Ai No Saori, The direct sequel to Matei Mizuki, taking place 18 months later Rating Options

[MorriganAensland]

The flawless

The reunion was, beyond a doubt, a tearful one as Anser and Keston hugged each other. Saori, I had to admit, did an incredible job keeping herself under control. Maybe she was coming closer along to recovery than I thought. Kerrigan seemed quite relieved as well, although I’d probably get chewed out later for going over her head. Oh well… can’t win them all.

There was also another girl there that I didn’t quite recognize, but considering nobody was swearing her to silence, I guessed she could be trusted at least right now.

This was also my first time seeing the younger incubus, and I began to wonder how different the two of them could look. I hadn’t really planned on keeping Keston for long… just enough time for him to reunite with Anser and then leave us, but I found myself confused. Why were they… so different in appearance?

A soft thump to my side indicated that Saori had sat herself down on the carpeted floor of the library. Without her glasses on, I had expected her to start bawling right about now. But instead she simply held her eyes shut, smiling weakly at the sounds of the two brothers crying in joy.

“I know what you’re thinking,” the blonde woman said. I was amazed at her tone of voice; she sounded just like she did before that incident with Usagi Sekishiki. “The answer’s really simple, Shot… you would’ve known if you read that summoning book more thoroughly.”

“What?”

She turned and looked up at me, her eyes still held shut. “Incubi and succubi are sterile. Their purpose is to enable those that cannot bear children due to biological or cultural reasons to be able to have a son or daughter. The medieval test tube babies.”

“That still doesn’t-”

“Doesn’t it?” I asked her. “Think about it, a succubus and an incubus take the genetic code of a couple and use it to make a child. You only need half the code from each one of them anyways… why not put the other half to good use? As a result, helping people rear children is the only way a succubus and an incubus can have children of their own.”

“So that means that they’re not related by blood then?” Saori nodded. Weird.
_
The child

“I… I was so worried, Anser!” Keston said as he knelt down and looked at me. “I thought you were dead, or captured by that monster.”

“No,” I told him. “Saori killed it.” I pointed at the woman, noticing she was explaining incubus reproduction to the red-haired woman. “Is she the one that summoned you?”

“Yeah. Her name’s Shot... she works with Saori at the-” he paused, looking up at Giselle and swallowing. That was a relief… we didn’t need any more enemies, and finding out that Saori, Shot, and Kerrigan were all members of the Hachi Satsu could easily make life that much harder on us.

“Works where?” Giselle asked with a hint of suspicion in her voice. “I gotta say…” she pointed at the red-haired woman. “You look a lot like that woman that always shows up on the news to talk about Interpol’s investigations of the Hachi Satsu.”

“That would be me,” the older woman answered. “Is there something the matter with that?”

Giselle shook her head. “Just the fact that in the Hachi Satsu are still at large. I’d expect the international community’s best to have a better handle on taking down a group such as them.” As if predicting how the conversation would have gone if she stayed, the brown-haired girl stood up and walked towards the doors. “In spite of that, I’ll be sure to let Ikki know about you and see if he has anything on that woman of Darkness. Good day.”

An uneasy and tense silence followed as she walked past me and Keston, our joyous reunion dampened a bit, and then the somber Ichimonji.
A few moments after she left, Keston spoke up again.

“That woman of Darkness Shot and Saori told me about… and then Giselle mentioned…”

“Yeah,” I answered. “I just can’t believe it’s either of them.”

“Either of whom?” the red haired woman asked. I guess she was this “Show” lady. Or maybe it was spelled “Sho”…

I didn’t want to say anything, but I guess my older brother had something different in mind as he looked at his Tower of the Devil. “Two people. One of them would be the matron of all demons, the Demon Empress Jun. Either that, or it’s one of the people that wields an incomplete version of her power, a woman named Mizuki. If it weren’t for her, life wouldn’t be like it is now.”

“I think that’d be a story for a different time,” Kerrigan said as she stood up. “Simply put, this woman of Darkness… Keston, Anser, can you think of any reason why she would be after either of you?”

“Not at all,” my big brother answered as he looked at the thirty-something woman. “And back home, that jewel monster was like nothing any demon had ever seen. What’s more, I’ve never even heard of anything called a Hallowed Prism before. Ever.”

“I guess we just have to be careful then.” Tiam gritted her teeth before looking up. “I guess that just means you two will have to take care of your charges until-”

“No. I won’t.”

Everything shattered. I didn’t even need to turn in order to know what was happening. And just looking at Kerrigan’s face let me know what was happening.

Pained, deliberate steps echoed through the haunted library as she decided to leave my life. After all, I had my brother, and he was in the care of someone else. It would only be right for me to live with them for the time being.

“Anser.” It was Saori’s voice. Not the infantile, sing-song tone of Stupid Blonde Lady nor the cold, professional, and sometimes-condescending tone of Scary Shiny Glasses Lady… it was just… Saori’s voice. “You’ve got your brother, I think this fulfills our pact.

“I hereby dissolve our contract. See you around… Anser.”
_
The false

If I could count on Shot and Kerrigan for one thing then and there, it was that they would let Anser know I had meant what I said. I would be seeing him around… just he’d be with his brother and Ichiban until things were sorted out and he could go back home. That meant I didn’t have to unplug my phone that night or worry about late night visitors. I still slept on the couch, force of habit… and I made a mental note to get the guest room fixed sometime.

My morning routine was like it had usually been… watch the next episode of Magi School -god I needed to get some paraphernalia for it sometime-, take a shower, apply my hair dye, and get ready for the day. At least I could check in on Eri since we had psychology again.

Ever since Usagi had died about two years ago, I had to roll with the punches in my life. Taking a leave of absence from Interpol for mental reasons, going back to grad school, joining back up to work in the Hachi Satsu, summoning Anser… I just had to accept what I could and could not change.

After driving to L++, I headed straight for my psychology class. I was surprised when I didn’t run in Eri along the way… she usually hunted me down no matter what path I took to the building. She wasn’t in class either, and I worried for a moment about her. She was the closest friend I had in spite of the fact she didn’t know about my career choice, and Shot and everyone else familiar with my day job were probably going to be stressed quite a bit due to Brian Lernan’s death threat.

She came in around the midpoint in the class and even then, the only reason I knew that was because she spoke to me after sitting down. And to walk up next to an assassin, pull up a seat next to her, and to pull it off without said assassin noticing shocked me for a moment.

But Eri was a good friend. For one, she wasn’t a fighter. Second, there was no reason for us to fight anyways.

“… They said it was garbage,” she whispered to me. It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about. Then it hit me: her pottery. Eri also took some art classes, mainly just pottery, to express herself in unique ways. She had made some very nice works, but for the longest time she hadn’t really wowed anyone. Her confidence usually built itself back up while working on a new piece, but then crashed down after people found too many faults in it. A vicious cycle, and the effects grew more obvious with each failure.

It made me feel worse than I already was. I had sorta been counting on Eri to brighten my mood after breaking my pact with Anser and that wouldn’t be happening any time soon. So I did what I could and sketched a smiley face in my notes, complete with a speech bubble at the top. Usagi Sekishiki was dead. She had been dead. But I would never forget what she was capable of, for better or for worse, and how she could make someone smile.

“Life’s hard sometimes,” I wrote, “But it wasn’t like that always, and it won’t be like that forever!”

A few more lines were added, and the smiley face was sticking its tongue out at Eri Desrin. That seemed to do something, at the very least. It also made me feel a bit better too.
_
The preceding

It was late in the afternoon when my shift at the library ended. Just as well, too. I was going to be spending a lot of time for the next two weeks arranging the plans to keep Brian Lernan from killing the Canadian ambassador to the UN. This meant analyzing the various possible sniping points Lernan would strike from and determining countermeasures. It would also be a testament to the effectiveness of the Hachi Satsu by proving even a lone gunman and the best in the business could not get away from my brainchild.

The whole incubus issue with Saori and Shot seemed tense and I very much hoped things would cool over. In spite of that, I had to worry about adding that woman of Darkness into the plans just to be safe, and I really hoped that Ikki Higashi and Giselle Vega-Stroheim would handle that. Well, her and those Hallowed Prisms.

Opting for public transportation; couldn’t live too high on the hog when my only apparent income was a part-time job, after all, I took the route back to my apartment. Iris would probably like seeing me come home earlier than usual, and it was nice seeing a happy expression on her face. Granted, she was a ghost, but Iris was still my little sister.
_
After checking in at the lobby, I rode up to the fourth floor and began preparing myself for the task at hand. I had used the library computers to pull up records from two dozen government agencies on Lernan’s killings to cross-reference with Interpol’s data to get a feel for him. I had a feeling he was going to pull out all the stops. Hence, I would have to do the same.

“Tiam!”

My eyes snapped up to see Giselle standing there, fists clenched. What… what was this about?

“I know what you are, murderer! You’re a member of the Hachi Satsu!”
_
The student

If there was one thing Ikki Higashi had taught me during my time of knowing him, it was prosecutors were never to hesitate. It was better to believe the defendant was guilty when he was innocent than the other way around. This amounted to a baseless accusation, but I had my reasons.

Kerrigan Tiam seemed a bit surprised by these words, but I took the opportunity to fill in the blanks as best I could. Well, lie through my teeth was more like it. I just had to give a believable delivery.

“You… I’m sure you’re one of those horrible killers! The same goes for Saori Ichimonji and Shot Ichiban!” I pointed in an overly dramatic fashion straight at her with one hand while the other slowly began reaching for my weapon of choice.

Kerrigan shook her head again in disbelief before taking a step towards me. “What… what are you talking about? I work at a library at L++, that’s all!”
“A convincing cover,” I growled. “And take another step towards me and I will defend myself! Ikki’s gone missing… our housing here completely ruined. I know you guys did it! You were the only people that knew Ikki was in this country in the first place!”

“Giselle,” Kerrigan commanded, “Calm down. This isn’t the time or place for baseless accusations.”

Kerrigan took another step towards me and I.. I snapped. I guess living on my own for so long finally caught up with me. This woman was trying to assuage my nerves, and I responded like a child and attacked.

There is a popular toy known as the ball in the cup. The goal is to, predictably, get the ball in the cup. The Japanese have an advanced version of this toy known as a kendama*, featuring three separate cups of varying size and a spike for increased difficulty. One of my first excursions with Ikki involved a toymaker a little too obsessed with making the ultimate concealed weapon. Yes I kept it for myself, but it’d saved my life too many times for me to just throw away.

My right hand lashed out, gripping the kendama’s handle as the ball connected to the tether rocketed towards Kerrigan. The woman seemed confused for a moment, and then the ball suddenly broke into dozens of small, crescent shaped blades. The cutting tools scraped across her face, body, and limbs before clattering to the ground past her. The dark-haired woman seemed surprised for a moment as I could only smirk. Maybe… maybe I could get some real answers out of her now.

Instead I simply saw the woman stand up again and sigh. I was amazed that there was not a scratch on her actual body. She… she couldn’t be using the Hallowed Prisms too, could she?

Best not to hesitate. I pulled back on the kendama, trusting that a second round of attacks would make up my mind. Unfortunately, my assault ended well before it even began. Kerrigan was holding onto the various strings of the kendama, and with one mighty pull, sent me flying straight at her.

One punch square in the middle of the face floored me. And I think it broke my nose too.

“Like I was saying…” Kerrigan said with a sigh. The older woman knelt down before me, confused for a moment as she picked up strange black flakes off the ground. “Let’s talk things through, Giselle. I guess you’ve got questions you need answered, and the reverse is true too. But I will tell you this; I am not your enemy. Nor do I intend to be. Understand?”

After a moment’s hesitation, I relented. I raised my hand up for Kerrigan to help me stand. The woman with jet black hair smiled and pulled me to my feet. “Good. Now let’s talk this through, okay?”

“Uh, sure…” I said as she opened the door.

“Great. Now don’t act too shocked when you see Iris… she sometimes has a flair for crazy positions.”

“Such as?”

