Betrayed Consequences [The Return Book 2 (SM, R.5)]

[Sunshine Temple]

As mentioned in this thread. I had been working on The Return for a while.

And Blood Debts got me thinking about revising it.

Well that first link was the first book. Now we've got the sequel.
Alexia is dead, Ranma's dealing with her new brood, and Usagi's starting to see things getting frayed with her own Senshi.

The Return
Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 1: Sanguine Salutation
Chapter 2: Family Visitation
Chapter 3: Legitimate Developments
Chapter 4: Treacherous Conditions Ahead
Chapter 5: Broken Bonds
Chapter 6: Intense Testing
Interlude: Girl Talk
Chapter 7: Silver Sisterhood
Chapter 8: Golden Plan
Chapter 9: Preparations and Expansions
Chapter 10: SteelRain
Chapter 11: Investments and Wagers
Chapter 12: Sharp Rescue
Chapter 13: Artificial Ideologies
Chapter 14: Higher Supervision
End Book 2

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 1: Sanguine Salutation
Formerly: Respect and Reliability(i)



Willard International Consulting Cadet Kuno bit her lip as she read the briefing report again. The document fell to the tray in front of her seat after she finished. Sighing, she looked out the window of the Company 717 jet. She had read the document twice during the Northbound flight, and had been briefed in person by a blank-faced Colonel before leaving the 14th Training and Development Grounds.

The young woman unconsciously shifted in her seat. After sixteen months of constant, daily use her sidearm had become an extension of her body. It was also far less bulky than her rifle. She flipped over to the second item in the briefing packet. Unlike the terse text of the WIC document, this was a personal letter. The handwriting was feminine and a bit sloppy, but it was familiar. The attached photographs were even more disheartening.

After reading that letter again, she turned her attention to the others on the plane. It seemed a more solid activity than worrying about her... family. Normally, she spent her leave time on base training or studying, but this... this warranted returning home. She then got up and made her way to the bathroom.

Unlike her experience at the 14th, no one had the brown trim of Recruitment and Training Section on their uniforms. In this plane the, black of Operations dominated, though she could make out a few agents wearing the green of Science and Technology Section. In the last couple rows were a couple agents with dark violet trim, marking them as Communications and Cryptography. Kodachi's eyes caught a lone officer with the orange trim of Historical Research at the last row near the cramped bathroom.

He looked up with curiosity, which she fully understood. She was the only cadet on the plane, by far the most junior member here. The others on the plane had to wonder why someone like her was on this flight.

She smirked at her reflection after she finished her business. She was certain that some of the Operations officers had to know why she was here. After all, they had to be briefed on the Pattern D... situation, too.



***************



"What's wrong, honey?" Ranma asked as she sat down next to her youngest daughter. The brood mother saw the young demon fingering a set of keys and guessed what the problem was. Her first guess was bad dreams. She was having her own... odd dreams.

"I've been trying; I really have," the powder-blue haired demon said.

"You can tell me, Nabiki." Ranma assured. She automatically wrapped her arm around her daughter's waist.

The young teen gave a fanged smile. "I am Nabiki." She looked down at her pink skirt and pink accented white-blouse. "Aren't I?"

"You're who you want to be," Ranma said with a smile. It seemed too straightforward, but given her own changes Ranma was starting to see the wisdom in that stance.

"I want to be..." Nabiki closed her blue eyes.

"You can drive your car. Sure, you'll have to move the seat way up, but you can do it, and the Company can take care of the paperwork."

"Put my age back to seventeen then. Yeah, I look that old," Nabiki laughed. "Will fit right in with me going back to school."

Ranma raised an eyebrow.

"I can't even reach the pedals! I had to move my seat to use my own car. As for school, I don't even look fifteen!"

"We'll work around it. I don't look nineteen. but I go into bars," Ranma reminded.

The sad succubus gave her mother a sardonic look. "Mom, when you wear your leathers you look like a twenty-something biker babe."

"Maybe that's the solution to your problems. A nice motorcycle. That way you won't have to worry about pedals as much" Ranma joked.

"Can I get it in pink?" Nabiki smirked back.

"Err... talk to your father."

"He did make plenty off of those land deals with the Drake." Nabiki nodded..

"You're not serious are you?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Nabiki innocently sais.

Ranma sighed, her youngest was taking lessons from her oldest again. "You know what I mean, young lady. You're adorable, smart, and manipulative."

"Of course I am. I'm a succubus!"

"Feeling better?" Ranma asked with a little grin.

"Hey..." Nabiki blinked. "I guess so. I'm still worried about school and stuff."

"You have time. The others are still recovering," Ranma hugged.

"Yeah, Aurora and Akane –well- they've got mates to help them."

"I think you're being premature on Ucchan and Aurora," Ranma said, noting the jealousy in Nabiki's voice.

"Just because they haven't had sex yet doesn't mean they're not going to. They're not the only couple being bashful." Nabiki dryly remarked.

"Yeah," Ranma coughed. "Um, what about school?"

Nabiki sighed. "If you don't want me to get a pink hog just tell me."

Ranma narrowed her eyes. "Maybe later."

"Fine," Nabiki then fidgeted with her hair bows. "I can't go back to school as Nabiki Tendo. I'm also a bit too young."

"You don't want to go to high school?"

Nabiki nervously fidgeted and leaned onto her mother.

Ranma looked at her unsure daughter. Nabiki was getting better, but her confidence was still fragile.

"I do... but junior high may be easier," Nabiki confessed.

Ranma smiled thinly. "You're not one to take the easy way. If you were I'd be talking to Yuki."

"I'm still sweet and cute," the young demon reminded.

"Sweet? You're a manipulative, devious little demon who did what she had to do to survive and hold onto herself."

Nabiki blinked. "You... sound... proud."

"Well of course I do." Ranma gave a fanged grin to her daughter. "Your little scam put Alexia just where I wanted her."

"All I did was make sure the best mother would win." Nabiki's smirk seemed too malevolent for her makeup and hairstyle. She was then hugged by her purring mother. "Mom, I wasn't trying to be cute!"

"Oh, sorry." Ranma blushed. She then paused at the ringing sound coming out of her pants. She then pulled out a slim piece of metal and plastic. She scowled at the device.

Nabiki was curious as to how her mother had managed to fit the cell-phone in there. The pockets in Ranma's leather pants were largely decorative.

"Really? She's coming back on leave. Yes, I'm sure Nariko will be very happy," Ranma paused, talking into the phone. "Jacob... you did brief her right? No, I know you'd give her a bunch of files or something, but did you actually give her any pictures? Something to drive home that her big brother's now a succubus." Ranma then listened to Jacob's explanations. "I see."

"Kodachi's coming back?" Nabiki asked with wide eyes.

Still holding her company phone to her ear, Ranma turned to Nabiki. "Yes she is. Why? You know something about her?"

"Spoiled, haughty brat. Unstable too," Nabiki stated.

"The Company really knows how to pick 'em." Ranma muttered.

"Well, I guess she's probably gotten better. WIC training did help Kasumi, after all."

"I can see Kasumi scowling at that," Ranma remarked.

"Kodachi never did blow up a science lab, though there were plenty of rumors about what she did to win that gymnastics tournament."

"Oh dear," Ranma turned back to her phone. "Jacob, you sure Kodachi can handle this?"

The redhead's purple eyes flicked as she listened to his response. "Right. I'll let her meet Nariko first then."

"Mom, talk to Nariko first," Nabiki advised. "Tatewaki did not get along with his sister."

"Good idea," Ranma said as she looked at her daughter's concerned face. "Jacob, I'm going to call back after I talk to Nariko. Okay, good." She then hung up the phone and slipped it back into her pants.

Ranma then left out the back door of the house and, with Nabiki following her, walked to the dojo. Inside she found her other kids training in their normal Lycra unitards.

"Hi Mom!" Nariko said while her sisters gave similar greetings. Ukyou and Aurora stopped their sparring and looked over at their mother.

"Is something wrong?" Nariko's mate asked. She noticed the odd expression on her mother's face too.

"Nariko... your sister is on leave, would you like to see her?"

"My sister?" Nariko blinked. "Oh yes... her." She bit her lower lip. "I sent her a letter. That's why she's coming. I also put in some photos."

"Nari-chan, you didn't put any... racy photo in it?" Ranma asked as delicately as she could.

"I wanted to but Akane advised against it," Nariko blushed.

"Really?" Ranma blinked and turned to Akane with a raised eyebrow.

"I am trying to be nice," Akane said. "Is that so unbelievable?"

"A little bit," Aurora noted, while Nabiki coughed.

"No, it's great that you're being a good girl," Ranma reassured. After Alexia had taken Akane and brainwashed her into being a demonic daughter, twice, things had been a bit delicate.

"This is Nariko's little human sister?" Ukyou asked.

"Yes, she's a cadet with the Company," Ranma replied.

"I wonder what the Company does to it's new recruits," Ukyo pondered.

"Couldn't be worse than what we went though. We could have some fun," Aurora muttered with a sly gin.

"Don't you even think about starting that again," Ukyou sighed.

"Oh come on, it would be fun."

"Fun? A demoness shouldn't call the hazing the Assembly of Man gives to its new acolytes fun."

"No picking on my little sister," Nariko growled.

"Yes Nariko," Aurora said with her head slightly bowed.

"I guess you're ready. I mean you sent that letter, without telling me," Ranma said.

"Sorry Mommy, I thought you wouldn't be interested. Like when I talk to my father," Nariko softly said.

"So it's fine if she comes over today?" Ranma steeled herself. She knew her daughter was trying to be cute. Nariko only called her Mommy now when she wanted something.

A smile that was quite out of place on Nariko's face momentarily appeared before being replaced by her normally sweet expression. "Yeah, it'll be fun."



***************



A pale man morosely looked down the aisles as he made his way through the store. He felt honored that the Master had given him this task. The Path of the Will was depending on him to memorize the layout of the building.

He stopped his cart with a confused expression and wandered into the storage section. One of the workers politely ushered him back into the store proper. The teenage girl helpfully suggested that the disheveled man check out aisle five. That was where the store kept it's selection of board games.

The pale man smiled at the young woman. He sincerely hoped that she was not working tomorrow, but that would be a Saturday. As he pretended to look through board games he replayed the prophecy in his head.

Innocence would be their lure, and with it they would capture Her. Numbers were irrelevant. If they did nothing billions would die. Compared to that, the patrons of a single toy store were....

He blinked and added a board game to his cart. They would not be insignificant. Their sacrifice would stop the greatest threat to humanity. A monster that wreathed herself in the form of an angel. She truly was a queen of lies. She was no savior.

Once again, the pale man thanked the Master for providing him with the clarity to see the truth. He also thanked the book that had revealed the truth to them all. It was of no consequence what the world thought of them. Their mission was to save humanity, not be loved by it.



***************



Kodachi controlled her breathing as she knocked on the door. Flanking her were two operations agents that kept giving each other knowing smiles. The cadet was getting worried. Her briefing said that the... brood her sister was in was friendly enough.

However, Colonel Edwards, the Colonel Jacob "Executor" Edwards, himself had very sternly given a set of rules when dealing with these demons. Kodachi wondered what these demons had done to warrant such treatment. This was beyond what was normally done with Registered Non-Humans, even with those that worked as Company Freelancers.

This brood, including her former brother, had to be very valuable to the Company. Kodachi knocked again and the door opened, revealing the red-eyed demon that multiple briefings asserted was her sibling. The cadet studied the Pattern-D. The pale skin, envious proportions, lack of human imperfections, and strange eyes hinted at the girl's true nature. Kodachi flinched when she noticed the expression change on the demon's face.

"Sis!" Nariko happily cried as she jumped forward and embraced the startled agent.

Kodachi's arms were pinned to her sides. As the unexpectedly warm and soft body constricted the cadet's body, her hand automatically tried to reach for her sidearm.

"Now, now sis, play nice," Nariko mischievously whispered into her sister's ear before breaking the hug. She knew all about her sister's tricks.

To the amusement of the pair of agents that escorted her, Kodachi shuddered at the contact. "You... my... sister?" she blurted out, not regaining her composure.

"Can you please come in before getting all snooty?" Nariko asked keeping her tone pleasant.

"Father's not here? I'm not surprised. You don't even live with him anymore, not like he'd want to help." Kodachi said as she entered the Tendo house. It was spacious, far more than the barracks she had been living in, but it was far smaller than the house she had grown up in.

Nariko slowly turned to face her sister again. The serene innocence was gone from her face, and when she spoke it was flat and direct. "Insult Father again, and you will regret it."

"What? Did he suddenly become father of the year?"

"Yes," Nariko stated. "He saved me. When no one else would help me he was there." Her voice wavered at this last part.

"How ironic." Kodachi sighed. "I screw up and get shipped off to military school, but his golden boy becomes a succubus, and suddenly father becomes perfect and supportive. Lovely. Does he still see harlots that resemble mother or does he simply bed your new mother?"

Kodachi suddenly found her legs swept out from under her. Training kicked in; she tried to keep her balance. She did get her hand on her sidearm. Her retention lessons kicked in and she kept pressure on her weapon, but her head slammed onto the floor jarring her vision for a second.

Her gun was ripped out of her hands as she was knocked over. When it refocused, she found all of her limbs pinned and a spade-ended tail hovering over her torso.

Pity marked Nariko's face as it loomed over her sister's. "You're still not ready to be an agent."

"Whorish bitch!" Kodachi spat.

"Wonder if Red's got any beer here," Gabriel said as he walked by the fighting sisters.

"I'm not sure I want to look in that fridge," Sophie cautioned as she followed her partner to the kitchen. "Cleanup hasn't recovered many complete bodies these last few missions."

"What's going on?" Kasumi asked stopping her troops before they could open the refrigerator.

"Just some sibling rivalry, Ma'am," Gabriel replied.

"I see." Kasumi then walked over to the foyer and told the two sisters to go outside if they were going to make a mess.

Nariko nodded and then dragged her sister, who unsuccessfully tried to get her gun back, to the back yard. It was hard because not only did the demon know the Company training on weapon retrievals, but she also had a far broader knowledge of various arm and wrist locks. It was frustrating to be treated like an unruly student.

Kodachi finally freed her wrist from Nariko's grip, and scowled at the redhead lounging on a loveseat on the back porch. "You're the brood mother."

"At least you can figure out that much," Nariko sniffed.

"Nari-chan, you said you wanted to meet your sister alone," Ranma said rising from her seat.

"First impressions are very important," Nariko agreed.

"I suppose so. When I first met Kasumi she was planning to kill me," Ranma said.

"When is father coming?" Nariko asked.

"He should be on his way," Ranma replied.

Kodachi frowned at the lack of weight in her holster. She tried to keep her face neutral, but in addition to that failing her hand flexed.

"I guess you've got a ways before graduation," Ranma noted.

Kodachi's gaze hardened. It became even colder when the redhead started walking around her with a critical eye.

"You lost your weapon. That's just shameful," Ranma said. "You're alert, that's good, but you're still too excitable."

"Good eye, Red," Kasumi smirked as she held Kodachi's sidearm in her hands. "Our cadet here is still more in the academic part of her training. She needs more field experience."

"She does have the cold and still body language down though," Ranma laughed.

"Indeed." Kasumi then handed the gun back to Kodachi.

"You're Lieutenant Tendo aren't you, Ma-am?" Kodachi asked after holstering her weapon.

"Yes, and you should be grateful for this opportunity. Most cadet's don't get to have a nice chat with an NH. You might learn something."

"Nice? With her?"

Nariko smirked.

Ranma should have expected this. She remembered another introverted succubus that got out of her shell... when around the right personalities.

"Yes cadet, nice. As in all your limbs are still attached and they're not eating your liver," Kasumi explained.

For a brief moment Kodachi wondered if this was all some twisted Company test. The older cadets had told her that the examinations got harder and more elaborate.

"Maybe Sister can be introduced to the rest of the family?" Nariko asked with a smile.

"I suppose so," Ranma allowed.

"Finally!" a voice from above said. It was followed by a scrambling noise on the roof of the porch and a pair of succubae landing on the lawn just in front of the porch.

"Yes, quite green," Aurora smiled.

"All cadets really are the same," Ukyou remarked.

"And what would you know of that?" Kodachi asked, regaining some confidence.

"Former Assembly of Man Acolyte Hibiki, student of Father Oslo," Aurora smirked as she summoned her green aura.

Ukyou rolled her eyes.

"You've got quite the collection don't you?" Kodachi said to Ranma.

"You haven't seen half of it." Ranma then shouted at the dojo.

Kodachi blinked at the two figures that exited. She had a passing familiarity with the two youngest Tendos. "At least Akane finally came out of her prudish shell and admitted her deviancy," she said looking the toned and nearly naked succubus over.

"Deviant? You do know the basics about succubae right?" Ukyou asked. Having been both a brunette and a blonde, she could say that hair color did not influence intelligence, and while it was nice to see dense people with dark hair she wished she knew more smart people with blonde hair.

"You're still an arrogant little human, I see," Akane growled before hugging her mate.

"Give her a chance, guys," Nabiki said. "She can redeem herself."

"You're...." Kodachi fumbled unable to articulate her point.

"Cute? Adorable? Petite?"

"Nabiki," Kodachi corrected.

"Yes that too."

"Nabiki never wore pink."

"She's also not under 5 feet tall, nor is she the younger sister. Of course she was also not a succubus either." Nabiki's amusement was betrayed by the twinkling in her sky blue eyes.

"But you still have your quick wit," Kodachi remarked dryly.

"There's the, 'thought she was above the rules', haughty priss I loathed," Nabiki smiled.

"And are you the amoral grifter who would take the fillings from a dead man?" Kodachi asked with a similar expression.

"I'm now a predator that can seduce, drain, eat, and loot said man's body."

"Call me when she's proven herself useful," Aurora dismissed. "Come on Ucchan, you can show me some of those moves Nariko and Eclipse were teaching us."

Ukyou laughed. "Good idea," she said as she followed Aurora to the dojo.

"Remember to clean up when you're done," Ranma reminded.

"And try not to scream that loudly," Akane grumbled. She gave a pleading look to her mate.

Nariko moved her hand to her mate's waist and shook her head. "Sorry, you're still on no sex for two more days."

"But I've been real good to my sisters." Akane whined.

"You're withholding sex from Akane," Kodachi said.

"She was mean to her little sisters," Nariko explained.

"Akane wants to have sex with you, and you're saying no."

"Yeah..."

"The same Akane you lusted after... is the one who's begging you for sex."

Nariko rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you should tell her about your crush on Sunshine too?" Nabiki reminded.

"I did fall in love with Mother when I first laid eyes on her," Nariko said.

"Of course, she's a top notch seductress."

"Hey!" Ranma said.

"You did look very attractive in your Goth school girl uniform, mother," Nariko said.

"Yeah, maybe we can all wear that when we go back to school." Akane proposed. It was better than the normal uniform.

"Maybe," Ranma sighed.

Kodachi cocked her head. Interesting sounds were coming from the outbuilding that the blonde and orange haired demons had retreated to "Those two... girls. They're..."

"Training?" Akane asked, her voice full of innuendo.

"Ucchan is very attached to her partner," Ranma smiled.

"Matches the documentation on succubae," Kodachi muttered.

"Well of course it would," Nabiki remarked. "I'm surprised there isn't a boring presentation that deals with us."

"There is. It was part of the briefing."

"They show any of our fights?" Ranma asked.

"There's not much video record of you in combat. There is plenty of the aftermath though," Kasumi explained.

Kodachi looked around. The agents and demons were casual, and her sister seemed to be calming down "So... you and Akane are mates. How's that going?" she asked Nariko.

"Really good, Nariko's sweet and lethal and damn sexy," Akane commented. "She saved me, twice. Didn't care about the odds." She leaned onto her mate again.

"So you got what you wanted, eh, Tachi?" Kodachi asked. "You're even a real warrior."

Nariko blushed.

"And you're even acceptable at being a girl. I wouldn't use that shade of eye makeup, not with that complexion at least. Don't you want to draw attention away from those bright red eyes?"

Nariko narrowed said eyes. "I would be more than willing to take cosmetics advice from you. Unlike fashion advice."

"This is regulation!"

"Maybe we should have let Aurora and Ucchan, haze her," Nabiki muttered.

"Not now, Honey," Ranma hushed. There was progress. Slight progress, but at least they were not fighting... physically.



***************



"News again?" Minako quirked an eyebrow.

"I like being informed. We're here for a reason," Ami glared, only taking her eyes away from the television screen to glance at her computer.

"I'm amazed she's not using some type of internet thing to get her news," Rei commented as she got some leftovers out of their apartment's fridge.

"That would let me watch my show," Minako grumbled.

"It's a rerun on syndication anyway," Ami pointed to the blonde. "And something's up... I'm tracking the local scanners, blogs, and other sites. Everyone's being coy but..." she murmured tapping a few commands into the Mercury computer.

"You can always go to Janet's and watch TV at her place," Minako offered.

"Can't. Her mom is over."

Rei coughed at that comment. Last night she told Usagi about the concerns she had with all the time Ami was spending with Janet. The princess had dismissed her claims, which had just made Rei more concerned.

On the one hand, running into a new Senshi was suspicious, but on the other hand it had happened before. Rei herself was once a "new Senshi". And they had run out of planets. Though Rei supposed there were still a few dwarf planets left.

Ami blinked at the screen. She knew something like this would happen. It was a matter of time. "Get Usagi in here," she said in horror after finding her voice.

"What?" Minako asked.

"Get the damn Princess in here, now!" Ami shouted, while pointing to the television.

Rei looked at the television. On it was a jerky camera feed showing the outside of a large toy store. A newscaster was babbling something about a hostage situation. Her attention was to a large canvas that had been unfurled on the blacktop in front of the entrance. It was white with a simple golden symbol in the center. The camera angle was oblique to the carpet but it was still easy to make out.

"What's going on?" Usagi asked as Minako pushed the moon princess from her bedroom into the living room. As Ami directed Usagi to the television, the phone started to ring.

Rei picked it up before the second ring. "Yes Janet, we're watching the news too."

"Good, Janet knows. Rei, tell her to hang-up and get up here now. Minako, wake up Makoto too," Ami ordered as she started checking the information that was coming in on her computer.

"You can't give us orders." Rei started.

"Do it," Usagi ordered as she stared at the large golden crescent moon on the television screen.

The inane chatter from the newscaster increased dramatically, but no one in the room was listening. They were transfixed by the two people that suddenly burst out of the front of the store: a was a brown-haired woman with long hair and a sundress protectively carrying a little girl no older than ten, in a green jumper.

The blue haired teen watched as the little girl and her presumed mother ran from the store and right to the white carpeting. "Oh God, that's too obvious," Ami uttered "We have to teleport, now!"

There was no time. Whomever had taken over the toy store and used everyone inside as hostages were not skilled. Shooting the girl and her mother in the back proved challenging, for them. It was messy.

Usagi trembled as tears welled in her eyes. She had seen death before. She had watched everyone in this room die, but they were... soldiers.

This was something else. A righteous coldness passed over her. The babbling of the newscaster was ignored. The response of the police was ignored, not that she could see what they were doing. She was focused on the crescent moon, now splattered with blood and other organic bits.



***************


"Sir, there's no response from the Silvers' apartment," agent Maya Iverson said while listening to the phone ring in her headset.

Jacob nodded as he paced in the Command and Control facility. "At least we got the brood notified. When will they arrive?"

"Seven minutes," another technician said as he consulted the display.

"Sir! There was an inter-dim spike on the Silver apartment! Forward watch confirms a matching spike at the target building," Iverson shouted. She shifted her attention to the pair of agents that had first arrived on scene and were coordinating with local police.

Initially, the situation seemed mundane, horrible but mundane. A group of armed men took a toy store hostage and immediately called a news station which just happened to be two blocks away. The police arrived after the news crew. The Scanners did not detect anything preternatural, but then the hostage takers unfurled that banner and everything changed.

"Anything else showing up on the forward scanners?" Stillwater asked.

"Just... six Pattern Silvers, Sir" Iverson said.



***************



The pale man stumbled back in surprise. He and two others had been assigned to guard the loading docks and storage room. The gun nearly slipped out of his sweaty palms. The Master had said their actions would summon the Pale Queen.

In his foolishness, the pale man had assumed the master was not being literal. "Master! She is here!" he shouted pointing to the group of girls that had appeared in a flash.

Unsteadily he raised his weapon, and was pleased when brothers Peclet and Courant did the same. They had no illusions, but they might be able to slow them down, give the Master more time to prepare.

"The Path of Will shall prevent your reign of ice," Peclet bellowed, his voice wavering.

Sailor Moon stared down the trio of men holding guns.

A slight smile crossed Peclet's face that grew when a scream of terror rang out from deeper within the store. It was very shrill and high. Fortunately it gently quieted down instead of abruptly cutting off.

"We are more than willing to do what it takes to summon you," Courant stated.

"No more," Sailor Moon promised as she stepped forward. Her voice became forceful and righteous. "Toy stores are for the amusement of children, not for... murdering innocents. In the name of the Moon you will be punished."

After sentencing, she aimed her weapon. At this moment, the trio were targets, nothing more, nothing less.

"Like you care, your ascension would have killed them anyway." Peclet aimed his weapon. He hesitated his and shifted his aim as another blonde appeared.

"They're just human!" Venus shouted at the same moment, but the thick beam had already erupted from Sailor Moon's kaleidoscope.

The three men screamed as their flesh broiled away into ash

"They're monsters," Sailor Moon said as she stepped past the remains. She was about to speak again but the smell made her choke on some bile she coughed up.

"They had weapons too." Orion tightened the grip on her bladed staff. She was still slightly disoriented from the teleport. Ami said that adding her was risky, but she wanted to help.

"Princess, I'm only detecting humans and some minor magic," Mercury said as she checked the display on her visor. The comment about "reign of ice" was filed away for later. "Most of them are in the front of the store. I think those are the hostages."

"What's the plan?" Mars asked as she looked at the bloodied remains.

"They want me. I'll draw their attention while Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury rescue the hostages." She turned to the other blonde. "I'm counting on you for this, Mina."

"I'll take Orion and Mars," Moon said with a little smile.

Venus nodded. Taking Mercury made sense. She could fog up the whole area, and then they could... take out the bad guys and rescue the hostages.



***************



Master Kronecker, founder and prophet to the Path of the Will smiled thinly as his men fell. He and his most devout members were in the tiny office that contained the few things that needed to be secured for this store. There was a safe undoubtedly full of currency, a few file cabinets, a couple desks for the laughable security guards.

While being the first to be cleansed, they were not deemed innocent enough to summon Her. The room had a few televisions that displayed the closed circuit security camera feed.

Unlike the false priests or those mercenaries his order focused on infiltration and research, thus their weapons training was secondary. It was regrettable, but his men knew no amount of training would stop Her. The Pale Queen could not be stopped by mere force of arms.

He watched as the blonde fiend sheared down his men, her expression soulless and blank. To a being like her killing those men must be no more than crushing bugs. Kroneker reflected on this as he continued the incantation from the book before him.

It was an old tome, one that had been rebound and expanded several times. Discovering the book had changed his life. As he learned of the contents he had gone from a meek linguist and bibliophile to something more.

He frowned when She and her two servants made it to the second group of men. The angle was poor, but he was able to tell one of his men managed to fire first, before being cut apart by a bladed pole-arm. The other three men died screaming as they burst into flames. The camera feed started to snow and static out; that was regrettable as well.

Once again the queen stepped over bodies to get to her goal. The Master smiled as he gave another incantation. Her ego had been challenged, and now She would not think. She would not realize that she was being funneled right into a trap.

His eyes briefly flicked to where the hostages were being held. That screen was full off fog and the occasional flash. It was of no consequence. The master's only interest in the hostages was as tokens to summon Her. Now that She was here, they had no use, other than reducing the number of servants at Her side.



***************



"You! You're in charge of all this!" Sailor Moon shouted. The magical girl strode into the room, light crackling off her form as her eyes narrowed.

Orion and Mars were just behind her. The gangly man standing before her was the only one she'd seen not wearing street clothes or carrying a gun. Though he might have something hidden in those ridiculous black robes.

"Of course I am," Master Kronecker said as he tapped a rune on the stone table just above the book. The eight corners of the room glowed and encased the room in 6 panels of golden light. He nodded to the two men at his sides. "And now we save the world from your evil. You will not enslave humanity!"

"Enslave?" Sailor Moon's stomach clenched. That seemed rather like the Black Moon clan's demands. Worse, she had walked right into a trap.

"You're wrong, Crystal Tokyo's-" the blonde closed her mouth when she saw the gleeful, perverse pride on the man's face at her mentioning that name.

She stepped forward, and, for the first time in a year, wobbled when her heel did not land square. She briefly shook her head as a buzzing sound came and then vanished.

"Kill her," Kronecker ordered the last remaining members of the Path of the Will. Both fired their shotguns. At this range even these men did not miss.

Sailor Moon was pushed back to the doorway and hit the shimmering barrier, which neither Orion's blades nor Mars' fire had penetrated. The buckshot had damaged her uniform, but it did not do much else.

Master Kronecker frowned for a split second. It was too much to hope for Her to be weakened enough to be killed right off. His men shot again and again. The Pale Queen slumped down, but She raised her improbable weapon and fired, rather she tried...

The kaleidoscope fizzled and fell out of the battered princess' hand. Her uniform flickered and the chest bow at the bottom of her vision started to become gauzy and translucent.

Her eyes hardened on these monsters. It was been a trap, from start to end. They used innocents as bait, knowing she would come to rescue them. The two minions stepped closer until they seemed loom over her. Moon put her hand to her forehead.

"Moon Tiara Action!" she screamed as she flipped the golden object at the man to the left. The bladed prong hit him on an upward angle and destroyed much of his heart and neck. The head flew backwards but the body fell towards her. As blood from the decapitation rained down, she gave the other minion a Moon Kick that broke his leg. After he fell to the ground another kick hit the side of his head cracking his neck.

Kronecker froze. The blood of Brother Schumann had soaked the blonde. "And the blood of the wicked shall be the bathwater for Her coronation," he quoted.

Sailor Moon's eyes burned a righteous azure. Love and Justice were not mere words to her; she felt them. For all these years, it was what kept her fighting; it kept her leading friends into danger.

"You're a disgrace," Moon coldly said as she stepped forward and grabbed the surprisingly light, thin man. A blade flipped out of his voluminous sleeve.

The master chanted as he stabbed forward. Moon grunted as the buzzing filled her mind. She reacted and pushed the threat away. Kronecker hit the wall with a thud; he charged again.

This time she put her palm to his nose and didn't stop pushing when his head cracked on the concrete of the wall. His skull cracked and Kronecker movements became spasmodic and disorganized.

She paid that no mind and kept slamming the head into the wall. More bones crunched and blood splattered. She only stopped when someone squeezed her shoulder.

"Stop it Usagi! It's over. It's over," Mars pleaded. As soon as the last guy was... dispatched the barrier dropped and she and Orion ran in. Mars stepped back when her princess turned to face her. Bits of hair and blood were on her white gloves, and the only clean parts of her face were the tracks her tears made.

"I failed!" Moon cried balling her hands into fists. "The bastard... " Moon looked around the charnel house the room had become. "I did this.... I'm a...." she stumbled and unceremoniously vomited.



***************



Ranma's eyes scanned the security room. The scent of fresh blood filled her nostrils. She smiled, watching her children pout as agents from Forensic Pathology section investigated the bodies on the floor.

"We're too late and now we missed out on feeding," Aurora petulantly said.

"This was the Senshi's fight." Ranma then walked past the bodies and into the toy store itself. Her eyes widened and she ran over to the dazed blonde.

"Usagi, are you okay?" Ranma studied the blood-soaked magical girl. "Wait... that's not your blood is it."

Sailor Moon stepped back from the sexy succubus. She wobbled and was caught by Orion, who was at her side supporting her. "Back! Monster!"

"Eh?" Ranma blinked. She had not done anything even remotely monstrous today.

"You heard the princess," Mars warned. Usagi had a bad enough day and did not need a demon rubbing her face in it.

"No! I'm... I'm a monster!" Moon tried to fall to her knees but was held up by Orion.

"You did what you had to," Mercury reassured. She held the master's book. This was not something she wanted the Company to get, and it could have some answers. And they were desperately in need of those.

"I..." Moon looked down and watched as a few drops of blood fall from her ponytails and onto the tile floor. She found her chin pulled up and her eyes drawn into a pair of violet ones.

"You are not a monster. Monsters don't feel remorse for what they did," Ranma stated.

"Like you're one to talk." Mars glared.

"I think she's uniquely qualified to talk," Mercury remarked.

"I'm supposed to be a good guy! Good guys don't kill people!" Moon sobbed.

"You were pretty decisive in the office building," Ranma's voice was gentle.

"That was different!" Usagi sniffed and tried to wipe her face. "Demons don't count."

Nabiki, who had quietly followed, had a retort ready, but decided this was Mother's job.

Ranma narrowed her eyes, but she exhaled. "It's not different. But that's besides the point." She lowered her voice. "You're a soldier.... hell you're an officer. Act like it. What about your troops? How do think they feel after what they did? And now they're seeing you, their leader falling apart?"

"Lay off! Do you even know what she did!" Venus said.

"I do," Orion quietly said. "And she's sorta right."

Usagi turned aside. "I'm not fit... I failed. They killed..."

Ranma's face softened. "You got here as fast as you could. You stopped them, and your girls rescued everyone else. You got here before us; you were the good guys."


"I'm supposed to protect everyone! I couldn't even bring them back!" Usagi wanted to curl into a ball to escape. After the... fight, she had tried to heal the innocent victims, but there was no resurrection; they were gone.

"You can't save the whole world," Ranma said.

"I'm supposed to!" Sailor Moon sobbed. "Crystal Tokyo's supposed to..."

Ranma tilted her head slightly.

"Now isn't the time, princess." Mercury was wondering if Setsuna knew a psychiatrist. She guessed the Company had some, but they could not be trusted.

"But that's what they were here to stop!"

"It's not the first time someone tried to stop us from saving the world," Jupiter remarked.

"They thought they were saving it! From me!"

"So? These evil bastards are all kinds of crazy. Delusions of grandeur and the like." Ranma shrugged.

"Terrorists have always been romantics and idealists." Nabiki remarked. "People that believe in a pure vision, some asinine utopia that they're willing to do anything to get, because in the end that's all that matters."

Sailor Moon froze "That's me!" she said before collapsing into a sobbing heap.

Ranma crouched down. "Did you ever kill an innocent to make this Crystal City just happen? You know, break a few eggs to make your omelet?"

"No." Moon wiped her nose, now runny with both snot and blood. "I never," she said with more strength and indignation.

"Then you're not like them. They would have rejoiced if the tables had turned. Hell, that's exactly what they did to try and stop you."

"And you would have eaten them if it was up to you," Mars remarked. Images of the day's deaths appeared in her mind. "On second thought, that's actually pretty fitting. Maybe we should have saved one of them to give to you."

"They still got justice from a mother," Ranma smirked.

"I went too far." Moon stared off into the distance. "I know! I was influenced!"

"I'm not detecting anything. The only magic here was from this thing," Mercury said as she hefted the book. It was useful being the main sensor of the Senshi, though Rei's visions could spot things her computer could not, which was important to note.

"It was all me?" Moon sighed and again tired to curl into a ball, only to be pulled back up by Orion.

"At least you guys are helping keep the authorities at bay." Mercury noted. The mercenaries were efficient at keeping the police away from the scene. That they had the ability to do so was worrying.

"There's also all those bodies that they're not eating," Venus commented.

"Nice one Mina," Mercury sighed.

"Eh, they're your kills." Ranma wondered exactly what Usagi had done. There had to be more than merely blasting her enemies, something traumatized her, and covered her in blood, fragrant sensual blood. The redhead shook her head. Now was not the time to let her desires get the better of her.

Ranma cleared her mind. "Look, Usagi. A hot shower will do wonders, and there's some nice agents that can drive you to where you can clean up." She looked at the other Senshi. "All of you."

Mars looked down the aisle to see a pair of agents in battledress uniforms. If not for the succubus wearing a parody of a Sailor Senshi uniform their presence would be disquieting.

"Come on, let's go." Ranma sighed, before gently tugging on Moon's hand. With Orion's help the two girls managed to pull the princess back to her feet.

"When we go back to civilian mode we should get cleaned. Right?" Makoto asked.

"Sure, but trust me, she'll want a real shower," Ranma said of Moon before handing her back to Orion.

The agents parted and watched as the demons and magical girls went into waiting Company vehicles.



***************



Inspector Richard Rebus leaned on a Toronto Police Service cruiser. He watched as a small group of commandos left the building and returned to their vehicles. He wondered what cover story the media would be told. They might be billed as Emergency Task Force, TPS's version of SWAT, or maybe the excuse would be that it was a federal issue. The Emergency Response Team of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police could just as easily get the credit.

Rebus was privy to something closer to the truth. There was a "consulting firm" at work here. He did wonder how they had entered the building.

"Sick isn't it, Inspector?" Rawlings, a junior member of homicide, asked.

"There's been a rash of this sickness," Rebus muttered.

"Yeah, there's enough terrorism for everyone." Rawlings left unsaid who everyone was. There was the conventional terrorism, the one that craved to be in the news. They struck visibly and were using fear to cow resistance. Transportation infrastructure was commonly exploited, and then there was the other type... One that, amazingly, was even more frightening and brutal.

Rebus nodded. That was true, something made this special. This was more than the ETF raiding a cache of fertilizer or a holy building being used to store weapons or a ransom scam gone awry. "That crescent's at the center of it."

"Cult nuts. And the first thing they did was get the media in," Rawlings snorted.

"Terrorists do want attention, but... this seems wrong. It doesn't fit."

"Like we're going to learn anything more about this."

Rebus watched a group of young women get into a van at the loading dock. The angle was poor, and the contractor commandos had kept their distance.

Noticing his superiors interests Rawlings spoke up. "More hostages I'd guess."

"I see, and will their statements be as nonsensical as the other hostages?" Rebus asked. So far the hostages had come out in one group out the front door. Officers at the scene reported a lot of fog.

"The media will love it."

"More reports on vigilantes dressed as figure skaters? It's misdirection."

"Of course it is, Sir."



***************



"You're not going to see her naked," Rei stated as she bared the entrance to the Company locker room.

"It's not like I'd see anything new," Ranma looked at Usagi slowly washing herself. "I won't even be nude." She shifted into a red bathing suit. "See? Nothing naughty."

"Let her in," Usagi weakly said.

"Feeling any better?" Ranma asked as she handed a wash towel to the blonde. She looked over the nude form, and filed the sight for later.

"Yeah, nothing like a long shower after murder," Usagi sourly noted. "No funny business."

"You did what you had to do," Ranma comforted.

Usagi glared at the redhead. "That's no justification. I really am a monster. I'm going to destroy the world."

Ranma chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"You saying you're a monster. You're a loving mother, a good friend and a good person." Ranma washed some of the blood out of Usagi's hair. "That's not much of a monster."

"Maybe, I'm not a good person then," Usagi sighed.

"That's not how its supposed to go." Ranma frowned.

"What?"

"That was something Kasumi told me after my first human kill. It helped."
Usagi slowly washed her face before responding. "Something a mercenary used to cheer up a budding demon, you thought would work for me?"

"Well, yeah."

"You don't mind killing," Usagi said coolly. "I can't become like you."

Ranma paused staring at the indignant princess.

"I'm a good guy," Usagi said. "I was a good guy."

"You still are," Ranma stated as if she were explaining something very simple as she resumed washing the blonde.

Usagi tried to stare down the demon, but broke away. "Maybe I should go back home, I don't belong here," she whispered looking down at her feet.

"Yeah, none of us do. But this is where the fight is." Ranma gave a thin smile. "You think you won't get problems in Japan? And what kind of hero runs away?"

"I'm not running away! I'm going somewhere where I can think and then come back."

Ranma found herself grinning at that.

Usagi continued. "There's nothing wrong with going back to Japan to work this one out. Besides, I wanna see my family, and normal people for a while."

"Quite the luxury you're demanding," Ranma noted.

"It's not to much to ask for," Usagi's voice had gained an edge.

"Not my decision. And honestly some R&R isn't too much to ask, but what if they attack again? What do you know about this group? Your family could make a nice target."

"They...."

"Why not? They killed a random woman and her child just to get to you."

"What am I supposed to do then?" Usagi clenched her hand over the soap. "So, it's okay for me to kill humans now? I'm not like you... I don't want to think like that. I told you, I'm not like you."

Usagi's head was pulled to the side until she was eye to eye with the demon.

"You know how many people those guys would have killed if you were in Japan? That was their goal right? Kill until you show up."

Usagi nodded. "We teleported in so..."

Ranma exhaled. "True. And it's not your fault that some sickos tried to get your attention."

Usagi fell back against the wall. "I can't deal with this... I can't. Not right now." She rubbed her temples.

Ranma adjusted the shower-head so water once again sprayed over the blonde's form. "It's okay. You are dealing with it."

Usagi nodded.

"Your reaction is normal. You were forced to take a life. And you felt right that you stopped them, that you did the right thing. And that makes you feel wrong, feel guilty."

The blonde's lip quivered. "I wanted him dead. I wanted to punish him for murdering people just to get my attention. But he was a human..."

"Did you think all your enemies would be inhuman?"

"Some were once human... long ago," Usagi confessed.

"You've killed plenty of my kind," Ranma's voice was quiet, a bare whisper.

"That was different... they were monsters out to kill innocent people... It's not like..." Usagi slid down the wall crying.

"It's okay, your mother had difficult choices too." Ranma crouching down to the blonde's level.

"What do you know of her?"

"Serenity took DarkStar under her wing long before you were born," Ranma explained. "It's... easier to remember now. "

Usagi looked up and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "What was she like?"

"She was a woman that could get things done. A real... professional. But... there was vulnerability behind it all."

Usagi stared. The demon's wistful expression held so much sorrow. "You're DarkStar?"

"Reincarnation," Ranma shrugged. "Serenity tried to help... bring me forward like the rest of you, but that just meant I was born male and human this time around too. I was always DarkStar; Setsuna just changed my body back."

"She was something," Usagi said with a bit of a smile.

Ranma chuckled. "She was, maybe you could ask Setsuna for some history books on her, real history books. The Lunar ascension, the Unification wars, the deals she made with my grandmother."

"Are you calling Queen Serenity-" Usagi was cut off.

"A ruthless commander that killed without batting an eye?" Ranma gave a fanged grin. "Definitely. You know why you and Endymion was so scandalous? In my day Earth was the last independent planet in the system, and it was being invaded by demons."

"Huh? And you're related to those invaders..."

"Naturally, my grandmother BlackSky was in charge of one of the invading Demonic Houses.

"But I was just trying to survive. Serenity –well- she had plans." Ranma let the statement hang and watched Usagi's reaction. After a few seconds of no reaction, Ranma continued.

"The Terran nobles resented that they had to be saved by the Moon Kingdom. A place that used to be a colony of theirs, but one that had grown until it had become the greater power. 'Course I didn't care about the larger politics then and still don't care now."

Usagi stared at Ranma. She did not even react to the spray of water on her nude form. Part of her did not believe the redhead's claims to not care about politics. The demon did seem adept at maneuvering into a favorable position within the Company.

"Your mother wasn't a monster either. How is killing the one kind of monster different from another?" Ranma gently asked.

Usagi let the water fall on her. At least part of her was starting to feel clean. "I don't know. I don't know! I don't want to think about this... please..."

Ranma nodded. "You can take some time. Today was... bad, but you're going to have to face this."

"How... how do you deal with this? How can anyone... deal with this?"

Ranma sighed and slid next to Usagi and started washing her hair. "Now that's a loaded question."

Usagi turned and looked pleadingly at Ranma. "Fighting... killing was bad before, but I always knew my enemies weren't human... or if they were I could purify them but... now you're saying... if humans can be monsters... and demons aren't all monsters... then was... how many have I murdered then?"

"Did you ever fight anyone that wasn't doing evil stuff, hurting innocents that kind of stuff?"

"Of course not but..." Usagi paused and pulled herself back up. Her hair fell behind her in a loose fall. " Are you like this with your kids? So pushy?"

"I'm trying, I'm really trying not to be." The redhead chuckled. "If I were trying to be pushy, I'd be a lot nastier, and that'd just be spiteful."

Usagi laughed.

"You need this, and your girls need this. How do you think they're handling it? Especially when their leader's so out of it she can't even bathe herself."

"I can't just magically be okay with what I did," Usagi's hands spasmed as the memory slammed into her mind.

"Not at all," Ranma said as she lathered Usagi's hair. "But you'll have to face what you did, and what it really means to be a Sailor Soldier."

Usagi looked down again.

"You have responsibilities," a bit of an edge slipped into Ranma's voice. "You can't just put them aside because of this. People need you."

"You sound like you're taking this personally," Usagi noted.

The heat went of our Ranma's expression. She lowered her head. "I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did," she admitted.

"What?"

"Can you even comprehend what I had to give up?" the redhead's voice was quiet, shameful.

Usagi turned to look at Ranma. "I'm a mother too."

"And I abandoned my gender and species for my daughters, and then it was almost too late," Ranma stated simply. "For a couple it may have been too late."

"Oh," Usagi put her hand out and took Ranma's. She noted that the demon's fingers weren't pruning, despite being soaked as long as she had been.

"I was prideful, I ignored the warning signs, and others paid the price."

"I'm not giving up. I just need... time. Please... I need more time."

"That's not my decision," Ranma's tone softened. "And if you take too long... you will hurt people."

"I never wanted this power, this responsibility." It was a statement of fact, not a whine.

"Me neither." Ranma broke a slight smile.

"You know... I don't even know their names, and I couldn't even save them...."

"That's a start. I'm sure Setsuna or someone at WIC can find out for you." Ranma started to realize that waiting for Usagi to finish might have been better. The girl had far too much hair.

Ranma ran her slender fingers through the blondes hair, feeling a trace of excitement as the silky threads flowed through her hands. Ranma could smell the minute traces of blood than lingered behind. Massaging the soap further into the leader of the Senshi's scalp, Ranma smelt more slight traces of blood. She had to pause to regain her emotional equilibrium; the combination of scents was very heady.



***************



Father Oslo turned off the television with disgust. The media had somehow gotten the names of those behind that sloppy and laughable operation. It had to be the Path of the Will. What that group lacked in size and resources they made up for in secrecy.

They were the one of the few groups that the Assembly of Man had not penetrated. They were the exact kind of selfless fanatics that worried Oslo. They would not appeal to reason or sense, but it looked like their dogma had finally eliminated them. If the news reports could be believed, a highly questionable proposition as those corporate mercenaries had their tentacles everywhere, the Path had lost most of its members and nearly all of it's leadership.

The loss of their man inside the mercenary's Toronto operations was a difficulty. Such things were to be expected. The Company was ruthless as they were pragmatic. That worried the priest. The Company had to feel that there was some... profit in cultivating a brood of demons.

It did not make sense. Even ignoring the moral issues, demons were not reliable or controllable. They had to be planning something worth these immense risks. None of the possibilities, Oslo could think of were pleasant.

He would have to call this in. Bishop Fortson needed to know. There was more here than just destroying a nest of demons that had corrupted two acolytes.



***************



"What's the story on that book?" Minako asked. It was a couple days after the toy store and things seemed quiet... for now.

Ami looked at the assembled Senshi. Her eyes briefly narrowed at Setsuna before turning to Usagi. "I think I figured out what the book is. You'll see that sections of it are written in many, many different languages." She flipped through sections of the large tome.

Ami gently closed the book. "It's also been rebound a several times. It looks like this is a living text. One that is translated and retranslated as it's passed down. What's unique is that some passages are in their original text. My computer had some issues decoding the symbols, some of them were copied poorly, but the language clearly dates back to the Silver Millennium."

"I thought nothing survived." Minako asked.

"The Downfall and ensuing centuries destroyed almost all of the evidence, all but a few trinkets like this," Setsuna explained.

"And the only reason this book is relevant is because enterprising scholars kept translating it throughout history. It's actually fascinating. The meaning has drifted with each century, but the whole thing acts as a Rosetta Stone." Ami sighed, once again only Janet and Setsuna got what she said. "This book allowed those creeps to read Silver Millennium era texts. Things like spells."

"That's how he put up the barrier." Usagi nodded.

"And muted your powers," Ami agreed. "That's probably why your healing spells didn't work. One of the sections, full of margin notes and with a few gaps has information about your crystal."

"Spells to block purification?" Rei asked.

"Essentially," Ami shrugged. She then sagged. "It's hard to tell. There's so much here one could go mad trying to decode it all. It's terribly disorganized."

"Why bother with the translations then? You said there was original text." Setsuna wondered just how much sleep Ami was getting.

"Because some of the original passages were lost. Others only have fragments of the original text. However, the most important thing is the new information. Some of the translators...." Ami rubbed her eyes.

"Some of the translations had extra information," Janet interjected.

"Like what?"

"Crystal Tokyo, and passages about a reborn princess. 'And soon the queen shall return in a body of unnatural birth. Her will shall purify the wicked and innocent alike.' " Ami paused after the quotation.

"How does an old book predict stuff about me now?" Usagi asked. If those... men had been using ancient writings as their guide... then they could have been wrong.

"I have no idea. Setsuna, what do you know about the group?" Ami asked.

"My research came up with only a bit. The Path of the Will is a small secretive cult. Their leader was Carl Kronecker. He had a middling career as a rare book historian and restorer at a major university. He disappeared one day, along with several books being cataloged."

Setsuna snickered. "Clearly this book was among the items he stole. From there he sprouted up at the periphery of some cults, got a small following, and then vanished once more. He was afraid of being watched, especially by us."

"We never heard of them," Usagi cried.

"The book paints you as a wrathful goddess, the Pale Queen. He knew what your crystal could do, and was afraid to get your attention, until the time was right of course," Ami laughed bitterly.

"Will there be any more of them?" Usagi asked. She would ask about Crystal Tokyo in private. There were new concerns about that place.

"And why didn't you see this coming?" Minako looked at Setsuna.

"I'm not omnipotent," Setsuna said tersely. Out of the action, and only doing information gathering she felt impotent and frustrated.

"Will there be any more?" Usagi asked again. Meeting the Senshi's, her Senshi's, gaze.

"They were a weak and small group, and you... eliminated almost all of them." Setsuna delicately stated. Her information was accurate on that count but...

"Still, they were just a bunch of goobers. Really, how hard is it to take some hostages?" Makoto's question matched Setsuna's fears.

"How many cults are there?" Rei asked. She was... hesitant. She was more stable than Usagi, but she needed her time alone. She did burn people to death after all. She glanced over at Janet, who seemed the most stable.

"I don't want to do that again," Janet quietly said. Rei noticed that the newest Senshi got reassuring squeezes of the hand from Makoto and Ami. Makoto made sense, after a fashion. They were both orphans, and had some bonding at that. Ami, on the other hand, well Rei had always wondered about the blue-haired girl's luck with boys.

"It's going to get worse." Ami cast a sideways glance at the book. She blinked and shook her head again.

"Are there anymore of those things floating around?" Usagi asked, while reminding herself to talk to Ami. She seemed very stressed.

"I... I don't know. It's a book. It could be copied. The book itself is mostly a copy itself so..." Ami's looked down with embarrassment.

"It's okay Ami. You did great," Usagi reassured.

"Thanks," Ami replied. She knew Usagi did not mean to sound as patronizing as she did.

"Anybody have anything else to add?" Usagi asked the assembled Senshi.

"What about the Outers?" Minako asked.

"Nothing is happening on their end. Everything seems fine."

"I talked to my daughter. She's doing okay." Usagi stated.

Rei wondered who their princess was talking to, her senshi... or herself.

"I guess this is why the demon's like this," Rei noted.

"Her name's Ranma," Usagi said a bit sharply.

"And why's she not here?" Makoto asked. "She is a Senshi, too. Right?"

"She would be too distracting," Usagi smiled a bit at Setsuna's shock. "Besides, I already talked with her."

"You know she'll just tell everything to those Company goons," Rei remarked.

"Or maybe Puu tells her girlfriend everything," Minako teased.

"That's enough. And don't be fooled into thinking she's their pet demon," Setsuna smirked. "Their relationship is more complex. There's also what WIC wants"

"They're comrades," Ami stated. She knew that the Company could be watching them this very moment. Setsuna assured them that the magic she was using could beat any surveillance WIC tried... but Ami was starting to lose her faith in that kind of magic.

"Ranma trusts the Company grunts," Janet added.

"They have been working together," Usagi agreed. "They also offered to help us," she said the last part giving Setsuna a sharp look.

"What do they even want?" Rei asked. The girls turned to Setsuna who looked to their princess. The pregnant pause that followed lasted for a few moments.

"We're in over our heads," Minako finally admitted. "This isn't like before."

"There's too many sides, and we don't know who the real big enemy is," Makoto added.

"Senshi aren't supposed to be spies." Makoto's comment drew a snicker from Setsuna.

"What's so funny?" Usagi asked.

"Back in the Silver Millennium espionage was a main part of the Senshi's work."

"Flunkies for the queen," Ami dryly remarked.

"That's about right," Setsuna sighed. She then silently slid a folder to Usagi.

The blonde opened the folder and read a few lines before closing it. Ignoring the other's commentary she stared at the folder. It was not fair. "Thank you," she quietly said.

Setsuna nodded. She did not like Usagi's request. Knowing more about the pair that died was counterproductive in her eyes, but it was an order from the princess.

"I think that's it." Usagi stood and told Setsuna to follow her to her room.

"Wonder what they're going to do in there?" Minako asked.

"There are plenty of rumors about a certain Senshi being a lesbian," Rei remarked.

"I'll put this thing back in storage." As Ami got up with the book she carefully avoided eye contact with Rei.

"I'll help," Janet said as she followed Ami into the blue-haired girl's room.

In Usagi's room, Setsuna stood and looked at her princess with increasing awkwardness. Usagi was sitting on her bed and slowly reading the file that Setsuna had prepared.

Blinking away a couple tears, Usagi closed the folder and looked up at Setsuna. "They said I was going to destroy humanity. Is that true? How much does Crystal Tokyo cost?"

Setsuna closed her eyes. "That's... well it depends."

"You're evading."

"It's the future." Setsuna frowned. "There are many ways to Crystal Tokyo, because... well... there are many possible futures."

"The Great Freeze?"

"You did not cause that." Setsuna promised. "That was a disaster, one that we may yet prevent."

"But they said...."

"Their book is wrong. Ami said as much. Mistranslations and deluded prophecy," Setsuna assured as she walked over to the bed.

"You better be right. Crystal Tokyo won't be founded on a lie."

Setsuna smiled. Usagi sounded like a leader now. The Senshi of Pluto refrained from reminding Usagi about the Nemesis debacle though. "Is there anything else?"

Usagi thought for a few seconds. "There is something you should know about Ranma."

"What?"

For the first time in several days Usagi truly smiled. "You were tricked when you gave Ranma those powers, but not by who you think."

"Pardon?"
"Ranma always was DarkStar. Well... DarkStar reincarnated as Ranma. There was no possession."

"That means that..." Setsuna stopped in shock. "Serenity was always very fond of her," she finally admitted. Usagi was right, she (and Murdock) had been played, after a fashion, by the Queen. She shivered, even after millennia and from the other side of the grave, Queen Serenity was still pulling Setsuna's strings.

"Yup, really should have looked deeper into Ranma."

"I see why Ranma made such a good replacement for...." Setsuna coughed nervously.

"It's okay, I know he's dead," Usagi said harshly.



***************



"What's wrong?" Nariko asked her little sister.

Aurora closed the front door. "Well, it's complicated." She looked at the other succubus. "Actually this might be right up your alley."

"Okay. Is this about school?" Nariko wondered what could make Aurora so nervous.

"Not really." Aurora smirked, but her face became more neutral. School was not something she cared for. Neither the Assembly or Alexia made her go, but her new mother...

"What then?"

Aurora shrugged and explained the situation and the solution she had come up with.

Nariko nodded, seeing why Aurora thought that this would be up her alley. "I think you should go talk to Mom. She should be out back training with Nabiki."

"Good idea," Aurora smiled. She might be able to get some training of her own put in.

Aurora made her way to the dojo. She briefly studied her mother. Part of her wanted to utter a battle cry and dive in, but she decided on something a bit more subtle.

Ranma smirked at the arrival of her daughter. The stalk Aurora did was very nice, quiet but quick. She even approached from downwind. However, demons had other senses, and Aurora had not masked her presence fully.

The brood mother appreciated Aurora's mode of attack. A fireball would be a more logical opening, but it would be very damaging, and might put Nabiki at risk. Ranma slid down and spun to intercept the attack. She grabbed her daughter's outstretched arm, and careful to avoid claws that were not extended, and deflected.

Aurora rolled back and countered with her tail to her mother's legs. When Ranma stepped back, Aurora pressed forward. She sidestepped when Ranma lunged at her, but it was a feint.

The redhead extended one of her wings and using a limb that was strong enough to lift her body off the ground to hit Aurora. She fell to the ground and made a grab for her mother's leg. Ranma tapped the outstretched arm with her tail.

Aurora briefly frowned, for the rest of this match she would not be able to use that arm. She rolled up and extending her other hand managed to draw a finger across her mother's thigh.

Ranma immediately slid her knee out from under her and fell onto her daughter. Aurora caught her with her tail and remaining arm. Ranma had responded in kind.

"Good match," Ranma laughed as she untangled herself. She then helped Aurora to her feet. "Going for a softer attack?"

"You soak up bruises, and any broken bones will just heal. Cutting you apart seemed like the best way to defeat you in close quarters," Aurora said after catching her breath.

"But you ended up just as damaged," Nabiki reminded.

"You could probably mix in some of your heavier moves too. A solid hit can give some distance. Also when you stalk... remember that your prey may have sensed you and is preparing a counter," Ranma advised. She then smiled with pride. "You did do good today."

Aurora nodded. She always knew she had the ability, and was gratified to have a teacher that could actually help hone her skills...

"What's up?" Ranma asked as she adjusted her unitard. "Or did you just want to spar?"

"I was thinking about my name. I want -" Aurora closed her eyes. It felt like betraying Alexia, but Alexia did not give her a choice... neither did the Assembly. It was time to see what this mother would do. "I want to change it."

"Okay. We can call the Company and have them make new paperwork."

"That's it? Don't you even want to approve what I picked?"

"Approve? Not really, but I am curious." Ranma was pretty sure that she would not go back to Ryoga.

"Misako."

"I suppose you are a saved child," Nabiki said.

"It is a lovely name," Ranma agreed.

"That's it?" Misako blinked feeling... something shift. Mother approved of her name.

"What? Did you expect my eyes to glow and do some kind of ritual?" Ranma asked.

"Uh.... nope." Misako coughed.

"Heck, there's probably some kami we can invoke to change your name. If not I could make something up," Ranma offered with a fanged smile.

"I think you did," Misako murmured.

"What are you using for a last name?" Nabiki asked, with a tiny smirk

"I guess Saotome's good enough." Misako shrugged.

"Anyway... why the name change?" Ranma asked.

Misako looked down. "It's just that Yuki and Eclipse...."

"You don't want to be left behind?" Ranma's question was followed by her putting an arm around Misako. For the first time the green-eyed girl did not resist the gesture.

"I still... Alexia was my mother. I still love her." Misako leaned onto her new mother.

Nabiki swallowed. She could relate. Alexia was a selfish monster, but... she was still their Mother. Having Ranma as their mother now helped things, but the feelings were still there. Of her three mothers, Alexia was the low point. Her birth mother had the most memories but they were distant, but there were similarities between her and Ranma. Both had the seemly unlimited well of affection for their children.

"She wasn't a good succubus," Misako grumbled. "If she had any smarts she would have won. She deserved her fate." She closed her eyes in shame.

"Yes, she did," Ranma simply held her daughter.

"What are your plans?" Misako asked.

Ranma blinked. "Plans? For what?"

"The future," Misako's voice dripped with incredulity.

Nabiki paused wondering why Aurora, no Misako, of all people would ask about that.

"I haven't really thought about it. Why?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, come on. Even Alexia had a plan." Misako shook her head.

"Killing Mom isn't exactly a plan," Nabiki dryly stated.

"You should know, little sis. Helping her plan was your job." Misako smirked and turned back to Mother. "Well? What are your plans?"
Ranma ran a hand through her hair. "Well... uh... there's helping you girls."

"That's it? Nothing for when you get older?"

Ranma hugged Misako. "I never thought much about the future. Not back when I was human, and now... I'm a mother now."

"Just because you're a mom doesn't mean, you have to abandon your dreams," Nabiki said.

"Yeah, look at all the training you're doing. A whole new set of moves," Misako said.

Ranma shrugged. Her life was a mix of training, mothering, and combat. Though at the heart of it all three were ultimately the same.

"You never were one for long term planning," Nabiki said snidely.

"What about your singing Mom? That's a good hobby," Misako offered.

"Yeah, but... I like my life." Ranma wondered when she started liking this life. It was hard for her to think of life without her family, her daughters. "Well, what about you girls? What are your plans?"

"You got me, Mom," Nabiki sighed as she snuck her way under her mother's free arm.

Ranma hugged both girls. "It's school right?"

Nabiki nodded. "I'm not even sure if I should go back to High School. I am about thirteen-fourteen now. Maybe..."

"It's okay," Ranma reassured. "What about you Misa-chan?"

Misako coughed. "I've always been Ucchan's partner." She leaned forward to see if Nabiki was snickering. "She never gave up hope in... saving me. I'll follow her."

"She serious about joining them?" Ranma asked.

Misako shrugged. "That or as formal contractors."

"Succubus agents? Weird." Nabiki knew that the brood was close to the agents, but there was always a bit of a line between the Company and the WIC. Though it was thinner than the line between the brood and the Sailor Senshi. Nabiki blinked. "But Mom's a Senshi too isn't she?"

"Uh... yeah, I am. Why?" Ranma wondered what brought this up.

"Oh it's nothing... yet," Nabiki got an evil little smile. Mother was proof that it was possible and the leader of the Senshi had shown the level of communicability.

"Nabiki..." Ranma started.

After Nabiki explained her idea Misako and Ranma blinked. Her daughters smelled normal, but she was their mother. "I am nursing you girls, maybe that energy could be transferred"

"Wait? You want us to become more like them?" Misako asked.

"You were just talking about joining the Company. Besides, we might as well beat the Senshi at their own game."

Misako smirked. "You have a point there Sis. Mom's shown that a demon can be a better leader. If we could be a better team..."

"And be better magical-girls than them," Nabiki laughed.

"Usagi's not that bad... she's just..." Ranma stopped and tried to articulate her point.

"I have no idea how someone with as much experience fighting as her could be so naïve," Misako said.

"She's getting better," Ranma stated.

Misako managed to give her shrug a sarcastic cant.

"Careful there, you and Ukyou might be the first succubus agent Senshi," Nabiki smirked.

"If 'mother's milk' works," Misako leaned onto Ranma. "At least we'll be the first agent succubae."

"Not if one of our agent friends goes first," Nabiki said.

"Nah, they've all turned Mom down," Misako replied.

"We haven't seen anyone wounded enough... eventually someone will want it."

"They are warriors," Misako muttered.

Ranma blinked and patted her girls on the head. "That would make the family bigger."

"So?" Misako and Nabiki asked.



***************



"Are you okay, honey?" Haruka asked her daughter.

Hotaru looked up from her work and beamed happily. "Yup!" she said before going back to her work.

"Is there going to be a fight?" Michiru questioned.

"Nope!" Hotaru said as she carefully moved the leather strap.

The two elder lesbian Senshi looked at each other before looking back at their daughter. "So why are you doing this?"

Hotaru looked at her guardians as if they were slow. "You have to maintain the edge." She then returned to listening to the sound leather made against metal.

Chibi-Usa tried to keep from snickering.

"And that's why you're sharpening your glaive?" Michiru asked.

The disappointed expression returned in the Hotaru's face. "I finished sharpening half an hour ago," she carefully explained pointing to three stones. "Traditional waterstones, are softer than Western oilstones, but they don't glaze or get loaded. Though it was a pain finding a good store that had them.

"I didn't like the ara-to they had, but that was just the rough stone. Their naka-to was okay, but their shiage-to was divine," Hotaru continued as she held up the white finishing stone.

"But you're using a piece of leather." Michiru said.

Hotaru sighed. "Of course, I told you I'm not sharpening. I finished that. I'm honing, now."

"What?" Haruka asked.

Chibi-Usa put her head in her hands and started shaking. It was getting hard to contain herself.

"You ever watch a Western movie? Know whenever they showed a barbershop the barber would slide his straight razors against a leather strap?" Hotaru's tone had become that of a teacher lecturing slow students.

"Uh... yes?" Michiru asked.

"They weren't doing that because it was cool," Hotaru paused. "Well they were, those were just movies, but this is how you get a razor-edge."

"So, you are sharpening then?"

"Yes, Momma I am." Hotaru sighed in defeat. "Papa do you want me to put a good edge on your sword?"

"It's a magic sword. I thought it didn't need to be sharpened," Haruka said.

Hotaru shook her head and went back to work. She started humming a little tune.

It was too much for Usa, who started laughing.

"So where did you learn to sharpen and um... hone blades?" Michiru asked.

Hotaru paused in her humming. "We're Senshi, maintaining our equipment is part of our training," she said without looking up.

"Uh... well have a good time," Michiru said.

"Yes, don't cut yourself," Haruka added. The two older girls left the room.

"You know they're talking about you?" Chibi-Usa quietly asked.

"Better they be worried about me than you." Hotaru said. She could hear her parents quietly arguing in the kitchen.

"Don't be so hard on them. They're stressed out. They find out they're being spied on and then they hear what's happening with the Inners," Usa sighed.

"I'm sorry that had to happen to your mother. First she loses... Mamoru and then she sees that," Hotaru said taking a break from her honing.

"Family tradition, the future's..." Usa raised her hand in a disheartened gesture.

"Yeah, it'll get worse."

"That's why Mom ordered us to stay in Japan. We'll be needed here," Usa flipped one of her ponytails.

Hotaru nodded. "Least your mom ordered Momma and Papa to leave those agents alone."

"We need all the allies we can get." Usa shrugged.



***************



"You must be happy to have your daughter back," Soun then flagged the waitress and ordered another drink.

"I suppose." Principal Kuno sighed. "She's jealous though. I should have known she'd be jealous of Nariko."

Genma scowled. He wanted to make a comment, that eager halfwit was why his son... He downed the remainder of his sake. He had learned not to insult Drake's child. It was clear that both his friends had become soft, obviously because of their daughters.

"I guess I should have been more sensitive to Kodachi... but she seemed to be going down a dark path, and the Company worked so well for Kasumi." And her issues, the Drake did not say aloud. "She even wanted to go, I was proud of it."

"Yes, it worked perfectly," Soun grumbled. "That smarmy man with his suit. He conned me out of my daughter and returned someone else."

"It's no wonder you feel so distant to your other daughters then," Drake observed as he sipped his drink.

Soun looked down. He only spoke after a fresh drink was put down in front of him. "I'm glad they're... back, but they're not the same are they?"

"At least yours are still the same gender" Drake glanced at Genma to see his reaction.

"I don't understand the... boy." Genma said before ordering another drink

"At least Kasumi and Ranma seem to be getting closer, that's good," Drake offered.

"That's not joining the houses." Genma's tone was stiff.

"I am fairly certain Kasumi would never give up her humanity." Soun wondered how it could have come to this. His family had been changed before his eyes, and he could do nothing. His daughters looked to others and went out and did Lord knows what.

"At least you have that much. I swear, it's like my son's mind was rotted by his... affliction, and his mother's not helping in the least," Genma said.

"That affliction saved the lives and souls of one of my daughters and two of Soun's, not to mention all the others she has saved. Ranma is using your school as the base for her new style. Shouldn't that make you happy?" Drake asked.

"Ranma should be a man."

"We don't always get what we want. It's part of growing up. We have to deal with things as they are." Drake sighed. It was sad that he had to be the voice of reason.

"You are right. We cannot pine over things and how we wish them to be," Soun nodded.

"We have been idle for too long," Genma agreed.

"Yeah, you can't just sit back and hope things magically turn around. Your kids looked to you for help... and you failed them." Drake did not want to be this frank, but there was no way to sugarcoat it. "That's why they all turned to maternal figures."

"So Soun's why my son's a sappy mother?" Genma asked, the last word spat out.

"Uh... not exactly. It's more complicated than that." Drake sipped his drink and feared that it would be a long night.



***************



"I wonder what moronic plan our dads are hatching," Ranma asked Kasumi. The pair were sitting on the back porch of the Tendo house.

"We could tap into the audio of the surveillance team," Kasumi offered.

"Eh, not unless they're doing something really stupid –well- dangerous," Ranma corrected herself. She had gotten used to and understood the need for this level of surveillance, but she did not like it.

"Yes, we'll do that." Kasumi looked unto the darkened forest.

"Did you have a good time with Akane and Nabiki today?"

"Nabiki's worried about school," Kasumi noted.

"At least you know that yourself now," Ranma grumbled.

"I am spending time with them, I'm not like my father."

"Good, they need human contact. Especially after what Alexia did."

Kasumi nodded. She had initiated contact before, the second time should be easier. She turned to Ranma and smiled.

The redhead tilted her head. She hardly had time to catch the change in the human's scent before Kasumi was onto her. The contact was gentle, more of a caress, but abruptly ended when the officer retreated her hand.

Wordlessly, Kasumi stood and walked away.

Eyes-wide and cheeks flushed, Ranma put her hand to her breast. Despite the surprise, the corners of her lips turned upward. Her mind flashed with the image of a nude Kasumi drenched in blood. The agent's face was neutral but her eyes were...

"You two can come out now," Ranma said to the two kids she could sense.

"You should have felt her back. Kasumi was grabbing your goods," Nariko's mate suggested.

"It was a test, Akane," Nariko said. "To see if Mom could control herself or fall into mindless lust."

"You're going by Akane now?" Ranma asked, her daughter's lack of reaction at that name, piercing her euphoric haze.

Akane shrugged. Her name did not seem that important. She had been a succubus as both Akane and Eclipse.

"What are you going to do about Kasumi?" Nariko asked.

"You should test her back," Akane offered.

"Oooh! Use your violet negligee," Nariko suggested.

"Yes, the one that Misako gave you!" Akane supposed that Misako was a good name. It was better than Aurora at least.

"Yes, I think that's a good idea," Ranma said as she stood up.

"No Mom, you should wait." Akane said. "Big Sis is expecting you now."

"Yeah, wait until after tonight's training mission." Nariko smiled evilly. "Then let her have it."



***************



A woman strolled down a forest path, humming a little song as she made her way. The shadows from the trees played across her form until they reached her hair where they seemed to merge with the black tresses.

Silver-blue eyes sparkled with deep almost indigo flecks in the gloom. It had taken time for word to travel. Her Family was connected, but the distances were astronomical. It was a shame, a tragedy that had happened. Death and betrayal, but the woman was prepared to make things better.

Her shoulders slumped. She promised herself to not screw up again. She had been too kind with wayward family, and it had almost cost her dearly.

But she had a chance to make amends. The woman had lived long enough to know that history repeating itself was simply another chance to get things right.

A thin smile appeared on her face. Patience was virtue that came with age, but even she found herself eager for what was about to happen. She maintained her steady pace; relatively speaking, a few more minutes was nothing. A rumbling purr grew in her chest with anticipation.

End Chapter 1

Revision notes: And here we go with Book 2. Things are building up as more of the plots start to come to a head and the characters learn more of the world they've found themselves in.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 2: Family Visitation
Formerly: Respect and Reliability(ii)


"Hard night, Sis? You look like something demons dragged in." Nabiki looked up from her breakfast. At least her big sister seemed to fare better than her father and Mr. Saotome, those two were still at the Drake's place dealing with their hangovers.

"Meh... coffee," Kasumi mumbled after staggering into the room

"I thought you agents are trained to last without sleep?" Misako asked half jokingly. The Assembly had plenty of rumors about the Company.

"It wasn't a lack of sleep that did her in." Ukyou sipped her juice.

"Got a pot of coffee made," Nabiki said as she poured some into Kasumi's black WIC mug.

Ranma snickered at the fatigued agent.

Kasumi sipped the beverage "Hmmm?"

"Oh, nothing." Ranma smiled and crossed her legs.

"I suppose I deserve what you did to me last night," Kasumi admitted. She sighed when the brood ceased eating and leaned forward with knowing smiles. "Oh knock it off. If I really had sex with your Mom, you girls would know it."

"Someone's prideful of her sexual skills," Ranma said as she sipped out of her "World's Greatest Mother" mug. Ranma knew she had let some of her power slip. Her intention was not to seduce Kasumi, but unsettle her.

"You have no room to talk, virgin," Kasumi said as she refilled her cup.

"That's me. As pure as the freshly fallen snow." The redhead laughed.

"Someone's grumpy," Nabiki remarked.

"I came back from a midnight training mission to find a succubus trying to screw my brains out. Kept me up all night."

"Now you know what it's like." Ranma gave a coy smile.

"Did you get any further than you did with Setsuna?" Nariko asked after looking up from her breakfast.

"I got far enough," Ranma said.

Kasumi slowly refilled her mug again. "You'd have gotten further if you had given me a chance to breathe." Kasumi then left the room. She was starting to feel the beginnings of a good caffeine buzz.

"She's bluffing," Ranma said once Kasumi was out of earshot, and had gotten into her car and driven back to base.

"I'm sure she is, Mom," Nabiki remarked.

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma tilted her head and looked out the window to the kitchen. "Huh... that's odd," she got up and with a better view tracked a darker shadow moving amongst the shadows of the forest bordering the back yard.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Nabiki asked.

"Someone's coming, familiar but... the scent doesn't scream demon." Ranma's senses were at a loss.

"I'll call the perimeter agents," Ukyou said as she walked to the phone.

Nodding, Ranma motioned for her girls to get into position. She slipped up to the door. The scent hit her before the figure completely emerged from the shadows. Her other senses could not detect any... power, but, now, the smell was familiar.

"Just who the hell are you?" Ranma shouted to the shadowed figure. It was odd, as if the shadows of the forest had obediently followed the person out into the open.

The shadows retreated from the figure's body, but not her hair or dress, where they seemed to quiver. "Funny words to give family, dear DarkStar," the woman laughed, her metallic blue eyes twinkling darker bits of sapphire.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear the first time." Ranma formed a fireball in her hand. "Who are you?"

The woman strutted forward and took Ranma's hand, snuffing out the fire. "That's no way to talk to your grandma."

"What?" Ranma pulled her hand free. "Now who are..." Ranma's voice drifted as memories started to assert themselves. She had already accessed them once, when comforting Usagi. "BlackSky?" the redhead asked as memories and connections lit up in her mind.

The woman smiled. "I see you're doing better this time around DarkStar."

Ranma blinked. "You're from before." She noticed that the person had gotten closer.

"We do live a long time, Dear," BlackSky reached out and ran her hand down Ranma's face. She frowned at the slight recoil in the young demon. "Lovely family," she said looking at the assembled broodlings.

Ranma stepped back. She could see her... grandmother, but the feeling was distant. There was a familiar mundane scent, but no energy signature. It was a void, a disconcerting absence. She should be able to sense her grandmother, but there was nothing.

BlackSky's eyes twinkled. "I suppose I'll need to jog your memory." Shadows grew from her inky ankle-length hair and snug black dress and danced across her form and a fraction of her power slipped loose.

Ranma's senses where overwhelmed, the presence of BlackSky impacted her. She could feel the pressure and nearly tangible form of the elder succubus' power. The presence quickly retreated, dying down to a reasonable level. Instead of a void, Ranma sensed a succubus that was only a few times greater in power than her.

"Grandma?" Ranma asked.

The rest of the brood was similarly stunned. The sensations were overpowering. They knew mother and Alexia's power, but this was otherworldly. As a group they had moved further behind their mother.

BlackSky nodded and found herself being embraced by the little redhead.

