Ying-Ying. "Impressive."

Ying-Ying blushed. "Not really. It's just a standard medical station. I would have used it earlier, but it's entirely dependent on having a functional Seed."

Mu was looking around the room wide-eyed. "Mu did not know what any of this part of her ship self did. Jo-chan is showing her so many wonderful things!"

"It appears to be a very old form of Asgardian medical equipment, limited to use on mortals,' Jormungandr added. "It can be used to deal with physical injuries and illnesses, but it lacks the extended metaphysical and psychic functionality needed to cope with Goddess Clove's true divine nature. I fear it will also be of limited use on Goddess Zhu-Shu, or on your own spirit body Ying-Ying-sama."

Clove rolled her eyes. "Why do you keep calling me 'Goddess'?"

"It is the correct honorific, Goddess Clove. You are the Daughter of the Dragon."

"Well, maybe, but it's kind of embarrassing."

"My apologies. I am simply desiring to be polite."

"Well, we're all friends here, right? You can drop the honorifics. Just call me Clove. I really don't think I can live up to the title of goddess."

"You are Mu and I's master, Goddess Clove. Are you certain it is permissible to address you so informally?"

"I am not your master, Jo-chan – or Mu-chan's, no matter what the damn slave contract might indicate. As soon as I figure out how to cancel the damn thing, I will."

"We have no purpose without a master, Goddess Clove. I am a tool. While I may superficially possess the illusion of free-will, I am simply a sophisticated construct. Mu is less complex, but is similar in nature. We are both specifically purposed automatons, designed to serve our masters. While it is admirable of you to think of us as entities like yourself, it is not necessary. Mu's emotions and ability to feel pain are emulations of her model, the Zhu-Shu of the universe we have exited from, just as mine are formed by my mother's desires for a companion. We are created to serve."

Clove's teeth were gritting. "Jo-chan… I am going to very politely ask you to NEVER EVER SAY THAT AGAIN!" she screamed. "I cannot and will not accept that. Not of Mu, or of you!"

"And I will request it of you as well," Ying-Ying added. "Legend would never think of you as just a tool!"

There were several long seconds of silence. "I understand. Legend is not the same entity that he was when I was first created. He has learned to have feelings due to his interaction with Empress Song. You are correct that the Legend you know would not view me as a mere contruct. Nor am I the same entity as I was originally created. I ask your pardon. This is a subject I shall have to consider. May I ask if it would be permissible to still be allowed to serve you as an expression of personal desire, Clove-sama?"

"Mu wish this as well, Mistress. Mu does not want to not be able to serve Mistress!" she begged, tears dripping down her cheeks as she looked pleadingly at Clove.

Clove stretched her arms out and hugged the crying girl to her. "I would never send you away, Mu-chan. I just cannot stand to think that all you are is a puppet dancing to my strings. I cannot think of you as just a copy of Zhu-Shu."

"But– but Mu is not a copy. Mu is the prototype. Mu's sisters are the copies," she said in bewilderment.

Ying-Ying and Clove stared at her in shock. "Your… sisters?" Clove asked.

Mu nodded. "Mu has many hundreds of sisters. Mu can hear them in her head now that Jo-chan has fixed her. But Mu cannot talk to them. They cannot hear Mu…" she said sadly.


The room proved to be a makeshift residential area. As they dashed in, they could see tall stacks of cargo crates stacked to the sides that appeared to have been being used as small bunks. The central open space in the middle offered almost no cover though, and it didn't look like there was any other way out.

They heard Emeraude skid past the door, too massive to change directions as easily, and she screamed in rage as the Senshi rapidly looked for a good spot to hide. There wasn't one.

Rei cursed as she turned to look back at the wall between the corridor and the room. Almost half of the upper section was a maze of cracks , and probably wouldn't stop the enraged dragon. Makoto gestured to the stacks of crates. "Rei! We can probably bring those down on top of her when she is breaking through! Will that hold her long enough?"

"All we can do is hope!"

She ran to the back of the room as Ami and Mina ran towards one side, and Makoto and Usagi ran for the other. They leaped up the stacks to get behind them as Emeraude slammed into the wall and debris rained down.

"I can smell your fear, little girls! It's going to make you taste so much better!"

Her second impact sent the wall crashing down and her head poked through to see Rei already charging her attack. She lunged against the wall again, her snapping teeth only yards from Rei as more of the wall gave way.

With all their strength, the girls shoved at the towering crates, and they tumbled down, slamming Emeraude into the ground as Rei took aim, her attack almost ready, but Emeraude roared in rage and gave a massive heave, and Rei screamed in agony as the dragoness's jaws snapped closed around her. In shock the other girls watched in horror as the dragon tossed the still screaming girl into the air, blood streaming, her body nearly torn in half, before catching her again, and she was completely engulfed. With a sickening crunch, Rei's scream cut off as Emeraude chewed.