“Oh, what you’d expect for a ghost. She likes hanging from the ceiling, for one.”
_
The false

I let out a sigh of relief as I started walking to my car. The day’s classes were over and done with, and I couldn’t wait to just get home. I’d probably give Shot a call and check up on Anser. You know, just to make sure he was-

Thump.

I stumbled forward as a brief migraine flared up and then vanished. I quickly regained my footing, rubbing my horehead with a hand as I looked around. What… what had caused that?

It… it worked! The Prisms… the woman was right! I can actually win now!

Those words of complete adoration and the mention of the Prisms were enough. I knew what I had to do. L++ had been scheduled for a track meet against Y-- today. Someone had to have used one of those Hallowed Prisms to let them win. Giselle or Ikki were possibly already on the case, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be also.

Just rolling with the punches. Nothing wrong with that.
_
Sprinting down the paths of L++ University, I could even feel the point of origin where that girl had made that declaration. It had been the track itself and with any luck she’d still be there. And I would destroy her Prisms. If anything, I didn’t want her to suffer like Leona had.

I had expected Ikki or Giselle to meet up with me along the run, but surprisingly I saw neither of them. And that was weird… I mean, I sensed this and yet they didn’t? I was just an ordinary person now, well, about as ordinary as an Interpol agent… they were the ones supposed to deal with this kind of thing!

But something told me I had to go, and I was glad I did.

Considering how deserted the field was, the meet must have been over for at least half an hour. Be that as it may though, there were still two people there, two girls to be precise.

The first of which was in her early twenties with slightly tanned skin and reddish-brown hair. She was standing there, fist raised up in the air and blue eyes shining bright in victory. She was laughing… laughing at the other girl who was sprawled out on the ground. They were both wearing L++ track jerseys.

“You thought you were the best, didn’t you Bridget? You actually thought you wouldn’t lose again? Don’t make me laugh any harder than I already am… you’re just pathetic!”

As I stayed out of their line of sight, I guessed the girl on the ground was Bridget. Her hair was quite a bit darker, but with her head on the ground like that I couldn’t see her face.

This… this was the effect of the Hallowed Prisms. I understood it immediately. This is what it could do to people and their greatest desires, empower them to trample those without them. And as a moral woman, I had to stop it.

With a shout towards the woman standing, I stepped out into view. My glasses were already on my face, and hopefully they would help keep anyone from recognizing me. The girl looked at me with surprise, but then just waved her hand and dismissed my challenge.

“Don’t trifle in what you can’t understand, old hag,” the young woman announced, causing me to furrow my brow. Old hag? I wasn’t even thirty yet! “If you try to stand against me… well…”

With a snap of her fingers, the woman subjected me to the exact same fate as Bridget, my body being pulled flat on the ground again as she could only laugh in amusement.

“Very foolish of you, old hag!” the girl cackled. “I have in my hands a tremendous power, the power given by a loving goddess! With this, I can very easily just bind down whoever I want during a track game and guarantee victory!”

She… she was doing this just for the sake of having the power to win a few races? This was absurd! The girl was growing more maddening by the second, rambling on about her dream of finally being a good runner had been achieved, the Hallowed Prisms giving her the power to fulfill her heart’s desire at long last. I wondered if Ikki had to worry about this all the time. Apparently Bridget had called her called her out on acting weird during the meet, and the auburn-haired woman responded in this manner.

Speaking of which, where was Ikki?!?

Struggling to push myself up seemed utterly futile. No matter how hard I pushed, the ground did not let up on pulling me towards it, and the girl was now gloating like there was no tomorrow.

“And may I be so bold as to ask your name?” the woman asked as she approached me. “Those without Prisms should let their future masters know who they are if only for sake of being polite. Don’t you think so… Bridget?” She turned back to the other girl, chuckling.

She was drunk. She was drunk on power. And it disgusted me! I had to do something… but I wasn’t a Tower anymore and I hadn’t expected to be taken down so easily!

… But I wasn’t just a Tower of the Devil. I was an assassin, and a skilled one at that. I had been in tough situations before, and this was exactly the same. Instead I just looked forward, seeing the woman standing in front of me. She was rambling on again, remarking about how things were going to be undergoing tremendous change in a matter of weeks. The world would be set right again, the new era meant to begin in 2012 hadn’t been averted, merely delayed. And her goddess would bring it into being.

And then I noticed it. Small… small runes on the ground, and I guessed they surrounded me. Instinct told me they were this woman’s doing. I could at the very least slide my hands across the ground, no matter how slowly. I just needed to stall for a little time…I spoke.

“So… tell me…” I grunted. “Tell me the name of my future master?”

The woman laughed before doing a mock bow. Good. My hands were in position. “The name is Erica Fogler, wielder of a Hallowed Prism!”

I chuckled. “Wrong… little girl.”

My hands dig into the ground where two of those symbols were. The force driving me into the earth immediately diminished considerably, and I sprang to my feet immediately, punching at Erica’s face. She raised her arms up to block, and I guess that was where she had her Prism.

A blast of energy suddenly sent me flying backwards, and I saw Erica begin to undergo the same fate that Leona had before. Blue crystals began covering her body, ever so gradually, and starting with her left hand. And she began screaming like there was no tomorrow. She was screaming because her delusions of grandeur had come crashing down oh-so-swiftly. And I knew what I had to do.

I didn’t know why… but this ability, allowing me to sense and understand the abilities of those using Hallowed Prisms… I was sure of it! For some reason, I was still a Tower of the Devil, and I knew what I had to do!

Ikki wasn’t around again, and it fell on me as I mentally pleaded for that metal glove again, because that was my only hope.
I got something different… but arguably better.

There was a flash of light, platinum-white strands of metal flowing from my right forearm out before me, quickly taking the shape of a metal pole with a blade on one side. It was like… like some kind of giant axe had married a cleaver and this six-foot long thing was their baby.

No time to complain though. I had a life to save as I ran forward, grabbing the axe. Erica’s screams doubled in volume as she thought I would execute her, but I would do no such thing. And apparently since it was all the rage, I guess I would need to start calling my attacks’ names. Fun.

“Ichi…” I announced as I swung the cleaver-axe backwards. “GIRI!!!”

The blade swung downwards and Erica’s shouts finally stopping as her voice lost its strength as the weapon neared her. The weapon cut into the blue crystals, going close and closer to her body before suddenly stopping. Like before, fractures began to appear of the Prisms before they fell away from Erica’s body.

Fogler stared at me even as her legs gave out and she stumbled backwards. Erica was out of breath, trying to understand what had happened over the course of the past few minutes. I decided to do what I could.

“Your name’s Erica Fogler, right?”

Unable to speak, all she could do was nod.

“Good. First of all…” I pointed at Bridget, “Help that girl out, understand! And second of all… there is a girl out there. Someone specialized in helping you out. Her name is Giselle. And until she finds you, do not associate with those with the Prisms! Understand?”

Another nod.

Pulling off my glasses, I flashed a smile. “Great! And the name’s Saori Ichimonji, by the way. If you’re in trouble… give me a call! See ya!”

And with that, I walked away from them, hoping for the best. Erica had hopefully learned her lesson. But me? My journey into this strange conflict just became more and more twisted.

*An image of a Kendama, just so people can picture it.

This post has been edited by MorriganAensland: Nov 28 2008, 2:40 AM

[Zhanneel]

Perfect! Even better than mama! *whaps self very hard* Sorry...I've been playing Cooking Mama too much today and she says that in a very silly way when you do something right =P.

But really, excellent next chapter ^^. Of course my favorite part is of a certain black-haired fighter. And I like the reference pic you gave for the Kendama, that helps me tons. My other favorite part is (let me make sure I have this right) where Saori's weapon is made from within her. New powers =). That would be an awesome scene in an anime.

And I too am wondering why Ikki didn't come when a Hallowed Prism was in the area...

[LinneaKou]

Yay for weapons disguised as toys! Alice has four. ^^

As for dissolving the contract - yipes. That I didn't see coming.

Finally, call Mana out! We have a missing person! (I'm referring to Ikki, of course - that dude disappears quicker than Christmas Pudding!)

Sorry, I'm high on pudding right now. That's the only thing that keeps my energy up after a day of... stuff.

[MorriganAensland]

Mana/Akane: *grunbles* Morrigan, that was really stupid of you to not just change all the name entries on this webiste, you know?

Indeed. And I'm thinking of going back and doing Mana -> Akane, Zepplin -> Kabuto, and Hikari -> Ayasato, just to finally bury the hatchet once and for all. Of course, I'm busy right now with other stuff, so that'll have to wait.

Anyways, the Kendama thing was originally going to be Saori's weapon, complete with a razor-sharp wire to go with it. Then I relented and just had the bladed fragments. Then I gave it to Giselle when I realized a big axe/cleaver fits Saori better.

And with Saori dissolving the contract, she felt she had to. Shot can be a little crazy sometimes (as we'll find out), but she thought it would be for the best since Anser can be with his brother. Of course, whether or not the contract has actually been declared null is still open to debate.

[LinneaKou]

So how does a giant battle axe fit Saori better? Personality-wise or attack-technique-wise?

[MorriganAensland]

First of all, the weapon is that of an executioner, or at least it was before the guillotine and the gallows. Second of all, the fluid nature of the weapon, as we will find out down the road, fits Saori's personality. Giselle is only sixteen, still a child technically, and it makes sense she would use a weapon that, at its heart, is a toy. Saori is a woman who has seen tragedy and taken lives before, she deserves a weapon that commands respect. To prove my point, imagine Saori striking a pose with that six-foot long weapon, with her shiny glasses, and with one hand around Anser to protect him.

Works better than with a kendama, in my opinion.

It's also a nods towards two of the Super Robots of Go Nagai; Getter Robo and Grendizer. Robo's weapon of choice was *always* an axe, and I didn't want to do another sword or staff since those were Minako and Mizuki's respectively. A couple of times, the weapon will also manifest in a manner similar to the Double Harken from Grendizer a couple of times, although it'll also resemble the battleaxe that Getter Robo Hein uses.

Saori: So... you're treating me like a Super Robot?

Indeed I am.

In reality, though, I had decided on Saori's weapon long before I came up with the "Tower of the Devil" line. I just needed a excuse for her to get it eventually. I thought of a couple of ideas, but they were all fairly mundane. I wanted something elaborate but believable. And then I got the idea that Saori was empowered for the purpose of protecting Anser, and she has to return the favor since he is giving her a service.

[MorriganAensland]

The false

As I walked down the apartment hall, I couldn’t help but not the irony of the situation I was in. But that didn’t really matter. Giselle and Ikki could help out the newest two survivors of the Hallowed Prisms. As for me, I owed it to Anser to keep my promise.

I knew Shot’s apartment number. I hadn’t really visited there, since Shot wasn’t the kind of person I felt the need to drop in on, but Anser was different. Besides, I needed some answers about that axe I had summoned. I figured the demon I had once had a contract with would be a great place to start.

And I knew just was going to help smooth things over.
_
The child

Many times, victories are bittersweet at best, or at least that’s how Keston put it. I guess he was right in some respects. I was grateful to Saori for letting me be with my brother again… he had been the only family I had been close to for the past eighteen months. But there was still the fact that in spite of all her flaws, Saori was, well… I can’t really put it in words. It was probably just she had been the only mother figure I had known in over a year.

Keston and I still had a lot of fun together… and it was nice to have some luxuries we didn’t have back home. And it was also nice to finally watch Maji School without Saori drooling all over the prettyboys in it. Keston told me about what had happened after I had been summoned too, and I was glad to know nothing really serious.

And that was when she came back into my life with a knock on the door and a loud and childish shout. To be fair, I thought she had been acting like a little kid before saying she’d see me around and just trying to stay strong, but… but she had actually come clean on it.

My older brother chuckled in amusement before looking over at me. “Do you want to let her in?”

“Why not?”
_
The preceding

“Here,” I said as the tea finally finished heating. I handed Giselle another ice-pack for her broken nose, and mused for a moment that I felt like this was a case of déjà-vu. Well, not me doing it… but just… just like people I was somehow connected to had performed similar acts. With everything set, we could finally sit down and get on the same page.