"So... she's good family then?" Ukyou asked. She shrugged when instead of replying Ranma and BlackSky purred. She then pulled out her phone and alerted the perimeter agents.

"These are your girls?" BlackSky asked after putting Ranma back down onto her feet.

"Of course," Ranma said with pride as she lined up her daughters.

"Alexia mentioned you," Misako said with awe.

BlackSky nodded. "I had hoped that her exile would force her to mature. Instead..." She lowered her head. "I'm sorry she came after you," she apologized to Ranma.

"You know about that?" Ranma asked.

"One of my daughters informed me about what happened. AshRain held out hope that you'd come back, but she is my youngest." BlackSky shook her head. "It's a shame. Alexia was always jealous of you... I guess finding you alive was too much for her... but she deserved her fate."

Ranma's eyes flashed. "I converted or killed her spawn, ripped her apart, and ate her while she was still alive."

"She deserved that. She was stupid, and used tactics... it was like she was from House Vephar," BlackSky spat. "Even Luxon and Elena have more subtlety than that."

"Vephar?" Misako asked.

"Back when I was in the Silver Millennium there were two invading demon armies. One was lead by grandma over there," Ranma gestured. "The other was led by Vephar. She had the larger army. Twenty-nine legions I think, but while Grandma didn't have the numbers, she had skill."

"Yes, Vephar would have her family turn everyone they got, but you girls know how effective newborn succubae are in battle. Such a waste of our own kind," BlackSky let a bit of her posture slip showing an all-to-human weariness.

"Didn't you raid earth's magical universities for new blood?" Ranma asked.

"And their royal family," BlackSky smiled as she patted Ranma on the head.

"Mom's royalty?" Misako asked.

"Mommy was a princess in her past life?" Nariko asked.

"Prince actually," BlackSky clarified.

"Not surprised at that," Akane sighed.

"Makes a strange sort of sense," Nabiki commented.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you girls this," Ranma sighed as she massaged the bridge of her nose.

"To be fair you did end up being queen of Earth, technically," BlackSky reminded.

"Yeah, a demon ruling humanity in the middle of a demonic invasion." Ranma turned to her daughters. "This is what keeps me sane, as bad as this life gets... it can't come close to sucking nearly as bad as my last one."

"Both times you started out as a guy and ended up as a succubus Sailor Senshi," Ukyou stated.

"Yeah, but this time around I got to have kids."

"Family makes a world of difference doesn't it?" Nodoka strode into her room, pocketing her phone. The lack of combat was a pleasant surprise, and she had updated headquarters as to events..

"Ah, you're her human mother," BlackSky surmised. "Must have been shocking to find your son transformed into this."

"Yes, quite shocking." Nodoka's face remained neutral. "It was more shocking to find that she was a negligent mother. I had to encourage her to take care of her young and be a good brood mother for them."

"You helped your son become this?" BlackSky asked, pointing to the leather-clad redhead.

"I was thinking about my granddaughter's health," Nodoka stated.

"How reasoned," BlackSky remarked, approval on her face.

"I am a doctorate holding scientist," Nodoka said.

"Don't forget the Company commission," Nariko added.

"Mom, you really should introduce grandma," Nabiki whispered to Ranma.

Ranma blushed. "Yeah, grandma this is my mom, Doctor... and Major Nodoka Saotome."

"Ahh the Company, so that's why you're so business-like," BlackSky smiled. "DarkStar, not only did you get involved with the Senshi again, but also with human hunters?"

"Yeah, well it seems like I'm closer with the Company than with the Senshi. At least the agents get me." Ranma said.

BlackSky noticed how the human woman had slid next to DarkStar and was holding the girl's hand. "Please, I'm just here to see how DarkStar's doing. I'm not here to take your little girl. I'm a mother too."

"I know how succubus moms are," Nodoka's tone had thawed slightly, and she kept eye contact with the elder demon.

"Damn Alexia," BlackSky swore, but she had to smile at the way Nodoka stared her down. Not many beings, demon or otherwise were able or willing to do that.

"Would you like to come inside?" Nodoka asked.



***************



"Here comes the granddame of the succubae." Jacob watched the feed. He stood with Stillwater on the upper level of the command and control room of the WIC base. The alarms had been switched off. They were only distracting. The revelation their sensors brought was enough to hold everyone's attention.

"This surprise could have been worse," Stillwater remarked before confirming the targeting data for the HIMARS battery under his command. The new Pattern D seemed to be amiable, but the intensity of that spike quite thoroughly pegged the dials.

"Content?" Jacob asked a communications tech.

"Standard succubus banter sir," Maya Inversion replied as she put the microphone pickup on speaker.

Jacob nodded and listened to the conversation for a bit. He then walked back to Stillwater. "It looks like a normal family visit."

"With an entity that is off the charts. You remember the last time we faced a demon even remotely like this," Stillwater sighed. BlackSky's unveiling had burnt out a few of the more sensitive scanners, and their backups had to be activated. The officer suspected that that was not even her full potential. She had proven able to defeat their scanners and human observers.

"This is Miss Saotome's grandmother; you know how old that would make her," Jacob replied. "Besides, we succeeded against that demon fifteen years ago."

"She was drunk on power, and the Company was lucky. We can't afford to count on that this time," Stillwater said stiffly. They also owed their survival to the... innovative strategy of – then - Captain Anderson.

"I'd be more concerned about the Heir to Serenity than this demon," Jacob reminded. "We have some information as to what House BlackSky is like, as a polity they have rules."

Stillwater nodded. They had troopers and artillery ready, but he had severe doubts. Knowing full well the slim odds, this was a scenario they had trained for. Serenity's heir on the other hand... The full potential of her power was what they were counting on. In the hands of an unstable person...

"I think we can both guess at the true purpose of the attempt on Miss Tsukino's life," Jacob stated. Many knew, or suspected, the power of Miss Tsukino and sought to control or destroy her.

"This is not the time to worry about her," Stillwater said.



***************



"The Company is treating you well?" BlackSky asked as she sipped her chocolate. She had a fondness for the beverage that dated to when she first got some cocoa along with a few new granddaughters. She remembered the excursion vaguely, it involved going to a London Chocolate House followed by a pub and a few other locations. She knew that that the warmer parts of her territory had cacao cultivation for at least a few hundred years. It was a common enough commodity traded in the spice bazaars of Silvana.

"Lovely marshmallows, so very small," she commented.

"They just come in the packet, grandma." Ranma remarked. "Uh yeah, they're not dumb. They'd rather have me as an ally than an enemy."

BlackSky nodded approvingly. "And the Senshi?"

"Not quite so wise."

"But Mom has the hots for a couple of them." Nabiki smirked.

"Nabiki!"

BlackSky shook her head. "You're setting yourself up for heartbreak, Dear. Those girls have a troubled path to walk."

"It's not like that! I was just teasing Pluto!" Ranma defended.

"Pluto?" BlackSky smiled in recollection. "Yes, you did enjoy teasing the one from your day."

"They're not all bad. You do owe Serenity for my return," Ranma reminded. "And Usagi's pretty nice."

BlackSky grinned as she sipped her hot chocolate; she was still fascinated by the tiny, little marshmallows. It was sweeter than the drink was popularly served in her city, but the difference made it interesting.

"Her mother did keep up her end of the deal," BlackSky said after licking her lips, revealing the expected, if dainty, fangs.

"You let her take over earth, instead of you?" Ranma asked.

"She promised me she'd bring you back. Took her long enough." BlackSky put down her cup. "The Heir Serenity bears a terrible burden. And I don't just mean filling her mother's shoes, something Serenity the First did little to truly help her with," BlackSky noted sourly.

"You have no idea."

"Are you still trying to take over the world?" Nodoka asked.

"Direct," BlackSky gave an approving nod and then sipped her warm drink.

"May I have an answer?"

"That is a job for the young and idealistic succubae," BlackSky smiled fondly at her granddaughter. "Though, I suppose this Usagi is may try it too."

"I don't wanna take over. Too much work." Ranma said.

BlackSky smiled. "My thoughts exactly."

"Yeah, but you control like a whole continent on the home plane," Misako said excitedly.

"That's more than I remember," Ranma blinked. Her own memories of the home plane were very hazy. As DarkStar she had never been there, and only heard secondhand from BlackSky

"Destroying House Vephar did add to my holdings greatly," BlackSky smiled. Conflicts with Luxon and the shaky detente with Elena allowed her influence over the minor Houses to grow. Especially the small polities founded and run by her own daughters.

"Home plane? The dimension native to demons?" Ukyou asked.

"Succubae actually," BlackSky explained.

"Legend says that the creator of our species, the first succubus, took the home plane and made it into a haven for our kind. A place where we could grow and not be enslaved by other demons. Then the home plane became full and some of us immigrated to a place with plenty of unclaimed hunting territory," Nabiki explained.

"Or were banished," BlackSky added.

"Who told you that?" Ranma asked Nabiki.

"Not everything Alexia told me was bad fashion advice or her gloating."

"That's why you tried to take Earth back then?" Nodoka stated.

"I'm a demon," BlackSky shrugged. "Places, people, and resources are the main reasons for zero-conflicts, and at that time this planet had all three, ripe for the taking."

"But you're not going to try to takeover now?" Misako asked, trying to sound disappointed.

" 'Fraid not kiddo."

"Something for the younger demons do to," Misako mulled over BlackSky's earlier words deep in thought.

BlackSky nodded and turned to Nodoka. "Do you live with your daughter?"

"Essentially, though I do often sleep in the lab," Nodoka said, noticing BlackSky's use of "your daughter" instead of "my granddaughter".

"Attached to your work?"

"Materials science, I make armor and weapons for the Company. Us humans have to use our wits and other tricks." Nodoka baited.

"Have you ever made anything for your family? Or is it just business?"

"They haven't asked yet." Nodoka frowned at her daughter and granddaughters. "Though some of them are thinking of joining."

Ukyou coughed after Misako poked her in the ribs.

"It's not that Mom," Ranma said. "It's just that normal weapons and armor aren't... not that what you make is normal... I mean it's saved..." The redhead continued to nervously babble.

She was saved by BlackSky. "Materials science... you're good with metallurgy?" After receiving a nod, she marked off the first name on her mental list.

Nodoka wondered what the demon across from her was thinking. BlackSky was... an example of what the succubus species was capable of, controlled power and refinement. Nodoka put her hand over her daughter's hand and wondered about Ranma's future.

BlackSky smiled. The ability to read emotions came from reading body language and sensing pheromones and other cues. It was a necessary survival trait for a species that had to mimic humans enough to blend in, and one that increased with experience. It became more than that and was a key part of living inside a brood and navigating the larger succubus society.

The interplay between this human and... her family was fascinating. "I've never seen such pure devotion. If I didn't know better..." BlackSky paused. "No, this is a case where species doesn't matter."

Nodoka raised an eyebrow, and put her hands in front of her on the table. "Is this your roundabout way of complimenting me?"

"You're unique." BlackSky reached out and touched Nodoka's hands with her own. "Despite your species, you're a part of DarkStar's, of Ranma's, brood. Her daughters look to you. Ranma looks to you. She sleeps in your lap doesn't she?"

Nodoka pulled her hands back and hugged Ranma with one arm. "She's my daughter. I'll do whatever it takes."

"By encouraging me to accept Nariko you did save me, and my girls." Ranma quietly said. She did not want to think what her life would be like without Nariko. Ranma still wondered what would have happened during the Alexia situation if she didn't have a family to draw strength and purpose from. She did not need to wonder what would have happened to Nariko, and with other daughter's it was more a question of death of body versus corruption of soul.

"You are in good hands," BlackSky commented to Ranma. "What are these agents like? We know your mother here, but what about the others?"

Ranma traced her hand over the lettering of her mug. There was a lot she could say. There were even more agents. "I guess there's one story that stands out, Aram Kowalski's. He wasn't an officer or anythin' like that. He was... my friend. At first he was just some anonymous guy in dark sunglasses. I then started talking to him, he was still just a guy."

The corners of the redhead's lips raised. "Things didn't really start to... change until the bank robbery." Ranma then explained how she, Aram, and Gabriel, another agent stopped the robbers. She reminisced happily on the bar scene that followed.

Misako had lowered her head. She knew where this story was going, and her own part.

Ranma's voice choked when she described the next event. A battle on a lonely stretch of road. "He did his job, probably killed more of Alexia's minions then I did. He went down fighting."

"I'm sorry, Mother," Misako weakly said, her eyes still downcast.

Ranma got up and walked across the living room and hugged her daughter. "I know you are."

"How?" Misako whimpered as she tried to bury her head onto her mother's shoulder. "I liked serving Alexia. We all did."

"She used you, made you into what she wanted. Ryoga was nothing like Aurora, and you're more than just Aurora now," Ranma reassured.

"I'm more Aurora than Ryoga," Misako reminded. "And you wouldn't have thought twice about killing either."

Ranma gently pushed Misako off of her and rotated the younger demon so they were eye to eye. "That's a lie. I had a weak and traumatized Aurora at my feet. Ucchan saved you."

Misako leaned her head back onto the brood mother. "I still helped kill your friend."

"You also helped abduct two of my daughters and aided in several plots to steal the rest." Ranma smirked. She motioned for Akane to slide down and sat down on the couch still holding Misako. "We were invited to the service. It was a good ceremony I suppose," Ranma softly said.

BlackSky nodded and cataloged several things. Her daughter's unhesitating support to her children was one thing, but the approving posture of DarkStar's mother was another. Lastly came the observation that WIC seemed to understand the nature of succubae. Their species was not a uniform whole, but a collection of separate broods.

"The real part was the wake. It's funny. The Senshi think of me as a demon, a fluke, Setsuna's mistake. Most of the people at school think I'm an uptight, cliquey slut. I do have a couple friends, but they don't know what I am. The agents however.... they've seen me fight and I'm still encouraged to drink with them, mourn with them. They're scary secret agents, and they do some... creepy stuff, maybe that's why they can get a demon not being all evil, or something. I'm rambling." Ranma apologized.

Nodoka smiled. Her daughter could be deep, in her own inarticulate way.

"No, it makes sense," BlackSky reassured. Things were already vastly different this time. Humanity actually seemed to be mounting a defense worthy of what they had.

"What is your story?" Nabiki asked BlackSky. "You seem pretty up to date with humans. Have anymore insights onto what's happening? Or maybe the Senshi, you were in their past too?"

"I was around well before the fall of the Serenity's Empire. The Senshi you know were born well after I left Earth."

"I doubt you stayed entirely in the dark. I'm guessing Serenity helped destroy Vephar's legions. A person like that, I'd keep my eye on." Nabiki said.

BlackSky sipped her cocoa and crossed off another name on her list. She liked the inquisitive spunk this one had. "I may have kept informed on a few things. We do have our ways of getting men, and women, to loosen their lips."

"Obviously," Nabiki dryly remarked. "What do you really know about Serenity's kid?"

"She seemed to take after her father," BlackSky said a she delicately put her cup down. "Her mother, Serenity, was capable and ruthless. I respected her, until I found out the caliber of mother she was. In he pervious life daughter was spoiled, and when things counted most... she took her own life."

"Was it after Mamoru died the first time?" Ranma asked.

"I'm assuming that is the same man as the Earth Prince Endymion," BlackSky sighed. "That new royal family really doesn't compare to the one you came from, DarkStar."

"She's doing better now at least. This time she didn't kill herself after Mamoru died again."

"Good. Tell me, can Lady Venus bring herself to use her sword now?"

"I haven't seen her using a sword," Ukyou said.

"Figures, if Serenity's daughter kept that up the other Senshi would run out of weapons." BlackSky turned to Nabiki "So Little One, do you have other questions?"

"Not just now," Nabiki smirked.

"I'd like to know how you get your hair like that," Misako asked.

"Oh this?" BlackSky asked as she fingered a strand from the black tresses that pooled around her.

"What about her makeup?" Ukyou teased.

"It's like Mom's," Misako said. "She's already teaching me about that."

"It still seems odd that you're teaching your daughters about makeup," Nodoka said.

"Misa-chan was born a guy, and anything is better than what she wore back under Alexia," Ranma shrugged. "Well, maybe not what Akane was tricked into."

Akane grumbled.

"How do you get your hair to do that?" Misako asked again, eyes gleaming with interest.

"You make it sound like there's more to it than just being long and flat black." BlackSky chuckled.

"Mom can you give me a hand in the kitchen?" Ranma asked as she got up.

"Sure Dear," Nodoka agreed as she followed her daughter.

"I'll keep the kids entertained," BlackSky said from the living room

"What is it?" Nodoka quietly asked in Japanese, as she helped Ranma brew more tea. Ranma could not be worried about BlackSky, not if she just left the demon alone with her children.

"Are you okay, Mom?" Ranma asked in the same language and volume.

"It is shocking. To see the rest of your... family."

Ranma nodded as she fussed over a teapot. "I know my other life... but it still didn't feel quite real. It was so far in the past. I should have known she'd show up."

"She was the only one to survive?" Nodoka asked. Ranma once told her the gist of her past life.

"She had other daughters back then, but I don't know if any are still alive now. Maybe. But Grandma's a tough old-demon, and she does love her spawn. Family is everything to her. She can't hurt them." Ranma sighed. "That's why she let that tanned moron live."

"Couldn't your grandmother have... reprogrammed her?"

"She could have, but she banished her instead."

"I see."

"What else is wrong?" Ranma asked looking up at her mother.

"Nothing." Nodoka's response was as sharp as the volume limitations could allow.

Ranma smiled, slightly. Her mother could keep her cool in the face of a demon thousands of years old but not in front of her young demonic daughter. "I'm not going to leave you," Ranma whispered as she hugged her mother.

Nodoka put her arms around the smaller woman and remained silent.

"You know who helped me the most in my previous life? It wasn't my grandma. Sure she was a neat relative, but it was my mom that was there for me the most. More so than Serenity."

"I know. It's just creepy what she thinks of me," Nodoka admitted before breaking the hug.

"But she admires you," Ranma said quizzically. "She's pleased to see that you're capable of being like..."

"Like a demon mother?" Nodoka asked with a contained smile.

"I did learn from you," Ranma laughed. She then looked at the serving tray. "Is there more we should talk about?"

"No, I think we're good," Nodoka said before the two women returned to the living room.

The officer switched to English. "It is nice to have you over BlackSky. Given Ranma's cousin, I was getting worried about Ranma's ancestry."

"Alexia was always a jealous girl and never did think things through," BlackSky said coldly.

"I guess she took the wrong lesson from your stories of conquest and destruction," Misako said with a little frown.

"See Misa-chan I told you reducing the amount of hairspray would clear your mind," Akane smirked.

"At least I'm trying to be nicer," Misako sniffed.

BlackSky smiled, they were lively broodlings, and she had marked off all the names from her list, save one. "You're being very quiet dear," she said to Nariko.

Nariko looked to her mother then back to BlackSky. "Yes, I am," she said.

"What's wrong, Honey?" Ranma asked moving closer to her eldest.

"I don't want to be mean." Nariko blushed. Why did she have to be the one to see that something was wrong. She steeled herself. "It feels a bit odd that Great-grandma comes right after Alexia's gone. It's not that she let Alexia roam free. Alexia's sins are her own fault, but..." Nariko looked BlackSky over. "If you really were waiting for so long and dreamed of Mom's return, why did it take you so long to come?"

BlackSky frowned. "I heard that the Senshi were back, but after a few years of them all being reincarnated and no signs of a redheaded demon among them... I'm sorry, I sort of gave up hope." For a moment the sparkle went out of her eyes.

"You thought Serenity had betrayed you?" Nabiki asked.

"Given the problems with her daughter and what happened at the end of her empire, what reason did I have to trust her?"

Nodoka nodded. BlackSky seemed to put a lot of weight in one's skill in raising children as a measure of character. That and the ability to be a conquering monarch. Nodoka had noticed her daughter had taken, at least the former, to heart as well.

"You gave up hope," Nariko stated.

"It was several millennia of waiting, and I never did fully. Killing Alexia brought enough attention to you."

"That loser?" Ranma asked.

"Indeed, so very selfish. Even other succubae from less reputable Houses were wary of her," BlackSky explained.

"Would have fit right in House Vephar," Ranma grumbled, recalling Alexia's habit of using masses of young untrained succubae.

"And Elena would be too paranoid to trust her. Still, given her descent, I'm quite glad you killed her in an appropriate way," BlackSky admitted.

Misako sighed. As Aurora she thought that Ranma was the aberration. That succubae were supposed to be like Alexia, but BlackSky.... Misako could see which brood mother BlackSky was more like.

"What do you like?" BlackSky gently asked Nariko.

Nariko shrugged. "I like mother's singing." There was no harm in saying that much.

BlackSky turned to Ranma and practically beamed. "You sing now?"

"It just sorta happened," Ranma blushed. "My girls like it... and Mom got me a couple books."

"Books are very handy." BlackSky nodded knowingly. "How is your singing voice?"

"Mother's very good," Akane interjected.

"Really? You're getting me interested," BlackSky teased.

"Yeah, even Kasumi stops in to listen now and then," Nabiki said.

"Your older and still human sister, the agent?" BlackSky asked.

"That's her, but I don't think she'll ever go demon," Akane sighed.

"Some people like staying human." BlackSky knew that any real relationship her granddaughter would require her partner to become demonic.

"And some people don't get a choice," Misako muttered.

"Would you rather go back to the way you were?" Ukyou asked her... partner.

"No," Misako pouted.

"Yeah, you're only now starting to get good enough to beat your archrival and mother," Nabiki teased.

"Mother is good at that type of stuff," Misako admitted

"The fighting style that you're teaching your spawn?" BlackSky asked. Her great-granddaughters had told her about that.

"Yeah, it's my family style adapted to succubae." Ranma's tone revealed the pride she had in the concept.

"Fascinating." BlackSky was intrigued by the stories the broodlings had told her when DarkStar and her mother were talking in the kitchen. "Our family is quite old; there might be some notes that could help you. Is there any aspect that is troubling you?"

Ranma paused and wondered why BlackSky was offering books instead of personal lessons. It might be due to limited time on BlackSky's part. "Well there's what happens when you're close in with another succubus. I mean real close, rolling on the ground close. It seems to get down to just two demons trying to tear each other apart."

As BlackSky listened, she sipped her cocoa – she was really enjoying the marshmallows; she knew that her gift idea would be on the right track. "That is a problem, but there are a few moves that can help."

"Yeah?" Ranma asked. "There's also teleporting. It's a real pain when your enemies can run away whenever they want or when they pop up and surprise you."

"It's a good thing you killed Alexia in the proper way then." BlackSky concentrated on the good that had come out of Alexia's rampage. It had expanded Ranma's brood, and given her an impressive maternal drive.

"Oh," Ranma blinked. "I'm not going to start tanning my skin am I?"

"Every morning we do check you for bad makeup and fashion sense," Nariko helpfully reminded.

"Good," Ranma deadpanned.

"You are what you eat, Mother," Misako said mischievously before licking one of her fangs

"Thanks Misa-chan, thanks," Ranma sarcastically, sighed.

"She has a point. You did do that evil laugh and shadow show thing after you ate Alexia," Ukyou said.

Ranma coughed nervously as she worried if it was a hint of something darker.

"That's perfectly normal for a young brood mother," BlackSky said.

"You are a demon, Dear," Nodoka added in understanding.

"Does that mean Mommy will have to practice her evil laugh now?" Nariko asked. "She didn't do to well last time."

"I was missing a lung at the time," Ranma grumbled.

"Excuses, excuses," quipped Misako.

Ranma rolled her eyes.

"Will you be staying for dinner?" Nodoka asked the houseguest.

"I'll have to stop back home for a bit, but I should be back in a few hours," BlackSky offered.

"Business?" Nodoka guessed.

BlackSky nodded. "I do have a fair-sized family to look over." News would travel fast; especially after she told her daughters.

"Fair enough," Nodoka remarked. It was still mid-morning. There was plenty of time to prepare a proper early dinner.

BlackSky stood and looked at a clock mounted on the living-room wall. "I'll be back at about four."

"It'll be our pleasure," Nodoka's smile actually met her eyes.

"Yeah, uh... see you then," Ranma added.

BlackSky waved and stepped out of the room and made her way to the back porch. She then walked across the backyard and into the surrounding woods.

Nodoka called headquarters and updated them on the situation. "Yes Sir, I think a dinner is perfectly proper, or should we not extend that courtesy to my daughter's relative?"

At the other end of the line Stillwater paused. BlackSky was being civil, provoking her was foolish, and BlackSky's granddaughter was already integrated into their operations. "There is no reason to snub her. Approved." The conversation continued but that was the only real decision for the Commander, and even that was a perfunctory one at best.

"We could use better relations with the more civilized broods," Jacob said after Stillwater closed the communication.

"Oh? True, it could be beneficial to have relations with Pattern D's 'over there'," Stillwater allowed as he watched the tracking on BlackSky. The slight reading she gave off on the house was quickly snuffed out and she was only being tracked by conventional means.

"That we can still see her means she doesn't care about us," Jacob remarked. "Though why would she? Her granddaughter's here and global domination's a game for the young."

Stillwater nodded and leaned back on the wall at the far end of the command room. "Miss Tsukino is about that age too."

"I had Historical Research to look into our copy of book that the Pattern Silvers retrieved from the Path of the Will incident, Sir." Jacob laughed lightly. "It was a good stroke to have Miss Saotome offer our facilities for their cleanup afterwards."

"It should be a short search." Stillwater knew that the vast WIC archives had been combed for any information relating to the Pattern Silvers.

"Yes, the report is on your desk. It looks like the copy the Silvers have is far more complete. Ours is just a collection of fragmentary prophecies and other nonsense."

"While theirs allowed them to do something to Pattern Silver energy," Stillwater shook his head.

"Sirs, BlackSky just vanished," Maya Iverson said.

"Investigate her last position and keep the troops deployed," Stillwater ordered, he and Jacob then went to Stillwater's office.

"This was an interesting development." Stillwater then poured two glasses of scotch.

"Of course demons like this would be immune to our scanners. BlackSky's like a black hole," Jacob sipped his drink.

Stillwater smiled slightly. "And how does one detect a black hole?"

"From the way they affect the orbits of nearby stars? There's also the X-ray emissions matter falling into them gives off." Jacob shrugged.

"We talked about over reliance on our gadgetry," Stillwater leaned back in his chair. "She's not completely invisible. Though I'm sure she can get as close to that as she needs."

"But as we said, BlackSky isn't the main issue."

"Of course not. She doesn't need to fight us; we're already infiltrated by her spawn. Especially if we approve Ukyou Saotome's request. Even a formal contract with her and the rest of the brood will bring them in."

"Furthering our alliance makes sense," Jacob shrugged.

"I now see what 'too much success' means. We wanted Miss Saotome to trust us."

"And now she's expecting us to trust her. We do constantly spy on her brood. Something she's most accepting of."

"Unlike the other Pattern Silvers." Stillwater frowned and took a sip.

" Miss Saotome may eventually prove to have ulterior machinations, but we know for a fact that Miss Meioh has several."

"That's why the Path's attack was so traumatic to them," Stillwater added.

"Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. They put doubt into Miss Tsukino's mind. She's no longer certain that she's the good guy."

"It's a good thing we don't have to worry about that," Stillwater chuckled.



***************



BlackSky walked down the wooded path. Carrying two large leather satchels, she hummed to herself. She hoped she was not too early. As she walked she could sense several humans around her. They were silent, camouflaged, and even had reduced their odor, but BlackSky could still sense them.

She was not worried. Her granddaughter trusted these humans, and they seemed respectful enough. BlackSky observed the agents out of curiosity. Even when they moved it was concise and silent. She could see why DarkStar would respect them.

The demon stopped and turned around to see an older human leaning on a tree on the same path. "I'm guessing you're one of the senior WIC officers," BlackSky said as she doubled back. "Hmm... too old for the Jarvis one and you don't look dour enough to be Stillwater. Jacob I presume?"

"I see our reputations precede us," Jacob smiled. He wondered what Marvin would think of being called dour by an elder a few thousand years older than him. He then shrugged "But I must assure you that in-person Commander Stillwater is not dour. He's more of a saturnine."

BlackSky laughed. "Yes, the stories my granddaughter told about you scaring those two young men were most amusing." BlackSky shifted her bags. "I must compliment you on the caliber of your officers. I did not expect someone in your organization to be so... enlightened about her daughter's situation."

"Major Saotome is quite the woman," Jacob agreed, as he started walking next to BlackSky. "Would you like some help carrying those?"

"Such a polite young man." BlackSky stopped walking and handed the longer of the leather bags over. "Now be careful, with this. The metal in there is a bit dangerous to humans. It's in another case but you can't be too cautious."

"Oh?" Jacob asked as he held the bag from the strap.

"DarkStar's mother seemed put out that her broodlings didn't request her services. Thus I brought her some new materials to work with." BlackSky had to go fairly deep in her palace-citadel to get to the correct vault to procure these shards. It would take a skilled hand to work the material, especially given the dangers, but it would be a good challenge for DarkStar's mother.

"Demonic metal?" Jacob asked. "Are there actual dark powers, or does it merely facilitate normal demonic abilities?"

"I'm certainly not going to give anything dangerous to my family," BlackSky assured.

"Its effect on humans?"

"Raw it can draw energy from just about anyone; in a finished form it will need a demon wielding it to actively drain. However fine powders and slivers from working the material are the most dangerous, if they find a way inside a human body," BlackSky explained as they walked.

"Requires bonding to a specific user during processing then?"

BlackSky laughed. "Have experience with demonic weapons have you?"

"Nothing as direct as what you're proposing," Jacob allowed.

"Could you please keep it a secret? I want to surprise Ranma's mother," BlackSky said.

Jacob nodded and made a note on the number of times BlackSky referred to Major Saotome as Miss Saotome's mother.

"Will you be joining us for dinner?" BlackSky asked her dark blue eyes twinkling.

"Oh, I couldn't impose," Jacob ignored the alternative interpretation of that question.

"Now, now, I won't let you melt back into the shadows," the demoness said with a tiny grin. "I'm sure the doctor can add a place setting for her boss."

"Likely," Jacob allowed.

"You do want to do more than just talk to me for a couple minutes. I imagine you did some work to setup this meeting," BlackSky smiled. She could guess the real reason for the troopers watching them. They were not there to kill her.

No, their presence was to ensure that she could not get any information out of their officer. Even at the cost of his life. She could respect a leader willing to take such a risk, and having men willing to carry out such an order.



***************



"She's back." Tail swishing, Nabiki looking out the back window.

"Good, we had enough time," Nodoka said as she put down another covered serving tray.

Misako looked up from her place setting and tried to lift the cover. She found her knuckles rapped by the side of a large knife.

"I know you can smell what's in there," Nodoka said to the pouting demon, "But I would like a few surprises with this meal."

"It's okay, Grandma; I had to hit her a few times myself." Ukyou meaningfully spun a spatula.

"Well, we all know what you're making," Misako reminded. The setup of a large griddle over the range did narrow down what the blonde demon would be cooking.

"Ucchan, Mom, you two should be amazed you kept it a secret this long. We're a hungry species," Ranma shrugged. She was also glad that the Drake was keeping an eye on her father and Soun. She did not want those two to stumble in on this.

"Well, I sent you girls out to go shopping for the proper accessories and ingredients. That pretty much confirmed what I was planning," Nodoka admitted.

"It was pretty funny when we cornered that fishmonger," Ranma said.

"He nearly fainted," Misako smirked as she resumed setting up the table.

"And he did faint when you started playing with your boobs," Nabiki reminded. She noticed that BlackSky was not arriving alone. "Hmm... set another place. It looks like Jacob's coming too."

"I was just scratching an itch." Misako shouted as she went to the kitchen.

"Well, this should be interesting," Ranma said as she opened the door to let in their guests.

"Evening, Sir," Nodoka said, saluting.

"At ease." Jacob returned the salute. "Do you mind if I stay for dinner? Your guest was quite insistent."

"Of course, Sir," Nodoka smiled.

"What's in the bags?" Ranma asked.

"I'm glad you asked." Amusement practically wafted around BlackSky.

"Presents?" Misako keenly asked.

"Why yes," BlackSky remarked

"How did you know?" Ranma asked.

"Well... what else would she be bringing back with her?" Nabiki shrugged.

"It could be dessert," Ukyou remarked.

"But it's not; it's presents." Misako's eyes gleamed.

Nariko shook her head. "You better give it to her. Before she explodes."

Ranma watched BlackSky reach into the leather satchel she was carrying and wondered exactly what her grandmother was up to. The elder demon pulled out a small wooden box and handed it to Misako.

Misako opened it and paused, before squealing in delight. "Oh, so pretty." She pulled out a pair of earrings. The dark red stones that started to glow slightly when she slid them into her palm.

"Some kind of demonic jewelry?" Ranma asked.

"They're like yours," BlackSky explained.

"Mine?" Ranma reached up to her ears and felt the obsidian stud earrings.

Misako sighed. "Mom's like that. She hardly notices that she wears makeup all the time."

"Only because you started begging me to teach you how to wear it properly." Ranma turned to BlackSky. "I'm wearing magical jewelry? Damn, I really am a magical girl."

"You go around at night as Sailor DarkStar," Nabiki reminded.

"She eats people, that makes up for it," Misako reminded as she put on her new earrings.

"And her uniform's a lot cooler," Akane added.

"So, what do these things do?" Ranma asked.

"They help you store and hold power. You fill them when you have an excess, like right now, then can tap into it in battle," BlackSky explained.

"Misako got fashionable batteries?" Nabiki asked, her voice tinged with jealousy.

"An experienced succubus can make her own, like your mother did," BlackSky said as she put her hand in the satchel to get Nabiki's gift.

"I did that? I thought they... you know... just came with the transformation," Ranma said.

BlackSky laughed and handed a thick leather-bound volume to Nabiki. The cover had a crest embossed on the front: black field with small silver four-pointed stars above grey lines radiating from the bottom center. "Here, for my great-granddaughter who was so full of questions."

"Thanks," Nabiki then frowned at the writing on the cover. "What language is this?"

"Looks like Latin," Nodoka remarked., The font was a bit different, but she could make out something close to:



HISTORIA SVCCVBARVM

VITA MEVM

AterCaela



"AlterCaela... that's close to BlackSky. Is this your diary?" Nodoka asked.

"My life is tied to the history of our House." BlackSky smiled. This one had real promise.

"Why do you write in Latin?" Nabiki asked as she opened the book and found more of the same language.

"Our original language was pictographic and limited in its awkwardness. A few thousand years ago we battled this group of soldiers. Their army stumbled onto us. Now, their writing system was quite handy. A far more concise symbol set than say Lunarian," BlackSky explained. "Eventually, as they integrated and adapted into our civilization their language itself influenced us until it was fully absorbed."

"So... you turned a Roman legion and took Latin from them?" Nabiki asked with disbelief. She knew BlackSky was old... but this seemed ridiculous. Then again, the Silver Millennium was... before Rome? It had to be given the whole space travel and mass demonic invasions.

"They were bright, disciplined, and had a good martial tradition. They had an architect with them too. She was a real help when rebuilding the lair and helping with our water supply," BlackSky said

"I'm guessing your architect wasn't born a woman," Nabiki remarked.

"Correct but she managed to work well with the architectural styles we had already absorbed. That's chapter eleven in the book, I think," BlackSky said.

"How do I read this? Learn Latin?"

"I don't think that's enough," Nodoka said as she tried to read some of the text in the open book. She had taken Latin in college and still retained ability with the language. "I'm amazed that it's still recognizably Latin, but the vocabulary and tense forms are different."

"Having people still alive from that first group, and many more of the people they taught will reduce drift, but there's a lot of new words in there. Silvan Latin is a blending of the preceding language it superceded.."

"You gave me a book I couldn't read," Nabiki kept her tome respectful, but she was confused.

"Of course not," BlackSky frowned. "I brought reading primers too." She then pulled out a couple, thinner books, and handed them to Nabiki.

"Ahh... a dictionary?" Nabiki asked as she opened the first of the books.

BlackSky nodded.

Nabiki then opened the smallest book and blinked. She went though a couple pages to make sure. Each page had full illustrations, and varying amounts of color, red was predominant. They scenes were full of objects, animals, and succubae. Each item was labeled in the same demonic script. Each page seemed to have a specific theme, like clothing, plants, organs. At the bottom of the picture was a couple sentences, likely describing the scene.

"This... this is a children's book," Nabiki remarked.

"That little succubus in all the pictures looks cute," Nariko said.

"Yes, she's Silva succubus. A little character to make reading fun," BlackSky said.

"This is pretty... graphic," Nabiki said as she flipped to a pair of pages. The first was on hunting and the following seemed to be on dressing game.

"It is for succubae," Ranma reminded.

BlackSky nodded. "Languages are important."

"Yeah, and now all the demonic I knew from back then is useless," Ranma's tone was mostly apathetic. It was hard to remember all the languages she knew as DarkStar anyway.

"Yes, it's a pain keeping up with languages." BlackSky could sympathize. Every couple hundred years she had to brush up on her skills.

"Now you required some thought to pick a gift for." BlackSky had turned to Nariko and was pulling out another item from her satchel. She handed out a wooden cube, the size of both of Nariko's palms.

"Pretty," Nariko said as she felt the heft of the box. Five of the six sides had ivory panels that were scrimshawed. The colors used were black, blue, green, and of course red. The top was an intricate mesh of geometric and floral figures. The four carvings on the sides seemed to tell a story.

Nariko guessed that the images were cyclic. One of the sides showed a homey room. The fine paint-filled-scratches showed a detailed lair with a larder, kitchen area, entranceway, and sleeping chamber filled with furs. Detailed in the image was a nursing brood mother watching the rest of her family feed.

The next one was more graphic. It only had two succubae and they were caught in the middle of mating. Nariko blushed at the skill that had gone into rendering their forms and the thought that had gone into their positioning.

After that was a rugged mountain meadow where the same brood mother was watching as her spawn played. The last image was on a similar field, and the positioning was nearly identical too. Only now the broodlings were a bit older and their "play" was much more serious.

Red was also used more in this last image. It was present in all of them. Each individual strand of the brood mother's hair seemed to be carved and then filled with that color.

Eyeing a seam that ran around the circumference of the box, Nariko opened the thick top and smiled slightly at the melancholy, but hopeful, music that emanated from it. The music player only took up a portion of the interior, the rest of it was lined with soft velvet. Nestled on the center was a little brass key. The inside of the lid was carved with the four pointed purple star symbol of DarkStar.

Closing the box, Nariko inspected the surface, until she found an area of the upper portion where a carved flower could be pushed down and slide aside to reveal a keyhole, to lock and unlock the box.

Nariko smiled and put a finger over the familiar image on the lair side. "Is she?"

BlackSky nodded. "I had it built a while back. I wanted a reminder of..." BlackSky paused. "Of what might have been. It gave me some hope, but I don't need it anymore."

"You only envisioned me having three kids?" Ranma tried to ask in a joking tone. Her smile faltered as she looked over the box. Her eyes darted to BlackSky and tears formed. It had been ages, but she still cared. Ranma almost stumbled over to her grandmother and practically fell into her arms.

"It's okay. It's okay," BlackSky said cradling the purring and crying woman. "You've got a family that truly loves you right here."

Nodoka smiled thinly and moved to her daughter. BlackSky transferred the redhead over and the doctor continued comforting her.

Ranma sniffled for a bit and then composed herself. "Thanks," she said, straightening her hair.

"Why give me this?" Nariko asked, holding the box.

"You're the eldest. You're what got Ranma to accept herself," BlackSky explained.

"You picked well then," Nabiki smirked as she eyed the music box. She was a bit jealous. The books were more her style, and would be a treasure trove of information once she learned the language. On the other hand, the music box was pretty.

"Now I remember you musing about our cooking style, and I felt this was perfect," BlackSky said as she handed another book to Ukyou.

"It's a cookbook?" Ukyou asked as she flipped through the pages. The format certainly seemed to be ingredients, cooking directions, and serving information.

"Mostly family recipes. You may have to substitute for some of the meats though," BlackSky apologized.

"And I'll have to learn that crazy Latin too."

"Silvan is an important thing to know. Yes, we do speak human languages when on Earth, but all our knowledge is kept in something more accessible to us."

"At least you have a printing press," Nodoka remarked. It was clear that the books were not written by hand.

"Movable type is an old invention," BlackSky shrugged.

"So, what have I got?" Akane asked. She had patiently waited, but was still eager.

"You were very excited when talking about the fire powers you've seen in battle so..." BlackSky handed yet another book over. "Pyromancy is the closest word in English."

Akane grinned and opened the book. She grumbled quietly when struck by the same demonic text.

"Way to trick my girls into learning how to read," Ranma laughed.

"Oh it's not just them," BlackSky smiled as she gave the last item in her satchel to Ranma.

Ranma opened the slim volume and flipped it. Most of the pages were full figures featuring two succubae grappling with each other. "This is either a guide to some... imaginative foreplay or instructions for close-quarter combat."

BlackSky chuckled. "My, you are a bright one."

"This is... useful," Ranma tilted the book sideways to get a better view, to try to determine the nature of the book, of course.

"I do hope it helps you with your Art," BlackSky said, clarifying the book's contents. It was a fascinating idea, and could unlock a lot of potential. BlackSky knew that it was the application of force and not the magnitude that mattered. More power just meant more options.

"What's in the other bag?" Misako asked, pointing to the leather case the Jacob had put down on an end table.

"That's for your grandma," BlackSky said before opening the other satchel. Before she could finish lifting the long box out, Ranma has put herself between it and her mother.

"What is that?" Ranma asked. The scent seemed worrisome.

"It's something for her to work with." BlackSky calmly opened the large wooden case. Inside were the metal shards that seemed to be pieces of a broken sword

"My, that is a lot. It must be at least half of the fragments," Jacob noted. The sheen on the metal was distinctive.

"It can't be..." Nodoka leaned forward, making sure to keep her hands behind her back, and inspected the shards. "I'd have to run some tests." She looked to BlackSky. "Where did you get this? When?"

"What is it?" Ranma asked. "Is it some kind of broken magical sword?"

"Some kind," Nodoka remarked, noticing the soft pinkish shine the metal gave off. It was not radioactive but it was dangerous. Extended physical contact was very bad and inhalation of any fine particles was disastrous, but the other properties made up for the... risks.

BlackSky put the box down. "You can guess how we got it. Some people think that a magical sword will make them invincible. The fool didn't even have a decent blade. It was a mash of this and some filler alloys."

"Interesting," Nodoka said as she pulled out a folding knife and opened it's magnifying lens. The surface was streaked with tiny veins that gave an almost laminated appearance. Nodoka knew the structure would be even more impressive under a microscope.

BlackSky noted the care that the scientist used not to touch the pieces. "You've seen shards of this before?"

"We have come across a few samples on various excavations, yes," Jacob allowed.

"Good, then you'll know what precautions to take."

"What is this stuff?" Akane asked.

"It's pieces from a magic sword," Nabiki sighed. She never thought she would be saying that seriously, but then she also never thought she would end up liking pink, being cute and with Akane as the older sister.

"What's so special about it?" Akane smirked.

"The metal is... aligned for certain types of energy. Some mages use small pieces of it in their weapons. We're not sure, but we know it helps in some abilities, and it's not good for humans to use it." Nodoka explained.

"What does it do to humans?" Misako asked.

"Prolonged usage seems to give –well- madness, though the one cadaver we examined did have a... strange brain tumor." Nodoka frowned as she looked at the metal. "It's not radioactive, or give any emissions, unless you try to use it."

"Your organization is well-informed," BlackSky nodded. "My family's had to deal with humans driven crazy by pieces of this thing and other Dantite alloys at least half a dozen times."

"Most of the really good stuff does induce madness in humans," Jacob remarked.

"And what does exposure do to succubae?" Nodoka asked. She remembered the mission report detailing a succubus that used a spear tipped with a sample of this metal. The accompanying interrogation report said she was quite sane.

"The metal is infused with demonic energies. The demon queen that made it designed it for our kind to use and channel it," BlackSky explained.

"Why don't you use it then?" Nodoka asked.

The elder demoness shrugged. "Frankly, I don't need it. I was saving them to give to Family that could use it and to give to someone that could craft it into something worthy."

"Makes sense," Nodoka allowed. As she closed the box, she glanced at Jacob. The both knew the regulations. There will be a full battery of tests. The demonic metal was the primary suspect, but everything else would be examined too. It was only prudent.

"We can't be corrupted by dark powers?" Ukyou suspiciously asked.

"We're already demons, Ucchan." Misako said as she waved her spade-finned tail in front of her partner.

Akane smirked. "The only way we could get more evil would be to start wearing pink."

"Hey!" Nabiki exclaimed.

"Just because we're demonic doesn't mean we have to be evil," Ranma explained.

Nabiki blinked. "Technically..."

"So? Your oldest sister is a scary secret agent. Your grandma's an officer too. You girls all know what my friend Jarvis does for a living, and then there's Colonel Spooky over there." Ranma said pointing to Jacob.

"I'm hurt Miss Saotome." Jacob laughed. "I've been very friendly and completely honest with you."

"And that isn't a spooky thing for someone with your job?"

"That helps," Jacob nodded.

"Sir, you're showing human emotions," Nodoka said.

"Miss Saotome will have a good story the next time she goes drinking with the men then."

"I guess." Somehow, Ranma forgot that Jacob had to know all about the stories that the agents told about him.

"Daughter, I think it's time for our surprise," Nodoka reminded.

"Are we going to finally eat?" Misako asked.

"The other surprise," Nodoka said.

"Ah, yeah. That surprise," Ranma walked into the kitchen and pulled something out of a cabinet. "We were planning to give this to you before you left, but since you just gave us presents," Ranma explained after she walked back. She then handed over a binder with a small paper bag on top

"Hot chocolate, with little marshmallows!" BlackSky cried happily in a most girlish manner after looking in the paper bag. After putting the bag full of cocoa packets down, she inspected the binder. It was only an inch thick, but it was full of pictures slid into plastic inserts.

"Yes, we're a Japanese family," Nabiki joked, as BlackSky looked through the photographs.

"Pardon?" BlackSky asked, while looking at a grainy picture of Ranma in some Sailor Senshi's lap.

Nabiki sighed. "Just a joke about a cultural thing. Japanese families take a lot of photographs."

"This is Canada though." BlackSky turned the page and smiled at the photo of a sleepy brood. Next to that picture was one of Ranma curled up with her head on Nodoka's lap. The scientist was running her hand though her daughter's hair.

"But we're ethnically Japanese," Nabiki said, blushing with embarrassment.

"We're succubae, actually," Misako corrected.

Nabiki rolled her eyes.

"Your girls are very photogenic," BlackSky complimented.

"I guess we can get to dinner then," Ranma shrugged. The officers and succubae went to the dining room. Instead of the head of the table, the redheaded brood mother sat at the middle of one of the long sides. Nodoka claimed the seat across from her and the broodlings took remaining spots as close to their mother. Jacob and BlackSky ended up on the far ends of the table.

"I'll have to restart the griddle," Ukyou frowned as she got up. She sat back down when Nodoka entered the room with a large serving tray.

BlackSky smiled, as she looked at the delicately sliced portions. The scent of the meat was subtle, yet intoxicating. "It's raw; minimal spicing too," BlackSky sounded quite impressed. "It's fish right?"

"Yup, try some," Misako used her chopsticks to put a piece of Spanish mackerel sashimi on BlackSky's plate.

BlackSky slipped the sliver of meat into her mouth and purred with delight. "Oh my... and it's just raw, isn't it? Nothing but flesh?"

"It's surprising isn't it," Nodoka agreed. "But yes, it's only fish. It's very high grade and fresh fish that's precisely cut."

"I see," BlackSky said as she served herself more fish. The others soon followed and started eating. All seemed quite pleased with the meal, but BlackSky seemed to be getting the most pleasure.

"You don't have fish where you come from?" Ranma asked.

"Oh yes, there quite a lot of fishing in our rivers, oceans, and the great lake downstream of our city, but it's mostly smoked, salted or frozen," BlackSky explained after eating some pieces of sashimi. She had eased back and was letting Ranma's daughters have more.

"That's ironic," Nabiki noted.

BlackSky smiled. "We do prefer raw meat, but food does have to be preserved and our freight system isn't as fast as yours." She dipped some of her salmon and then ate the piece of meat and rice.

"I must compliment you on encouraging me to come," Jacob said with a salute of his glass.

"Not worried about the food?" Ranma asked.

"It's fish."

"I guess, I'll have to cook my course then," Ukyou had some more sushi before getting up and going to the kitchen.

"Well, that sounds suspicious," Jacob said.

"Are you a Senshi this time around, too?" BlackSky asked Ranma.

"Yup, silly uniform and everything."

"I think it's cool," Akane said as she mixed more wasabi into her sauce.

"The midriff and leather is an improvement," Nabiki agreed.

"I have been thinking about that stuff," Ranma said. "Serenity passed her powers to Usagi, and Usagi's kid is a Senshi too."

"Serenity's daughter has a child?" BlackSky asked. "How good of a mother is she?"

Ranma picked at her fish before replying. "Well... she's getting better."

"Figures." BlackSky sighed. "What have you been thinking about?"

"Well, if Usagi's kid can be a Senshi, why can't mine?"

Jacob smiled faintly. Stillwater would certainly consider this another example of "too much success".

"It's possible," BlackSky said.

"Recent scans have detected slight Pattern anomalies in your kids," Nodoka reminded.

Ranma nodded. "I was thinking of them nursing Pattern Silver energy from me."

"Pattern Silver?" BlackSky asked then thought for a second. "Ahh I see, yes, that could work."

"We'll beat those magical girls at their own game," Misako smiled.

BlackSky smirked.

"It's a shame, Kodachi didn't come." Nariko's voice sounded depressed, but she had an amused little smile too.

"Honey, I make her nervous. Who knows what great-grandma would make her do," Ranma said.

"Is that why Kasumi's not here?" Akane asked.

"She's working," Nodoka explained.

"I know, but she could have gotten off early." Ranma frowned at her plate.

"Am I that intimidating?" BlackSky innocently asked. She sniffed the air; whatever her blonde great-granddaughter was cooking smelled intriguing.

"Nah, I think it's because I tried to sleep with her last night," Ranma shrugged.

"Oh? Thinking of a mate?"

"Kasumi'd never go for that, but she teases me enough. So I thought... well..."

"You'd tease her back?" Misako offered.

"And that is why she's not here," BlackSky remarked.

"I made sure to put a Polaroid of Mom in her negligee in the photo album we gave you," Nabiki helpfully reminded.

Ranma blushed to nearly human levels of reddening. "How's it going, Ucchan?"

"Almost done," Ukyou shouted as she worked on the griddle.

"The meat she's using smells interesting," BlackSky said, conspiratorially.

"I don't know what you're implying," Ranma was deadpan.

"Me neither, frankly." Jacob raised an eyebrow. "You girls haven't had a mission in a while." He also knew that the rumors of the brood bringing home snacks were largely that- rumors. The officer did suspect that Ukyou's new book would increase such rumors.

"It works out well; the family gets food and money for doing something we'd already do," Nabiki explained.

"You're doing this while also being 'open and honest' and encouraging camaraderie between the demons and your own soldiers. It's nice to seem some intelligent demon hunters for once," BlackSky observed.

"We're pragmatic," Jacob said simply.

"Fitting euphemism," Ranma remarked. She then scowled when the others turned to her. "What, I can't use big words?"

"How do you choose your inhuman allies?" BlackSky asked.

"There are some we have to fight, some that simply want to coexist, and others that want to fight alongside us."

"Some even drop in unannounced," Nabiki dryly remarked.

Ranma coughed. She had said she was sorry on that first day she and her father moved in.

"You're quite cynical for someone so young and cute," BlackSky told Nabiki.

"All thanks to my second mother."

"You were sarcastic and amoral before Alexia," Akane corrected.

"And I was a revenge-obsessed fanatic." Misako's face darkened. "Who had horrible fashion sense and wasted all of his kills."

"Okay, I'm done," Ukyou said as she entered the room. The first of the grilled batter and meat foods was put onto BlackSky's plate.

"Since you were complimenting the fish I used some in this batch," Ukyou explained as she served the others.

BlackSky nodded and began to happily eat.

"I can't believe you kept up on this," Ranma remarked as she dug in.

"Okonomiyaki was a big part of my life," Ukyou explained.

"Until you went into the Assembly to get your revenge," Misako reminded.

"I still cooked back then!"

"I know. You even had some of your spatula-themed weapons blessed."

"Yeah." Ukyou turned to BlackSky. "Well, what do you think?"

"Very complicated flavor," BlackSky said between bites. "It's kinda like something we do. Though only the batter is cooked and is used to wrap the meat and vegetables."

"That sounds more like a pita or a burrito," Ukyou said.

"Close, that book I gave you has the recipe for making them."

"Great," Ukyou said after sitting down and eating her own okonomiyaki.

"How is yours, Sir?" Nodoka asked.

"Good," Jacob said. He preferred the sushi more, but he had learned the value of diplomacy.

"What are you doing?" Ukyou asked Misako.

"Adding more fish to mine," Misako explained as she put more sashimi slices on her okonomiyaki.

Ukyou glared at her partner then went back to the others. "So what do the rest of you guys want on your next one?" After the blonde took the orders she went back into the kitchen. She was followed by Nodoka who quickly returned with more raw fish.

"I'm glad you stopped by," Ranma told her grandmother.

"I had to. I just wished I stopped by earlier," BlackSky's voice had filled with regret.

"Don't worry. It's not like Alexia would have told you until after she killed me," Ranma reassured.

BlackSky frowned before eating some salmon. "I'm sure she would have waited until she could present your body to me, and the corrupted forms of your spawn." She sighed. She had underestimated Alexia's problems; the woman had deranged. BlackSky won't make the same mistake twice; banishment , especially for Family, could be too lenient. And she had other tools.

"Yeah, probably," Ranma said.

"I'm quite happy to find you in good hands." BlackSky looked at Nodoka. "You're much happier in this life than your last one."

"I know," Ranma smiled. "There were some rough parts and some hard choices, but we made it."

"Do you think Serenity's daughter is ready for what's coming?" BlackSky asked.

"I honestly don't know. Sometimes they seem on the ball... but other times... it's like they're just normal girls." Ranma looked down. "You know about this doom and gloom crap too?" Ranma asked.

"Something's certainly brewing around here" BlackSky smiled encouragingly. "I know you girls can handle it."

"We'd better; just in case the Senshi can't," Ranma sighed and slid back so Ukyou could serve her. "So... what is brewing?"

Jacob wondered what BlackSky's answer would be. He knew why Miss Saotome never stormed into his office and demanded the whole story. She simply did not care. She was concerned with the welfare of her family, not the machinations of mages and magical girls.

"Clearly Serenity's daughter is the key. She's probably what's attracting these groups; I'd would wager that they want her," BlackSky ventured.

"That cult was trying to kill her to prevent her from taking over the world." Ranma shook her head.

"They've made a lot of enemies, Ranma. Granted, few remained after challenging them," Nodoka reminded. She turned to Ukyou, who had finished serving the okonomiyaki "Thank you, Dear."

BlackSky waited for the others to eat for a bit longer before going with her next question. "You mentioned this Kasumi woman. You said she wasn't willing to become your mate?"

Ranma swallowed. "Well... I haven't even done anything with her. It's too early to even date..."

"You didn't answer my question," BlackSky delicately said. "That's okay. Being turned is a big decision. Especially if you actually have a real choice and not just between demonhood and death."

"Well, it's too early. Right now we're just friends," Ranma repeated.

"Friends that tease each other," Nabiki happily added.

"Oh, a human sexually tempting a succubus? How unique." BlackSky laughed.

Ranma grumbled and returned to her food.

"I'm sorry. It's just so odd. Don't worry; I know you'll find someone," BlackSky assured.

"Uh, okay," Ranma was apprehensive at the smile her grandmother sported.

The conversation lulled as the last bits of food were consumed. The pace had slowed down and most of the food was being eaten for its novelty and flavor.

Jacob got up and went to the kitchen. He busied himself with the coffee maker and put a teapot on the stove for cocoa and tea. He briefly wondered what Stillwater would be thinking of this. WIC had some experience with NH diplomacy, but rarely this informally.

"I do regret that the dessert isn't going to be as good as the main course," Nodoka said. Ukyou, Misako, and Nariko then took that queue to start clearing off the table and resetting the places.

"It seemed that you liked chocolate," Nodoka said returning form the kitchen. "I'm sorry to say that the cake was bought at a bakery."

After getting after-dinner beverages in order, Jacob had returned to his seat. He smirked at the pure pleasure the ancient demon queen had at something as simple as a triple-chocolate cake.

"Do not trouble yourselves. I did just drop in." BlackSky eyed the slice in front of her but waited for the others to be served. "I get enough bowing and scraping back home.:

"How often are you going to come over?" Ranma asked, in-between bites.

BlackSky put another piece of the moist cake in her mouth as she considered her reply. "Not too often I'm afraid."

"Makes sense, you do have that whole empire of yours to run."

BlackSky nodded. "The cake is very good," she reassured Nodoka.

Jacob nodded in agreement. He then sipped his coffee. It was remarkable the kind of calm that could happen under a literal sword of Damocles. He knew BlackSky was bright. She had to know what would happen if she misbehaved. She would most likely survive the initial onslaught, and perhaps all subsequent ones, but her beloved granddaughter would not.

Jacob guessed it was moot anyway. BlackSky would stand aside. It seemed, she would let her clever granddaughter helm things, this time. Jacob knew his policy of getting Miss Saotome's trust would have side effects. Trust was a two way street, but he was a Company officer, paranoia came with the job.

Miss Meiou was rightly suspect of the Company's intentions towards the Pattern Silvers. Thus his organization had focused on building support with the Pattern Silver most estranged from Miss Meiou. And if that required making literal deals with demons...

"It really has been wonderful." BlackSky put her fork down onto her plate.

"It's time for you to leave? Already? But you haven't even told us any stories," Misako whined.

"Oh, there's plenty of those in the book I gave your little sister."

"Maybe Mom can read us some of them," Nabiki suggested.

"Great, another language to learn," Ranma sighed.

"It's part of our heritage," Akane said after she finished her cake.

Ranma shrugged. That language came after DarkStar's time, but all the books her family had been given were written in that demonic Latin. She then got up to follow BlackSky out to the back porch.

Nodoka and Jacob held back and allowed for the succubae to hug. BlackSky hugged her great-granddaughters first. She then embraced Ranma. The redhead found her purr complimented by a deep almost seismic rumble as she luxuriated in BlackSky's presence.

"I was always proud of you, DarkStar. You always get into such.... complicated situations," the demoness hugged Ranma tighter as tears dribbled down her cheeks. "I'm so happy to see that this time you've gotten a better life."

Ranma simply nodded and held onto her grandmother.

After the hug, BlackSky leveled her gaze at Nodoka. "I spent this whole time thinking of advice to give you. All I could come up with was encouraging you to stay the course. You're exactly the mother that DarkStar needs.."

"She's my child," Nodoka said simply.

BlackSky smiled, and picked up her photo album and instant cocoa. With a final wave back to her family she walked out the front door and into the forest.

Jacob was already talking into his cell phone. He wanted to make sure as much of her departure was recorded as possible. All information on her was valuable, especially any that might lead to predicting her arrival.

"Well, now what?" Akane asked.

"There's a mess of dishes that need washing," Ranma said as she corralled her daughters to the kitchen. "Come on, with six of us, we'll get this place cleaned in no time."
Jacob finished giving his orders. He and Nodoka were now alone on the back porch. "Yes Major?" he asked cordially.

"It's just amazing how normal of a family they can be, Sir." Nodoka adjusted her lab coat. "Though I suppose people like us aren't too good of a gauge of normality."

"You did a good job with Miss Saotome."

"Thank you, Sir. I know BlackSky encouraged you to come but it was good having you here tonight."

"This job isn't without its perks," Jacob smirked.


End Chapter 2

Revision Notes: Ahh, BlackSky. She's a fun character and one that I'd like to think hasn't suffered from overexposure. Given her position she does play a key roll. Not just herself but also her domains. That said, BlackSky, and her other daughters, will have a larger roll in the stories that will come after Blood Debts.

And Girl Talk was planned to come after this chapter originally, but as you will see that slipped a bit.


Author's Notes: First chapter of the Third Arc of The Return. Interlude Two will follow this chapter. I'd like to thank my prereaders for helping me: Trimatter, PyroRaven, Questara, Kevin Hammel, J St C Patrick, Wray, Mondu Quiambao, and Jerry Starfire.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 3: Legitimate Developments
Formerly: Retrograde and Remade Part 1(i)


Ranma gingerly bit into her plum. Waves from the great lake rolled onto the concrete of the jetty. She absently stared out into the water. As the wind freshened, she was thankful that she used a hair-clip to hold her tresses back. A pair of bangs and a ponytail were more manageable than a full and spiked mane. The suit-skirt she wore was a bit thin though. A leather jacket would have given a bit more warmth.

She smiled and took another bite. It was for her daughters, of course. She wanted to look responsible for the meeting with the school today. It was not like there would be a problem with her family returning to school. The meeting at Furinkan was nothing, it was for the other school that Ranma wanted to make a good impression, an impression that included convincing others think that she was at least fifteen years older than she really was.

Using her free hand she pulled out the brochure to Saint Helena's Elementary School. Ranma smirked. She remembered the principal's surprise. No doubt Mrs. Susan Dietrich thought Miss Ranma Saotome was scandalously young to have a fourteen year old daughter, not to mention being unmarried. The Drake's vouching for her morality was a nice gesture, though Dietrich seemed weary and wary of her colleague.

Ranma had toyed with the idea of passing herself off as Nabiki's older sister and guardian, but dismissed it at the start. Some things would have been easier; there would be no awkward questions about her age, but for Ranma being a mother was more important than appearances of impropriety .

The demoness wondered how Dietrich would react to learning just how scandalously young she really was, or that Nabiki Saotome was the youngest of five daughters. Ranma fingered the brochure. There was nothing new on it. The school was on the opposite end of the next block from Furinkan, and security would be taken care of.

The decision was Nabiki's to make. The tour gave her a taste of what that school would be like. The choice was essentially grade eight or grade nine. At either school she would stand out as bright and developed for her age. One would have her as moved ahead a couple years to be a freshmen the other would place her at the end of elementary school.

Ranma sighed. It was amazing. The last time she had been at this pier... she was still human, and his life was simple. Needing a cure to a curse was nothing compared to raising a brood. At least, she had all her girls back and they were stabilized and happy.

She was never one for introspection. Living in the moment served her well as both a human and a demon. Ranma popped the plum into her mouth and sucked on the pit. She looked down at her nicely tailored clothes. Her body was hers. She had embraced her nature.

Ranma remembered being male, being human. It was a fair body, certainly better than the human girl's body she had had. Even so, it was limited. Her nostalgia was short lived. She had tried to live in both worlds, tried to be both a guy and a demon mommy.

Alexia put an end to that. But Ranma suspected that even without her monstrous cousin's attacks , her days trying to live with one foot in each world would have been numbered.

She spit out the pit and scowled at the splash it made. She had plenty of regrets, but none about the person she had become. The cost of staying male would have made her a true monster.

The brood mother smiled. Things were looking up. Sure, she was in a shadowy war with unknown numbers of persons and creatures trying to kill her, her family, and her friends.

But that meant that she had friends and family. Something worth fighting for. Something she did not have in her previous life. There were still plenty of enemies, which solved any food problems for her brood.

The redhead paused. Her past reminiscing was the only reason that thought stuck out. Ranma then grinned widely. She pulled another plum out of her purse. After taking a bite she looked down at the small leather bag. After swallowing she snorted. It amused her. The mighty Ranma Saotome carried a purse full of snacks, pictures of her daughters, and even a bit of makeup (Misako had rubbed off on her the tiniest bit) and it was all natural to her.

Though she was prudent enough to keep anything truly valuable, difficult-to-replace and sensitive secreted on her person. That was only prudent.

That she was stronger and more skilled than he ever was ameliorated things greatly. What Ranma put into the Art as a human paled before the efforts and accomplishments she made as a "overly affectionate demon mommy." Back then the Art was just for Ranma's use, now it was a family affair. It was integral to the brood's continued survival.

As Ranma bit into her second plum, she felt some kinship with her father. She could understand his emphasis on the art as a family legacy, and the use of joining the schools.

Despite ensuring the next generation was well versed in Anything Goes, updating the style, adding in practitioners of other styles, and even having a Tendo mated to a Saotome, Genma was still unmoved.

Ranma frowned. Her father was the least of her worries. He did not even seem to grasp the situation. Alexia was dead, but there were still enemies. The Assembly had been quiet recently, which meant that they were planning... something. Murdock seemed to have gone to ground and had gotten harder to contact.

Even the Senshi had problems. That cult, pathetic losers that they were, still shocked them. Ranma's eyes flickered at remembering Usagi's horrified and blood-splattered expression. She supposed there was a lesson in that a group did not need much in the way of power to cause psychological damage.

The brood mother smiled as a slight blush formed. There was... potential in Usagi. Ranma sniffed the air. "What's the word?" she asked as her fiancee slid up next to her.

"The music box and earrings have passed inspection," Kasumi put an arm around the redhead's waist and drew her a bit closer.

Ranma leaned onto the officer and bit into her plum. She accepted the need to make sure her grandmother's gifts were safe, but it still felt strange. BlackSky was family. "And the books?"

Kasumi frowned. "They're being run through a full battery of scans but we're also making our own reference copies."

"Yeah, figured you guys would do that." Ranma pulled out another plum and handed it to Kasumi.

The brunette nodded and bit into the fruit.

"I don't really care." Ranma laughed. "Heck, I'd appreciate the help if you had anyone that actually spoke that crazy language."

"I'll look into it," Kasumi assured. "The major's having an interesting time analyzing that metal." She took another bite.

"Yah, that's the kind of puzzle Mom'll really enjoy," Ranma nodded and leaned her head onto the larger woman.

Kasumi swallowed some plum. "Is Nabiki going to junior high?"

"She's thinking about it. Seeing kids 'her own age' really shocked her though." Ranma remarked.

"Yeah, it'd be like you dealing with normal sixteen year olds," Kasumi said with a ghost of a smirk.

"That's not so bad."

"You spent the day easily pretending you were a mature woman in her thirties."

"Not my fault I look good this way," Ranma pouted. "And what about Sam and Naoko? They're normal."

"They don't think twice about hanging out with the school's gothic lesbians of questionable virtue. I doubt they're very normal."

"Whatever," Ranma shrugged.

"Oh yeah, your kids are done shopping." Kasumi led Ranma away from the railing.

The redhead smiled and kept her head leaning on Kasumi. "Gonna give me any hints?"

"Oh no, I'm letting them keep the surprise."

"Not even if I offer something fun for later?" Ranma saucily offered. She still had that negligee.

"Like you'd hold out on me tonight," Kasumi smirked, as she pulled the succubus closer, who then started to purr.


***************


An old man leaned back on his seat. He smiled briefly at the cute stewardess and motioned for another drink. The master figured his time for pleasure could be limited. According to that briefing, his two students had become corrupt and lax.

A lesser man would consider what they did a betrayal to the master himself and everything he taught his young charges. The master knew better than his more exuberant... colleagues. Crude punishment and revenge was beneath him. Something more precise and thoughtful was required.

The master had his suspicions. The dossier given to him by that priest seemed complete. The photographs were evidence enough to the corruption of those two youths, but there had to be more.

The old man shrugged. He would find out the truth once he arrived in the city. He wanted to know the truth behind that grey-eyed priest, and why that smiling man had information on his students and the.. girls they associated with. That tidbit of information made his trip even more enticing.

The master was slightly cross; he knew where his students were already, and had a fair guess as to what was going on. The glut of information dropped in his lap was almost insulting, but he knew that earnest priest was trying to help, in his own eccentric way.

***************


"Are you sure?" Janet hesitantly asked. She and her companion sat in a secluded booth in the back of the club. Both had to dress up a bit to get in, but once inside they could get down to business.

"Not entirely, but only a fool would think that she has planned for everything," Ami sighed.

Janet blushed and played with the straw in her glass. "It's just... what will Usagi think? Especially about the lies and secrets."

Ami took her partner's hand in hers and smiled coldly. "I'm not worried about the Princess. She understands; it's in her nature. It's the others I'm worried about. They may not be so open minded." Her expression then thawed.

"What about Rei? She would understand us, what we're trying to do," Janet protested.

"I don't think so," Ami said with a pitying expression, as she caressed Janet's cheek. "I know her; I know how she'd react to the truth."

Janet looked down and muttered, "I think I have an idea how they'd react too."

Ami's eye lit up. "Of course you would," she then reached out and pulled the auburn haired girl closer. "That's what I like about you. You can actually use your brain."

Instead of protesting the rough treatment, Janet simply blushed and kept her lowered gaze.

"What? You wanted me to be more assertive," Ami teased.

"Everyone wanted you to be less shy and mousy." Janet admitted.

"Well they'll get that." Ami licked her lips. The other Senshi also joked about Ami's lack of romantic luck. Not that any of the others had any success. The princess did, but her prince was gone now.

"And Usagi? What about her?"

"Oh, she's our primary concern," Ami said coyly. "We have to help her, make sure she's strong enough to handle with what's coming."

"And if the others won't accept us? I mean... we're different from them."

"They don't matter." Ami kissed Janet and lingered for a few seconds. "The Princess is everything. Where she goes they follow. She trusts me, after all I'm the smart one. You know what it was like for her at the start."

Janet nodded and smiled as Ami roughly ran a hand across her body. "She was alone, and desperate for someone to help her, to confide in her." Jealousy played across Janet's features. "You were her first."

Ami squeezed her hand over a tender area, eliciting a pained cry from Janet. "Yes, I was the first of the Princess' Senshi, but you will always have a special spot in her heart. I figure everything out and you..."

"I'm like an old and dear friend," Janet said dryly.

"We will be getting more help," Ami said as she looked at her watch.

Janet nodded. She had concerns about getting outside help, but Ami made a good point. Janet herself was a new Senshi, and they were only keeping things secret to protect Usagi.

"Something on your mind?" Ami asked as she idly checked the bun she put her hair up into. It was small but over time it would grow, much like other things. It was nearing the time for the late bloomers to bloom.

"I'm thinking about the new girl. At least her hair color fits," Janet smiled weakly.

The blue-haired girl raised an eyebrow. She wondered if her partner was being sarcastic or just trying to make conversation. "I always did like smart girls," Ami said while pulling Janet in close.

"Well, that's a lie," Janet laughed.

"It just took the right girl to make me realize it," Ami smirked.

***************


Ranma wandered down the hallway with a spring in her step. Her tail swished happily behind her and she hummed lightly. The demon stopped at the door to her room. She considered turning around and going back.

The demon licked her fangs at the flash of sensations. She understood now. It was one thing to have a hunger, it was another to satisfy it... well mostly satisfy it. She pulled her hand back from the knob; the spirit was more than willing.

The flesh however.... that was tired and drained. There were limits to what she could do, and Ranma did feel satiated. In her satisfied haze, she opened the door. The darkened room suddenly illuminated and the occupants gave a shout. A quickly made banner hung on a far wall.

"Congratulations?" Ranma read the letters, blinking.

"For finally having sex, mom!" Akane handed the startled demon some cookies.

"Well, with someone else," Misako muttered.

"I should have known you girls would know," Ranma wearily said as she slumped onto the bed.

"Mom, you were a bit... loud," Nariko said delicately.

"That's an understatement." Ukyou closed the bedroom door.

"How much stamina does all that Company training give her?" Misako lewdly asked. "I lost count after the first ninety minutes."

Ukyou shook her head. Sometimes it was hard to connect the bashful and bumbling Assemblyman with the saucy succubus.

"Yeah... she's good," Ranma shrugged. "Was a pain though."

"What?" Akane asked.

"She's a human. It was very tempting to drain her... er more than... you know."

"You used the right type of sex, right?" Nabiki asked.

"I think so." Ranma shrugged before stretching out her back. "It... wasn't the same. She didn't get as tired and I was still a little bit hungry."

"You do know we've got half a dozen types of intercourse right?"

"Yes Honey, Mommy figured out that sex demons have many ways to screw someone." Ranma took a bite out of the offered cookie.

"That draining one is just that. It's what we do when feeding on a human. Then you probably went to informal mating, which is below practice mating, actual mating, and impregnation sex."

"No worries about getting pregnant," Akane joked.

"Duh, Kasumi's human. There's no chance." Misako rolled her eyes.

"And even if she was a demon there'd be no chance. Without the mating ritual there's no egg release." Nabiki explained.

"You decoded some of grandma's diary?" Ranma asked.

"Nope," Nabiki went to the small bookshelf and pulled out one of the recently cleared books. She flipped to a page that showed Silva Succubus in various sexual positions.

Ranma studied the pictures. She had only learned a tiny bit of demonic Latin. Her mother was gently encouraging her to learn as much as possible. "So, that's why I let you girls have all that sex."

"It would be mean to have you be a grandma and still a virgin," Misako teased.

"Yah, can't call me that anymore Misa-chan," Ranma reminded.

"How was it Mom?" Akane asked as she sat down next to her mother. "I always figured big sis for the dominating type."

"She does have half a foot on me," Ranma nodded. "Though once her stamina ran out..." She then licked her fangs.

"What about your horns? How rough was she with those?" Nariko noticed that Mother had her horns and tail out but not her wings.

Ranma pouted. "Timid. She didn't like touching those or my tail. Well, I guess she warmed up to them a bit."

"You mean after the time you made her scream out?" Misako smirked.

"Yeah, she didn't expect me to do that," Ranma's expression mirrored her daughter's, as she waved her tail. "She was real embarrassed after that though."

"Was that the end of the kinky fun?" Misako asked

"Give her time, she's human," Ukyou cautioned.

"She was more comfortable with the vanilla lesbian stuff." Ranma pondered for a bit. "Akane, Nabiki, were there any rumors about Kasumi experimenting with girls?"

"Uh Mom, I think she was a bit young for that," Akane reminded.

"Maybe she did something during her training," Nabiki proposed as she flipped through the reading primer.

"Yeah! Some fun after lights out in an all girl's barracks!" Misako exclaimed

Ranma blinked. "Young? Wasn't she a freshman or something before she went to WIC?"

"What made her finally let you storm her gates?" Misako asked.

"We've been getting closer and instead of jumping her in a negligee I took it slowly," Ranma said as she massaged her wrists. She was stronger than Kasumi, but it still hurt to be pinned there.

"So you let your hot body seduce the cold officer? Impressive." Ukyou nodded approvingly.

"And the best part is that it was all recorded," Nariko reminded.

"Let's watch the tape!" Misako then dove for her phone.

"You can't just pull that stuff up off the network, silly" Ukyou chastised.

Ranma paled the slight amount that she could as her shoulders sagged.

"You forgot about the surveillance didn't you," Nabiki smirked.

"It's okay Mom. They've watched me and Akane mate plenty of times," Nariko reassured.

"I guess Kasumi'd be more embarrassed than me."

"Don't bet on it Mom. Kasumi's an agent. She knew full well her entire sex romp would be recorded," Nariko said.

"Wonder what that'll do to her standing in the Company," Misako pondered as she dialed her phone.

"She took on a sex demon at what we do best and just got a bit tired," Nabiki reminded. "Heck, I'd bet she's sitting in her bed sipping coffee and doing paperwork."

***************


"Morning Pops!" Ranma gave a salute with her mug after her father entered the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah," the older martial artist mumbled. That his daughter was using a mug that proclaimed her motherhood was not noticed. She always used that mug.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did me and my fiancee keep you up?" Ranma leaned back in her chair. "That should make you happy. Houses are well on their way to being joined... at least by your definition."

"I should be happy about that - if things were different I'd be pushing you to get married." Genma said as he walked over to the stove. Pouring some hot water into a teacup he paused. "No, that's not right."

"But they're already joined?" Ranma guessed.