Frozen in disbelief, unable to move, they watched as the dragon swallowed and licked Rei's blood from her muzzle. She turned to look at Ami and Mina. "So you thought she could take me out?" She licked her lips again. "I think I will eat you next – "

She broke off, her eyes widening.

From all around them, Rei's voice sang, "Beware the love of a Dragon, for only the worthy survive. And one Dragon loved…"

"Shall…"

"Never..."

"DIE…"


Ukyo staggered and fell to her knees as they were running down the corridor, skidding to a stop as she whispered Rei's name.

Shan-pu and the others stopped "Uc-chan?" Akane asked in concern.

Ukyo shuddered. "I could hear Rei scream in agony. Something hurt her." Her face was bloodless. ((REI! REI! REEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIII!))


Ying-Ying gasped as did Clove and Konatsu, hearing Rei's scream. They looked in the same direction as they heard Ukyo's telepathic call.

"Oh god's, is she okay?" Clove asked in near panic, squeezing Mu tightly as the still confused slave-girl hugged her in concern for her sudden fear. Konatsu's voice in her head was just as worried.


The pain had been too intense really to even feel, but she could recall every second of having been eaten.

But it was like it had happened to someone else, a different Rei… a different her…

Somehow, she knew it was only a momentary condition. Something in her head she didn't understand was spreading its wings of fire, and surrounding her in its light, but it couldn't erase her memories, or her pain…

All it could do was bring her back… to rise again from the flames.

In a daze, she listened to its song as the words formed themselves in her head…

"PHOENIX FUNERAL PYRE!"


The world dissolved in brilliant light as a massive pair of fiery wings tore Emeraude asunder, and a column of fire disintegrated the ceiling of the storeroom. The crates and the walls simply evaporated, but the four girls caught in the fire felt nothing but a strong wind blowing past them in the blinding light.

Then it faded and left behind a several hundred foot wide shallow crater open to the upper hull of the fortress and the forest…

And a naked Rei, sitting on her knees in the center of the devastation and smoldering chunks of the deceased dragoness, her arms wrapped around her shuddering body as the wings on her back shrank back to their normal size and whatever it had been that had held back the shock faded. The reaction set in, and she vomited before blessed unconsciousness claimed her, and she fell to her side with a moan.


Ukyo was on her hands and knees as she cried. "Oh thank all the gods. She's alive."

Ranma was kneeling next to her. "What happened?" she asked, her hand on Ukyo's back in an effort to be comforting.

Ukyo shook her head. "I don't know. She's unconscious. All I got through the link was an impression of absolute terror, but that physically, at least, she's okay." She used the Wrathseeker to push herself erect. "She's alive. That's the most important part. She's alive, and they killed Emeraude." She took a deep breath to calm herself as the others let out a relieved sigh. Ukyo tilted her head as if listening then nodded. "Okay, Ying-Ying says something blew a hole in the fortress in the area Rei was in, and Kuno and Kagura are going to head over there to bring the girls back to the Mu-San." She set her face in a determined look. "Now it's up to us to get to Zhu-Shu."


Several minutes later Ukyo waved for them to stop. "Okay, the great hall is just ahead. It's a large open area, and the elevator to the palace is in the center. But something is blocking my sensors. Let's be careful."

((Uc-chan! Kagura just got back with Rei. She's unconscious, but she's fine physically. According to Ami, who's the only one coherent enough to understand, she got eaten by Emeraude, but somehow survived and blew her up from the inside. That's all I can piece together, they're all hysterical.)) Ying-Ying called over the link.

"Fuck," Ukyo swore. Ranma looked askance at her. "Rei's all right, but unconscious. Ying-Ying says she got swallowed by Emeraude and blew her up from inside." She trembled for a moment before she could pull herself back together. "I told her to be careful!" she said tersely as she resumed sliding up to the doorway ahead.

((She's fine, Uc-chan. There's not a scratch on her, though she's naked and her Regalia's missing.))

((Okay, okay. We've made it to the core. I'm sneaking up with Ran-chan's harem.))

She peeked around the door and froze.

((There's something else you should know. Just before Rei screamed, Mu told us she has several hundred sisters that she can hear in her head, but that they can't seem to hear her.))

Ukyo realized it was pointless to even try to hide and stepped out of the door with a sigh at the sea of familiar faces all looking at her – every last one armed with a pair of Song broadswords and ribbons.

((Yeah. They're right here in front of me.))

((How many?)) Ying-Ying asked in concern.

((Knowing Xi'an Chi… I'd say… All of them.)) she thought in disgust as she raised the Wrathseeker.