The girl had calmed down, as I had hoped, and had been explaining to me what had happened to Ikki. As she had mentioned before, their housing had been trashed, and Ikki was nowhere to be seen. She obviously feared the worst, but hoped he was still alive.

“He probably is,” I told Giselle as she took a sip from her tea. She looked up at me in surprise as I continued. “If they had wanted him dead, they would’ve just killed him. If Ikki was still out there, he would’ve contacted you. If he was meant for ransom, whoever is responsible would’ve contacted you. Makes the most sense that he’s being held for personal reasons, maybe information.”

The girl could only stare at me. I had that effect on people sometimes.

“Look, Giselle,” I leaned forward. “Trust in us. Trust in me, Saori, and Sho-”

“She should be doing her job,” Vega-Stroheim snorted. “You’d figure after so much time the Hachi Satsu would show signs of slowing down. What’s Interpol doing in all the meantime?!?” The girl shocked me a little as she stood up, furiously slamming her hands onto the table. “They’re supposed to be the absolute best of each country’s best, so why are they dragging their heels!” The girl suddenly realized she had gone a bit too far, and blushed furiously as she sat back down. “S-sorry, Miss Tiam.”

“You’re upset, I understand.” Of course, this whole “Her not knowing the truth about the Satsu” thing could come back to bite me and the whole operation. “But understand the Satsu are humans too. They learn and adapt strategies. It’s not as if they’re letting us inch closer and closer, Shot says it’s a struggle, trying to keep up with those assassins until they slip-up.”

“They seem pretty close to being perfect,” Giselle muttered.

“The best of anything usually are. And when two nearly-equal and opposite forces collide, you get what amounts to a stalemate. So perk up… we’ll get them sooner or later.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Giselle handed one of her ice packs back over to me to refreeze. “And incidentally… back there… how’d you-”

“Survive?” I interrupted. “Probably Iris’s doing. She sometimes lends me a hand in her own way. She’s right behind you, incidentally.” I took another drink of my tea as Gisele turned around quite nervously before shrieking in horror. Hanging from the ceiling, ankle first, was a battered, bloody, and pale phantom, looking at us. Her light-purple hair hung down to the ground as well, and she looked at us with a slight hint of amusement.

“That… that’s your sister?!?”

“Yep,” I said with a chuckle. Iris’s ghost gave me a faint smile. “She had gone to Japan to pursue her interests in Buddhism quite a few years before… and then started appearing in the apartment about eighteen months ago. Sure enough, my sister had been beaten to death in the middle of a deserted, wrecked temple. One of my goals is to someday track down her killer.”

“And do what?” Giselle said, a bit nervous as I said all this.

I shrugged. “Whatever international law deems appropriate.”

Turning back to me, she shook her head. “It seems a lot of things changed starting about eighteen months ago. What with that worldwide blackout in the August of 2012, that’s when it all started. Megami Sato’s movement began, even though it didn’t pick up until January 1st of 2013, all that destruction at M-- University in Japan and all those deaths, the death of your sister. My parents’ relation crumbled away not long after that.”

“Your parents?”

Giselle nodded. “Yeah. My biological father died not long after I was conceived; never knew him. By the time I had been born, my mom had gotten married again.” She fished out her wallet and showed me a picture in it. I could see a little girl in it, I quickly surmised it was Giselle. A dark-haired European man and another Latina woman were standing behind her cheerfully.

“My biological parents were Brazilian, but they moved to Europe due to it being considered more stable than Latin America, for my sake. Not long after that, my dad died. My mom eventually found a nice German man, started dating, and he was willing to help raise me.”

“Hence, Vega-Stroheim.” I guessed that was where the name came from.
_
“Yeah. And he did a very good of raising me too. But a ways before that blackout in 2012, my parents’ relationship faltered. The reasons were numerous, and on both sides. They wanted to forgive each other, it’s just… just there were a lot of things they had to look at, both in themselves and in each other.

“Things started turning around right after the blackout though. My dad… he just seemed to know the only way he was going to save his marriage was to reach out across to the other side of the table and not give up. Things started improving between them, and they were even going to renew their wedding vows. I was so happy.

“Things were so happy that day… it was almost like a second wedding. You should’ve seen my mom… she was just so beautiful looking. Things were finally back to the way they were before all those messy arguments. I never bore witness to a more picturesque sequence in all my life. When they spoke to each other, they truly did speak from their hearts.

“And then came the moment. You know, the ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’ moment. And it was my father that objected. Everyone was in shock as that woman appeared in the back of the church. She couldn’t have been any older than 19 or 20. Dark violet hair, bright green eyes… When I first met Anser, I could’ve sworn he was her little sister.

“’That woman,’ my father said. ‘As much as I love you, I love this woman with all my heart, and she comes before all else.’ My mother just stood there, and everyone in the church were dead silent as my father walked away to meet that woman. They left together… and then came the rumors on those days after. Stories of affairs and secret romances… my mother was already in shock and those painful words proved too much. She committed suicide within the month, leaving me alone.

“In those months between then and when Ikki Higashi found me, I had nothing. Nothing but a face and a name to go with it… ‘Midori Ai.’ I will never forget that woman and what she did to my family.”
_
“And just like you… Kerrigan,” Giselle said as she ended that sad story, “I want justice.”

… Dark violet hair and green eyes. She couldn’t possibly mean…

“Giselle,” I asked the girl. She seemed a little distant after finishing her story, so I said her name again. That got her attention. “Giselle, I understand your feelings. And believe me, I have it in my power to help you. But until then, would you be willing to help us deal with that woman of Darkness and whoever else is after Anser?”

“Sure,” she told me, “At least until we find Ikki. Is that okay… boss?” She said the last word with a slight hint of humor to it, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

“You call Ikki that too when he’s around?”

“Why not? My parents raised me right… if I’m working under someone that’s way older than me I ought to address them by something proper.”
“Older?” I responded. “I’m only thirty two.”

“And I’m sixteen. Your twice my age, boss.”

Grgh.
_
The flawless

Another day in the offices, misleading all those good men and women assigned to bringing down the Hachi Satsu. It wasn’t fun, let me tell you that. A job like that requires a delicate balance of misdirection and clear competence, otherwise people would’ve caught on in the beginning months. Interpol’s higher-ups that were aware of the Satsu’s job of killing actual assassins had to cover their tracks, so they made a task force with some of the group’s best and brightest to track down the “killers” and bring them to justice.

Too bad they were being lead by one of them.

It was challenging work, but not impossible. And I got a nice paycheck too, hard to argue with that.

Keston had called me not to long ago; seems that “Stupid Blonde Lady” had paid Anser a visit. That was nice of Saori… hopefully she wouldn’t do anything foolish that would make someone notice I had two young boys in my apartment that were not related to me… and if you went by genetics, they weren’t related to each other either. They were currently in the middle of watching an episode of Reluctant Vampire Renfield, with Anser pointing out all the errors made about the strengths and abilities of vampires in the story.

As for me, I was just looking through the last of a set of reports about possible leads about the Hachi Satsu. I marked which ones I thought were good routes to explore, all of them leading to dead ends eventually, but it would keep the noble yet unknowing flatfoots from getting in the way. Most of the office had left, and I looked forward to going home and checking up on how Saori was fairing. And then…

Thump.

My right hand twitched for a moment and I felt something go off in my head. I wasn’t sure what.

I… I did it! I mean… I think I did it.

I hunched over in my desk as a splitting headache slow was stirred up before growing more and more in intensity. This voice… it seemed so familiar. It was… it was…

Ralyk. Ralyk Arj. He was one of the newbies here at the branch, determined to bring the Hachi Satsu down no matter what. I wasn’t sure… and I quickly looked up and scanned the office. It was late enough that I was the only one still there and I was about to give up when I heard the elevator door ring.

I just hope, the voice was much fainter now. Good. Hopefully-

I just hope that Shot Ichiban doesn’t find me. She’s a member of the Hachi Satsu… she’d kill me for sure!

Those last words had been barely more than a whisper but I knew them to be true. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. Even if Ralyk had somehow cracked, he was still a danger out there and it was my duty as his direct superior to bring him in. The elevator would be in use, so the stairs would have to do.

My mind raced as fast as my feet as I slammed into the door and then sprinted down the stairwell with minimal regard for safety. I needed answers, like how Ralyk had even found out about me in the first place. Had it been the Hallowed Prisms? Those things were starting to spring up where they weren’t wanted, and it was proving to be frustrating.

Minutes passed by as I neared the ground floor. I was close, I was getting close and I knew if I could reach Ralyk then-

The entire section of stairs beneath me suddenly were smashed apart from an external force. I barely managed to stop from falling an untimely death as I heard a ruthless woman’s voice ring out.

“MAKAI… CRUEL RUIN!”

There was a flash of darkness and then a scream as I peered down, seeing a pit of infinite blackness. This… this was the woman of Darkness that had been mentioned before by Anser and Saori? I… I didn’t know what to do…

The darkness receded, revealing a dark haired man’s body just lying there. Oh… oh my god… that… that was Ralyk! He was just sprawled out there, like he was nothing…

There were two women standing there, one appearing to barely be twenty years old and wearing yellow, black, and white robes, looking down at Ralyk’s husk with utter disdain. The other woman was slightly shorter, but looked a few years older. I couldn’t get a good read on her though, what with black strands of cloth covering up so much of her body and face. Why she was dressed like that, I truly had no idea.

And then the woman of Darkness looked up at me and scowled.

“One of your subordinates, I presume.” I nodded nervously. “You should thank me… I very possibly saved your entire operation.”

“What?”

“He had accepted the Hallowed Prisms!” the woman snapped. “He accepted a great evil and let his loyalty to one woman supersede every other duty he had! A time is nearing when that would’ve been your undoing!”

What… what was she talking about?

The woman chuckled again. “Of course… now that you’ve seen me…” she snapped her fingers, and the cloaked woman suddenly sprang up to my level. “Do not be afraid, ma’am. She will merely remove and destroy this ‘fault’ in you. Think nothing of it.”

“Think nothing of it?!?” I snarled, “Who the hell do you think you are?!?”

The woman of darkness looked up and chuckled. “I am one whom has had a great deal stolen, erased by a profound Light. And I will see my enemy slain and her hopes and dreams dashed regardless of who gets in the way. Kai-Gara!”

The woman in front of me stiffened, as if awaiting a command. I took that as my opportunity to run. There were a couple other stairwells, and I was quickly dreading the fact this struggle seemed to have more than just two separate ideological groups.

“Kai-Gara, ensure that this woman does not become a threat to us, no matter what! I can’t afford to spend too much time here… the moon is still too full and he may arrive.” Argh… what was with these people and not just using someone’s actual name?

I reached a doorway and pushed it open before looking around my immediate surroundings. I was flush against the door so I’d know when that Kai-Gara person caught up to me, thankfully. There were a couple of way to go from-

“Childish.”

I spun around, seeing the woman veiled in black standing there. How had she caught up to me so quickly? And… oh my god what had happened to the door?!? It was like it had been ripped in half, amidst perfect silence! What was this woman supposed to be?

I sprinted away again. I didn’t have my firearm on me, like that would be any help anyways, and I knew my time was running out as I heard unbelievably fast footfalls behind me. Then Kai-Gara slid past me, running her hand across the ground as the floor suddenly just gave way. I screamed as I plummeted down below, crashing into hard ceramic flooring. My back ached and my mind was racing. These women seemed to oppose the Hallowed Prisms, so where did their power come from? First the Towers of the Devil, then the Prisms, and now this?!?

Not to mention whatever Kai-Gara was going to do to me.

And speak of the horrid woman, she jumped down from the floor above. The room we were in was pitch-dark, the only light coming from hole in the ceiling above. And I was in the center of it, Kai-Gara slowly approaching me.

My right hand began twitching again, trying to tell me something. Telling me to Sur-Sur-

Surpass.

What?
Surpass, Shot. Surpass the woman you swore to surpass.

But… but…

Surpass her. Surpass Saori Ichimonji, and let instinct guide you!