Genma snorted as he put a teabag in his cup. "Well... As things are... Kasumi's the only human left."

"You're still not countin' my kids?" Ranma glared

"It's not what we planned," Genma replied, evenly.

"Yah, well things don't always go the way they plan." The redhead then took a sip. Ranma was actually a bit impressed. Her father managed to meet her gaze. Though his calm state did concern her.

"And what about your fiancee?" Genma asked. "She has plans. You think she's ready to become your mate? After a simple role in the hay?"

"What? You just said you'd be pushing us to get married if I was human."

Genma sipped his tea to check it's flavor. "Foolish boy. What do you think Kasumi wants?"

"We're just having fun."

Genma smirked "You sure? First thing you said was that the houses are being joined. That's more than just having some girl for the fun of it." Genma sipped his tea. "No, it sounds like you're thinking like the girly girl that you've become."

Ranma stared. She was not a girly girl per say, but she was proud of being a mother. "I don't need relationship advice from you."

"Oh? It's a relationship, now." Genma shook his head. "Well don't say I didn't warn you."

Ranma thought for a couple seconds. "You're getting better."

Genma smiled thinly. "You know our secret technique, daughter."

"So you retreated and drank until you finally figured out that I'm a succubus mom?" Ranma shook her head. "Took you long enough."

"Stubbornness is a family trait. Something my granddaughters seem to have too." Genma said as he walked out of the room. "Oh, remember what I told you about Kasumi."

"He called them his granddaughters," Ranma smiled warmly. It was a start.

***************


"Okay, the metal has passed the proofing tests and the plan has met with General Anderson's approval," Jacob explained after entering Major Saotome's lab.

"Good to hear, Sir," Nodoka nodded as she put a clipboard down on her desk.

"What about your end?" Jacob walked over to the sealed crate containing the metal pieces, and the original box they were given in.

"I'm still performing tests. Processing will have to be done under special conditions. The good news is that we have two and a half kilograms of material to work with."

"Interesting. You'd also have to consider what to make out of it," Jacob nodded. The outlay of new machinery could be expensive, though much of it could likely be fabricated at Willard's armaments section.

"That is the most important factor," Nodoka smiled broadly. "What of my other request, Sir?"

"It's an enticing proposal. There is some risk mind you." Jacob offered. Major Saotome had given only some preliminary specifications.

"Even if they don't join; their use of such devices would benefit us," Nodoka countered and pulled up some designs on her computer.

Jacob's eyes widened slightly at viewing the designs. "I think, that this may be quite helpful in recruiting Miss Saotome's girls."

"My grandkids will have the best I can give them," Nodoka promised.

"Minimal modification on this one," Jacob pointed to the larger of the two gun designs. "Really just making a crew-served weapon into an individual one. Recoil will be an issue," he added.

"I've worked out the numbers, but I do need a broodling to test it. That design I can have built within a day. Provided I have the stock weapon signed over to me so it can be modified," Nodoka explained.

Jacob nodded. On the face of it that weapon was absurd, but that was with human standards. Succubae were stronger, but more than just raw strength was needed to compensate.

"My other proposed weapon is more elaborate. ," Nodoka explained. "Fortunately, I found an existing cartridge that made the design work simpler."

"Point Five-hundred Smith and Wesson? That's only in revolvers. Making a semi-auto version will be challenging," Jacob then read more of the design. "I see, basing off of that Point Four-fifty-four design our friends across the pond use."

"Oh yes, their documentation was most helpful. The Casull is an impressive cartridge, but it's over fifty years old. This S&W magnum has over eight hundred joules more energy than the Casull."

Jacob smiled at the scientist's excitement. "Though building a weapon to handle such a cartridge will be a challenge."

"Semi-automatics that use Fifty Action Express, have been produced for years. Israel Military Industries is one of our vendors, and the pressure and temperature combustion performance of the Five-hundred S&W is well known." Nodoka explained.

He looked at the design. The gun was relatively unassuming. After-all both cartridges were fifty caliber, one was simply longer than the other. It looked like the doctor had plans for two designs, one based on the Israeli operating system, and the other based on the British.

He sighed. On paper the weapon looked effective, especially in the right hands, but a good scientist could make anything look good. There were capacity issues. Company issue 10mm pistols were formidable in their own right, and could have a larger magazine than the weapons Major Saotome was proposing.

"I'll talk with Commander Stillwater, but I don't see any issues with this."

"Thank you sir." Nodoka grinned slightly.

"Unlike the HOG, you have more flexibility with frame weight," Jacob noted as he pulled up a chair. "Though that's no excuse. Still, you will need a sturdy design."

"Yes, it has to withstand a lot of shock and abuse. There's also a hell of a lot more moving parts in this design," Nodoka said as she took notes. It was good to get input, especially someone with Jacob's experience.

"Revolvers are romantically simple weapons. Though reloading them right is an art," Jacob said with a hint of wistfulness. "I assume you've planned to order some revolvers chambered in five-hundred to do your own testing."

"Of course, Sir." Nodoka pulled out some more data-sheets to show. "I am surprised at how well you're taking to these. I'll admit, that these designs are pretty ludicrous."

"We live in a world where fifty caliber semi-automatic handguns are mass produced. Our organization already uses weapons that push the limits of human use. Are side arms use a caliber the FBI abandoned for being overpowered. When you remove some of those limits...." Jacob shrugged. Some of what Miss Saotome and her girls could do was enviable.

***************


"The situation is grim, Oslo," Karol Adams stated to his superior. "The mercenaries are organized. The targets are never without an escort."

Father Oslo sighed and looked out the window of the hotel room the meeting was taking place in. "And while removing a few guards would be trivial, that would be enough to alert them all. "

"Has the Bishop committed enough men for us to fight that?" Wendell Holmes asked. The short man's hands went to the pockets of his coat.

"He feels that a war between human organizations would be counterproductive," Oslo sighed. The troop allotment for this mission had already been expanded twice.

"Awfully restrained of that man," Karol noted. Though this mission was more complicated. It was not something for a pair of half-baked acolytes. Fresh faced youths with more ability to quote nonsense than actual combat proficiency.

"What of the surveillance?" Randy Pinktree asked, wiping his glasses. "If we move forward we won't know what WIC wants with this brood."

"Have we gotten anywhere?" Oslo asked flatly.

"No. Our contacts in the government and police are, of course, in the dark. Even that mercenary we had feeding us information was clueless." Randy shrugged. "It makes sense. They're going to keep the reason for this brood a secret."

"Whatever reason it is, it can't be good."

Karol nodded. Like all higher Assemblymen he knew that the religious trappings were just that. It was a front to cover the real purpose of their organization. In a way they were like those mercenaries. Though WIC used a for-profit corporation to cover a small army for hire.

The Assembly's rhetoric covered something simpler. Demons, abominations, and any traitorous humans that consorted with them were to be eliminated. Karol knew that was the failing of the Path of the Will. Their means were not questionable, only their goals. In the service of saving the world nothing was unacceptable. Of course Karol still used the traditional imagery to lead his troops. That was how things were done.

"The Bishop decided to just kill the entire brood?" Randy asked.

Oslo nodded.

"This would not be the first time someone tried to breed a force of unholy monsters," Karol stated as he fingered one of his blessed weapons.

"There's already six of them," Randy reminded. "We have a man advantage over them, but just the demons."

Karol kept his face neutral. Each of them had a team of acolytes. Karol could vouch for his dozen men but was not sure about the other squads. They were the overly eager better-trained-than rabble that made up the bulk of the Assembly's combat assets.

"You're worried? Worried that over forty Assembly Acolytes led by four fully ordained Assemblymen won't hold up against half a dozen demons." Oslo cracked a smile.

Karol stared at his boss. It was vaguely insulting to get this kind of bolster but Oslo was a fan for dramatics. He frowned. "We all agree to the dangers involved, but proceeding incautiously is not wise."

Oslo looked out at the window again. "You're right Karol." His face gave the impression that it warmed. "Our goal is to avenge those two acolytes that we lost, but there is more. We cannot allow these mercenaries to practice this blasphemy."

Karol held his tongue, and simply nodded. The Assembly's pride had been wounded by losing the acolytes but whatever the Company was doing with these demons it could not be good.

"What of other groups?" Randy asked. "Even the small fry are crawling out of the woodwork."

"Let the small fry come," Wendell smirked. "They are nothing more than stumbling buffoons who happen to steal the odd tome."

Leaning back, Karol suppressed another sigh. Wendell was average in how much he talked. He just happened to punctuate his silent periods with rants.

Wendell continued. "Even the 'greater organizations' are accounted for. Those papist whores are a joke, and the Soviet group is a unit without a nation."

It was too much for Karol. "That's not true. After the KGB dissolved they became the Seventh Directorate in the FSB."

Oslo cleared his throat. "That is enough. The plan will be set with minimal interference. Our goal is not to have an open conflict with those mercenaries."

Yet, Karol mentally added. He was doubtful that WIC would let them wipe out this brood without retaliation. Even if they failed there would be reprisals. That was how the Company worked.

He internally shrugged. There was nothing he could do now. Once he spent a few more years mouthing the company line and rituals promotion to an influential position would be in his grasp. Actual information and strategic plans would be his.

He just had to continue being a "faithful brother". That's what everyone else did. Having this mission under his belt would help too. The Bishop had given special attention to exacting revenge on this group of demons.

***************


In her full Sailor DarkStar regalia, Ranma paced in front of her daughters. The demons were assembled in the dojo and were silently watching their mother. The redhead stopped and carefully inspected her brood. They looked fine, and the scent was... it was a good start. "I guess this is good enough."

"We're wearing the uniforms," Nariko said as she fluffed a bow.

"They're just costumes," Nabiki said with a little smirk. Looking cute was influencing and scary was intimidating, but a combination of the two worked even better.

"Mom wants to show up those magical girls," Misako laughed. "We already fight better than them, why not out do their uniforms and powers too?"

"Can't we just fight in normal clothes?" Ukyou asked.

"Oh no, I have to deal with a stupid miniskirt and bikini top. It's time you girls did too."

"Maybe you should find a way to change your uniform," Ukyou murmured.

"We just have the uniforms; we don't have any of the powers." Akane said, then upon reflection added "Yet."

Nabiki, who had been helping mother and grandmother translate some passages in great-grandmother's diary, coughed.

Ranma smiled sinisterly, which, given her species, was remarkably easy. "Oh, I've got a plan around that. After nursing on me you girls have got a good base."

Ukyou raised an eyebrow. "You're not just going to tap into this planet's... well whatever it is that gives you your Senshi powers, and dump it onto us?"

"It sounds safer than the stuff the Assembly did to us," Misako shrugged.

"If this succeeds, it is going to make Setsuna very upset, Mother." Nariko said with a bit too much innocence in her voice.

"Imagine that," Ranma said flatly. Then she concentrated for a moment her eyes blooming violet light and the various obsidian gems she wore hummed with the discharge of stored energy. "Form around me," the redhead ordered. The broodlings moved into a circular formation with their mother at the center.

As per their instructions the surveillance agents activated secondary recording devices and readied their backup scanners, just in case anything overloaded.

BlackSky's advice specifically addressed the forced empowering of broodlings by a mother. The details of Pattern Silver energy were not part of it, but that was the type of energy Ranma had been absorbing and processing for months, most of which was sent right to her spawn during their nightly nursing.

Ranma consciously tapped into that flow and did what came naturally to her. Shadows erupted from her body and wavered around the room. They were edged in violet and silver but when they hit one of the other demons their coloration... shifted.

Like their mother, the primary color matched their eyes: Nariko red, Misako green, Ukyou orange, Nabiki sky blue, and Akane, being the exception, had dark blue instead of brown.

As the silver edging strengthened the shadows became less mother's and more attached to each broodling. The flow of energy continued and each shuddered as their bodies acted as conduits. From Mother to daughter to ground and back to mother again.

The circuit broke when the illumination from Ranma's eyes guttered out and she slumped down to her knees. The demon groaned and rubbed her forehead. A splitting headache had formed from the root of one horn and shot straight to the other.

"Mommy!" Nariko cried as she knelt down. The rest of the brood followed .

"I'm fine; I'm fine." Ranma said as she clutched her head. "Just have a splitting headache."

"Sounds like you blew a fuse," Misako surmised.

"Very funny," Ranma groaned. "Do you feel any different?" she asked, pulling herself back up.

"Other than being quite full, nothing much," Ukyou shrugged.

"What did you expect: flashy transformation sequences?" Akane asked before looking at her fingerless gloves. The leather did look a bit nicer. "It's not like Mom does that."

"I dunno, this was pretty flashy," Nabiki corrected.

"Nomrally, I just shift into my new uniform," Ranma shook her head and inhaled to clear her senses. She then paused to sniff the air.

"No, you've got flames, and purple, black, and red ribbons in there, very scary and cute," Misako corrected. "Remember that first real fight of ours."

Ranma drooped. "I'd hoped you didn't remember that." She then resumed trying to figure out what she was sensing. "Well, I'm sure the agents with their gizmos will confirm it-"

"If you haven't fried them all," Nabiki reminded.

"Yes, yes, but I can smell a lot more Pattern Silver in you girls."

"We're at risk of making lame speeches and having silly trigger phrases like Aurora Demonic Power Makeup?" Misako froze and waited for the inevitable sparkly flash.

"You're already in Senshi form," Ukyou sighed.

Akane continued looking at her hands. It was true that Mother did not have an activation phrase but there was something that she did have... The blue-haired succubus concentrated and felt the words enter her mind. She had been wading through the pyromancy book grandmother had given her, and one particular passage struck out. She was not sure if she had translated it properly but the spell did intrigue her.

"Solar Eclipse Ignite!" Her shouting was accompanied by a forward flick of the wrist. The motion elongated the shadows of her fingers unnaturally... right towards the shadow of the wall in front of her which then flashed brightly before exploding into irregular splinters.

"Oh.... that's neat." Akane smiled at her hand.

"What was that?" Ranma asked. "That wasn't what I thought it was?"

"Moving shadows?" Ukyou asked. "Yeah, that was it."

"And immediately just before the wall exploded. Though, she was pointing at the wall too," Misako looked down at her own claws contemplatively.

"That is handy," Ranma nodded. "Not much fire or explosion, but a good start."

"Call in Grandma! I want her to see it," Akane begged.

"She can hear you," Ranma reminded.

"Have my girls found some fun things?" Nodoka asked. She had stepped away from the dojo during the process. They had no idea what energies like that would do to a human.

Ranma nodded with a little smile. She knew training and natural ability would pay off, but this was faster than she had expected.

"See!" Akane then proudly said her attack phrase and flicked out a shadow. It curved and stopped in the middle of the floor, where it exploded weakly, igniting the mat.

"It's okay honey," Ranma said hugging Akane. "You just need more practice. It took me months to get the DarkStar Burst."

Akane nodded and leaned onto her mother.

"I think I've got one," Nabiki focused and a bead of sweat formed on her forehead. She whispered "Icicle Parade" as a handful of very small crystals formed in her cupped hands. The crystals then shot off and embedded themselves into a beam. The holes they made were only noticeable by the trace of frost that formed. A split second after there was a loud creak followed by an intense and compact explosion around the beam.

"Now that has potential," Ranma noted with a raised eyebrow.

Nariko tilted her head. "Perhaps we should be mindful of repairs."

Nabiki smiled. Her attack might have a stupid name, but she could whisper it. Mother also proved that an attack with a stupid name could be devastating.

"Yeah, how accurate can you get that? Could it go through a shield or armor?" Ukyou asked.

"I don't know," Nabiki blushed.

"Can you show us again?" Nodoka asked.

Nabiki nodded and then repeated the incantation.

Nodoka watched the impalement and explosion. "It's definitely cryogenic, and then rapidly sublimates and expands, looks highly flammable so it blows up."

"But what is it?" Nabiki asked.

"Well, it is ice. Most of the alkanes have a solid form if you get them cold enough. They also need compression, but it looks like a crystal too. It definitely warrants examination."

"Do you think it's like the napalm we make?"

"Possibly, though it has to be made at a radically different temperature and pressure. It does count as a red four on the NFPA 704." Nodoka noticed the blank looks. "That's a measure of how dangerous a chemical is. It's a diamond with a red, blue, and yellow sections. A four for the red means it will rapidly or completely vaporize at normal atmospheric pressure and temperature, or is readily dispersed in air and will burn readily. Also has a flashpoint below 23°C. Probably has a high reactivity, yellow, value too."

"It'll ignite at room temperature?" Nabiki paused. "Couldn't it just be oxygen? That's very flammable," the short succubus noted.

"You're a species that can make orbs of complex hydrocarbons at will," Nodoka shrugged. "This is not too unusual."

"It is tiring though," Nabiki pouted

"It takes a lot of energy to compress and freeze." Nodoka paused. "It's kind of like a thermobaric weapon. The sublimation and decompression causes a rapid vaporization which is then ignited. We'll need more tests of course."

"A thermobaric, really?" Misako asked. Her training at the Assembly had been thorough on armaments.

"It's got real potential," Ranma repeated. She made a note to start Nabiki on speed training. All that time to cup her hands and form the ice was a huge liability in the fast pace of succubus combat. Ranma turned to her other daughters.

"I got nothin'," Ukyou shrugged. She frowned; she could feel the excitement in her sisters but that did not translate into her own neat ways of making stuff explode.

"I was thinking of one of the techniques in the book grandma gave me and the words just came to my head.," Akane explained.

"What about you, Misako?" Nabiki asked. Maybe "Alexia's spawn" had a leg up on it.

Nariko smiled to herself and watched the conversation. She gave her finger a discrete little snap and her eyes twinkled at the little sparks that formed.

"Well, I guess... I don't feel anything new," Misako looked at Ukyou and shrugged. She blinked and warily flared her aura.

"That's not new," Ukyou said eyeing the green flames that danced around her mate's form.

"Yeah, I always was good at this," Misako flexed her aura. She could now feel something new, something hungry. She ran up and pounced at her Mother.

Activating her own aura, Ranma dodged her daughter's attack Her gaze narrowed when she felt a sucking sensation at the point where the auras contacted. "Oh, I though you girls said you were full." Ranma smirked. "Well if you want more you just had to ask, dear."

Misako's eyes widened at the burst in power and was shoved down. "Hey!" She sprung back up and found that her aura was still trying to consume her mother's.

"I don't think this is going to work on me, Misa-chan." Ranma noted. "Cute attack though."

"Oh?" Misako pouted.

"We're built to drain mother. That whole ceremony took advantage of that." Nabiki noted.

"What about you Nari-chan?" Ranma asked eyeing her eldest.

"I... I think we'll have to go outside," Nariko coughed.

"It's nice to see one of you girls realized that smashing up the dojo wasn't the best idea," Ranma remarked as the brood walked outside after Nariko.

"I just know the phrase for it," Nariko said as she shook her arms. "I don't know what it'll do." Nariko closed her eyes and shouted "Lighting Devastation!" while pointing with her left hand. An arc of lightning appeared to spring from her hand and slam into a tree at the edge of the woods. The wood splintered and burned nearly to the center and almost knocked the tree over.

"Lightning Devastation? Hmm," Nabiki commented.

"Yeah, it's almost as bad as Icicle Parade," Ukyou smirked.

Nabiki glared cutely.

"It's no worse than Mom's attack phrase," Misako shrugged.

Ranma nodded. "Very nice Nari-chan."

Nariko blushed and dusted off her hands. "Thanks, it's not too controlled. I think I need... maybe more focus."

"It doesn't act like normal lightning," Nodoka commented. "But a conductor could help. We'll perform some tests at base."

Ranma saw Ukyou hanging back near the door to the dojo. Noticing the blonde's face she slipped next to her. "Still not feeling anything?" Ranma asked putting an arm around Ukyou.

"Nope," Ukyou sighed. She looked to see Mother's compassionate and insufferably understanding face. "I'm sorry I didn't get magically get powers like the rest. I'm the dud and I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Ranma blinked.

"It doesn't mater what I'd do, you'll always love me and you won't get mad at me. You can't." Ukyou glared.

Ranma put a hand onto Ukyou's head. "That's not quite true. I'd be mad if you did use your powers."

Ukyou blinked and looked into her mother's violet eyes. "You knew. You knew exactly what we'd get."

"Did I? How observant of you." Ranma laughed.

"What the heck is my power, then?"

"One that you can't use here."

"Oh, so what is it? And how did you know all this?" Ukyou asked.

Ranma shrugged. "You'll figure that out."

Ukyou glared at her teasing mother. "If anyone knew it would be you. You did give us a huge jolt of Silver energy. What do you mean I can't use it now?"

Ranma smiled.

"I can't just blow up a tree or a rock? What do I need to use it on someone? So... I'd need a mind to affect. Some kinda psychic power?"

"You know we're not psychic. Though we can affect people, make them uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable? Like how you made that traitor feel?" Ukyou smirked.

"Something like that." Ranma hugged Ukyou. "You'll have a pain practicing it, but I think you'll like it."

"As long as there's more to it than just that." Ukyou returned the embrace. "Wait... these aren't just normal succubus powers? I mean auras, shadows, making stuff explode, and messing with people's heads."

"I'm sure grandma could do all that stuff. She's no Senshi," Ranma shrugged.

"She's older than dirt."

"So you girls got a shortcut to it. Though I don't think BlackSky's used lightning as an attack since the Silver Millennium." Ranma reminded herself to read more of grandma's diary.

"I'm sure it'll come up during story time... eventually."

"You're going to insist that I read you guys a chapter a night aren't you," Ranma sighed. Her Demonic was nowhere near that good, and Silva's pronunciation guide was a real pain.

"I'll just have Nariko and Nabiki help me bug you." Ukyou smirked.

"Yeah, yeah," Ranma relented. She would have to talk to her mother again.

***************


"When do you think the Saotome girl and her gang will be back?" Rod Ferris asked.

Hikaru Gosunkugi sighed at his acquaintance's titter. "It is odd that they're all out sick. Also rumors that Akane's sister has transferred out."

"Oh?" Rod asked sounding apathetic.

Hikaru remained neutral. Rod had a habit of pretending to have a short attention span. It was irritating, but less so than the reaction calling him on it produced. "So, got any other book recommendations?"

"You finished Elegant Universe already?" Rod laughed, though his eyes carried a different sort of amusement. He looked at his handsome reflection in his locker's mirror.

"Oh, so nothing more exotic?" Gosunkugi needled further. The rules were simple. The details of their hobby were not to be discussed at school. After the attack on the school, the cameras were even more prevalent and undoubtedly coupled with microphones.

Rod laughed as he combed his hair. "Well, maybe I have something to give you. I know you like macabre history."

"Oh, well that's good." Gosunkugi felt a weight fall onto his chest. His hobby required him to work with all types of unsavory people. The paranoid lunatics were the easiest. All you had to do with them was agree with their delusions, which was easy for Hikaru.

He knew just about how right such men could be. The militant cultists were best avoided. Dying or killing for the glory of some intergalactic, insane, and disinterested cuttlefish did not sound like a good plan.

The last group was what Hikaru belonged to. The academics, the explorers, the researchers, the archeologists, the linguists, they all read the grimoires, studied the artifacts, and searched ancient temples for the most simple of reasons. They were there.

On the other hand, at least the madmen and cultists were honest, Hikaru found the "hobbyist" type the most suspicious. It was a rare person that actually studied pre-human tomes just to get a handle on earth's real history. The "hobbyists" all had something to hide.

"Despite her absence Red has inspired other girls," Rod amiably babbled.

"I suppose so," Gosunkugi tried to shrug. He liked the gothic look, of course Sunshine and her friends wore it in a way that was actually scary. Unlike most other girls that dressed that way to be shocking and have an effect... it was natural for Sunshine. Having deathly pale skin naturally, instead of resorting to white pancake makeup, was a sure sign.

After reflection Hikaru supposed that Rod was talking about more than just the normal gothic poseurs. "Did some other girls change their skin tone?"

"Oh nothing as dramatic as Akane's change, well... there is a hair change." Rod allowed.

"Who dyed their hair?" Gosunkugi asked just to keep the conversation moving.

Rod laughed. "I said there wasn't anything dramatic. It's just that the Mizuno girl's started to grow her hair out, her friend Janet too."

"What's the big deal with that? Isn't it normal for girls to change their hairstyles?"

"That's what everyone assumes," Rod idly remarked.

Hikaru shrugged. "That's girls for you."

"Yeah it is," Rod laughed. "Well I've got some recommendations, perhaps your book club will like them too."

"They normally do," Hikaru admitted. A "hobbyist" had to network and most found small groups that had some degree of association.

"Just be careful. We've recently seen how the wrong book can tear apart a club." Rod inappropriately laughed before walking off.


***************


"I have some bad news," Setsuna told the assembled Senshi. They were in the apartment that the inners lived in.

"You found another branch of that cult?" Usagi hesitantly asked.

"No, I think that group is done for." Setsuna noticed her princess' reaction and wished she could have phrased it better.

"Then what?" Rei asked. Getting regular briefings from Pluto had made her a bit less mysterious and controlling.

"DarkStar's spawn are now Sailor Senshi," Setsuna rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

"That's not possible. Right?" Makoto asked. "I mean what planets would they all be?"

"Why exactly is that bad?" Minako asked. She could have sworn there was a tinge of jealousy in Setsuna's voice.

"I'm not a planet," Janet said, from her place on the couch

"And what planet is Usagi's daughter... or Usagi?" Ami asked rhetorically.

"Wait... if Usagi's kid can be a Senshi then Sunshine's can be too? Is it that simple?" Rei asked.

"I can see why you wanted to tell us this," Ami nodded as she activated her computer. It was not bad and not unexpected, but it was useful to know.

"What's the big deal?" Makoto asked. "They were already a team of girls with magical powers."

"They're gonna have to wear uniforms like ours," Minako said as she walked to the kitchen. "Well... probably not; look at how Sunny dresses."

Ami sighed. They were just teenagers; that explained it, but it did not justify it. They were Senshi, warriors. They needed to keep improving. "Yeah, they were already organized and dedicated. How many years did it take us to start working as a well-running team?"

"We're not just soldiers. We can't be like WIC and do this all the time." Minako replied after sipping her water.

"Why not?" Janet asked.

"Ranma and her kids still attend school, and they train every day. Not just in their dojo, they do everything. The Company is more than happy to give them grounds and equipment to train on. Look at how close those groups are, and it's not just the officers, the enlisted men are chummy with the brood," Ami said.

"Makes sense that macho soldiers would like aggressive and sexy women," Rei muttered.

Ami nodded. "Exactly. Doesn't it strike you as odd that an organization like WIC has put so much effort in courting demons that only just now became Senshi... instead of the human team? The team that's got more experience at saving the world."

Janet looked around; she knew the answer to that question. Ami had to too. Setsuna obviously knew the answer. She was the one keeping the Company at arm's length.

"They got more response from the brood. Ranma's mom does work for them," Makoto shrugged.

"And she's sleeping with an agent too," Minako wistfully added. "While we're just sitting in this apartment."

"Oh-kay, ignoring Mina's desire to have a buzz-cut secret agent do her, we still have issues." Setsuna smirked at the blushes her statement caused.

Ami smiled. Later on, Setsuna's perceptiveness might be a problem, but for now it was a breath of fresh air. "Yes, DarkStar is building alliances and accepting help. Do you girls know what her mother does?"

"Advanced materials, but mostly works in armor," Setsuna recalled.

"How much armor do her girls need?" Ami asked.

Minako paused and switched her glass between hands. "Well our uniforms protect well enough, and if they're Senshi too now..."

"Let's just say I don't think all her effort will be going into demon armor." Ami hung her head.

"What's wrong?" Usagi asked. "We like Ranma and her girls. They're on our side."

"They spend every day honing their edge. They train their bodies, they practice working as a team, and I bet they're getting equipment specially built for them." Ami gave a little laugh. "Yes, we've been at this longer and we have more magical power than they do. A lot more, but their rate of advancement is worrying. We can't stand buy."

"Our magical attacks are a lot stronger," Rei corrected.

"A sharpshooter can knock out a mortar crew," Janet asserted.

"Raw magical powers is only useful if you can hit your enemy." Ami clarified, while holding back her exasperation. Janet could get this, why not the others? "That's another thing. WIC works by finding ways to defeat more powerful opponents."

"The potential synergy is beautiful and terrifying," Janet agreed.

"Now that's just melodramatic," Setsuna sighed.

"I'm glad they're on our side. I really am." Ami shook her head. Things could get really troubling.

Usagi watched the argument silently.

"Then why are you worried about all their training and stuff?" Minako asked.

"They're preparing. They don't want to get caught off guard by some stupid cult with an old magic book and a few guns," Ami glared.

"We still won."

"Only because the Princess could still fight even after her powers were blocked." Ami rubbed the bridge of her nose again. "There could easily be more copies of this book, and what if someone competent used the information inside it?"

"Ami's right, we can't rely on being lucky and hope that our enemies no matter how powerful they are, will always be stupid," Setsuna said.

"What do you want us to do?" Minako asked.

"Train." Ami stated.

"Even more practice would be good," Usagi reluctantly admitted. It had been... hard to practice, especially wearing that uniform. It looked and smelled clean, but she swore she could still feel the blood.

"We should ask to work with the brood," Ami proposed.

"But you just lectured us about how scary they are that they might leapfrog us," Minako nearly spilled her glass.

"Exactly, what better way to make sure they can't eclipse us." Ami glared at the reluctant and incepting faces. "What?

"We've been training," Rei corrected. "Ever since that hostage thing."

"I wouldn't call that training," Ami coolly countered. "We just shoot off some attacks and call it done."

"What do you propose?" Setsuna asked. The ragged look about Ami was concerning her.

"We get serious; we train like the Senshi of old. Serenity didn't take over the solar system by having part time warriors."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow.

"You want us to be like DarkStar and her brood?" Minako was not sure what to think of that. It seemed like too much work. They were not trained like the brood was.

Usagi frowned.

"Not exactly I hope. They're not exactly good guys," Rei sighed.

"I don't think it's wise to compare the things they've done versus what we've done," Ami sighed.

"I just don't think we should emulate a group that's new to being magical girls, heck they're new at being demons." Rei's glare softened. It was time for the olive branch. "Yes, let's get better at our powers. We're due for another transformation upgrade anyway. We should train, but we'll do it our way."

Ami refrained form rubbing the bridge of her nose. They were willing to die for their Princess. That was as easy as being defeated in battle one single sacrifice, but the effort and constant daily sacrifice that was required now...

She smiled at the comforting hand Janet put on her leg. Such displays were risky, but Ami would rather have Janet's support. Leaning back, Ami collected herself. She would keep her cool; she could win this argument, intelligence was on her side after all.

"Maybe you've been spending too much time with that book?" Makoto asked, noticing Janet's hand. "You've been up and out late a lot."

"Someone has to figure out what was done to Usagi and how to keep it from happening again."

"When did you become such a hawk?" Minako asked. "You're not this... aggressive."

"I'm not." Ami narrowed here eyes. "I've just been piecing things together. This is not what we're used to. Look at Setsuna; she's got some idea what's going on, and it terrifies her. She just doesn't know how to break it all to us."

Rei turned to Setsuna and for a brief moment caught fear in the older woman's eyes. "What are you holding back?"

Setsuna looked past Rei to Ami. "Nothing. I've told Usagi everything."

"Really, now?" Rei's voice was highly skeptical.

"Huh?" Usagi asked. "You didn't tell me much."

"I told you everything I found out about that cult," Setsuna corrected.

"Not that, the actual point to all this. What's going on here? And don't just blame Murdock." Rei added.

Ami looked to the phone, and waited for it to ring. She smirked, it probably was stupid to assume Murdock would call, the timing would be too good, too dramatic, too... narrative, even for him.

"We should train more," Usagi allowed.

"And concentrate in what will give us the most improvement. We've got more magical power than the demons. I mean they're new. We can use that, right?" Minako asked.

"That is true. They don't have much in the way of Senshi powers," Setsuna reluctantly admitted.

"We concentrate on our magic. We'll build up our advantage," Minako offered.

Ami forced herself to not groan. "Well... that might not be the best focus," she said diplomatically. "As we've got a lot of heavy attacks. We need to learn how to use what we've already got."

"I think increasing the tempo of our training is good, and some of Ami's ideas should be used," Setsuna said while giving Ami a supportive look.

"That makes sense," Usagi allowed, once she saw some approving nods.

Ami's brow furrowed. This was not even a bad decision; it was indecision wrapped up in a consensus. "No! That's not enough. Don't you realize we're running out of time? You think if we screw up this time the world'll reset or we'll get resurrected?"

"Please calm down," Janet said putting her left on Ami's shoulder. She found she had to actually keep her blue-haired partner from rising.

"Ami... please," Usagi tried to sooth.

"I'm sorry princess, but I'm afraid we're going to fail you... again" Ami stopped trying to stand up and closed her eyes. "I can't let that happen."

"We're all dedicated to the Princess, Ami." Minako reminded.

"Dedication is not enough," Ami said flatly.

Janet felt a chill creep up her left arm. She had to act now. "Weren't you going to help me with my homework?" she asked, knowing full well that it was an obvious excuse. She hoped that someone else would figure that out too.

After a moment, Rei spoke up. "Yeah, I said I would be calling my grandfather," she said with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, I'll help you," Ami's voice was stiff as she stood up and left the room under Janet's escort.

Makoto waited until half a minute after the door had closed. "I think that book is getting to her."

"That's not all," Rei dryly remarked.

"Don't say that, Janet's been really helpful, and it's good that Ami has a friend she can relate too."

"Yeah, like peas in a pod," Minako chuckled. "Always going out looking for guys."

Setsuna blinked. Sometimes it was very hard to get a read on Minako. The blonde was either incredibly clueless or being dryly humorous.

"I'm worried about her," Makoto confessed as she stood up.

"Her getting aggressive?" Minako shrugged. Ami being more assertive seemed to be a good thing. She was being more social and independent. Ami's romantic history was almost as bad as Makoto's and she deserved someone who could make her happy.

Makoto looked out the apartment window. She scanned the vehicles in the parking lots below. Even counting only trucks and vans there were still dozens. "She's not being aggressive. No, she's being... cold, logical. Overreacting yes, but in her own way."

"Exuberantly pragmatic?" Setsuna offered.

"I'm going to talk with Ranma. At least we can get closer to those allies," Usagi rubbed her forehead and turned to Rei. "Have you been getting any visions or dreams?"

"Nothing... nothing substantial," Rei coughed.

Usagi nodded, then turned to Setsuna. "Find a shrine. Work out the details with Rei. And I want you to check Ami's findings with your own on that group. I'll ask Ranma what the Company found out about them too." Usagi raised an eyebrow at the startled Senshi. "What? I've been thinking about this for a while."

"Yeah, no problem," Setsuna promised.

"Good." Usagi then started thinking on the best way to approach Ranma.

End Chapter 3

Revision Notes: And here we have events moving forward with people pushing and planning. Notably the increased training and developments for both magical girl teams.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 4: Treacherous Conditions Ahead
Formerly: Retrograde and Remade Part 1(ii)


"There you are," Ranma said as she slid up next to her fiancee in the basement corridors of the Company base.

"Yes," Kasumi stiffened as Ranma put her hand onto her butt. She reflexively moved the demon's hand to her hip. "How are things going with the Major?"

"I told you about our trip to the range this morning right?" Ranma asked as they walked.

Kasumi nodded. It was hard to forget post-coitus that involved firearms. "I really hate that I had to miss that."

"Oh, it was something else," Ranma's eyes twinkled. "There were just two designs, and there were a few flaws. The one mom's leaning towards' got funny balance, especially after you fire it."

"She's still tinkering with the designs?"

"Kinda. Misako and Ukyou are in the lab with one of her assistants, Agent Ayanami. She's a nice girl."

"What' is the Major up to?" Kasumi asked as they made their way to the commissary.

Ranma turned and smiled. "She figured out what to do with Grandma's gift."

"Oh my," Kasumi let the redhead's hand move back down to her ass as they entered the commissary's queue. The looks from the other agents and officers was still novel.

"It'll take a while to make. Mom doesn't have the machinery here," Ranma said as she looked over the various soups and stews.

"The Company does have machine shops that can make armaments," Kasumi noted while taking a turkey and rye sandwich.

"Well right now, Mom's working with someone in Michigan or Maine, maybe Manitoba. Someplace starting with an M, but..."

"Slivers and dust from machining that material can be very dangerous." Kasumi laughed. "Doubtless, it's a chance for Major Saotome to expand her lab."

Ranma nodded.

"Today's weapon was simple enough for the Major to build herself?" Kasumi asked as they walked to a table where Kasumi's team was already eating.

"It was just a modification," Ranma shrugged and sat down. She then looked at the four other agents. "You were there Steven, what did you think?"

"It's big," Agent Deschain said controlling his voice. His eyes darted to the lieutenant and then to the demon sitting next to her. "If controlled, it could be very effective."

Ranma nodded. Aram's... replacement seemed to be fitting in well, if a bit standoffish. He was good with demolitions, though. "Don't worry, Misako took a shine to it."

"Ma'am, Red, I must say you two make a good couple," Deschain smiled.

Kasumi coughed. Less from the comment, than Ranma moving her hand back to her butt.

"There aren't many secrets in a place like this," Sophie said with wry irony.

Ranma smirked. Before she could start her meal, the phone in her coat pocket began to ring. She answered and asked who was calling.

"Oh hi, Usagi. How are you holding up?" Ranma said into her phone.

"How did Usagi get that number?" Sophie asked.

Ranma covered the microphone "I gave it to her a few days after the toy store thing."

Sophie nodded.

"What're yah calling about?" Ranma asked Usagi.

"Well... I... it's kind of embarrassing," Usagi's voice was hesitant.

"Oh?" Ranma's interest raised.

"Are you free tomorrow?"

"Well, sure." Ranma blushed slightly as she was struck with the image of Kasumi and Usagi. Both were nude and blood-soaked.

"Uh, Ranma? Hello?"

"What? I said I could go." Ranma tried to push the vision down.

"I was asking you if tomorrow at the mall would be good," Usagi repeated.

"Sure, I'm free on Sunday, around one?"

"Okay, see you at that leather shop you like." Usagi teased.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Usagi paused. "I think we should start working together. We're both leaders of Senshi."

"That's true. So Setsuna filled you in on my little project?"

"Five new Senshi was going to attract attention, Sunny. Well bye bye."

"Yeah, bye." Ranma then hung up. She shook her head at the phone.

"Meeting with Usagi?" Kasumi asked.

"Yup, mall tomorrow." Ranma shook her head and started eating her soup. "I guess."

"Should be fun. A pair of teenage girls enjoying the mall."

Ranma glared. "You're going to pay for that."

"Oh my, I got a succubus angry at me." Kasumi laughed.

Gabriel concentrated on his lunch. The lieutenant flirting was surreal enough, but her teasing a sex demon was just over the top. Though it was cute how Red blushed from all the attention.

***************


The predator crept along the forest. She was at home among the underbrush and branches. It seemed as if the dusk-borne shadows were deliberately aiding her concealment. The chatter being broadcast into her headset was mercifully brief. They knew she had locked onto the scent. They would only tell her new information. They understood. They understood the hunt.

A thin smile formed as she got close enough to make out the figure of the intruder. Her quarry was being cautious but it was not fair. She knew of only one group of humans that could even hope to out-track a succubus, and they were her allies.

Someone was foolish enough to intrude on her home. She had planned a quiet night, but this was an interesting change of pace. Normally she would be more direct but this time caution seemed more prudent.

The demon's movement slowed when she noticed the human look towards her. She was downwind enough to capture the scent, and that gave her pause. Well, their scanners were right, she's a Senshi too. Ranma gave a mental laugh. It figured. There were plenty of new Senshi, herself and her kids included.

As she crept closer she got a clearer look at the intruder. The scent was proof enough, but it was satisfying to see the same hairstyle. The pleated skirt, bows, and those particular swords were new however.

She paused and watched as the Amazon made her way forward. Her woodcraft was excellent, but several things were working against her.

The first was that the pattern Silver output had tripped the scanners before she got remotely close to the house. The second was a seemingly gross underestimation of her intended target.

Ranma slid back a few paces to keep the same distance between them. Shampoo knew she was a demon. That fit in well with her mission. Killing a demon was even better than killing a mere outsider woman.

The redhead entertained the idea of ending things here and now. If Shampoo was smart she would know she was being tracked and have something planned. In all their previous meetings Shampoo had been alone, though that did not mean that Shampoo had to be alone this time.

Ranma quietly summoned a small DarkStar burst. Holding the orb she considered her options. It would be easy, but she still had questions. Her eyes scanned the uniform Shampoo wore.

The outfit was standard human Senshi. There were the long gloves, flared collar, tiara, and knee-high boots. Her eyes went back to the boots. In place of a planetary symbol there was a pattern of dots. She had only seen one other Senshi with boots marked like that.

Ranma made her decision and darkened the orb until it was almost dead. She then released it so that it went perpendicular to the line between Shampoo and herself for a dozen yards before crashing into a stump

"I know you're out there, demon!" Shampoo shouted in passable Japanese and roughly the stump's direction as she unsheathed a pair of swords that began to brightly glow.

Ranma suppressed a groan. She made a natural Senshi. The brood mother let a bit more of her power leak out. This would be over quick. The next part was still a challenge for her. She waited.

Shampoo brandished her weapons and strode forward. She had not planned to strike tonight, but would not let some demon intimidate her. This time the advantage would hers.

The succubus slid back and considered things. That she was a Senshi complicated things, and the type of Senshi complicated them even more.

Shampoo could sense the dark presence. She could also feel it retreat with every step forward she took. "Stop hiding from me! The darkness will not save you!"

Ranma let herself chuckle. The irony was too much.

Shampoo hesitated as malevolent laughter grew all around her. Her swords tried to banish the darkness, but it still felt oppressive, like an inky oozing weight.

"How about a deal?" Ranma asked in a bored tone. "You tell me how you got these neat powers, and I'll turn you over to some nice men that probably won't dissect you."

"Your threats don't scare me!" Shampoo stepped forward again.

Ranma laughed. That was ludicrous. People like her did not need to threaten.

"Laugh all you want. You're the one being pushed back." Shampoo paused her swords seemed to be just a bit dimmer.

Ranma kept her silence. Shampoo was a talker, and a bit better at her Japanese than the last time they met.

Shampoo hesitated as she recalled what she had been told earlier. The demon-girl was not alone. "You won't trick me, demon! I know your plan."

"Oh?" Ranma dryly asked. She sighed and strode forward.

Shampoo watched a figure wreathed in shadows suddenly appear to her left. She slid into position and held her flickering swords up.

"Interesting design," Ranma remarked. The familiarity was more interesting than the workmanship.

Shampoo watched as the dread demon diverged from the darkness. "You're..."

"As much a Senshi as you are," Sailor DarkStar smiled brightly.

Shampoo glared, but held her ground.

Ranma nodded. "That's good. Fights aren't for mindless banter, and you don't want to give me any extra advantage," she explained as she paid special attention to the pattern on the top of Shampoo's boots. It had to be a constellation, and she could find out which one later.

"Why aren't you attacking?" Shampoo asked as she kept her swords up.

Ranma shook her head. It was a wonder that Amazon had lasted as long as she did. On the other hand, that the girl did not simply charge in with her shiny swords, did point favorably to her self preservation.

Shampoo concentrated and her swords stopped flickering. The meager light they cast did little to push back the darkness but it was a start.

Ranma tilted her head and walked around the Amazon. A plan formed and was executed. "You really should calm down, Dear," Ranma purred

Shampoo automatically flicked her swords down at the succubus that seemed to appear at her side. She gasped in surprise and then horror as the demon invaded her personal space. The overpowering... presence caused her grip to loosen for a split second, but it was enough.

Ranma flicked the weapons out of the loose hands. She could feel her shadows enveloping the nervous girl. "I know your kind, you're not afraid to die." She laughed and licked her fangs. "But that's not nearly the worst thing I could do to you."

Shampoo stiffened in shock, until the demon wrapped herself around the Amazon. The contact should have been repulsive, it should have been unnatural, especially what the monster was doing with her tail. As Shampoo looked into those hungry violet eyes, her will wilted. With a sudden source of strength she freed a hand and swung it up and at the demon's head.

Shampoo felt the grip on her give way and leapt out of the demon's clutches. Immediately after she landed she turned and started to run. Thanking her magically enhanced abilities she put as much distance between herself and the demon. She was stupid; she did not intend to make... contact with the demon.

"You want us to pick her up, Red?" an agent asked via Ranma's headset.

"No, we're going see where she leads us," Ranma replied as she started the chase.

"Nice work on the seduction scheme," the agent complimented.

"It was nothing. I just gave her an escape route and she took it," Ranma then put her full attention to following her prey. At first it was not a hard trail to follow, Shampoo was going for speed not concealment. Her path was in the direction of the city.

Ranma paused when the pattern silver signature suddenly vanished. She smirked as her own clothing shifted into a purple Lycra unitard that did not look out of place on a young woman out for a run.

Shampoo was smart enough to realize that her Senshi powers made her trivial to track. Ranma sighed, the scent had gotten a bit colder, especially since she was now relying on her nose instead of a magical signature.

"Did you lose her?" the agent asked via headset, once Ranma had stopped at a street corner.

"Not really, but I think it's better to warn someone now." Ranma then cursed to herself. She had gotten cocky. Shampoo should have been captured right in the woods. Though that might have warned whoever had recruited her.

"It's because she's a constellation Senshi?"

"Yup, I'm going to need a pickup, and any photos of her."

***************


Ami looked up from her notes. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yes," Rei said with a slight shake of the head.

"I'm just not sure it would work well. This isn't your fire," Ami looked back down to the translations.

Rei smiled. "I know, that's why it took a while for it to accept me," she said her concentration back on the small pyre before her.

"I see," Ami looked back to the door. "You think anything will come from that informant of Setsuna's? She ran out of here right after getting that phone call. Really shocked the priest she smooth talked into letting you do this."

"Nope." Rei was torn between telling Ami to be quiet and letting her talk. This was the most civil and calm that Ami had been in a while. Rei supposed her trying to get a vision helped. Ami was no longer alone, no longer the only serious Senshi.

"Yeah, it sounded like some cultist fan boy, but if he has information..." Ami shrugged.

"You're really worried about this aren't you?" Rei pushed the wood around a bit on the fire.

Ami looked down and organized her papers. "I'm afraid."

"We've faced worse before." Rei blinked. She thought she felt something... a flicker of shadow that did not belong.

"No, we haven't."

Rei stopped. "How... how can you be sure?" she asked deliberately.

"It's just a feeling," Ami rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I can see why Setsuna's so frayed. The deeper I go into this-" she waved at the papers and books she had brought with her. "The more I realize that we're not good enough."

Wind gusted around them; Rei kept her eyes on the fire. "You don't think that WIC and those demons-"

Ami's grim laughter cut deeply into Rei. "No, the princess will prevail, but she can't carry us. We can't fail her again," Ami said this with no fire or bolster. She was now stating fact.

"We won't," Rei assured. Her voice grew distant as the flames started to change.

Ami held her reply, and smiled slightly. Rei's visions were something Ami could not predict. They might greatly assist her plans or be a hindrance. This way she would be the first to hear what Rei had seen. She would also be the first Rei would talk to about the vision.

Keeping an eye on Rei, Ami organized her papers and put them back into her bag. She then quietly waited. In the scheme of things a few minutes was not much of a wait. Especially given what might be at stake.

Rei's hands went to her shoulders and she started shivering. Before she could fall forward Ami ran in and pulled her back. "Rei, what happened?" Ami asked after making sure she was breathing and absent of visible injuries.

The fire maiden's eyes opened and locked onto the dark shape that loomed over her. "Get back!" Rei cried and watched as the shadow retreated and the air chilled. She then blinked and realized who was over her.

"Bad vision, then" Ami said in that strange, matter of fact, voice.

"She was cold, very cold." Rei mumbled.

"Who?" Ami gingerly asked, kneeling closer to her.

Rei breathed a few times as she tried to get her bearings. She remembered the blackness, a piercing chill that seemed to cut through anything. "I've seen our enemy."

Ami motioned for Rei to continue.

"There were shadows, but they didn't move, frozen. All I could see was a throne, it was crystal. The princess- Usagi- she was on it," Rei shivered at the irises on the blonde. "Her eyes were wrong. All wrong. No color, no color anywhere. But then the throne... I don't know. It moved over her... and she smiled."

"Over her?" Ami tilted her head. She had to remember everything. Quick thinking was critical for this to work.

"It formed-" Rei looked into Ami's somehow expectant eyes. After a hesitation she decided to tell Ami, she deserved it. "- hands. I think. Then the Mistress showed up."

"Mistress?" Ami asked savoring the sound of the title.

"It was terrible. She wasn't human. All cold... She wants Usagi. That's what we have to deal with. She's the one after Usagi" Rei shivered again.

Ami grabbed Rei's shoulders "What did she look like?"

"I..."

"Tell me! It's important."

Rei felt another chill and looked into Ami's worried eyes. "She was tall... I think. She was shapely, but it was the beauty of a statue. She wasn't nude, but it wasn't clothing. It was a parody of decency." Rei shuddered. "Prongs and bits poked and shaped and exposed everything. Her eyes... I don't know. She wasn't human. I don't know, it was all washed out. No color."

Ami withdrew her hands and sat down next to Rei. "I'm sorry. I was afraid. The book..." She shook her head, things did not match up exactly, but visions were not literal things.

Rei's eyes widened. "There's someone in that book? Like what I said?

Ami shrugged. "There's a whole section full of sorcerers and necromancers. The... mistress you described, she sounds familiar. Is there anything else?"

"That sounds like someone in the book? That's great." Rei brightened. At least something came from this. "Well, her hair... it was up. There was also a crown or a tiara. Not like ours. It was silver, I think. There were no gems on it, though. None."

"Really?" Ami bit her lip. "That's not right at all."

"So it's not the dark sorceress you were thinking of?" Rei's shoulders sagged.

"Not necessarily."

"Yeah, no reason she couldn't have changed her crown in the meantime. So who do you think it is?"

"Maybe," Ami said as she pulled out some copies she made of book.

"I uh... can't read this." Rei said looking at the foreign symbols.

"It's a list of contemporaries of Serenity."

"Mages from the Silver Millennium," Rei said looking at Ami instead of the paper.

"Earlier than that. One of them sounds kind of like your Mistress," Ami cracked an embarrassed smile. "It was the armor. Some of these people had some very odd stuff."

"Who was she?"

"There isn't much other than a description of herself and how she dressed, but she did help Serenity, or at least they worked together. She was big on enchanting artifacts. Her personality could also match what you mentioned; apparently she was a very dour woman."

"What happened to her?"

Ami shrugged. "She and some other explorers from around the same time as that DarkStar stuff, give or take a decade, went out on a trip beyond the solar system. Contact was lost. Nothing was found."

Rei looked at the passage that Ami pointed at. The text was gibberish to her so Rei simply nodded. "What was her name?"

Ami paused and ran her finger over the text. A wicked little smile formed. "You're right. Her name and title roughly translate as Mistress Lyra."

Rei shivered. "Do you know what this means?"

"What?"

"We finally have a name. We know who's controlling Murdock, who's pulling all the strings. Everything. And we owe you." Releif colored Rei's face as she smiled.

"You had the vision," Ami reminded, adding in her own grin.

"But your research told us who it was. This is all your doing."

Ami blushed. "So what makes you think Lyra is doing this?"

"It makes sense. You have this powerful mage that goes out, and who knows what happens to her. Maybe she's corrupted or possessed or maybe just drifting for thousands of years left her bitter. But she comes back, and who knows what she knows."

"She works from the shadows... why bring us to Canada?"

"Why was Beryl's base on Antarctica?" Rei shrugged. "We don't know the details, but we know what she wants."

Ami smiled. "Usagi."

"We need to call the others. The have to know this." Rei's enthusiasm damped the few qualms and questions that remained.

"Yes, they'll be thrilled that you figured out who's behind all this." Ami remarked. Things were definitely looking up.

***************


Usagi sighed into her textbook. Ami was right; she felt like she was wasting her time. At least Rei was doing something productive. Setsuna had found a temple that might do the trick for her.

The blonde's worrying was interrupted by a knocking at the window. She stared at the image of an inverted succubus. Usagi concentrated on the mass of crimson hair that fell down from her pale face. It took effort to keep her gaze from rising to see the redhead's chest, and how it was pressed against the glass.

"You gonna let me in?" Ranma asked from the other side of the window.

"But... how?"

Ranma sighed and spread her wings a bit.

"Oh, of course," Usagi blushed. Given the visual distraction, the walk to the window was made with great difficulty.

"Thanks," Ranma said after the window was opened and she flipped into the room. She then raised an eyebrow at Usagi and where she was looking. "Yeah... they're called boobs."

"I'm sorry," Usagi blushed. "I'm just not used... to. I mean it's not every
day a succubus visits me in the night."

Ranma laughed.

"What's wrong?" Usagi asked. Luna had just wandered out of the apartment with Artemis. She had guessed the little snoopers were going to spy on their neighbors.

"That's prompt."

"Well, we're meeting tomorrow, so it's something that can't wait until then, and you're not calling so it's a big secret. There's also the climbing into my window." Usagi explained.

"Very good," Ranma's face then darkened. "It's about Janet. Something's wrong with her," Ranma said as she handed some photographs to Usagi.

"But, this is some other girl. She's a Senshi too?" the blonde asked while inspecting the print-out of a strong, well-endowed young woman with purple hair.

"Sailor Virgo." Ranma pointed to the constellation pattern on Shampoo's boots. The agents had been quite helpful on that.

"What does this have to do with Janet?"

"She's not here is she?"

"No.... It's just me and Minako and Makoto. Rei's with Setsuna and Ami at a temple trying to do a fire reading."

Ranma thought for a second. "Maybe we should talk in the living room. Those two might be a help."

The two exited Usagi's room to hearty applause. Usagi glared at the clapping Minako and the sniggering Makoto.

"We didn't do anything!" Usagi cried.

"Oh? Why else does a succubus visit a nubile princess?" Makoto teased.

Ranma shrugged. She already had a girl, but it was amusing to watch Usagi blush. Minako's appraising looks were also interesting. "No, we didn't do anything," Ranma allowed a hint of disappointment to enter her voice.

"Oh, you didn't come over for some fun?" Minako sighed.

"I'm worried about one of your friends." Ranma motioned for Usagi to pass the photos around.

"So? It's another constellation Senshi," Makoto shrugged.

"Yeah, looks like Janet got another friend." Minako did notice the new Senshi's assets.

"I find it pretty odd that a girl that was trying to kill me suddenly turns up as a new Senshi, complete with magic swords." Ranma remembered the agents grousing at the swords vanishing at about the same time Shampoo detransformed.

"What are you saying?" Usagi asked.

"Sailor Virgo is someone from my past, but I've got no idea who Sailor Orion was. Do any of you know her?"

"Of course. She's Janet." Minako said.

"No... I mean did any of you know her as someone else? Or maybe get an odd feeling from her?"

"I'm pretty sure she and Ami are more than just friends," Makoto allowed. "But no. Janet's a nice girl."

"You just accepted her because she's wearing the right uniform?"

"We accept you," Usagi reminded.

"Okay, fair enough." Ranma shrugged.

"Besides, half the time we fight a new enemy we get some more Senshi," Minako sighed. At least Usagi got Senshi allies within the first few weeks of her fight. Minako had to wait for months before she met another magical girl.

"There's nothing wrong with Janet? She's perfectly normal?"

"Yes, if anything she's been a calming influence," Usagi said. That part was familiar. Janet was not the first friend of hers who was like that.

"She's been great at keeping Ami from stressing out," Minako added, though a part of her wondered how often Ami would yell and throw fits before Janet came around.

"You rushed over here because you were being spied on by a Senshi of the same type as Janet?" Makoto's tone was dry.

"You at least should know about Virgo, but I just wonder about Janet." Ranma slumped down in a chair in the living room. "Not a bad place you got here."

"Are all demons this paranoid?" Minako joked.

"Just the living ones." Ranma smiled toothily.

"It's not just demons that are paranoid," Usagi quietly said.

"Yeah, Ami and Setsuna are pretty out there too." Makoto's voice sounded worried, at least to Ranma.

"And Ami trusts Janet. So Janet has to be okay."

"Ami also thought we weren't worthy of being Senshi." Minako reminded as she got a glass of water. "Heck, she wanted us to train under you." The blonde pointed at Ranma.

The demon thought for a second. "Not a bad idea. We could setup some scenarios and do some drills to sharpen things up."

"Not you too," Minako sighed.

"Well... training is important and you might as well fill the time between fights with something. I mean what do you think my girls have been doing this whole time?" Ranma asked

"Having sex?" Minako ventured.

"Waiting on a rooftop, ready to attack?" Makoto guessed.

"Not bad," Ranma admitted.

"Training in your dojo," Usagi said.

Ranma brightened and nodded. "In between working on their reading, too."

"Reading?"

"Training isn't all practicing to fight." Ranma paused. "Maybe I should just wait for the other Senshi to come back."

Makoto nodded. "Makes sense, ask Ami about Janet. She would know more about her. Those two are very close.

"Why are you so worried about Janet?" Usagi carefully asked.

"Well, Virgo's from my past. I know her. Now, she's not exactly a friend, but still. I knew her before all this Senshi mess. I ran into her village in China after I got... never-mind," Ranma shrugged. "I was wondering if the same was for your Janet. It's not like Janet was from the Silver Millennium."

"Neither were you," Minako stated. She then froze at Ranma's glare. "Right. DarkStar was before our time."

"You think that... what.. Janet's from our past too?" Makoto was confused.

"Maybe. Seems odd that Shampoo just stumbled into those powers. How much do you know about how Janet got hers?"

"She had a dream and woke up with her transformation item," Minako said.

Ranma shrugged. She sniffed the air and smiled a bit. Someone then knocked at the door. Minako ambled over, checked the peephole, and then happily opened the door.

"Great news," Rei beamed as she and Ami entered the apartment.

"It's not that big," Ami cautioned. Everyone but Janet and Setsuna were there, which made sense. Setsuna was still running down that lead, and Janet had her own task for tonight. She then noticed DarkStar and gave a slight nod.

Rei blinked in surprise at the succubus. It was unsettling to see her lounging in their living room. At least she was not too close to the Princess.

"You got a vision?" Usagi asked as Rei sat down with an assured smile.

"Yup, we figured out what WIC and the demons couldn't."

"Really?" Ranma asked, giving a measured look to Ami. "What did you find? The big bad guy that's pulling all the strings?" The redhead noticed Rei's souring expression. "Sorry, I'm actually sincere. I want to know what's going on just as much as you guys."

Rei eased back from her glare. "Well, it was all Ami. Her research made it so we could decode the vision."

Ami looked down and blushed.

"What did you see? Who's behind it?" Minako asked.

"Mistress Lyra," Rei said.

Usagi stayed silent. That name meant nothing to her, but it was comforting to give the enemy a name. It was more tangible.

"Never heard of her," Minako said.

Ranma paused and looked down. The name was a bit familiar.

"Have you heard of her?" Rei asked the demon. "She's from about your time."

"Maybe. I think she worked with the Wraith Raiders. Dunno what exactly," Ranma said.

"Wraith Raiders?" Minako asked.

"Nickname for Royal Reconnaissance Commandos. When Queen Serenity needed someplace invaded they went in first. Disabled protection wards, took out command posts, set up teleport portals, everything to make way for the main force. They were called wraith because of their uniforms," Ami explained.

"They were invisible?" Minako asked.

"Not quite." Ranma gave al little smile. "They just had really good camouflage. No shinny metal armor or big bright bows like we have. They blended in." Ranma was slightly impressed with Ami. "You've been reading up on what the Serenity from my time was like?"

"A bit."

"Mistress Lyra was involved in Serenity's military too?" Rei asked.

"It makes sense," Ami allowed. "She enchanted stuff, including weapons. I'll have do to more research to see exactly what she did. But her background's murky. I'm not even sure she's human."

Usagi was silent. She knew her mother had to have had an army, the Senshi could not do everything, but it still sounded odd.

"So why do you think this egghead magical enchantress is behind everything?" Ranma asked.

"I saw her. She had Usagi on a throne... and she..." Rei shuddered. "She wants to control you Usagi."

Ami nodded.

"Why?" Usagi asked. Once again some woman had come into her life and was hurting people, to get to her.

"Well there were Beryl and Nehellenia. Maybe Lrya had a falling out with Queen Serenity. There's also the Black Moon family going after you," Minako proposed.

"Maybe that's why Lyra left the solar system." Rei nodded. "That explains it. Mistress Lyra was last seen on an expedition out of the solar system."

"Is this normal for you guys?" Ranma asked. "Single madwoman villain from the past out for revenge."

"Nah, most are dark gods out to destroy or enslave earth," Minako explained ever so nonchalantly.

"Mistress Lyra was probably corrupted by something out in deep space, and is now finally back for her revenge." Rei said.

"You're reaching on all this. You think some woman from only a vision is behind everything? Mamoru's death, my activation, Murdock, those cult guys. Everything?" Ranma skeptically asked.

"Everything," Rei nodded.

"Is she behind the constellation Senshi too?" Ranma somewhat sarcastically inquired, carefully watching Rei and Ami's faces.

"What? Activate Janet's powers? I guess, but why?" Rei leaned forward. It was annoying how the redhead kept staring down Rei while they talked. "Why are you here anyway?"

"I've got some information too. Something a bit more... tangible" Ranma slid the photos of Sailor Virgo over.

"There's more than one constellation Senshi." Usagi sighed.

"So there's another constellation Senshi. Isn't that a good thing?" Rei asked.

"Ranma knew this Senshi before she got her powers," Minako said.

"I think she was given her powers to get revenge on me, and that got me thinking about the other constellation Senshi." Ranma reclined into her chair and watched Rei's and Ami's reaction.

Usagi walked over to Ami. "Do you know where Janet is?"

"Pardon?" Ami asked.

"We know you're close to her. It's okay," Usagi said reassuringly.

Ami coughed nervously. She did not want to betray Janet, but she had no choice. "Janet just said she was out with an old friend."

"At around the same time Virgo is scouting around my house." Ranma noticed Ami's poised demeanor crack or at least appear to.

"It can't be that. She would have told me. I'd know if she was with other Senshi." Ami's shoulders sagged.

"Look, we don't know anything for sure. Janet's probably not related to this Virgo person," Makoto said.

Ranma's observing was interrupted by her phone vibrating. She opened it and listened.

"It's all just a big coincidence then?" Rei sarcastically asked. "I wouldn't be surprised if Virgo was another agent of Mistress Lyra. Right Ami?"

"There is a constellation Lyra, but there's also a constellation for everything else." Ami forced herself to sigh. "I'll have to do more research on her."

Ranma quietly spoke into her phone. "Glad to know. Just keep watching for now." She hung up and looked at the Senshi. "Janet just came in. Unfortunately, she was alone, no purple-haired friend with her."

Ami nodded. She expected no less from DarkStar.

"You've got people spying on the building?" Usagi asked.

"There was a chance Virgo could show up here." Ranma played with the recline feature in the chair she was sitting in. "You guys and Janet do live in this building."

"So, now what?"

"You're asking me? I don't think you'd want me to talk to Janet."

"Don't you think of touching her," Ami growled, before regaining her composure.

"You're a sick demon," Rei agreed.

"And that's why." Ranma gave up trying to make the chair recline. "Usagi, just call her up here."

"Uh sure." Usagi wandered over to the kitchen phone.

"So what do you think of this Lyra stuff? Any information from the Company" Makoto asked.

"It all fits together, just fell into your lap, and it makes perfect sense to you guys." Ranma appraised. "I'm calling bullshit on it."

Rei grumbled about smug demons.

"Hey, Makoto wanted my gut feeling. Sure, be on watch for this Lyra chick., you know, if you get more proof about her. Ami seems to know plenty about her," Ranma smiled at the Senshi of Mercury. "I'm sure she can whip up a Lyra detector or something."

"I'll have to see. I need to find more about her," Ami stated.

"Of course, though it's odd that a sciency person like you would be so attached to this Lyra idea. My mom's a lot more skeptical, especially about supernatural crap, like visions."

Ami twitched. The subtle but direct jabs were getting bothersome but at least the other girls did not seem understand them. "I merely took what I could from Rei's vision. I trust her sight. We all do."

"But... doesn't your mom work for WIC?" Minako asked in confusion. "Knows for a fact that the supernatural exists."

Ranma shrugged. "More reason not to trust it."

"If Lyra's not behind all this then how do you explain my vision? I saw Usagi frozen to a throne, and there as an inhuman woman next to her." Rei countered.

"I dunno. Sounds like a lot of ways to read that one. Probably right that someone's after Usagi."

"And it's Mistress Lyra, Ami identified her," Rei countered.

"I see."

Usagi hung up the phone. "Janet's coming up," she shouted towards the living room.

"How'd she sound?" Ami asked.

"Oddly relieved," Usagi admitted. "Like she was hoping I'd call."

Ranma smirked.

"That doesn't prove anything." Ami said. There was a knock on the door and Ami's face became worried.

"That'd be her," Usagi walked towards the door.

Janet rushed through the door and closed it behind herself. Ranma's eyes focused on the girl and began to glow.

"Thanks for calling me up," Janet said as she leaned on the door. "Mom was like a woman possessed when I got home."

"Possessed?" Usagi asked tilting her head while looking at Janet's hair. Ranma's earlier questions echoed in her mind.

"Yeah, she was talking about my bad luck with boys. I think she wants to set me up on a date." Janet smiled at Ami before looking back to Usagi. "You really saved me there."

Ranma shook her head. How could the others not see that there was something going on between those two.

Usagi blinked. "I saved you from your mother." Her voice was hollow. "This wasn't the first time was it?"

Janet looked at the blonde. "I suppose there was the time in the office building," she said carefully.

"No, that wasn't it."

Ami jumped in while Usagi pondered. "Do you know any other constellation Senshi?"

"There's others? Like me?"

"Oh, yes." Ranma rose from her recliner. She then handed the photographs over.

"It's another Senshi. Looks like Virgo maybe." Janet evaluated.

"Very good," Ranma smiled. "I knew you'd have met her. Now I'd recommend you play nice."

"What?" Janet paled and backed away. "I just know what her constellation looks like. After I became Orion I studied them. I thought there would be others."

"Paranoid demon," Rei remarked.

"She has Shampoo's scent on her," Ranma stated. "It's fresh. She was with her today."

Janet froze.

"We're supposed to trust your nose?" Rei asked. "When was the last time you saw her?"

"A while back, I was a new demon, but you don't forget the scent of someone trying to hunt you," Ranma said as she stared down Janet.

Usagi sighed. "I did save you before, Janet. It was from your mother, but it was a different mother." Her voice was sad and drained. "Instead of a doctor she was a jeweler."

"Are you saying Ranma's right?" Ami asked.

Usagi slowly nodded.

"Yes, she is." Janet stood up to her full height. "Usagi's saved me before lots of times. In fact, saving me was her first act as a Senshi."

"Oh, God." Usagi shuddered. "Why?" She looked at her friend. Her old friend from Japan. Her old best friend... before she met the Senshi.

"I was right. Who is she then?" Ranma asked.

Janet smirked. "Naru, I was once Naru."

"The hair color does match," Minako noted. "But your face is different. Why you?"

Janet, formerly Naru, laughed. "Osaka Naru worshiped Sailor Moon, and was Usagi's closest friend that wasn't a Senshi."

Usagi's voice rose. "Why turn you... what's the point."

"To get close to you," Ami glared at Janet. "Your former best friend was made into a new Senshi. You'd feel strangely close to this new girl. We'd all welcome her."

"Some moreso than others," Rei reminded.

Ami spun around to face Rei. "Silence," she commanded. "You have no idea how I feel about this."

Rei wilted before Ami's venomous gaze. "Sorry..." She looked to Ranma, who was still watching the... traitor. "Looks like we're both right," Rei laughed bitterly. "Virgo and Orion are both spies."

"I kept telling you girls that you weren't good enough," Ami complained. "Look at this. Spies in our midst and it takes one of them being some aggressive moron with more balls than brains for you to figure it out."

"Calm down," Minako tried to comfort. "I know you're feeling betrayed by Janet."

"Why should I be? She was competent. In the end it took DarkStar to reveal her role in all this."

"I'm sorry Ami." Janet kept her hands at her sides.

"You're working for Mistress Lyra?" Rei asked feeling her stomach clench.

Janet stayed silent.

"Fine, the Princess will just purify you and then you'll tell us everything."

Ranma clenched her teeth.

"It won't work?" Usagi worriedly asked. She wanted to save Naru.

"I'm just frustrated. I mean I'm used to dealing with pros, and this is amateur hour."

"You don't think it would work?" Ami asked, interested.

"How smart is Mistress Lyra?"

"Very. She did all that work for Serenity."

"She knows about Serenity's powers."

"Yeah."

"And the purification powers can be blocked. Even goobers with a magical book can do that."

For a split second, Ami smiled thinly before switching to a puzzled frown. "I'm afraid she's right. Even if you could purify her... Naru might not have any memories of being Janet."

"Yeah, that's what happens with people who are possessed by youma," Minako agreed.

"Are you girls gonna stand around and gab while I watch her?" Ranma inquired. "Unless you want to give her a chance to escape."

"Well, what are we going to do?" Minako asked.

"I'm sure Ami has an idea," Ranma graciously offered.

"Well, I have been working on a way to defeat the interference the Path gave," Ami admitted.

"There's a way to save Naru?" Usagi's spirits rose.

"Aww, there's the ever-hopeful Usagi I knew." Janet smiled.

"Maybe we should make sure she can't run?" Makoto asked.

"So... you know how that power blocking thingy works?" Ranma idly flicked a finger closer to Janet and was pleased to see Ami flinch.

"Of course, you can't defeat something without knowing how it works."

"Then you'll just have to come up with something to get Naru all better." Ranma smiled warmly at Ami. "First you decode that magic book, then you help Rei with her vision, and now you'll try to cure Naru. I wonder if your teammates truly appreciate all you've done for them."

Ami responded with her own warm smile. "It's hard work. I'm even trying to get them to train more, like you and your daughters."

"Thanks, I try my best." Ranma said with false modestly. "So once Naru's dealt with, you've gotta get Virgo. Though I know the real Shampoo, obsessive jerk."

"Yes, it seems that way," Ami agreed

"What's with you two? Why are you having thinly-veiled super-villain banter? I understand Red, she's a secret agent demon, but why you Ami? Are you working with Naru too?" Minako jokingly asked.

Ami froze then tried to offer a weak smile.

"That's mean," Usagi chastised.

"Oh come on Ami, you can't handle that?" Ranma walked closer to her. "Maybe you're not up to this sinister spy work."

"Quiet you." Ami blinked and sighed. "Don't say that Minako. It's hurtful."

Ranma shook her head.

"Well, what is going on?" Makoto asked. "Ami's corrupted by Mistress Lyra too?"

"Makes sense. Ami gets seduced by Naru and then turned. Oh how sinister." Minako mock swooned.

"And that's why Naru was made all brainy. Perfect trap for Ami to fall into."

Ami's eye twitched.

"It's somehow worse when they're competent isn't it?" Ranma quietly asked.

"If I do something a tad... mean to them you won't get in my way?" Ami whispered back.

"What are you talking about?" Rei asked, noticing the hushed voices.

Ranma smirked and gave a curt nod.

"I'll tell you what's going on, Rei." Ami glowered. "I had a good thing going, but no, you girls had to figure it out."

"You know, if you'd have kept a better leash on Shampoo, you could have used that Lyra nonsense for weeks." Ranma said.

"Wait... so they're not working for Lyra?" Rei asked.

Ami rolled her eyes. "I'd just found out about this Shampoo bimbo." She then smirked. "And yes, I did plan on having fun with this for at least a month. Rei focused on the one 'mastermind' behind it all so fast I nearly pissed myself to keep from laughing."

"You tricked me?" Rei angrily asked.

"Of course," Ami chuckled as she stood and smirked. "I told you girls you weren't ready. You didn't notice a conspiracy right under your noses."

"We thought you and Janet.. er Naru... were sleeping together," Minako said.

"She has a point," Janet agreed.

"Ami... how could you?" Usagi asked, sadly. First Janet and now Ami the betrayal shocked her and she didn't want to believe.

"It's all for you," Ami promised.

"So, you're evil now? Corrupted like Chibi-Usa and Hotaru were?" Rei asked narrowing her eyes.

Ami smiled thinly. "Maybe I'll just show you." She closed her eyes and a column of blue light and ice shards sprung up around her. They then coalesced around her nude form. Her hair lengthened and save for a pair of strands that framed her face, it was now all up in a large, high bun. On her forehead a silver tiara formed. Unlike a normal Senshi one its bottom was horizontal and it had a raised center. Instead of jewelry, it was set with a large gem-cut piece of ice.

She had black lipstick, eyeliner, and grey eyeshadow. Silver stud earrings were in her ears and a dark-blue choker was around her neck. She wore thigh high black stockings, that were oddly garter-less, and blue pumps with a low heel. Dark blue, elbow-length, leather gloves adorned her hands.

The main part of the uniform she wore was technically a Sailor Senshi uniform, or at least it had many of the components. The was a bow over a chest piece and a pleated skirt.

The materials and design were very different however. Her skirt was made out of segments of shimmering ice, and her top was simply a corset. Leather, it was the same dark blue as her gloves and shoes. Unlike most corsets the ties and lacing used to tighten were in the front. The bow on her chest was used to tie off the top of the light blue ribbon. At the bottom the ribbon wrapped around either side of her waist and was tied into the uniform's back bow

The corseted woman then snapped her fingers and summoned two long items. She then unfolded them to reveal a pair of dark blue tessen. "Does that answer your question?" Mercury asked coldly as she moved the two war fans.

Rei's stammering response was interrupted by clapping.

"Now that's just some quality work," Ranma appraised. "Good use of ribbons, leather, corset, and that skirt. Sure it's very vain, but it works on you."

"Someone already did the leather battle bikini," Mercury complimented.

"Is it me or did her bust size go up?" Minako asked.

"I think it's just the corset," Makoto asked. She was amazed. One of their own could get turned evil, again, and Minako would talk about their assets. Makoto wanted to forget the conversations about Mistress Nine's buttocks. Then again, Ami seemed to once again confirm that with evil powers came a complimentary boob job.

Rei used the opportunity to turn into her Senshi form. Once she was Sailor Mars she immediately readied an attack. "Mars flame-"

Mercury sighed and aimed her tessen. "Cold snap!" she said, flipping the fans closed at Sailor Mars. A pair of bands of ice flew out and froze around Mar's arms and legs immobilizing them. Unbalanced, she wobbled on her heels before falling over and landing in a painful heap.

"Now you girls should stay quiet and pay attention. You might learn something from the big kids," Mercury advised.

"Bitch, I'll stop you!" Mars screamed.

"What did I say about quiet?" Mercury shook her head and snapped her fans twice again, forming an ice barrier over Rei's mouth and causing the two bands around her arms and legs to merge into one, hogtieing the Senshi.

"And yes Minako, they are bigger, and no it's not from being evil," Mercury laughed, and snapped her fans at Minako and Makoto. She then leaned over the immobilized blonde. "And don't you dare start talking about my ass or I'll tell Hotaru those things you said about her."

Usagi shivered as she watched Minako and Makoto get bound. She then looked on as Mercury bent over and felt a chill on her. It was invasive and sudden, like a cold hand groping her.

She stood up and narrowed her eyes. "Ami...."


"Yeah, nice job," Ranma said as she walked over to the struggling Senshi. "The ice negates their powers?"

"Of course, Rei'd just burn through it otherwise." Mercury smiled. At least someone other than Orion appreciated what she did.

"Course, you'd know how to control ice. Otherwise your skirt'd melt. Shame."

"Can't you do something Ranma?" Usagi pleaded.