Kai-Gara lunged at me as I rolled backwards, my right arm sticking outwards as I spoke proudly. I didn’t know where this was coming from, but I had to trust it.

“… BE INVOKED, ELYSIUM!”

There was a flash of light that brightened up the room and drove Kai-Gara away for a moment as golden strands of what appeared to be metal flowed out of my arm to form a very long, elegant-looking spear. Its shimmering, gold appearance contrasted with Kai-Gara’s black apparel, but she didn’t seem that scared by it as she charged again. Foolish.

The spear snapped out with pinpoint accuracy, Kai-Gara barely evading in time as the golden blade cut across the side of the cloth covering her eyes, revealing those brown eyes at once. The woman just stared at me for a second before turning and running. I had, well, I had expected a lot more than just that from her, and I quickly gave chase.

No sooner had I stepped out into the light, the floor beneath me gave out again. This was starting to get very, very annoying as I went crashing down through the tiles again. The saving grace this time was my spear, “Elysium”, or whatever I called it before. I held it horizontally and was overjoyed to know it had blocked me from falling down any further.

After a moment’s struggle, I pulled myself back up and all but collapsed while grasping my spear. I didn’t know what had just happened… save for one thing. And it began to grow more and more obvious.

This spear… was a manifestation of my abilities as a Tower of the Devil. After all, I had summoned Keston, nothing keeping me from doing it. And then there was my right hand…

A bad memory and the mark on my hand were all I had from that time. And that memory was very, very painful.

Finally recovering my strength, I knew this was going to throw things into disarray by quite a bit. With Ralyk’s death, not to mention all the damage to this office building, one of the only things I could be grateful for was I survived the woman of Darkness and Kai-Gara. And I had to count my small blessings, otherwise I wouldn’t have any at all.

And so I simply stood back up, and began my long path home. And part of me was glad Saori was there with Keston and Anser. She had quite a bit of foresight when she wanted.

[MorriganAensland]

The false

As I walked down the apartment hall, I couldn’t help but not the irony of the situation I was in. But that didn’t really matter. Giselle and Ikki could help out the newest two survivors of the Hallowed Prisms. As for me, I owed it to Anser to keep my promise.

I knew Shot’s apartment number. I hadn’t really visited there, since Shot wasn’t the kind of person I felt the need to drop in on, but Anser was different. Besides, I needed some answers about that axe I had summoned. I figured the demon I had once had a contract with would be a great place to start.

And I knew just was going to help smooth things over.
_
The child

Many times, victories are bittersweet at best, or at least that’s how Keston put it. I guess he was right in some respects. I was grateful to Saori for letting me be with my brother again… he had been the only family I had been close to for the past eighteen months. But there was still the fact that in spite of all her flaws, Saori was, well… I can’t really put it in words. It was probably just she had been the only mother figure I had known in over a year.

Keston and I still had a lot of fun together… and it was nice to have some luxuries we didn’t have back home. And it was also nice to finally watch Maji School without Saori drooling all over the prettyboys in it. Keston told me about what had happened after I had been summoned too, and I was glad to know nothing really serious.

And that was when she came back into my life with a knock on the door and a loud and childish shout. To be fair, I thought she had been acting like a little kid before saying she’d see me around and just trying to stay strong, but… but she had actually come clean on it.

My older brother chuckled in amusement before looking over at me. “Do you want to let her in?”

“Why not?”
_
The preceding

“Here,” I said as the tea finally finished heating. I handed Giselle another ice-pack for her broken nose, and mused for a moment that I felt like this was a case of déjà-vu. Well, not me doing it… but just… just like people I was somehow connected to had performed similar acts. With everything set, we could finally sit down and get on the same page.

The girl had calmed down, as I had hoped, and had been explaining to me what had happened to Ikki. As she had mentioned before, their housing had been trashed, and Ikki was nowhere to be seen. She obviously feared the worst, but hoped he was still alive.

“He probably is,” I told Giselle as she took a sip from her tea. She looked up at me in surprise as I continued. “If they had wanted him dead, they would’ve just killed him. If Ikki was still out there, he would’ve contacted you. If he was meant for ransom, whoever is responsible would’ve contacted you. Makes the most sense that he’s being held for personal reasons, maybe information.”

The girl could only stare at me. I had that effect on people sometimes.

“Look, Giselle,” I leaned forward. “Trust in us. Trust in me, Saori, and Sho-”

“She should be doing her job,” Vega-Stroheim snorted. “You’d figure after so much time the Hachi Satsu would show signs of slowing down. What’s Interpol doing in all the meantime?!?” The girl shocked me a little as she stood up, furiously slamming her hands onto the table. “They’re supposed to be the absolute best of each country’s best, so why are they dragging their heels!” The girl suddenly realized she had gone a bit too far, and blushed furiously as she sat back down. “S-sorry, Miss Tiam.”

“You’re upset, I understand.” Of course, this whole “Her not knowing the truth about the Satsu” thing could come back to bite me and the whole operation. “But understand the Satsu are humans too. They learn and adapt strategies. It’s not as if they’re letting us inch closer and closer, Shot says it’s a struggle, trying to keep up with those assassins until they slip-up.”

“They seem pretty close to being perfect,” Giselle muttered.

“The best of anything usually are. And when two nearly-equal and opposite forces collide, you get what amounts to a stalemate. So perk up… we’ll get them sooner or later.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Giselle handed one of her ice packs back over to me to refreeze. “And incidentally… back there… how’d you-”

“Survive?” I interrupted. “Probably Iris’s doing. She sometimes lends me a hand in her own way. She’s right behind you, incidentally.” I took another drink of my tea as Gisele turned around quite nervously before shrieking in horror. Hanging from the ceiling, ankle first, was a battered, bloody, and pale phantom, looking at us. Her light-purple hair hung down to the ground as well, and she looked at us with a slight hint of amusement.

“That… that’s your sister?!?”

“Yep,” I said with a chuckle. Iris’s ghost gave me a faint smile. “She had gone to Japan to pursue her interests in Buddhism quite a few years before… and then started appearing in the apartment about eighteen months ago. Sure enough, my sister had been beaten to death in the middle of a deserted, wrecked temple. One of my goals is to someday track down her killer.”

“And do what?” Giselle said, a bit nervous as I said all this.

I shrugged. “Whatever international law deems appropriate.”

Turning back to me, she shook her head. “It seems a lot of things changed starting about eighteen months ago. What with that worldwide blackout in the August of 2012, that’s when it all started. Megami Sato’s movement began, even though it didn’t pick up until January 1st of 2013, all that destruction at M-- University in Japan and all those deaths, the death of your sister. My parents’ relation crumbled away not long after that.”

“Your parents?”

Giselle nodded. “Yeah. My biological father died not long after I was conceived; never knew him. By the time I had been born, my mom had gotten married again.” She fished out her wallet and showed me a picture in it. I could see a little girl in it, I quickly surmised it was Giselle. A dark-haired European man and another Latina woman were standing behind her cheerfully.

“My biological parents were Brazilian, but they moved to Europe due to it being considered more stable than Latin America, for my sake. Not long after that, my dad died. My mom eventually found a nice German man, started dating, and he was willing to help raise me.”

“Hence, Vega-Stroheim.” I guessed that was where the name came from.
_
“Yeah. And he did a very good of raising me too. But a ways before that blackout in 2012, my parents’ relationship faltered. The reasons were numerous, and on both sides. They wanted to forgive each other, it’s just… just there were a lot of things they had to look at, both in themselves and in each other.

“Things started turning around right after the blackout though. My dad… he just seemed to know the only way he was going to save his marriage was to reach out across to the other side of the table and not give up. Things started improving between them, and they were even going to renew their wedding vows. I was so happy.

“Things were so happy that day… it was almost like a second wedding. You should’ve seen my mom… she was just so beautiful looking. Things were finally back to the way they were before all those messy arguments. I never bore witness to a more picturesque sequence in all my life. When they spoke to each other, they truly did speak from their hearts.

“And then came the moment. You know, the ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’ moment. And it was my father that objected. Everyone was in shock as that woman appeared in the back of the church. She couldn’t have been any older than 19 or 20. Dark violet hair, bright green eyes… When I first met Anser, I could’ve sworn he was her little sister.

“’That woman,’ my father said. ‘As much as I love you, I love this woman with all my heart, and she comes before all else.’ My mother just stood there, and everyone in the church were dead silent as my father walked away to meet that woman. They left together… and then came the rumors on those days after. Stories of affairs and secret romances… my mother was already in shock and those painful words proved too much. She committed suicide within the month, leaving me alone.

“In those months between then and when Ikki Higashi found me, I had nothing. Nothing but a face and a name to go with it… ‘Midori Ai.’ I will never forget that woman and what she did to my family.”
_
“And just like you… Kerrigan,” Giselle said as she ended that sad story, “I want justice.”

… Dark violet hair and green eyes. She couldn’t possibly mean…

“Giselle,” I asked the girl. She seemed a little distant after finishing her story, so I said her name again. That got her attention. “Giselle, I understand your feelings. And believe me, I have it in my power to help you. But until then, would you be willing to help us deal with that woman of Darkness and whoever else is after Anser?”

“Sure,” she told me, “At least until we find Ikki. Is that okay… boss?” She said the last word with a slight hint of humor to it, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

“You call Ikki that too when he’s around?”

“Why not? My parents raised me right… if I’m working under someone that’s way older than me I ought to address them by something proper.”
“Older?” I responded. “I’m only thirty two.”

“And I’m sixteen. Your twice my age, boss.”

Grgh.
_
The flawless

Another day in the offices, misleading all those good men and women assigned to bringing down the Hachi Satsu. It wasn’t fun, let me tell you that. A job like that requires a delicate balance of misdirection and clear competence, otherwise people would’ve caught on in the beginning months. Interpol’s higher-ups that were aware of the Satsu’s job of killing actual assassins had to cover their tracks, so they made a task force with some of the group’s best and brightest to track down the “killers” and bring them to justice.

Too bad they were being lead by one of them.

It was challenging work, but not impossible. And I got a nice paycheck too, hard to argue with that.

Keston had called me not to long ago; seems that “Stupid Blonde Lady” had paid Anser a visit. That was nice of Saori… hopefully she wouldn’t do anything foolish that would make someone notice I had two young boys in my apartment that were not related to me… and if you went by genetics, they weren’t related to each other either. They were currently in the middle of watching an episode of Reluctant Vampire Renfield, with Anser pointing out all the errors made about the strengths and abilities of vampires in the story.

As for me, I was just looking through the last of a set of reports about possible leads about the Hachi Satsu. I marked which ones I thought were good routes to explore, all of them leading to dead ends eventually, but it would keep the noble yet unknowing flatfoots from getting in the way. Most of the office had left, and I looked forward to going home and checking up on how Saori was fairing. And then…

Thump.

My right hand twitched for a moment and I felt something go off in my head. I wasn’t sure what.

I… I did it! I mean… I think I did it.

I hunched over in my desk as a splitting headache slow was stirred up before growing more and more in intensity. This voice… it seemed so familiar. It was… it was…

Ralyk. Ralyk Arj. He was one of the newbies here at the branch, determined to bring the Hachi Satsu down no matter what. I wasn’t sure… and I quickly looked up and scanned the office. It was late enough that I was the only one still there and I was about to give up when I heard the elevator door ring.

I just hope, the voice was much fainter now. Good. Hopefully-

I just hope that Shot Ichiban doesn’t find me. She’s a member of the Hachi Satsu… she’d kill me for sure!

Those last words had been barely more than a whisper but I knew them to be true. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. Even if Ralyk had somehow cracked, he was still a danger out there and it was my duty as his direct superior to bring him in. The elevator would be in use, so the stairs would have to do.

My mind raced as fast as my feet as I slammed into the door and then sprinted down the stairwell with minimal regard for safety. I needed answers, like how Ralyk had even found out about me in the first place. Had it been the Hallowed Prisms? Those things were starting to spring up where they weren’t wanted, and it was proving to be frustrating.

Minutes passed by as I neared the ground floor. I was close, I was getting close and I knew if I could reach Ralyk then-

The entire section of stairs beneath me suddenly were smashed apart from an external force. I barely managed to stop from falling an untimely death as I heard a ruthless woman’s voice ring out.

“MAKAI… CRUEL RUIN!”

There was a flash of darkness and then a scream as I peered down, seeing a pit of infinite blackness. This… this was the woman of Darkness that had been mentioned before by Anser and Saori? I… I didn’t know what to do…

The darkness receded, revealing a dark haired man’s body just lying there. Oh… oh my god… that… that was Ralyk! He was just sprawled out there, like he was nothing…

There were two women standing there, one appearing to barely be twenty years old and wearing yellow, black, and white robes, looking down at Ralyk’s husk with utter disdain. The other woman was slightly shorter, but looked a few years older. I couldn’t get a good read on her though, what with black strands of cloth covering up so much of her body and face. Why she was dressed like that, I truly had no idea.

And then the woman of Darkness looked up at me and scowled.

“One of your subordinates, I presume.” I nodded nervously. “You should thank me… I very possibly saved your entire operation.”

“What?”

“He had accepted the Hallowed Prisms!” the woman snapped. “He accepted a great evil and let his loyalty to one woman supersede every other duty he had! A time is nearing when that would’ve been your undoing!”

What… what was she talking about?

The woman chuckled again. “Of course… now that you’ve seen me…” she snapped her fingers, and the cloaked woman suddenly sprang up to my level. “Do not be afraid, ma’am. She will merely remove and destroy this ‘fault’ in you. Think nothing of it.”

“Think nothing of it?!?” I snarled, “Who the hell do you think you are?!?”

The woman of darkness looked up and chuckled. “I am one whom has had a great deal stolen, erased by a profound Light. And I will see my enemy slain and her hopes and dreams dashed regardless of who gets in the way. Kai-Gara!”

The woman in front of me stiffened, as if awaiting a command. I took that as my opportunity to run. There were a couple other stairwells, and I was quickly dreading the fact this struggle seemed to have more than just two separate ideological groups.

“Kai-Gara, ensure that this woman does not become a threat to us, no matter what! I can’t afford to spend too much time here… the moon is still too full and he may arrive.” Argh… what was with these people and not just using someone’s actual name?

I reached a doorway and pushed it open before looking around my immediate surroundings. I was flush against the door so I’d know when that Kai-Gara person caught up to me, thankfully. There were a couple of way to go from-

“Childish.”

I spun around, seeing the woman veiled in black standing there. How had she caught up to me so quickly? And… oh my god what had happened to the door?!? It was like it had been ripped in half, amidst perfect silence! What was this woman supposed to be?

I sprinted away again. I didn’t have my firearm on me, like that would be any help anyways, and I knew my time was running out as I heard unbelievably fast footfalls behind me. Then Kai-Gara slid past me, running her hand across the ground as the floor suddenly just gave way. I screamed as I plummeted down below, crashing into hard ceramic flooring. My back ached and my mind was racing. These women seemed to oppose the Hallowed Prisms, so where did their power come from? First the Towers of the Devil, then the Prisms, and now this?!?

Not to mention whatever Kai-Gara was going to do to me.

And speak of the horrid woman, she jumped down from the floor above. The room we were in was pitch-dark, the only light coming from hole in the ceiling above. And I was in the center of it, Kai-Gara slowly approaching me.

My right hand began twitching again, trying to tell me something. Telling me to Sur-Sur-

Surpass.

What?
Surpass, Shot. Surpass the woman you swore to surpass.

But… but…

Surpass her. Surpass Saori Ichimonji, and let instinct guide you!

Kai-Gara lunged at me as I rolled backwards, my right arm sticking outwards as I spoke proudly. I didn’t know where this was coming from, but I had to trust it.

“… BE INVOKED, ELYSIUM!”

There was a flash of light that brightened up the room and drove Kai-Gara away for a moment as golden strands of what appeared to be metal flowed out of my arm to form a very long, elegant-looking spear. Its shimmering, gold appearance contrasted with Kai-Gara’s black apparel, but she didn’t seem that scared by it as she charged again. Foolish.

The spear snapped out with pinpoint accuracy, Kai-Gara barely evading in time as the golden blade cut across the side of the cloth covering her eyes, revealing those brown eyes at once. The woman just stared at me for a second before turning and running. I had, well, I had expected a lot more than just that from her, and I quickly gave chase.

No sooner had I stepped out into the light, the floor beneath me gave out again. This was starting to get very, very annoying as I went crashing down through the tiles again. The saving grace this time was my spear, “Elysium”, or whatever I called it before. I held it horizontally and was overjoyed to know it had blocked me from falling down any further.

After a moment’s struggle, I pulled myself back up and all but collapsed while grasping my spear. I didn’t know what had just happened… save for one thing. And it began to grow more and more obvious.

This spear… was a manifestation of my abilities as a Tower of the Devil. After all, I had summoned Keston, nothing keeping me from doing it. And then there was my right hand…

A bad memory and the mark on my hand were all I had from that time. And that memory was very, very painful.

Finally recovering my strength, I knew this was going to throw things into disarray by quite a bit. With Ralyk’s death, not to mention all the damage to this office building, one of the only things I could be grateful for was I survived the woman of Darkness and Kai-Gara. And I had to count my small blessings, otherwise I wouldn’t have any at all.

And so I simply stood back up, and began my long path home. And part of me was glad Saori was there with Keston and Anser. She had quite a bit of foresight when she wanted.

[Zhanneel]

I immensely enjoyed the descriptive visuals of the fight scene. I also love the fact that Shot wields a spear (puts her in light of a Valkyrie ^^). When you chose "Elysium" for her Tower battle cry, are you relating it at all to Greek afterlife? Or is it just coincidence? Also, I really like Shot's internal dialogue and thoughts, it made her feel less reserved and more human. Nice job on this chapter.

[MorriganAensland]

Shot's actually gone through a tremendous change from when I originally pictured her as being a loose cannon who was put in charge of the investigation to keep her out of the field and someone Saori could barely stand. Then I realized I was making a character specifically just so people could hate her and like Saori in comparison.

I decided to re-write Shot's persona, in the chapter she was introduced, as someone just trying to do her job. She's messed up a bit, but not as bad as Saori, and nowhere near as bad as she was originally going to be, where one sequence would involve her threatening to kill Anser and his entire family for a minor slight that meant a great deal more to her. And firing three rounds from a handgun into the air before firing another three over Anser's shoulder.

I like how I've redesigned her, someone more by the books and just following her orders. It's a better contrast to Saori's quirky-as-hell mannerisms and Kerrigan's restrained intellectualism, which is what I wanted since I was aiming for her being Saori's Lancer.

As for the Elysium remark, it's meant to be a contrast to Saori's weapon as a Tower. While Shot's is a more elegant and dignified golden spear, Saori's is a more brutish silver axe/cleaver. I had planned on the name of Saori's weapon before deciding Shot should be a Tower as well by summoning Keston, and wanted a name that would again contrast between the two's nature. We'll find out the name of Saori's weapon next chapter, where the whole woman of Darkness problem is brought to its climax. And Kerrigan finally gets to show off just what she's really capable of.

This post has been edited by MorriganAensland: Dec 6 2008, 6:16 PM

[Zhanneel]

Oo, I wait in anticipation for Kerrigan's bad a--I mean, interesting battle skills =).

I like how you redesigned Shot to be more levelheaded too. If anyone can be the loose, crazy cannon maybe it could bit Ikki, or even Giselle. Oh, and when I was reading the scenes with Shot I immediately thought "Lancer," so you succeeded in that attempt.

Overall, I prefer the spear to the axe (might have something to do with that fact that I adore Freya from FFIX....but then spears are more my style too).

[MorriganAensland]

Well, Ikki's going to be out of action for probably the next 20-ish chapters, due to what happened to him.

And Giselle, as I envisioned her, was more the person knowing that she was in over her head. Bullet's relationship with Sanger in Super Robot Wars, including referring to him as "boss", was a big inspiration for Giselle's with Kerrigan. Then again, I like have a loose structure to my story so I can revise things on the fly... so both Keston and Giselle might take on a few proactive, aggressive traits later on down the road.

Like Kai-Gara. I literally did not plan on including her in the story until last week. I'm glad I did though... she's going to VERY important later on down the road.

[LinneaKou]

Damn, I miss you guys in real time and I miss the chance to have the first comment for the new chapter. How much more can this day stink? >.<

I liked how Shot took the appearance of the lady of Darkness in stride. I'm assuming most of the main characters have had brushes with the supernatural before, so it's kind of nice that we don't have one of those sequences where it's like "Oh my God, what ARE you??" "I am a demon, here to destroy you!" and then we go into a whole explanation of how the world has hidden realms and yadda-yadda... Sometimes it's nice to just jump into the action instead of starting at the beginning of the beginning.

I'm glad Saori seems to have grown an emotional attachment to Anser. It's good that you've included a human(-ish) relationship aspect to the story. Relationships are pretty important in the big scheme of things.

I'm looking forward even more to the unmasking of this woman of Darkness. Personally, I'd love to see Mizuki's reaction to someone impersonating her. (Seriously, naming a Dai Makei attack is solely copyrighted to Mizuki alone!) The new attack-lady is interesting, too. I wonder what Shot's "fault" is...

And I like how you're connecting this story to Mizuki's through Iris. For some reason, I'm hearing "Mizuki VS. Kerrigan!" in my wet-cottonball brain.

Finally - THANK YOU FOR PLUGGING ME!! ^-^ So when Majischule reaches America (hmm, I was hoping it would originate there...) it becomes "Magi School"? Considering that a Magi/Magus is a human mage, I wouldn't consider that a good translation...

*Alice: I'll say. I'm going to pay a... ehem... visit to that translating company... *stomps off while muttering darkly*

All in all, great update. I can't wait to find out what happens next!

[MorriganAensland]

Well, I changed it to "Magi School" simply because I'm also putting this on Fictionpress and I wanted nobody to raise any eyebrows about the pronunciation of it. But yes, your explanation can work too.

Concerning using Iris to connect the two stories, my original plan was to have Iris appear in last story of the trilogy, but I decided to bring her in earlier since it gave Kerrigan a little more depth. The relationship between Saori and Anser though, is one I definitely wanted to stress, along with the student/teacher one between Giselle and Kerrigan, the rival relationship between Saori and Shot, and the brotherly relationship between Keston and Anser. The story's about Saori growing to be a good mother figure, and showing that even with all her flaws, she still tries as hard as she can to make him happy. Few stories examine the "Woman and much younger boy" issue because it can be interpreted as pedophilia, but I thought it would make for a good angel that set it apart from the romance between Mizuki and Minako. There's many more types of love than just romantic ones, and they deserve their day in the limelight too.

And speaking of the Usurper Empress...

Mizuki: *blinks* Someone's masquerading as me. And this is unforgivable! Taking lives in such a manner-

Asuka: But you've killed people.

Mizuki: Destroying buildings-

Asuka: You've done that too.

Mizuki: Acting as if she can order around people and yell at them-

Soma: You did that to me when I offered to help you against the Shiko.

Horoki: But Mizuki's actions along those lines were *justified*!

There is, however, a good reason for why the woman of Darkness is acting like Mizuki. It'll be explained next chapter when this whole "arc" dealing with her concludes. And as for Mizuki vs. Kerrigan, I was debating whether or not to include that when they finally meet... but that's a long ways off. I'll have more time to mull over it.

And Shot's fault? It has everything to do with her right hand, and the friend she lost eighteen months ago.

[MorriganAensland]

The child

“You're... kidding...” Scary Shiny Glasses Lady said, mouth agape as Shot finished her story. “So... the woman of Darkness isn't responsible for the Hallowed Prisms?!?”