Ranma looked at Janet and Mercury. "Not if you want them in one piece. I reckon I could beat her tricks " She then shifted into her true form and smirked as her power flowed out, and stretched her wings before folding them back

Mercury held her gaze. The demon was really something else. The demon's violet eyes were not threatening or challenging. A creature like DarkStar did not need to make threats.

"You don't need to worry about me," Mercury promised, folding her fans and bowing to the demon.

"Really now?"

"You have my word. Neither me nor my people will harm you or your family," Mercury swore.

"Say I don't believe you? That you won't keep your word." Ranma idly inquired.

"Then you'll kill me. Quite painfully and savagely, I'd guess."

Usagi looked down at her struggling whimpering friends. "Free them at once!" she demanded.

Mercury's expression was pained. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Princess."

"Don't forget about Shampoo," Ranma reminded.

"Oh, I'm quite cross at her," Mercury said as she knelt down beside Rei, who was trying to break her bonds by rolling into a table corner with them. She reached out and froze the ice manacles to the table and floor. She laughed at the futile hatred in Mars' eyes. Mercury got up and looked at Ranma meeting her gaze. "I'm going to make Virgo wish she hadn't escaped your clutches tonight."

"Good."

"Ranma, how can you say that?" Usagi cried. "And Ami how can you do all this? We're friends!" A sparkling scepter appeared in her hand, the gold crescent moon on the end hummed as she leveled it at the ice-adorned dark Senshi.

Mercury walked over and embraced her princess. "I'm doing this all for you," she repeated in a whisper into Usagi's ear. "And really why is everyone getting so jumpy? Biggest thing that's happened is some bimbo forgetting her place and pissing off a horde of demons."

Usagi's hand trembled.

Mars struggled against her bonds and tried to growl. Minako and Makoto watched from their places frozen on the floor.

Moving her head to look down at the prone girls, Mercury laughed. "Oh that's right, I'm a servant of the master mind behind it all. I'm sure I'm somehow responsible for a school full of youma as well."

"Ami... I'm confused." Usagi escaped from the hug and looked at her... friend. "What's happened to you?"

"I'm finally able to be myself."

"But... the evil?" Usagi hesitated.

"Do you sense dark energy on me?"

Usagi looked down.

"Probably not, given how much Red over there's pumping out," Janet pointed out. "Look Usagi. Newly turned evil people don't normally swear not to hurt a family, promise to help, and then give a loving hug."

"Help?" Usagi asked. She was even more unsure what to think about Janet.

"You're getting ahead of the game," Mercury gently chastised. "Yes, we're going to help you. You're still our princess, and there are still people who want to kill you."

"This is nice and all, I mean. I like the honorable, classy sinister-type person." Ranma's smile turned serious. "Don't disappoint me, but there is one thing I'm wondering about. Who turned Naru into Janet? After all she's the one that 'opened your eyes'."

Janet laughed as she idly scratched her ear. "I'm afraid I can't answer that question just yet. You and I have a couple things in common, and that's one of them."

Noticing the gesture and decoding the likely meaning, Ranma shook her head in bemusement. Those two were pretty paranoid, and of Murdock of all people.

"What's going on?" Usagi asked.

Ranma sighed. "This whole plot's part of some trick, like the scheme that got me made."

"Yes, an enterprising and improvisational buffoon has taken a great interest in you." Mercury smirked. "It's one of the few things Setsuna's right about, but for the wrong reasons." She looked Ranma. "I've got a question. What happened to the moon cats? I'd expected to have to freeze those morons, but I'm not sensing them here."

"Why would I know anything about missing cats?" Ranma innocently asked. She was interested to know Ami could sense life-forms now.

"Oh, I think you'd want to know about their presence." Mercury shrugged.

"Fair enough," Ranma said. That Ami seemed to know about the neko-ken could mean an intimate knowledge of Ranma's past. Maybe Murdock really was involved with these two.

"Where are they?" Mercury repeated

"Still on the roof I'd imagine. Found them when we landed." Ranma smiled. "Nabiki and Nariko were ecstatic. They just picked them up and started petting."

"I'd imagine they don't get to pet many kitties now."

Ranma shrugged.

"That thing behind your house. Is it a real dojo or just your brood's playroom?"

Ranma growled.

Mercury smirked. So, the demon was not totally unflappable.

"You'd complimented me on my training methods earlier."

"Yes, your Senshi may be the youngest, but they're the best. Of course when the competition is like this..." Mercury pointed to the bound girls on the floor.

"Well you've got a ways to go with yours too," Ranma reminded.

Mercury nodded. "I didn't want it to go this way, but I'm doing to make the most of it."

"I guess that's that," Janet sighed.

"Oh," Mercury smiled sweetly as she and Janet were about to leave. "I'd find someone to teach you girls some more self control. I'd hate to imagine what would happen if someone trapped them using a simple binding spell."

"Didn't that happen back when you guys were fighting Beryl, like all the time?" Janet asked.

"Yes it did, but it takes a long time for some people to learn." Mercury turned to Ranma. "Oh can you have your agent friends let us pass? I don't want there to be any trouble with them either."

"Same promise to them as my family."

"Of course. You'd just kill me. Sure it'd be slow, but not as slow as the scientific dissection they'd do."

Ranma chuckled.

Usagi noticed that they were going and that she had still done nothing. "Ami..."

"Yes?" Mercury noticed the worried fear in Usagi's eyes. "I won't do anything to make you feel shameful. You can count on that."

Usagi gathered her wits. "Don't worry Ami, I'll save you." She knew that if she tried to transform she would be encased in ice like the others, now was not the time.

"Of course you will, my princess," Mercury smiled warmly as she and Janet left through the door. "You always do, but this time I'm going to save you first."


***************


"There are problems with the Senshi?" Stillwater asked Jacob.

"Yes Sir, it turns out that Mercury and Orion are double agents of some type," Jacob explained as he leaned back in a chair in Stillwater's office.

"Yes, the images of her new uniform were interesting." Stillwater sipped his drink.

Jacob smirked, and shook his head. "We need to know what she'll do, and what Miss Tsukino will do in response."

"How much of a threat is this new Mercury to our plans?" Stillwater asked.

"It depends. She is certainly well-informed. She's a major part of their intelligence wing. She does all their on-site scanning and much of their research."

"It's safe to assume she also has a lot of insider information."

Jacob nodded. "What do you think, Miss Saotome?"

Ranma lowered her glass. After she choked on the first taste she resolved to sip. The burn was something to watch out for. "She's the biggest threat to her fellow Senshi. Though I think that's kind of the point."

"Oh?" Jacob asked with a hint of amusement.

"Well, she immediately promised to avoid attacking my family and the Company." Ranma sipped her drink. She was new to scotch, and it was... interesting.

"And if she's lying?" Stillwater asked.

"Then we kill her," Ranma said simply.

"I don't think Usagi would approve." Jacob proposed.

"So? I'm not going to put my kids at risk just to please her, and you shouldn't do the same with your men." Ranma sipped her drink again. This time finding the warming more pleasing. "Besides, she knows we're pros, that's why she respects us."

"She was pushing the Senshi to be more serious, before she snapped," Jacob said.

Ranma laughed. "Oh, that's still her plan. Heck, before she left she told them how to avoid her binding attack."

"It was all a training mission?" Stillwater skeptically asked.

"This is a bit too dramatic for that." Jacob agreed.

"Why? They're used to their teammates turning evil, and now Ami can force them to train. Otherwise she'll beat them horribly." Ranma took a contemplative drink. "Eh, she'll still beat them horribly, but she's the kind of threat that's personal and very offensive to them."

"Offensive," Jacob stated.

"Oh yeah, the hate and hurt on their faces was damn clear. Ami played them, betrayed them, and tricked them. It was dumb luck that she got exposed." Ranma shook her head. "Personally, I think she could have wormed her way out. She didn't have to do the dramatic 'coming out as evil'."

"Why'd she do it then?"

"She was sick of playing nice." Ranma shrugged. "She finally got fed up with working on the inside. Hell, she cleared it with me right before she did it."

"And now she's free," Jacob laughed and took a sip.

"It's not just a desperate and unorthodox training plan. Someone transformed the Osaka girl," Stillwater reminded them.

"Has the Japan branch found anything out, Sir?" Jacob asked after a drink.

"It looks like Osaka Naru and her Mother moved. Shop was legally sold and they left the country. They're still at it."

"Yeah, someone set this all up," Ranma agreed. "Janet hinted that it was Murdock. Which I guess makes sense. Setsuna thinks he did the same thing with me."

"Why?" Jacob asked.

Ranma shrugged. "Usagi."

"Fitting, first use a sex demon as a replacement for her boyfriend, and then use her former best friend. This makes Mercury more of a risk." Jacob evaluated.

"Especially if she gets to Usagi." Stillwater scratched his goatee.

"That depends. Is there still influence? Is she a free agent?"

Ranma sipped from her glass. "I don't know. We'll have to watch her."

"Of course. Maybe there's really even a Mistress Lyra." Jacob joked.

Stillwater smirked. "That's fitting misdirection."

"So, that's it about Ami?" Ranma asked as she ran a finger over the rim of her glass.

"Did Miss Tsukino give you any advice, orders?" Jacob asked.

"She told me not to turn or kill her." Ranma laughed. "I'm not going out of my way to hunt her down, unless she gets dumb."

"You're assuming she's going to be smart about this?" Jacob asked.

"She wants her princess to be stronger." Ranma sipped her scotch. "She's got a big ego. She really likes being smart and liked showing off her powers. Getting herself killed isn't part of her plan."

"She plans to live. Become the right hand to Miss Tsukino," Jacob stated.

"Which is nice for anyone controlling her," Stillwater added.

"Right. I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about who is pulling her strings. And it's those girls that should worry," Ranma shook her head. "They have no idea what they're in for. It's easy to underestimate Usagi. Just look at her, but when pushed into a corner she's tenacious. She won't give up."

"And Mercury would know this." Jacob stated.

"Yes, the Senshi face someone who won't underestimate Usagi. Ami knows her princess' mettle, I think she plans to use that to her advantage."

"We'll keep an eye on them and her," Jacob assured Ranma. Mercury might be the catalyst needed to temper the Pattern Silvers for what was ahead or it could get them all killed or corrupted.

"There's also the projects Major Saotome proposed." Stillwater reminded.

"Oh, I know you're letting her make those guns. Is there more?" Ranma put her empty glass down.

Stillwater gave a curt nod. "Yes. Her report was most convincing on the need for isolated machinery to work the demonic metal as was her recommendation to bring in outside help."

"Good, I'm sure the girls will be very happy when it's done." Ranma pulled out one of the ice cubes from her glass and sucked on it.

"No questions about us once again yielding to your needs?" Jacob slyly asked.

Ranma shrugged and crunched the ice. "Now, now, you guys are just as interested in new weapons as my kids are."

Jacob smiled.

Ranma leaned back in her chair. "How did your inspection go? You guys gonna keep your jobs?"

"Pardon?"

"There was that strange officer. He was asking everyone questions, especially about that traitor stuff. Jarvis said he was sent by the General. Guessin' that's your boss. You guys doing stuff you're not supposed to here?" Ranma winked.

Stillwater laughed, and motioned for Jacob to explain.

"Major Koster is an aide to the General Anderson, and yes he was checking up on this operation. Our working with you warranted special attention, to make sure we're following procedures." Jacob took a leisurely sip.

"Anderson, eh?" Ranma thought. "That's the guy that trained you two right?"

Jacob and Stillwater exchanged a glance. "Yes, he was our commander when we were young officers. Still is now," Jacob said.

"So... he knows you two, and he still sent a lackey to look around." Ranma laughed.

"Can't be too careful," Stillwater said.

Ranma smirked. "The paranoia just keeps going don't it?"

"Yes, but the base passed inspection. Major Koster even complimented you and your girls in his report," Jacob said.

"Good for him."

"He did not even bat an eye at your rescue proposal." Jacob wondered if the General was slipping or had finally gained a sense of humor.

Ranma paused. "Oh that idea. Huh, cool then."

"We'll have to work out the list."

"Shouldn't be too long. Not too many people would want it."

Jacob gave a sympathetic nod. "What about your tastes? I would think you'd be selective as to who you'd save."

"I've got a pretty good idea who would say yes." Ranma sighed and thought about her fiancee. "And of those I don't have a problem; I'd rather they stayed alive and fighting with us. Maybe I should ask the candidates myself."

Ranma looked up at the two officers. "No dry commentary?"

"It's a good idea," Jacob admitted. "You, or one of our daughters, would be the one doing this. I would insist that one of us be there for the interview. I suppose we'd start with Lieutenant Tendo."

"No need," Ranma crossly said.

Stillwater's face remained neutral.

Jacob's eyes widened nearly-concealed surprise. "Really? This is only for those that would be dead otherwise."

"I know." Ranma sighed. "I'd like to think that it's because of the daughter thing, but it might not be that. If she's strong enough... she could be..." The redhead sighed again and put an ice cube in her mouth.

Unsure of what to do Jacob offered to refill her glass.

Ranma waved off the bottle. "I guess that's that."

"There is the matter of Misako and Ukyou," Jacob said

"There going to be any problems for them?"

"We'll have to see how they take to the training. Things will be different for them."

"Oh?"

"Their training under you and their previous experience will cover a lot of ground. It's really gauging their skills and seeing what they need more of." Jacob allowed. In many ways WIC was more flexible with its NH applicants.

"That's good. You shouldn't waste their time, and don't waste your men's time too. Don't pull agents away from their jobs just to baby-sit them."

"I find it remarkable that Miss Ukyou kept her interest, even after being turned," Stillwater finished his own drink. "Though she may not want to be a full agent. A contractor position would give her more flexibility."

Ranma nodded.

"Miss Misako following her makes perfect sense. Those two have always been partners."

"She always liked you guys, and she wanted to be more use than just a defector." Ranma shrugged. Ukyou was a demon Senshi and already worked with WIC. There was no need for her to formally join, but that's what she wanted to do.

"And your youngest? Is she ready for school on Monday?"

"Nabiki seems ready," Ranma stretched her legs. "I'm also worried about Misa-chan. She's been out of school for a long time; Ucchan will be there for her though."

"They don't have to be in school, you know." Jacob's voice carried an offer.

"I think it's good for them to interact with normal people, least some of the time, and I guess the work's good, more well-rounded." Ranma was tempted however. During the last couple weeks she had been able to get more done, but that was out of necessity. Her girls needed a breather and time to recover.

"That's good, we're going to need you and your girls in top shape," Jacob said.

"I know." Ranma looked at the far wall, her eyes distant. Things were coming. Anyone with heightened senses or good intelligence could see that. Ami certainly could.

End ch4

Revision Notes: And here we are, Mistress Mercury. And while Girl Talk did get pushed back, given the plot elements in the story, that worked out for the best.

Author's Notes:

The interlude got pushed further back, but that's okay.

I'd like to thank my pre-readers. They're the ones that made sure this story was readable.
Acey, Trimatter, PyroRaven, Questara, Solara, Kevin Hammel, J St C Patrick, Pale Wolf, Wray, and Jerry Starfire.

I'm gonna repeat myself. I really apriate everything you guys have done. My prereaders are a tireless group that go through my stuff on their own to make it better. It's just amazing, and I don't think I can thank you enough. The rest of you that review; thank you too. It's great to hear more from you guys. To get a reading of my performance and what you guys think of all this.

I can't express how much it means to me. Thank you all.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 5: Broken Bonds
Formerly: Retrograde and Remade Part 2(i)



"Did you know about Ami and Naru?" Usagi carefully asked. Her tone was even, but her eyes roiled with anger and hurt.

"Well, no not as such," Setsuna demurred, she made sure to keep her eyes on the road. Last night she had returned from an unproductive interview to find four irate and shocked Senshi. Setsuna was shocked herself once the situation was explained to her.

"You didn't find anything odd about their secret meetings, all the time they spent with each other?" Usagi stretched in the passenger seat of the Dodge Charger.

"None of you saw anything too odd about it. You just thought they were sneaking off to study, try to date boys, and finally date each other." Setsuna glowered. It was a wonderful cover. A lesbian relationship nicely explained Janet and Ami being secretive and any nervousness when questioned about their nighttime activities.

"You're supposed to know better than us. We're just teenagers."

"I was cautious about Janet, but I cleared her, and she was an exemplary Senshi. You and the rest liked her, and Ami said she was clean."

"That's because she was Naru." Usagi sighed, sadly. "Damn Murdock! First he kills my boyfriend and then he corrupts my friends. Look at what he did to Naru and Ami."

"We're going to find him. He will be punished." Setsuna promised. They had all been violated. Getting Ami was quite the coup.

"Once more, how did you miss this?" Usagi asked again.

Setsuna hesitated before speaking. "I watched Janet at the start, checked her out. Reviewed her when Ami and Janet started to bond. There was nothing. Janet was clean. She seemed as legitimate as the rest of you." She sighed. "I can't watch everyone."

"How'd he do this then? How do we get them back?"

"Murdock is patient, remember that. He had Naru living as Janet at least as far back as Mamoru's death, and then think of the months that Naru was among us. Slow and deliberate."

"Why? Wasn't DarkStar his first plan?"

"This might have been his backup, or maybe Sailor DarkStar was just misdirection. Some flash to draw attention from the real culprit, the hidden, insidious danger."

"How do we get them back?"

Setsuna smiled weakly. "That's your department. You're the best at saving and healing people."

"I just..." Usagi stared out the window at the passing buildings. "At least with Ami I know I can reach her. It's not as bad as when the others went bad."

"That's actually worse," Setsuna corrected.

"But she still cares for me. She doesn't hate me."

"Do you really want the affection of a dark Senshi?" Setsuna asked.

Usagi's mind briefly flashed to Mercury and Ranma with herself in the middle.

"Princess?"

"Huh?" A blush crept up on Usagi's face as she cleared her head.

"Ami's dangerous. Naru by her own admission was turned by Murdock, and Naru then got to Ami. They want you."

"It won't work. Ami won't be some puppet," Usagi promised.

"I wasn't there last night, but you were." Setsuna slowed to a stop at a red light. She looked around with some nervousness. "Were those the actions of the Ami you know?"

"Well, Ami always complained about my schoolwork or being late, and recently she'd been harping about our training." Usagi laughed bitterly.

"It's different now. You shouldn't be alone, any of you." Setsuna sighed. It was good advice, but Ami had proven it ineffective last night, though they were surprised. It was troubling. If they had followed Ami's advice they would have been training and maybe the girls would be getting more skilled.

All under Ami's guidance of course. Ami could do research and come up with the best plans, maybe even a few magical spells to help unlock the next stage of their Senshi powers. Setsuna shook her head; it was paranoid, but it made sense. If Ami was going to corrupt and control the Senshi from the inside, the guise of training them, improving them did the job.

"At least you've warmed up to Ranma," Usagi allowed.

"I'm approving of this meeting because you've been too distant from her. Ranma's made her own friends and alliances and is self-sufficient."

"Is that bad?"

Setsuna shifted gears and changed lanes before responding. "It shows good initiative. She can be a powerful ally, but remember last night. You said Ami and her were very chummy."

"Ranma is a demon, and they didn't try to fight each other."

"Yes." Setsuna noticed Usagi's incomprehension. "Take it this way. Do you want Mercury to get closer to Ranma? What if she convinces Ranma that you are weak and you do need to be trained?"

Usagi looked down. "She already thinks we're amateurs."

Setsuna snorted. "Even though you've been doing this longer, saved the world more times, and faced hardships she can't even begin to understand."

Usagi slumped further into her seat. "That's what makes Ami so hard. She was with me since the start. She knows we've gotten much better but..."

"But nothing. Ami's been manipulated ever since Janet showed up. You can't trust what she says."

"It's not that simple." Usagi felt the anxiety from last night return. "Ami's made sure of that."

***************


"I just think that Nabiki should make her own decision," Ranma said to her fiancee as the two window-shopped.

"All I'm saying is that she can handle high school. Her mind's the same, by treating her like the youngest you're making her the youngest," Kasumi explained.

"She is the youngest. Alexia turned her last," Ranma stated, pointedly.

"Yes, but she needs to recover. Encouraging this juvenile cutesiness, it's not Nabiki."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "It's not the Nabiki you remember, but it's who she is now."

"Akane came back."

The redhead stared at the dark blue leather gown on display. "Her age wasn't reduced and if anything she's more aggressive."

"And there were lesbian rumors back when she was human too," Kasumi deadpanned.

"Must run in the family," Ranma gave Kasumi's butt a playful touch before wrapping her arm around the taller woman's waist. "And don't think I'm mad, I really like that you're getting interested in our girls."

Kasumi looked down and mulled over the demon's last two words. "Yes, I do care about my sisters," she clarified.

"I've been working with Ukyou to find out what her Senshi powers are." Ranma leaned onto the taller woman.

"Any luck?" Kasumi asked, surprised at the increased weight Ranma was putting on her.

"It's odd. Something keeps her from using it in practice. I know it's there. She knows it too, but she won't cast it."

"How are the others shaping up?"

Ranma shrugged. "Getting more accuracy and speed. Nariko's got some control issues."

"I noticed. She's still burning more than one tree."

Ranma nodded. "And Nabiki's really tires her out, but it does use a lot to cast."

"Worried about this Mizuno thing?"

"Nope." Ranma then nuzzled her head onto Kasumi's side and chest.

Blushing, Kasumi coughed, but after finding that ineffective at dislodging the demon, she sighed. "Why not?"

"I don't think she's a threat to me," Ranma murmured.

"Don't you have a plan?" Kasumi decided to put a hand around the redhead's shoulder. At least then they would not be so lopsided.

"Yeah, slowly getting you used to public displays of affection."

Kasumi sniffed and turned her head.

"Women," Ranma muttered.

"Oh don't play that card." Kasumi taunted. "Who's the one wearing pants instead of a dress? We won't even discuss hairstyles, makeup or jewelry."

"I wear pants."

"That aren't shiny sprayed-on leather?"

"I've gotta look good."

"You're a succubus," Kasumi quietly said. "You'd look good in anything."

Ranma laughed. "So, you think Usagi'll blow me off? Is she even gonna bother coming?"

Kasumi maintained a straight face and wondered if she was reading too much into what Ranma had just said. "Observation teams did see Setsuna pick her up not too long ago."

"Mercury could already have attacked and taken them," Ranma walked over to the next display for the store and looked at a selection of leather boots.

"Possible, we don't know what kind of form Miss Mizuno's attacks will take." Kasumi looked at the shiny glass.

"I'm curious. She has a lot of options for 'evil schemes'." Ranma's smile increased slightly.

"They're here," Kasumi tried to pull herself away.

"Spotted their reflection?" Ranma released her hold on the officer's waist to slide herself up against Setsuna, who had just walked up on the pair. "Oh nice, Usagi," she purred as she eyed the blonde. "You brought a friend."

"Don't you have a girlfriend now?" Setsuna eyed the short demon inches from her.

"Oh her, she's cool." Ranma cooed.

"Yeah, got the suit and dark sunglasses and everything." Kasumi flatly said.

Usagi tilted her head. "That's not a suit. Sure the blouse and pants count, but your jacket is too casual, and your glasses are on your head."

Kasumi sighed. "Not all secret agents wear black suits, trench coats and fedoras or slinky dresses."

"Your girlfriend does," Setsuna said while staring at Ranma.

Ranma winked. "Come on, have a taste, you know you want to."

"I think you're more effective when you're not so blatant," Kasumi commented wryly.

"Yeah, that's how I got you." Ranma winked at her, and then turned to Usagi. "So what do you want to talk about? You set this meeting up before the Ami and Janet stuff."

"Naru," Usagi forcefully corrected.

"Sorry," Ranma's eyes flicked to Setsuna's harsh gaze before returning to the blonde. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Maybe... we should... private?" Usagi's stumbling sequence of words appeared to end in a question.

"Uh, let's try the store," Ranma said.

Usagi's eyes caught the skimpy black leather gown on display. "Yeah..."

Before entering Ranma turned to Kasumi. "I'm sure you and Setsy can have some fun."

"Don't worry, I'll be safe with Ranma," Usagi assured.

"Uh... right," Setsuna said to the retreating Senshi. "So, how is it, being mated to Ranma?" she then asked Kasumi.

"We're not mates," Lieutenant Tendo firmly said.

"Oh," Setsuna coughed and looked ahead. She never could relate to common soldier; they were too practical. Lords and ladies, especially those with hereditary military titles, were so much easier to handle.

Kasumi kept watch and made sure her earpiece was working. Whiz-kids like Meiou were nothing but trouble. They loved overcomplicated plans that showed how clever they were.

***************


"Well?" Ranma asked as she tried on a set of gloves.

"I think we need to work together." Usagi flinched, expecting the demon to laugh her off.

"I'm listening," Ranma said in an appreciative tone.

"We should work together. You've got a team of Senshi, I've got a team of Senshi," Usagi quietly explained.

"Yours is a few heads smaller. How do you want to fix that?" Ranma slipped the gloves off and then looked at another pair.

Usagi's eyes hardened. "I'm going to free them and punish Murdock." Her tone promised pain and justice.

"That's a goal, but you need get from here to there." Ranma picked up another set of gloves and sighed. "Really, metal studs in gloves. That'll chafe and look really dumb."

"Yeah, that is stupid." Usagi frowned. "Anyway, I'm worried, Ami's the one who comes up with a lot of or plans, and checks all of them. And she's..."

Ranma rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Yeah... you got hit good. And you just can't count on stumbling onto the enemy or waiting for them to find you.."

"It's worked before, and we've managed to find enemy bases before." Usagi's voice became despondent. "Of course Ami was a big help on that stuff; we can't count on her now."

"Sure you can," Ranma chuckled. "Ami seemed plenty sharp last night."

"She knew we needed her." Usagi looked to Ranma.

"At least you still have Setsuna," Ranma mirthfully offered.

Usagi became quiet and watched as Ranma tried on some boots. "It's all because of you," the blonde said.

Ranma looked up from the shin-high motorcycle boots. "Oh? Ain't my fault. You guys would have eventually figured it out." She started unbuckling the boots.

"You're wrong," Usagi's voice had once again hardened.

Ranma looked up.

"We wouldn't have figured it out. You saw it. Setsuna's paranoia's no the outside, and the rest of us rely on Ami."

Ranma shrugged. "Minako was starting to see through it."

"Ami could have strung us along on that Mistress Lyra scheme. Rei still thinks Ami's being controlled by Lyra." Usagi's voice became frantic. "Don't you see? If you hadn't seen Virgo...."

"Ami would still be your friend, and you would be spending today figuring out how to fight a nonexistent enemy," Ranma said making eye contact as she slipped the boots off. "I'd expect Ami to carefully and steadily draw you girls in. Maybe into an ambush where you could be neutralized, maybe just corrupted over time, or even take all of you out while you sleep."

Usagi shivered. "She was our roommate. She would often sneak in late at night. We were used to it. You saved us all." Her voice was hardly a whisper.

"I was just following a lead." Ranma smiled. "Minako was the one that connected Ami to a super villain."

The redhead put her own boots back on. "And it was Ami who said 'Hell with this' and revealed herself."

"Well, thank you anyway." Usagi hesitated. Overcoming the fear and indecision, she then gently hugged the startled demon. The blonde expected an apprehensive response, not an enthused and engaged one.

Adding her arms to the hug, Ranma eased into Usagi's embrace. She was on the brink of purring when she got interrupted.

"Awww, that's adorable," a teasing voice behind Usagi said.

Ranma's eyes widened. "I didn't expect you here." She then smirked. "And you brought your friend too."

Usagi froze. The voice did not sound like Ami or Naru. The blonde turned her head and saw only a Japanese brunette and a Caucasian blonde with short hair.

"Hi Sam! Hey Naoko!" Ranma enthusiastically greeted while she still hugged Usagi. "You girls finally get the courage to shop here?"

Naoko blushed. "Uh, no. We were just walking past when we noticed your old girlfriend standing next to Akane's older sister."

"Old girlfriend?" Usagi asked, before she pulled her arms back and escaped the hug.

Ranma laughed. "There's this rumor that Setsuna stood me up on a few dates or something."

"Yes, poor Red had her delicate heart torn from her chest." Sam said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Figuratively of course," Naoko added.

Sam appraised her pale friend. "I'd imagine it's the other way when it comes to literally though."

Ranma blushed.

Usagi blinked. "No... Setsuna never dated Sunshine. She's dating Kasumi."

"Kasumi? Nice going." Sam gave Ranma a friendly nudge. "I never knew she was into the lipstick lesbians."

Sam laughed. "Why not? You've seen Akane and her new girlfriend."

"Yeah, I guess the Tendo's really like sweet, gentle, and feminine Goth girls."

"I thought I was brooding and dark," Ranma pouted.

"Oh no, you're cuddly and sensitive." Sam eyed Ranma's leather skirt. "You just dress like the main squeeze to a Hell's Angel."

"Oh careful. You don't want to get Kasumi mad," Naoko teased.

"Now, now, she's very nice."

"Makes sense that you'd like strong women," Sam appraised. "She seemed stern and a bit scary."

"So when are you going back to school?" Naoko asked.

"You still have those family issues?" Sam added.

Ranma looked down. "No my... cousin's... gone."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. Did she at least die peacefully."

"Nope." Ranma tried very hard and managed to conceal her smirk.

"Are you okay, Red?" Naoko put her hand to Ranma's shoulder, and drew her friend into a hug. Sam quickly joined.

"Yeah, but it hit some of the family pretty hard. We're only now... ready."

"Will you be back into school tomorrow?" Sam asked after the hug finished.

Ranma nodded.

"What about Nabiki? I know it was a family thing, as she was out too." Sam noticed that Nariko was out too, but that made some sense. The Kunos were close to both the Saotomes and Tendos.

"She's transferred. Different school."

"The same one that Tatewaki transferred too?" Sam asked with a hint of skepticism.

"Uh, I think so." Ranma hated lying to her fiends, especially when they were poor lies.

"So how are you doing?" Naoko asked Usagi, purposefully ignoring Ranma's questionable statements.

"Well... I..." Usagi was at a loss. How come a predatory brood mother could relate to these girls, but someone as straightforward as a magical princess could not?

"One of her friends is being a real pain." Ranma verbally stepped in. "There's also some problems with another old friend of Usagi's. She really feels betrayed by the whole thing."

"Mind if we ask who?" Sam inquired.

"I can trust you two on this?"

"Of course," Sam said, not bothering to hide her hurt.

"Sorry," Ranma looked to Usagi who gave a vague motion that might have been consent. "It's Ami. Ami Mizuno."

Naoko thought for a bit while Sam looked at something that was suspiciously similar to a whip. "It's about Janet too, isn't it?"

"Naoko, you can't think every essentially inseparable pair of girls that are friends is a lesbian couple. That's how rumors start," Sam reprimanded. "I'll admit, if they were lesbians I wouldn't be shocked at all."

Usagi blinked.

Sam turned her attention back to Ranma. "We should really hang out more."

"You and all your Gothy friends," Naoko teased.

"Sure, we could go to a bar or a club. I'd be fun." Ranma gave a saucy smile. She noticed the amused blushes on her friends and recalled exactly what she said.. "Oh! It! I meant to say "It" would be fun!"

"I'm sure you would be fun," Sam teased.

"Maybe we should pick something out for you girls to wear?" Ranma asked with a blush. "This is the perfect store for making an impression."

"I bet Ami shops here now too," Usagi muttered.

Ranma laughed. "This is a classy place," she said as she looked through the leather bikini tops.

"You could get us into a bar?" Naoko asked.

"Sure. It's easy." Ranma held up the bikini. The metal chains connecting the cups and providing straps seemed far too gaudy.

"Hmm, okay." Sam assumed that Sunshine got in using her charms and her "mature" physique.

"Do you wanna come too?" Naoko asked a dejected looking Usagi.

"I, well, I've got to get things straightened out with Ami first."

Naoko shrugged.

"Sorry to hear that, maybe next time," Sam said.

"What about our thing?" Usagi asked Ranma, irritation entering her depressed voice.

"Oh yeah, I'll help you with Ami when you want," Ranma said as she picked out a set of leather pants and handed them to an embarrassed Naoko. "Just remember the kind of help that I'll give."

"Er, yeah." Usagi hesitated. "I just, I need to save her." She looked at Ranma's two friends. "From herself."

Naoko looked at Usagi with an unreadable expression on her face for a brief moment. "If you say so."

Sam leaned in close and whispered into Ranma's ear. "I think you should help her," she looked at her fellow blonde briefly. "She's in a sorry state, just help her. I'll find something risque for Naoko to wear while you do it."

Ranma nodded and lead Usagi to the opposite side of the store.

"They know?" Usagi asked.

Ranma rolled her eyes. "They know that you want my advice, and that it's something private. You need a plan, now it's good that you've realized how bad this could be." She held up her hand, cutting Usagi off. "How long has Ami been on your team?"

"She was the first, before her-" Usagi's voice turned maudlin. "- it was just Naru. Then more Senshi came, and we drifted apart."

"Then Ami knows exactly how you fight." Ranma looked into Usagi's eyes. "You've got to take the fight to her, you have to be proactive." The redhead paused to recall the last word.

"You mean hunt her down?"

Ranma smiled. "I knew you could figure it out. Setsuna has her sources and the Company can help some. Track her down by whatever means you can."

"Maybe Rei can get a vision on her," Usagi pondered.

Ranma nodded. "And this time Ami won't be there to interpret it for you."

"What about fights?"

The demon paused. She was not sure what to make about Usagi's tone. It was still depressed, but seemed somehow expectant. "Those are chances to beat her, but she knows what you can do, and she has that book. That said, you've got the edge on her in raw power and purification, right?"

"Maybe I should take out Murdock first. Break the control." Usagi's hands clenched.

"Looks like the Princess has some anger in her after all." Ranma smirked. "And that's a great idea. Take him out and the rest would be easier."

Usagi looked up and for a few seconds they were clear and decisive. "You know what he did to me, to you. He uses people, destroys their lives, warps their minds and bodies, kills them. He will be Punished," she echoed her words but this time with decisive conviction.

"Sometimes you really are your mother's daughter."

Usagi's gaze softened. "I know. I'm afraid."

"Good," Ranma stretched. "Things are going to be difficult. Fear keeps you from being complacent, but don't let it rule you getting consumed with worry will just waste time, time you can spend doing stuff."

"I know Ami's not wasting her time." Usagi laughed bitterly. "Not then and not now."

"Then you should make sure your girls don't waste their time." Ranma then looked to see Naoko trying to get Sam a bright red PVC cat-suit. "That thing won't fit her."

"It's also not her color," Usagi grumbled.

Ranma turned back to the blonde. "I like this assertive side you're starting to show."

Usagi nodded slowly. "Well, I should go. Setsuna wants to talk with the others. I'll tell them my plan then. Thanks for the help." She gave the demoness a quick hug before leaving the store and reuniting with Setsuna.

"You're welcome," Ranma said as she watched the two Senshi leave. She wagered it would take more to get Usagi to really learn, but she was starting to come around. Ranma shrugged and returned to her friends.

***************


"And here's where Silva explains the parts of the succubus body," Nodoka said to the sleepy succubae who lounged around her. The succubus reading primer had a cute picture of Silva succubus pointing to a diagram of another succubus who had various parts of her body labeled. Nodoka ran through the list of bodyparts: cornu, caput, mamae, arma, cubitum, secus, femur, crus, and pes.

"Are you sure that's the right pronunciation?" Nabiki asked as she nuzzled her grandmother's shoulder.

"I took some Latin in university and the start of this book has a pretty good pronunciation guide." Nodoka shrugged. "But you really can't learn to pronounce a language from books. At least you'll be able to read and have some understanding if someone speaks it."

"That will let us read the books Great-grandma gave us," Ukyou said. She then nudged Misako who had started to doze off.

The green-eyed succubus mumbled sleepily and tried to put her attention back to the book.

"There will be a quiz when we're done," Nodoka reminded.

Misako pouted.

"At least it's not grammar, well today." Akane corrected herself.

Nariko's red eyes perked up.

"But I thought you two wanted to be proper succubae?" Nabiki innocently asked Akane and Misako. "Learning our family's language and culture is a big part of that."

"That's right," Nodoka beamed as she turned to the next page. She was interrupted before she could read the text that accompanied Silva standing with a larger and older-looking demoness.

"Hi Mom!" Nariko happily greeted.

Ranma froze and studied the tableau. Her mother was in the middle of a pile of succubae as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The redhead smirked, stripped, sat down, and slid in. Moving off Nodoka's side to allow Ranma in, Akane then put her head on her mother's lap.

"How was the meeting?" Nodoka asked, as she hugged her daughter hello.

"Pretty good really." Ranma stretched her arms. "Usagi's taking things seriously, Ami might not have realized what she's started. Plus Sam and Naoko showed up, so I got to help them shop."

"They pick out anything fun?" Akane asked.

"Nothing too wild I'm afraid, but it should look fun when they go out with us."

"We're going out?" Misako's eyes twinkled. She had not visited a good club in a while. "When?"

"Dunno, we can talk to them at school. Work out the details. Maybe the Red Turtle. Though that place can be a bit too mellow."

"Not on Wednesdays and Fridays. They have live music those days. Ayanami says some of the acts are pretty good." Nodoka said.

"Neat, that could work then."

"What about me?" Nabiki asked.

"What? You'll come of course."

"Uh Mom, look at me. I don't think I'll pass as nineteen as easily as the rest of you," Nabiki dryly reminded.

"So? You've done the bar thing before with Alexia."

"Don't remind me," Nabiki frowned.

"Sorry Honey," Ranma reached over to comfort her. "I was just trying to say it's not something to worry about."

"Well, what about Naoko and Sam? They knew me from before, and I'm not like Akane. I can't just be explained away by becoming a Goth-lesbian-punk-girl."

"Yeah, you're more of a Gothic-Lolita-pink-lace-lesbian," Akane evaluated.

"Gee, thanks sis."

"Well, you're about half a foot shorter, have a much more youthful face and a more slender physique, save for your breasts. There's also how you dress and carry yourself now." Ranma shrugged as her tail curled about. "People will see a resemblance, but no one would think you're Nabiki."

"I am Nabiki."

"You know what I mean," Ranma could tell the hurt in her daughter's voice was feigned. "You're still Yuki too. Your Senshi name is Sailor Yuki. Your fashion style is like hers and you're trying to give me the puppy-dog eyes while making your lower lip quiver."

"Our saccharine succubus mom is supposed to submit to saturated sweetness," Nabiki remarked.

Ranma crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You're as bad as Nari-chan, you know?"

"Given that she's the reason you're the Mom you are today, that's a compliment."

"Cute," Ranma's resistance crumbled and she scooped Nabiki in close, displacing Akane to her side.

"We'll figure out something for Sam and Naoko." Ranma put her arms around Nabiki. "Though, I think they're pretty on the ball. They knew that Ami and Janet were together."

"We should really find them ourselves." Misako proposed as she snuggled onto Ukyou's chest.

"You just want to see her corset in person," the blonde accused her mate.

"Yup!"

"I'm amazed that a human Senshi could actually come up with a uniform that wasn't a fashion disaster. Though all that ice over her crotch and ass can't be fun," Ukyou admitted.

"You mean her secus and pyga?" Nabiki teased.

"She probably likes the cold," Ranma said as she slid more from her mother's side to her front.

"Should we go back to the book?" Nodoka asked as she patted her daughter on the head, careful to avoid her horns.

Despite this, Ranma still purred and nuzzled her head. The motion caused Nodoka's bra to get out of position.

"Sure, I think we're ready," Nabiki said.

"Yeah," Nariko agreed as she slid in behind Nodoka.

"Okay." As Nodoka reopened the book and flipped to the next page she found herself easing backwards. She then paused. "Nari-chan dear, can you please move your tail. The tickling is distracting."

"Sorry," Nariko blushed and adjusted herself.

"It's fine," Nodoka tried to adjust her bra but found her daughter's head in the way.

"I can unhook it for you?" Nariko helpfully offered. "Or give you a nice backrub?"

Nodoka considered. This morning had been full of stressful hassles. Acquiring the necessary machining equipment had been a pain. "Yes, that would be nice." She smiled as Nariko went to work, and then resumed the reading.

***************


"Mistress," Orion gently interrupted the blue-haired Senshi, with her head bowed.

"Yes?" Mercury said looking up from the display next to her. She then waved for Orion to rise to her full height.

"It's about the meeting between the Princess and DarkStar," Orion said.

"You weren't spotted."

Orion was not sure whether her Mistress had asked a question or made a statement. "Not that I know," she said, opting for the safe response.

Mercury's eyes darted back to the display. She then typed in a few commands and leaned back in her, modest, throne. "You placed the probe before they had arrived."

"Yes," Orion eyed the comfortable and unadorned high-backed chair. She had expected a more foreboding structure, but upon reflection Orion reevaluated her view. Mistress Mercury would never be one to rely on some piece of furniture to prove her status. Similarly her hair was up in a simple bun, and her jewelry was Spartan silver with ice gems.

"It's an interesting challenge," Mercury mused. "How to make devices that are invisible to Setsuna's meddling and to those human... observers."

"There's also the demons and their senses," Orion respectfully added. This time it was easy to setup surveillance. Mercury knew about the meeting and its location ahead of time.

Mercury smiled thinly. "Yes, we must not forget them. What do you think of their conversation?"

"The Princess aims to forge an alliance. She's resolved to take action against us." Orion said carefully. She had seen what her Mistress was capable of, but knew that a sycophantic evaluation would not be wise.

Mercury laughed and re-crossed her legs. She idly adjusted the skirting to her dark blue silk evening dress. "Interesting. She's making a plan, good. I would be very disappointed in the Princess if she just sat back and took it."

Orion studied her mistress. She swore that today's corset was a bit tighter, but more important was the bust increase. Her eyes slid over to the statuary next to the throne. Unsurprisingly, the detail was amazing.

Mercury started tapping her manicured nails with deliberate impatience. "Are you enjoying your view?"

"Oh yes, Mistress," Orion blushed and bowed.

"I appreciate it, but don't be too servile." Mercury cautioned. "The Princess aims to fight? Good. I want her to learn from this."

"I would assume you'd want the Princess to move into her chambers here sooner rather than later," Orion stated. The townhouse they were currently inhabiting, generously funded by their backer, had ample room for all the Senshi.

"If things had gone better last night she would have moved in here within a fortnight." Mercury glowered. Her original plan was to leverage the Mistress Lyra threat to get them to move into this newly acquired place.

Convincing Setsuna to make the purchase would have been the hard part, but Mercury was sure that the others would find this place irresistible. Once the Senshi were moved in she could have initiated the next phase. Mercury sighed. Things would not be that easy. She thanked her foresight in making contingency plans.

"The Princess will be living here soon enough," Mercury promised.

"She is the most sympathetic to our cause," Orion laughed.

"Maybe not," Mercury said as she looked at her display again. "Maybe the Princess's new ally would be more open to us." She turned to the statue and smiled.

"I think DarkStar would approve," Orion remarked. Virgo did make a good objet d'art. The icy glaze that kept the presentation in position added a new layer to the piece.

"Are you sure?" Mercury frowned. "She prefers more... visceral punishments." She stood up and walked the short distance, her heels clicking on the floor.

"Visceral?" Orion asked, puzzling over the term's use. "She does like organs and is a more emotional and instinctual creature."

Mercury smiled thinly. "That and her enemies have the pleasure of being eviscerated as they're being eaten, of course."

"Of course," Orion agreed.

She caressed the frozen cheek and smirked at the smoldering eyes. "I am not nearly so exuberant or emotional in my desires. Physical pain is only part of it, and it would be such a shame to ruin these nice hardwood floors."

"I think DarkStar would understand that," Orion ventured as she walked closer to her mistress.

"I suppose," Mercury looked Virgo up and down, her eyes lingering on Virgo's chest. She smirked. "Have you learned your lesson?" she asked the purple-haired statue.

Virgo tried with all her will to escape the icy prison. Physical strength proved ineffective, and her powers had been controlled by Mercury. Her face could not even change its position. She was stuck in an alluring pout.

Mercury put a gloved hand to her lip in thought. "If not, I suppose I can start freezing your limbs. Would that make things clear enough for you?"

"Would you like to resume training or have dinner?" Orion asked, turning away from the icy statue.

"Well, Virgo is currently indisposed, and will be for a while," Mercury frowned. Virgo was a good trainer and a fair cook too.

"We could train with the caster. I had just finished testing the room's shielding," Orion offered. Before she planted the bug she had been working in that basement room. "There won't be any magical leakage."

"While it was nice of our benefactor to furnish us with that facility, I am disappointed by the capabilities it had," Ami said as she smiled inwardly. Just a few short months ago the caster was nearly impossible, and now...

"We did just finish upgrading the caster's power," Orion reminded.

"Yes," Mercury turned to Orion. "Are you sure about the shielding?"

"Planning to go all out tonight?" Orion asked with a smirk. "And yes, it's checked out and ready."

"Good, I don't want anybody to sniff out my efforts," Mercury laughed.

"Would you like dinner before hand? I could cook if you desire."

Mercury gave a noncommittal shrug.

"At least the wine cellar is well stocked," Orion weakly offered.

"And how are your skills as a sommelier?" Mercury asked.

"A what?" Orion delicately asked.

Mercury contained her disappointment. "You should have been able to figure that out via context."

"I'm sorry Mistress," Orion tried to kneel down but found herself being held up. She looked to see Mercury's cold features gently thaw.

"Thank you," Orion said as she fell onto Mercury's cool, but loving, embrace.

Mercury pulled Orion back to her feet, and kissed her. "I am eternally thankful for the changes you brought within me. Never forget that."

"I won't," Orion said with a secret smile.

***************


"Hello, my name's Nabiki Saotome," the girl dressed in her Saint Helena uniform introduced herself to her new classmates.

"Maybe you could tell us more about yourself?" Miss Agnew asked the eager and young student.

"I'm the youngest of five sisters." Nabiki paused and wondered how exactly to play this. Glancing at the bored students before her, she made her decision. "My favorite color's pink. I'm studying my family history now. Many mark my mother as a monster. Mainly malevolent misfits that must meet their maker."

"Clever wordplay," Miss Agnew pleasantly offered. Her new student's transcripts indicated a very bright and driven student.

Nabiki smiled. Fun was definitely the better way to go. "Thank you. I think I'll find this experience informative."

"Uh, that's very nice." Miss Agnew hesitated. She was reminded by "Village of the Damned" Those children were pale and gifted too. She pointed an empty seat for Nabiki to take.

The powder-blue-haired girl sat down and opened her backpack. She closed her eyes and briefly smiled at the bare connection. Mother was trying her best and actually managed to connect to her. Nabiki's thoughts on how long her mom could keep it up were interrupted however.

"Wow, you're pretty dolled up," A girl with her hair in a ponytail to the side remarked.

Nabiki looked over her thin, frameless, and nonfunctional reading glasses. The girl would be pretty, if not for the overdone eyeliner. "I like pink and am cute. What's your excuse?"

"Your makeup makes you look fourteen," the girl shot back.

"I am," Nabiki then gave an adorable smile. "And I suppose you're really the malodorous corpse of a prostitute that serviced circus folk."

The overly made-up girl's face reddened in anger and she prepared a retort, but there was something about the innocent face that was... upsetting.

Nabiki smirked inwardly and turned her attention to the teacher. Maybe this could be fun.

***************


"You guys like being back in school?" Naoko asked Ranma and her... friends

"Things feel a bit more normal," Nariko admitted as she picked at her lunch.

"I can see that," Sam stated. Their table had suddenly gotten much fuller. She turned to the new addition to the group. She was apparently another cousin or something to Sunshine. Though she was awfully familiar with Ranma's other cousin Ukyou. "What do you think Misako?"

"The uniforms aren't bad, I guess." Misako frowned. At least they were not jumpers.

"I still think we should all wear ones like... Red's old uniform," Akane grumbled.

"I don't know about that," Ranma shrugged.

"There's enough of us now to make a good set."

"You know that old uniform of mine still has a skirt," Ranma reminded.

"Better than this one," Akane said fingering the hem of hers.

Naoko looked over to the table where her redhead friend's other other acquaintances sat at. The decreased number was not unexpected. She and Sam did learn about the falling out yesterday, but it did remind her. "Huh, so anyone know what happen to Ami and Janet? They're not in school today."

"Nope." Ranma then went back to her food. She concentrated to sense Nabiki. Despite the distance the connection remained strong.

"Must be related to their fight with Usagi," Sam guessed.

"Yeah, probably that."

"So... uniforms then?" Misako asked.

"We could vote on it," Nariko offered.

"What about you guys?" Ukyou asked Naoko and Sam. "You want darker uniforms with fishnets? I'm sure we can make something in your size."

Naoko blushed while Sam was contemplative.

Ranma looked at the others. "I don't even think we need a vote. I mean do any of you want the normal uniform?"

Naoko sipped her juice. "Well, maybe not every day."

"Oh that's not part of the fun," Sam pouted.

"I er... I guess," Naoko pulled back from the others slightly. "So any idea on us going out?"

"There's the Red Turtle; they'll have some live music on Wednesday," Ranma offered.

"You've been there?" Sam asked.

"What's it like?" Naoko inquired.

"Nice, mellow. I've never been there when they have music, but if it's bad we can do something else." Ranma went back to her lunch.

"And don't worry about the age thing," Ukyou added.

"Especially if you wear anything Sunny helped you buy," Nariko reminded.

"That reminds me," Ranma pushed around some of her lunch. "Someone else will be coming with us."

"Another cousin of yours?" Sam asked.

"Uh yeah," Ranma coughed.

"You'll like Yuki-chan," Misako assured.

"I'm sure she'll be great; she's a part of your family," Sam said as she looked at each of the pale girls in turn.

"Thanks," Ranma said blushing with pride.

Naoko nodded in agreement. She vaguely wondered why this new friend of Ranma's was not in school, but she let it slide. There were plenty of reasons: Yuki doesn't live around here, she goes to a different school, or the like. Regardless, she trusted the redhead.

***************


Nabiki frowned as she walked down the hall. This was not fun. "Yes, I am developed," she said to a boy. "You know, if you want to be lewd you might as well give a good shot at it."

"What?" the short-haired boy asked. "You're just a big bimbo."

Nabiki sighed. "You impotent little moron. That doesn't make any sense. I'm clearly smarter than all of you and I'm not big; I'm short."

"Girly little brain," he sniffed and walked off.

"That's actually better, though not an insult," Nabiki yelled to his retreating back. She growled and resumed walking down the hallway.

"Are you alright?" Miss Agnew asked after approaching the pale girl. She felt apprehensive, but it was part of the job.

Nabiki looked up to the teacher. "Yes."

"Are you sure? I've seen your performance today."

"Performance?" Nabiki idly played with the pair of the bows in her hair.

Miss Agnew felt that something was amiss. She remained silent as her student moved from her hair to checking her too cute makeup.

"Yes, your performance. You're a brilliant student, but you're not good at making friends." Miss Agnew explained.

Nabiki put away her compact. "I'm not that interested in making friends with children like this."

"Aren't you younger than the other students?"

"Disappointing isn't it," Nabiki sighed.

Miss Agnew shivered slightly. "Yes, that is bad, but the class work will get better."

"I doubt it." Nabiki then noticed the hurt on her teacher's face. "You're a fine teacher, but...." She shrugged.

"You've been advanced a year already," Miss Agnew cautioned. "Maybe you need to grow your social skills some, keep a bit of pace with your academic ones."

"That would make the fools around me even more insufferable," Nabiki replied.

Miss Agnew frowned. "Are you sure? That's awfully cynical of an attitude. You sound almost like a teacher."

Nabiki laughed. She was sure Yuki would have been happy here. Accommodatingly cute was a great way to make friends, but Mother had to be supportive and nurture her dreams. "I guess we just have to make the most of our situation."

"You'll try to be less brash with your classmates?" Miss Agnew asked as they neared the front doors.

"Not exactly," Nabiki opened the doors and noticed her ride.

Miss Agnew frowned at the pair of people leaning on an idling van that Nabiki ran to. The male one was casually nondescript. He had short black hair and wore clothes that made him look like any white collar drone. The dark sunglasses and stance added a bit too much "forced coolness" for Agnew's tastes.

The other person waiting was something else. She looked like a biker babe that had settled down enough to have kids and a permanent address. The woman's sinfully teased crimson tresses induced pangs of envy in the teacher. The way the leather pants, coat, and silk blouse hung from the woman's body caused another pang.

Agnew then watched the redhead happily scoop up Nabiki and pull the younger girl off her feet. After the warm embrace, Nabiki and her mother, it had to be a mother, went into the van. The relation was obvious, both had the same complexion, and Agnew could see where Nabiki got her assets from.

The nondescript man lingered just long enough to give Miss Agnew a funny salute with his thumb and pointer finger connected, held over his eye, and then tipped foreword and out.

It was only after he had slipped into the front passenger seat of the van and it had driven off that Agnew realized something. The redhead who had easily lifted Nabiki off her feet was almost the exact same height as her daughter.


***************


"Now, you're not so sure about that school?" Ranma asked her daughter. She and Nabiki were at the kitchen table. On the ride home, Nabiki had explained her day.

"Well maybe," Nabiki looked down at her Saint Helena uniform. "I don't know if high school would be that much better."

"Oh?"

"Well, I'm not sure things will be better if I'm a freshmen. Then the ages will be even more apparent, but they will be older."

"And high schoolers are supposed to be tragically jaded and sarcastic," Ranma sweetly reminded.

"Thanks Mom," Nabiki laughed. "It was a bit of a shock, I didn't think it would be so..." She shook her head. "I'm just too damn cute."

Misako had entered the room and poured herself some juice. "Sure you don't want to go to high school just because the stock's a bit more mature?"

Ranma turned to Misako. "What did I say about draining horny teenage boys?"

"That it's way too easy and none of those pathetic meat-bags are worthy to touch the glorious flesh of someone from this family?"

"Close enough. Interesting choice of words too." She said with deliberate delicateness.

Misako stood very still. "Yes, Mother." She said slowly as she replaced the juice bottle.

Nabiki saw her sister falter and stepped in. "It's not like she's calling all humans meat-bags. Just those ones at school."

Misako coughed. "Yes, the humans we work with are great people." She stepped from her mother.

"Yes, they are," Ranma continued, seemingly ignoring her daughter's fear. "But those boys at school, they're just teenagers. It's their nature."

"Yes, you're right." Misako said before quickly leaving the room.

"That was mean," Nabiki quietly and told her mother.

"Was it?" Ranma shrugged. "You'll be changing the type of fools you have to deal with." She shook her head. There was a slight buzzing in the back of her head. It faded and she dismissed it.

"But I'll be with my big sisters, and you."

"I know." Ranma knew that it would be more secure too. Nabiki would not be alone. The surveillance teams would also be consolidated. "It's your choice." She frowned the sensation had returned.

Nabiki looked down. "I think I'll know by tomorrow. I mean, I kind of want to fit in more, and what if moving doesn't help?"

"That sounds fine, Honey," Ranma reassured as she activated her phone.

"Yes, Maya?" Ranma asked, recognizing the voice. "Is there anything going on?"

Maya blinked, she was just about to call her. "Yes, we just detected a body in the dojo. We're not picking up an NH pattern, looks like a short man, just standing there. Were you expecting a visitor?" Agent Maya Iverson asked.

"No," Ranma said her voice growing cold. Akane and Ukyou were going to train in a few minutes but there was nothing now. "No Pattern?"

"No, nothing. Maybe human."

Ranma stood up. "Nabiki bring the others down. It looks like we have another trespasser." She then put her head back to the phone. "Maya any idea how this happened?" Ranma asked as she unfolded her senses.

"There was some electrical interference. We're getting more information," Maya apologized. "Do you want support?"

"Have them on standby," Ranma focused on the dojo and picked out its occupant. It was human, but... She was reminded of the Senshi or Assemblymen. Both were modified human, but this person was... different, and he was staying in the same spot.

Ranma shrugged and casually walked over to the outbuilding. She slid the door open and prepared herself. What she found was a diminutive old man standing in front of the shrine. His hands were clasped behind his back and he looked like he was in an art gallery.

"You wouldn't happen to be a relative of mine?" Ranma asked in jest as shadows started to build and pool around her.

"I was really worried. I was afraid my lousy students would be lousy teachers, but here's their dojo and it's full of such... fascinating smells. You girls have been very busy in here." The man slowly turned to face her. He studied her with an amazed look as if the redhead had exceeded his expectations.

"You taught my father? Soun too? Oh dear," Ranma sighed. Even if this coot were telling the truth things could be a pain.

"I see Nodoka's influence," the old man noted, appraisingly.

"And the horns?" Ranma asked walking over to him. "You have no idea how dumb you've been."

"Oh?" He looked the woman over. "Well, you only live once," he blurred and pounced at Ranma. He made contact with the demoness and just before he could get a grope in felt a hand slide between him and her chest. There was a flash of pain and he released and bounded away.

His robe had a series of horizontal slashes that had blood oozing through in a few spots. "Still worth it."

Ranma blinked. "You... you tried to drain me? What?"

"I like pretty ladies," the old man shrugged.

"Succubae drain human males, not the other way around," Ranma lectured, watching him carefully.

"You're not going to keep an old man from having his fun." He then sobbed.

"Fun?" Ranma asked.

"You want us to bring in the old guys?" Ukyou shouted from the back door to the house.

"Uh, sure," Ranma said rubbing her chest with one hand.

"Oh good, so they are home," the old man laughed. He then watched as five smirking women in a box formation led his two students into the dojo. He felt that he had died and gone to... well someplace that had very nice women who were no doubt amenable to an old man's simple wishes.

"Explain," Ranma ordered her father, pointing to the old man.

"You're looking well, Master," Genma said as he used a move Ranma immediately recognized: The Crouch of the Wild Tiger.

"Yes, it's good to see you Master Happosai," Soun said, entering a similarly submissive position.

"Um.... he really is your teacher?" Ranma asked.

"He is the founder and grandmaster of our School," Genma said.

"At least the new generation seems better," Happosai noted.

"Was he always... into breasts?" Ranma asked

"The Master is a virile man and enjoys the pleasures of the flesh," Soun said, hedging his words.

"Meaning?" Ranma asked impatiently as she looked at her father's teacher.

"He likes to grope women and take their underwear. He had an impressive collection," Genma admitted.

"That's no doubt moth-ridden, thanks to you," Happosai grumbled.

"Right, he's diminutive, grizzled martial arts master, that likes a quick fondle and a souvenir?"

"Don't you try to ruin my fun."

"Uh, I've got a grandma who invaded Earth with a demonic army. If you get your kicks by having some hardly even dirty fun. I ain't gonna care."

"Oh, you've made me so happy!" Happosai beamed.

"Course if you touch my kids, there won't even be any bones left." Ranma smiled warmly.

"Kids?" Happosai asked.

"Yes, they're mine. What's it too you?"

The old man pulled out a pipe. "That explains the scents and ki in here. It's all related and so very strong."

"So, what? You just dropping in?"

"Well, I had to escape that little cave-in that those two -" the old man pointed to Genma and Soun. "- setup. It took a few years, but I managed."

Ranma smirked. "You actually tried to kill your master, Pops?" She laughed. "Figures you wouldn't make sure the body was good and dead."

"Pitiful isn't it?" Happosai agreed. "They got me drunk enough to pass out. They could have ended me then, but they didn't have the stone to do it themselves."

"And they just left you to die in a cave," Misako surmised.

Happosai looked forlornly at the green-eyed demonesses. "You sure they're your kids?"

"Yes, their age from birth is... I mean I turned them, well turned them to my brood." Ranma coughed. "They're mine."

Happosai waved it off. "I know about succubae. It's only natural given my hobby." He grinned lecherously. "I remember that Genma had a son for one."

"Yeah, well, things changed."

"And now you're a sexy succubus."

"This must be some kinda dream for you right?" Ranma snorted.

Happosai paused. "Well, you don't mind the bras. You're not weak like your father. Killer body that's oh so snuggly. Kids that at least seem competent. It's getting there."

He then walked over to the corner of the dojo and tugged at a large sack. After nearly a minute of rummaging he then bounded to Ranma. "Here," he said handing a violet object over.

The redhead held the bra up. It was silk and was a bit overwrought in its lace detailing. "Not bad, it's the right cup and band size. Good eye on that."

Happosai looked contemplative. "You're a demon, and you do martial arts."

"Yeah, had to modify the school." Ranma said with pride. "New balance, extra limbs, flying, and that stuff."

"I'd like to see that. Now, are you going to try it on?" Happosai asked leeringly.

Ranma shrugged and slipped out of her shirt and pulled off her bra. She smirked at the old man's reaction and quickly pulled on the new one. "Geeze, they're just boobs. Chill out."

"Oh you've made an old man so very happy," he sobbed. Noticing Ranma's old bra, Happosai ran up to it. "Such silky bliss," he said, rubbing the undergarment to his face.

"Wow, you really are a dirty old man," Ranma said fascinated it was like watching some type of reptile at work. The old man was aesthetically extremely unappealing, but... the draining was interesting; it was like he learned some demonic biology. She then smirked when the summoned clothing started to disintegrate.

"No!" Happosai cried as the bra started to dissolve. He tried to hold onto it, but the garment decayed, eventually becoming insubstantial wisps. "Why did you do that?" he asked pitifully.

"It's just how things work." Clothing summoned by a succubus tended to fade when separated from its creator. Though the rate of decay could be controlled.

"Does it happen with all your clothes?"

Ranma smiled evilly.

"Oh that's not fair. Not fair at all," Happosai pouted. "I hope your girls aren't as plainly dressed as you."

Misako smiled. "Finally, someone who agrees with me."

"I'm not that fond of frilly stuff," Ranma said crossing her arms over he chest.

"Yes, you're more of a sexy functional," Happosai said appraisingly. "So what's are these modified moves like?"

"That a challenge?" Ranma asked, shifting into her violet Lycra unitard.

"Oh, I like spunk," Happosai smirked.

***************


The first thing Major Saotome noticed was the jagged hole in the dojo's roof. It was above the front entrance and quite large. Nodoka then caught a glimpse of the sparring. The visuals from base did not do it justice.

She silently watched as two figures danced around each other. Fast, predatory grace defined her daughter's powerful moves, but her diminutive opponent was even nimbler and difficult to track with the naked eye. Nodoka could telll that it was, surprisingly, an older man her daughter was facing. THe officer then noticed four of her granddaughters itently observing the match.

The man noticed Nodoka's presence and bounded over to her. "Hi No-chan. Long time no see."

Ranma used the opportunity and tried to grapple him to the ground, but the old master wormed out of her grip.

"Attacking while my back was turned," Happosai shook his head.

Ranma smirked, and wiped her brow.

"Nice touch that." Happosai turned back to Nodoka. "You've got a good kid. Spirited, but she's not too respectful of her elders."

"Groping old goat," Ranma grumbled as she caught her breath. "You still kept goin' after my boobs."

"You were free to stop me," Happosai smirked.

"I see you haven't changed much," Nodoka remarked. Of course her husband's lecherous teacher had retured. Of course.

Happosai smiled broadly. "What's with the soldier getup? You with these other guys?"

"Yes, I wanted to find my daughter and they offered to help," Nodoka explained. There was also the pride of her work, knowing how it helped agents, but there was no need to tell him that.

"Ranma was a girl that long ago?"

"Nope." Ranma adjusted her unitard.

"Ah so, Genma did take you on that training trip," Happosai remarked. He looked the sweaty succubus over. "Didn't do to badly with that at least."

Ranma beamed. "You're not to shabby yourself. Been a long time since I sparred like that."

"You were holding back, though," Happosai remarked.

"Yeah, I didn't use my claws, tail spines, or fireballs. Would be a shame to shorten the fun," Ranma smiled toothily.

"Fun? You call me hitting you mercilessly as you lumbered around fun?"

"Feh, it wasn't that bad."

"You were sent flying through the roof," Happosai remarked.

"So? I came right back."

Happosai nodded. "It is handy having a student that won't get worn down, not like that pair of idiots."

"I have tea," Nariko said as she walked up to the dojo carrying a tray.

"Ranma's a very serious student," Nodoka said.

"Yes it shows. She's a lot like you," Happosai blurred and then latched onto her chest. "Oh I've missed this, such-" He was cut off as a tail raked over his body,; the old master released avoiding the razor fillaments.

"I know you're happy to see grandma, but it's impolite to be grabby," Nariko gently chastised as she put down the tea set. She idly swished her tail.

"Thank you Nari-chan," Nodoka complimented.

"That's great, Honey," Ranma said hugging her daughter.

Happosai shook his head and pulled himself back to his feet. "Ouch... why didn't you use that on me?" he asked Ranma as he patted the burn marks on his clothes.

"Because my tail would dice you apart."

"Fine, ruin all my fun," Happosai pouted.

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Oh please, we're not a bunch of prudes."

"I wouldn't want to be touched by a wrinkled old man," Akane commented. The elderly master disturbed her in unnatural ways.

Ranma tilted her head. "You know Happi, I think Akane volunteered for the next sparring match."

Happosai smirked. "I like the way you think, Red."

"Training shouldn't be a cakewalk. You decided to track Genma down? What'd you do, find out where Drake was living?"

"Not exactly," Happosai said as he sized up Akane.

"Mom?" Akane asked. She did not want to be touched by this... unnatural thing. Succubae were supposed to be the dominant ones not humans.

"You'll be fine," Ranma waved a hand. "So how did you find us?"

"It was weird. I was enjoying the generous donations of some very lovely ladies when a gaijin priest sat down next to me." Happosai smiled fondly.

"Priest?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma coughed.

"We got to talking and it turns out he was a friend of The Drake: the crazy third wheel to my idiot students."

"And of course he knew where to find the Drake," Ranma sighed. How predictable.

"And where Soun lived too, funny guy. Was really loose for a priest." Happosai shrugged.

"Pardon?" Nodoka then exchanged a glance with Ranma.

"Describe him," Ranma asked.

"Average enough guy. Grey eyes I guess. Fidgeted a bit. You know, just a guy." Happosai paused.

"Nothing more specific?"

"I don't pay attention to guys. Not my thing," Happosai shrugged.

"He give a name?" Ranma asked guessing who it was.

"Minister Prembrose."

"First name Murdock by any chance?"

"He didn't give it, but maybe."

"We have some pictures of Murdock you can look at," Nodoka offered.

"It's probably him," Ranma sighed. "Okay, why would he do that?"

Happosai gave a measured look. "He wanted me here. That's obvious. So you know this guy? What's his deal?"

"He's just some mook that likes causin' trouble," Ranma explained.

The old master eyed the redhead. At least she was a fair lair.

"We believe he is trying to orchestrate events," Nodoka said.

"Take over the world, dark conspiracies, back room dealings," Ranma's tone was disdainful and bored.

"Aren't you a demon that's working with some sort of secret military thing?" Happosai asked.

"I've got a good thing with them."

"Now who to train," Happosai pondered. "My lousy students or your kids?"

"You never did properly greet them," Ranma smirked.

"And they haven't left yet," Nodoka helpfully added. "They're still in the den drinking."

***************


"I can't believe there wasn't anything in Ami's room," Makoto said as she looked at the cold beverages.

"What, you expect her to have an 'I heart Mistress Lyra' poster in her room?" Rei asked as she looked around the convenience store. She saw the two blondes over by the frozen foods aisle looking morose.

"There could have been some notes or plans," Makoto defended.

"Why? She kept everything on her computer," Rei pulled a bottle of pop out. "I'm disappointed that Janet's mom didn't have any info."

"What? Setsuna talked to her. Doctor Fraiser thinks her daughter is at space camp or something out in Colorado," Makoto frowned.

"Clearly, they got to her, messed with her mind," Rei scowled.

"Her mind was already messed with. Janet couldn't have been around for what, couple of years?"

"But Doc Fraiser thought she adopted Janet a long time ago," Rei smirked. "We still have to watch her. Janet's mom is either a patsy or another minion."

"That's not a nice thing to say about my mom," Orion lazily remarked as she entered from the back hallway that led to the bathrooms. She held her double-bladed staff with one end resting on her shoulder.

"Traitor!" Rei shouted as she immediately transformed.

Makoto turned to the front and was dismayed and unsurprised to see Virgo and Mercury walk in through the front door.

"Don't give me a reason to punish you again," Mercury icily said to Virgo. The former Amazon angrily nodded and turned towards the blondes.

"What's this a costume contest?" the half-stoned clerk asked. The flashy lights were a shock.

"Something like that," Mercury smirked as she stood in front of him.

He smiled vaguely. "You're sure to win dressed like that."

"Thank you," Mercury said and snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Huh?" the clerk mumbled as he collapsed to the ground.

"You monster!" Mars accused.

Mercury sighed and turned to the Senshi. "Only one of you had the sense to transform?"

"This is Virgo?" Minako asked. She looked between Virgo's ample chest and Mercury's corseted bosom contemplatively.

Mercury raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to save you," Usagi's face as stern and she grabbed for her broach.

"We shall see," Mercury smirked as she sauntered over to the blondes.

There was a pair of flashes and Venus stepped in between Mercury and her Princess. The blue-haired girl smiled thinly as she rapped a folded tessen against Venus' head. The blonde dodged but was then attacked by Virgo.

"Should have summoned your sword," Mercury laughed

"No!" Jupiter shouted as tried to jump over to Moon.

Orion slipped her staff between Jupiter's legs and then twisted it. The brunette tumbled to the ground and her left leg was sliced when Orion pulled her staff out.

"Don't kill her," Mercury ordered Virgo. "I have plans for Venus."

"Yes Mistress," Virgo sighed.

"You can stop this," Mercury stepped closer to her princess.

Moon narrowed her eyes. "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss." The brilliant flash bloomed enveloped Mercury and then died down.

"Tingly," Mercury laughed and adjusted her corset. "I'm not some phage or some poor possessed human."

"You save the Princess, I'll take care of Naru," Jupiter said as she stood back up. The bleeding from her cut had slowed down.

Mars nodded and took aim. "Mars Flame Sniper!" She then ran down the aisle.

Mercury twisted and flipped open a fan and intercepted the burning arrow. The other tessen she pointed towards the floor at the head of the aisle.

Mars' attack missed; she put her heel down... and lost her footing. The patch of ice was thin but large enough. Slamming into the counter at the front of the store Mars groaned in pain.

"Girls who wear high heels to a fight should watch where they walk," Mercury sermonized. She turned to see Virgo dodging around Venus' chain.

"Quit playing with her, and just knock her out." Mercury ordered.

Virgo nodded and caught the end of the Love Me chain with one sword and then used the flat of the other to sweep Venus's left foot out from under her. Pulling the chain, Virgo toppled the unbalanced Senshi and proceeded to chain her up.

"This is all a game to you, you sick traitor," Mars growled as she stood back up, careful to avoid the ice patch.

"No, this is deadly serious to me." For the first time Mercury sounded genuinely insulted.

Mars snarled and tried to shoot another arrow. Blocking with her tessen, Mercury closed in. She flipped her fans over and launched a barrage of icicles at Mars. The black-haired Senshi shrieked as thin icicles punctured her arms.

"Rei!" Jupiter and Moon cried. Jupiter then yelped when Orion trusted forward with her staff.

Orion's smirk died when Jupiter fired a blast at her. Orion dodged on the inside and spun the staff around and hit Jupiter on the head just under the blades. She leaned over Jupiter with a slight smirk. "Learn to fight in close."

Jupiter's left hand shot up and grabbed Orion's neck while her right held the staff away. "Same for you," she said as she squeezed Orion's neck.

Orion struggled and pulled her neck out of the grip, but Jupiter responded by holding her staff with two hands. Orion kept her face neutral as the two struggled over the long, bladed weapon.

Jupiter leveraged the staff over the shorter girl and pressed her against the wall. Orion growled and tried to kick the brunette but Jupiter easily evaded. "Forgot that I'm actually a martial artist."

"Oh, I didn't," Orion smirked. "I was just stalling."

Jupiter frowned and then twisted away and jumped when Virgo charged her with a pair of swords.

"Damn your goons," Mars said as she pulled some of the icicles out of her arms.

"At least mine can act like a team," Mercury smirked as she iced more ground under Mars' feet.

Mars jumped up and landed on the counter. "Nice try." The weakened surface creaked and broke apart in a cloud of ice and frost. Mars fell into a heap with the passed out clerk.

"I thought so," Mercury smirked. It was satisfying to see a plan come together.

Mars swore and clawed her way over the broken counter. She landed on the iced tile carefully and took a step forward, or tried to. She looked down to see the ice creeping over her heels. Swearing again she slipped out of her shoes and landed on some clear tile.

Mercury frowned at the bare feet. "Why didn't you just flash your power? You control fire."

Rage contorting her face, Mars glared. Flames sprung up around her gloves and she charged forward.

"Excellent," Mercury said as she blocked the flaming fists with her tessen. Behind her smirk she worried. The fans should hold up; they were designed to take much more than this.

"Damn you!" Mars punched down and connected with Mercury's ice skirt, shattering some of the frozen pleats. Mars could have sworn she saw fear in the traitor's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by bored disdain.

"Dirty," Mercury noted, inwardly relieved that the armor of her skirt absorbed the blow. "Feels good doesn't it?" she smarmily asked. Getting Mars mad was easy, and it negated her advantages. Mars' attacks were accurate and quick, at range. Close quarters was another issue.

"Shut up," Mars hissed, as she blindly dove forward.

Unsummoning her tessen, Mercury reached out and grabbed Mars' hands and for a few seconds ice and fire battled. Steam started to billow through the room. The ice crystal on Mercury's tiara flared, and the steam died down, as did the flames. Mars tried to pull out when the crystalline water started to creep up her arms.

Mars' eyes and arms flared and the ice shattered. "I won't go down that easily."

"Good," Mercury smirked unpleasantly. Inwardly her mind raced, Mars was putting up more of a fight than she predicted. Her smirk grew into an evil grin as she recalled Virgo's lessons.

Mars grinned as the flames strengthened, she then nearly stumbled as Mercury suddenly pulled her down and closer. Mars' confusion was short lived as Mercury suddenly rammed her knee into Mars' chin.

Mars fell to the ground in a groaning heap. Still laughing, Mercury looked down at her broken skirt. "Easily enough fixed," she said as her skirt grew back to its full size. She also stepped back discretely.

"You bitch," Mars swore as she pulled herself back up and her flames sprung back.

Mercury smiled as she recalled her tessen. She spread the fans and flicked two arcs of icicles at Mars. "It's just a few puncture wounds," Mercury remarked to the fallen Mars.

Mars got up, and felt the shards of ice start to melt. Several large splashes of watery blood fell to the ground. After shouting out, she clasped her hands and a lance of fire burst out.

Mercury twisted her tessen in front of her; the sheets of ice composing them expanding to shield her from the blast. Immediately after it died down she lunged forward.

Mars was knocked full to the ground and found the edge of a spread fan pushed to her neck. Mars gasped and tried to rip the tessen away.

"Naughty Mars," Mercury mocked as she used the other tessen as a bludgeon. She shook some blood off the end of the fan. "Least your thick head was good enough for something."

"What did you do?" Moon demanded as she marched forward. She had regained enough strength to confront Ami again.

Mercury looked down at the unconscious woman. "Don't worry, it's not that bad. I know what I'm doing." She smiled coldly.

Moon looked around. Minako was tied up. Rei was knocked out and Makoto was down with multiple sharp implements pressing into her chest and neck. "You think you've won?" she asked, her voice depressed and angered.

"I'd hardly call defeating you like this a victory." Mercury sighed.

"You haven't beaten me yet," Moon stepped forward.

Mercury laughed. "That's not how it works. No, the villain takes out all the Princess's guards and then when it's darkest she wins." She leaned in close and whispered. "And I'm sorry Princess, but this isn't even close to darkest."

Moon pulled back and gasped. "This isn't you, you're not a monster."

"Monster?" Mercury smiled widely. "Do you want that? It'll speed things up. One word and Orion and Virgo will plunge their blades into Makoto."

"No..."

"And don't think you could bring her back. You couldn't bring Mamoru back. You couldn't bring the woman and child the Will killed. You won't bring Makoto back."