“The exact opposite,” Shot answered as she rested on a cough. The woman had gone through a lot, and she'd borne witness to one of her subordinates getting killed. “But this doesn't mean she's our ally,” the woman continued. “Not to mention that Kai-Gara lady... she mentioned someone about me having a 'flaw' that had to be removed.” The red-haired woman looked down at her gloved right hand for a moment before continuing. “Thankfully, I've got Keston to thank for my survival.”

“W-what?” my older brother stammered in confusion. “But I was here with Saori and Anser!”

“Indeed you were,” the Hachi Satsu member said before standing up and holding out her arm. “But how else do you explain this? Now... be invoked, Elysium.”

There was a flash of golden light as a beautiful spear formed in Shot's hand for a moment. “Seems to be stemming from me being a Tower of the Devil, after all.”

“So that's where it comes from!” Saori almost blurted the words out. “Oh... sorry about that.”

“What do you mean?” Shot asked.

The blonde smiled. “I had another run-in with a Hallowed Prism user today.”

“And you didn't tell us until right now?” Shot glared, but Saori dismissed her with a wave of her hand.

“Come on, this was just a fun little visit with Anser!” She patted me on the head. “No reason to bring serious matters into this.”

“Did Ikki show up?” I asked, but Saori shook her head.

“I cleaned it up without much trouble though. Ended up summoning something similar to your spear though, Shot.” The assassin stood up and outstretched her hand, and after focusing for a moment, formed, well... it was big, and like a cross between a cleaver and an ax We could only look at it before it flowed back to Saori. “Any idea why I still have this Anser? I dissolved our contract when you met Keston.”

That was true, that was very true, and I couldn't think up-

“Wait a second...” Keston had got all our attention as he stood up. “Did you make any other kind of agreement with Anser after you summoned him?”

Wait... did that mean...

“Yeah!” I told him. “After our first run-in with the woman of Darkness we shook hands over the deal that once she was dealt with, I could leave.”

Keston smirked. “That would do it then, I'm positive. Saori,” he looked up at the woman, “When you made that second deal with Anser, one that was mutual, it overrode your initial one. You forged a second contract that won't be dissolved until both parties agree to it. I've heard of these kinds of things before, actually. They're not that hard to stumble into.”

“So that's why Ichimonji's still a Tower of the Devil?” Shot asked. She got a nod from both me and Keston. “Fine then. Just wondering... what were the details of this contract?”

Saori lowered her head for a moment, trying to remember. “It was...” she snapped her fingers just as the answer came. “The deal was that after the woman of Darkness problem was solved, Anser could leave on his own terms.”

“They were ones I chose myself,” I spoke up. “I don't want to run the risk of running into her back home.”

“How so?” the red-haired woman asked.

“She... could be the matron of all demons.”

…

I had expected Shot and Saori to be surprised by this. Even Keston seemed a little upset, but more with the fact of who we were up against.

“Let me... explain,” Keston continued. “Anser's only eight, he's barely known about the Demon Empress.”
_
“In short, she was the the creation of the goddess of the dead in the Shinto religion, Izanagi. She created demons mainly for the purpose of helping out people in their lives and also help out her mother. But things didn't work out, due to this little thing called 'Destiny', which controlled our entire existence.

“She possessed a power known as theDai Makai, literally the 'Great Sea of Evil'. It's description fits the darkness that this woman in question is using.

“In an attempt to defeat the concept of Destiny, the Empress had thirteen potential reincarnations each generation... they are known as 'Candidates'. After the battles to escape from Destiny in 2012, it stands only two people alive possess Great Seas of Evil. It just so happens these two look a lot like each other.”
_
“So... this woman of Darkness...” I finished up, “It's possible she's the Demon Empress herself. Either that or she's the person that saved us all by rescuing humanity from the doom of predestination.”

“What kind of doom?” Shot asked. “I mean-”

“NO!” Keston and I exclaimed in perfect synchronization. “You don't understand... really,” I continued, “Destiny amounts to taking away someone's free will. The natural flow is the events of the past influence the future. Destiny is the future influencing the past. Humans and other animals were special in the way that you could escape from your destiny, provided you had the resolve to. It wasn't until eighteen months ago demons and gods could follow in your footsteps.

“And it's hard.... hard to grapple with the fact that someone you respect so much could become so... just wrong.”

“I know the feeling.”

We all turned to Saori. The blonde lady was hunched over and I couldn't see her face until she stood up, at which case she saluted us all and took off her glasses.

“Well, it was really fun hanging out with you Anser. Shot'll keep an eye on you until it's all over, so stay strong!” As she turned and walked away, the woman flashed me a thumb's-up and then was out the door.
_
The student

I had left Kerrigan's late in the night. My nose still hurt, but it was due to my gross incompetence and accusing Kerrigan of being something she obviously wasn't. At any rate, Saori had contacted me about someone else using the Hallowed Prisms. Using my usual methods, tracking Erica and Bridget down wasn't anywhere near as hard as one would imagine.

And then there was answering the questions. So many questions, most of them mere variants of those I had encountered before.

Erica had been a good person, she had just wanted to do better and pull her weight on the track team. Bridget had also been on the team, and thought something was the matter... only for Erica to snap and nearly kill her with that binding power until Saori stepped in. I owed Ichimonji a lot, since Ikki was missing in action and she had saved a life simply because.

“And Bridget,” Erica said for what seemed to be the twentieth time as we sat in L++'s cafeteria and eating lunch. “I'm... I'm just so sorry!”

Bridget smiled. From what I could tell from her reputation, Bridget Vilant had been a very good track runner and only had a few people that matched her caliber in the entire country. She even had a bit of a de-facto rivalry going with some Japanese track runner from Tokyo's M--, even though they had met only during their meets. In spite of that, she was a very modest and nice person, and was quite willing to forgive Erica. Her greatest point of rationale was that Erica just wanted to help out the team and got a little carried away.

“So... anyone else here... you know...?” Erica asked.

“Just one,” I told her. “Leona Still. She drops me a line, every so often. She's doing okay.”

“You think she might like some company?” Bridget asked. Realizing both Erica and I were confused as to what she meant, and she continued. “Well, I don't mean to sound harsh, Giselle... but maybe it might be good for them, Erica and Leona both, to really talk and relate to each other.”

“I wouldn't object to that,” Erica spoke up. “I mean... well, I'd like to hear from her, if that's okay.”

“That would be fine I said. I'll set everything up for you, okay.”

Erica smiled. “Thanks, Giselle.”
_
The preceding

I guess having Keston around helped give Anser an extra sense of protection, considering the little purple-haired boy didn't seem so scared this time as the two just combed through the various books. Keeping their minds on just reading seemed to let Anser avoid thinking about all the spooky ghosts around him... not a bad way to start.

Of course, I had other problems to worry about. For one, the damage done to the building used by the Hachi Satsu investigation team. The media was having a field day and Shot was running back and forth between press conferences, and probably would for the new few days. The problems with Brian Lernan's upcoming assassination plans didn't really make things much easier. The only reason Keston and Anser were here in the first place was simply because Ichiban had so much to worry about.

And then there was the woman of Darkness, the cause of these most recent problems. My fists clenched tight as my thoughts shifted fully to her. She was getting in our way. A lot. And it frustrated me that she wasn't even behind the problems with the Hallowed Prisms, meaning there was still someone else out there too!

Since it was the Hachi Satsu themselves that would deal with Brian Lernan, there was no problem with the overall plan of defense. A bunch of snipers would line up in buildings and keep a look out for him. It wouldn't be that bad. But the woman of Darkness was an unstable element, not to mention the Hallowed Prisms and their Godde-

“Excuse me.” I looked up, seeing those cultists standing there again with flyers. “Would you mind if-”

“Yes,” I snapped. “I don't care how many times you try, the answer will be the same no matter what, understand?”

“But-”

“Get out.” I hopped over the counter to block them from getting deeper into library. “We've been other this dozens of times, now just leave.”

“But that's the problem...” the woman said as she and the man parted. My blood ran cold. “We came in here, hoping luck would be on our side... but you were here. So we started to turn to leave and-”

Oh... god...

Darkness. A perfect black film, blocking the doors. I had been so blinded by frustration at those wannabe Jehovah's Witness I hadn't seen what was in front of my eyes. This kind of darkness it could only mean one thing.

“KESTON!” I shouted before turning around and running towards the two incubi. “KEEP AN EYE ON ANSER, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE COMPANY IN A MINUTE!” The members of the Order of the Goddess -wonder if they were related to the Prisms- just stood there, confused. I paused and turned to them, figuring that as much as I disliked them, they didn't deserve to die right here... and I guess that jinxed it.

Before I could even command them to follow me, two jet-black hands reached out from the film, wrapped around their necks, and crushed them as if they weren't even there.

I fished out my phone, praying Saori didn't have class right now. As tough as I was... I didn't think I would be able to handle this on my own. And judging by the rate at which the darkness, or “Dai Makai” as Keston and Anser put it, I was right.
_
The false

I couldn't believe this was happening. The woman of Darkness was making another move... and so soon? Guess Shot had managed to shake her up or something. I sprinted down the sidewalks of L++, glasses on my face, and only mildly musing that my humanities grade was probably going to take a hit for this. Like I cared? Anser was there, along with Keston and Tiam. It was my duty as a Tower to defend my Devil, no matter what.

As I rounded a building, I finally saw the library... or what it had become. There couldn't have been something so hateful and dark in the rest of existence. Almost like a black, perverse spire...complete with more than two dozen people just standing there I horror at it. It was then I noticed the building was still morphing, twisting and evolving into an oh-so-recognizable shape: a fetus.

Thump.

My hand twitched again as I noticed the building's surface ripple for a second. I ran, I screamed at the civilians to get away. I could never have reached them in time, to say nothing about saving the life of even one of them.

Dark, monstrous hands lashed out and crushed every single one of them like they were nothing before pulling their remains into the blackness. No trace of them remained.

The woman of Darkness had crossed far too many lines. And I was going to kill her. There was no way to forgive these wanton acts, and I pushed myself to run even faster as I noticed the walls had sensed me. They thought I was some idiot college student about to die. Stupid wall... I was far different.

I was a grad student. And I could do this.

“BE... INVOKED: COCYTUS!” My brutish axe materialized instantly, giving me plenty of time to bring it slashing down on the Dai Makai. The Great Sea was split effortlessly and I sprang through the gap. In reflex, I swung my newly-named weapon backwards. Good call, considering more hands were coming after me too. Thankfully, between the ease that Cocytus was having and my natural familiarity with killing things, the hands wouldn't be getting me any time soo-

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! SAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Anser's desperate cries, from someplace far off in the nightmare of the library caused me to falter for a split second. That was all the hands needed as one shot for my neck. By the time I shook off the distraction, I realized something was holding the hands back.

The ghosts.

There was a literal wall of ghosts, transparent and nearly invisible, surrounding me.

They... they were protecting me? From the woman of Darkness's influences? I...

Tears welled up in my eyes for a moment before I turned and sprinted. The screams had come from upstairs, and so upstairs I ran. I could hear Anser screaming out again and again, and then a very quiet yet unnerving laughter.

“So you've come at long last... Tower.”

As I cleared the last of the stairs, I found myself facing the woman of Darkness. She had a cruel smirk on her face, mainly because between us was Kerrigan. T dark hared woman's body was arched upwards, a loop of the Dai Makai around her neck, forcing her to bend backwards. Her eyes were shut tight, her teeth clenched as she tried to avoid having her neck snapped... not an easy task.

“Quite an interesting predicament your friend here is in, Tower,” she remarked before squatting down. “She tried to fight me... but the fact remains that in the physical world the Dai Makai is absolute in power! It doesn't matter how hard you try, the result is the same!”

“LIKE HELL!” I screamed as I charged again. With any luck the ghosts would step in again and-

“Amusing.” The woman of Darkness didn't even raise a finger as Dai Makai suddenly appeared on my arm and pulling it back as another one grabbed hold of my throat. “But hopeless. I have you both at my mercy, and with a single thought, your lives are forfeit! Of course...”

With one swift kick, she slammed her foot into Kerrigan's back. And with that, Kerrigan's body arched higher just a little bit, her eyes snapping open... and then she went limp.

“And for you...”