"What's wrong with you! You have to fight this! This isn't you!" Usagi pleaded.

"You're right. That isn't me." Mercury paced over to Mars. "I could kill her too. Be so easy, too easy."

The corseted Senshi chuckled and then walked to Venus. "Bondage does suit her," she said kneeling down.

"Gonna threaten to kill her too?" Moon asked.

"Oh no, I have plans for Minako." Mercury laughed. "You've all forgotten her potential. Shame."

"No."

"What?" Mercury asked.

"No." Moon's eyes focused on Mercury's. "You won't take her. This ends now."

Mercury clenched her teeth.

"I want my friend back," Moon stated. "And I won't let you hurt them."

"Really now?" Mercury's smirk was short lived as a kick caught the crouching girl in the chin.

"Moon Kick!" Moon shouted as Mercury flew back and crashed into a few shelves of bread.

Mercury shook he head and looked at the vengeful blonde. "You hit me," she said wiping some blood off her lips. "Wonderful."

"Even though I've ended up fighting enemies alone, it's the love of my friends that keeps me going," Moon said as she confidently strode forward.

"You don't have to be alone," Mercury said as she stood up. Her eyes briefly darted around to make sure that Virgo and Orion were covering Makoto and that Rei and Minako were still out of action.

"Stop." Moon ordered.

Mercury's eyes immediately returned to the princess.

"You're going to stop your madness. I'm your Princess and you will not defy me." Moon balled her hands.

"That's how you're gonna play it?" Mercury asked through her teeth.

Moon glared at the spilled blood and hurt friends. "Yes. I'll do whatever it takes."

"Just like me," Mercury laughed. "So do you want me to leave?"

"You're not going to let me try and purify you?" Usagi inquired.

"Like it'll work the second time," Mercury rolled her eyes. "I've got things to do, Virgo, grab Minako when we leave. Orion destroy the security tapes from the back room."

"You're not taking Minako." Moon's voice was forceful and her body hummed with power.

Mercury narrowed her eyes. "Fine be that way." She wandered towards the back of the store.

While Orion covered, Virgo forcefully rolled Makoto over and stepped back so Mercury could hogtie her with ice. "Orion, I still want you to take care of those tapes now."

Orion nodded and broke into the back room.

"I'm going to defeat you," Moon promised as Mercury returned to the front of the store.

"Of course you will." Mercury stepped over Mars, careful not to get any blood on her heels. "I wouldn't expect any less from you."

"You're not a monster, I'm gonna save you," Moon pulled her hands up and after saying the magic words a beam of purifying magic flared out and hit Mercury square in the chest.

Mercury cleared her throat. "Are you done?"

Moon's arms fell to her sides. It was easier when Mercury was being violent, egotistical, and prideful. When she showed pity, it was hard. She reached for her tiara, there was a physical component to that attack, she could try to literally knock some sense into Ami.

Mercury stepped in and hugged the depressed Princess. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you have people worthy of you." Her hand slipped just inside Moon's skirt and caressed the area where thigh became butt.

"Huh?" Moon asked as her body blushed at the physical contact.

"Come with me," Mercury whispered. "I promise you'll like it."

Moon's eye widened. She gasped and tried to squirm away. "Let go of me," she asked her voice hardly a whisper.

Mercury kept holding her. "Are you sure?"

"Got the tapes, Mistress," Orion said as she and Virgo came to the front of the store.

"Last chance." Mercury offered as she largely succeeded at smiling warmly.

Despite her blush, Usagi looked serious. "No."

Mercury ended the embrace. "Maybe later then." She smirked at Venus' fearful expression. "Let's go girls."

As the trio made their way to the door, Moon took half a step forward. She hesitated and then stepped backwards. The last she heard from Mercury was her thanking Virgo for her work. The blonde then fell to the floor and with twitching fingers managed to call Setsuna on her communicator.

End chapter 5

Revision notes: And here we see a bit more of how Ami is taking to her "Mistress Mercury gig.

As with the last chapter I've been splitting the original chapters into more manageable pieces that flow better. I'd like to thank everyone for their interest in this revision project of mine

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Girl Talk
A Ranma Sailor Moon fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple and Trimatter
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma. So here's the disclaimer
Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC.
Previous chapters and other works can be found at our fanfiction websites.
https://www.fanfiction.net/u/553057/Trimatter

http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com

C&C as always is wanted.

Yes this is another co-writer project between both Sunny and Trimatter. That should be all the warning you need.

***************

Ranma's bare feet padded along the wooden floor as she danced in a kata, one that she used to help clear her mind when she was troubled. She found great comfort in the familiar movements of the art, like a child with a favorite stuffed animal or blanket would. Whenever something bothered, disturbed, or just preoccupied her mind, she had found solace in the complex forms of the art.

The only problem was that it wasn't working this time.

"Damn it, why in the hell did I do something so stupid?" She groused to herself. "The past was dead and gone... then Nabiki had to spot me and bring it all back."

Stopping her exercise, she glanced at a clock that rested on a low bookshelf. Sighing heavily, she wiped the sweat from her brow. "I have five and a half hours to decide whether or not I'm going," she mentally noted. "Damn, I wish Tenchi could be here right now.

Standing and trying to sort through her mixed emotions turned into a battle between keeping a promise and letting go of the past. Shaking her head, Ranma returned to the kata only to stop a short time later. She looked out the window into the darkness of early morning.

"It's no good," she concluded. "I can't stop thinking about what to do." She cocked her head to one side and made a contemplative smirk on her face. "I'll think I'll go for a walk."

Transforming into her Senshi form gently as to not alarm Tenchi, who could sense her now for some reason, she summoned her sword and paused. ""Where to go? Hmmm... doesn't matter, as long as it's daylight."

With a shrug of her shoulders, Ranma - now Sailor Sun - sliced a long line into the air, reached in with the tip of the sword, and randomly picked a nearby universe. It was something she had only done a few times, mostly driven out of curiosity as to what was there in the multitude of different universes. Also the excitement of going to a completely alien universe and what might be found there was like opening a Christmas present – she never knew what she was going to find.

Ranma consciously picked a universe not too far removed from her own. She didn't want to deal with anything too weird because she needed to think. And right now an alien, yet familiar, setting would do the trick.

She used to do that with the myriad of small cafes and tea houses in the surrounding area, but lately it was harder to get privacy since the news of her pregnancy got out among her many friends. Ranma needed to think and "baby clothes shopping" was not going to solve the problem of her past coming up and smacking her in the face. She could have picked any point in the world to go to, but it was just as easy to move between dimensions as it was to move from one point to the next, so why not?

Poking her head slightly through the newly made opening, she looked around to make sure that the coast was clear. Ranma did not really need to do that for her powerful senses had already told her that it was safe, but it was a force of habit that she could not break. She looked around the new world - and smiled.

"An alley," she mused to herself with a slight smirk. "It's always an alley."

Stepping completely through, her form wavered as her Senshi uniform changed into a nice, ordinary blue skirt while her top changed into a pale pink, button-up shirt. She was still in her Senshi form, but it was now disguised from the eyes of anyone who looked at her. Even though she never had any problems when she went "exploring", Ranma didn't want to take any chances - especially in her condition.

Walking out of the alleyway into the bright sun, the first thing she realized that she wasn't in Japan. "Hmmm... well, all the better. I didn't want to see anyone I might even vaguely know anyway," she thought flippantly. "This is not too far removed from my home universe, so I should be able to find some decent tea somewhere."

***************-

"Yeah, what do you want?" Ranma asked as she looked up from her breakfast in the Company commissary. She had been discussing things with her mother. It had been a depressing morning. Ironically, her father was one of the people trying to warn her about the problems with Kasumi. It seemed that she was the only one to not see it coming. Ranma took some comfort in her father's tacit acceptance of her and his earnest, albeit clumsy, attempts to help.

"We've got a favor to ask you," Colonel Jacob Edwards stated as he sat down next to her. He noticed the demon's tear-stained face. This breakup could be troubling, but he knew both parties were professionals. That would mitigate things.

The demon eyed the officer. Part of her expected the other shoe to drop; that they would finally ask for something she would not do. "What?" She looked over to see her mother stiffen.

"Twenty minutes ago we detected a spike in Hamilton." Jacob said, referring to the small city to the south of Toronto and at the Southern end of lake Ontario.

"What kind, Sir?" Major Saotome asked as she removed an arm from around her daughter.

"It was a teleport. Pattern Silver. More powerful than normal."

"What's the big deal? Setsuna can do that, and so can Usagi with her friends." Ranma was still alert. Jacob's presence for what looked like a minor thing meant something.

"The Tokyo section just reported in and all of the Pattern Silvers are accounted for."

"You're thinking it's another Virgo? Or is Mercury setting a trap like the Assembly's?" Ranma asked.

"That sounds a bit beneath her. She's not likely to sacrifice Virgo quite yet," Jacob said with no indication of humor.

Nodoka paused wondering if her boss had tried to crack a joke, which seemed as unlikely as him cracking a smile.

"But we have to consider the possibility," Jacob continued.

"Doesn't sound like her style anyway," Ranma shook her head. "They're rebelling, dressing in black and getting tattoos. Classic teenager. But..."

The redhead straightened. "What do you want me to do?"

"If it's a new Senshi. We'd like you to be our greeter," Jacob smiled.

"Yeah.... I don't know if some unknown magical girl would react best to a demon."

The old mercenary gave a dry smile. "You're better than one of us."

"Not sending backup with me?"

"Of course, I am." Jacob clarified. "But you'll do the talking, one magical girl to another."

"We've got some unknown Pattern Silver. What's her strength?"

"That's why we're sending you. Our scanners... the first spike, though brief, was powerful," Jacob continued in a more serious tone.

Ranma sat and digested that tidbit for a moment. Something that big coming through and she missed it. Being busy trying to deal with breaking up with Kasumi did that.

"After the initial spike, the power faded to a less disturbing intensity. Then we had a helicopter try and get closer and triangulate the Silver's location, but it had faded by then." Jacob knew that Hilbert would be flying cautiously.

"Now, unlike your Grandma, this visitor didn't break anything, but BlackSky can mask herself completely." He then went on to give a description of the recorded harmonics. "Also our guest's power does not seem to be quite as intense as your grandmother's."

"I suppose the analysis on BlackSky's signature paid off," Nodoka proposed. Though she did remember that BlackSky's arrival was undetected and she only melted those scanners when she showed off to Ranma.

"Lovely," Ranma sighed. "So she could be anything. What about my kids?"

"That's up to you. Though I feel a gaggle of demonic spawn might upset her. "

"And if she's hostile?"

Faded green eyes twinkled with a ghost of amusement. "Then you can blow off some steam."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "You're not worried about my emotional state?"

"No. I thought work would help distract your mind." Jacob's tone was its normal flat self, but a hint of something else slipped out.

Ranma shook her head at the agent's sympathy. "Just as long as Kasumi's not on my backup detail."

"Of course."

"Have a helicopter on the base ready for my kids," Ranma said as she pulled out her Company cell phone.

"What about the Inners?"

Ranma paused. She remembered Usagi soaked with her victim's blood and vengeance in her eyes. The memory then shifted to the hug with that sad blonde in the leather shop.

"No... Usagi's got too much on her hands right now. Not with Ami and all. We'll bring her in if things go further."

"Fine. Your helicopter's on the roof. You'll rendezvous with a team of plainclothes agents and a detachment of battle-dress troopers, that were already dispatched."

"Do they have a lock on the Senshi's location?" Ranma asked as she got up.

"A general area," Jacob confessed.

Ranma nodded.

"Good luck Dear. Remember she might just be lost, confused, and new to this," Nodoka said.

"If she is, I'll send her right over to the Inners. Unless she'd rather work with professionals," Ranma grinned.

"The Silver must have powered down after she teleported." Jacob added as they walked to the elevator bank.

"I can find her easily enough." Ranma stepped into the elevator. After passing out of security and entering the main lobby of the Toronto Trust tower she was then led to another elevator that took her to the roof and the waiting WIC Blackhawk.

***************-

When she first strolled along the streets, Ranma thought she was in the United States, but that was quickly proven wrong as she spied some signs in French as well as English dotted here and there. Curious, she investigated discreetly and discovered herself to be in Hamilton, Canada. Not only was she in a different universe and a different part of the globe than she was used to, Ranma found herself in the past relative to her universe; six years in the past to be exact. Satisfied where on the globe and when she was, she made her way to the first place that looked like it might have some decent tea.

Seating herself near the large window, Ranma relaxed and took in the atmosphere of the coffee house. She watched as people walked by, some hurrying, others more casual in their pace and smiled at the wonder of it all. Smiling at the server who brought a steaming cup of tea to her table, Ranma fished out a handful of change to pay. "Heh - good thing I can use my senses to find spare change that others drop," she mused. "It's best to pay for everything using the local currency."

Seeing that the tea was literally steaming hot, she placed it aside to cool a bit and returned to watching the world go by. It was quiet and she was the only person in the cafe at this time of the morning and that was fine with her.

"What to do, what to do?" She pondered. "One part of me says 'screw it' and another part says 'give them a chance'. Gah, I thought I was over all this."

***************

During the ride, Ranma made another short call to Nariko and got another briefing, but the majority of the time was spent brooding. The redhead did not even really notice that this was the first time she had been in a helicopter since the forest fight. Part of her was relieved that there were just the two pilots in addition to herself in the vehicle. She did not think she was asking too much of a commitment from Kasumi. They were engaged after all. She had not even asked or suggested that Kasumi change. Ranma knew Kasumi's stance on that.

It was disheartening. For both her sisters, Kasumi chose demonhood over death. Ranma could not understand Kasumi's decision to break things off with her, and that made things worse. Almost as bad was when Ranma started crying about how her mate was leaving her.

Kasumi did not react well to that word's use. Ranma was relieved when the helicopter safely landed on a hospital helipad in Hamilton. WIC was making sure to keep the helicopter at a distance from the area where the suspected Silver was. Anything to distract her from the breakup.

"Jarvis?" Ranma asked as she jumped off the helicopter. A Company officer was waiting for her, she looked him over, tall, cold, short blond hair. "Well, it's nice to know you can wear something other than your uniform."

"This practically is a uniform," Jarvis said as he fingered his button-down shirt. Business casual was the standard dress for plainclothes agents. There was something almost... interested in those cold blue eyes of his.

Ranma blinked.

Jarvis continued. "And you're impeccably dressed as always. We're not exactly sure where the Silver is, but the rough bearings we got put her somewhere-"

"Don't tell me," Ranma said as she closed her eyes and expanded her senses. There was a faint trace of... something, but a trace was all she needed. "She's that way," the demon stated pointing to the South-west.

"Want a lift? It is daylight."

"Sure, but only to just a few blocks near her. It'll give you guys a chance to do your thing too."

"Fair enough." Jarvis nodded. The two walked to the waiting van. "How are you holding up, Red?" he asked after the van had pulled away from the hospital and traveled several blocks.

"Wow, news travels fast," Ranma grumbled as she watched buildings pass by. She kept her irritation down, for the dour German's standards this was downright empathic.

"Especially among secret agents."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I guess... I dunno. I thought she was..."

"What? The One? Don't kid me, I saw you two. You were a couple but never an item."

The redhead paused there was again that bit of.. emotion. Jarvis seemed like he cared that she was hurt.

"Let's just do this," Ranma stated flatly. She ordered the van to stop. They were close enough.

"Right," Jarvis relented. He closed the sliding door after she got out and the van drove off.

Ranma shook her head and started walking down the sidewalk. It was a brisk day. She wore a jacket but more to fit in and for style than out of any need. The scent she followed was definitely that of a Pattern Silver, but not any that Ranma knew. It was definitely a new Senshi.

She quickly closed in on the location, and soon enough only a large window separated her from her quarry. Before entering, Ranma called in her status. She knew the agents would want time to set things up.

***************

Scrunching her mouth up in thought, Ranma didn't bother to note the customers as they entered and left the shop, jiggling the bell that hung over the door. Pondering the problem of revisiting her past like she promised or moving on with her life. Ranma sat, pondered, and took an occasional sip of her now much cooled tea. Ranma knew that you could only be angry for so long before letting it go, but six years was a long time... but maybe not long enough.

Ranma was literally in a universe where no one knew her, so she was not expecting anything to intrude into her thoughts or for anyone to bother her. That's why she was surprised when someone addressed her.

***************

Ranma smiled as she entered the coffee and tea shop. At least a bunch of agents dressed like yuppies would not stand out here. They would fit in well with... well... the cafe was currently empty of patrons save one.

She studied the lone woman. She had bright red hair that was long and loose and, although sitting, it was obvious that she was a couple inches taller than Ranma. She looked to be in her early twenties and was dressed in a pale, light pink button-up shirt with a blue thigh-length skirt. It was something that Nariko or Nabiki would wear... or try to get their mom to wear.

Ranma smiled. An outfit like that would look good on her, but it was not her style. She went back to looking over the Senshi. There was an odd sensation from her - Ranma could not shake it. She seemed to be in deep troubled thought.

With a shrug Ranma went for it. This was the Senshi, and she looked preoccupied with something.

"Visiting or lost?" She asked, sliding in front of the woman's view. She was leaning towards lost.

As the Senshi paused and looked at Ranma, the demon made her own observations. Her senses confirmed that this was a Sailor Senshi, but not much on power levels. The Senshi was clearly masking her abilities, and doing it well enough. Ranma was reminded of her grandmother. Though BlackSky could do more than merely mask her power. BlackSky could conceal any indication that she was even masking anything.

***************

"Visiting or lost?"

Shaken from her thoughts, Ranma looked up at a - biker chick? The woman who spoke stood over her wearing leather - nothing but leather. Leather bodice, leather jacket, elbow length leather fingerless gloves, leather thigh-high boots, and a short leather skirt - all of it form-fitting like a second skin. Ranma wondered how many cows had gone into creating the outfit.

Of the woman herself, she had alabaster skin, deep red hair, purple eyes that were penetrating, and for a second what looked like horns or something appeared on her head. When Ranma looked again she saw that it was just a trick of the light on the teased shape of the strange woman's hair. Ranma's eyes widened at the hair. It was a rich and full mass that tumbled down and had a character all it's own.

The strange woman stared down at the still seated Ranma as if trying to bore into her. What made Ranma feel slightly ill-at-ease was that the leather-clad woman seemed vaguely familiar

"Excuse me?" Ranma asked cautiously, masking her surprise at being caught off guard. "I think you have the wrong person."

The standing woman then gracefully slid into the chair off to Ranma's right and looked into Ranma's eyes, almost as if she were trying to find something. She then leaned forward slightly and sniffed the air. She then cocked her head to one side, never breaking eye contact with Ranma, and seemed confused by something.

"No mistake," the leather-dressed woman said in a voice that was slightly musical. "You're not from around here."

Ranma blinked at the strange woman. In the back of her head, alarms were going off. Her ever-present tactical thinking was already devising several defensive measures as well as escape routes, plus she had subconsciously raised the level of her shielding. Something was very wrong with her table companion.

***************

"Excuse me?" The Senshi asked. Her face masked her surprise, but her scent gave it away. "I think you have the wrong person."

Ranma sat down and took a more detailed look. There was something familiar about the Senshi's scent too. Not her power, per say but something more basic. Something fundamental. She was human, or as human as a Pattern Silver could be. Ranma made eye contact and kept it; she wanted to show respect. This Senshi had to have some power, but more importantly she had to have skill. The scale of both quantities was completely unknown.

"No mistake," Ranma lilted. "You're not from around here."

Ranma noted the Senshi's blinking. She was surprised? Did she think she could set off every detector within fifty miles and no one would notice? A new Senshi showing up was pretty obvious. Again Ranma thought of her grandmother. BlackSky teleported from another plane. Maybe this Senshi really was lost.

"I'm just passing through," the Senshi stated, in an almost embarrassed tone. "This is my first time through here."

Ranma leaned back and smiled triumphantly. She was right. Before she could ask her questions her companion spoke.

"You're a demon," the Senshi said in a measured voice.

Ranma blinked. It looked like the Senshi was making observations of her own.

***************

"I'm just passing through," Ranma admitted evenly as information was being fed into her consciousness about the nature of the biker-chick seated next to her. The findings were alarming. "This is my first time through here."

As if picking up on the changing mood of the redhead, the biker-chick leaned away and smiled in a most disarming way - revealing her extra long canines. This action had the effect of making the alarm bells in Ranma's head blare louder as she stared at what she knew was some type of demon. The tactical part of her mind kicked in as she developed several different attack options and raised the level of her shielding even more.

"You're a demon," Ranma stated flatly.

***************

Both women were wrapped in a blanket of silence as each seemed to size up the other.

"Yes," the demon agreed in a tone that was better suited to a comment about the weather.

"That all you can see about me?" she asked, almost disappointed.

The redhead paused and looked over the biker-demon again. It was true that she was not making any threatening moves, but there was something else. Something unsettling.

"I guess we'll start simple," the leather-clad demon began. "Who are you, why are you here, what Senshi are you?"

The redhead's skin turned almost as pale as her demonic companion's at being discovered.

"How did you know?" Behind the eyes of the redhead, senses started to feed additional information that was gleaned from the demon. Patterns within patterns, ones that were very familiar and alien mixed together.

"My god.... you're a Senshi too," the redhead said as she tried to wrap her mind around the idea of a demonic Senshi. The redhead's eyes seemed to burrow into the demon's as if looking for something of their own.

"Isn't being a Senshi supposed to be a good thing?" the demon seemed genuinely confused.

The redhead's skin turned even paler before a mask of fear crossed her features. It was obvious that she recalled something unpleasant - very unpleasant. She suddenly slid back in her chair slightly, the demon also moved back slightly as she sensed the other's power-up; it was shielded but directed at her as a definite warning. It was almost overwhelming. "Stay back!" The redhead said firmly.

The demon sighed. "I told them I wasn't the best choice for this mission. Some random Senshi might not react well to a demon. Especially a pregnant Senshi. A mother's drive to protect is an amazing force." She seemed to speak from experience. She also hoped that her words would at least calm the other woman a bit.

"You know?" The redhead's eyes narrowed as she maintained her guard.

"One mother can spot it easily enough in another," the demon noted absently. She frowned. "I guess you're not going to answer. Least you're being civil." She then ordered some tea of her own.

"So are you, I've never heard of demons being well-mannered," the redhead replied somewhat evenly.

"You've never met my eldest." The demon smiled fondly. "She's such a sweet and gentle girl."

"Sweet and gentle?" The redhead repeated. "In a demon?"

The demon's piercing gaze returned. "Is that a problem?" She asked sharply, hurt in her voice. "I guess you wouldn't think our kind was capable of that."

The redhead wore a look of confusion for a second. She was visibly wrestling with some internal thoughts before her face changed to a neutral expression. "You're insulted?" The redhead commented softly.

"Of course." The demon snorted. "You're a bigot. Maybe to you we're all the same. I'm not even part of the whole 'Satanic rebellion against Heaven' thing I'm Shinto," the demon spat.

A weird sort of stalemate rose and fell just as quickly. The redhead's shoulders sagged a bit as she came out of her defensive stance and relaxed a bit.

"I'm... er, sorry? I've never really met a demon, not a real one," the redhead offered with a slight bow to the demon next to her. "But all the demons that my friends had to face were more interested in stealing heart crystals or people's life energy than being civil. I'm sorry if I assumed wrong."

An uncomfortable quietness fell between the two for a brief moment.

"Our reputation does precede us," the demon admitted and relaxed. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

The human redhead cocked her head slightly and shrugged her shoulders. "My name is Ranma. I'm pleased to meet you."

The demon blinked once. Twice. Three times. "Ranma?"

The redhead who claimed the name Ranma looked back at the demon. "Yes. That's my name. Er, what's yours?"

The demon smirked, then giggled a giggle that was pleasant to the ears. "You're not going to believe me, but my name is Ranma."

***************

After hearing the giggling demon use her own name, Ranma's brain when into overdrive. "That's why she seemed so familiar!" Her mind howled. "She's me! Well, a version of me... that is, this universe's version of me."

It was at that point that the demon named Ranma leaned toward the redheaded Ranma and took a deep sniff. "Why is she sniffing me like that?" Ranma thought self-consciously. "I bathed this morning."

Human-Ranma was slightly taken aback by being sniffed at again and as discreetly as she could smelled herself to see if she was malodorous. Finding nothing, she mused that maybe it was just something demons did. Sensing an awkward silence building, demon-Ranma felt the need to break it before it began.

"Your smell... your underlying smell, is just like mine," The demon-Ranma said. "You weren't kidding when you said you were Ranma."

"She was smelling me out - literally," human-Ranma mentally concluded. She swallowed a bit before nervously asking, "So... what are you a Senshi of?"

"I'm Sailor DarkStar," demon-Ranma quietly replied. "You?"

"Sailor Sun," human-Ranma replied, with a note of pride.

"Oh.... that's ironic," DarkStar laughed.

"What?" Sun asked.

"I go to school under the name Sunshine." DarkStar replied.

"I - see," Sun said with some hesitant sympathy in her voice. "Er, why did you pick that as an alias?"

"Don't ask. It was the Drake's idea, the school principal," DarkStar dismissed.

Sun blinked a few times before speaking. "Okay."

"It's okay. It could be worse, somehow," DarkStar sighed. "So, back to my first question, vacation or lost? Does it have to do with your baby? If you're running from something, we can help."

"Thanks, but I'm okay. I was just visiting." Sun assured. She studied the demon. DarkStar's concern seemed genuine. Sun then remembered something DarkStar had let slip. "You're a mother too?"

DarkStar's face brightened. "Yes, I have five daughters."

Sun looked over her doppelganger's frame. She noticed the curves that were hugged by the tight leather outfit and for some reason wondered how Ryoko would look in it. There seemed to be advantages to having a demonic body. "Five kids?"

DarkStar paused to thank the waitress who served her tea. She nodded affirmatively while taking a sip of her drink. "I have a seventeen year old, three sixteen year olds, and one that's now fourteen."

Sun looked the demon over again and found that it was hard to tell her exact age. That was common enough Sun knew girls in college that could pass for junior high. "Er, how old are you?"

"In this life... sixteen," DarkStar answered while placing her cup on the coaster. "But a couple records have me around thirty." She paused and regarded Sun a moment. "So is this your first child?" DarkStar asked as she smiled warmly and sipped at her tea.

Sun blinked at the eager inquisitiveness and paused at the thought of five teenage daughters before answering. The strangeness in DarkStar's age was noted for later.

"Yes, this is my first," she replied, happy that things were still civil, but things seemed to be getting stranger and stranger. In spite of the more relaxed attitude that fell between the two, Sun still maintained some of her defenses.

Sun wondered if DarkStar was doing something similar. She could sense the demonic energies her double was giving off but had no idea if they were hostile or normal. DarkStar was maintaining an engaged posture, especially with the near constant eye contact.

DarkStar nodded. "You'll love being a mother. It changes everything, but it's worth it." She paused and took another sip of her drink. "So... if you're not lost, why are you here?"

Sun fidgeted uncomfortably. "I wanted some privacy, to think things over."

DarkStar's eyes suddenly narrowed. "It's not about your baby is it? Is something wrong?"

"What?" Sun was again shocked to see the concern and empathy on the demon's face. "No, no... the baby's fine. I'm worried about something else."

"Good. Sorry, I was just worried that you might be thinking of something... drastic." DarkStar bowed her head.

Another bout of silence revisited the pair as each seem to size up their thoughts.

"I was just trying to decide if I did a stupid thing or not," Sun said. "I said that I would... meet some people and I think I've pretty much decided not to. They're not worth it."

DarkStar cocked her head in curiosity. This was not unnoticed by Sun.

"A few days ago I ran into someone from my past that I'd rather not have," Sun clarified. "For some stupid reason I told her to get everyone from... my past together. I'm supposed to meet them in," Sun glanced at her watch, "four and a half hours, but I think I'll just forget it."

"Why is this a problem?"

Ranma looked down on the table top. She fidgeted and swallowed. "These are the people that... basically stabbed me in the back six years ago. The only reason why I even thought of going was because Nabiki said my mother missed me - but now - I don't know now if I should have believed her."

"Your mother?" DarkStar asked, puzzled. "What's she do? Sell you off to Genma?"

"Worse. She gave me up to... Genma," Sun spat the name out like a curse word. "Then I come to find that if I didn't return as a man among men she would kill me."

DarkStar looked at the young woman seated next to her. "Man among men?"

Sun looked up at the demon and shrugged her shoulders.

"You started out as a guy too?" DarkStar asked.

Sun nodded, then stopped and looked at DarkStar. "You too?" DarkStar nodded, taking another sip of her drink. "I guess it just runs in the universes," Sun quipped.

Both Ranmas giggled at the small joke that seemed to break the ice slightly between them. Each settled more comfortably into their chairs.

"So... what's this about your mother?" DarkStar asked curiously.

Sun sighed. "It's like... stupid Genma, he made mom a promise that if I didn't turn out to be a man among men, we would both kill ourselves."

Sun watched the demon closely as she thought over what was said. In spite of the differences there were somethings that were eerily similar to herself. It made her feel creepy in an excited way.

DarkStar gave Sun a gentle look and smiled. "Come on, your mother wouldn't do that, not make you kill yourself."

Sun sighed and nodded. "Yeah, she would... well she can't anymore. I'm not a Saotome - haven't been one for years," Sun explained. "The only time I saw her I was a girl at the time and she didn't know it was me. Anytime anyone even suggested that I was unmanly, she would pull out that damn sword of hers and wave it around."

"She was serious, and a sword?" DarkStar asked with surprise.

Sun nodded as she took a calming sip of her tea. "Yes - she was," she said placing her cup down. "She seemed nice enough, but what kind of mother holds their child - especially a five year old - to something like that?" Sun grabbed at her tea and took another calming drink. "Well, since I'm not a Saotome anymore, she could take that suicide pact and shove it."

DarkStar sat there and quietly pondered the other Ranma's plight. Her own mother had made mistakes like that, and DarkStar had failed Nariko in an even more damaging way...

The pause also gave Sun the opportunity to collect herself a bit - this was obviously an emotionally charged subject.

"Well, you're no longer a Saotome so she can't do anything to you," DarkStar pointed out. "Why let it get to you?"

Sun sat in silence for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders.

DarkStar sighed and took Sun's hands in hers. Sun found the touch surprisingly warm.

"You said something about a Nabiki saying something about your mother missing you?" DarkStar asked.

"Yeah..." Sun said softly. "But knowing the middle Tendo, she'd think of this as a cruel joke to pull or just to make money from. Bitch."

DarkStar looked puzzled, but did not immediately say anything. She gave Sun a gentle squeeze of the hand. "Nabiki Tendo? You have one too? I know she... well I mean, my - Nabiki wouldn't."

Sun sighed again as her shoulders sagged. "I don't know really anymore," she admitted. "If this was six years ago I would say: Yes she would, in a heartbeat. But now? I really don't know." Then she added softly, "She really did seemed changed, though."

"Well, your mother can't touch you, and Nabiki - your Nabiki - can't hurt you," DarkStar said. "So why don't you go? You have nothing to lose and you might gain something."

"That's not the point!" Sun shot out, gripping DarkStar's hands a little firmer, but not painfully, with her own. "A mother is supposed to put the well-being of her child over hers or anyone else's. She failed. I might not have my child in my arms yet, but I already know that I will be dead and cold in the ground before anything gets between me and my child."

DarkStar smiled in approval. "This one will make a good mother." she thought to herself.

"From what I see here, you'll make a wonderful mother, " DarkStar said, echoing her thoughts. "Okay, you're here to work out some personal problems?"

"Yeah, I guess you could put it that way," Sun said softly as she looked out the window.

"Why here? I mean, why bother crossing universes?" DarkStar could accept crossing plans of existence to visit family, but not just to find a quiet place to think.

Sun shrugged her shoulders. "Coming here is just as easy as crossing the street for me. Also it's kind of exciting - I was hoping to take my mind off things for a bit before really thinking about it. Back home all my friends would want to do is talk about the baby and I wouldn't get anywhere with my problem."

DarkStar seemed to weigh that. She hadn't detected anything but honesty, a guarded honesty, but honesty none-the-less. DarkStar nodded. "What do you know about your mother?" She asked, picking up the conversation.

Sun leaned back in her chair and pondered a moment before her face hardened. "My mother is a sword wielding psycho with an unhealthy fixation on manliness." She paused and looked out the window again. "She can go to hell for all I care."

DarkStar studied the human version of herself; in spite of the differences, she picked up on the underlying problem. "You know, I was just as scared about seeing my mother as you are. Especially since she's a demon hunter, but... I'm glad I did."

"I'm not scared," Sun defended herself. "There may be a lot of stuff that scares me and this is not one of them."

DarkStar gave Sun a measured look as she sipped at her drink. "You're lying."

Sun looked at DarkStar with wide eyes before narrowing them. "I am not!" She said defiantly. "Nabiki said that she wanted to see me curse or no, but knowing Nabiki..."

"You're afraid of rejection," DarkStar said pointedly. "It's written all over your face."
Sun looked at the tabletop between them, but remained silent.

"Look," DarkStar said while taking Sun's hands once again into her own, "Rejection - it happens, but if you don't risk anything..."

Sun still examined the tabletop and let the demon massage her hands. After a brief moment, she sighed heavily. Looking up she noticed a pain in DarkStar's eyes that wasn't there before.

"The voice of experience?" She asked, a half-sad tone in her voice.

It was DarkStar's turn to study the table top. "Yeah. Actually it is," she said sadly. "I just... just broke up with my fiancee." Technically, it was Kasumi that did the breaking up.

Sun opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She tried again with success. "I'm so sorry," she said sympathetically. "Here I am telling you my problems and here you are in pain too."

"Thanks," DarkStar said with a sniffle and a brave smile. "I thought that she was the one, you know?... she didn't... she... didn't want to lose her humanity. I didn't even ask her for that, but she got... scared." Tears started to leak from the corners of the brokenhearted demon's eyes.

Sun slid off her chair and squatted next to the still seated demon and embraced her. The demon stiffened in surprise at the physical contact but then went with the hug.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Sun repeated while hugging her with one hand and handing DarkStar paper napkins with the other. DarkStar accepted and began using them.

"I thought she was the one, you know?" DarkStar repeated through bouts of sniffles. "I mean I was good enough to be a mother to her sisters, but... but..." DarkStar fell into another bout of tears, burying her face in a mass of napkins. Sun began rocking the distraught girl gently.

"I guess I was good for a lay... but not for a commitment," the crying demon mewled into Sun's shoulder. Sun drew DarkStar further into the hug and continued to rock her gently and rubbing her back. Being unsure of what to say in this situation, she remained quiet. The two stayed like that for a long moment before DarkStar came back to herself.

"Sorry," she said wiping her eyes with a damp napkin.

"Are you going to be okay?" Sun asked as she gently untangled herself from DarkStar's embrace. It was... odd. One moment this demon seemed to be the jaded voice of experience, and the next she was crying her heart out.

"It's okay," DarkStar said with declining sniffling. She smiled at the other redhead. "Thank you. I needed that. I normally cry on my Mom's shoulder. Actually, that's what I was doing before I came down here. She's helped me though my... changes."

"It's good that she... understands," Sun allowed while a tinge of jealousy and depression formed within her.

"My mom's been great though. She's been such a help. She helped me realize what my responsibilities were." She paused and cocked her head, wearing a crooked smile. "If you want... I could... call my mother. I think she would like to meet you."

"Sure, I'd like to meet your mom," Sun said while handing off more napkins to the emotional demon. "I wish I was sure about mine... Maybe yours could help me with my problem."

DarkStar smiled widely, but thinly. "Just a sec," she said as she reached somewhere, pulled out and flipped open her phone then casually punched a button.

"Hello?"

Pause.

"Everything's fine. No. Yes. I was just talking about Kasumi - say, could you have my mom come over?"

Pause.

"No, but I think she'll want to meet our wayward Senshi."

Pause.

"Right." She then folded her phone and replaced it in a jacket pocket.

"She's coming? But... you just met me." Sun felt honored but apprehensive. A bit of hope bloomed within her. After all, if this Nodoka can accept this Ranma, why not her Nodoka?

"Should I be concerned? You're a Senshi, you're me, and you're a good mother. You won't be the strangest person she's met," DarkStar sipped her tea again. She let her ancient demon queen of a grandmother meet Nodoka, this alternate her would be fine too.

"You said she's a demon hunter? What kind?" Sun then noted that the demon's eye makeup was pristine again.

"She works for Willard International Consulting. They act like a scary secret organization. Sunglasses, black helicopters, all that stuff." DarkStar laughed as she caught the eye of a pair of young professionals at a nearby table.

"But they're really good guys. They fight monsters and such. Dang professional at it too. They... care."

"Do you work for them, too?"

"Yeah, I fight with them, and they've been a big help with my family." DarkStar's smile turned bittersweet. She sighed and looked at the table.

"What does she do?" Sun asked quickly changing the subject.

"She's the head of the Toronto base's Science and Technology section. Mostly she does armor and weapons. Making them lighter, stronger that sort of thing. Lots of composites, stuff I don't understand." DarkStar avoided mentioning any current projects of her mother's.

A surprised smile formed on Sun's face. "She's a research scientist?"

DarkStar paused in recollection. "I guess so. She got her doctorate in materials science before joining WIC."

Sun blinked at the overload of information before renewing her smile. "I just got my degree in chemistry," she said. "I was thinking about going for a doctorate, but," she paused and rubbed her stomach, "life had other plans for me."

"Yeah," DarkStar said absently. "A year ago I never thought I'd be where I am today."

Sun gave a nod. "I hear that - hell, six years ago I'd never imagined I'd be happily married - much less to a guy."

"How did that come about? I mean you starting as a guy and ending up a girl?"

"Difficult," Sun said flatly. "I was cursed...

"Jusenkyo?" DarkStar interjected quizzically.

Sun nodded and continued. "Then I lost a fight and got stuck as a girl and disowned by Genma."

DarkStar blinked at the human version of herself. She could almost see her father doing that. The way he looked at her, when she had first accepted being a mother... "You mean he disowned you because you got stuck?"

Sun shook her head. "Not really," she admitted. "Because I wouldn't marry Soun to 'join the schools'."

DarkStar frowned. The more she heard about Sun's Genma the less she liked. "Marry Soun?" She repeated with a shake of her head. She would rather marry the Drake. He was a much better parent. "Okay, but how does that explain how you ended up like you are?"

Sun looked at the tabletop for an extended moment, lost in thought. "I - I have no idea how long, but I was living on the streets for a very long time... a lot of things can change when you're hungry all the time and digging through dumpsters for something to eat."

DarkStar easily read from Sun's face that there was still more to this story.

"A lot of things change... things that you take for granted. Hell," Sun continued while looking up with a dismissive a wave of her hand, "I was so desperate at one point I seriously thought about..." her voice faded into nothing.

She remained quiet for a few heartbeats, her gaze returning to the tabletop. "I even thought of selling myself," she said barely above a whisper. "All so I could just have something decent to eat. That's how far I sank."

"But you didn't?" It was shameful, but DarkStar knew exactly what she would have done in that situation, and was pleased that her alternate was capable of a... nobler path.

Sun shook her head. "No. If it wasn't for Granny finding me when she did, I just might have," she explained. "Hell, if it wasn't for her I'd probably be dead."

"Granny?" DarkStar questioned, thinking about BlackSky.

"Yeah," Sun smiled. "She wasn't my real Granny, but she was more family to me than my own family had ever been. She took me in, cleaned me up, gave me a job, and finally saw me adopted me into her clan."

"She sounds like a wonderful person," DarkStar commented as she took another sip of her drink, emptying it this time.

"She was," Sun agreed, the meaning of her words clear. "In fact," she patted her lower abdomen, " if this is a girl, I already have a name picked out for her."

"Keeping the sex a secret?" DarkStar asked with a smile.

Sun nodded with a smile of her own. "Yup, I want to be surprised."

"I know I love my children," DarkStar said. "Everything else seems so unimportant compared to them."

Sun leaned forward. "You wouldn't happen to have any pictures, would you?"

DarkStar smiled and reached somewhere in her incredibly tight outfit and pulled out a hefty photo wallet.

***************

Across the room, sipping a coffee and pretending to read a newspaper, agent Morrison watched over the two women. "What are those two doing now?" he asked his partner, a young women seated beside him.

Agent Andrea Lytle glanced over her laptop's screen. "It looks like Red is showing pictures of her kids again," she commented quietly.

"I wondered if she is going to show the one with Nariko and Akane with the whip cream and-" he was interrupted by a loud burst of giggles from the two Ranma's.

"I would take that as a yes," his table-mate deadpanned, while pretending to work a spreadsheet.

***************

"Oh my god, they're adorable," Sun exclaimed gleefully. "You must have your hands full at times."

DarkStar beamed at the compliment. "Yes, they're still very young," she said as she looked at the picture of her family.

Sun studied the photograph. One face in particular stood out, a familiar one among others that were slightly less familiar. "Is that... your mom?" she asked pointing to a lab coat-wearing older woman who stood behind her daughter with a smile.

"Yes, that's my mom. She wanted a family picture for the longest time," DarkStar said as she pulled out a couple more pictures.

Sun's attention went from Nodoka to the others in the photo. Some of them looked familiar, but it had to be a coincidence. "Umm... what are your kids names?" she delicately asked.

"Akane, Nariko, Ukyou, Misako, and Nabiki," DarkStar explained pointing to each of the girls.

That creepy disconnect feeling returned to Sun. She now knew who her counterpart had just broken up with, though that meant that.... Her eyes went back to the two demons who were once her fiancee's. "Were... were they always demons?" Sun asked, knowing the answer.

DarkStar looked at the still image of her daughters. "No. They were human, but they got turned." The demon's shoulders sagged. "It started with saving one person's life... and then it snowballed."

"Turning saved their lives?" Sun asked. That fit with the demon's earlier comments.

"When I turn someone, their body is remade. Side effect is that it heals mortal wounds," DarkStar said before ordering another cup of tea.

"And since you turned them, you became their mother? That makes sense. I guess." Sun's eyes returned to the photo, changing like that... at death's door had to be traumatic, but they looked happy.

DarkStar's frowned and looked at her photos. One was a picture of Nariko happily holding a test in one hand and an arm around her mother with the other.

"I wish I had been able to see it that quickly. I... I didn't know what I was, what my daughter was...." DarkStar's eyes started to tear. "And it hurt her."

Sun didn't know exactly what was happened to DarkStar's daughter, but she did understand that whatever it was, was not good. Sun found herself hugging and comforting a sniffling, emotionally-charged demon again. The napkin dispenser got another workout.

***************

"They're hugging again," Morrison commented as he turned the page of his newspaper. He reminded himself to find something to give Red, It was the least he could do: he owed her. "I guess they're getting along. What do you think they're talking about?"

Andrea lifted a cup of hot, black coffee to her lips and paused as she typed a few words into her laptop and looked at the responding feed. "Looks like plain old girl talk to me."
Morrison cocked his head toward his partner while keeping the two Senshi within his peripheral vision. "Girl talk? Are you sure?"

Andrea looked at her partner through half-lidded eyes. "Men," she snorted before returning to her laptop.

***************

"If I only knew then what I know now," DarkStar sobbed a bit as Sun continued to hold her. "Nariko is special... because of... my cocky mistake."

Sun nodded absently as she held and stroked the demon's back. She understood the price of being cocky. "It couldn't have been that bad," she said as she held DarkStar. "If your Genma is anything like mine-"

"You don't understand," DarkStar interrupted, wailing into Sun's shoulder. "What I did was worse than anything Pops ever did to me."

"You seem like a good person, I don't think-"

"I pushed her away," DarkStar said into Sun's shoulder. "I didn't know and I didn't understand and I didn't want her, so I pushed my child away onto her father... and it hurt her."

"But if you didn't know and really understand what was going on," Sun said, trying to comfort the distraught demon. "It seems to me you're doing the best you can to make right your mistake, so don't beat yourself up for it."

"But... but," DarkStar started, before relaxing more into Sun's embrace. Calming herself somewhat, she began again.

"Before Nariko.... I... was in denial. I kept pretending I was still human, still male. That wouldn't last. I see humans and I know what I can do to them. It's so easy. They're so fragile... and I know how good it feels." Her mind flashed to the fight against the Assembly.

DarkStar looked Sun in the eyes. She was not ready to tell Sun that experience had proved much of this. That she had happily torn into humans and feasted on them as they screamed. They were evil, and monsters in their own right, but... she had still fed and would continue to feed.

"There was once a time that I wondered if I was human," Sun whispered gently into DarkStar's ear. "Knowing that you were created in a lab - turned into a weapon."

The two broke apart with their arms still around one another. Both gazed into each others eyes and found as they found an understanding. "There's nothing like being turned into a weapon of mass destruction - being a weapon of mass destruction - that makes you question your humanity."

"At least it's still just a question for you. I know the answer." DarkStar sighed, as she looked at her companion. "You were created?" DarkStar asked in a voice filled with curiosity.

"I was -," Sun paused in thought for the right word, "- turned into a weapon. I was a human before the Techno-mages got a hold of me. Afterward, it was training, honing my powers for the time that I might be called upon."

DarkStar continued to look into Sun's eyes. "Wow, it's almost like you are - were more inhuman than me," DarkStar said while wiping stray tears from her eyes. "Sure I'm a demon, but you... you were made to be a thing. Man that sucks."

The two shared a quiet moment as their emotions ran down. Re-seating herself back into her chair, Sun studied her demonic twin. "I got over that. My husband helps." A smile crept across her face. "When I'm with Tenchi, I know I'm human. No doubts."

"You're lucky," DarkStar said sadly. "I thought I found a mate, but..." she ended with a even sadder sigh.

Sun took up DarkStar's hands into hers. "You'll find someone!" she said in a positive tone. "I'm sure of it. It always happens when you least expect it and you have so much to offer."

DarkStar gave a weak smile. She was a single mother demon still in high school with five children. "Thanks. I... I thought Kasumi was the one. But she... well I can't blame her. She's the last human among the Tendo sisters."

Gently squeezing DarkStar's hands, Sun smiled re-assuredly. "Don't worry, you'll find someone. Trust me."

DarkStar tilted her head so that she was looking at their joined hands. "Yeah. If things get too bad, I can just ask - well -Jarvis or some other agent." She sighed depressively. "One of them would be willing to take one for the Company."

Sun opened her mouth in shock at the casualness with which DarkStar seem to take her love life. She swallowed hard before speaking. "What about love?"

DarkStar sighed heavily. "Love is easy for my kind... and it would keep me sane. I hope it doesn't come to that, but... sometimes life forces things on you."

"I know what you mean about life," Sun replied while nodding. "I know I never asked for any of this, but still... shouldn't love count for something?"

"Yes," DarkStar admitted. "But... I-I've had hopes," she added sadly. In many ways a mating of convenience would be easier. Biology would take care of the details.

Sun squeezed DarkStar's hands. "Don't give up then," Sun implored. "So what, if it didn't work out between you and Kasumi? Is there anyone else that you are interested in? I'm sure there has to be someone that's caught your eye."

DarkStar looked uncomfortable. "Yeah. But it's even a longer shot than-"
"There you are," a voice called out. "How is everything?"

Both Ranmas looked up at the newcomer. She was very familiar to both of them.

"Hi Mom," DarkStar said with a smile. "Everything's fine. We were talking about - stuff."

"I see," the older redhead said with a warm smile while eyeing the human-Ranma. "And who do we have here? Our wayward Senshi?"

"Um, Mom, I'd like to introduce you to... Ranma," DarkStar said a little nervously. "Er, Ranma this is my mom. Um, Mom, Ranma's from somewhere else."

"I gathered," Nodoka said dryly still maintaining her warm smile as she slid into the seat between the redheads and addressed Sun. "I heard, you're just visiting?" she asked with the intention of quickly breaking the ice.

DarkStar and Sun looked and each other, then back at the older woman before bursting into a fit of giggles.

***************

Morrison cleared his throat slowly. "Look alive, Andrea," he said out of the corner of his mouth. "It must be more serious than we thought, look who just showed up."

Andrea paused in her typing and stretched, using it as cover to scan the room.

"Major Saotome brought some reinforcements," Andrea said as she made like she was looking over some papers by her laptop. "It may be nothing... I mean the Major's S&T not Operations. They're getting together like old friends. Stay alert, though - it may be nothing, but we can't afford to get too comfortable now."

Morrison grunted a positive response while pretending to work the crossword. Their job was just to watch and provide support if things went bad.

***************

Major Saotome raised an eyebrow as she sat down. "You seem in better spirits dear," she said, putting her hand on her daughters.

"I've been getting some... perspective." DarkStar allowed. "This is a me that's from another universe or something."

"That could explain the variance in the inter-dim signal we detected," Nodoka mused as she appraised the other Senshi. The scans that WIC had taken and were still taking confirmed her Pattern. She was clearly masking her full power and doing it quite well.

"That's how you found me," Sun thought aloud. "You picked up my space fold... Hmmm... Washu did say that I could be tracked through primitive technology. I guess yours was primitive enough, er - no offense."

"None taken," Nodoka said, brightly. To her being able to be seen by "primitive" technology was a major oversight. It was like making a plane invisible to radar and then not bothering masking its thermal output or giving it a concealing paint job. "I take it you were surprised?"

Sun nodded. "Yes. It's not that often that anyone can find me."

"Really?" a much interested Nodoka asked. She was interested in gathering any information on this new Senshi.

"Er, when they made me, I was designed to be invisible to every form of detection," Sun explained, "But what they didn't do was to bother to test that against, er - 'cruder instruments of detection'. So... while I'm invisible to 'more modern' scanners, more primitive ones can pick me up on a wide-scale."

Nodoka nodded in understanding. "It's usually the things that are considered unimportant that cause trouble later on."

"It's also arrogant." DarkStar sourly noted. "Though, those mages or whatever were playing god."

"In combat, teleportation is a frightening ability," Nodoka noted. Which was why it was an ability she hoped her daughter and granddaughters would figure out.

"It's not really teleportation," Sun clarified. "I don't like doing that - it makes me a little dizzy."

Nodoka cocked her head. "Then what would you call it?"

"Folding space," Sun answered plainly. "I create a slit in space/time, find a another point in space where I want to go to, fold the ends together, and then pass through."

DarkStar thought on Sun's words with a frown on her face. After a brief moment she asked, "Isn't that the same as teleportation?"

Sun looked at her other self and cocked her head and reconsidered. "Well, I guess it could be," she admitted before shrugging her shoulders and addressing Nodoka. "You're Ranma's mom? I'm Ranma Masaki, I'm pleased to met you."

"I'm Dr. Nodoka Saotome, and I'm also pleased you met you as well," Nodoka answered. She declined to give her military title. That might spook the girl. "I understand that you are having family problems?"

Sun blinked at the older woman. "Er, how do you know about that?"

DarkStar looked puzzled at Sun for a moment, before her eyes widened. "Oh yeah, we're being monitored. You understand, we didn't know if you were a friendly or not."

Sun nodded. "I... see. I guess that's understandable, er - I guess. After all, you know nothing about me."

The conversation lulled as a waitress came up to the table. Ranma took the time to study DarkStar's mother. She was dressed in a nice pair of khakis, blouse, and light jacket and was not carrying the family honor blade with her. Though it was hidden by the jacket, Sun detected the handgun that Nodoka was carrying.

Nodoka absently nodded to Sun's statement as she placed her order with the waitress. "You two want anything to eat? I hadn't really eaten much for breakfast."

"I'll take a slice of pie," DarkStar said. "I didn't eat much this morning and I'm starting to feel it."

The waitress wrote the order down and looked expectedly at Sun. "I'm fine," she said. "I ate."

The waitress departed with a nod and Nodoka continued where they left off. "Masaki? Your husband's name?"

Sun nodded with enthusiasm.

"How nice. My daughter wants a mate," Nodoka said while eyeing DarkStar. "You have any pictures?"

DarkStar's eyes widened in irritation. Her mother could still sometimes find ways to embarrass her.

Sun blinked at the question. Not seeing anything wrong with the request and since DarkStar shared hers, she fished around in her subspace pocket for a small photo wallet. To the others at the table, it was as if Sun reached into thin air and extracted the light blue photo album.

Sun looked at it and frowned for a brief second, before shrugging her shoulders. She flipped to the first page. "This was our wedding," she said as she handed the small book to DarkStar.

"Wow," DarkStar commented as she leaned toward Nodoka so she could see as well. "A western ceremony. You made a beautiful bride." Both DarkStar and her mother looked at the group picture and noted the familiar faces of the Senshi.

"Thank you," Sun said with a slight blush. "That's my husband, Tenchi, the girl next to me is my sister, the one next to her is Ryoko," Sun's tone changed with the mention of the name, adding an affection to it, "then there's Usagi, Ami,... you probably recognize the rest."

The two Saotome women nodded as they began flipping through the book. "Tenchi is a handsome young man," Nodoka commented as they continued to flip through the book. Though a professional, she found it fascinating to be seeing so many faces that she knew at a event that happened universes away.

DarkStar stopped flipping and lingered over a photo. Nodoka raised an eyebrow, looked at Sun, then back at the picture. DarkStar then rotated the book and mimicked the elder Saotome's motions, looking between Sun and the picture that they were looking at.

This did not go unnoticed by Sun. "What?" she asked.

DarkStar smiled as Nodoka addressed the redhead. "You are very flexible," she said in a approving manner, "and you seem to enjoy Shibari very much."

Sun looked confused for a moment, then her eyes widened. The blue album! With the wedding and honeymoon pictures! "Eeep!" she embarrassingly exclaimed as she made a grab for the book in DarkStar's hands. DarkStar clutched the small book protectively to her chest.

"Hey! I'm getting ideas here," DarkStar said somewhat defensively. She then looked down for a quick peek and whispered, "Very interesting ideas."

Sun's face turned as red as her hair. "Hee, hee, hee," she giggled uncomfortably. "I grabbed the wrong one," she explained. "I meant to show you the red one. Hee, hee, hee.... Can I have those back, er - please?"

Sun should have known better than to carry that around... but it was exciting, fun and kinky at the same the time.

"Don't worry about it," Nodoka reassured. "Ranma, my daughter that is, is a succubus. There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"A succ-?" Sun began. Part of her thought that might be what DarkStar was, but still... "Err.. Um, I'm not quite sure what that means." Sun did not want to make another faux pause.

"That means she's a sex demon," Nodoka explained while DarkStar carefully examined Sun's honeymoon pictures. "She literally thrives on this, so there is not much that can surprise her." Reading BlackSky's books to the brood had been quite informative on the nature of that species.

"How'd you get your ankles that far back...," DarkStar muttered absently as she paid special attention to one photo. "... and tied that way too..."

Sun's face flushed.

"What about your mother?" Nodoka asked, distracting Sun from her current predicament. "You really should see her."

"I know," Sun lamented. "But what if Nabiki lied to me? What if she... hates me."

"You're her child, why should she hate you?" Nodoka asked as DarkStar shifted in her chair, ignoring the two other women.

"Because I'm a girl and pregnant," Sun explained. "That's about as unmanly as you can get."

"Unmanly?" Nodoka questioned. She paused to thank the waitress who placed a slice of pie in front of her and her daughter, who was now jotting some notes down on a napkin.

Sun notice this and sweatdropped. "This-" Nodoka continued while motioning to DarkStar, "-isn't very manly."

"Hey!" DarkStar said indignantly. She gave a pretty little pout directed at her mother as she handed the embarrassing photographs back to Sun while pocketing her own notes.

"Well, I'd like to think that she has changed," Sun said as she quickly stuffed the photo album back into her subspace pocket. "I guess I'm just getting cold feet."

"Understandable," Nodoka said after she swallowed a bite of food. "When was the last time you saw her?"

Sun thought a moment. "I haven't seen her in about six years, but she didn't know it was me... so its been... sixteen - seventeen years for her."

"So, you really have no idea how she is today?" Nodoka asked pointedly.

Sun shook her head in admittance. "Only what Nabiki has told me."

"Spy on her," Nodoka suggested as she dug into her pie. "Figure out what she does, how she treats other people. That way you're not going in blind."

"Umm... Mom," DarkStar stressed.

"I can't do that! She's my mom!" Sun objected to Nodoka's idea.

"Why not?" Nodoka countered with a wave of her fork. "You're her daughter."

Sun opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She then sighed heavily.

"It doesn't matter," she said. "I've only got," she glanced at her watch, "three hours. I wouldn't have any time to spy on her even if I wanted to."

"Just give her the benefit of the doubt then," DarkStar suggested.

"It's just that- what kind of mother abandons her child?" Sun asked. She was dismayed and embarrassed to find both Nodoka and DarkStar sadly raise their hands.

"Oh yeah....." Sun sighed. "Sorry... about... that..."

"And it's not like your mom locked and disowned you. How could she if she never knew who you were?" DarkStar suggested.

"Yeah, you're right. Setsuna was the one who arranged for me to get locked," Sun admitted, "and a lot of other... stuff too..."

"What?" DarkStar's brow furrowed. "She's not that evil. Sure, she made me a demon, but that was because of her incompetence. She wanted me human."

"Well, it was because I had to be totally female and accept who I really was, otherwise I couldn't access my Senshi powers. It was also an emergency at the time," Sun explained.

"Setsuna had to break me from my current life to re-awaken me. It pretty much killed who I was, but brought back who I am. She did what she felt was necessary."

Sun notice that her table mates were very quiet, with a glance she was looking upon their horrified faces. "What?"

"She just thought the ends would justify the means? How... monstrous." Nodoka shook her head.

"It wasn't that- okay, it was that bad at first, but I'm now who I was meant to be, what I should have been in the first place," Sun said. "Besides, I forgave her."

"You forgave someone that destroyed your life to turn you into a weapon?" Nodoka was aghast.

"It's okay, Mom," DarkStar said with a bit of sarcasm. "Ranma spent a long time living on the streets but eventually she made her own life, so it worked out in the end. So who cares about the means?" she added her voice now dripping with sarcasm

"That's a simplification." Sun glared.

"I see... let me see if I understand all of this correctly," Nodoka said while setting her empty plate aside and looking at Sun with firm eyes. "Setsuna arranged to lock you as a girl and thereby leading to you being disowned by your father."

Sun looked at the older woman briefly before nodding.

"Then you spent lord-knows-how-long living on the streets, barely living just above the level of an animal," Nodoka continued, unrelentedly. "Destroyed the life you had, just so she could have you back - as a weapon..."

Sun looked uncomfortable and showed it by shifting around in her seat.

"... and after basically making your life hell, breaking you and remaking you into what she needed - you forgave her?"

Sun sat, biting her lip and looking like she rather be anywhere but there. "Well... yeah... basically... kinda...," she finally said. "But... umm... it's... more complicated.... it's... umm..."

"You forgave Setsuna for her transgressions, yet you can't forgive your own mother." Nodoka interrupted Sun's stammering while taking a sip of her coffee.

Sun's mouth dropped open as she was rendered speechless by the stinging words of the older Saotome woman. As she mentally grappled, trying to find a way out of the corner she found herself in, DarkStar reached over with a dainty hand and casually closed Sun's mouth with a gentle snap.

"Your capacity for forgiveness is.... odd," Nodoka finished with more than a hint of disapproval.

"That's different," Sun finally said in a weakly defensive tone. "It's not that simple! My mother abandoned me! Sure Setsuna ruined the life I had, but I can't hate her... if... I did... if I did..."

"You would have to kill her?" Nodoka asked over the rim of her raised cup.

Sun was quiet for what seemed like a long moment before nodding weakly. She had seen first-hand what hate, especially self righteous hate, could do and how dangerous it was. Hate was not an emotion to be taken lightly.

"I don't want to hate." She said as the top of the table seemed very interesting at the moment. "I saw... I've seen what hate can do... to someone like me."

The succubus nervously ran her tongue over her teeth. Among other things, Alexia had given DarkStar her fill of hate, both Alexia's and her own.

The two Saotome women's curiosity was aroused, but they both to set it aside to concentrate on the matter at hand. "Are you going to give your mother at least the chance for forgiveness?" Nodoka asked.

Sun sighed and her shoulders sagged slightly. "Yes. Yes, I will," she said lowly. "You're right," she sighed out in defeat. "If I can forgive Setsuna for what she did to me, I should at least give my mom the chance."

Nodoka smiled warmly at the younger woman.

"And remember, " DarkStar added. "Even if it doesn't work out, you have friends and family of your own to fall back on. You're not alone."

Sun looked across the table at her new... friends? She smiled in amusement at the thought and nodded. "You're right," she agreed. "I'm just being a coward about it. I'll go and see her."

"Good for you," Nodoka chimed as DarkStar smiled broadly.

The three women sat in companionable silence for a minute, gazing outside and watching the world go by. The sun was higher in the sky and was now streaming in through a skylight as well as the windows brightening the interior of the cafe. Each woman was lost in her own thoughts.

"So, Ranma tells me you're a scientist," Sun said breaking the silence before it became awkward. "What do you do?"

If Nodoka was alarmed or suspicious of the question, she did not show it. Instead, she was prepared to answer such things in broad terms. "When Genma disappeared with Ranma, I joined WIC. This was all after I got my Doctorate in Materials Science," she said in a conversational tone. "I do research into developing armor and weapons."

"What school did you go to?" Sun asked, propping her head up with her arm braced against the table. She was fascinated with this version of her mother.

The officer was clearly intelligent, articulate, and very accepting of her demonic daughter. There was also a grim and pragmatic aspect to her. Sun was reminded of a play she read in college. Not only was Nodoka aware of the Sword of Damocles, but she seemed to know exactly how thin the thread holding it up was.

"Tokyo University," Nodoka answered.

Sun smiled broadened. "Tokyo U?" she said merrily. "I just graduated from there not long ago. I got my degree with a major in chemistry."

"Really now?" Nodoka said in a somewhat delightful tone. "How marvelous, how did you do?"

"Well, I like to say I was the top of my class, but I made a few mistakes here and there and ended up fifth in my class in my major," Sun replied. "You know what was really cool? I was - well with my powers, I was able to see the chemical interactions on a molecular level. It was so cool!"

Nodoka smiled as she finished taking a sip of coffee. "One of the things I'm finding pleasure in is the challenge of making materials that resist energy claws." She was also designing demon-specific weapons both bladed and ranged, but her guest need not know that.

DarkStar's eyes started to glaze over as boredom started to set in. She would be more interested if her mother was talking about weapons for her daughters, that was always interesting . The brood mother idly wondered if she could get that photo album back from Sun.

"Energy claws?" Sun mused aloud. "Unfortunately, the only way to have matter that's resistant to energy is to either have it dense enough," Sun paused as she thought over the problem more, "or if the atomic binding between the molecules is being reinforced by another energy field."

"Look at it from a logistics standpoint," Nodoka said thoughtfully. "Armor that is dense enough to resist energy claws would be too heavy to carry. You could rely on an energy field to make lighter armor as strong as heavier ones, but - well... batteries are finite and it wouldn't do to have dead batteries in a combat situation." And WIC troopers carried enough electronic equipment already.

DarkStar's boredom was complete as she stared off into space, looking out into the street through the window, but not really seeing anything. The two older women continued to "talk shop".

"If the armor has to resist the energy blades and has to be light enough to be carried, then you have to go with some type of reinforcing field," Sun countered. "True, there is the power supply situation, but-"

"That's for total resistance," Nodoka interrupted; she was clearly enjoying the conversation. "You are overlooking dissipation. You can have the right refraction and have it weaken the field. The trick isn't to block the energy, but to make it lose coherence."

"Like how a bullet-proof vest dissipates the energy of a bullet," Sun said, grasping at what Nodoka was getting at. She blinked and looked at Nodoka. "Wow. Against an energy weapon? I mean - wow, that is a challenge." Sun then turned to the spaced out DarkStar. "What do you think?"

DarkStar blinked a few times before coming back to the here and now. "Um... I'm just a line grunt?" She blinked a few more times. "Mom's stuff is great though. Saves a lot of agent's lives."

Sun blinked at DarkStar. "I take you're not majoring in chemistry."

DarkStar shook her head. "I have to get out of high school first."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Sun said. "This is six years in the past - that is your universe is six years behind mine."

DarkStar shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really understand the science behind it, but Ucchan does like those guns you made for her, and Misa practically sleeps with hers." Which was a bit of a problem given that the IGMG weighed about a hundred pounds in total, and that the brood slept as one group.

Sun looked between DarkStar and Nodoka. "You can magically enhance your guns?"

"Just the ammunition," Nodoka said while motioning to the waitress for more coffee. She was a bit disappointed that this girl immediately thought to magic for enhancement. There were other ways, did not their talk about armor just show that?

"When I was first awakened, the Senshi infused some of their power into ordinary guns," Sun mentioned casually. "It turned them into real demon stoppers."

"Yeah," DarkStar agreed while rubbing her chest and side. "Anti-demon weapons are... effective."

Sun noted this and decided to change the subject slightly. "Are you going to go to university and follow in your mother's footsteps?"

DarkStar looked into her older near-twin's eyes. "No... I'd rather... find someone and settle down and concentrate on teaching."

Sun cocked her head, not quite understanding.

"It's okay," Nodoka said while patting her daughter's hand. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a... homemaker."

Sun realized what was meant and smiled. "You know, I never thought about it, but I'm heading that way myself. Not that I'm complaining."

"My kids are everything to me," DarkStar said with conviction. "I still do my freelance work. Hmmm... I could train agents more regularly."

"Don't forget your singing," Nodoka reminded.

"Mom... that's just a hobby," DarkStar countered. "It's not serious."

"Singing? Oooo... I love to sing," Sun added happily. "Every weekend my husband and I still hit the karoke bar. You?"

"Uh... I usually do a couple sets, a night or two a week at the 'Red Turtle', " DarkStar answered. "Um, that's an agent and succubus bar."

"That's cool," Sun said. "I don't go out as much as I used to. Since I got married I've, er, that is, I've been doing other things," she finished with a slight blush.

"Yes... I'm now single. Unfortunately," DarkStar sadly said.

Sun looked at Nodoka and back at DarkStar, who was starting to fall into a funk. Looking back at Nodoka, it was as if an unplanned plot was being hatched between the two.

"Maybe there is something we can do," Sun ventured. "I mean, surely you have someone in mind. There was that long shot you mentioned."

"If not," Nodoka interjected, "I could compile a list of candidates."

"Oooo... who? Who?" Sun asked eagerly.

"Just no Jarvis, Mom," DarkStar said with a cringe. "He's a good guy, a great friend, but... I mean he... I think he wants to be a succubus... and not as a mate."

"But don't you want someone who will accept you for who you are?" Sun asked.

"Well, yeah," DarkStar uncomfortably said. "That's a big part of it. But he's kinda... kinda of that ilk - I mean given his job."

"His job?" Sun queried.

"His job is information extraction and command," DarkStar answered with a chill in her voice. "I can respect his reasons for wanting to get rid of his humanity though..."

"Er, I don't think I quite understand, but if you're not comfortable with him, then he's a no-go," Sun said agreeably. "But you were saying something before your mom showed up."

DarkStar shifted under the gaze of her table mates. She sighed. "Umm... Usagi... but that's too much of a long shot. I need someone who can accept me and... eventually... is willing to give up their humanity."

"Usagi?" Sun said with surprise. "Ol' meatball-head?" she added with an affectionate smile. "But what about Mamoru?"

"He died," DarkStar shrugged. "His death was what awakened me in the first place. It was the start of all this mess. I was the backup."

"Oh," Sun blinked. That changed things. "Well, she's a good person in my world. Strong-willed, too."

DarkStar was clearly distracted and softly thinking aloud. "The way she handled those cultists... ," she whispered. "She was covered in blood and her eyes... in that moment I saw..." her voice trailed off as she looked at the table top.

Nodoka leaned toward her daughter. "Have you talked to her?"

Blinking as her mother's question registered, she cleared her throat. "Um, not since the mall."

The two women studied the demon as she appeared lost in thought again. The talk of being covered in blood was a bit disturbing, but the emotions that were betrayed in the demon's behavior were unmistakable.

"Man, you have it bad," Sun said. "Have you at least asked her for a date?"

"No... no not yet. I was... Kasumi," DarkStar sadly said. "And she's dealing with Ami right now." She let a bitter chuckle escape. "Who would have thought Janet, well.. Naru, and Ami would turn evil, be turned evil?"

"Ami? Evil?" Sun said, surprise clearly in her voice.

DarkStar chuckled again with very little humor in it. "Putting on a black corset and beating up the Senshi – well that ain't much when there's a squad of demonic Senshi."

She raised her eyes to meet Sun's. "Usagi wants me to hold back - she doesn't want Ami to be turned by me... or killed... nor Naru neither. She wants to save them herself."

Sun took DarkStar's hands into her own and gave then a sympathetic squeeze. "I won't pretend to understand what's going on, but if you care about Usagi, you should be there for her. You seem to have someone in your corner," the last said while sharing a look at Nodoka. "You can be there for Usagi like that."

"I'm trying to help her, I've dealt with stuff like this before," DarkStar sighed out. "But she's... You know who Naru was... is? It turns out that Usagi's best friend from before... well she was taken and changed. Changed into a girl that fell in love with Ami."

"Oh my!" Sun exclaimed. "Ami must feel terrible."

Nodoka was well versed in the situation between Ami and the other scouts, so remained silent. She instead used the time to study the interaction between the two Ranmas. They were oddly complementary.

"She would if she wasn't so enamored with being a Dark Mercury," DarkStar continued with another dark chuckle. "Of course... Sailor Dark Mercury is nothing compared to Sailor DarkStar."

"Power is seductive," Sun said in a lost voice. "That's something I can tell you for certain." The tone in Sun's voice called to DarkStar and Nodoka.

"It's almost like a living thing that worms into heart and soul." Sun paused a moment. "I know about power. I hope Ami walks away from it... she won't regret it."

"Yeah... you see.... Ami was brainwashed," DarkStar corrected. "She wasn't seduced by power. She was seduced by something more... well... powerful, love."

The two women sat, hands still joined, pondering the problems that faced them. Nodoka sat and marveled on how different and how much alike the two were.

"So...," Sun said breaking the silence, "back on the subject. When are you going to make a move on Usagi?"

"I can't go too fast," DarkStar said. "I don't want her to think it's my powers seducing her. It has to be real."

"But you haven't told her how you feel?" Nodoka asked, rejoining the conversation.

"No," DarkStar answered. "Of course not. I had... I thought I had Kasumi... and, that is, I'm a demon and she's... she's..."

"You need to tell her," Sun said. All this talking had finally taken its toll and she motioned toward the waitress. "You at least owe her that much."

"I can't tell her," DarkStar complained, "I'm just getting over Kasumi, Usagi has her hands full with Ami and Naru, and-"

"You're scared," Sun interrupted.

"I'm not scared," DarkStar defensively said.

Sun gave DarkStar a smirk as she sipped her just served tea. "You're lying."

DarkStar looked at Sun with slight surprise before giving her a pretty pout. Nodoka laughed and clapped her hands with glee as her daughter started to blush at the unwelcome attention.

Sun giggled lightly and looked at Nodoka with mischief in her eyes. "You know maybe we should take matters into our own hands."

"Yes," Nodoka mirthfully said. "It would probably be very beneficial for my daughter to move on with her life."

DarkStar was dismayed at what was unfolding before her. It was like watching a horrible accident in slow motion - one that you were powerless to prevent. It had to be a bad dream.

Sun stood up, nearly spilling some of her tea as she did. DarkStar was surprised and further dismayed as her mother mimicked Sun's actions.

"It's Ranma's -"


" - and Nodoka's: -"

" - Operation: Get DarkStar a date!"

The two standing women howled in laughter, drawing curious looks from everyone in the cafe, civilians and agents alike. As the laughter died down the two women were facing an empty chair that once housed DarkStar. Blinking, they looked at one another and then back at the vacant chair just in time to see DarkStar's head poke up from under the tabletop.

"Scary..." she whimpered, her eyes shifting between her mother and the other redhead.

***************

"I wonder what that was all about," commented Morrison as he looked at the trio of women cackling in laughter.

Andrea smiled. "I think they're working on Red's love life."

Morrison shook his head. He'd never understand women. Through his shirt, He idly fingered the "D" stamped into his dog tags, knowing his luck he might get a chance to understand....

***************

"Sit back down, Honey," Nodoka said with laughter still in her voice. "We were just having fun."

"It's too far fetched," DarkStar sighed as she reclaimed her seat. "I mean... she's the Moon Princess. Line of Serenity, and I'm a demon." She dropped and looked at the table.

"If you have feelings for her.... it doesn't matter," Sun reassured.

DarkStar looked her in the eye. "You're a Sailor Senshi. What would you do if a demon came sniffing around the princess and wanted her?"

Sun bit her lower lip as she thought a moment. It probably was not what DarkStar wanted to hear, but she had to be honest. "I - or the other Senshi in MY universe would do everything to prevent that - unless Usagi said otherwise," she answered as carefully as possible.

"Gee, thanks. So for your Usagi it's no, but mine's fine?"

"Hey, I said if Usagi said it was all right. Besides, mine's married. Yours is a widow," Sun reminded. "Things are different here, so that doesn't count."

"How do you know that?" DarkStar asked in a pressing way. "How do you know what the Senshi are like here?"

"Because you haven't mentioned having to kill any of them yet," Sun shot back.

"I owe Setsuna for that one." DarkStar stated flatly. "She actually explained to them what I was, and I guess it helped. But you're forgetting something. I haven't shown too much of an interest in her. What if when I try to make my move Rei or someone blasts me? What if it divides the Senshi? Well… divides them even more."

"Look," she continued on in a patient manner, "what's important is are you going to let a chance of finding love go by you?"

DarkStar sat and looked at her other self. "But... you'd stop if it was yours...." Sighing, she shook her head. "I can't... not yet."

"Lord," Sun exclaimed, "I hope I wasn't this unreasonable about seeing my mother."

"Yes you were," Nodoka said in bemusement. She then chuckled. "You two are so much alike, it's amazing."

She was answered by two pouting Ranmas. Nodoka covered her mouth as she giggled at the sight, but it did lighten the mood considerably. The three relaxed a bit into their seats as each quietly sipped their drinks. A companionable silence fell as a sense of camaraderie was felt between them.

"So daughter-" Nodoka said in a way only mothers could master. DarkStar herself was proficient, but still not as skilled as Nodoka. "-what are you going to do?"

DarkStar sat and pondered. "I have... I need to move slowly," she said. Sun opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped by DarkStar's upheld hand. "It's important to me that Usagi's feelings for me are real and not something made by my influence."

Sun nodded, even if she didn't fully understand the whole meaning behind what DarkStar just said. "There's nothing wrong with slow," she agreed. "Hell, when I fell for Tenchi, I wasn't even looking." She paused and looked at DarkStar. "So what do you have planned?"

DarkStar sighed softly. "I don't know. What am I supposed to do? Walk up to her and ask her if we could go out for lunch or something?

"Well that would be a start," Sun deadpanned.

"You don't want to be too clever," Nodoka cautioned.

"But how can I even approach her?" DarkStar asked, looking at Sun in the eye. "She has nightmares about being with me."

"Nightmares? About you? Are they nightmares or... wet dreams?" Sun asked boldly.

"Er, both," DarkStar admitted. "Also she was influenced a bit to fall for me... stupid Murdock."

There was a pause as Sun considered something. "Tuxedo Highflyer?" she asked.

"No, the same guy who corrupted Ami and Naru," DarkStar answered, looking confused, but she let it pass. Nodoka gave Sun a blank stare and shook her head slightly. Sun noticed the looks and shrugged her shoulders. Maybe the Alpha Guard didn't exist here.

"Doesn't matter," Sun said with a frustrated wave of her hand. She then leaned toward the demon. "Does it change the way Usagi feels about you... or how you feel about her?"

"Yes, yes it would!" DarkStar growled. "That's what I was trying to say."

"Calm down, dear," Nodoka advised putting her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"But do you know? It sounds like you're using that as your excuse," Sun pointed.