More fists appeared, about to pummel me to death only to stop at the last possible second by the ghosts. The woman of Darkness snarled for a moment before dispelling them with a sweep of her hand. The screams of the phantoms echoed in my ears as the woman's face began to fill with rage.

“To think... to think stupid GHOSTS would try to oppose my will... WHO THE HELL DO THEY THINK I AM?!?

“DON'T THEY KNOW, I AM MIZUKI RAJOSHIN!”
_
The preceding

…

…

…

…

“... Mizuki Rajoshin...”

…

No. No, no, no.

Impostor. Impostor. Impostor. Impostor. Impostor. Impostor. Impostor. Impost-

“-or.”

I... I was supposed to be dead. The Dai Makai was the ultimate defense... I had been helpless against it. The only way I could've possibly survived was if...

My body was not mine. I could feel a power flowing through it, although one I had felt before. And... I knew where.

Darkness equal to the woman's formed on my body, cutting through her Dai Makai as my body moved on its own. And almost immediately I found I had tackled the woman of Darkness, pummeling her with my fists, speaking words that were not mine.

“IMPOSTOR IMPOSTOR IMPOSTOR IMPOSTOR IMPOSTER IMPOST-”

A blow from the woman knocked me away, giving me time to try to understand what was happening. All... all I knew was...

“YOU'RE NOT MIZUKI RAJOSHIN!” I screamed.
_
The false

Kerrigan... Kerrigan was alive! Tiam had cheated death! I was elated, no matter how bad our situation appeared. Kerrigan herself seemed changed, no matter how little the change. Her hair seemed to have the slightest hint of light-purple, not to mention her bang had been pushed up out of her eyes.

And then there was... Iris. I could see Iris's ghostly form, just behind Kerrigan. And then it hit me. It was possession. Kerrigan was being possessed by her dead little sister. To battle this woman, only someone with a Great Sea of Evil could oppose someone else with a Great Sea. And that meant that...

That Kerrigan's little sister had been one of the Candidates to be reincarnated by the Demon Empress?

“What... what's going on?!?” 'Mizuki' was nearly tripping over her own words as Kerrigan pointed at her.

“You're not Mizuki, are you? You can't be... the Mizuki Rajoshin I fought against, the Mizuki Rajoshin I died against... would NEVER sink to your level!”

'Mizuki' was stumbling back, shaking her head. “But... but...”

“I know what you are!” Kerrigan/Iris snarled as she lunged with almost a feral mannerism to her. I could only stare as she cut all of 'Mizuki's' Dai Makai to ribbons. Even forming them on Kerrigan's body was futile, she would just generate Dai Makai there in the response. In a matter of seconds, Kerrigan had closed the distance between the two, and in one deft punch, broke something crystalline. The remains fell to the ground between them, 'Mizuki' looking down in dread.

“I knew it... Hallowed Prisms.”

Kerrigan's brutality had entirely stripped 'Mizuki' of the resolve to fight as she collapsed to her knees and began shaking her head in despair.

“...No... no... it wasn't supposed to be like this... I was supposed to get revenge on Midori for... for cutting me out! I'd show the boy, not just the fact he lived, but that he could die... her claims of divinity would fall flat. She'd lose credibility...”

Wow... coughing up answers like that? Lucky break. Although by the way she was rambling, I wasn't so sure about her sanity though.

“Saori.” I looked up, seeing Kerrigan standing there and looking normal again. Iris was off to her side, giving a sort of relieved smile. “She's cracked.”

“Yeah. And you did it.”

“Well, me and Iris,” Kerrigan blushed a little. 'Mizuki's' babbling now was nearly incomprehensible, but finally Iris approached her, the ghost girl pushing back her hair to reveal to the woman of Darkness her face.

“You're pathetic, you know that? You aren't Mizuki. You don't even recognize my face, do you?” That was the first time I had heard Iris speak... for a ghost she had a surprising clarity.

The woman couldn't even shake her head before falling backwards. She was dead.

“My name, Iris... meant absolutely nothing to you. The name I gave Mizuki Rajoshin, the real Mizuki Rajoshin, eighteen months ago... you couldn't remember it. It's just like I thought.”

“Just like what?” I asked.

Iris looked at me and shrugged. “That woman... she used Hallowed Prisms to extract revenge on the woman that gave them to her in the first place. This 'Midori' woman... we can find out more after we identify her, right... big sis?”

The last few words were in stark contrast to the others, warm and lovingly addressed to Kerrigan. She took notice and smiled back. “Sure. We can take things from there. Come to think of it, you ought to find Keston and Anser, Saori. They ran deeper into the library while I tried to hold 'Mizuki' off... they're probably still there.”

“Yeah,” I said before heading past the two Tiam women. After a moment, though, I paused. “Iris.”

“Yes, Miss Ichimonji?”

“That thing you mentioned before... with the names. What did it mean?”

“Oh, that was really simple. During my time in Japan, right before I died, I used the Japanese equivalent to my name. When I met Mizuki Rajoshin, I told her that name instead of my real one.

“I said my name was 'Ayame'.”

[Zhanneel]

Oh, what a crazy next chapter! Awesome job Morri .

Now one of my favorite quotes ever: "Stupid wall... I was far different. I was a grad student." See! That's why I want to go to grad school! *imagines self with one hand on hip, the other wielding a textbook, wearing a resplendent Super-Grad cape billowing in the wind, emblazoned with a giant G*

I see you picked a fitting name for Saori's axe as well. If I'm not mistaken, it's Greek for "river of lamenting"? I'm guessing this comes straight from her past.

And the Iris/Kerrigan combo was so cool ^^. *sniffles at the sisterly love*

Midori Ai, yet another complicating factor to throw into the mix. Everyone's just passing out Hallowed Prisms like candy on Halloween. Only these are the kind of people who would give out smarties made with glass and 3 Musketeers with embedded razor blades.

I'm sure I'm the only who is confused by something, so I'll just ask it now to alleviate that burden. Making sure I have this right. There is the Woman of Darkness and Kai-Gara, two different people. Oh wait, and Midori Ai. Saori made a mutual agreement with Anser that she would stick around until the Woman of Darkness was taken care of. My confusion starts here: when the Iris/Kerrigan duo pummels the crud out of her and eventually kills her, does that mean the pact is broken, since the Woman of Darkness has been "taken care of"? I'm probably being too literal, so I would think not, since I'd miss Saori's new powers =(. Also I'm sure I'm overlooking something, so I'm betting it's my fault I'm confused.

Overall, very nice read, loving the fight scenes! And the humor ^^.

[MorriganAensland]

The pact isn't broken until they both agree to it.

[LinneaKou]

Great chapter!!

Huh, I always figured Iris/Ayame would harbor some kind of thirst for vengeance against Mizuki. Well, at least she didn't let her big sister get killed by a phony Candidate. Although that last bit is confusing me beyond all comprehension...

But then again, I've had to do hard thinking all day and I'm beat. X_X *headdesk*

[MorriganAensland]

To an extent, yes. Iris is very bitter about Mizuki killing her, but she also feels angry at Brauner and the Shiko for feeding her a false story about the whole thing in the first place, because if she had known the truth, she most likely would not have fought Mizuki or died.

[MorriganAensland]

The false

“Anser? Anser?”

The woman of Darkness, who had masqueraded as this 'Mizuki Rajoshin', was dead thanks to the combined efforts of Kerrigan and her little sister Iris. It was quite a surprise she could talk so fluently, not to mention why she had suddenly decided to show off this talent now, but I had bigger things to worry about.

For one; locate Anser and Keston. They were up here, judging by the fact that the Dai Makai hadn't fully spread here it would've been the best place to hide. I was also quite familiar with the library since I had often come here to study, so it didn't take too long to locate that one little corner. Anser was curled up in the fetal position, Keston slumped down in a chair. I guess he figured out the threat was averted.

“You killed her?” Keston asked when he noticed I was there.

“No. Kerrigan did with the help of her little sister. And it wasn't one of the Candidates anyways. It was another Hallowed Prism user.”

“What?” Keston stood up. “But wasn't she opposing-”

“Indeed, which makes this all a lot more confusing.” I snorted in frustration before looking at Anser. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Eventually,” the blonde-haired incubus told me. “That kind of display of Dai Makai would scare any little kid that learned to respect those that used it. Or at least the users that are still alive.”

“Well, I think we've got one of them on our side.” I smiled. “Kerrigan's little sister Iris. She was one of them.”

It slowly dawned on Keston just who Iris really was. Judging by the looks of it...

“Her... Ayame?!? Unbelievable, I mean-”

There was a flicker of gray behind him, Iris appearing as she nodded. “I assure you...” her words were entirely drowned out by Keston shrieking like a little girl, “I have no intention of antagonizing any one of you.”

Keston's yelp caused Anser to stir, turning to face Iris as well before pressing his entire body flush against the wall. Come to think of it, neither of them had actually met Iris before... and I guess she had been on the wrong side during that battle of 2012.

“But you-”

“I was duped, just like all the other Candidates,” she snapped. “I was as much a victim as any one of the people that died at M--.” She bowered her head in a sign of mock defeat after a sigh. “Of course, if you still feel uncomfortable around me, I can understand why.”

“And she's dead? The woman of Darkness?” Anser asked. “This isn't a case where she's going to be bother us in the weeks to come?”

“No, Anser. She's dead. And we're going to get the authorities to identify her, and we're going to get all of this behind us. I promise.” In spite of wearing my glasses, I did the best I could to try to sound reassuring. It was hard work, what with the glasses and all. And yes, I know that makes no sense.
_
The child

“Well, the worst of it is over, that's for sure,” Keston sighed as he collapsed back into Shot's sofa. She was running another late night, what with running around and doing press-conferences as well as telling everyone in Interpol what had happened. Of course, she was refraining from mentioning a few details, like 'Oh, yes. And I summoned a demon who's actually an underage boy who's living with me without any other adult supervision'. This left me and my big brother at her apartment again, whilst Kerrigan took care of discerning the woman of Darkness's true identity.

It was a shock to the system that Kerrigan was the older sister of one of Candidates, though. I mean, well, what had been the odds of it? What's more, that Iris would stick her neck out for-

No, I knew the reason. She wanted to protect her big sister. I had to stop looking at her as just some menacing figure that nearly killed Mizuki Rajoshin and accept her in spite of her flaws. Besides, the two women I had lived with for nearly a week now were murderers. They had their justifications, as did Iris.

“Anser?”

“What?” I looked at my big brother as he sighed and shook his head. “Sorry. Just a little caught up in my own thoughts.”

“Yeah. I was betting that was the case. So what's on your mind, anyways?”

“Well, a lot. Like where our parents are, for one. I mean, after the battle of 2012, there was a big scattering. And, well, they're still missing. And then there's the Hallowed Prisms and where they fit into all of this too!”

“... I know how you feel,” my big brother said as he pulled me close into a hug. He was only fifteen, and this was a lot of responsibility for him. “But I know we'll find them. Yomi's a huge place, especially for just the two of us. We'll find them eventually.

“And speaking of home,” he continued, with a bit more seriousness, “We know that the woman antagonizing us wasn't Jun. Or Mizuki. I hate to say it, but it might be smart for us to go home.”

“What? But what about the Hallowed-”

“That's, well, I'm not sure. But I mean, that Ikki guy certainly held his own for awhile. And Giselle's familiar with how they work too, so they'll be fine.”

“You think so?”

“Anser, they're three profession assassins -one of which can get help from her Candidate sister-, and the fourth is someone who's spent months on end tracking down Prism users. I'm sure they'll be fine.”

I had to admit he was right. And Saori had cut that crystal monster up with nothing more than a basic kitchen knife. All our respective pacts alloted to our Towers were two large and conspicuous weapons and the ability to sense whenever someone would actually use-

Wait. “But what about actually detecting when someone would use the Prisms?” Keston raised an eyebrow in confusion, and I realized I'd have to further elaborate. “Well, both Shot and Saori have sensed someone using the Prisms, and in Shot's case it was really important! I don't want to leave them if it means they lose an advantage, no matter how small it is!”