"I - I guess it is an excuse," DarkStar finally admitted after considering how smooth the table top was. "But I can't take advantage of her," she said looking up, "not if what she feels isn't real."

"How do you know that what she's feeling is real or not and how she really feels about you?" Sun pressed. "Maybe she is just as interested in you, but is just as scared."

DarkStar looked down on the table's surface again. "She did... she just lost her lover... and I guess she could be scared." She looked up with a firm look. "I guess it couldn't hurt... I have to be slow."

"Are you that afraid of love?" Sun asked. She would never have guessed that a sex demon would be so hesitant.

"Yes. Love is powerful. Love changes people," DarkStar pointed to a photograph of her children. "Literally and permanently for my kind. My girls weren't always like this. I helped them as best as I could and that meant some things had to be let go. Love saves too. It saved their lives... their souls."

Sun paused. A demon talking about souls.... but her twin had a point. For a sex demon love was more primal, and more... dangerous.

"I held back around Kasumi, and even then she felt that I was pushing her, forcing her to commit," DarkStar's hands shook. "It was just so easy to see her as my mate. We had sex, sex as lovers, not as a demon feeding on a human."

"Explain to her, Usagi may understand," Sun offered.

"You're not getting it are you?" DarkStar sighed. "If Usagi and I start dating then what?"

"Get married?" Sun said hopefully.

"Oh, I see," Nodoka noted as she gently put down the mug she was about to sip from.
DarkStar nodded sadly.

"What?" Sun inquired.

"You said you and your Senshi friends would only back off if Usagi agreed to the demon's advances. But what if... what if somehow-" DarkStar smiled despite herself.

Sun looked at DarkStar with a look of incomprehension on her face. She then remembered one of the reasons Kasumi broke up with Ranma. Her eyes slowly widened as realization struck her. "Oh God."

DarkStar frowned at the last word. "Yes, can you imagine your princess like that? Like this?" DarkStar said showing her fangs. Her expression faltered and she leaned onto her mother. "At least your species isn't the embodiment of female lust."

"It's okay," Nodoka comforted. "It's okay."

"I think my husband would disagree with you on that point," Sun quipped a bit glibly, and then paused as she truly studied the display. It was too much Usagi... doing that, but true love....

"It will be okay, if it is true love," Sun reaffirmed. "Then... then it will overcome any obstacle."

Keeping her head on her mother's side, DarkStar looked over at Sun. Her eyes were suspicious and Sun noted how predatory they really were.

"Love, true love finds a way. It always does," Sun assured in a voice barely above a whisper as she turned and peered out the window. "It always has."

The two Saotome women studied the other as a quite moment stretched on.

"Voice of experience?" DarkStar softly asked as she basked in the warmth of her mother's embrace.

Sun continued to look out the window. After a slight hesitation, she answered the question with a jerky nod.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Sun faced the two, who were still embraced, and smiled thinly. "Maybe later," she said with a hint of something undefined in her voice. "Right now let's talk about you."

"What? What about me?" DarkStar asked as she lifted her head up.

"Well, why do you have an interest in Usagi? Is it just physical?" Sun inquired.

"You two do have stuff in common," Nodoka interjected.

"You both lost someone," Sun ventured.

"There's that," Nodoka smiled. "You're both single mothers. You both have groups of Senshi you're in charge of. You've had daughters turned evil. There's also your willingness to do what is right no matter the personal cost."

DarkStar smiled slightly. "I... guess."

Sun noted other similarities. The emotional displays and raw affection were similar too. "You respect her, don't you?"

"Well of course," DarkStar raised an eyebrow. "I've seen her fight, and how much she cares for her girls."

"Does she respect you?" Sun inquired before sipping her tea.

"I have no idea," DarkStar pouted.

"Perhaps you should try and find out," Nodoka suggested. "There are two ways to approach the problem: Direct and subtle."

"Mom, I'm not spying on Usagi. I'd come across as a stalker," DarkStar said with a hint of frustration in her voice.

"Then that leaves the direct method: Ask her," Nodoka stated.

DarkStar sighed. She looked at her mother and then to her human twin. "I'm not getting out of this until I promise to talk to Usagi am I?"

She was answered by two shaking heads.

DarkStar sighed again, then remained silent for a few moments. "Okay, I'll talk to her - But not right now. I'm still getting over Kasumi and I don't want to distract Usagi while she is dealing with Ami."

Sun nodded. "Okay, fair enough," she said, "but you will be there for her in case she needs you?"

"Of course, I will," DarkStar said, slightly offended. "I don't leave my friends when they need me the most."

Sun smiled back at DarkStar. At least they were getting somewhere. Silence revisited the table as all three women took sips of their drinks and shared looks.

***************

"Looks like things are winding down," Morrison commented as he shifted in his chair. His butt was getting sore from all the sitting.

Andrea smirked.

***************

"Can I ask you something?" Nodoka said in a pleasant voice. "I noticed in your photographs that none of the Tendo girls were present."

Sun thought a moment before answering. "That's because I haven't seen any of them in the last six years," Sun replied. "They - turned their backs on me."

"Oh dear, that doesn't sound like the girls I know," Nodoka said after emptying her cup and motioning for the waitress. "They're all such nice girls."

"Well... I was engaged to Akane," Sun said. "She was a real tomboy-type and she always seemed to want to help whether she was capable or not. Kasumi was a very sweet, typical Japanese-house wife type, and Nabiki was a gold-digging bitch that would have sold me into prostitution if she had the chance."

"I couldn't imagine being engaged to Akane," DarkStar chimed, "and your Nabiki... Well mine went though...." she shook her head. "Your Tendos seem a lot different than mine. I mean your Kasumi.... no military, not even police?"

Sun blinked, and sipped her drink. "No.... not unless she had a breakdown or something. It has been six years, but Nabiki didn't mention anything."

"That's what got my- our - Kasumi into WIC in the first place." DarkStar shrugged. "But engaged... to Akane?"

"Well Akane wasn't bad - she wasn't afraid to show her disapproval, though," Sun said with a smirk. "It was just that... when I needed help the most... when I got stuck as a girl permanently... when Genma," she spat the name, "disowned me... no one helped me."

"It's funny," DarkStar said absently. "When I first was locked as a demon, there was one guy that helped me... stupid Murdock - but later on, after I... finished... with Alexia, I ended up locked and not really caring."

The demon smirked. "I didn't even notice I was locked until Ucchan asked me about it. Kasumi seemed to take it harder than me." Her expression soured. "Guess she wanted the human me."

Sun smirked. "Nothing wrong with being a girl."

"True, so true," DarkStar said dryly in a fake English accent.

The two girls giggled.

"It is horrible that the Tendo girls turned their backs on you though," Nodoka said in a disappointed way. "What good is someone if you can't depend on them when it counts?"

Sun sighed. "To be fair, I think the Tendo girls were surprised by what Genma did. I know they knew that Genma wanted me to marry their father to join the damned schools, but I can't honestly say that they thought he'd go as far as throwing me out. I don't know... I think maybe they thought that me getting locked was something that would work itself out like all the other messes that I got into."

"Other messes?" DarkStar asked.

"Yes, my life back then... It was a mess - multiple engagements, and a constant stream of piddling little adventures," Sun smirked.

"Ick, that kind nonsense must have worn you down," DarkStar stated.

"You have no idea."

"But, are you going to visit them?" Nodoka asked. "At least to get some closure?"

Sun lifted the almost empty cup to her mouth and paused. "I'll see them today along with my mother," she said before completing the motion with the cup.

Nodoka nodded in an approving way as Sun finished her tea.

"Well, we talked about me," DarkStar said, "We talked about you," she continued while looking at Sun, "now we going to talk about you, Mother dear."

Nodoka blinked at her daughter. "Me? I'm perfectly fine, Dear."

"Right," DarkStar snorted. "You've been alone for ten years - is there someone you're interested in?"

Nodoka looked at her daughter and Sun. They both had the same scheming look in their eyes. It was right then she knew she was in trouble. "I'm a WIC officer. I'm...."

"Not allowed to have romance?" DarkStar laughed. "I know for a fact that the Company's not that restrictive."

"Does anyone interest you? Any hobbies?" Sun asked inquisitively.

"I have my work and my family," Nodoka quietly said. For a long time she just had work.

DarkStar reached out to her mother. "Don't you want someone for your own?"

"I have you and my grandchildren," Nodoka said with a smile. "I don't need anything else."

"Mom," DarkStar began in a half-pleading way, "you've been alone for too long. I know you don't need a mate like I do, but you should have someone."

Nodoka hugged her daughter. "I guess, but... I've...." She looked into her daughter's violet eyes. "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask," DarkStar said as she untangled herself from her mother. "Well guys," she said as she rose from her chair. "If you excuse me, I gotta use the powder room."

The two seated women watched as the demon-Ranma made her way toward the back of the cafe where the restrooms were located. Once she had gone, Sun turned to Nodoka. "Can I ask you a question? It's rather personal. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"That depends on the question," Nodoka said.

"Well... it's more about Nariko," Sun paused. "What... what happened to her?"

Nodoka looked up at the bathroom door where her daughter had left too. "I suppose you can hear this. Nariko... Nariko was Ranma's first. This was back when my daughter still thought her demonic body was just a costume with creepy powers. Even after turning someone she didn't know what she was. Nariko was dying. Ranma saved her life."

Sun nodded. She could understand that desire to clutch onto your manhood. "So Nariko was a human, what happened?"

"I guess I should explain a bit about how succubae work," Nodoka's tone shifted to that of a lecturing scientist... "A newly turned succubus is a very delicate thing. Dependent on support by her mother. New body, new urges, a fragile young mind. A new succubus needs a guiding force to help deal with it all."

"And DarkStar...." Sun felt cold at the realization.

"Yes, she saw 'Nariko' as a reminder of her inhumanity. The poor girl's affections annoyed her, especially given who she was.. Ranma tried to help... by trying to cure her, but she wasn't being a mother. Motherhood was the last thing Ranma wanted then."

"What happened? And who was Nariko?"

"Was there a Tatewaki Kuno where you're from?"

"The sweet and nice girl? Kuno's Nariko?!" Sun felt even more of the universe fall out below her. "My God, Kuno's got both Akane and Ranma."

"Yes," Nodoka nodded. "Akane and Nariko are mates. Nariko saved Akane's life... but that's another story."

Sun blinked a few times.

"As I was saying, new succubae are very dependant on their mothers. Without a mother helping them grow and nursing them... they get damaged. Their bodies weaken and their minds... get worse."

"Not that Kuno had much of one to start with," Sun commented before almost physically being knocked back by the elder Saotome's glare.

"You have no idea what he... she went through. Nariko has more strength in her than anyone I've ever seen and never ever stopped believing in her mother. She's why my daughter became who she is, she saved Ranma. Then there's what she went through with all that Eclipse crap," Nodoka said very sternly while staring down the younger woman. "Nariko's father helped as best as he could, and I'm sure it saved her, but Nariko wanted her mother. She needed her mother."

Sun was glad she had waited until DarkStar had left to ask her question. She swallowed, and bent under the elder Saotome woman's gaze. It was piercing and something she was not used to, not since her grandmother.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to offend," Sun apologized while deeply bowing. Though she didn't stick her foot in her mouth as much as she used to, Sun still had the occasional tendency of saying the wrong things. "I didn't realize... I'm sorry..."

"Neither did Ranma at the time," Nodoka said more gently, her eyes softening. "But it still hurt Nariko."

"But DarkStar figured it out, eventually," Sun offered. "But I guess some of the... damage was irreversible?"

Nodoka sipped her coffee. "Yes, Ranma came to me. Eventually, she realized what she was, and what her responsibilities were. I had to agree with her, it was scary, but it was the right thing to do."

"You encouraged her to become a mother?"

Nodoka laughed. "My dear, she already was a mother."

"Did Nariko forgive her for what DarkStar did to her?"

The officer paused to think things over. "I don't think she ever blamed Ranma. Nariko was just happy to have her Mommy, and Ranma... well her body finally meant something."

"She wasn't kidding when she said motherhood changes people."

"Not in the slightest. Ranma lives for her children. I'm amazed the things she's done to help them. I wish... I wish I could have been half the mother she is. There's more I could..."

"What are you talking about? You're her anchor." Sun pointed to the empty seat that was next to Nodoka's. "I've seen how she is around you. She goes to you for advice and support."

"She did spend half the night crying in my lap after she killed her first human," Nodoka noted.

"Huh?" Sun knew she did not hear that right; she couldn't have.

"He was a sniper who shot Ukyou. DarkStar tried block it, and lost most of her side doing it. He would have picked off the rest of her children and the agents with them if she hadn't stopped him."

"But he was... human. Did she have to?"

"Not all monsters have fangs," Nodoka stated. "DarkStar was protecting her young, and she literally needed her pound of flesh."

Sun's hand went to her stomach. Thinking of her yet-to-be born child, she found it easy to think of killing anyone or anything to protect it. She was starting to understand those maternal drives, and DarkStar was a demonic mother.

"But... this proves my point. You accepted your daughter fully. Even after she...," Sun finished with a wave of her hand. "I was just trying to make it up to my daughter."

Sun nodded in understanding and paused for a moment. "I've got another question," she stated. "Don't worry... it's not as serious."

"Yes?"

"What did you see in Genma in the first place?" Sun asked. "I mean, I'm not sure how your Genma is here, but it seems he caused about as much trouble as mine did. Why did you pick him?"

Nodoka studied the younger redhead across from her. She furrowed her brow in thought before speaking. "He had a passion for life, and, in his own way, a sense of direction and purpose. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, even if he didn't know how to get there. In his way he was... kind. The sex was also very good, and he seemed willing to raise our child while I worked," Nodoka laughed bitterly.

Sun was sitting and musing over the older woman's answer when DarkStar returned to the table. "Whew," she said casually. "I feel much better."

Nodoka smirked a bit at DarkStar's behavior. "Now that you have brought that to my attention, if you'll excuse me," Nodoka said as she rose from her seat and walked the path that DarkStar had earlier.

"Your mom is still married to Genma?" Sun asked DarkStar once the older women was gone.

"Yes," DarkStar answered with a shrug. "What about it?" Genma had been a lot better lately, but DarkStar knew there was no chance of her parents getting back together. The best she could hope for would be them to act civil with each other.

"How can she move on with her life if she is still connected to him?" Sun asked pointedly. "She should have ditched his ass years ago."

DarkStar nodded. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Sun rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry," DarkStar sighed. "But Mom's been separated for ten years already."

Sun considered that. "All the more reason to convince her to move on with her life by divorcing Genma, formally."

"Yeah," DarkStar thought aloud, "She might go for that. It won't really be much. It would be a step in the right direction."

"Hey, they say that a journey of a thousand miles, starts with the first step'," Sun said trying to sound sage.

DarkStar smirked. It was easy to sound wise, especially when teaching.

"It may not be really much at the moment, but it would free her up if someone did strike her fancy in the future."

DarkStar smiled. "And there would be really nothing for mom to object to, either."

Sun smiled. The goal was set and the plot was easily hatched; Nodoka wouldn't have a chance.

Just as the two were about to continue discussing their scheme, Nodoka returned and reclaimed her seat across from Sun. "As you put it daughter: much better," she smirked at DarkStar.

Sun giggled at DarkStar's slightly pinking complexion, which stood out even more against her pale skin. That was when it was nature's turn to call upon her.

"Wait," DarkStar said as Sun excused herself, "while you're in there, can I have another look at that photo album?"

Sun paused and almost tipped over her feet at the request. "What?!"

"What do you mean 'what'?" DarkStar asked. "It's only sex. You're not embarrassed are you? Sex is very natural."

Sun hesitated and looked to Nodoka for support, but none was forthcoming. "Er...," Sun began, only to be derailed by DarkStar's puppy dog eyes... and there was nothing more pitiful than those purple eyes filled with hope. "Oh what the heck," Sun gave in while reaching into her sub space pocket. "Here, you've already seen them."

DarkStar took the album with all the enthusiasm of a child with a new toy on Christmas day. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she said happily as she immediately poured over the photos.

Sun sweatdropped at the demon's behavior. Seeing that Nodoka wasn't a least fazed by her daughter acting this way, she chalked it up to the differences in this universe and hers. Heading toward the back of the cafe, she was unaware that she was being followed.

***************

"She's heading for the restrooms," Morrison pointed out.

"I'm already on it," Andrea said while rising from her seat. She moved quickly and subtlety followed the redhead into the ladies room. Besides, she needed to go herself.

***************

Once Sun was in the restroom, DarkStar leaned back in her chair and looked at the lone agent who was parked across the room. "Hey Morrison!" she called while waving the blue book with one hand. "You got your camera? I want copies of this stuff!"

"Ranma!" Nodoka admonished. "Don't talk to the surveillance agents!"

"But mom...," DarkStar started to whine, but was interrupted by catching a small, digital camera.

"Thanks!" she called out to the agent who was desperately trying to go back to being inconspicuous.

"Dear...," Nodoka began sternly, but was derailed by DarkStar asking, "Can you hold this flat for me please?"

Nodoka sighed and held the book's covers flat as DarkStar focused and snapped a few photos, giggling with glee all while doing so. "This is great, isn't it?" DarkStar asked while flipping a page and waited for Nodoka to hold it open for her. "I gotta try some of this."

"W-what are you doing?" Sun's shocked voice of stammered out, heralding her return.

"Research," DarkStar answered merrily while taking another shot.

"B-but what -?" Sun began indignantly. "That's mine! I didn't mean for you to-"

"That's why I'm making a copy," DarkStar said, cutting off Sun's objection. "But you're going to have to explain this one to me," she said while pointing at the photo she had just snapped a shot of. "How'd you manage to get into that position?"

Sun mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water before DarkStar's words registered.

"A copy!" she half-shrieked.

"Yeah," DarkStar answered distractedly. "My kids would love to see these."

"Your kids?" Sun's hands spasmed. She thought of Akane and Nariko giggling over these photographs while they readied some rope and other toys.

"They're succubae too, you know." DarkStar laughed. "Say, would you like a video of my stuff?" She leaned back in her chair once again and called across the cafe. "Hey! Did you guys record that time with me and Kasumi when we were in the den?"

"Thank goodness I left my tapes at home," Sun muttered, trying to tune DarkStar's naughty request out. She felt the beginnings of a headache.

"I told you she was okay with this stuff," a clearly amused Nodoka said.

"And you weren't kidding," Sun said as she rubbed her temples with her hands as she sat back down.

DarkStar pouted at the two. "Well I happen to like these," she said while returning the photo album to Sun. "They're very passionate and imaginative. I can't wait to try them myself."

Sun boggled at the sight of a very happy sex demon. It might not have been food, but the pictures were like a menu that made DarkStar long for more variety in her diet - a variety that she was now more than ready to explore. At least there was an upside to this: DarkStar had yet another reason to find a mate.

Sun noted that the camera disappeared somewhere on DarkStar's person and wondered for a brief moment if it was worth the argument. She eventually decided to shrug it off.
"Er, thanks... I think," Sun said. Something did not sit right. "Wait.... who were you talking to about recording your sex stuff?"

"Um, you remember earlier when I told you we were being monitored?" DarkStar said.
"You mean we're still being watched?" Sun asked in a whisper, leaning forward. Her eyes now shifted around the room.

"Let's see... WIC Toronto's trump card, their top scientist, and some unknown Pattern Silver that just teleported in... yep," DarkStar said conversationally, "we're being watched."

"That's kinda creepy," Sun said. "They're not going to do anything... rash, are they?"

"Rash?" Nodoka said with a raised eyebrow. "Dear, they've managed not to do anything rash around my daughter and granddaughters. I also outrank everyone here..."

"That's good...," Sun said, relaxing a bit.

"... so unless you are planning on doing something worse than gutting a screaming man and feasting on his liver, you have nothing to worry about," Nodoka finished.

DarkStar nervously coughed.

"I don't like liver," Sun said before blinking. She then realized what Nodoka had just said. It fit with the earlier story about that sniper. "Eww." She paled and her hands went to protect her baby. She then turned to DarkStar. "You... you... didn't?" Sun assumed that Ranma merely drained people, like the demons in her universe did, not... literally eat them.

"What do you want to hear?" DarkStar said as she gently deposited her teacup. "You know I'm a demon but you don't know it. You haven't seen me fight, and I hope you never do." That WIC agents were unfazed by seeing her fight and feed was comforting, if a bit creepy.

"I guess you'll telling me I'm better off not knowing." Sun stated.

"We're in a war," Nodoka interjected. "An ugly, secret war." She sighed. "I'm guessing the Senshi where you're from never had to fight humans."

"I don't think the Senshi had to fight any humans, but I can't be sure," Sun admitted. "I was only - reawakened late - because of a mass invasion."

Nodoka held her peace at the mass invasion comment. That was one of the things WIC existed to prevent.

DarkStar smirked. "Humans can be monsters too. Look at history. But yes, it's much easier to dehumanize your enemies." She sardonically chucked. "Especially when they're not human."

"I know my history. I know what you mean," Sun replied evenly. "It's just that I haven't had to..." As she paused to organize herself, she looked over her counterpart. It was hard to believe that she was so young and had been a demon less than a year. "You said before that you're a line grunt right? I'm more like... a battleship."

"A battleship?" Nodoka inquired. She wanted to use this opportunity to glean some more knowledge of Sun's abilities. "That seems rather... an extravagant description."

Sun idly ran a finger over the rim of her cup, appearing to be lost in thought.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Sun said as she recalled being all of creation and pushing it away and almost being lost in it. She shuddered; her full potential was frightening. "A closer analogy would be a 'doomsday weapon' - an ultimate deterrent; a fat lot of good it did them."

"Let me guess, you were too powerful to use?" Nodoka could easily see that. Weapons too powerful to use were half a century old technology. Perfectly sensible for a more advanced civilization to have even more powerful and thus even more impractical weapons.

"Uh, yeah." Sun replied as she looked at the others. She decided to dissuade any skepticism. "Look, I'm being serious here."

"We're not questioning your honesty," DarkStar commented. She knew what her grandmother could do, so powerful beings were not beyond her imagination. "But why so much power?"

"Can you believe that it was an accident?" Sun replied with a half snort, half laugh.

"Those idiots were aiming for the ultimate weapon, well they got it."

"It seems that there are a great many things these people overlooked," Nodoka commented, thinking back on the earlier oversight of Sun's creators. "What were they thinking?"

Sun shrugged her shoulders. "Desperate politicians and fears of the unknown at the time...," she trailed off as she fingered her cup again. "So they made me."

DarkStar nodded. That fit with her double's earlier comments about being made to be a weapon. "So you just have targets, not people," she shrugged. The brood's own experience with indirect fire-support left her less than thrilled. She would rather work with a small team of professionals in battle.

"Yes," Sun nodded. "I've been lucky. Everything I've fought has been... clear. Still though, you guys seem to be open enough around me."

"You're a Senshi," DarkStar added with a shrug. "And if you were bad-"

Sun silenced DarkStar with a wave of her hand. "I wouldn't... and I killed the one who would."

"What's the problem then?" DarkStar asked.

"It's just creepy knowing you're being watched," Sun said. "It's... creepy," Sun repeated, being at a loss for descriptive words. She had worn one of Washu's monitoring devices but that did not actually spy on everything she said and did.

"You get used to it," Nodoka said plainly. "They're normal human beings and professionals - like we are."

"Emphasis on professionals. They're just human, but..." DarkStar gave a fanged grin.

"They show what just human can do. Take that guy," she pointed to Morrison. "He doesn't look it, but he killed a succubus in melee. She had him pinned and was cutting him apart and what does he do? Slits her throat just as she's about to feed."

Sun nodded, only vaguely understanding. She could clearly see that the agent in question seemed embarrassed by the attention he was getting. "You seem... close to them."

"Aren't you're close to the people you fight with?" DarkStar asked. "Hey mom, isn't Morrison also alive because of your armor?"

Nodoka blushed slightly. "Yes... it reduced the damage those claws did to him."

Sun raised an eyebrow. It looked like Nodoka was speaking from experience when she talked of energy resistant armor.

"You do good work, Mom," DarkStar assured. "And those agents need every edge they can get."

"He's also alive because you grabbed him out of a crashing helicopter," Nodoka reminded.
Sun blinked and looked between mother and daughter. "And they watch you... even when you..."

"Make wild nookie?" DarkStar said with great mirth, enjoying Sun's paranoia. "Yes they do."

"But... but... even then?!" Sun asked incredulously.

"Tell me," Nodoka said, "when you are in a fight, do the other Senshi watch out for each other?"

Sun blinked at the question. "Well yes - of course we do," she answered. "We have to. We depend on each other in a fight."

"It's the same here," Nodoka explained. "We are in a war with enemies that can show up anywhere at anytime. In a situation like that, everyone watches everyone's backs. It's the only way to stay alive."

"It seems so... dehumanizing," Sun said softly.

DarkStar snickered.

"Not at all," Nodoka said. "Once you get used to it... you find a certain amount of comfort in it. It's nice to know that there is someone you can count on watching over you and watching out for you."

Sun considered that. These people were at war. It seemed and a certain amount of security was necessary. She shrugged her shoulders. "Okay... I guess. I don't think I could ever get used to it."

"You would be surprised," DarkStar piped in. "I wasn't sure at first... but it does save lives. Also... I know what I am."

Her voice became more serious. "The command staff's honest about things with me. We have a bit of an understanding."

"Understanding?"

"They've been honest with me from the start. It took a while to build trust with them, but it's there."

Sun nodded her head; she understood about trust. Turning her attention to Nodoka, Sun returned to the previous conversation, before they got side tracked by DarkStar's "research" and them being watched. "So, Mom-, er, sorry, Mrs. Saotome, why haven't you ever divorced Genma?"

Nodoka smiled at Sun's slip. "That's alright dear, just call me Nodoka or Mom if you're comfortable."

"And if you're not comfortable it's Doc or Major Saotome," DarkStar teased.

"As far as Genma goes, the reason why I never divorced him was because he had been on the run from me for the past ten years, and when I finally found him I was more concerned with my daughter and her life."

DarkStar blushed slightly.

"I can understand that," Sun said. "But why not divorce Genma and be done with it?" Sun asked the older woman. "I mean, why hang on to a marriage that... never worked?"

"I had more important things to do," Nodoka said, "and... it already feels done with."

"Mom, you haven't said more than ten words with him since he got back," DarkStar stated.

"I asked him to explain his actions," Nodoka replied, her tone even. Genma had at least accepted the reality of Ranma's gender and family.

"You pulled out a gun and then afterwards you had some agents take him and hand him over to Jarvis," DarkStar corrected.

"I don't feel the need to do it," Nodoka sighed.

"You're essentially divorced already, just do it formally," DarkStar encouraged.
"I guess you're not too fond of Genma either," Sun noted.

"He can be annoying, but he did try to warn me about the breakup, and he does seem... proud of me. I know that sometimes parents just don't feel that way for each other."

"You do?" Sun asked.

DarkStar smirked. "Remember? I didn't want to marry Soun either."

Sun absently nodded. Her double was the mother of two of Soun's daughters. "And then there's Nariko..."

"Yes, Drake's actually... I can respect him. He was great for Nariko. He actually is there for his children," DarkStar smiled. "But that doesn't mean I want to mate with him. Nari-chan understands."

Sun nodded. "So are you teaching your kids martial arts?" she asked after ordering another cup.

"Of course, we are 'line grunts' as you say," DarkStar laughed. "It's amazing how much that training can compliment our abilities. Of course, we had to rework a lot of the moves. New balance, and then there's that it can be a truly aerial style."

Sun nodded. "Master Happosai has just named me his heir and Master to the Anything Goes school," Sun said with a small bit of pride before adding with a sigh, "It took years, but he managed to knock some sense into my thick head."

"Oh?" DarkStar asked as she blinked at her counterpart.

Sun looked at each of her table-mates before answering. "I had a bad habit - a very bad habit - of jumping into things and reacting on an emotional level - without thought," Sun explained. "It made me careless and I got myself into some very bad spots that I should not have been into to begin with."

"That's stupid habit to have," DarkStar bluntly agreed. "It's not professional."

"I wasn't a professional," Sun shot back. "I was an arrogant, cocky kid who thought she was so powerful that she couldn't be touched."

Nodoka and DarkStar looked at Sun and said nothing. DarkStar did not like what she felt, but part of her was amused to know that arrogance seemed to have bitten this version of herself too. Though it was unsaid, she sensed it was also at someone else's expense - maybe like what happened to herself.

"Look, we all made stupid mistakes when we were younger. We both had emotions getting the better of us and then there's how stubborn we can be," DarkStar explained.

Sun said nothing, but nodded in agreement. She did find irony in someone six years her junior saying "when we were younger".

"So, Happosai made you a master?" DarkStar asked, steering away from uncomfortable subjects. "He's nice enough, for a dirty old man."

"Hey!" Sun bristled. "He may seem like a dirty old man, but he's not bad."

DarkStar laughed. "I never said he was bad. I'm a sex demon remember? I ain't gonna get on his case for having some harmless fun and a little draining."

Sun blinked. "Oh... I guess that makes sense. You two would have some things in common."

"He also has great taste in underwear," DarkStar nonchalantly added as she sipped her drink.

Sun blinked. She thought back to some of the antics of her Happosai and mentally agreed.

"Does yours help you train?"

"Yeah, he knows his stuff. Lots of experience. And unlike Pops he doesn't get tired when he spars with me." DarkStar snickered.

"He make you a master yet?" Sun asked.

"Nope, I haven't known him that long. Would be nice though."

"Oh yeah, six years in the past." Sun noted; she then smiled. "But I'm sure he's impressed with you. You are coming up with your own school."

"Yeah," DarkStar shook her head. "I never understood why Pops and Soun were so afraid of him. He's such a gentleman, especially around my kids."

Sun blinked. DarkStar's Happosai had never subjected her to the pervert act? The testing?

"To be fair... my former... husband and his friend were never as focused or principled as you are. And you were never afraid or intimidated by him," Nodoka added.

Sun nodded. That had to be it. Happosai had seen that DarkStar would pass any test like that, probably. "Don't underestimate him. He's... good. Some of his training came..." Sun shuddered at the memory. After a few seconds she found her voice again. "When it counted, when it really counted. It made all the difference."

"I won't," DarkStar promised.

"Good," Sun answered with a thin smile. "Who'd thought that the old letch had it in him to be a good teacher."

"Anyone who doesn't judge a book by it's cover?" DarkStar responded. She looked at Sun's souring expression. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay," Sun sighed. "I have a tendency to do that. You saw what happened when we first met. Happi's helping me with that too."

"What can I say? Being turned into a demon and working with scary secret agents tends to do that? I can't judge anyone based on something like what species they are. Now if they harm my kids or an innocent... all bets are off."

***************

"Andrea, how long does girl talk usually last?" Morrison asked in a tired voice. "I mean, they've been at it for hours now."

"I'd say not much longer," Andrea said offhandedly.

"Because of her watch?"

"Yes, our visiting Senshi is glancing at it much more often than before," Andrea answered. "My guess is she has someplace to be and it's getting closer to that time."

"I hope you're right," Morrison said as he shifted in his seat. "I'm getting sore from just sitting here."

***************

"What are your plans once you have dealt with your mother and the other people from your past?" DarkStar asked.

"Well, whether it goes smoothly or not, I'm going to be leaving in about six months to my husband's... well... my husband's planet."

"His planet?" Nodoka asked with a raised eyebrow. "Same universe though?"

Sun nodded. "Yup," she paused to take a sip of her drink. "Same universe, different planet. I married an honest to goodness prince. He's like third or forth in line to the throne or something like that of some galactic empire."

"You don't know?" Nodoka asked with a tilt of her head. It was an amusing coincidence. Her daughter was once queen of Earth, and was the favored granddaughter to the eponymous founder of House BlackSky.

"I fell in love with him, not his title," Sun replied with a shrug. "At least I get a say on who is to be his second wife."

"Second wife?" Nodoka repeated with both eyebrows raised.

"Er, yeah," Sun stammered a bit. "You see, it's like... tradition or something," she explained while running a finger along the edge of the table. "The Emperor and his heirs have at least two wives, sometimes more, but it is expected of him to have at least two."

"I see, and how do you feel about this?" Nodoka asked while folding her hands.

Sun shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay with me." She then leaned forward and said in a conspiratorial voice, "I'm dropping strong hints for Ryoko because we get... well, we get along - if you know what I mean."

"Ryoko?" DarkStar let the name roll off her tongue. "I think you mentioned her before when you were showing us your pictures."

"Yes... we're close," Sun said with a slight blush. "We have... you know - and Tenchi knows, so I kinda hoping that she'll be the second wife."

"Ahhh... So you're bi," DarkStar said in understanding with a wide smile. "Sounds like you want Ryoko for your own mistress."

Sun's face flushed. "Er... well... I wouldn't mind it and, um, it would be more fun in the bedroom."

"Oh really," DarkStar asked, glad that the conversation moved back to one of her favorite subjects. "So, how much 'fun' have you two had already?"

Sun's face went brilliant with embarrassment.

"That much," DarkStar said around her laughter.

"Daughter please," Nodoka said in a mirthful way.

"It's okay," Sun said after quickly composing herself. "Ryoko and I have been making plans to take Tenchi and...," she paused at the eager face of DarkStar and then the older woman's. Though Nodoka wasn't really her mother, it weirded her out to talk about such things in front of her. "Er... maybe I'll tell you later."

"Don't mind me," Nodoka said with a wave of her hand. "Succubae normally 'talk shop' in front of their moms. Don't they daughter?"

DarkStar nodded in confirmation. "It was especially frustrating back when I was a virgin and my kids still asked me for advice."

Sun eyed both women and thought for a few heartbeats. She had shared a great deal with them already, so why not? "Well, okay," she said as she lowered her voice further and began whispering the naughty plans that she and Ryoko had for Tenchi.

***************

"Are they huddled for the reason I think they are?" Morrison asked his table-mate.

Andrea nodded. It looked like Morrison had some clue.

***************

"... and that's what we have planned for foreplay," Sun finished with a slightly lecherous grin.

DarkStar looked at the redhead and mused over her and Ryoko's plans. She then studied the top of Sun's head for any signs of horns, with the plans that she and this Ryoko came up with... "Well... it's a nice idea," DarkStar said with a smirk, "but unless Ryoko can float in midair... wait... nevermind. I bet she can."

"Yup, ain't it great?" Sun gushed. "Anyway, after that, we plan on getting Tenchi to..."

***************

"They're huddling again. Damn I wish I could listen to the tap over there."

Andrea rolled her eyes and ignored her partner's comment.

Morison's hand went to his dog tags and the "D" mark placed there. "Andrea , if something should happen... and I get... turned will I sit around for hours and talk about stuff like they are?"

As Andrea looked at Morrison a smile formed. "You've seen how Misako, Nariko, and Red act. What do you think?"

Morrison blinked. "I see." He looked at the paper he had been pretending to read. "I guess it's still better than being dead."

"It would be eye opening," Andrea allowed.

***************

"... and then we plan on breaking for lunch. What do you think?" Sun finished as she propped her head up with her arm.

"Hmmm...," DarkStar mused aloud. "Well... it's the best you can do without tails or getting too rough. I guess you want to ease Tenchi into the really kinky stuff- oh, nevermind, you already started."

"Umm... right," Sun stammered a bit, "but we don't want to wear him out too much until he builds up his stamina." Sun wagged her eyebrows. "He already knows what I like."

"Stamina's important," DarkStar agreed, "and eating's a great bit of foreplay." DarkStar's mind drifted back. "I remember this one time after Kasumi hosed the blood and guts off of me...," she voice trailed away into a pleasant memory and she sported a dreamy smile.

Sun nodded her head. "I remember when Tenchi and I cleaned the fridge and got quite silly. After it was all said and done, we had more food on us than-" she stopped as she realize what DarkStar had just said. "Blood?"

"Umm...," DarkStar started, "It was after a sortie... my fighting style can get... messy... and violent."

Sun looked at DarkStar, at the table top, and then back at her. "Oh... I see. Well, I have a habit of vaporizing my targets."

"Where's the fun in that?" DarkStar asked innocently.

Sun sighed heavily. "Fighting is not exactly fun... anymore."

DarkStar stared at Sun contemplatively. "I... see. The whole weapon thing you had going. I have problems killing humanely."

"Now dear," Nodoka said gently while laying a hand on DarkStar's, "most of the time they die too quickly to notice."

DarkStar sighed as Sun spoke. "Killing can become too damn easy for me if I let it," she said with a shudder.

"You too?" DarkStar looked Sun square in the eye and took Sun's hand in hers. "Be careful, be damn careful. Look at me. I just told you what doing that makes me feel."

Sun noticed the haunted look in DarkStar's eyes and stared. She was starting to understand how much DarkStar could relate to some of her own problems. They were both tempted.

"Have you killed a human yet?" Nodoka asked turning to Sun.

"It's too late for me," DarkStar muttered lowly.

Sun thought a moment. "Yes," she answered. "But she was more like a monster than a human."

"Not all monsters have fangs," DarkStar repeated, echoing the words she spoke earlier.

"And some monsters are made," Sun added cryptically.

Nodoka and DarkStar looked at Sun and watched as several emotions played across her face. It was DarkStar who took the initiative. "Is it something you what to talk about?"

Sun smiled a thin smile. "Not really," she said.

"That's okay," DarkStar stated with a wave. "As you know, I don't have... privacy."

DarkStar glanced at the surveillance agents. "In a way it's kinda nice to be able to keep some secrets. Some things I'm not gonna pry on."

Sun tilted her head, slightly confused.

"Don't misunderstand, I respect the hell out of these guys, the agents, but... they all know what I am and what I've done. Even those that haven't fought with me have seen photos and videos of me working. That they can still... look me in the eye means a lot to me but...."

"They still see you as.... that," Sun surmised. She wondered what her life would be like if all of her fights had been recorded and then played in front of everyone she knew and cared about. If they saw with their own eyes what she was capable of.

"And do you want me to hear about your darkest moments?"

Sun shook her head. "Not now...," she said. "Maybe later... after I've fully dealt with them myself."

A certain silence fell about the table. It wasn't an uncomfortable one, nor was it exactly peaceful. It was a type of silence that seemed to lend a finality to the discussion.

"So," Sun coughed, breaking the silence. "I've gotta ask before I go, what's with the hair?"

"My hair?" DarkStar blinked. "What about it?"

"It's" Sun fumbled for an inoffensive way to say it. "It looks... like more work than I would expect from you. It's really long. Do you use mousse or hair spray? And how does it stay so soft looking?"

DarkStar blinked as she ran her hand through her spiked and feathered tresses. "It's not hard, it's pretty much natural. like my makeup." She did not want to tell Sun that it came from eating a relatively powerful demon hunter.

Sun nodded and let out a barely audible "ah". She could relate to "magic makeovers".

Sun took one last glance at her watch. "I need to go," she announced. "If I'm going to get to the Tendo's on time." She then asked the waitress to bring her her bill. She would be relieved that she had enough native currency to pay it.

Her table-mates nodded. "Do you need to go anywhere special?" Nodoka asked.

"Not really," Sun replied. "Just somewhere where I won't be observed... you understand."

Nodoka nodded.

"How about the restroom?" DarkStar pointed out. "It's roomy and it is empty at the moment."

"Miss Lytle, Mr. Morrison, would you two mind ensuring our privacy?" Nodoka called over to the two surveillance agents.

Sun nodded and rose from her seat. The others mimicked her. "Do you mind if we see you off?" Nodoka asked. "I'm curious as to how you travel between universes."

Sun shrugged her shoulders. "Sure. Why not?"

The three made their way to the back of the cafe. Once inside the restroom, Sun wavered as she her outfit shifted into her Senshi uniform.

"Yep," DarkStar said, "definitely a Senshi."

Sun paused and turned to look at the demon. "Could... could I see your uniform?"

DarkStar smiled. "Sure, but remember, it'll show my true form."

"Uh, that's okay," Sun assured. She steeled herself. DarkStar was a sex demon, but that still gave a lot of free range for what her true form could be.

DarkStar closed her eyes and shadows spread from her and transformed her clothes... and body. The demon sighed and stretched her wings or tried too, the room was a much too small to allow for their full span.

Sun blinked. She knew that DarkStar was a demon, but this... She stepped a bit closer and looked her up and down. The tail with its little fins, the tiny horns, the broad wings, the luminous eyes, and the skimpy uniform itself.

"Wow," Sun said as she marveled over DarkStar's true form. "You're... you look amazing."

"Really?" DarkStar blushed slightly. That was not the normal reaction to seeing her true form, not by a human at least.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Sun reached out and exploratory touched DarkStar on the shoulder, tracing her hand down the length of her arm; it was smooth and warm - warmer than when she hugged DarkStar earlier.

"You're warm." Sun idly said.

"Well of course, I'm alive." DarkStar dryly remarked. The demon looked at the questing hand with a raised eyebrow. Such childlike wonderment at her form was novel.

Sailor Sun's passive scans automatically went deeper before she consciously cut them back; at this point she thought it impolite to scan without permission. Leaving DarkStar's shoulder and arm behind, Sun felt the leathery wings before being drawn back to DarkStar's face.

Aside from the obvious changes in skin tone and eye color there were other differences. DarkStar's face was a bit more severe and seemed almost... sharper - but even with the changes, it was amazing how much they resembled one another.

Noting the little black horns that peaked through the tangled locks of hair, Sun could not resist reaching out and touching one of them. DarkStar gave a slight growl and pulled back. Her eyes became hard and accusatory.

"What... what did I do?" Sun asked quickly pulling back her hand.

"It's okay," Nodoka allowed, while she patted her daughter on the shoulder. "You didn't know any better. Succubae are very sensitive about who touches them."

"But, I was holding her hand and hugging her earlier," Sun stated in confusion. She did not expect sex demons to shy away from physical contact.

DarkStar's expression softened but she still kept some distance.

"She trusted you.... Physical contact for them always means something. Horns are something... more," Nodoka allowed.

Sun nodded. Though she did not exactly understand, she had the impression that she had just made a grab for DarkStar's breasts, or crotch. After, learning of DarkStar's nature, she would probably have been less offended if she had tried to touch one of those areas. "I didn't understand. I'm sorry." Sun bowed deeply.

"It's okay, you couldn't have known." DarkStar offered a smile. Only seven, well six after what Kasumi had done, people were allowed to touch her horns; she supposed she could let someone else. It would show her level of trust.

"If... if you really want." DarkStar leaned forward and bowed her head.

Sun froze at the offered horns. On one hand if she declined in an effort to be sensitive to DarkStar's situation, she might offend. If she accepted she might screw it up. She made her decision.

As she reached out she noticed DarkStar's face twitch. On contact the surface was mostly smooth but had some little ridges that ran up the inside arc of the horn. She cautiously and gently ran her finger across the tip and was surprised by the sharpness. What happened next was even more surprising. It was a sound she had never expected to hear emanate from a version of herself.

Sun looked to the demon's eyes, but they were closed tight. She turned to Nodoka. "Am... am I doing this right?" DarkStar kept making the sound deep within herself.

Nodoka nodded. "Yes, you're quite good."

"But... demons... she's..." Sun had only recently learned that demons could be kind and loving, but that they could also...

"Yes, they purr. Normally, it only happens when they're very happy but playing with their horns can do it too." Nodoka's smile indicated that she had much experience with happy succubae. Her expression became serious. "However, abusing their horns is an easy way for a stronger succubus to dominate or even torture a weaker one."

Sun removed her hand as gently as she had placed it, and watched as DarkStar stopped purring and opened her eyes. She straightened up and looked the other Senshi in the eye.

"Congratulations," DarkStar said. "That's something only my mother and children are allowed to do. Kasumi... maybe it was a bad idea to let her do it in the first place."

"I... I think I understand," Sun said. "I'm not going to lie to you and say I understand completely, but I think I'm starting to grasp a few things."

The demon almost narrowed her eyes, but she assumed that the pun was unintentional. "These things aren't decoration." DarkStar said as she pointed to her horns. Her tone was friendly but her tail had straightened out and was raised slightly. "We're not human. There's some similarity, but..."

Sun noted the change in posture of the demon's tail. She had the impression that she did something wrong again, but was not sure as to what. Internally, Sun wished that she would stop accidentally insulting her new friends or at least get a clue to what she was doing wrong.

"There are some things you have to experience to understand," Nodoka noted somewhat to herself. "Things that only another succubus will get." Her tone had gained a contemplative edge.

DarkStar's posture became more relaxed when it became clear that Sun's pun was unintentional and how clueless her counterpart really was. She found herself envying Sun in a weird sort of way. Even though Sun was six years older and had had her share of hardships in her life - some that she shied away from and didn't want to talk about, she still was very innocent in many ways.

To be that innocent again...

Sun looked at the two and detected that whatever faux pas that she did had passed. She then cocked her head at DarkStar. "So wings. Are you in super form?" Sun asked. "That's what it takes to get mine."

"No... these are natural," DarkStar shrugged. "All succubae have them."

"They're leather," Sun stated eyeing the wings.

"Did you expect me to have feathers?" DarkStar smirked.

"Er, sorta?" Sun coughed.

"Angels are the ones with feathers."

"Angels?" Sun asked with a blink of her eyes. DarkStar stared back. "I guess that makes sense." Sun shrugged her shoulders and turned her back to the mother and daughter.

"Don't be alarmed," she said over her shoulder. "I need to summon my sword."

Nodoka nodded as Sun did just that.

"Oh... nice flames," DarkStar noted.

"Indeed. I hope we're getting some good scans of this." Nodoka said with awe. She then opened her cellphone.

"Yes. Are we reading this?" she asked once she connected with the observation team. "Good."

"Er... that can tell I'm doing this?" Sun asked, holding her sword.

"We did manage to detect your arrival and track you to here," Nodoka reminded.

"Right. Um, just out of curiosity, what are they reading?"

"Any inter-dimensional distortion, interference above ambient. Any pattern registerable energy that you're giving off. That kind of stuff. There's also whatever my daughter's sensing."

"I see," Sun nodded.

Nodoka and DarkStar watched from behind as Sun slashed at the air. A thin glowing line was left in the wake of the sword and it hung there as if the very air itself was cut.

They both watched as Sun used her sword to widened the hole, until it was like a round doorway into another room. Nodoka's attention was divided between what she was seeing and the readings on her scanner. Though the energy that was detected earlier was large, they had now focused their scanners on what was going in the small room. Nodoka schooled her features at the concentrated energy that Sun was offhandedly expending.

DarkStar simply unfolded her senses and blinked a lot at what she was seeing and smelling. She could see the opening and sense the power, but she couldn't smell anything coming from the other side. It was like the opening that also acted as a barrier.

Sun straddled the opening before crossing over to the other side.

"See," she called to the two women. "It's that easy."

***************

In the open room of the studio apartment, a thin line appeared in mid-air. It widened and a redheaded seifuku-clad young woman stepped into the room.

"See," she called into the opening. "It's that easy."

Kind of like a demonic teleport, DarkStar noted to herself. Alexia could do it from one point to another on earth, and BlackSky regularly traveled between the earth and the Succubus Home Plane. DarkStar herself had been toying with the concept too. "But is it the same?" she mused. The difference between different universes and planes of existence was not something she understood.

Two heads poked through the opening that Ranma was holding open.

"This is your apartment?" Nodoka asked.

"Yes," Ranma answered. "Tenchi isn't in right now, but this is where we live."

"Very nice," DarkStar commented. She looked and sniffed around the room from her vantage point and nodded her head. "Lot's of room to work with."

Though half of their bodies were in one universe and the other half in Sun's, there was no sensation of a barrier that been crossed. It was as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"Yeah," Sun said with uncertainty followed by an awkward silence.

"I'm am surprised by how - unspectacular - moving between universes is," Nodoka commented.

"That's because your universe and mine are practically neighbors," Sun explained. "If I had traveled further in... creation, moving through the warp would be like... ummm... like sliding through a tube slide."

"Really?" Nodoka said. "I'm surprised our worlds are that close. Not that inter-dimensional physics is my area."

"It's not really my specialty either," Sun admitted. "I just do it by instinct."

While Sun and her mother conversed, DarkStar looked about the room. Studying the sparsely furnished room, she spied something off in one corner and smiled as she recalled something that Sun had mentioned earlier. She looked over the stacks of tapes that were stacked under the TV and was frustrated that she wasn't able to make out any titles clearly.

"Say... are any of those tapes the ones you mentioned earlier?" DarkStar asked in an oh-so-innocent voice.

"Huh?" Sun said in confusion, her train of thought derailed from her conversation with Nodoka.

"Dear, now is not the time to ask such things," Nodoka gently chided her daughter, "she has a meeting to go to."

"Er... right," DarkStar agreed with a slight blush. "Maybe later?" she added hopefully.
Sun blinked at the two before smiling. "Well, I guess this is goodbye," Sun said with a hint of regret.

"Will you ever visit us again?" Nodoka asked.

Sun pursed her lips in thought. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "Tenchi really doesn't like me bopping around in different universes, but if I explain to him, I'm sure it'll be all right."

"But you'll at least write, right?" DarkStar quipped.

"I'll see what Washu can come up with," Sun replied with a smile.

The three stared at one another for a brief moment. As if on cue, the three reached out across the rent in space/time and fell into a group hug.

"Thanks," Sun said as she drew away. "I really do hope to see both of you again."

"Here," Nodoka said while handing a card to Sun. "If you do, you'll know where to find us."

Sun looked at the WIC business card and smiled.

"When you do make it back, bring more pictures," DarkStar said with a grin, "and maybe a DVD or two?" She finished with a wag of the eyebrows.

Sun blushed. "Er... right. I'll be sure to," she answered. "Umm, I need you both to step away from the opening. I don't want you to get hurt when I close it."

The mother and daughter stepped back, well away from the opening as it hung in mid-air.

"Goodbye," Sun said one final time as the rounded aperture started to close. She was answered by farewell waves from the Saotome women. With a slight, but audible 'pop' the hole sealed itself.

Then Ranma was alone in her apartment.

***************

In the confines of the restroom, Nodoka and Sailor DarkStar faced one another.
"Well, that was interesting," Nodoka said.

DarkStar nodded as she shifted into a form that could pass for human. She checked herself in the mirror. "Yes it was..." She cocked head and looked at her mother's reflection. "Do you think she'll ever come back?"

"If she is as good at her word as you are with yours, " Nodoka said, "I think we can expect her to show up sometime in the future."

"More crazy family from other dimensions, eh?" Ranma noted as she made one last check of her reflection before facing Nodoka.

"She seems more normal than your grandmother," Nodoka noted as both women headed for the door.

"BlackSky's perfectly normal for who she is, and her gifts are very handy," Ranma said. BlackSky was a vast resource on succubae, especially on how to take care of their young.
The value of her autobiography alone...

"Fair enough," Nodoka said before opening the restroom door and walking over to Andrea and Morrison and informing them of the latest development.

***************

After Ranma bid goodbye to her newfound friends , she stood in the middle of the living room. Barren of any furniture, the room offered a wide space for her to practice her forms. She smiled at the firm resolution she had set in her mind and began moving into the kata that she had attempted earlier in the day. Unlike earlier, she was able to almost dance through it with great ease without having to force it.

She moved silently in the room, spinning, kicking and jabbing at imaginary opponents before stopping before a large window that streamed sunlight into the room. Her breathing was controlled as stood with her eyes closed, enjoying the sun's warmth and further finding her center. She smiled.

Gathering up her cellphone and placing it in her purse, Ranma opened the creaking front door and looked about the apartment's interior. Yes, she was nervous, but she moved down the stairs with a purpose - her mind made up. She entered the sidewalk and looked about the new day. Exhaling through pursed lips, she muttered softly, "Well today, I face my past."

Heading to the bus stop, she began her journey to a place she hadn't visited in over six years.

***************

"It will be a few minutes until everyone gets pulled back," Nodoka said as she returned to the table and asked the waitress to clear off the third cup and give them their portion of the bill.

Ranma sat down next to her mother and sighed as she fingered her saucer.

"You feeling any better?" Nodoka asked.

Ranma smiled. "Yeah, yeah I think I am." She reached out and put her hand on her mother's "What about you?"

"I think it's time to finish what I had started ten years ago." Nodoka then ordered another coffee. She would do whatever it took to help her daughter. In that regard, divorcing Genma was an easy decision. It was the easier of the two decisions she faced today. The other was still being considered.

"That's good. You don't know how much having a mother like you means to me."

Nodoka hugged her daughter. "I'm just doing my best. I haven't sacrificed nearly as much as you."

"You accepted me," Ranma assured. "That's more than anyone can ask for." Ranma looked into her mother's eyes. "And I know you would do whatever you needed to."

Nodoka nodded. "How are you going to talk to Usagi?" she asked after getting and paying for the bill.

"Once I figure out what to say. How to even mention this to her," DarkStar finished off her tea and looked to her mother, who, naturally, met her gaze. "You'll make sure I'm not going to put this off?"

"Of course," Nodoka caught the wave from Morrison and looked to see that a van had pulled up to the front door of the shop. "Going to be quite the story to tell your kids," Nodoka noted as they walked out of the store.

"Complete with pictures," Ranma laughed while holding up the digital camera.

***************
***************

Omake by J St C Patrick

There you are," a voice called out. "How is everything?"

Both Ranmas looked up at the newcomer. She was very familiar to both of them.

"Hi Mom," DarkStar said with a smile. "Every thing's fine. We were talking about - stuff."

"I see," the older redhead said with a warm smile while eyeing the human-Ranma. "And who do we have here? Our wayward Senshi?"

"Um, Mom, I'd like to introduce you to... Ranma," DarkStar said a little nervously. "Er, Ranma this is my mom. Um, Mom, Ranma's from somewhere else."

"So I gathered," Nodoka said dryly still maintaining her warm smile as she slid into the seat across from DarkStar and addressed Sun. "So, you're just visiting? Do you have anything to declare? Fruit? Alcohol? Firearms? No? Well then, Welcome to Canada!"
DarkStar and Sun looked and each other, then back at the older women before bursting into a fit of giggles.

Nodoka Saotome, Mother, W.I.C. Scientist, Customs Agent.

End Interlude

We'd like to thank our pre-readers. They're the ones that made sure this story was readable. DGC, Questara, Kevin Hammel, J St C Patrick, Pale Wolf, Wray, and Jerry Starfire. It's great to have a group that we've built years of trust with and will take their time and effort to help us.
Thank you all.

Interestingly, this was written well before Strained Harmony was even conceived.
We were talking about our respective characters meeting. The idea stuck and we started writing it out, last spring.
There was one problem: The Return was nowhere near far enough along to post this. So it had to wait for more chapters of Return to be written.

Revision notes: This show the ephemeral nature of the internet as it's been a while. That said I have talked with Trimatter and he is still around, if not writing. And it was great to touch base with him again.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 7: Silver Sisterhood
Formerly: Reconstitution and Reincarnation Part 1



Mercury sighed at the bound figure. She crouched down and got a bit closer to the blonde. "I've got to compliment you. You actually hurt Virgo," she smiled thinly and looked to the former Amazon in the back of the room. The cut from Minako's chain on her arm was not terribly deep, but it would make things difficult for Virgo.

"You won't win," Minako said staring down the renegade.

"Not even going to try to break free?" Mercury raised an eyebrow. She shook her head and sat down on a chair across from the metal frame that held down Minako. It was built out of welded steel bars attached to a series of chains and metal loops. A series of softly glowing runes showed that there was more than mere metallurgy in the bonds. The careful inscriptions in the floor were also helpful.

Minako kept looking at Mercury. Her eyes briefly went to Orion who discretely deposited a glass of wine on the table next to her mistress.

"I'm guessing you're thinking about what I plan to do with you," Mercury remarked before taking a sip. Orion's abilities were improving. A dry red with a subdued bouquet and rich undertones from nut-tree barrels, went well with what she had planned.

Putting the glass down, Mercury sighed. She knew DarkStar would scoff at her selection. She was certain the demon preferred blood, but drinking it out of a goblet would be too tacky. No, DarkStar would probably be sipping Scotch. Of course the demon would have scoffed at this entire operation as being too dramatic.

Mercury's attention returned to her old teammate. "You know I can't be asking about information. If I was going for that I'd have taken Setsuna." She allowed a small smile to form. "You know this Mina-chan. Thus, you're wondering what I want with you."

To Mercury's disappointment, Minako closed her eyes.

"You don't want to make this more difficult," Mercury lazily warned as she motioned to Orion. There was a slight chink of metal parts as a leather case was put on the table and opened, revealing a dense collection of gleaming tools.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Minako opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of case's contents before shifting back to Mercury's face. The traitor was grinning widely now.

"I don't want this to be more difficult. It might... change you." She laughed and gave a wink to Orion. "Who knows you might start liking it." Behind her winning smile Mercury cursed. She hated these dramatic tricks, but she had to establish herself in their eyes.

"Monster," Minako hissed as her neck strained against the constraints binding her.

Mistress Mercury nodded. It was a start. "She warned you," Mercury said after a moment's reflection.

"Setsuna?" Minako asked as the metal bounds holding her waist chaffed her.

Mercury sighed theatrically. "No, not her. I'm talking about the one Senshi that knows what I'm really up to."

Minako looked to Orion with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know why people think blondes are dumb." Mercury contemplatively sipped from her glass. She was glad she had tested the rack's design on Virgo ahead of time, the new chest restraints were most complementary. "But no, it's not Orion I'm talking about. Good guess though."

"DarkStar?"

Smiling, Mercury picked up a small metal rod. She tapped it and some of the humidity from the basement room started to freeze. "Have you figured out what I want with you?"

"I'm a Senshi."

Mercury tilted her head. "You inherited the powers of one. You're not a true one. Not yet at least." She walked forward and ran the end of the rod along Minako's torso and then down her left arm. "You know what you are?"

Shivering, Minako stared at the wall. There was more than the temperature of the probe; it penetrated her flesh and felt... wrong.

"Potential." Mercury said as she ran the probe down the length of Minako's spine. "That's what you are."

"And what? You plan to release it?" Minako had to grit her teeth to keep them from chattering.

"You were close," Mercury whispered to her ear while holding the probe on Minako's right cheek. "You should have done it before me. You've been active before me, before the queen."

Mercury pulled back and withdrew the metal rod. "I don't know why you stopped developing." She turned her back to Minako. "I won't insult you by tempting your loyalties. If I was going that route you can be sure I wouldn't have picked you."

"Thanks." Minako noticed that the sharp chill from the probe had reduced to a cold numbness that had spread throughout her body.

"However, I'm still a scientist," Mercury pulled out a pair of spherical crystals. "This is important, do you know what these are?" she asked holding them up to the bound-girl.

The blond could see a pair of large marbles that seemed to be full of silvery tracery and tiny sparks. "Those little stress balls you try to spin in your hands?"

"I could have used those when I made these things." Mercury laughed. "Unfortunately, since you don't remember what these are, I've got to use them on you." She strode over and slapped a sphere to each temple. The clear casing broke and the silver wires spread along her skin and started burrowing in.

The blonde screamed at the intrusion. The numbness took care of the pain, but there was still a crawling sensation.

"I warned you," Mercury sighed and summoned a holographic display. Images flashed on the display. "My... your mind is quite a mess."

"Get out of my brain!" Minako shouted as she broke and started struggling against the bonds holding her.

"I warned you," Mercury shook her head and started searching through Minako's mind. She smirked slightly at some of the images. "Naughty girl."

Minako screeched and struggled against the bonds holding her. Images flashed through her mind in a disjointed sequence. The rapid shuttering continued to pound at her mind. Soon it was joined by scents and sounds immersing her fully and ceasing her struggles.

Cities and people that were alien to her grabbed at her mind and vied for her attention. Memories of growing up on a large villa overlooking a beach rose up to dominance and were then eroded by training with dour men in green and tan uniforms.

The sensations stabilized and slowly became more familiar. Sailor Seifukus and crystals became more apparent and gave her something to hold onto. It was not the uniform that held her attention, but who she wore it for. On this there was no disagreement between the memories. The specific life of hers did not matter, it would always belong to her princess, and she would always swear it to Usagi.

Mercury smiled as Minako's eyes widened and focused on something that was only a memory. "Yes, Queen Serenity really was something, but you already know how it ends. Let's give you something a bit less depressing."

The visions shifted away from the elder Serenity and focused onto someone younger. With the scent of flowers, wet dirt, and freshly trimmed grass blooming in her memory, Minako saw herself bowing before her princess. She took the oath in one of the gardens to the West of the central palace, it had rained earlier in the morning and the walkways were still damp.

As suddenly as they came the pressure retreated. Minako twitched has her mind emptied. Soon the displaced memories returned, but they were not alone. The blonde slowly opened her eyes and started at Mercury.

Inwardly Mercury smiled at the change in Venus' eyes. "Feeling more yourself?"

"You psychotic bitch," Minako growled. Rage boiled off her blue eyes.

"Yes," Mercury sighed. "You of all people should know what I'm trying to do," Mercury powered down the metal probe. "You used to be the leader of the Inners. Even Sailor V was more than a blonde ditz. What happened to you?"

Minako looked down. "That's not going to happen again."

"Oh?" Mercury picked up her wine glass. "Were you helpfully reminded on what had happened?"

"Shut up." Minako glared at the smirking senshi. "You have no right to talk, traitor."

Mercury coldly put down her glass. "You know better than to say nonsense like that. I'm the only one doing anything to save her."

"Save her? You're fighting her and going against her." Minako scoffed.

"You think we should mindlessly obey her? All the time?" Mercury sighed. "You remember how it all ended right?"

Minako glared.

"If you knew what Usagi was going to do with your sword would you still have given it to her?"

Minako bristled. "Of course not! I thought she was going to fight not... She held out her hand. What was I supposed to do?" Her great failure replayed in her mind. She was supposed to protect the Princess.

"Ah, you're saying that sometimes it's okay to disobey our queen?" Mercury calmly asked.

Minako's mouth dried. "Only... only if it's to protect her..."

"Even if it's from herself?"

"I'm not going to let history repeat itself," Minako promised as she closed her eyes.

"Oh? Endymion's dead again, and there's a demon queen on the rise," Mercury reminded. She raised an eyebrow as the symbols inscribed on the floor began to flare brighter and brighter.

Minako kept her eyes closed as power poured into the bonds holding her. She felt it drain away from her but kept the pace up and pushed more into the frame. "It's not going to happen again!"

Noticing the fracturing on the steel frame, Mercury summoned an ice shield that was soon pelted by a few metal fragments. The majority of the frame came apart around the blonde and fell about her feet.

From behind her shield Mercury sighed. "You know.. you could have simply asked to be released. Runic seals are not an easy thing to make these days."

"Like you would have just let me go," Minako grumbled as she tore the metal band off her neck.

Mercury raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you would have wouldn't you," Minako sighed, reached out, and found a handle behind her shoulder. She pulled and a large sword slid out of a scabbard that appeared as she reached. A shimmering translucent silver blade appeared.

It was a similar, if less spiritual, crystal as the Ginzuishou, the sword's last use was ironic. The grip fit perfectly into her hands, but she wanted to feel it, not have a pair of gloves in the way.

The blonde watched as her gloves split and shifted to become gold plating on the back of her palm and reinforcing her wrists. For the first time she felt the welcoming cool metal of the hilt with her own skin. Gauntlets also formed around her forearms.

The changes to her uniform continued as golden plates formed around her ankles and buckled into place. Her skirt lengthened and grew into overlapping gold plates of armor. Her top shifted and became a molded golden plate. Everything was then engraved in flowing patterns.

Her golden hair was pulled back by a dark red bow and fell behind her almost obscuring her giant scabbard. She shifted to a more stable stance as her shoes became reinforced boots. All the armor looked thin and ornamental. Especially if one missed when the script around the armor flashed red as it formed.

Mercury smirked as Lady Venus gripped the blade. "Silver, blessed, crystal, and poisoned if I recall. A fitting weapon for Serenity's left hand. Don't you think?"

"You know why I stopped using this thing," Venus stated. She noticed that her chest still had a big bow, as did the back of her armored skirt. Though now they were both the same dark red of the hair bow. Her choker felt more restrictive, but it was now wider and metallic.

Mercury raised an eyebrow. "Yes, the Princess killed herself on it."

Lady Venus examined the length of the blade. "Well, that's not going to happen again."

"I know exactly what you mean," Mercury smiled. "So no bare midriff?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "You always did have an eye for the ladies Merc."

Mercury shrugged. "It's good to have you back."

"I wonder if what you've got cooking is really best for the queen," Venus remarked as she flourished her sword. She looked to see Virgo tracking the blade's path.

"I told you: I'm not going to disrespect you with tempts and trinkets," Mercury promised.

"The Crystal Wink Sword is no mere trinket," Lady Venus said coolly.

"And it was never mine to give you," Mercury assured.

Lady Venus stepped towards the door. "Oh," she said without turning to face her former teammate. "If you do try to stop me, please let Virgo go first." Lady Venus smiled hungrily at the purple-haired girl.

"How come this stuff turns Senshi into lesbians?" Orion half-jokingly asked.

"That's not a sexual look," Mercury said as she waved for Virgo to stand down. Venus was quite interested in males. It was one constant no matter the life she lived. Her blonde friend wanted blood, but if she attacked Virgo... well skill was more important than the sword's power. Mercury was just the catalyst. Becoming more than just potential was still up to Venus.

"I'm not going to be tempted by some sleeper spy," Venus remarked.

"Of course not. You should be made of sterner stuff. After all, you're the Queen's executive officer." Mercury walked over and patted Venus on the shoulder. At the contact the pair vanished in a sparkle of ice shards.

The instant they reappeared Venus slid away from Mercury and raised her sword. The blonde looked around briefly to see where they had landed. Trees, groomed grass, and benches indicated some kind of park. Mercury thinly smiled at the blonde's stance. "I'm sorry, but I felt you could use a lift back home."

"It also keeps me from telling her where your hideout is," Venus glared as she leveled her sword.

"If you want to fight we can, but you see, I'm at a disadvantage," Mercury said gesturing to her evening dress.

"Yes, no battle corset or ice skirt." Venus smirked. She could swear that Mercury had more hair in that bun of hers, and guessed that she was still wearing some kind of support under that dress. Though the slinky dark blue material looked to hug her body without any interference from undergarments.

"Our uniforms change whenever we upgrade," Mercury shrugged. She dusted off her hands. "My offer still stands."

"To work with you? End up like Virgo?" Venus shook her head.

Mercury smiled coldly "I think we could work something more... subtle out."

"No thanks," Venus said as she idly swayed her sword around.

"Don't worry about trying to find me if you change your mind," Mercury assured. "I'll know," she said before vanishing again in another shower of ice.

Venus looked around to make sure she really was alone before sheathing her sword and finally shifting out of her armor. Mercury was getting stronger, she no longer needed other Senshi to teleport. The blonde added it to the list of things she learned. The princess needed to be told.

In her townhouse, Mercury reappeared in a shower of ice. She stepped forward and tried to steady herself when her high heels started to slip out from under her. Orion stepped in and held her arms. "I guess taking a passenger was too much just now," she respectfully said.


***************


"Feeling any better?" Jarvis asked Ranma as she sat down in the commissary.

"I suppose," Ranma shrugged as she poked at her stew. "Talking about it with.. that... other me helped, but..."

"You still need time to heal?" Jarvis asked a hint of a German accent to his voice.

The redhead "You don't get that do you?"

The blond officer frowned.

"You're worse with emotions than I am," Ranma stated.

"You? A mushy overly-emotional mom?" Jarvis smirked as a hint of emotion flashed in his blue eyes.

Ranma pouted. "I can still be brash and thoughtless. Seriously? What gives?"

"You know how I said my childhood was... different?"

"I know what you mean."

"No, you don't. Your father..." Jarvis paused. "Do you know what your grandparents did in the war?"

Ranma blinked. "The Second Sino-Japanese War? I dunno. Mom and Pops never talked about it. Might have even been before their parents' time." She noticed new emotions in her friend. "Why?" What could make Jarvis nervous or ashamed. What remaining skeletons could a person who readily admits to being highly skilled at torturing have?

Jarvis sighed. "You can guess my heritage."

"You're worried about what I think about something your grandparents did?" Ranma took his hand and patted it. "What do you think about what they did?"

The officer smiled slightly. "The reason why I joined WIC was because grandfather Konig was stopped by Army Special Investigative teams. Company agents on the army payroll during the war," Jarvis clarified.

"My mother told me the stories, but she never expected me to identify with the GI's instead of her father. I never told her. She was proud about my... interest in him though."

"Of course, the Company knows all this," Ranma dryly noted.

"My background checks were especially thorough," Jarvis admitted.

"I that why you're so... intense?"

Jarvis smirked. "I had motivation."

"Doesn't the D Program hurt that?"

He smirked unpleasantly. "Actually, no... people..."

"Expect it?" Ranma asked as she stirred her stew. "Do people really think that of you?"

Jarvis gave Ranma an even stare.

"Okay, fine." The redhead sighed. She had agreed to Jarvis being in the D Program, among a few other agents. "I think you need to tell me more."

"Both of my grandfathers were in the Luftwaffe. One was a pilot, he was... amazing. The Luftwaffe had a different philosophy towards their pilots; they were used in combat until they died. The very best..." Jarvis shook his head. "The top hundred pilots during the war were all German, and they all had over one hundred kills. Seventeen had more than two hundred.

"Let me guess, yours was one of the ones to break three?"

Jarvis shook his head. "Nope, and that's something Gerhard Barkhorn always teased him on. It really tweaked grandpa-Konrad when Gerhard got to be Bubi's best man."

"Who?"

"The two aces that got more than three hundred kills, though Gerhard got his by the skin of his teeth and not until '45. No, grandpa and Gerhard were always the little brothers to Bubi."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Ranma tilted her head. "So he was a really good pilot. Sure, I've just killed maybe..." Ranma paused to think. "Maybe a third of that, but that's war."

"I don't think you broke a hundred," Jarvis skeptically said.

"Really? There's been plenty of AOM and minions of Alexia. Don't forget that mess of youma."

"I could pull up your stats."

"No thanks, I don't want to see any nice pie charts breaking down my kills by species or whatever." Ranma smirked, delicately declining the offer. "Okay, so what is the story? What's the real dark Nazi secret to your family?"

"It's my other grandfather. He was a paratrooper," Jarvis sighed. "His unit... high command was quite desperate and that government had no scruples or morals to get in the way."

"Sir, Ma'am," Maya Iverson said after walking up to the two. "Surveillance just reported that Miss Aino has returned home.

"Akumi really did abduct her?" Ranma asked with slight interest.

"She's still playing games," Jarvis sighed.

"Maybe. But calling it a game? Ami could have really messed her up," Ranma tapped her chin. "I think we should keep a closer eye on Minako. If she really was taken by Akumi then there's two options: Minako fought her way free, which, in that case, the Senshi should be setting up a counter attack, or Akumi let her go."

"That could be a clever plan. Though Miss Tsukino should be wary of that tactic again."

"I'll keep you two abreast of developments," Maya assured. "If the Senshi make a move you'll be the first to know."

Ranma watched her go. "What's this really about? Why are you telling me about this."

"I want..." He sighed.

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Out with it." She looked at the unusually nervous man. This was completely new. Jarvis had never lost composure.

Jarvis cleared his throat. "Can you turn me early?" he asked blue eyes meeting purple.

The redhead leaned back. "You mean just because?"

Jarvis nodded stiffly, his face back to its cold facade.

Ranma scooped up the last of her stew and stood up. "Come on, your office should give us some privacy." She knew that would not be true, but it would give more of an illusion of privacy.

The pair walked out of the commissary and down a few corridors until they came to an unassuming door. Jarvis opened it and Ranma blinked at the room's contents. A simple desk with two chairs in front of it and one behind dominated the room, though behind it she could make out a cot with a blanket neatly folded on it. Under the cot was a trunk and a few shirts hung in an alcove in the back of the room.

"This is where you live?" Ranma asked as she sat down in a seat.

"I see no reason to spend money on a place off base."

Ranma shook her head at the bare room. She had made her decision. "If you say so. What's the full story about this paratrooper father of yours?"

"It started with a bunch of racists. They were dead set on proving, scientifically, their superiority," Jarvis smirked. "Of course they made up plenty of information, but... they did find a few things. Things that were more useful than roundabout propaganda. Granted, to use the knowledge they learned required a total absence of morality, but once you've committed to liquidating millions of undesirables, black magic doesn't really have any stigma, no?"

***************


The purifying light died down and Minako sighed in relief. "Thanks," she said to Usagi.

"What did Ami do to you?" Usagi asked.

"And why did you want to be purified first thing?" Rei suspiciously asked.

"To be safe." Minako shuddered. "Ami's... really twisted. She might have put a bug on me or maybe a spell."


"But what did she do?" Makoto asked after coming out of their apartment's small kitchen.

"She tied me up and made me remember." Minako clenched her fist.

"What, your past life? Why?" Rei asked.

"She was hoping that the me from the Silver Millennium would agree with her plans." Minako scoffed.

"And... which Sailor Venus are you?" Rei's tone had an edge to it.

"We're all the same," Minako said, rolling her eyes. "Look, Ami awakened my memories, but it backfired. I was able to break out and then she teleported us out of her lair."

"She can teleport? By herself?" Makoto asked.

"Yes, she can, and she didn't want me to find out where she was hiding out."

"What do you remember of it?"

"I was in a nicely furnished room. A basement I think. I was just in the one room."

"Teleporting? That's not good," Usagi interjected.

"We've faced enemies that could teleport before," Rei reminded.

"None of them were as smart as Ami though." Minako rubbed her temples. "You just know she's gonna do something... clever with that."

"Your memories were awakened and you learned enough to escape," Makoto surmised. "What did you learn?"

"This," Minako smirked, before being enveloped in a golden light. Rei stepped back and transformed as well. Sailor Mars blinked in shock when she saw the changes in Venus' uniform.

"You've got armor." Makoto stated. "That's... new... I think."

Lady Venus flexed her armored hands. "I guess. Our uniforms do change whenever we increase in power."

"That's good," Rei allowed as she hid her worry. Usagi had purified Minako, but Ami knew how to block that, and Minako might have been... changed.

Recognizing the hilt of the sword on Venus' back, Usagi froze.

"Don't worry. You have nothing to fear from this sword," Venus promised.

"Ami just let you go? I don't buy it," Sailor Mars walked up to the blonde. "Something's up."

"Yes," Venus agreed flatly. "She seemed surprised, but it could have easily been faked."

"Either way it fits Ami. She wants us stronger," Makoto looked at the armored seifuku. "I guess she got tired of waiting for us to get better on our own."

Lady Venus adjusted her chest armor slightly. "Well unless you girls want her to violate your minds too, get better. Get better now."


***************


"Captain Jarvis really wants to be a succubus?" Major Saotome asked as she inspected the long steel prototype.

"Yup." Ranma said as she looked at two smaller prototypes. "Nothing for Akane?"

"She didn't want a weapon," Nodoka said with slight embarrassment. "She's a lot like her mother in that."

Ranma coughed. "Well... my style. I don't..."

"It's okay," Nodoka reassured the blushing demon with a hug.

The redhead purred happily. "These look nice," she said after breaking the hug and resuming her inspection of two long folding knives. Their frames and grips were solid steel, making them rather heavy. "Foot long blade should be handy. Not sure about the balance."

"Yes, Nishina warned me about that. I'm going to need to have the girls come in and test them out."

"These have the same weight as the demon metal?"

"Yes, this steel has the exact same density. I used the proposed methods to make this. Of course it's not a perfect simulation of the planned material," Nodoka said as she inspected the edge of the rather plain katana. She was happy that the laser cutting was satisfactory, at least for the initial shaping. Of course Nishina disapproved of such methods, but even he agreed that traditional methods would not do with the given material.

Ranma nodded. "Can be good practice, until they get the real things. I get the katana, but why these for Nabiki?"

"Personally, I was surprised when Nariko suggested such a.. traditional sword. I offered to make her a matching wakizashi, but she insisted that not all the metal be used on her."