If there was one thing I could ever count on Keston to know, it was knowing how little he really knew. And looking at me, I guess he understood this was a decision that really wasn't ours to make alone. Instead he simply rested his hands on my shoulders.

“I hope you're right, Anser.”

“For the time being, we can trust Shot, Keston. I know we'll be fine.”
_
The false

“Well, bummer,” I said while standing there, munching on a pretzel stick, outside the psychology building. I had just had the news broken to me that due to the horrid abomination that had come into existence yesterday, causing the deaths of numerous faculty members and students, classes were canceled until further notice. This was actually kinda good thing and a bad thing, because for one, no class meant I could focus on the whole UN ambassador deal.

The bad thing was that my time at L++ amounted to most of my interaction with other people, and with classes canceled, some people were bound to go home. People possibly in possession of Hallowed Prisms.

“Heeeey!!!! Heeeeeeey!!!!!!!!! Saori!!!!!!”

I was nearly tackled from behind by the person I assumed -for a brief second of foolish nostalgia- to be Usagi Sekishiki. In the ensuing confusion, I also ended up dropping my pretzels.

And of course, it couldn't be her. Usagi was dead. She had been dead for two whole years.
_
“Fate's fate, right? End of the line?”

“Yeah.”

BANG!
_
...And I had killed her.

But no, this was Eri, Eri in a noticeably better mood that last I had seen her. As we walked down the street -she had been looking for me for hours and eventually guessed I didn't hear class was canceled- she told me the great news. She had found someone else willing to appraise her newest batch of pottery, and she was hoping the second opinion would be a positive one at that.

“And I'll even get you some more pretzels while you wait since I made you drop your old ones.”

“What... what do you mean 'wait'?” I'm sure the quizzical looks I was giving let Eri know what was on my mind.

“Well,” Eri gulped, “I really don't want to be alone, you know? The stress, the fear of my works really being as bad and crude as people are saying... I'm kinda afraid to face that fact alone. You think you could, like, be there? For support? I mean, I know it might be a lot to ask but-”

But nothing. I knew what she was talking about, and I knew what one too many blows to the morale could do to an upstanding person. So I did the only thing a true friend would do.

“Of course I'll help out!” I gave her the most epic thumbs-up I could afford, with my voice a little too loud. I immediately blushed on mental command and acted nervous as I looked around. To the casual observer, these were mere acts of a deranged woman-child. For me, well, they were coping mechanisms.

“Great. Let's get you those pretzels and we can be on our way then.”
_
The student

“Where do you think they are?” I asked as I looked around the student union. “What with most school operations at L++ aside from housing and the cafeteria going on hiatus until further notice, the place was pretty busy. I was also going to just hang out with Leona, Bridget, and Erica today, and Leona and I couldn't find them!

“Don't worry, Giselle,” Leona told me. She was starting to get over the whole Hallowed Prisms incident, and I hoped the same was true for Erica. “We said to meet up at noon and it's only ten minutes after. Just give them some time; I know they'll pop up.”

“I hope so, I mean-”

I was almost thrown to the ground as half a dozen men and women in sunglasses and suits advanced from behind shoving us out of the way, briefly mentioning they were “Security, move aside,” over and over again. I felt like having a word with them, but then I stopped once I saw...

Her.

Part of me swore it was Midori Ai. But that was the same part that was still convinced that she was somehow related to Anser. But then there was something about the way that woman moved, carried herself... something weird that almost made me want to follow her to hell and back.

She seemed to be in her late thirties, or maybe a little older. Like Anser she had that dark violet hair and green eyes, and she was wearing a very prim and proper puce business outfit. I wasn't the only one... and I just... couldn't take my eyes off of her.

She continued walking, and I had the strong sense that nobody else could really focus on anything other than her as she simply walked through the doors. Quickly combing my memory, I realized she was going to the library, or what was left of it anyways...

“... roheim...”

What?

“Vega-Stroheim... Giselle Vega-Stroheim! Come on and snap out of it!” I suddenly realized I was being shaken by someone behind me and then realized it was Erica that was talking to me.

“W-what?” I turned around, seeing that she and Bridget had found us. “What're you talking about?”

“You were staring there like a total dolt for like five minutes!” Leona said in a concerned tone. “I didn't know what had really come over you!”

“I almost went through the same thing too,” Bridget sighed. “Erica kept me from doing anything really stupid, though, and-”

“Wait,” Leona said as she pointed at the reddish-brown haired Erica. “You didn't feel anything too?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “It felt like everyone else though was following her like a bunch of blind idiots though. I practically had to pin Bridget down to make sure she didn't do anything crazy.”

“Same here,” Leona sighed. The pink haired girl walked to the door of the union and looked out. I followed her and tried to get a grasp of what was going on. I was surprised that in a mere matter of moments, a podium had been raised for the woman. There was still some kind of attraction I was feeling towards her, but it seemed muted. Maybe it was the distance, I wasn't too sure.

And then her voice -I knew it was her voice- came through the intercom and began echoing through the building.

“Students and faculty of L++...”
_
“You do not know me, but I know of you. I know of each one of you and the stresses you face each day. These are burdens we all face, and sometimes... we're just not up for it. I will be frank, many people are not up for it. We will fail, and leave nothing behind... if we are lucky.

“I am talking here today, in front of a library believed by some to be haunted, for two reasons. One is to commemorate all those that died here just yesterday. The other is to address the issue of the ghosts that were indeed here and how we can take steps to not avoid becoming like them.

“Ask yourself this... when you fell into bed last night, did you think '… Wow, I could've done something better'? I know lots of people that do. Those ghosts were just like that, they died and couldn't give up on their frustrations... in fact, the term 'ghost' isn't even that accurate. They are mere remains of one's emotions and memories, shadows of what they once were.

“Do you want to be like them? I doubt it. They cannot let what doesn't matter go. In fact, most of you can't, to varying degrees. But I don't hold it against you, because I am here... to show you the way.

“Our time here is precious and short. Why argue about frivolous issues when all you really need is love. Think about it. When can love lead us wrongly? Follow your hearts, achieve your dreams. If you have trouble, ask me for help, because I will be there. No matter when or where, I will be there to show you the way.

“My name is Megami Sato, and I oversee the religious group Order of the Goddess, and our branch here at L++ is expanding quickly, so go seek comfort there when the need arises. I assure you that-”
_
Suddenly the soothing voice was replaced with loud and painful static before a loud klaxon blared. As irritating as it was, it did help to bring me back to my senses.

That... was Megami Sato? Why did she look so much like Anser and Midori? And... what was this, for lack of a better word, glamour she seemed to hold? Urgh, I wished Kerrigan was in today, she'd at least have something to say on the matter. Instead I was totally in the-

“I've heard that voice befor- ACK!” Leona and Erica spoke almost in perfect unison, complete with the humorous jumping backward. After a moment where Bridget and I were both expecting them to go into a comical sequence of mimicking each other's actions that would escalate into the utterly bizarre, which never happened, they finally began again.

“I... don't think I ever told you how I got my Prism in the first place...” Leona said. “It was in a dream, or at least that's how I remembered it. And there was a very compassionate voice, asking me if I would accept the power to achieve my heart's desire. I said 'sure', and I woke up with that jewelry. Next thing you know, I'm getting perfects on my papers. And the voice was definitely Megami's. What about you, Erica? Different?”

“Not at all,” she answered. “I mean, I go to sleep, hear the voice, take the offer and bam! I can pin people down with those Prisms and win races. If it weren't for Saori, then...” her voice trailed off.

And it was then that Bridget quietly spoke. “Do you think that Megami's... responsible?”

By now the alarms had silenced, mirroring the grave nature of the situation on our hands. They were honestly asking me the question because they themselves didn't know. They were asking someone four or five years their younger, who tragically didn't know either.

I mean, I knew of the Hallowed Prisms, but in the months of my crusade against them, I had never actually gotten a grasp of who was responsible. Kerrigan said that the Order of the Goddess stayed out of the public eye by functioning quite normally and staying out of trouble. My enemy had been in plain sight all along, quite possibly... and I had been too stupid to see it.

“Look, everyone,” I tried to say as I looked at the trio. “I'd love to stay here but, well, duty calls. And I think this kind of development is really important. And Boss needs to know.”

Indeed she did.
_
The preceding

“So... any idea why you can talk now?” I asked Iris in between sips of coffee. In one week, the UN Ambassador, Audrey McCready, was going to be giving a speech in Quebec. Which meant Brian Lernan would be gunning for her, and I needed to go through every plan and counter-plan he might think up. Thankfully there was a lot of material on him, which let me get a feel for his style.

“Probably that woman's declaration she was Mizuki. I'm still... upset about that point in my life,” she answered. Iris didn't look much different now, although I did have a name to go with her murderer: Mizuki Rajoshin. I'd bury the hatchet someday, but not in the foreseeable future. “I think I'm... well, splintered.”

“Splintered?” I looked up from the documents at her. “How so?”

“Well... I know of the concept that one's existence is divided into three separate pieces; the body, mind, and soul. The body stands for physical existence and is eventually shed, the soul is the ideals and aspirations and moves on through reincarnations, but the mind can linger... like a ghost. I guess a proper term would be a Remnant Psyche.”

“For a dead girl you seem to know a lot.”

“Uh, well... I guess you could say all I have left are those memories. Including when... well, I guess you could say I was on the wrong side during the battle of 2012.”

I didn't really want to say anything, and I hated that fact. I could've easily said whoever this Mizuki person was had no right to kill her, but I wasn't there. And taking a life was, well, I had made a career out of it, so I had no right to criticize Rajoshin for it either. And yet, looking at my dead little sister's pale specter, I knew I had to say something.

“Look... Iris...” standing up I was wondering how I was really going to pull this off. After all, she wasn't solid. Eventually I just ran with it and tried my best to embrace her form. The gesture didn't go without understanding. “That doesn't matter. We're going to take down those responsible for the Hallowed Prisms. Just... just after we take down Lernan.”

“Thanks, Kerri.”
_
The false

I could see Eri nervously fidgeting next to a few of her works as a slightly heavyset and short balding man eyed them. Judging by the looks he was giving, her newest batch weren't too bad. I couldn't really tell myself, I was never really good at art, but who really cared. I just hung back, quietly chowing down on my pretzels.

“Uh... well...? Are they good?” she eventually asked.

The man turned to her and then let out a hearty, albeit expected and almost clichéd, laugh. “Certainly so, Miss Desrin!” He quickly grabbed and then shook her hand. “I'm sorry, it's just I was wondering which one I should actually buy!”

Buy? They were that good?

Eri seemed pretty surprised too, almost stammering as she tried to ask him what he was offering her. She looked up to me in exhilaration, and it was great to know things had turned out well for her. Considering how messed up my life was becoming a few lucky breaks here or there, even if only for people I knew, were certainly welcomed.

They quickly reached an agreement for one of the works, featuring lots and lots of dragons painted on it. Dragons weren't really that appealing to me, but hey. To each his own. All in all, Eri made off with a bandit with a few hundred dollars, upfront, for something that had only taken her a few days to make.

God, I wish I had a job like that.
_
We were laughing about it mere moments later, walking down the street. It was so nice to see her, well, happy again. As I have said before, I've seen what happens to people when they get hit with too much bad news, and I was glad to know the crisis had been averted with-

Wait. Why were we stopped?

“Oh my god. Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmy-” Eri was stumbling backwards, tears already welling up in her eyes, hands covering up her mouth. I turned slowly and felt my world come crashing down again.

The appraiser lay, crumpled in the heap, dead. And in my career as an Interpol agent, I knew the look on his face told one thing. This was a man who had suddenly realized life wasn't worth living anymore. So he did the only natural thing. He stepped out into the middle of traffic and let himself be killed.

The sound of ceramics crashing into the ground caused me to turn to Eri, the girl horrified beyond measure. And to me... it felt like... like two years ago. That torturous day two years ago that made me, well, the messed up lunatic I was today.

This post has been edited by MorriganAensland: Dec 20 2008, 3:52 AM