"And since Misako and Ukyou have their own weapons and Akane declined-"

"Yes, I talked to Nabiki," Nodoka smiled. "At the very least, the girls can start practicing on these. Though they are just martensite and pearlite. Ah, that should be Nishina," the officer said standing up and opening the door to her lab.

"Hello Master Nishina," she said with a slight bow toe the man who entered the room.

"This is my daughter, Ranma. Ranma this is Oskar Nishina," Nodoka said.

"Your first name's German?" Ranma asked after hearing the inflection. She was reminded of Jarvis. The elderly, balding man's eyes were piercing and exacting.

"No, I was named after a friend of my uncle's, Oskar Klein a Swede," Nishina explained bowing to Ranma, who quickly returned the bow.

Nodoka nodded. She knew about Nishina's family. They seemed to have an affinity towards weapons, though Oskar's craft was much more precise than Yoshio's.

"You don't have a problem with me being a demon?"

"Your daughters would not be the first demons on Company payroll that I've given my services towards. Though with your mother heading this project, I feel superfluous." He allowed a light smile that almost softened his eyes.

"No false modesty here," Nodoka gently reprimanded. "You're the best we have on contract. The only sane human to have worked with this material. These blades will be perfect."

"It was only an insert on the tip." Nishina walked over to the workbench and started looking over the sword. It was the same as yesterday: a soulless weapon, punched out by a machine. The precision and edge were admirable, but it was not a real weapon. The balance was wrong and its strength was in the wrong places.

"You don't like it," Ranma noted.

Nishina frowned. "It's a good start, but the Major makes guns, not blades."

"Actually, I have the most experience in armor and composites. I've spent much less time on metallurgy," Nodoka reminded.

"Yes, we'll need at least another batch of prototypes," Nishina said as he worked the action on the large folding knives. It was unconventional, but should work well for little hands and served as an effective dagger. "Nice locking mechanism. Very robust."

"Things need to be soldier-proof," Nodoka shrugged.

Nishina nodded and ran a calloused finder down the side of the blade. The forging had at least made a good piece to work more precisely. "Of course, I'll need to see the girls using these weapons."

Ranma nodded. "What have you made for other demons?"

"This one succubus had her soul sword shattered. 'course legend said those things could never be broken. Shows what legends know." He chuckled darkly. "Poor dear was very broken up about it. I made her a new one. Only got a sliver of Dantite for that one, but it helped so she could imbue it with recall and other powers she wanted," he smiled fondly at her enthusiasm.

"Really? So, the Company really does hire other succubae." Ranma said, pondering.

"Yes, I've even made weapons for her daughters. Cute kids." Nishina shrugged. He liked that his weapons were being used to kill monsters, but he was more interested in the process, the creation.

"So, the recall you mentioned. That's when someone can summon the blade back to their hand right?" She walked over and hefted one of the knives by the handle and started rotating it

"Yes, that's what that power is."

Ranma smiled wickedly. "Make sure these things have the right balance to be thrown."

"My dear, that's a monstrous idea." With a slight bit of effort, Nishina picked up the other knife and looked at the actual weapon. Not the steel test-piece, but the actual refined blade that came from his experience and the Major's technically impressive designs. "Yes, this will work."

***************


Jacob looked up from the typed pages. The blond captain stared back at him blankly. "You're certainly being... thorough with this," Jacob said flipping the stapled pages closed. "I see you've been accepted into the program."

"Of course, Sir. I would not even suggest this if I had not," Captain Adam Jarvis replied with what Jacob could swear was a hint of nervousness.

"Yes, and your proposal clearly demonstrates that what you suggest would be no more of a risk than the program we already have in place." Colonel Edwards pretended to look to his page and chuckled. "Oh, you even state that it could be more secure than the current program."

"It would be under controlled conditions and I would not be under duress," Jarvis agreed.

Jacob looked levelly at the German officer. "Son, you think this is a wise move? Given your family history? You getting into the D program has made enough waves. Some have even reached the general."

"Yes, my family has a... notable history in the Luftwaffe."

"It's amazing that they were never transferred to the Schutzstaffel." Jacob remarked with a slight sigh.

"Not really, Sir, I suppose Oberst Konrad Jarvis could have been transferred, but he was competing with Erich Hartmann. Shame, he almost got within fifty kills of Hartman." Jarvis explained, knowing full well which relative his commander was talking about.

Konrad was just as famous, or perhaps infamous, as his contemporaries. "Now Oberstleutnant Konig, his group would have been transferred. All the researches were..." Jarvis waved his hand. "But Kurt Student had enough clout to keep the group under his command. The Fallschirmjager were still reeling after the heliofly debacle, and he was not going to let some arrogant black-uniformed twits with more fascism than battle experience pick him clean."

Jacob noted how talkative Jarvis was being, but kept silent. He knew the story, but Jarvis did give a unique insight. The heliofly was a personal helicopter that a soldier could wear on his back. At first glance, and by those concerned with big ideas and neglectful of details, it sounded like a wonderful advantage: complete mobility. A desperate mad-cap renaissance in bizarre science at the time also allowed inventor Paul Baumgartl to peruse the idea.

It turned out that having a pair of quickly rotating blades above a man's head that would break-off in a lethal shower if he landed wrong was not the best war machine. That the device was too weak to allow true flying and only enabled soldiers to make hundred yard "hops" was another detriment.

An entire regiment of Fallschirmjager were equipped with these devices. The elite paratroopers took the designs and used them effectively, or at least as effectively as possible. They won their first battle against the Soviets but to a man were wiped out, especially after the Russians got over the initial shock of flying soldiers and started merely shooting them out of the sky.

In less pressing times, it would have served as an example to avoid such schemes and stick with more proven technologies, but Fallschirmjager head, Kurt Student, was as desperate as his colleagues, and was open to new developments. His once elite and superbly equipped troops were being watered down and were not even being trained as airborne troopers. He had a desire to once again give them the edge and turn them into elite and feared troops that could suddenly appear behind enemy lines, and if German science was unable to deliver...

"Sir?" Jarvis politely asked.

"I'm thinking over your request," Jacob explained. The parallels were disquieting. Kurt had not originally intended to make a subgroup within his command that possessed... upgraded bodies.

Jacob sighed. The situation with Miss Saotome had given them no choice but accept the D program. He wondered if Kurt had felt the same way when that smiling Schutzstaffel professor gave his presentation.

"We are different from them, Sir." Jarvis assured.

"Yes, Kurt's approach was more systematic. Though the initial results were... messy."

"At least, he had the sense to wait until the process was stabilized before administering it to volunteers from within his ranks," Jarvis dryly stated.

"Of course, Miss Saotome simply wants to help her friends," Jacob leaned back. "And I think she'd take issue with such comparisons. Does she know about your family?"

"I've explained it to her."

"Good. The documents the US Army Special Investigative team captured at that Luftwaffe base outside Mihla, support the conventional conclusion in relation to Project A, but there are still unanswered questions."

"Yes, some members of the Ahnenerbe Society were not satisfied with merely proving that the master race once existed," Jarvis chuckled at that nonsense. Most of the society went on expeditions that proved the superiority of the master race, and faked artifacts as needed.

Of course, once the society's practical arm, the Institute for Military Scientific Research started making real tangible results, the focus shifted from gleefully slaughtering concentration camp prisoners to something that had as much chance of winning the war as any other wonder weapon.

"Naturally, institutional paranoia prevents the Company from closing the book on Project A," Jacob reminded.

"It is believed on the Eastern-Front some of the... prototypes were not destroyed by the NKVD's special branch'." Jarvis' tone betrayed a bit of his dislike for their Russian counterparts. The current incarnation as the Seventh Directorate of the FSB was marginally better than the swaggering chekists from the Soviet era.

***************


"Have you made a decision with Jarvis?" Nabiki asked as she threw the heavy knife end over end. The weapon tumbled over and embedded itself slightly off target. The little demon smiled slightly.

"I guess," Ranma shrugged as she flipped the other blade open and closed. "The grips are really okay with you? Grandma can change them."

"Yes they're fine. That old guy, Nishina showed me the proper way to hold them." Nabiki assured as she walked down the groomed grass and pulled out the blade.

"Good, we can start a more advanced range soon enough," Ranma promised with an evil smile. "Of course this is just a side exercise. You also need to be trained in using these as melee weapons.

"Yes, yes, and I need to build up endurance so I can cast Icicle Parade more frequently too." Nabiki sighed and then flicked the blade back at the target.

"Mom's still evading the Jarvis question?" Nariko asked, holding a prototype katana in her hands.

She was in her leotard and was followed by Nishina who had changed into a traditional hakama and gi, though his kamon was rather unusual. It consisted of a horizontal wavy line that came from the left and suddenly bent and went up to the right at an angle. At the corner was a small circle that had a straight line coming out of it that terminated in an arrowhead.

"She'll do," Nishina said tersely sheathing his own sword. "Of course I can only teach her the basics. She'll need training from someone that can fight at her level."

"I know," Ranma sighed; she had an idea on how to train Nariko. It would be risky, but it could pay off. After she got the basics down, of course.

"Have you made a decision with Jarvis?" Nariko repeated.

"Oh? Well... he's asking Jacob for permission."

"If you'll excuse me. I've got to go back to the major and help her with your real weapons."

"Akane's still with Misako and Ukyou at the gun range?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, Mom," Nariko agreed. "So, why are you stalling?"

Ranma sighed. "He convinced me. Okay?"

"His family?" Nabiki asked as she threw both her weapons at once. She grimaced when the one from her left hand missed.

"Kinda. It's how he handles it. The guy doesn't have anything. He lives for his work; he's not working to live. There's nothing but the captain to him." Ranma scratched her nose. "It was painfully clear in his office. He's just got the Company, and he wants more."

"But he feels guilty? That he doesn't deserve anything?" Nariko guessed.

"Maybe. Hell, I'm his first friend." Ranma frowned at that. She didn't have too many friends in her life. Even growing up things had been... complicated. Both Ukyou and Ryoga were her childhood friends, but various betrayals resulted in both coming back for revenge... and due to Alexia ended up being her daughters.

"Mom, he's not being forced or dying. Is this enough to take away his humanity?"

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "What humanity? You've seen his life."

"He does seem to get us," Nabiki allowed.

"That's not very hard, sis. You didn't get us when you were human," Nariko reminded.

"Like you should talk, Tachi."

Nariko pouted. "Mean little sister," she sniffed and stuck out her tongue.

"Come on girls. Let's get the others. It's time for group maneuvers."

***************


"See anything about Minako?" Setsuna asked after Rei opened her eyes. The two women were sitting in the same shrine that Rei had gotten her visions about Mistress Lyra or, more accurately, Mistress Mercury.

Rei inhaled and kept her eyes closed. "She's golden, and her armor shines." She groaned and then opened her eyes. "I dunno."

"Try it again," Setsuna ordered.

"Do you know what this is like? You can't just force visions."

"I watch the Gates. I've got more idea than you can imagine." Setsuna's expression softened. "The key is that you can't force it."

"But you were just telling me to press against the fire."

"Not the fire, you have to open your mind to what it's trying to tell you."

Rei turned to the older woman. "Look, I didn't see anything bad with Mina. She was in her new uniform, fighting..." Rei frowned. "I don't know, but I sensed... she was protecting Usagi." She glanced at the flames. "What about you? Are your powers still useless?"

Setsuna's red eyes hardened. "It's hard. I can't reduce it down to just one-" She stopped. "Murdock must know how my powers work, and how to, well, jam them." Her shoulders sagged slightly. She did not like to admit it, but if Murdock knew enough to stop her powers, how they really worked, then he had to know the rest of the story.

"That's why you're pushing me?" Rei sighed. "Do you think Minako's been corrupted? That she's another Janet?"

Setsuna shook her head. "Ami's trying something different here."

"Is Minako telling the truth then? You were around back then? Is she like the old Venus?" Rei blinked to see Setsuna chew her lower lip.

"Yes, she's similar. Especially about training."

"And Ami?"

"No, the past Mercury was never a domineering and cold lesbian." Setsuna sighed. Rei did not know how lucky she was to still be connected to her powers. "Please, try again."

"Fine," Rei turned back to the fire. She concentrated and her eyes focused through the fire as the rest of the world slipped away. She easily fell into the groove and watched images form within the flame.

The image coalesced into a blonde demoness. Her face was vague but long blonde hair and black horns were clear and her cold blue eyes were obvious. They twinkled and came alive as she eviscerated a kneeling man. A laughing redhead put her hand on the blonde's shoulder and encouraged the blonde to feed.

Rei's body shivered and her nails cut into her palms but she pushed closer and tried to make out more details. Before the blonde's face could become clearer the redhead looked up. Rei recognized those purple eyes and was pulled into their depths. The priestess screamed when her shoulder was wrenched back and was roughly pulled onto her back.

Her eyes flipped open and she looked into angry red eyes. "Don't you know anything? When you look into the abyss it can look right back at you!" Setsuna lectured.

"It was DarkStar!" Rei straightened her fingers and winced at the cuts in her palms. "She saw me. It was... Call Usagi now!"

Setsuna pulled out her phone and immediately dialed the Senshi's apartment. "What did DarkStar do?"

"I saw her with a blonde and blue-eyed succubus," Rei said flatly.

Amazingly, some color drained from Setsuna's face. "Hello? Minako, thank goodness. Has anything happened with you girls?"

"No, it's been quiet here. What's wrong? Rei saw something bad?" Minako was worried at how rattled Setsuna sounded, but at least it was not a bad vision about her, probably.

"Don't let Ranma near Usagi. Rei saw... Rei saw a demon." Setsuna turned to Rei. "Did you get a look at her face? What did you see?"

"Just the eyes... and fangs. Not clear," Rei said as she frowned at her palms. At least the cuts were not as deep as she had originally thought. They were already clotting.

"It's not definite, but it might have been her," Setsuna said into the phone.

Minako sighed. "Well, that's just great. More crap that Ami was right about. Thanks for telling me this, I'll get Usagi." The blonde then yelled for Usagi to pick up the phone.

"Yes? What's wrong Puu?" Usagi asked, earning a wince from Setsuna.

"You need to stay away from DarkStar," Setsuna warned.

"You girls keep telling me that, but not why. What did Rei see?" Usagi asked.

Minako tapped on Usagi's shoulder. "They think she's going to attack you and convert you into a demon."

"What?" Usagi's face reddened. "Is this true?" she asked Pluto.

"Rei had a vision of DarkStar you as a demon." Setsuna said.

Usagi's face stayed flushed but her heart sank. "How.. how did you know it was me?"

Pluto handed the phone to Rei. "Your blue eyes, and long blonde hair with black horns sticking out of it."

Usagi blinked and her cheeks returned to their normal color. "Oh you guys. That's not me, my horns will be white."

There was silence over the phone and in the apartment.

"What?" Rei screamed.

"I told you guys this," Usagi sighed. "I had a nightmare where I was a demon. That's all."

"And you're using how you looked in this nightmare to debunk Rei's vision?" Minako delicately asked.

"I'll ask Ranma about this, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding." Usagi shrugged. "Did you actually see the face of this blonde demon?" she asked Rei.

"Well, no. I... DarkStar spotted me."

"She saw you? How's that a future vision then? Maybe she's with some blonde demon right now. She is a succubus."

"Well, I dunno. It's not like my fire," Rei looked to Setsuna. "How could DarkStar see me? If it was a future vision."

"That is true, a fire that you've worked with in a shrine you've warded yourself would be better, but time isn't as linear as you think of it," Setsuna said in a strangely wistful voice.

"Oh, so it could have been the future?"

"It could be any time really. These are just visions in a fire," Setsuna reminded. "Of course looking a demon in the eye is a sure way to get her attention too."

"Yeah," Rei handed the phone to Setsuna.

"Just be careful, Usagi." The Senshi of Pluto stated. "That's the most specific threat of Rei's visions so far. So far, Minako seems clean, but... these visions are just that."

"Pick us up for training after you're done?"

"Of course," Setsuna chuckled. "Don't eat too much you girls, and be safe."

"You seem amused," Rei said after Setsuna hung up her cell phone. "You never seemed that interested in training us before."

"Usagi ordered me too, and I won't fail her on that." Setsuna said, wondering if her plan would work. She had never taught before.

"So what're you going to do to us? We've been working on our powers more. Minako, especially," Rei shook her head as she sat back down and looked at her fire. "She's something with that sword."

"She's getting some skill back. I'll try, but I don't know how you girls learn." Setsuna did know one way to get the Senshi to practice their maneuvering and dodging.

***************


"How is Ranma?" Lieutenant Tendo asked the two demons sitting across from her.

"You could ask her yourself." Akane said without looking up from her breakfast.

"It hasn't even been two weeks, do you think she's ready to talk?" Kasumi inquired. They had exchanged words amiably enough on missions, training, and just walking down the corridors. It was succinct, but Kasumi never was one for small talk.

"Are you, Sis?" Nabiki looked around the B-base commissary. The room was surprisingly empty for this early morning hour.

Staring at her mug. Kasumi shrugged. Talking emotions out was alien to her. She had been taught to internalize and properly vent them. It was standard training for agents.

"Do you even know how much you hurt Mom?" Akane demanded. "She opened herself up to you... and you...."

"I broke it off when she started to think there was more to the relationship than there was. I wasn't going to lead her on just because the sex was great." Kasumi closed her eyes. "I didn't want to hurt her; I wanted to minimize it."

"At least that much worked out," Nabiki remarked while she stirred her oatmeal.

"Ranma does seem better," Kasumi offered.

"Mother's been getting a lot of help," Akane stiffly replied.

"Especially from Jarvis," Nabiki said with a smirk.

"Yes, the Captain has been interesting lately."

"What do you know about him?" Akane asked.

"There's his family."

"We already know," Nabiki dismissed. "I mean what else? Is there anything more to him, other than some insanely-terse super-agent? Why is he so interested in being one of us?"

Kasumi drank some coffee and thought. "It's because he doesn't have anything else. He's a Company officer, end of story. Now I guess he's found something more," she explained.

"So what? Did you have just enough in your life to not make you want to change? Not even for us?" Akane glared.

"You're not going to guilt me into demonhood. Don't you see? You think I'm cold and emotionless, that I don't have any life other than for the Company? I'm a joke compared to Captain Jarvis." Her hand gripped the mug as her eyes tried to lock onto both of her demonic sisters. "He doesn't care about losing his humanity; he gave up being human decades ago."

***************


"We're all here," Usagi said as she looked around the cavernous room. She was starting to get cold feet. Setsuna seemed almost... giddy at this.

"A warehouse?" Rei asked. "Isn't that a bit... cliché?"

"It's private and large enough," Minako paced a bit in the open space. "It's expensive as hell though. Especially if we damage anything."

"Depends on the training," Makoto added.

"Very good." Sailor Pluto clapped as she walked in from the shadows. "No skirts and no high heels. Good."

Rei raised an eyebrow.

"So you're going to train us without our powers?" Makoto asked, while Usagi studied Pluto. There was something different about Setsuna.

"Nope," Pluto cheerfully said.

"Huh?" Rei asked.

"I've never trained anyone. Until recently my work's always been alone" Pluto started walking around the Inners in a wide circle. "So I can't give too much help on that, but I have my strengths."

Usagi realized what was different. Setsuna stood out, normally she was unassuming and would vanish in a crowd, that was different now. Turning her head to match Pluto's motions, the blonde found it hard to look away.

"Murdock, and, from him, Mercury know how to block my powers, but observation is only part of it." She sighed. "It turns out DarkStar was right. The Company is right. Mercury is right." Pluto rubbed her forehead. "Murdock was right."

"What?" Rei tilted her head and wondered if there were any sane and untainted Senshi left.

"Please don't interrupt, I'm doing a soliloquy." Pluto sweetly cautioned. "They're not entirely right of course. If they were we would be the bad guys, but we are weak. It's doctrine, simple as that. The Company is largely nonmagical, and yet they would win in a fight. They have the advantage of numbers and organization. They know their weaknesses, but more importantly they know the weaknesses of their enemies."

Minako smiled. At least Setsuna understood.

"And the brood... magically they're weaker than us. Your magical attacks are much more powerful, but you know what? That doesn't mater. Overwhelming firepower is only good if you get the chance to use it. Mercury knows that. Do you girls know why she's so dangerous?"

"Because she knows our weaknesses," Makoto flatly stated.

"Yes, she tailored herself to fight Senshi. It's all about initiative." Pluto's eyes gleamed, and she looked to Minako. "This is what it's about. We can't just react to Mercury and Murdock. That'll just end up with us being knocked off one by one."

Usagi bit her lip. "That's what Mercury wants. She thinks she can get me to... I don't know what."

"So what's the plan?" Rei asked.

"And why wait so long?" Minako inquired in a wary tone.

"It's simple. Usagi never asked; I would never start this without permission, and... I didn't think we needed it. You girls were getting better, and then Ami... you four don't know how much that's destroyed you as a team. Don't worry, I'm here to help fix that." Setsuna assured with a, well-intentioned but alien, smile.

"Your powers aren't your problems, and you're growing those on your own," Pluto said meaningfully looking at Rei and Makoto. "Besides, that's something I'm even less skilled at teaching. The first rule is no transforming. You're going to be doing this in civilian form."

"What are you teaching us?" Makoto asked, glad that she and the others had worn pants and sneakers, both of which were more practical than anything their uniforms offered.

"Teamwork, dodging, and tactics. First you have to avoid these." Pluto grinned as the darkened warehouse lit up with a thousand tiny suns. "After you can do that for five minutes, we'll go onto the next stage," Setsuna explained as small golf-ball sized glowing orbs started to lazily move about the building.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Minako said, blinking at the vast field of spheres.

"They're insubstantial, harmless, but you'll know it if you get hit," Setsuna said as she flicked her hand down and the orbs swarmed in.

"Damn, get down!" Makoto shouted.

***************


Ukyou gently landed on the roof and tilted her head. The scent of the Pattern Silvers was barely present. She made a motion and another succubus dropped down to the roof. With Misako watching her back, Ukyou eased to a skylight and peered in. Her eyes widened at the unbelievable sight.

Four girls were trying to run away from a swarm of what looked like ball-lightning. They managed to get some distance and would occasionally knock one of the spheres away, but the swarm would simply envelope them.

Quickly boring of that, Ukyou turned and found Setsuna standing off to the side. The orbs seemed to be completely ignoring her. The orbs themselves gave off no scent and seemed not even there. The demon suspected illusions or holograms, but something about them still seemed odd.

"This is Ukyou, it looks like a training exercise. No danger," she whispered into her radio. The blonde succubus shrugged and started placing the modular surveillance devices from a side-bag she carried.. The image quality was low, but their tiny size was more important.

After finishing setting up the Scanners, Misako eased up to her mate. She frowned at the collection of orbs. She could just imagine mother using a training technique like that.

Ukyou looked to Misako and with a nod the two climbed off the roof and placed a few more surveillance taps on the walls. The pair then landed on an adjacent building, where they rendezvoused with a prone figure under a rough tarp that served as an urban Ghillie suit. "What kind of training?" Sergeant Graham asked while still keeping his rifle trained on the building.

"Something mother would think up," Misako muttered.

"Setsuna's using some kind of glowing balls to hound the other girls," Ukyou explained.

"That explain the strange readings?"

"Maybe," Ukyou said, still crouched down in the shadows. She was still worrying over what Misako had said. Mother would find that a very interesting training method, with the right changes of course.

"We didn't get close enough to really smell any of them. Girls didn't seem in trouble though." Misako said to the sergeant and into her headset.

"Well something strange had been going on in there," Ukyou said recalling when the long range scanners picked up the pattern Silver signature. It was a pain to triangulate but it had only taken an hour to narrow it down to this building.

"Situation's clear," Graham said after receiving the order via his headset. He then quickly and silently packed up his tarp and rifle. The trio made it down from the roof and into a waiting Company van.

***************


Setsuna paced around the gasping quartet of teenagers. Her spheres had stopped moving and hovered around them in a large dome. "It's a start," she eventually admitted in a forcefully dour tone.

"What kind of training was that?" Rei demanded.

"Well, how much longer did you last when you started working together?"

"It wasn't fair! We still didn't get anywhere. We couldn't stop them," Usagi whined after catching her breath.

"Why?"

Usagi blinked and wiped some sweat off of her brow. "We had no weapons, we couldn't transform. There was no way to win."

Setsuna clapped her hands together. "Excellent observation."

"Huh?"

"You couldn't win. The best you could hope for was to delay losing." Almost bouncing excitedly, Setsuna leaned closer to Usagi. "What should you have done? What do you do if the rules won't let you win?"

"You cheat?" Makoto ventured.

"Yes! That's how I beat you four, and that's how Ami beat you those times."

"No, Mercury beat us because she knows how we fight and uses her resources more efficiently." Minako corrected as she massaged a knot in her thigh.

Setsuna sighed. "When one side thinks that normal magical girl tactics are okay, and the other... doesn't... that's the cheating I'm talking about."

"How do we beat Ami then? We can't just change the rules on her." Rei paused. "Can we?"

"We won't beat her fighting her the way we've been trying," Minako agreed as she pondered what Mistress Mercury had told her. "She doesn't expect us to change. Well, not without her being the one to do it."

"Yeah, she did give you the standard villain spiel didn't she?" Setsuna asked. "So, what can you girls change? Any ideas on how to get the initiative back, take the fight to them?"

***************


Jarvis handed the signed documents over to Ranma. The redhead glanced at them and put them down on the table. "I've already talked with Jacob," she looked at the blond's eyes. "Are you really sure about this?"

"Of course," Jarvis said, sounding a bit offended.

"Sorry, I just... I had to ask." Ranma shrugged and sat down on the couch next to the officer. "I've never done this before."

"Do you know what to do?"

Ranma smirked slightly. "You don't know? You're the one that's gonna be doing it. You didn't want to be a daughter remember?"

"So.. so what do I do?" Jarvis hesitated in his words but his eyes stayed locked onto Ranma's.

"You know the normal turning method, right?"

"Yes, the mother succubus forces her will and power into another being and restructures the body based on a combination of the mother's form and the host body. The new succubus is very fragile as her mind and body are not fully developed. Nursing off of the mother is required for optimal growth." Jarvis automatically replied.

"And the other method?" Ranma asked, recalling the pages from the Silva reading primer.

"That's used to make mates and sisters. Demons that are peers to the mother succubus, not children. That requires, above all else a willing, host strong enough to support the change."

"I kick start it, but the rest of the change is up to you." Ranma then stood up. "I'm gonna give you a bit of time to think, so tell me now if you don't want this."

"No, I'm ready," Jarvis stood up and looked to the redhead.

"Yeah, we're not doing this in the living room," Ranma laughed as she led Jarvis upstairs to her bedroom.

"I suppose she'll do," Misako said with a smirk from the hallway.

"Don't be that way," Ukyou grumbled as she pushed her mate aside.

"Misa's right, I'm sure Auntie Jarvis will be lovely," Nabiki teased as she opened the door to the bedroom. Inside Akane and Nariko looked up from their work.

"I'm sure you'll be right at home," Akane said a bit distantly as she fluffed a pillow.

"Yeah," Nariko nodded as she finished spreading out a quilt.

"Yes, thank you," Jarvis stiffly replied. He looked to Ranma and stepped into the bedroom.

Nariko warmly smiled at the blond as she and Akane left the room, closing the door behind them.

"Get undressed," Ranma said as she stripped herself. "Good you're not bashful about that," she remarked looking at Jarvis' nude form.

"I'm German," Jarvis stated, standing with his hands clasped behind himself.

"Yes, well do you want a last moment to savor being male?"

"Did you?"

Ranma coughed. "I guess not," she sat down on the bed and motioned for Jarvis. A deep purple aura flickered around her and started to creep along the bed.

Jarvis sat down and felt the aura snake around him and start coiling around his limbs. He looked to see Ranma's hair starting to undulate and wave with the energy.

"This is your last chance to back out," Ranma said as her eyes throbbed a deep violet.

Jarvis nodded and was immediately hit as the aura constricted over him and started to permeate his flesh. Power filled his body but it was directionless and meandered through limbs and organs that began to feel disturbingly.. fluid. The charged sensations went to the officer's brain.

An image filled his mind. A body... a form...

"You need to change now," Ranma gently reminded as she poured more into the increasingly malleable form and extended her wings and wrapped them around Jarvis.

The captain concentrated and felt his body contort and ripple. Concentration replaced trepidation and more effort was exerted. With every shift the end state became clearer and the omnipresent embrace became more reassuring.

Soon a threshold was passed and the changes became easier, the quivering and shifting masses were falling into place and forms were taking shape. The process had a momentum all its own and with the urging of the host would not, could not stop. There was less trailblazing and more filling in. Transmutations increased, and the supplied energy, finding not resistance but an eager will that pulled it further along, flowed deeper and penetrated everywhere.

***************


Mercury frowned at the display in front of her. She restarted the feed and watched the video again. The quality was barely acceptable but it showed enough. With a deep sigh she reached out and took the wine glass that Orion had obediently refilled.

"At least you found out that Pluto is training them," Orion offered looking at the hundreds of glowing spheres that danced around the warehouse interior.

"I suppose that's a bright spot," Mercury said a bit too petulantly for Orion's taste.

"It certainly means your work on that armor won't be going to waste," Orion reminded.

Mercury smiled at the thought of armoring the sword mistress Senshi. "We have been neglecting her, haven't we?"

"She is on our team," Orion agreed.

"Still, I don't like this from Setsuna. I should be the one training her. Setsuna... she doesn't know how to teach." Mercury glowered and pulled out the ice spikes pinning her hair back. A cascade of blue tresses fell around her, spilling all the way down her back.

Orion thinly smiled at her lover and mistress. "Yes, someone that has never taught before does not come up with an intensely magical training aide. Obviously it's retrofitted from some other purpose."

Mercury nodded. "It worries me. These spheres could just be holograms; they certainly don't give much of a magical signature but... " She replayed the video and pointed to one of the spheres.

Orion watched as Rei crept to Setsuna, only to be harassed by an orb that zeroed right in on her. "Yes Pluto's back was to Mars, but there are other ways to track someone. Do you mean to suggest that the orbs are more than projections?" Orion was more concerned about the improvements in the tactics. Rei did fail to get Setsuna, but her distraction did allow Makoto and Minako to launch a coordinated attack that cleared the way for Usagi to land a finishing move.

"It's not an unheard of ability. DarkStar can do it, but with much fewer orbs." Mercury ran her hand over the rim of her glass. "Of course there have to be limitations to Setsuna's power."

"Our benefactor has shown us how to shield our presence from her."

"Yes, though I suppose it could all be a ruse. Maybe Setsuna knows exactly where we are, and what we plan."

"You suppose we're really pawns of her?" Orion reigned in her skepticism; she did not want to offend her mistress.

"It's possible. It would be easy to dismiss Setsuna as a plodding bumbler, a women that's had her edge worn down by years and years of waiting." Mercury chuckled. " Failing to notice and stop us.. it's a perfect cover for her."

"What makes you think there's more to her?" Orion asked.

"Serenity would not have placed someone so... fallible in charge of an artifact like the gates."

"She could have slowly declined over the years," Orion said playing devil's advocate.

"Perhaps, but I've been decoding the protection our benefactor-" Mercury paused to laugh. "- has given us. What little I've found out makes me suspicious, but I need more information."

"Maybe we should take a trip," Orion suggested.

"I am getting stronger on teleportation," Mercury mused as a small smile formed on her lips. "Yes, that's got some real potential."

"What if we run into her?"

Mercury laughed again. "I can make sure she'll be appropriately distracted."

***************


For the first time, Jarvis did not wake up alone. The officer's eyes did not open. The sense of touch and smell was more than enough. Several warm bodies weighed down on Jarvis and were mixed with an intoxicatingly deep collection of odors.

More impressive than the rich collection of scents was the... presence. Weighing in the officer's mind was a connection to.... Jarvis' eyes opened and looked happily at the sleeping redhead. With a slight nudge the brood mother woke up with a tired but exuberant smile.

"Wow," Ranma smirked as she looked over the... blonde. "How do you feel?" she asked as she sat up and got a better look at the new demoness' prone body.

"It's..." Jarvis blinked and pulled a few strands of hair and looked at them. "Longer?"

Ranma shrugged and helped the officer to her feet. "It happens."

Jarvis nodded and looked down at her nude frame. Her chest obscured much of the view, but what she could see was pleasant enough. "Acceptable," she said smiling down at the shorter succubus.

"Nice to see that you're more emotional," Ranma laughed as she opened a drawer and started rummaging around. "I don't think we've got anything in your size," she said stealing a glance at the blonde.

"Oh?" Jarvis asked as she concentrated on getting her senses to calm down. She walked up and put a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I'm not that big?"

The redhead looked up. "Yes, you are. You've lost maybe an inch or two. You're a big succubus," she said with an amused grin.

Jarvis stiffly nodded.

"What's wrong?"

The blonde's lip quivered and she slowly sat back down on the bed. Her eyes locked onto Ranma and stared. "You love me," she said in a whisper.

"Yeah... I did agree to turn you," Ranma said bending over slightly to look her in the eye. "What's wrong?"

Jarvis' eyes blinked away some tears as she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Ranma.

"It's okay," Ranma automatically comforted while she returned the hug. She was surprised to find the blonde summon her wings and then fold those over her. "I love you," she said to the new succubus who was now purring more than crying. From within the taller demon's large wings Ranma kept hugging her.

Rubbing her nose, Jarvis pulled back her wings and smiled thinly at Ranma. "Thank you, Sister."

"It's about time you had a real one," Ranma agreed and kissed Jarvis. She almost laughed at the surprise that soon melted to contentment in her sister. "You can't avoid it; the power these feelings give us."

"That's what it's all about?" Jarvis asked as she got up and pulled one of Misako's mirrors and started looking at her body. "I guess you really didn't have any choice. Not with a body like this," she stated turning back to Ranma.

"You know how cute you look when you're sounding serious?"

Jarvis smiled and her pale skin took on a hint of rose color.

"You're going to have to get a bit more control if you want to look scary," Ranma teased.

"Oh?" As Jarvis narrowed her eyes, they began to glow blue. Shadows appeared over her form and she was soon dressed in a dark grey Company Dress uniform. "I don't know why the women agents don't like these things," the Captain posed with a fanged smile.

"It does look good on you," Ranma appraised, after summoning a blouse and leather pants for herself. "Bit darker than normal, and are the skirts supposed to be that short?"

"It's regulation length," Jarvis stated. She had picked up the mirror again and was frowning at her reflection. The black horns were fine, but her hair was well above the max length.

"Oh so, your legs are just that long? I guess the Company didn't have succubae in mind when they came up with the uniforms. I suppose even they can't think of anything," Ranma laughed.

"Maybe they can be changed," Jarvis said as she pushed her hair up, strangely it managed to follow her intuition and eagerly twisted into a severe bun. A Company beret with her unit pin formed in place just behind her horns. "How do I look?"

Ranma chewed on her lip in thought. "You're missing one thing," she said pulling a case out of the closet. She opened it and handed a holstered semi-automatic to the blonde.

Jarvis smiled as she drew the weapon. "I knew the Major was building another but I thought it was for-"

Ranma cut her off. "Ukyou said you could have it. Mom'll be making more SSP's."

Smiling, Jarvis nodded. She undid her belt, threaded it through the holster and a pair of double magazine holders, adjusted it onto her hip and slid a few magazines from the box into the pouches. She smiled at the leatherwork; they were a custom job of course. The WM 500 SSP, Standard Succubus Pistol, was a logical investment given the potential of the D Program. She then readjusted the belt a bit.

Ranma raised an eyebrow at the low placement.. The leather holster actually extended an inch lower than the hem of her skirt. "Are you sure that's right?"

Jarvis' hand blurred and in a smooth motion drew rotated to level and raised to aim. "A bit slow. I'll have to get used to the bigger grips," she admitted with a small frown. "The major really built a beast with this thing," she said while gauging how much lighter it felt. Her previous forty-five sidearm felt heavier.

"So, what are you going to do for a first name?" Ranma asked closing the case.

The blonde had drawn her weapon again and was inspecting the slide. "I've been thinking on Eve," she shrugged.

Ranma laughed. "Works."

The captain smiled. "Good, I'll use that for the paperwork."

"Don't bother Eve, I'm sure the surveillance people are telling personnel," Ranma teased as she tested out the new name.

"A total lack of privacy? I've got no secrets." Eve smirked a bit. She turned and waited for the door to open. She would have heard the person walking in the hallway outside before, but the slight scent and connection were new.

"Another blonde?" Ukyou asked with a mock sigh. This new tall succubus smelled oddly like Mom. Her hair was a golden blonde while Ukyou's was a paler platinum color.

"Eve was already blonde," Ranma explained.

"Well come on Auntie," Ukyou said grabbing Eve's hand. "We've got to get you trained."

***************


"I think it's time to get worried about our success," Jacob said with excessive seriousness.

Stillwater leaned back in his chair. "Captain Jarvis' arguments were persuasive. We've now got a solid liaison officer for the D program."

"Yes, we should have expected... Eve to make this choice." Jacob shook his head and sipped his drink. She did seem quite at home with the Major's new weapons. "Should we be worried that the General allowed this?"

"You mean that after getting an audit we're suddenly being given a blank check in regards to the brood and turning our officers into demons?" Stillwater chuckled. "Oh no, we don't need to worry at all."

Jacob eased back into his chair and waved to the live feed of Eve and Ranma in the dojo. After Happosai's arrival the surveillance systems were upgraded.

"Good, keep her training." Stillwater knew the benefits of training on a young soldier. It kept them busy while sharpening their edge. He looked to the feed with a thin smile. "She fights dirty doesn't she?"

Jacob watched and saw Jarvis punch Ranma in a spot that was painful even in women. The redhead almost laughed and lunged back at the blonde. "Company doctrine is to use any available advantage against a physically superior enemy. That's still valid here. Of course Miss Saotome is holding back."

"Yes."

"You do know the caliber of our organization is on the line here?" Jacob asked.

Stillwater turned to see a unitard-clad Eve take a hit to the side and roll with the kick and still be able to block the following punch. "If we weren't good enough, Miss Saotome would never have accepted any of this."

"And what does that say about us?"

***************


Eve sat on the floor, breathing heavily. She looked up to see Nariko handing her a glass of water. The blonde smiled and accepted the drink. "Mom's impressed," Nariko appraised.

Nodding, Eve then took a sip. She stretched her arms. "Where did Ranma go?"

"Grandma's arrived," Nariko explained with a little smile. She patted Eve on the shoulder and left the dojo.

Eve had enough time to finish her glass and stand up and shift into her uniform before the Major arrived.

"Hello, Captain." Nodoka said as she entered. "Have you tried out your new weapon?"

"No, Ma'am," Jarvis replied, as she reflexively snapped off a salute.

"Still being formal? We are family," Nodoka said as she reached around and hugged the shocked blonde. "You get my daughter's heart broken again and I'll take care of you myself," she flatly and nearly mutely whispered into the demon's ear.

Eve did not react as she felt that Ranma was euphoric and looked over to Ranma who was beaming happily to confirm it.

"Now hug your mother back," Nodoka stated.

"Mom?"

"You are my daughter's sister right?"

Eve paused in thought and looked to Ranma again. "Ja," she said weakly as she tentatively put her arms around Nodoka. She then saw Ranma run over to her and hug both older women. Eve responded to the tighter embrace by freeing her wings and wrapping them around them.

Ranma purred. Eve was a newborn demon. The extra bit of her power that the blonde took during the turning gave her a head start, but she was still very young. It was still nice to be protected.

***************


Setsuna stretched on the couch and tapped on a notepad with her pen. She looked up and smiled at the blond entering the room. "Hello Minako," she idly said before going back to her work.

"Planning more danmaku games for us?" Minako sighed.

"You're starting to last pretty well," Setsuna allowed.

"Ok, it helps, but it's not realistic. How many fights will we have full of hundreds of orbs?"

"More than you'd think," Setsuna stated. "Remember, I told you that you girls don't lack power, but you needed more teamwork." She closed her notebook. "And that's what you're getting."

"Sure, we still can't beat you," Minako grumbled.

"And you won't."

"So we've gotta find the right way to 'cheat'," Minako smirked.

"You're getting better with your sword," Setsuna offered.

"Yeah, it's like riding a bike." Minako stated as she wondered on Setsuna's certainty of invulnerability. She knew that Setsuna was always aloof and distant, only deferring to Serenity.

Setsuna studied Minako's eyes. "Maybe, Ami should awaken the other Senshi then."

"No, that's a horrible idea."

"What if I could awaken them?" Setsuna asked.

Minako shrugged. "If they agree to it. I'm not sure it would help. Look at what Usagi was like."

"You think she's better now?"

"Her fiance is dead but she hasn't killed herself yet," Minako stated.

"Interesting measure of improvement."

"Motherhood was not Queen Serenity's strong suit."

"Yes, that was surprising. Serenity had waited so long before she had kids." Setsuna frowned. It was a major disappointment a woman that had helped so many...

"She did spoil the Princess," Minako stated as she tried to pick up the notebook only to have Setsuna snatch it away.

"Serenity built her empire and made it secure; everyone expected it to stay that way." Setsuna opened the book and made a few notes. "Even when things became... painfully obvious, everyone expected things to be okay."

"Yes, we all know that Serenity can not be beaten, of course, the rest of us often die before that happens."

"She was looking at the long term; Serenity had planned out what would happen if things went to hell. She knew what to do," Setsuna assured.

"Yes, that's why we're back here, and I'm living another life."

"Second chances are good. So are you girls going to be ready for tonight?"

"Sure, it'll be fun." Minako coughed.

***************
[[

Captain Jarvis frowned as she straightened her skirt. Urinating in this body was a novel experience. Methodically washing her hands, she figured that it was a small price to pay for... her frown deepened. There was no regret, that much was obvious. Jarvis was not terribly attached to his body as Adam. She shrugged and left the bathroom and crossed the hall and entered the bedroom.

Nariko looked up from her diary with a warm smile. "Mother insisted you sleep here tonight?"

"Yes, she was quite upset at me returning to my office," Eve said sitting down on the bed. Her eyes went to the bookcase next to the dresser. Most of the titles were the expected demonic books. Though one, the slimmest text caught the blonde's attention. Its spine was so small that there was no room for text on it.

"Well, you shouldn't be alone, not at your age," Nariko said sternly.

"Yes," Eve agreed as she reached out to the book.

"Good idea," Nariko noted. "BlackSky is your grandmother too now."

"Huh, yes that is true." Eve took the book and was not surprised at what she found. On the cover a young dog curiously watched a lizard of some kind. "The Poky Little Puppy?" she asked reading the title.

Nariko pocketed her pen and closed her diary. "Yes, that's mine."

Eve turned and opened the small children's book. After a brief pause she decided on the more pertinent question. "When?"

"It was the family's, back when Kodachi and myself were in grade school. I found it again when I was... young," Nariko smiled a bit at the memory. She had decided to move out of... Tatewaki's old room and was clearing boxes out of a spare bedroom. Several children's books had fallen out but the playful puppy had sparked her memories the most.

Nodding, Eve had already started reading. She smiled at the story. It was the standard fare warning against disobedience and straying from home, but it mostly was a little puppy being a puppy.

Nariko noticed the amusement grow on the taller woman's face. She was actually pausing to study the illustrations before moving onto the next page, and seemed oddly delighted in the very simple pleasures of the story. Nariko sighed when Eve got to the end of the story and her face fell.

"The puppy missed her mother," Eve softly said, closing the book. "She came and looked for her child, but that poky puppy was..." The blonde trailed off. "What kind of story does that? It ends with a sad puppy feeling sorry and alone?"

Nariko slid closer to Eve. "I didn't really like it," she rubbed her eyes. "It was really scary to me. I was... I don't like to remember much about that time, but that poor puppy," she put a hand to Eve's shoulders.

The blonde initially recoiled from the contact, but sighed and leaned on the other woman. "We really are simple creatures aren't we?"

Nariko raised an eyebrow and watched Eve falter.

The blonde closed her eyes and with a bit of a growl forced a neutral expression. "It's a good book to keep," she admitted her voice carefully stated to not appear strained.

Nariko tightened her grip on Eve's shoulder and remained silent. She knew prying would not work; Eve seemed to be as stubborn as Akane or Misako or Mother.

"I should go," Eve started to rise but relented against Nariko's grip and sat back down. She stared at the book's cover.

"You can't escape." Nariko smirked. "You're right we are simple creatures. We're emotional, passionate."

Eve sighed.

"You don't have to bottle it up," Nariko whispered. "Not around us."

Hesitant blue eyes blinked at Nariko, and Eve struggled to contain herself.

"You can't do this alone. None of us can." Nariko undid Eve's bun and brushed some of her hair.

Eve purred but her eyes flared. "It's not supposed to be this way," she blinking back some excess moisture.

"It's up to you," Nariko reassured as she kept brushing. "You have a choice. Do you want your past?"

Tears leaked down Eve's cheeks. "Why should I?" she cried. "It's just a family of monsters and cold childhood and an empty adulthood." Whimpering she leaned onto Nariko as tears freely fell.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I won't let go of it!" Steel had returned to her voice and she wiped at her eyes. "I can't let it go that easily."

"It's okay," Nariko reassured as Eve kept crying. She turned to the door and smiled as it burst open and Ranma rushed in. She immediately went down and hugged Eve.

"What happened?" Ranma asked reassuring her sister. Before Nariko could answer she spotted the book.

Purring, Eve wiped her cheeks and straightened up. She looked at Ranma with an embarrassed grin. "I was chatting with Nariko."

Ranma laughed. "You're gonna have to accept this side of us."

"Being an emotionally overloaded empath?"

"Don't worry," Ranma smirked. "It's real easy for us to be scary."

Eve looked down to the floor and hugged both Nariko and Ranma, first with her arms and then with her wings. "I don't know if you'll ever truly understand my past." Eve hugged them tighter to silence the two. "That is immaterial. You will know the strength of my word. You've seen what I've done for the Company. Just imagine what I will do for this family."

***************


Careful to not touch the blade, Oskar Nishina picked up the sword and studied it. "I suppose the laser cutting is adequate," he said after gently tapping the length of the blade with a tiny hammer.

"It was honed more conventionally," Nodoka reminded as she made sure her lab assistants quarantined the sharpening instruments properly. It would be next to impossible to guarantee that no particles remained, especially on the sharpening stones. Also they would be needed again, for when Nabiki's blades were made, and periodic maintenance. It was simply easier to isolate and secure.

"As was the construction of the grips and guard," Ensuring his hand did not touch the surface, Oskar ran a bit of light oil over the blade using some rice paper, dusted it with a stone powder wiped, cleaned with mineral oil, and then sheathed the sword. The niobium-titanium sheath had been constructed earlier and was used on the second steel prototype. Adding niobium had been his idea. Dr. Saotome had leapt at the high temperature resistance and strength that the alloy would provide. It was a somewhat dangerous metal; in chip and powder form it was a skin and eye irritant and a fire hazard. It was still less dangerous than the primary metal in the blade. He was amused given the other uses of niobium.

"What do you think, Master Nishina?" Nodoka asked.

"I'm suspicious about the grip pattern, but Nariko prefers them." Oskar wondered about the cross-pattern cut grips, but it was a part which if Nariko did not like them, it could be changed out fairly easily. He fully accepted the reason to keep them metal.

Nodoka gave a final inspection to Ayami and Adia's work before turning to the table Nishina was at. With a bit of effort, she picked up the weapon and carefully drew the oddly shimmering sword. "Well?"

"You tested its strength, flexibility, and hardness," Nishina stated.

"Yes, it's positive on my measures; what about yours?" Nodoka asked resheathing the blade. She smiled at the light purple-red color of the sheath. The anodizing provided more than color, it also gave damage protection.

"It will work," Nishina stated modestly.

"Good, I'll call my daughter and Nariko," Nodoka said as she pulled out her phone. "We can arrange a full test." She had some concrete and steel targets at the B base already built, and there was the armored transmission case for their downed helicopter.

***************


Mike Stevedore wiped his brow as he looked at his notepad. Cramped stanzas of text written in a hurried and emotional hand, combined with his long stringy hair, ratty goatee and ill-kempt but dark and ironic t-shirt he was as innocuous as any other youth.

He smiled as he watched another large van exit from the underground garage. He added another couple lines to his poem finishing that stanza. Afterward he looked back at the rest of the deli and its mix of patrons. Most were his age and ran the gambit from being dressed even rattier than he was to business casual and full suits. His eyes lingered on the latter class, he had been briefed on the enemy's plainclothes procedures. Women, especially those with pale skin, were also suspect.

One of the more casually dressed business people was standing in line, ostensibly fiddling with his phone. His eyes scanned the other patrons and frowned at one ratty kid who suddenly started scribbling in his notebook. The scraggily beard was reminiscent of a kid that grew up down the block from the young business man.

Mike leaned back and relaxed. There were too many people and the enemy could not spy on everyone, this was only his second time watching and he would leave in an hour anyway. He noted a van slow and pull up to the garage and was caught with some inspiration.

"See, it happened again," Gabriel said as he fiddled with his phone. He and his commanding officer had put their drinks on a bar that ran along the back of the deli as they waited for their lunches to be made.

"Yes, you told me while we were in line, let me see it," Kasumi said as she took the ostensibly broken phone. She held it so the poet was in the edge of her view on the other side of the cafe. The kid was human, so that narrowed it down somewhat. "That's strange. It only cuts out when you dial the office?"

Gabriel shook his head. "It does it when I call home sometimes, but..." He shrugged and caught another instance of their poet writing whenever something happened at the company motor-pool entrance.

Kasumi nodded and pointed to the deli counter. Their order was ready. As she picked up their sandwiches she mulled over the situation. "Wanna eat here?"

Gabriel looked around the deli. "Sure, it's not so crowded today." He smiled honestly. "Anything to get away from the paperwork."

Kasumi nodded and the two took an open table and sat down. By the time she was halfway through her lunch she had been convinced. She answered her phone with annoyance. "Yes, but... fine boss. I'll have the budget done by tomorrow." There was a long pause and her face brightened. "Really? We got the deal. That's good."

"That's reassuring," Gabriel said not needing to act. Actual work was a good distraction for Lieutenant Tendo, especially given what had happened with Captain Jarvis. Something was definitely up with that kid, his tradecraft was okay enough, until you noticed the correlation. The signal to noise ratio was far too high. If only he had put in the effort to constantly be scribbling in his notebook, or had simply bothered to just memorize it.

"Life's funny. We never would have gotten that contract if not for our boss bumping into the client at a conference." Kasumi smiled wistfully.

Gabriel nodded. After a few minutes, he spotted two workmen in coveralls enter the deli as the amiably chatted. Their construction truck parked on the street across from the Company garage. He wondered where they got the vehicle from, it certainly was not from A base, and even the B base might have been under surveillance.

The agent shrugged and finished his sandwich. Undercover work was risky. One was safe only until you were spotted. All your tradecraft was to keep that from happening, or at least give you some advanced warning that your was blown. Luck was a big factor, but that was what tradecraft was for, to stack the deck as much in one's favor as one could. Right now, the kid was already a write-off.

***************


"Useful idiots," Eve muttered as she and Ranma walked across University of Toronto campus. She was dressed leather pants and bustier similar to her sister's. Their surveillance had taken them to an open-air fair of some type.

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Because they're into conspiracy theories?"

Eve laughed. "There's nothing wrong with conspiracies. People really were seeing strange lights out in Nevada. Except, they were really secret airplanes and not reptaloid aliens landing their invasion scouts. I guess secret essentially invisible aircraft that can strike anywhere wasn't juicy enough for them."

"Huh?" Ranma blinked and looked over some books in a kiosk. She looked up briefly to keep an eye on their target, but his scent was still strong.

"It's like people that doubt the moon landing," Eve explained pointing to one of the books. "You either have to think that all those forty-story spaceships were faked, not counting the thousands and thousands of people that worked on it, or that they really were launched and then just left in orbit, instead of going that extra bit to the Moon itself." She smirked at the way the young men and woman looked at her.

"You don't really buy into that stuff, Miss?" the pipe-smoking man in the kiosk said. "Buying NASA's official line."

"Of course not." Eve smiled sweetly, but her eyes gave a hint of amusement. "It's plainly obvious that the Moon landings were real. They just took place on a different Moon: Ganymede. Ja, NASA took us all for rubes," Eve shook her head as she let her accent strengthen. "They knew people wouldn't notice that the gravity was too strong. All the common sheep saw was bouncing buzz-cut flyboys," she truly loved irony. Those lacking any initiative or real independence were always the most eager to prove how maverick they were.

"Ganymede. One of Jupiter's moons?" the man asked pulling out his pipe.

"You don't abduct Nazi scientists, spend billions, and only plant a flag on a moon you can see every night. It's obvious when you look at the time delays that the astronauts were much, much further away." Eve scoffed and caught another glimpse of her target.

The man gave a measured nod. "Maybe. That does explain why Kennedy was killed."

The blonde nodded. "Just remember to keep asking questions," Eve smiled as she and Ranma left.

"Is any of that true?" Ranma asked.

"No," Eve said, quietly. "You see, these people are poseurs. They're in it for the drama, because they like seeming important. Real spooks don't go to self-congratulatory fairs. They watch and worry. The need for ego gratification dwindles when you start to see what's really going on.."

"Yeah is real silly… and stinky too," Ranma frowned. "I don't get it. There really are conspiracies. The government is covering up a secret war but... to hear these guys you'd think they were total crackpots."

"That's because they are." Eve smirked thinly. "That's the shame of it all. They're not looking for the truth, they're looking for supporting evidence." She frowned their quarry as he browsed hats.

"And anything that doesn't follow their theory… is evidence of the cover-up?"

"Now you get it." Eve nodded. "This is all on faith really. Facts don't matter, sincerity does. Evidence becomes set dressing, what's important is how they feel." The blonde laughed. "As if people like this could change the world just by wishing it were so."

"Is that bad?" Ranma looked around the crowd walking around them. "We could tell these goobers everything... and who would believe them?"

Eve hugged the redhead. "That's the helpful part. Of course..." She looked around the fair and her gaze happened to pass over Mike. "Even fools have their uses in large enough numbers."

"That why we're here?" Ranma asked though the pronoun she really meant was "he's".

"It's also just a crowd. Even we could miss a brush pass."

"I'm amazed he missed us hugging," Ranma said smirking at the people around that were trying not to stare at their embrace.

"He's focused on looking inconspicuous. He might have spotted the enemy out hunting."

"If he's got any skills he should," Ranma grumbled.

"Should he smell like anything special?" Eve asked, still amazed at how powerful her senses were now.

"Nope, there's no Assembly scent from him," Ranma frowned. "A ringer? Or just a really low acolyte?"

"Well there are plenty of wannabes that can be recruited for simple tasks," Eve shrugged, as they meandered through the crowd. "Of course, someone that still smells perfectly human is useful too."

"Recruited?" Ranma raised an eyebrow. "These guys don't seem the kind to join some goobers pretending to be a religious order."

"Really? What about them?" Eve pointed to one table. "They support regimes that where their sexuality is a capital offence, but that's minor to them. What matters is vitriolic protest against the status quo in a country where protest goes without note or censure." Eve snickered. "How brave these modern day White Roses are."

"White Rose?"

"The White Rose was a group of students at the University of Munich during the war. They were non-violent and distributed pamphlets urging resistance against the government. This was '42, so they knew what would happen if they were caught."

Ranma eyed the young students and older burnouts around her. "They were caught weren't they?"

"Oh yes, they were the first to fall to Freisler's Volksgerichtshof, means People's Court," Eve clarified.

"Odd name," Ranma said as she turned to look at the whole of the crowd her eyes passing over their target.

"Standard for propaganda purposes." Eve shrugged.

"Guess so," Ranma shrugged. "What do you want to do to him?" she asked as they passed a booth exposing the importance of resisting the tyrannical rule and documentation of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

"Oh? It's my choice?" Eve had to resist licking her lip. "He's a small fish, let's use him to get something better."

***************


Jacob looked over the surveillance dossier. "So they're playing spies now."

"The AOM appears to be watching our facilities. Using non-patterned acolytes. Clever enough," Stillwater allowed.

"Meanwhile they keep a small force of more powerful operatives outside of the city." Captain Jarvis added. "Provoking their stringer worked well enough. That burned three more agents and revealed their safe-house." Part of her would have preferred to have disposed of the poser, but that would have turned a nervous neophyte calling his handlers asking for a security blanket into a genuine alarm. The wannabe could not vanish, not yet at least.

"Unless it's all a false flag. They have to know we would conduct counter-surveillance," Jacob frowned.

"That is a possibility, Sir." Eve shrugged. "I don't like that they've changed modus operandi on us."

"They think they can pretend their little slaughter didn't happen. Those bastards shot down one of our helicopters and now they think they can play spies? They asked for this war, they'll get it. We know where that safehouse is?" Stillwater's voice only raised slightly at the last question.

"Yes, Sir." Eve smiled slightly.

"Things have been on their terms for too long. Set up the mission and dispatch them as you see fit, tonight. Leave enough to interrogate and dispose." Stillwater smirked. "I guess losing sixty men wasn't enough, I want you to send a clear message."

"Sir, we'll find out what their plan was," Eve assured, already planning the mission.

"Dismissed," Stillwater said.

Jacob waited for the captain to leave. "Interesting choice for a first mission on regular duty."

Keeping the rest of his fingers steepled and interlaced, Stillwater straightened his pointer fingers and rested the bridge of his nose on them. "Even before, it's an appropriate mission for Jarvis. Studying the changes will be interesting."

"Of course we're now playing into the Assembly's paranoia."

"They think we're building an unholy army to destroy them?" Stillwater laughed. "We can accommodate that."

End Chapter 7

Once again, I'd like to thank my pre-readers. They're the ones that made sure this story was readable., DGC, J St C Patrick, Pale Wolf, Wray, Trimatter, Solara, Questara, Kevin Hammel, Ikarus, and Jerry Starfire.


Revision Notes: And here's Eve. Looking back she's another key part in building up Ranma's support network and making the brood what it is. What's fun is that Jarvis' first scene was in chapter 7 of Book 1, which was the pivotal chapter for Ranma in that book as well.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 8: Golden Plan
Formerly: Reconstitution and Reincarnation Part 2



The demoness dropped a gigantic gun on the table. It consisted of a frame holding stubby barrel that connected to an oversized action and feed. The device looked as if it would be more at home mounted on a vehicle than in the hands of a woman. "I am Heavy Weapons Girl, and this," Misako affectionately put her hands on the large gun, "is my weapon." She smirked at the others in the room.

"She weighs over eighty kilograms and fires fifty dollar, forty millimeter custom-tooled grenades at over four rounds a second. It costs over twelve thousand dollars to fire this weapon for one minute," she confidentially added the last sentence in a low whisper

The demoness then burst into a fit of laughter, while her sisters cautiously backed away.

As her laughter died down, she waved her finger. She then looked down at some smudges on the barrel. Her eyes flared. "Oh my... who touched Sasha?" Her voice got angrier. "Who touched my gun?" She accused, turning to look at her sisters and agents.

Ranma shook her head, and turned to Eve. "When are we going?"

"Once the observers call back," Captain Eve Jarvis said with a little smile.

Misako's voice grew solemn and she looked into the distance. "Some people think they can outsmart me, maybe" Misako sniffed and nodded. "Maybe. I've yet to meet one that can outsmart grenade," she said reaching onto her web harness over her bikini top and miniskirt and pulled out one of the nearly fist-sized munitions.

"Your English is better than that." Ukyou rolled her eyes as she reassembled her gun.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to build you a second one," Nodoka apologized to Ukyou.

"No, no, it's good that Aunty Eve got it."

Nariko coughed as she adjusted how her sword hung at her hip.

"Master Nishina still doesn't like the locking mechanism?" Nabiki asked with a bit of disappointment.

"No, he doesn't. We're also working on the hinge for your knives too. Sorry," Nodoka frowned.

"It's okay. You're making some really great stuff," Nabiki cheerfully stated. After seeing Nariko's sword on the test range, Nabiki was more than willing to wait if that's what it took.

Nodoka smiled.

Wearing a slightly modified version of standard combat gear, mostly to allow for her tail and wings, Eve tapped her headset and answered the message. After receiving a few statements a thin smile formed on her face.

"Everyone into the helicopter!" she ordered. "I want Gold and Blue teams in position as soon as possible."

"What'd they find?" Ranma asked as she jogged beside her sister.

"About three dozen warm bodies and a smattering of Pattern A. There's at least two AOM fathers there."

"Nice," Ranma said as she climbed onto the helicopter. She turned to Misako. "You ready for the next part, Honey?"

Misako affectionately patted Sasha as the BlackHawk lifted off. "Oh, yes."

"What about you?" Ranma asked Eve. "You can fly fine in practice, but..."

"I'll be okay," Jarvis assured her sister. "I do have more experience jumping out of aircraft than you."

"Yes," Ranma smirked. Eve was a bit clumsy in the air, but unlike everyone else she landed right on her feet the first time.

"We're three minutes out," Lieutenant Hilbert said over their headsets. Happy to be flying into battle again, he increased altitude. His job was to get them to the target location before the enemy had a chance to prepare. After confirming with the Captain he put the helicopter into a slight dive then quickly pulled it into an orbit around the buildings.

Bracing herself on the open port helicopter door, Misako then aimed the shouldered weapon and depressed the trigger. Immediately the gun cycled up and as it emptied belts of grenades she laughed loudly and maniacally. "Cry some more!" she laughed as the grenades were launched at a trio of doublewide trailers sitting in a clearing in the woods. It near the weapon's maximum range but given the size of the targets...

Most of the rounds hit one of the three dwellings and exploded, ripping through the thin walls. Hilbert and Lindemann's night vision goggles showed figures within the building falling and breaking apart. They could also see the buildings themselves starting to sag and collapse.

Once the firing died down Ukyou scoped out the carnage. She could swear the smell of blood rose up from the shredded buildings. "You had to copy that video game didn't you?" she asked.

"Heh, cry some more." Misako chuckled; she then turned to her mate. "What? Heavy Weapons Guy is cool." She shrugged. "I wonder if grandma would build me a gun like his."

"Jump!" Ranma admonished as she pushed Misako out of the aircraft, once it had dived to the release height. Immediately after that the rest of the broodlings leapt and Ranma was alone with her sister.

***************

Pacing down the length of the small room, Mike Stevedore eyed the flimsy door. He rubbed his nose and pushed some hair out of his face. "I don't like it, there's too many higher ups."

"What you told Father Chesterfield was important," Bill said as he stretched out. "I mean the redhead you saw was obviously the main demon, but that blonde..." He waved a hand. "Those Mercenaries really are selling their souls to become demons."

"But I mean... they saw me," Mike scratched his arm.

"Yeah, but you lost them, and now you've told Chesterfield. You did real good."

"But what if... what if I didn't shake them?"

Bill laughed. "Then they would have caught you, ripped out your guts and eaten you. Don't worry kid. You're clear."

A low droning noise grew to audibility and the door slammed open, almost destroying itself in the process. The stout and sturdy frame of Father Chesterfield came out being followed by two Assembly priests. "We've got demons!" He shouted just as the roof seemed to explode. The initial concussion knocked them down and Stevedore looked up to see a shell fall right next to Bill.

Chesterfield seemed immune to the spray of blood and shrapnel and motioned for his men to follow. One of them was cut down by the indiscriminant barrage. Chesterfield and the remaining priest crouched down and went through the other door.

***************


Ranma pulled the broken door open and Eve stepped over the wreckage. The blonde fired her weapon twice and then dashed into the room followed by Ranma and Nariko. Almost purring, Eve knelt down and moved forward. She looked down to see a headless body and smiled at the bloody mess.

She stepped forward and passed the other shot person and found a third body, this one had a large gash in his side and was trying to get up. Eve noted the gun in his hand and with an economical rake of her claws tore through his sternum and cut his heart apart.

Before retracting her left hand, she briefly paused to savor the energy. She then looked to the next room and motioned with her hand before taking aim with her sidearm.

Nariko smiled and drew her sword as her mother shot a DarkStar burst through the flimsy wall and Eve shouldered through the door. Nariko jumped through the opening and raised her sword to block the long bayonet of Father Chesterfield. He responded by flicking out a second blade which Nariko sidestepped.

"Interesting training," Eve remarked as she kept aim on the priest, who had parried Nariko's slash and tried to thrust forward on her open side.

"Yes, it took a lot of self control to not fry him myself," Ranma remarked as her eyes flared. "His buddies are coming Nari-chan, don't dawdle."

"Yes, Mother," Nariko grumbled as she caught the end of one of the bayonets with her blade and tried to flick it off. She found herself pulling away to block an attack with his other blade.

She parried his attack by going got inside the sweep and slashed across at chest-height which was narrowly dodged by Chesterfield dropping down. The stout man then pounced up leading with both of his blades now glowing a bright yellow.

Nariko smirked and, jumping to the side and pivoting on one leg, struck downward. Now perpendicular to the charging man's weapons, the edge of her blade turned red as it struck. There was a brief flare as her sword sunk through the two blessed blades and cut them down.

He instantly rotated the blade in his near hand and stabbed forward with the truncated instrument as his other hand threw the weapon at her head. One-handed, Nariko flicked her blade up to knock away the projectile while with her momentarily free hand she grabbed the back of the stabbing blade.

"Lightning Devastation!" she yelled sending a surge of power into the broken bayonet.

Chesterfield dropped the blade but not before receiving a sizable shock. His aura flickering he momentarily backed away. Nariko pouted; she could sense another priest just about to arrive and had to finish this.

With a shrug she leveled her sword. "Lightning Devastation!" The electrical power readily went to her blade where it was channeled and shot forward, right into an armored figure that had thrown himself in front of Chesterfield.

The newcomer's aura held long enough for him to toss a sequence of blades from within his coat. Nariko flipped her sword over and intercepted most while sidestepping to dodge the rest. Right then the younger priest's aura failed and before he could respond Nariko stabbed down into his kidney and, on the follow-through, that cut bone, armor and entrails with ease, moved the blade diagonally up to his chest. In the same motion she turned to Chesterfield, who had rearmed and was backing away. His eyes darted to Ranma and Eve.

"Oh, don't mind us," Ranma said as she appraised the cut Nariko had made. It had managed to damage most of the major organs and sever the spine, nicely retarding the second priest's regeneration.

"We're just proctoring," Eve added.

Ranma raised an eyebrow "That's it. Help Nariko: kill him."

Before Ranma could finish, Eve had fired her gun. As this happened, Chesterfield flared his shield and moved as to put Nariko between himself and the blonde. His blades came up and one met Nariko's sword where she deflected and then pulled her blade back to cut his extended arm.

Edge glowing red, the katana dug through his aura like a fork into pudding. The blade then met the armor to the arm which provided much less resistance and it descended until there was no resistance.

Nariko pulled away and dodged the blade in his remaining hand before ducking down and sweeping her blade low. Chesterfield managed to stab his bayonet down and intercept the attack before it hit his leg. The yellow glow around his blade almost managed to hold up to the katana's dark aura, but he had exposed himself. The sword snapped through the bayonet and cut through his left leg at the knee.

Eve had been moving but this opportunity came up before she could flank the priest. With an exposed head and chest the blonde took the most educational target. Five rounds each weighing over thirty-five grams and having a kinetic energy of eight kilo-Joules slammed into the protective aura at over twice the speed of sound.

He had no chance to dodge and the aura around his head crumpled and vanished, just like everything above his shoulder blades. The body fell and Nariko quickly extracted the heart with her sword.

"Sure?" Eve asked looking hungrily at the offered organ.

"You passed Mother's training test well," Nariko said with a smile.

"I thought you were the one being trained?" Eve asked as she reloaded her gun.

"Everything's training, everyone gets trained," Ranma said as she shoved the heart into Eve's mouth. The blonde bit down and eagerly ate the rest of the organ causing the brood mother to smile.

***************


Nabiki held her hands and with concentration released a spray of tiny icicles that shot and embedded themselves in the slightly dazed acolytes. The grenade attack had just ended and they found a little demon had entered the makeshift barracks.

Further back a pair with a bit more clarity watched as their friends got blown apart when the icicles detonated. Before they could grab their weapons, one was pounced on and had a hand slice through his spine at the hips while the other managed to grab a gun. Only to have it explode in his hands when an inky shadow reached up and contacted it.

Akane quickly moved on and joined Nabiki who had fired through the door to the next room causing more confusion. The two dashed into the room and anticlimactically found that the occupants were mostly dead with only a couple survivors who at least tried to fight.

"This is disappointing," Akane grumbled.

"What do you expect, Misako did have some fun with that toy of hers." Nabiki frowned at the newly minted paraplegic. "Sis, finish your kills," she admonished while launching a fireball at the crawling man.

"Sorry," Akane looked at where he had dragged himself. It was odd it looked like he had gone to a locker and then back towards the center of the room. "You think he was trying to escape?" She tried to walk closer but was stopped by her sister

"Judging by the grenades on him, he's booby-trapped himself."

"Now that's just uncivilized."

"Yeah, well they know we tend to eat them," Nabiki spoke into her headset. "Central building is clear. Minor resistance, no survivors."

"Least you got some," Misako grumbled over the audio channel. "South building was already being cleared by Gold Team. By the time we got there, there was nothing to do but have a snack and move some live ones."

"Oh yeah, we were supposed to do that," Akane shrugged.

"You have no right to complain about not seeing any action," Ukyou lectured.

Nabiki smirked; she could tell Misako was rolling her eyes.

"Rendezvous at the North building," Nariko ordered finally, speaking on the audio channel. "The outside seems secure but use caution."

***************


Consciousness returned to Stevedore as screams and gunfire neared. It sounded like some type of heavy weapon that was slowly, deliberately firing. In the distance, automatic weapons fire came in periodic bursts.

He limped over to the body of one of the priests. He barely registered the nature of attack that killed someone who could regenerate; the entire room was trashed and one of the walls bowed unsettlingly. As he fumbled about for a weapon, someone swooped into the room. Drawing a sidearm, Stevedore turned to see a flash of red-tinged silver.

"He looks familiar," Eve pondered, looking at the decapitated head with a pout.

"Did you want him?" Nariko asked, wiping her sword.

"No, there's a couple alive in the next room," Eve remarked.

"Finally," Ranma formed another DarkStar burst and motioned to the others. Shadows lengthened around her as her hair began to writhe. The orb exploded, and like previously, gave more concussive force than magical shrapnel. The three demons entered the room and quickly covered the two survivors. One of whom looked to be older than the average clueless acolyte.

One looked up to find Nariko's blade at his throat while the other had the beaming face of Ranma standing to his side while Eve covered them both a few paces behind. "Central building secure, all teams check in," Eve reported over the audio channel. She briefly looked over the room, one wall had collapsed and the ceiling was sagging. The rest of the room was broken and splintered, including half of a large table that seemed to have been covered with reports and photographs. "Okay, bring in any captured to my location."

"Rendezvous at the North building," Nariko said to her sisters via her headset

"That everything?" Ranma asked while watching the fidgeting man's hateful eyes.

"The outside seems secure but use caution," Nariko added.

"This is why you should make sure no one's spying on your little spies," Ranma laughed. "Or did you think you were so clever that we wouldn't find you?"

"There's no point in telling him," Eve gently reprimanded. "These guys are in over their heads. They still think that they're going to fight swarms of feral minions." She said while wondering. The Assembly had to have some inkling of what they were up against, and their surveillance had generated plenty of intelligence data for them. Which all strongly implied a desire for another attack, one with more finesse and preparation than previous ones.

Eve turned and gave a tiny smile to the two Assembly of Man members who were brought in by a squad of agents with brood escort. "Nice work Lieutenant Patterson," Eve said after looking over the bound men. She turned to the shorter of the two men who had been brought in. "Well Paladin, it looks like you're the ranking figure here. Your last attack gave a nice Casus belli. Now, neither of us officially exist, so there's no pesky oversight to worry about," she lied on her last statement as she walked over and smirked at the phone on the table, amazingly it appeared operational.

"Your actions will determine what happens here," Captain Jarvis explained.

"You're not going to win, demon!" Paladin Farnsworth defiantly spat.

Eve lowered the hand that had intercepted the saliva, and sighed. "Simple silence would have been more productive than childish impudence."

Paladin Farnsworth glared.

"Yes, yes, you have your pride, and your willingness to die for your cause." Eve motioned and Morrison roughly shoved Farnsworth into a chair. "We all know how this will end."

"You won't get anything from me." Farnsworth tried to rise but the barrel of a HOG slammed onto the back of his head.

Eve raised an eyebrow. "At the very least, I'll be entertained and have a nice meal."

"You think the Inquisitors are bad?" Ukyou inquired. "The Assembly's got a lot to learn."

"Yes, we have your documents. You're just a bonus." Eve said as she sat down on the table and her tail lazily waved behind her. She noted how the paladin's eyes followed it but did not smile.

The blonde picked up a photograph. "You've been tracking our motor-pools. Not a bad idea, and it just came at the cost of a few recon people. That's nothing, you folks are approaching company strength losses, so what do you guys really matter? Must be lovely for morale though."

Ukyou stepped in and leveled her gun to cover the fourth man and allow her mother to go over to Eve. Ukyou sighed, she used her power but the four captured assemblymen were too fearful already to do much good.

"You expect me to talk to get leniency? A quick death? I won't betray humanity like that."

"Of course not, you're not that much of a weasel. Though, you won't talk in exchange for a quick death for your men either," Eve shrugged. "And I know none of your men would talk in exchange for leniency."

Ranma looked at the paladin and chuckled to herself.

Nariko warmly smiled at the man she held at sword-point.

"So we come to the part that we all knew was coming," Eve said as she extended a single claw. "Make sure the microphones are on."

Nabiki looked at the four men and a smile formed. "So! Any one you don't like and want to see go first? Better speak up now you won't get another chance like this."

The one being covered by Nariko spoke up. "Paladin Farnsworth's always been a real dick, but I wouldn't wish this on him."

"Consider it a freebee," Eve said as she pulled Farnsworth out of his chair and tossed him onto the floor; she jumped down and pulled him up to his knees. Using a single claw she disemboweled the paladin. Farnsworth screamed and thrashed; he would have tried to hold in his entrails but his hands were handcuffed behind him. "I could have that nice girl decapitate you with her sword," Eve whispered into his ear.

The paladin shivered and cut off his screams. "Doesn't matter, you'll all die, monsters," he swore.

"I was always a monster," Eve chuckled before ramming her tail into the back of Farnsworth's chest. More blood poured out of the wound in his stomach and the man slumped over into the blonde's hungry arms.

"Not too entertaining, but you did get a meal," Ranma said as she patted her sister on the shoulder.

Eve forced down a blush and sliced out the liver and handed it to the redhead.

"Oh, I can't," Ranma said as she politely declined.

"No, I insist, I know you really like it," Eve assured.

"But it's your first; you need it more than me." Ranma blinked and looked up. For a moment she could swear she smelled Rei.

"You're going to take half," Eve stated as she began to cut the liver over the paladin's corpse.

"A quarter," Ranma paused, the Senshi's odor had dissipated just as oddly as it had arrived.

"One third." Eve had already cut the liver and handed the smaller piece to the redhead.

"Oh alright," Ranma laughed as she began to munch on the organ. She walked away to discretely ask if anyone else sensed any new Senshi.

Eve quickly finished her meal and flicked some of the blood off of her hands. "So does anyone else have a request?"

***************


Ranma handed Eve a towel after the blonde stepped out of the locker-room shower. "Well?"

"Yes, it's very refreshing," Eve said as she dried off. "My work's not normally that... messy." The blonde then went to her locker and started to get dressed.

"You're having fun," Ranma allowed. She was surprised Eve had been as contained as she was, especially with the last one.

"The documents proved more useful anyway," the blonde shrugged as she put her hair back up in its bun.

"You were right, those goobers didn't know what they were doing," Ranma said as she watched her sister dress.

"Compartmentalization is not a bad idea. They know what will happen if captured," Eve smirked as she gave a final adjustment to her skirt.

"They'd have a different team carry out the hit," Ranma guessed as the two left the locker room and walked down the corridor. "Interesting."

"They have the manpower for it. For now at least." Eve turned to the redhead. "How did I do tonight?" she asked a hint of bashfulness slipping into her voice as her tail curled.

Ranma stopped. "Well, you mostly used your Company training. Nothing wrong with that. Close quarter combat hasn't come up yet. Don't worry, if I didn't trust you in a fight you wouldn't be here."

Eve nodded. "Shame, Nariko wasn't challenged more."

"That's why I had you practice on him," Ranma stated as they resumed walking. "It's good experience for her though."

"Good," Eve said as she knocked on Jacob's office. The two demons were let in. Ranma went to the couch and watched Eve salute and give her report.

"Interesting," Jacob finally said while he thumbed through copies of some of the captured documents. "You believe they were going to hit us in convoy?"

"Yes Sir, they were watching out transit routes," Eve explained.

"Did you know there was a working phone in that room?" Jacob asked, carefully studying the captain's face. He continued before the demon could respond. "Apparently, it was connected to one of their monasteries. I'm sure it gave them some interesting information. Of course, they would have known about the attack and the loss of their operation."

"Were you able to track a location of their base?" Jarvis asked.

Jacob leaned back slightly. "We're working on that."

"Where's Stillwater?" Ranma asked.

"He's still in a conference call with the general. While Major Koster's report was ultimately favorable of our operation, the developments with the Assembly reach beyond this command."

"And?" Ranma politely asked.

"All North American faculties are being put on higher alert." Jacob chuckled. "Counter espionage against the Assembly will be more vigorous too."

The redhead laughed.

"A full debriefing will occur tomorrow, but what's your opinion?" Jacob asked.

"The Assembly has been stung, but they won't stop," Eve appraised.

"What? We're going to have to kill them all?"

Jacob shrugged. "That's their choice. They started this fight; we'll finish it."

***************


"Well, that was fun," Minako said just after detransforming. She took a sip of water.

"Are you kidding?" Usagi gasped as she wiped some sweat off her brow. She pouted at the running showers. It had taken a couple practices for Setsuna to reveal that their training warehouse even had showers. Though both were being used by Makoto and Rei. Usagi envied Setsuna who never got sweaty enough to need to wash.

"We got her pretty good tonight." Minako smiled.

"Really? I thought we were going to lose once her balls stopped glowing," Usagi sighed. Not just were the orbs hard to see but the rest of the warehouse darkened.

"Well, they still glowed a bit, like soap bubbles. Or pretty shimmering butterflies." Minako paused in thought. "Yeah iridescent. That's what it's called!"

"Yeah. So, you think we're ready for Ami?"

Minako tilted her head. "No we're not," she said in almost a whisper.

"What?"

"It's your responsibility. You're the one that's to take Ami, put her on her knees and show her who's boss."

Usagi stared at Minako.

"Gah, no not like that!" Minako waved her arms, though she was fairly certain that's exactly what Mistress Mercury wanted.

"Yes, we've got to find her first." Usagi sighed.

"Don't worry, she'll be coming for us nice and soon," Minako assured.

Usagi narrowed her eyes.

Setsuna stepped in and gave a knowing smile to Minako. "Venus is right. Mercury wants you and she won't stop. Not now."

The princess nodded. "I know... it's just... scary."

"Scarier than DarkStar?" Minako skeptically asked.

Usagi paused while Setsuna frowned. DarkStar was an option. She was a Senshi too, and one that Mercury feared.

"I mean..." Minako coughed. "You've seen her at her worst right? All covered in blood, right after eating someone. You weren't scared then... in fact you kinda spaced out and drooled a bit." The blonde paused and looked at the clouded, distant expression that had formed on her princess' face. "Yeah... like that."

"Yes, well-" Setsuna raised and eyebrow. "Usagi knows DarkStar won't hurt her."

"Unless Usagi was into it," Minako muttered she looked over to see an almost contemplative expression forming on the other blonde's face.

Setsuna did not miss it either and made a note to talk to her Princess in private.

***************


Eve pulled off her clothes. "When will you let me sleep back at my place?"

"When you stop living on a cot in your office," Ranma remarked as she stripped.

"Oh," Eve shrugged.

"You're also still very young," Nabiki said as she nudged Akane over, waking her older sister up in the process.

"I guess," Eve said crossing her hands over her chest.

Ranma frowned. "You should know this, we don't really sleep alone." She looked to Nariko who was sleeping with Akane curled up on her side. "It's just not what succubae do."

Eve nodded. She had not been alone ever since being turned. She sat down on the edge of the giant bed that dominated the room.

"There you are," Nodoka smiled, opening the door. She sat down and started pulling off her lab coat. "How was the mission?"

"It was fine," Ranma said, hugging her mother from behind. "No injuries and we wiped them all out."

"That's good," Nodoka said after she had neatly folded her clothes. "Did you find anything useful Eve?"

"I suppose," Eve said as she found Ranma sitting next to her and pushing her down. The redhead then used the larger woman as a makeshift pillow. Eve shrugged and tried to make herself more comfortable. "We'll know more once the captured documents are analyzed."

"Good," Nodoka said as she slipped into the brood pile.

Ranma smirked at Eve's well-hidden surprise. "Mom doesn't do it as much as she would like, but she sleeps here whenever she can."

Eve nodded but she still fidgeted as Nodoka moved next to her. "Calm down. Dear, you have slept with women before?"

"Not before she was turned," Ranma remarked.

Nodoka raised an eyebrow. "Are you still a virgin?"

"Nein," Eve stated, slightly hurt.

"You were rather handsome," Nabiki remarked not opening her eyes. "I'm sure you had plenty of one night stands."

"It's okay, Sis," Ranma assured snuggling on her. "Don't worry about it."

***************

Mercury glared at the man sitting across from her. She suppressed the urge to rip his tie off and properly knot it. "What brings you here?" she asked regaining her composure.

"Well, the intermission is almost over; I'm just checking things out before curtain rises," Murdock amiably said before sniffing his wineglass.

"Oh?" Mercury inquired.

"Yes, I know you're suspicious; rightly so," he chuckled when Mercury took a large drink from her glass. "The time is coming for you to prove your worth."

"I know that," she replied, coolly leaning back into the leather wingback chair.

"You've made a nice image, very thematic," he held his glass and changed his expression to match that of someone in an art gallery. "I really like how you don't look sinister, or even overtly evil." He took a small sip and winced imperceptibly. "Still a bit green in this, but overall, it's been well played."

"I'm glad I meet with your approval."

"Oh, don't be so icy." Murdock waved a finger. "You're being a bit too dramatic. This isn't a game."

"Coming from the man dressed in a deliberately rumpled suit?" Mercury rolled her eyes. "Your entire look is ripped right from Noir."

"Nah, I don't dress well enough to be in Les Soldats," Murdock took another sip. "Maybe you're onto something. This vintage is growing on me. It's... amusingly dry."

"Yes, I suppose you'll next say I should let it mature a bit more, to reach it's full potential."

"Actually, I was just going to ask for another glass."

"I can see why you drove Setsuna insane," Mercury admitted as she motioned for Orion to freshen his glass. She had her own plans for the Guardian of the Gates.

"And yet DarkStar proved impervious to my machinations," Murdock said, mirthfully. He frowned at the crestfallen dark mistress. "Now, now, I'm sure you'll make the Queen see things your way, and that she'll reward you for all your hard work."

"Don't patronize me," Mercury glared.

"Well, don't make it so easy." Murdock looked down and straightened his silver tie clip. "You're getting maudlin and sulking in your nicely appointed and well-stocked lair."

Mercury glared.

"Oh now, you're pouting even more, great combination with the evening wear." He turned to Orion. "She's looking dangerously cute right?"

Orion coughed.

"What do you want?"

"That's a question that'll drive you insane. Why not take a page from DarkStar? She doesn't give a damn what my plans are, provided they don't interfere with hers."

"And what is she planning?"

Murdock laughed. "Oh, you're kidding me? You don't know what she's up to?"

"You should just tell me, then."

The grey-eyed man kept laughing. "Oh man, you are wet behind the ears."

"Don't you want me to be better informed so I'll do your bidding?"

Murdock clamed himself and took a slow drink. He paused reflectively. "No, not really. I think you're working out just fine."

Mercury's frustration had started to lower the temperature in the room.

"Besides, you're not working for me." He put down his glass. "Good luck trying to convince anyone that."

"I don't need to."

Murdock nodded. "So... where is Virgo? I don't see a statue."

"You know where she is."

"Helping you capture another blonde?" Murdock asked as he leaned back into his chair. "I hope it's not a certain blue-eyed demonic lass."

"Damn Germans!" Mercury swore as her hand clenched over the stem of her wine glass

"The Captain upsets you that much?" Murdock asked.

"Yes! DarkStar makes a little protégée out of a Company officer. And of course it's one that's a complete perfectionist." Mercury clenched her hand.

Orion silently watched.

"DarkStar does have the highest of standards," Murdock reminded.

"Yes, so she picked the best. Someone that's scary to agents. Someone that specializes in torture and was a cold killing-machine as a human. And what do I have to work with?" Mercury waved. "Imitations."

"That's a harsh evaluation," Murdock noted. "But I'm sure jealousy is in no way tainting your judgment. Sure DarkStar and her friends can kill, torture, and consume their enemies, and be mostly accepted by the Senshi, but you... one little fight where you hogtie them with ice and they suddenly start calling you a Dark Senshi."

He leaned forward and folded his hands. "You have a tremendous opportunity here. You have no oversight, but tremendous knowledge at your disposal. The narrative can shift fully into your court. You just have to keep playing the right people."

"It's not that easy," Mercury sighed.

"It's not supposed to be," Murdock sipped from his glass. "If things were easy you'd be done by now."

Mercury narrowed her eyes.

"We are operating on time constraints here," Murdock stated, his voice finally getting stern.

"Care to enlighten me about that?" Mercury asked.

Murdock laughed. "Oh my, no. If you want to learn more you've gotta do your own research. I have a certain expectation from you, and you don't want to disappoint me."

Mercury repressed a shiver at the jovial expression. Her scans and scrying were not able to pick anything up. He was a void. "I'm not just some expendable minion."

"No, you're certainly not a minion." Murdock smirked.

Mercury rubbed her temple.

"So, is that it?" he shrugged. "I guess you're progressing satisfactorily."

Mercury gritted her teeth as frost started to form around her.

"Oh? The inanities of a known liar still hurt you. No wonder you're beneath DarkStar's notice," he put down the glass and dusted his hands. "So what are you going to do?"

Mercury finished her drink and looked Murdock in the eye. "I think it's time for you to leave," she calmly ordered as her left hand gave a little motion.

Murdock casually looked over and saw Orion moving to his side. "Yes, I suppose it is," he said before standing up. He looked at the glaring Mercury and straightened his jacket. "I'm sure you'll do just fine," he smiled before taking his hat and leaving the room.


***************


Sitting on the back porch, Happosai tamped his pipe. "So you're my student's new sister?"

"Yes," Eve stated simply as she sipped at her coffee.

"Ranma does good work," Happosai remarked after a lecherous appraisal.

Eve smirked and stretched her neck.

He took a long drag from his pipe. "You know waking up earlier than Ranma won't get you out of training."

Eve shrugged.

"Now I'm not gonna ask why you changed; that's obvious." The diminutive man chuckled.

"Yes, I wanted to be a sexy lady," Eve dryly remarked, cupping her chest.

"Don't tempt an old man," Happosai did not even try to conceal what he was staring at. "I'm being good."

Eve smiled and took another sip.

Happosai tilted his head. "Well, I should be waking up my other students."

The blonde smirked. "They seem harmless enough." She remembered interviewing Genma those months ago.

Happosai raised an eyebrow but went back to his smoking. "She is a busy girl," he said eventually. "School, training, battles: it's never a dull moment."

"Nothing wrong with that," Eve remarked. In the past, keeping busy had always allowed him to ward off metaphorical demons, and be prepared for fighting literal ones. Now she had even more reasons to keep up the same pace, there was more to fight for.

"There you are," Ranma said as she bounded onto the porch from the kitchen. Her hair bounced around with the rest of her. "You should put on your unitard," the redhead said with a smirk.

"Want some help with the training?" Happosai offered.

"Yes, that'll do," Ranma said with an evil laugh.

***************


Mercury glowered as the bright green sheet rose from the floor to the ceiling. After a pause the symbols on the large metal door on the opposite end of the alcove flashed brightly and then dimmed to an even glow. She sighed as the door eased its way open.

"The mechanism is powered by your Senshi magic?" Orion asked following her mistress into a corridor far larger than the one they had entered. To the left, it ran for several hundred meters and was spotted with occasional sets of huge doors. To the right it widened to become some type of receiving dock that ended in a set of airlocks similar to the one they entered from, save on a much larger scale. Orion supposed that an airliner could be nosed into this storage facility, which was absurd given how ridiculously far underground they were.

"Yes," Mercury sniffed as she looked around the dim metallic corridors. "It's a way to make sure it will last and prevent unauthorized access."

Orion snickered. They were probably the definition of unauthorized access, now.

"It looks okay in here," she noted, still surprised by the lack of damage. That the environmental systems were still keeping the atmosphere in a mix of mothballing noble gasses was less impressive. Though the breathing abilities of their Senshi magic was appreciated.

"The palace battle never got this deep. The Queen ended it before they got this far," Mercury explained as she placed her gloved palm on a panel on the nearest a set of immense doors. Pieces of metal the size of barn-sides slid away and the two stepped into a gigantic room. With a wave of her hand recessed lights, most of which still activated, did their best at illuminating the room. Marching down the length were rows of large and decrepit metal and crystal machinery. She frowned and knelt down over a pile of small crystals spilled in between some desks.

"Anything good?" Orion asked picking up a clear sheet covered in writing.

Mercury shook her head. "Well, there's a few old games, some data processing programs, one that'll write scrolls for filing reports," she explained as she passed each crystal under a reader built into her gloves. "This one has control spells for an adaptive scrying array," she passed it to Orion who put it into a satchel.

"Did they really do their research here?" Orion asked walking between the hulking machines. The absence of dust or wear was disquieting, but not as odd as the occasional empty spot marked by empty brackets, severed cables, and broken runes.

"Disappointing isn't it?" Mercury sighed as she prodded a broken thaumatic analyzer.

"But the gates... this was supposed to be huge?"

"Yes, but the Queen developed it at the start of her empire." Mercury walked over to a wall where wedged between what had to be a calendar and a landscape poster was a schematic of... something. Mercury tried to make herself believe that the diagram in the center was that of a set of doors.

"What, they stopped studying it after they started using the gates?" Orion asked with shock.

"It became routine." Mercury took the diagram and handed it to Orion. "I guess compared to the Silver Crystal the gates seemed more sane."

"What about the stuff they removed?" Orion had walked off and was leafing through some documents that had been spilled on the floor. They appeared to be tutorials for data analysis and spell simulators.

"Relocated to more important projects? Mothballed in custom purpose storage? Who knows?" Mercury shrugged. She pulled at a tag on one of the viewing crystals. "That's odd."

Orion stood up after storing a scroll that taught golem design. "What?"

Mercury opened her hand and watched as the red tag fell back down. "Did you see any tags on the machines you looked at?"

"Some of them, sure," Orion recalled. "What's it mean?"

"They're shutdown tags." Mercury had already walked to another piece of equipment and was searching for another date.

Orion walked back to a large device consisting of concentric tubes at different angles. "And the numbers on them are the date they were shut down." She pulled at the red tag and read the date and hibernation mode. "Huh...."

"It's an early year isn't it?"

"Yeah, this is... before DarkStar's time. No wonder this stuff's so old."

"Strange." Mercury shook her head. "But they kept it setup... mostly," she frowned at one of the empty stations. The absent machines reminded her of a smile with missing teeth.

"So... they abandoned the research after determining the gates were safe to use. They probably spent a bit more time figuring out the accuracy of the system, and ways of blocking it. Then they removed machines that were needed elsewhere," Orion proposed.

Mercury turned and gave a little smile to the other Senshi. "Yes, I suppose they did. My predecessor's notes mention this being a surprisingly boring project."

"She didn't spend that much time on it?"

"Unless she was deliberately misleading on the notes that only Senshi of Mercury were going to read." Mercury looked at the small office at the far end of the room. The walls were glass and allowed a full view of the large room's apparatuses and workstations. The office was completely stripped save for an achievement award plaque that rested on the desk. The date on it was a few years before those on the deactivation tags.

"Anything?"

"Nope," Mercury walked past Orion and hastily made her way out of the experimental suite and back to the main corridor. The two skimmed through three more large rooms, each one with more equipment missing. Though the machinery that remained was even larger and more cryptic. The last chamber they entered was nothing but an empty gantry that was half disassembled. The neat piles of struts and bolts and total absence of scattered papers or inane data storage crystals was surprisingly disquieting.

The two left the final lab and were at the armored doors that barred the far end of the long corridor. Orion appraised at the collection of metallurgy and runes. "The notes were right. The gate's behind this door?"

Mercury shook her head. "Nope" She stood before the door and cringed as a silver flash washed over her body. Just before dying out the lights briefly sparked over her ice skirt. The doors eased open revealing another alcove and an even more impressive metal door. She sighed and motioned for Orion to follow her. After a few more increasingly... personal scans the final door opened to reveal a darkened room.

"What would have happened if the scans failed me?" Orion asked blinking at the darkness. She could make out an indistinct shape on the far side of the room

"Anyone who was not a Senshi or a part of the project would probably have been vaporized." Mercury smiled, sweetly.

"Interesting way to prove I'm the genuine article, Mistress." Orion said, but Mercury had already wandered into the dark room. Orion did allow a smile to form when the blue-haired woman almost tripped over a chair.

Orion stepped forward and idly noticed a handful of crystal displays that were still glowing. The room itself was semicircular in shape, in the middle of the outer arc was the airlock to the corridor. She could see that the walls of the outer arc were stocked with shelves full of books, scrolls, and crystals. The inner arc was sunken slightly and had an oblique wall that jutted out further on the top. Workstations with still active displays dotted this arc.

The slanted wall of the inner arc was a curved window that was a single piece. From the refraction Orion guessed that it had to be over sixty centimeters thick. She also noticed that recessed on the inside of the arc were tracks for what had to be some kind of armored shutter. These all paled before what was on the other side of the window.

It looked like a pair of elegant paneled doors suspended by an overwrought archway, which was a riot of styles and detailing. The doors were firmly shut and smoke crept around what she assumed to be floors. The smoke served to similarly obscure any far walls or the opposite ends of the chamber. Orion looked down and was not surprised to see the room extend below the observation deck. Shivering, she turned her gaze back up to the gates. As ugly as they were it gave less of a sense of vertigo than the misty cavity.

"The Space-Time Door," Mercury stated glaring at the artifact.

"They were still working here," Orion noted, turning her attention to one of the workstations. Before she moved further she poked a button near the door and the room lit up. While the glow from the workstations and illumination from the gate chamber did provide weak lighting, neither provided enough illumination. Aside from that, the light they provided felt wrong. There should not be light coming from mist, and the displays simply hurt her eyes.

"Yes, one has to keep an eye on things," Mercury snickered.

"How do we get to the gates themselves?"

"We don't. Nothing would distract Setsuna from that, but this place was designed to spy on the gates."

"And anyone who should have access to the gate itself wouldn't be so mundane to merely walk to it." Orion snickered.

Mercury ignored her and went to a workstation and paged through the output. It seemed to be recording emissions and usage from the gates. The spikes of activity seemed to match her memory, but she was sure to make a copy of the data with a blank crystal of her own creation.

Orion raised an eyebrow and started browsing the library. The titles seemed to be all reference materials and recordings of emissions from the gates. Once she found the latter she started going back in descending order. "I found data from when this thing first came online!"

Mercury looked up from the workstation. "Good. Make a copy," she said fidgeting with one of her hair pins as she worked.

"They recorded the gates being used here, and then analyzed and tried to replicate the results in the labs down the hall," Orion suggested as she went to another workstation to copy those earliest crystals.

"Sure," Mercury mumbled. She stopped playing with her hair and stared at the doors. They were a representation; a projection of an artifact that, using the Key of Space-Time, could be accessed at any time and place. This made the presence of a observation platform for the gates... odd. The Queen must have wanted the gates watched while reams of ultimately futile data was taken.

"Anything else?" Orion asked after she finished making the copies.

Mercury sighed. "No. I think we're done here."

"What's wrong?" Orion walked over to her mistress.

"I don't like this. Everything seems... staged." She brushed a bit of her hair. "There must have been more. Queen Serenity didn't build it, but she felt the need to have people study it."

"Give it a veneer of approval. Why?"

"Yes, one wonders what is so questionable that the Queen needed to have others approve it," Mercury sighed again. She did not like where this was going.

"What about our spells to block the gate?" Orion asked.

"Yes, we need to cross-index it with the data we've captured here."

Orion nodded and started going to the recording library. "I do wonder how Murdock knew to do this. It's not like he could get in here."

Mercury's frowned deepened. "Yes, he's not a Senshi. Not by a long shot."

"We've got to figure out where he got his information." Orion made a note.

"Murdock bears watching," Mercury reminded. "I don't think he really needed us, or DarkStar."

Orion tilted her head. "I see," she said after a pause. "Then it's for the best that she can't see us."

"I just hope she doesn't know what our next plan is."

***************

"Where are you going Red?" Sam asked as she ran up to the redhead.

"Oh, I've gotta leave early," Ranma said as she strode towards the door.

"Why?" the short-haired blonde asked with a big smile.

Ranma turned and faced her friend, her free and teased red hair bouncing around her head. "You've certainly gotten more assertive."

"I think you're a bad influence on us. Before you and your family came by, Naoko and I were perfectly normal," Sam teased.

"Before I came you, two weren't going on dates," Ranma smirked.

Sam blushed. "With guys. We've been going on double dates."

"If you say so," the redhead teased.

"I didn't know being a lesbian was a requirement for these uniforms," Sam said referring to the black-bloused, purple-skirted, and fishnet-stockinged variant on the Furinkan uniform favored by the redhead's clique.

Ranma smiled. "No, it's not a requirement per se."

"So where are you going?" Sam asked as they made it to a side door. She looked out to see a black leggy blonde leaning on an idling van. "She looks nice."

"Oh Eve? Yeah, she's my sister... big sister obviously."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "So, she's a cousin to Misako and Nabiki Saotome too?

"Well, yeah."

"And Akane's a Tendo and Nariko's a Kuno. Interesting family you've got going."

Ranma coughed. "We're all close."

"Are you close with your sister too? She's quite well developed." Sam said with a tinge of jealousy in her voice.

The redhead held at the door, and looked over Sam. "Don't worry you're looking better too."

"I noticed that. It's nice to finally fill out," Sam said as she crossed her hands over her chest. "I had to get some new bras."

"Did you have to let out your blouse?" Ranma asked, she looked out to see Eve tapping her watch.

"Oddly enough, no," Sam dryly remarked.

"We'll talk later," Ranma promised. "But I've got an appointment," she said before running out to the waiting van.

"Problems with your school friends?" Eve asked as she opened the side door for her sister.

"They know me as a sixteen year old girl named Sunshine Saotome," Ranma shrugged as she pulled her hair back and felt it reluctantly form into a neat bun.

"Useful," Eve remarked as she helped adjust her sister's hair. "Take us around the block, Morrison," the blonde told the driver.

"Figured you'd like it that way," Ranma smirked and began to shift her clothes.

"It does make you look older." Eve evaluated the charcoal suit-skirt Ranma had shifted into. "Very professional."

"Thank you," Ranma smiled as the van slowed and stopped a the high school's main entrance.

"Are you sure about this meeting?" Eve handed a pair of sunglasses over to the redhead. "Your cover is pretty thin as it is."

"It's just a parent teacher conference. Besides I'm a succubus, no one will believe that a teenager is the mother to teenagers. " Ranma stretched a bit, popping her spine. She straightened out and looked the blonde in the eye. "I'm pretty sure you've got some training to do," she suggested, her face gaining a predatory edge.

Eve coughed, and returned to the van. "I'll be sure to practice my flying."

"Good," Ranma said as she walked into the school with a more sensual and smooth gait. She walked up to administration and found a prim teacher already waiting for her in a conference room.

"You're in early," Ranma said as she sat down and looked around the room, true to the Drake's tastes the framed pictures in the room showcased the natural beauty of his adopted country.

Mrs. Nancy Asmik looked at her watch. "I suppose so." The mousy brunette frowned at the other woman. "You're, Nabiki's mother, Mrs. Ranma Saotome?"

"Miss actually, but yes," Ranma said as she put her sunglasses away.

"You must have had her when you were young," Nancy remarked. She chewed on her pen. "Isn't Misako her older sister?"

Ranma looked Asmik in the eye. "I had Misako two months before I turned eighteen."

"Oh," the teacher looked away. "Well you look..."

"Believe me, it's really a curse. I have girls in high school and I still get carded at bars." Ranma shook her head. It was getting too easy to lie to people. She had never been carded in a bar. "How is my Nabiki doing?"

"As you know it's unusual to move a student two grade levels up, but..."

"The Drake, I'm sorry, Principal Kuno and the administration of Saint Helena made their decision."

Nancy looked the woman over. The redhead's face was more angular and her poise was that of a wearier woman. The way she dressed was more than she expected from a teenage mother, but that had to be sixteen years ago. "In this case I... I am reluctant to say that the Drake's judgment was correct."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Ah, your message was on the level, this is a routine meeting."

"As such things are in this situation," Nancy looked among her notes. "Nabiki is a very bright girl. She does have a bit of an attitude issue." She waved off the redhead's worried expression. "It's nothing more than teenage ego. I guess it's good she's getting it over with young. I wish my daughter had kept her head when she was Nabiki's age."

"She does not suffer fools well," Ranma allowed with a smile. "What happened with your daughter?"

"Nothing that some time in the real world didn't straighten out," Nancy dismissed. "Yes, I noticed that about Nabiki. Right now her situation is acute, but give her a few years and it will diminish."

"That makes sense."

"You remember, the difference between someone your age and," Nancy did some mental arithmetic, "someone thirty, is nothing, but for Nabiki the difference between two years is a lot."

Ranma nodded. "How is she with the other students?"

"Fair enough. She made some sarcastic remarks that amused most of them. Of course there's some of girls jealous of her, but oddly enough no one's bullied or really teased her."

"Really?"

"Oh sure, she has to deflect some minor stuff with snide remarks, but... well her older sister does protect her." Nancy paused and studied the woman. "In fact there's the whole clique she's in. Those... dark uniforms and all."

"Yes, I'm amazed the administration lets the girls get away with those," Ranma smirked.

"Nariko's the principal's niece," Nancy dismissed with a wave. She tilted her head and blinked.

"Yes?"

"Well, you obviously know her, she's your daughters' cousin." Nancy noted.

"Oh yes," Ranma smiled thinly. "Sunshine. There is a strong resemblance."

"If not for the age difference, I'd say you were twins."

Ranma shrugged. "What of the rest?"

"Good girls I suppose, a bit... open, but it seems most teenagers are these days," Nancy shrugged.

"Back to Nabiki?"

"Well, it's rather cut and dry," the teacher shrugged but decided to go through the list. As she went over things, she noted how Miss Saotome's gaze never left her.

"You'll tell me if anything happens?" Ranma asked.

"Of course," Nancy said before she stood. "It's been good talking to you."

Ranma shook her hand. "I've enjoyed it too." After leaving the room her smile vanished when she recognized the brunette delivering a batch of papers to the receptionist.

"Red... err Sunshine?" Naoko asked tilting her head.

"No, this is Sunshine's aunt, Ranma Saotome," Nancy said as she exited the conference room. She gave one last wave and left down the hallway.

"Odd... that's Sunshine's brother's name." Naoko remarked.

"It runs in the family," Ranma said, flatly.

"Yes, you're more reserved," Naoko noted, looking at the severe suit and tight bun.

"She is more of a livewire," Ranma allowed.

"So, you're... Ukyou's mother?"

"No, Misako and Nabiki's," Ranma said, with a slight blush. Maybe lying had not gotten too easy for her.

"Of course," Naoko smirked. "Anything you want me to tell your daughters and nieces?" she asked with a helpful nod.

Ranma frowned briefly. Sam and Naoko needed to be addressed, but she had another meeting to get to. "Just to say hi," the redhead thinly smiled before walking away.

Naoko pondered for a second before returning to class. She had spent too much time away, especially since she was just delivering some teacher evaluations. This was something Sam needed to know.

***************


"Hello Puu," Ranma smirked as she entered the bar. She motioned to the bartender and as she sat down next to the green-haired woman a glass of scotch on the rocks was placed in front of her.

"You look oddly respectable," Setsuna noted. The redhead was in a nice silk suit skirt and coat. She was worried about this meeting, but recent events had proven the necessity of it.

"I was just at a parent-teacher conference," Ranma said as she pulled out the ties that has for a while tamed her hair.. She nearly purred when her tresses seemed to flex and return to its normal shape. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked while sniffing the contents of her glass.

Setsuna looked over and caught a large blonde casually watching both of them. The Senshi shrugged. She had seen weirder things, demons were almost mundane. "I think Mercury's up to something."

Ranma slowly put her glass down and carefully eyed Setsuna. "You're kidding, right?"

Setsuna sighed. "More than just being Murdock's puppet. She's smart enough to not fight us again, and I'm worried."

"About what? Another double agent?" Ranma's laugh was cut off when she noticed the fear in Setsuna's face.

"Let's go over the list. Rei has been studying her fire a lot, and has seen some things best not seen. She was alone with Ami on that Mistress Lyra vision. She could have been taken then. Minako was abducted and afterwards started wearing a new uniform. She's passed every test and there's no reason to doubt her but..."

"Sometimes it is the obvious choice," Ranma murmured.

"And Makoto, well nothing's happened to her, she's be supportive, studious, and unwavering. That alone is suspicious. Then there's the Outers and Chibi-Usa back in Japan, two have been corrupted in the past and the other two have shown that they can be led to do highly questionable things."

"You worry that Murdock, Akumi, or whoever, has another corrupted Senshi?" Ranma took a small sip. "You've missed a few though."

Setsuna nodded. "Yes, the Mau might be corrupted too. They're in the background and are easy to overlook, but still... they see everything."

"Still missing more," Ranma chuckled.

"Well I'm not counting the Princess. The second she gets under dark control... that's it. We lose."

"We?" Ranma's smile showed her fangs.

"Oh please, I'm not counting you either. You've already been tempted, and have plenty of opportunity to become corrupted."

Ranma raised and eyebrow. "You do know what I do right?" she asked slowly.

"Yes, you're very vicious and dark. An incredibly scary killing machine." Setsuna's laugh was too strained for Ranma's taste. "How can someone corrupt that? No offense, but you're a simple creature. It's an excellent defense. How can anyone else tempt your dark-side?" Setsuna took a long pull at her martini. "No, you're totally at home with your base, inhuman nature."

"You still missed one, Puu."

"Of course, myself." This time Setsuna's laugh actually upset Ranma enough to make her spill her drink. She turned to the demon and stared her down.

Ranma paused. She had not noticed how normal the green-haired woman's eyes were. Bright blood-red eyes should not look completely mundane.

"There's a reason I didn't count myself." Setsuna's quiet and manic laugh repeated. "It's obvious. I'm not hiding my nefarious plans towards the Princess."

"Yes, the take over the world thing." Ranma took another sip. "Why tell me all this? I don't really care."

"That's a lie. You can trick Mistress Mercury all you want, but I know enough about you."

Ranma suppressed a blush.

"Look, I'm worried about someone actually getting the Princess, and you should be too."

"She really does have a rock that can reset the world?"

"If that is the end goal for Murdock," Setsuna took another long drink. "Personally, I think that's just icing for him. His real goal is something more... tangible. That crystal is quite hard to control, purposefully so."

"What do you want me to do?"

Setsuna finished her drink and ordered another. "Are you for hire?" she finally asked.

"You're kidding, right?" Ranma looked at Setsuna's face and sighed. "Damn, you aren't. Okay... what do you want?"

"I don't want anyone to get to the Princess. If I can't trust Guardian Senshi to protect her...."

"I'm a Senshi, and so are my girls." Ranma reminded.

"Fine, I can't trust human Senshi," Setsuna grabbed her new glass as soon as it was placed in front of her.

"You should really talk to these guys," Ranma said handing a business card over.

Setsuna smirked at the Willard International Consulting logo. "That's not what I want."

"You don't want an organization that has the manpower to cover the Princess round the clock. Can't afford them? Or worried about them?"

"I want you," Setsuna stiffly remarked.

"Oh, why didn't you say that earlier," Ranma saucily asked. "Look, you can't separate us. I work for them. I trust the Company. I don't trust you. What do you even want me to do? I don't do bodyguarding. I've got my own battles."

"How suspicious and worldly of you." Setsuna still pocketed the card.

"Do you even realize what my help would be?" Ranma gently rolled her glass. "Say we agree on compensation, and say you hire me to get Akumi. What do you expect me to do? What would Usagi think? She made me promise not to fight Mercury."

"That's my concern," Setsuna coldly stated.

"Even pretending it is. What then? You know what kind of 'help' I offer."

"Yes, you don't fight like a martial artist, a magical girl, a super heroine, or a dark queen. You fight like a paramilitary demon."

"No, Eve's that." Ranma chuckled as her eyes just slightly glowed. "I'm something else."

"Not up to the challenge?"

"Maybe I'll do it as a freebie then. Do freelance; that way you save money and I don't have anything limiting my decisions."

Setsuna sighed. "You're going to do whatever you want anyway."

"That is the nice part about being me," Ranma nodded in agreement. "Mmmm, dark conspiracies with demons. You do know I'm going to tell Usagi all of this right?" She took a small sip. "Weren't you finally starting to appear competent in her eyes?"

"This is her idea," Setsuna whispered. "She's the one that wants you."

Ranma turned her head. "What? This is her idea?"

"Our pure princess isn't as innocent as you make her to be," Setsuna reminded.

"She doesn't trust her friends? Does she trust you?"

"While I'd love to think she trusts me totally, I'm sure she's setting up a contingency to deal with me, maybe that's why she ordered me to talk to you."

"Clever girl."

"With everything she's been through? Yes, she's grown up. Does this change your mind?"

"You know it'll be child's play to see if you're lying about this."

"That's why I'm not."

"Okay, so what's the proposal?" Ranma asked, a bit more impressed with Usagi helming this scheme.

"We need you to be a backup. Mercury will unveil her next plan, and I want, Usagi wants the Inners to handle it, but..."

"But say Mercury pops in and unveils that Makoto, Minako and Rei are all corrupted."

"That's where you come in."

"Does Usagi know what she's asking? She knows how I fight right?"

Setsuna grew quiet, and took a couple swigs of her martini. "Here's where we differ. I'd tell you to kill the corrupted Senshi if there was no other choice. They've died before and they understand that's a part of the job. If it comes between them and her... that's what I'd want."

Ranma nodded. "What If I wasn't there? Would she kill them?"

Setsuna chuckled. "Between you and me? Yes, she'd fry them all. I don't know if she could live with herself after that, maybe if she could bring them back."

"What does Usagi think?"

Setsuna closed her eyes. "If faced between having herself be corrupted and killing her friends with no other way out, no escape, she wants you to kill her. I'm being clear right? She wants you to destroy her."

"She's that worried about being corrupted?"

"If Usagi falls... if she stays fallen, we lose, "Setsuna repeated.

Ranma shrugged.

"You're being matter of fact," Setsuna remarked.

"I'm surprised that she's being this mature and planning stuff out. It's a bit morbid, but that's how these things go. So, what else? You can't just be hiring me to be her suicide switch."

"There's more, ideally we want you to be an edge for us. Ami's afraid of you."

Ranma smirked. "That's true. What about turning?"

Setsuna sighed. "Yes, some corruptions and most brainwashing can be countered by that, especially if you make her a daughter. I'm sorry Ranma. She doesn't want that."

"Oh, I see," Ranma curtly said.

"She's worried about being corrupted and..."

"While she trusts me to kill her she doesn't trust me to mother her?"

"She would be exchanging one master for another." Setsuna shrugged. "This is all her words. I guess that's not the kind of relationship she has in mind with you."

"Well, she is being paranoid enough to pay a demon to kill her," Ranma shook her head. "Why isn't she telling me this?"

"It's less suspicious this way. We always have clandestine meetings," Setsuna took a drink. "I'm sure it's not because she gets tongue-tied and flustered around you."

Ranma laughed. "Right, what else? What does she want me to do with Akumi and her goons?"

"Well she doesn't want them killed," Setsuna offered.

"What does she want?" Ranma asked pressing the issue.

"Here's where you can get creative. Mercury knows we won't kill her when she fights us and she knows you will kill her if she fights you."

"She is jealous of me already," Ranma started to smile.

"I thought you'd like this job."

"What made Usagi decide to do this?"

Setsuna smiled slightly. "She finally realized what it'll take to win."

Ranma snickered. "Nice to see more professionalism from you guys. What about any new corrupted Senshi? You seem pretty certain that Mercury will do that."

"It's a scenario I hope won't happen, but we've already lost Mercury and Orion." Setsuna finished her glass. "It depends on situation. How many and who gets it."

"Oh? Interesting." Ranma saw only a couple reasons why it would greatly matter which Senshi ended up becoming the new minion to Mistress Mercury.

"Discretion and measured force are required. Honestly, that's no change for you; you're not one to get into fights without good reason."

"Aside from Usagi's 'escape clause' what are you paying for?" Ranma asked.

"We want you to be more active. So far, you don't put your nose into Mercury's schemes, and even then she seems worried about you."

"And when I start showing an active interest, she'll start thinking that I'm making a move to head her off. Wonderful."

"It fits well but not perfectly, and any missing parts are filled in by her own paranoia."

"Of course, you're working on the idea that I don't have any dark plans for Usagi, or that it's one that won't interfere with your own."

"Ultimately yes," Setsuna admitted.

"You still need to work out the proper payment," Ranma reminded.

"Other Senshi don't need to be paid for their work," Setsuna said before ordering her third drink.

"What else do you want?"

"As you said, the others can't be relied on." Setsuna took her new drink and gave a measured sip.

"There's still more."

"Disclosure of course." Setsuna put down her drink for the twentieth time by Ranma's count. "Tell either of us about any new interactions with Mercury or her minions."

"Fine," Ranma waved off. "I can get you recordings of most of that stuff, but what if Akumi finds out about this deal?"

Setsuna smirked. "Then she starts to worry about me too, and that the conspiracy against the queen she's trying to save will grow in her mind."

"Cute, but I want all the information you have on Akumi. From when she revealed herself to Minako's abduction, and that's before I even decide to take on the deal."

"Well, you were at the first incident so that leaves the convenience store fight and the abduction."

"Yes, tell me about that, specifically how Usagi and Mercury interacted."

"Easy enough, what about payment? How much?" Setsuna sighed.

The demon gave a wide grin. "If you'd had let me on your little team you wouldn't have needed to pay me."

"I can't appeal to a higher duty in you?" Setsuna asked.

"Well, Usagi could, but I know you've got no problems with money, and I do have a family. So... there's going to be money," Ranma motioned for Eve to get closer.

Setsuna looked at the leather-clad blonde again. "We'll be working though WIC?"

"They handle all my finances." Ranma shrugged.

"Standard freelancer support is regular payments during the duration of the contract with additional payments being doled out for extras met on the contract. You will be hiring Miss Saotome and her broodlings. That it will be Six Pattern D's. You will also finance any additional Company resources drawn upon during the execution of said contract," Eve explained.

"All this to get your help." Setsuna shook her head.

"You don't want help; you wanted to hire me," Ranma reminded.

"I've heard your requirements and a proper contract can easily be drafted." Eve interjected after getting a glass of beer. "The regular payments will support observation and basic interference with your target's operations. Any combat operations will fall under the extra clauses, with pricing following an attached rubric and intensity and duration formula. Of course any Company support will follow in the same structure."

"I didn't want to hire WIC," Setsuna said.

"Then that breaks the deal. I choose who I fight with, not you," Ranma stated.

"Fine," Setsuna dismissed with a wave of the hand.

Eve noted to tell the Company Lawyers to be especially thorough with this contract before continuing. "Naturally there's the standard legal waivers that come from hiring through a private military corporation, and some nonstandard ones specific to the nature of the NH field."

"Yes, well I want this deal done sooner rather than later."

"Good, good," Ranma nodded. "I just want one more thing." Only Eve noticed the flicker of hesitation in the redhead. "A date with Usagi."

"Date?" Setsuna expected something like this. "That'll be suspicious."

"Make it just a lunch thing then," Ranma offered.

"I'll ask her," Setsuna sighed as she finished her glass. "Well, it's been productive," she said as she got up and left. She had another meeting to get ready for.

"Making your move?" Eve asked.

"Well... she is good looking." Ranma blushed.

"Let's hope she says yes, Sis."

***************

Eve flipped to a new page and a new adventure for Silva and resumed her notes. She frowned at the cover briefly before looking at the empty shelf that held demonic texts, and decided to not put it away just yet.

"What's wrong?" Nabiki asked from the far corner of the bed.

"I don't see any reason we cannot become conversant in demonic Latin. We're all fully bilingual, and the progress you girls have made shows appropriate achievement."

Nabiki smirked, Eve was being so studious and serious over a children's book. It was like watching Nariko carefully read that puppy book of hers. Nabiki recalled seeing Eve read that book and Misako had once read it and was brought to tears as well. She wondered if it was something that happened to those who were born with a Y chromosome.

"But you worry about pronunciation?" Akane asked as she leafed through her own book. It really was a pain to translate, especially if she wanted to learn any of the good stuff.

"It would be handy to be able to speak it," Eve admitted. "Not having a native speaker teaching us will be a hurdle."

"Oh Aunty, I just think you're just bucking for a chance to meet Grandma," Misako teased looking up from the Company report she was reading. She froze. "Uh... sorry Captain Ma'am."

The blonde suppressed a smile. Misako was the older demon, and had a lot more experience and power, but a Captain is a Captain. "This is recreation time, cadet." Eve did not look up from her work. "If we were in the dojo the range or battle there could be a problem, if your mother didn't get to you first."

"Yes.. Aunty." Misako saw the slight smile on the blonde's face and was confused.

"But you're not some green cadet with a head full of war-games are you?" Eve laughed. "I'm sorry, a little joke."

"Oh, okay," Misako shook her head. Eve was a bit odd, but at least she could let her hair down and be almost... normal.

"You and your mate were both AOM Acolytes. Promising ones if I recall."

"Yes, Father Oslo was probably going to fast track... me to Paladin." Misako hesitated. Part of her was still amazed that she had ever wanted to be a paladin or a succubus warrior, a Company agent or a Sailor Senshi or Ranma Saotome's daughter.

"You also managed to become a Company contractor, and somehow meet my sister's standards," Eve said looking up with a little smirk. "There is more to being an operations agent, but we know you can fight and protect your comrades. The rest just helps you do those two things."

Misako nodded.

"What did our last battle accomplish?" Eve asked with a little smile.

"We killed a bunch of them, captured some documents, and found out their plans," Nabiki offered.

"Very good, what else?" Eve turned to Misako.

"We got the initiative," Misako added confidently.

"What benefit does that have? We've had larger battles with them before."

"This time we're not fighting back when they attack us. Now they're the ones defending their bases. Look at it from their perspective. Their encampments can be wiped out by us whenever we want. At least before they could pretend they were the ones controlling the fight."

"And what effect does this have? Do Assemblymen fear dying?"

Misako smirked. "Not really, especially in battle, not when they're facing monsters like us."

"So what's the advantage?"

"It rattles them. There's a difference between dying in a fight you started and being slaughtered while you wait in a dinky trailer. Kinda takes out the romantic stylin'." Misako chuckled.

"Psychological warfare then?" Eve asked.

"It hurts the boys back at the monastery; knowing that they'll get fried before they even see a demon. I mean how many of their men have survived?"

"We estimate a couple acolytes escaped the helicopter crash." Eve smiled. It was probably for the best that a couple escaped. The damage their stories would do was well worth it. Assuming they found their way out of the back woods and then even wanted to go back to the Assembly. "So that's the line grunt side. What about the officers?"

Misako laughed. "Oh yes, the Assembly has two kinds of higher ups. There's the deluded fools that actually believe all the crap, then there's the ones that learn the right things to say but plot and work their way up."

"Which are more dangerous?" Eve asked.

Misako shrugged. "Depends, you know that. The fools are more predictable, but they won't stop. The other ones will ease up but they might just be biding. You learn to be real patient in the Assembly."

"What will they do next?"

"How many men are available?" Misako asked. "Anything more and they'll be putting it all in."

"Are they willing to gamble like that?" Eve asked.

"You know the answer to that Aunty," Misako smirked. "I'm sure you talked to Ucchan about this."

"Yes, but I'm interested in your perspective," Eve reached out and patted Misako's hand.


"Well, it looks like they're going after our gates and vehicles. They might mount a full attack on a base. Sure it's suicidal, but if they have enough men they may think they can overwhelm. The alternative is hitting our vehicles."

"Asymmetrical warfare?"

Misako frowned. "As a starter, anything like that would be the first step. Like they did with the helicopter. Assembly doctrine emphasizes on large preset traps and small hunting teams."

"Yes, those work so great against us," Akane added.

"On the other hand, the Assembly would worry that the Company is raising a demonic army," Misako said.

Eve rubbed her chin.

"Might bring in the Inquisitorial branch. If they think it's worth gambling on that," Misako added the last sentence after some thought.

"The Assembly's internal security force?"

"That's a nice description for the scary freaks that keep everyone in line. Not as much in battle, I mean when you fight monsters if you don't win the best you can hope for is dying. Rest of the time acolytes worry about the inquisitors."

"Like a political officer?"

"Yeah about right. Someone to watch everyone and make sure you're enthusiastic enough to the cause. Remember when I said there were two kinds of higher ups?"

"The useful idiots become inquisitors?"

"Knew you were smart." Misako laughed. "But I bet you knew all that."

"And there's not that many of these guys? As they're the loyal core?"

"Yes, personal flunkies of bigwigs bishops and the like. Take a lot to get a force of them though."

"Something to think about."

"I still say we go on the attack. I know where more than a couple of their bases are." Misako licked her lips. "We can go out for food."

"Yes, as you said we've talked with Ukyou and know those locations," Eve smiled at the thought of feeding.

"Wonder when Ucchan and Narichan will finish making dinner," Akane remarked rubbing her belly.

"Mom being there's probably slowing things down," Nabiki joked.

"So why not have us take out one of their monasteries?" Misako asked. "Really hit them."

"What makes battle more than violence?" Eve asked.

Misako rolled her eyes. "Controlled violence to a specific application. So what? You're saying we keep that held in reserve then hit them there when it's best?"

The blonde succubus shrugged.

Misako's green eyes sparkled. "I get it. We get only one chance to wipe out a base, a real base, for the first time. So make it count, make a statement. We want them to react to us now."

"Lovely plan, Sis," Nabiki sighed.

"I can see worse reasons for killing people," Eve stated, her voice flattening.

"Oh don't sour like that." Misako leaned in and hugged Eve. "You shouldn't be ashamed of what you are. Don't feel bad about enjoying it," she whispered.

Eve hugged back and purred happily.

"Yeah, I'm not sure Misa's the best moral guide," Nabiki cautioned.

***************


"What brings you here?" Haruka asked as she poured her guest some tea.

"Yes, are there more demons?" Michiru jokingly asked.

"I'm sure there are," Hotaru muttered as she took a sip, while Chibi-Usa snickered. The Senshi of Saturn went back to the little wooden boxes and light oils in front of her.

Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "Yes, DarkStar has created a sister, but that's not the point. I'm here to warn you about Ami."

"The naughty corseted lesbian?" Haruka smiled and gave her lover a meaningful wink. "We always wondered about her."

"Well, she's become quite domineering," Setsuna remarked.

"It's always the quiet ones," Michiru said as her eyes darted to the other side of the table.

"I think she's going to become a bigger problem." Setsuna sighed. "I don't like this."

"But, she's a continent away?" Haruka remarked.

"It's not a problem for Puu," Chibi-Usa reminded.

Michiru shook her head. "I thought the Inners had to do it as a group."

"Ami's been a busy girl." Setsuna took a sip. "And yes, she could easily teleport from Toronto to Tokyo."

"Do you think she'll come to us?" Hotaru asked as she cleaned one of her sharpening stones.

Setsuna smiled slightly. "I'm actually hoping she does, but I don't see her having that level of hubris."

"If she wanted to get killed, Red's much closer." Chibi-Usa remarked.

Haruka and Michiru blinked and stared at the pink-haired girl.

"You three have been training already," Setsuna stated.

"Yeah... Hotaru's even sharpened my sword," Haruka glanced at Chibi-Usa, shook her head, and turned to Setsuna. "What's going on? This isn't like you."

"Oh? I guess I'm just loosening up," Setsuna chuckled.

"Fine don't tell us," Michiru said.

"We shouldn't get too cocky," Hotaru cautioned.

"I suppose not," Haruka admitted. "Ami does want Usagi, right?"

"Yes, but what if her plan is to neutralize all of us first? Have it so it's just her and Mother?" Chibi-Usa asked.

"Well, you four are more... free with what you can do if Ami comes sniffing around," Setsuna said.

"Oh? Letting us be our old selves again?" Haruka smirked.

"Getting any of you four would give Ami more than hitting power than one of the Inners. Hotaru's the heaviest power-wise and Chibi-Usa would be a massive psychological coup."

"Except both of us have already been turned evil," Chibi-Usa reminded. "Mother knows how to deal with that situation."

"Yes, Ami wants to win, she wouldn't copy the plans of failures. Still... I worry."

"Because she has an inferiority complex with other professional lesbian Senshi?" Chibi-Usa happily asked.

Setsuna paused at the red-eyed girl's comment. "Yes, I fear Ami is trying to compete with DarkStar."

"Least she's not competing with us," Hotaru muttered in a dark voice.

"Sorry kiddo, she's reclaimed her tessen, but compared to the glaive or the talismans..."

"Let alone the ginzuishou," Chibi-Usa added.

"Exactly," Setsuna nodded. "At least the others are getting up to speed. Minako's using her sword again."

"Good, she's supposed to be leading them." Hotaru paused. "Is she keeping it sharp?"

"I'm still easing her into things," Setsuna said generating a disappointed sigh in Hotaru. "One of DarkStar's spawn is using a sword made out of Dantite."

"That's a lousy pun." Hotaru frowned. "But is it real demonic metal? All of it?"

"What's this?"

"Combination of Dante and the common ending for steel heat treating phases," Setsuna explained with a snicker. "The material's rare and has many names, and is itself an alloy of metal and something even more alien and toxic. Some succubae call it spirit channel, but that's moot."

"You're talking about a whole sword of it? Not just edging?" Hotaru tilted her head. "That's..."

"DarkStar's grandmother gave it special as a present."

"The sword? That's nice of her."

Setsuna laughed. "No, the gift was just the raw metal. DarkStar's mother made the sword, with some help from an Oskar Nishina."

"Master Nishina?" Hotaru's face lit up. "Oh wow."

"You know him? Who is he? How do you know all this?" Michiru asked.

"He's a sword-smith. It's interesting stuff," Hotaru blushed nervously.

"Yeah, even I've heard of him. Does a lot of custom work," Haruka added.

"So, the Brood Senshi are doing their own stuff," Hotaru nodded.

Setsuna chuckled. "Oh yes, there's definite reasons Ami's so jealous."

"And you really see Ami as more of a threat than Red?" Chibi-Usa asked.

Once again, Setsuna studied the queen's daughter. There were limits to the gate guardian's paranoia, but she still wondered. "Yes, DarkStar is quite approachable, if you know what she wants."

"Pardon?" Hotaru asked.

Setsuna sipped her tea. "She's on our side now."

"Well that's nice," Michiru remarked. "How did you do that?"

Setsuna shrugged. "Money."

"You had to pay her? We can do that?"

"It's how the Company works. Professionals require payment, even if it's a token amount," Chibi-Usa explained.

"Yes... that's right," Setsuna raised an eyebrow and made another mental note.

"So, what's she going to do? What should we do?" Michiru asked.

Setsuna took a sip, finishing her tea. "Insurance."

"Us or her?"

"Different kinds," Setsuna explained as she poured herself another glass. "Ami's not going to surprise me, not again."

***************


"Interesting plans you and my girls came up with," Ranma remarked as the two walked down the sidewalk.

"We've still got some time." Eve looked at their destination. "Well, first things first."

"Are we underdressed?" Ranma asked as the two entered the deli.

"We're in matching leather jackets, skirts and bodices. I think we're overdressed," Eve dryly remarked.

"Gee, thanks." Ranma scanned the room and found two Senshi sitting at a table.

"Going out is nice and all, but why me?"

"I could have brought one of my daughters, but when I heard that Rei was coming..." Ranma chuckled evilly.

Eve smirked.

Usagi looked up to see two pale women walk over to her. Ranma was expected but the other... the deep blue eyes and tightly pulled back blonde hair were something else. "Another... daughter?"

Rei froze. She had insisted on coming; Usagi alone with DarkStar seemed like a bad idea, but now she was starting to regret her choice.

"She's my sister," Ranma smiled. Usagi was wearing a nice blouse and matching skirt, while Rei was in pants and a sweater. "Rei's met her, haven't yah?"

"The vision," Rei whispered.

"You like watchin' don't yah?" Ranma teased.

"She's a voyeur," Eve added.

"So, the blonde demon you saw wasn't me, it was her?" Usagi asked.

Eve smiled thinly.

"Didn't you notice that she was tall?" Ranma asked as she browsed the menu. She was in the mood for a sausage sub.

"Well... she might have grown... becoming a demon does that..." Rei said as she looked over Eve who looked at the raven-haired girl with amusement.

"I'm just happy you agreed to lunch," Ranma smiled.

"Sorry, if Setsuna's questions bugged you," Usagi said her eyes darting to Rei.

"No, you guys should know if I'd seen Ami," Ranma said after the four paused to place their orders with the waitress. She used this chance to examine Rei, who seemed to miss Usagi's omission.

Usagi watched the waitress retreat. "I just... I just don't like hiding things from people."

"Ami's working for the enemy now," Rei reminded.

"Yes, it still hurts," Usagi flatly stated.

"Having your family taken an turned against you is a wound that that doesn't heel," Ranma said sympathetically. "How's other things, been training?"

"Yeah, Puu's actually been doing it," Usagi said as she sipped her soda.

Rei shook her head; they were only now starting to beat those damn orbs.

"Oh? I can't imagine her training. How's that been?" Ranma asked leaning forward.

Eve's smile shifted slightly. Her sister had some skill at this.

"She has all these crazy light balls. They fire everywhere," Usagi frowned. "It's a real pain."

"Sounds stressful, anything else keeping you busy?"

"Yeah, it's just these glowing ball games," Rei grumbled. "Course, Setsuna's got no idea how to teach."

"We're working better as a team," Usagi defended. She quieted down as their waitress deposited their sandwiches. Noticing Eve's large grinder submarine sandwich, Usagi started to watch the blonde demon eat.

Ranma smiled and began to chew on her sub. She wondered how long it would take Usagi to notice that she had a sandwich to eat herself.

"Ah, they do have good food here." Eve then took a sip.

"It's okay. I'm sure it's nothing like a nice human liver," Rei stated, as she nibbled at her club. "Are you okay?" she asked Usagi, after noticing that she had hardly eaten her sandwich.

"Uh yeah, fine... fine." Usagi nervously laughed. She clumsily picked up her lunch and moved her gaze from Eve to Ranma who was happily munching on an Italian sausage. She pulled her collar, and took a bite.

"Yeah, human's good, but you can't compare a fresh kill with something prepared. Totally different food." Eve said.

Ranma nodded. "It's the difference between something that's still got that fresh... life to it, meat that you killed yourself, and the more refined and prepared taste of something that was slaughtered a while ago."

"Sounds... interesting," Usagi coughed. "At least you're having fun."

Rei tilted her head and stared at her princess.

"Not like that," Usagi blushed.

"I'm... goin' to the bathroom," Ranma said, getting up.

Watching her go,Rei frowned. She looked at her cup then at the blonde demon. "Me too," she grumbled, following the redhead.

After using the toilet, Ranma was inspecting her reflection. She decided to increase her makeup just a bit more; she was a succubus, might as well be more sensual.

Rei soon took the sink next to the redhead after going to the bathroom. "You're not doing anything funny are you?"

"You're the one that's been spying on me," Ranma replied.

"I was just using my visions to look out for threats," Rei glared. "Besides, it was over two weeks ago that I saw that vision."

"Really?" Ranma decided not to tell Rei that the feeding happened only a couple days ago. "You confused Eve with a demon Moon Princess?" She smiled showing her fangs.

"Yes, I'm sorry that I found that scary," Rei dryly said.

Ranma chuckled and gave a wink.

"You're just having a ball aren't you." Rei turned and washed her hands.

"Pretty much," Ranma admitted.

Back at the table, Usagi was trying to talk with Eve. With just one demoness the distraction level was a bit more manageable. "You're a succubus now? What... what made you go? Were you injured?"

Eve put down her lunch. "No, I was fine... physically. Emotionally..." she shrugged. "I didn't have anything else."

"Ranma is very affectionate." Usagi looked down.

"When are you going to start teasing her back?"

"Huh?"

"I noticed how you look at her," Eve smirked. "Want some hints about what she likes?"

"Well... no... thanks," the teenager blushed.

"Anytime you need any advice just ask," Eve smiled.

"Thanks," Usagi had to grin back. The blonde demoness expression was... intense but seemed heartfelt.. "You seem close to Ranma. Have you two been friends long?"

"She's my longest and best friend." Eve paused and sighed sadly.

"What's wrong?"

"That's why I became a demon." Eve looked at Usagi in the eye. "I'm a grown woman, well was a man, and my first real friend was a teenage single mom succubus."

"I'm sorry." Usagi reached out and put her hand over Eve's. "What about family?"

"Same thing." Eve's pout deepened.

"You couldn't have picked better family than Ranma."

Eve blushed. "You really are a sweet girl."

"You are too."

"No, I'm a monster," Eve sighed.

"That's not true," Usagi's eyes hardened.

"You don't know what I've done."

"Doesn't matter."

"No, this was before I became a demon."

Usagi narrowed her eyes. "No, what I mean is that Ranma would never, ever let a monster into her family, let alone be her sister. Do you know what that means? How much she trusts you?"

Eve stared at the younger blonde.

"I don't know you, but I do know Ranma."

"Yes, that's true," Eve smiled. "Things have been better."

"You're so lucky to have someone you can trust like that."

Eve seemed to glow with joy. "Yes, I am." She noticed Usagi's growing frown. "I'm sorry."

Usagi looked up briefly. "It's not your fault."
She sighed. "It's not theirs really."

"Yes, they've been corrupted."

"It still hurts."

"Then get them back. Punish the person that did this too them too," Eve offered.

"I will," Usagi promised. She looked over to see Rei and Ranma exiting the bathroom.

Rei smiled in relief when she saw Usagi still human. The other blonde was still a shock to her. She was attuned enough to sense the... unnatural and this Eve woman clearly counted.

"Did you two have a good chat?" Ranma asked, sensing Eve's joy.

"Yes, you've got a good sister," Usagi said brightening a bit.

"And Usagi's a good friend," Eve added.

"Oh, that's just creepy," Rei said as she sat down. "Least you two have different hairstyles."

"That and Eve's almost a foot taller," Ranma added.

Usagi looked down at her chest and then back up at Eve's, while the German blushed slightly.

"Setsuna told me about that fight in the convenience store and Minako's abduction," Ranma said. "You guys should be worried."

"Oh? Thanks for the insight." Rei sighed.

"You guys are getting better. Setsuna's training seems to be helping."

"Let us know when you want some real training," Eve smirked.

"Really?" Rei skeptically asked. "Aren't you new at the magical girl thing?"

"Well you guys don't need training on how to cast spells, you need better teamwork and fighting skills."

"Setsuna's been helping us with that," Usagi pointed out.

"Seems like she's doing it somewhat well," Ranma admitted.

Rei raised an eyebrow. She did not think they had told Ranma enough about the training.

"Well, if we hear anything about Miss Mizuno we will tell you," Eve assured.

"That's good," Usagi said.

"What do you think her next plan is?" Rei asked the two demons.

Ranma looked at Eve who gave a small nod. "Whittling down the Senshi one by one."

Rei's eyes widened. "Really?"

"It's that or getting Usagi," Eve remarked before taking another bite. "And really, she's a Senshi too, that will just make getting the rest of you easier."

Usagi chewed on her lower lip. "Yeah that's why we have to stop her."

***************

"They're here," Mars said as she looked around the empty lot.

"Who?" Princess Venus asked as she stepped forward.

"DarkStar and her brood," Sailor Moon guessed as she kicked away a broken box.

"That's fast," Sailor Jupiter shook her head. They had just called in the brood a few minutes ago.

"Where?" Venus asked looking around, she didn't hear a helicopter or see any flying demons, and the rooftops seemed clear of silhouettes.

Sailor Jupiter saw movement in the corner of her eye and turned to see Sailor DarkStar land a few feet from her.

"Not bad, you kept someone watching your backs," Ranma evaluated as she sniffed the air. "I don't smell Merc or her flunkies."

"Yeah, we came up empty, too," Mars grumbled.

"I don't like it," Venus had drawn her sword looked about. "It's a trap."

"Well you hear about Mercury setting up... what - a giant crystal around here and end up with what?." Ranma's eyes scanned the debris-strewn field. Abandoned buildings loomed around them.

"There is something magical here," Mars stated as the group went to the edge of the field. Setsuna had told them about this tip and they finally got the chance to strike

"Yeah, she's got something planned," Jupiter grumbled.

"You did the right thing calling us," Ranma allowed. She followed the Senshi as they entered one of the abandoned buildings. Venus and Mars had flanked Moon while Jupiter took the rear. Ranma shrugged; things were working well enough. They walked down a corridor and the quartet of Senshi stopped halfway through a storage room.

"Oh God, that's it," Princess Venus remarked at seeing the dark blue crystal that was floating in the far end.

An image formed around the two foot tall crystal that solidified into a hologram of Mistress Mercury. "Ah good, you're here. I was worrying that I might have to call off your little training mission." The image of Mercury smiled a bit at the redhead in the back. "Ah, hello DarkStar, are you proctoring?"

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "I was called in to help."

"Just destroy it." The edge of Venus' sword glowed as she stepped forward past some boxes. Just then to the left of the blonde a thick spray burst out of a small crate. Princess Venus screamed as a few gallons of golden gel splashed over her. Scrambling, she tried to wipe it off her, but it stuck to her skin. It came off her armor easily enough, though with big smears.

The golden goop spread over her body, and seemed to just appear on her skin too. A pain blossomed in her temples as her vision shimmered. The gel started to solidify and turn into familiar gold plates, but in much greater number. What had started as a decorative armor that only covered select areas was rapidly turning unto a highly form-fitting full suit of armor. She tried to pry the segments off but her armored hands could not grip onto any of the edges.

"Venus," Moon cried as she ran over but stopped a few paces away.

"Don't! It could get you too," Lady Venus pleaded as the gel finally started to rise above her neck. She screamed in terror; she had not expected this. It rapidly formed over her head and solidified into a full helmet with a pair of thin arched eye slits. The helmet had a feminine face formed into the gold that matched Minako's but was cold and harsh. Within the complete encasement Minako's yells were suddenly halted, and the eye slits began to grow a bright red.

The shapely armored figure stood to attention and sheathed her sword. Glowing eyes focused on the holographic image of Mercury.

Ranma frowned. It looked like Setsuna's paranoia wasn't unwarranted.

"Stop it!" Flames started to grow around Mars' form.

"What did you do?" Moon yelled as she readied her scepter.

"Shame it absorbed your hair," Mercury shrugged. She waved her hand and a long crest formed on top of the golden helmet. Like a centurion's it went front to back. However this one was made of shimmering golden locks and was far longer in the back than normal and streamed down her rear.

Mercury tapped her chin. "Still needs something more." She looked to DarkStar and gave a saucy wink. A pair of red horns then spiraled out of the golden helmet and grew to a length of four inches. Together with the glow from the eye slits and the chest and back bows, they were the only non-gold on her. The golden figure stiffened her back and then changed her stance as a pair of large metallic demon wings grew from her back. The armored gloves shifted and their fingers lengthened to talons.

The human Senshi stepped back in blank horror.

Ranma cracked a smile and then started snickering.

"This isn't funny!" Moon shouted.

"Oh but it is," Mercury chuckled as well. "Venus, fetch me our princess if you please. We need to... train her."

"Yes, Mistress," Venus said in a monotone before she shifted her head to focus on Moon. The golden lips did not move. She wanted to run a glove over her armored body but knew keeping her poise would be important and her mistress would be displeased if she ruined the moment.

"Ranma!" Moon asked as she backed away.

Ranma immediately stopped laughing, and brushing past Jupiter, strode up to Venus. "You're now a flunky of Akumi?"

Venus's eye slits flashed brighter. "I serve the Queen."

Ranma smiled thinly. "Good. You know what I'll do if you draw, right?"

Venus turned her head between the demon and the queen. She noticed that the demon's figure was becoming wreathed in shadows and her hair had started to shift and rise as if it were in a strong wind. Even if Venus could not sense other demons, she knew they would be there. DarkStar never went into battle alone.

"You should know my stance in this Senshi nonsense." A grin had returned to Ranma's face and she started to laugh. "Sorry, but man. You look silly. I'm surprised she didn't give you a tail."

"You're just going to talk with her?" Sailor Moon asked in an oddly calm voice.

"I don't fight lightly," Ranma stiffly replied. "You're free to try to blast with your purifying magic. It couldn't hurt."

Behind Venus the hologram of Mercury reappeared. "I knew I forgot something. Thanks Red!" After she said this a golden tail with Russian-gold fins grew out of Venus' back bow.

Ranma sighed and shook her head. "Do you want me running around in a black corset and ice skirt, Akumi?"

"You'd look good in it," Mercury agreed.

"No way. I'm not going to freeze my crotch."

"Stop this banter!" Jupiter shouted. "Look at what they did to Mina!"

Venus turned to Moon. "While these two talk fashion, maybe we should just get started?"

"You're still in there," Moon said with a bit of a smile.

"Nice to see you care," Venus said as she reached for her sword. She was happy her mask kept the same haughty expression, it would not do to have Moon see a mirthful grin.

"Minako no!"

Ranma noticed Venus' arm move to the hilt. "What did I tell you?"

"But she is armed as well. " Venus pointed to the kaleidoscope in Sailor Moon's hands.

Moon looked down at the little cylinder. "Hey, this doesn't count."

"I heard that thing shoots out a thick beam of doom?" Ranma asked, curious to see that weapon in action.

"Then shoot me with it," Venus said as she drew her sword: a silver crystal weapon of comparable length to the wielder's height.

"Flashy," Ranma dryly remarked. She did wonder how Nariko's blade would fare.

As Venus charged forward and Moon fired. The thick energy beam struck golden armor in a bright explosion. Venus fell to her knees as bits of gold dripped down from her chest.

Tears in her eyes, Moon leveled her weapon at the prone form. Mars and Jupiter came in from behind. After finding lightning ineffective, the brunette attacked with her fists, punching the armored backside. Venus' wing unfolded and knocked the brunette to the ground.

Quickly turning, Venus held out her free hand. "Venus Love Me Chain," her monotone voice intoned as a series of golden chains bound Jupiter's form. Sighing in pleasure she turned to see Mars attacking, as expected. As the flames harmlessly hit her healed chest she thrust forward with her sword.

"Better," Venus flatly stated as she cornered Rei whose arms had started to glow in flames. The armored figure was in mid downward swing when Usagi jumped in.

The sparkly rod came up and caught the edge of the golden sword. "No," Serenity's daughter swore as she strained against force of Venus' weapon.

Venus paused and was punched by the now unbound Jupiter. The attack did not do much damage, but it knocked her off balance. The helmeted figure turned and her eye slits flared brighter.

"You forgot we learned how to get out of that stuff," Jupiter snarled as she readied an attack.

Venus stopped and turned to see that Mars and Moon closing in from the other side.

"Well, this is disappointing," Mercury sighed as her hologram flickered and eventually shut off. The crystal was briefly visible before it exploded in a flash of blinding blue light.

Mars jumped in front of Moon, who saw the demonic image of Venus vanishing in the brightness. As the Senshi pulled at their eyes the pain eventually dimmed and they saw a room empty of Venus and DarkStar.

"Ami you bitch!" Mars screamed.

"That's it? She's really gonna pick us off one by one?" Jupiter asked.

"No, we've got it handled," Usagi said with a little smile.

"What?" Mars asked.

"And where's Ranma?" Jupiter inquired.

***************


Venus landed on the ground with a heavy thud. Golden wings folded back as she stretched her neck. Her glowing eyes spotted a store window on the darkened storefront. The metallic figured strutted over and gazed at her reflection.

She stared at her frozen expression and ran an armored claw over her chest armor. She then moved to one of her horns and ended up poking at what her blonde hair had turned into. Turning, the figure looked up and expressionless eyes watched a red-haired succubus land a few feet away.

"Enjoying your new look?" Ranma asked with a little smirk.

Venus tilted her head.

"I guess your little plan to scare them went off well," Ranma noted, trying to smell out the girl within the suit. It seemed quite contained.

The golden girl flexed her hand and looked back to her reflection.

"Oh, I see. Akumi's slaved you into a mindless automaton, that just happens to be vain," Ranma noticed the lack of response and sighed. The armor did give her a perfect poker face. Almost perfect, Ranma amended as she noticed Venus' posture shift.

The succubus smirked and continued. "I'm not surprised. Mercury even let that headstrong fool Shampoo stay free, but she saved something... special for you. You just happen to be turned into something that makes you look like a robot? You're an obvious ploy. Just a pretend warrior. Not even a real succubus." As Ranma stepped forward, the shadows followed her. "You don't even know what you're pretending to be."

Venus instantly shifted her position as she seamlessly drew her sword. The crystal blade was held inches from the amused succubus. "I am not a joke," the golden figure flatly entailed. "This weapon was forged by the Queen herself and is the same material as the Ginzuishou."

"Well that's nice." Ranma's grin grew to where it revealed her teeth. "Just be glad you can act better around your Princess than me," she said sidestepping the blade. "Are there any Senshi that aren't... corrupted? Or is this all just a game to train up Usagi?"

"The Queen is none of your business," Venus swore as she lowered her blade.

"Yes, she has her hands full with armored and corseted Senshi." Ranma flicked her tail.

Venus' glowing eyes seemed to flicker on and off.

"I just wonder if you know what you're getting yourself into," the succubus cautioned as she inspected the detailing on Venus' armor.

"What?" Venus asked as she adjusted her posture.

"Well, you'll find out soon enough." Ranma advised. She sighed and looked at the golden figure.

Venus tilted her head slightly.

"Tell Mistress Mercury to stop by whenever she gets bored with playing and wants to be a professional about it. I mean, gold armor?" Ranma shook her head, and turned away.

"Wait!" Venus had been pleased with the results, the armor was surprisingly accommodating and comfortable; it really was a pleasure to use. "You're treating me like some toy."

"Eh?" Ranma raised an eyebrow. "You're playing a minion while serving a girl that's also pretending to be a super-villain."

"What if it's not an act?"

"Then you just ended up encased in armor of her own design. Real smart move there." Ranma flexed her fingers. "You can play your little magical girl games, but don't forget that some people don't play games."

"I know who I serve," Venus asserted as she looked around, once again there was an absence of silhouettes or other indications that she was being watched, but that meant nothing.

"The best part," Ranma smirked as she circled the figure inspecting it. "Is that Akumi won't even question me letting you go. She and I do have an... understanding."

Once again Venus's eye-slits flickered.

"Oh? Surprised that I've got my own schemes?" Ranma leaned in and whispered into where Venus' ear would have been. "Sorry Mina, but I have my own priorities, I can't babysit the Senshi."

Venus tilted her head. She did not know how much the demon knew, but it seemed very dangerous to her mistress' plans.

"Playing the silent robot bit?" Ranma nodded. "It's a much better act."

As Venus stared at Ranma she flexed her talons experimentally.

"Akumi did to a pretty good job making you, I guess," Ranma allowed. "The demon theme's a bit played, but the armor does seem effective."

"I'm glad I meet with your approval," Venus mechanically replied.

"Good, good!" Ranma laughed. "Act as if you are the armor. I think you can fool the Inners." She paused. "But I don't know if you'll be able to fool Akumi."

"The Queen is the only one that matters."

End ch8

Once again, I'd like to thank my pre-readers. They're the ones that made sure this story was readable. DGC, J St C Patrick, Pale Wolf, Wray, Solara, Kevin Hammel, Ikarus, and Jerry Starfire.

Revision notes: Ah the good old golden Venus.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 9: Preparations and Expansions
Formerly: Reveal and Repurpose



"Minako has been taken?" Setsuna asked after entering the apartment. She tapped a flask discreetly placed in her jacket but pulled her hand away. She was beyond the temptations of the body.

From her seat, Makoto tilted her head. It was odd how Setsuna stressed that verb.

"That bitch, Ami got her too," Rei grumbled. She was folding strips of paper and making a slowly growing pile.

"We're running out of Senshi," Makoto sighed. She looked to the other side of the couch and sighed again. In the brief moments where Rei was not folding or writing, her hands would spasm.

Setsuna nodded and walked up to Usagi who was silently sitting on a chair facing the window. "What do you have to say for yourself, Princess?" she flatly asked while standing behind the blonde.

Usagi strained her vision. She could almost make herself believe the glint on the building across the street's roof was a scope. "Well, the plan worked, perfectly."

Setsuna nodded. "But there's no response from Ranma?"

"Not yet," Usagi picked up her glass gave it a glance and then put it back down.

The older woman frowned.

"Plan? What... what are you talking about?" Makoto slowly asked.

"May I?" Setsuna inquired.

Usagi nodded.

Setsuna turned to the couch. "Minako is a plant. She's going to lead us right to Ami."

Rei stopped folding and looked up. "That whole fight was an act?" Her eyes were cold.

"Maybe," Setsuna shrugged. "It doesn't matter. We'll still find her."

"That's why DarkStar was there and why she left early," Makoto's eyes widened in realization. "She's going to follow Minako... right to Ami's hideout."

"Ranma has resources at her disposal to covertly track Minako. This was important for our backup plan," Setsuna explained.

"You mean if Ami really has corrupted Minako," Rei shook her head. "You knew. You knew Ami got her claws into Mina! And then what?" She stared at the green-haired woman. "You used her as bait? And it doesn't matter if Ami really does turn her into a robot, because your demonic mercenaries will take care of it. Usagi, why did you listen to her?"

Usagi slowly turned her head. "It was my idea, Rei. After... Minako came to me. We both knew what Ami wanted."

Rei stared. "And... and DarkStar?"

"I hired her." Usagi smiled. "It's really amazing what she'll do if you set the right price."

Despite the mood, Makoto smirked. She congratulated herself on her ability to avoid laughter.

"Minako knew she was the next one. Ami abducted her to learn the best way to... turn her, and tonight was the first time we'd have run into Ami since the last time," Setsuna said.

"Perfectly cold and logical," Rei grumbled. "You sure Ami wouldn't be proud of this?"

Usagi narrowed her eyes. "Again. Minako volunteered. Are you angry that I kept this secret from you two?" She chuckled. "I'm sorry I don't have that luxury anymore. Pluto's right. We cannot beat Ami. She knows our moves, our powers, our minds. She has built herself to defeat magical girls."

"You changed the rules?" Makoto's smirk turned into a grin.

Usagi nodded. "Setsuna, what are Ami's weaknesses?"

"She's very bright and used to be very shy and meek. Mistress Mercury is now quite domineering and is always calculating; she plans. This gives her certain... vulnerabilities."

"Oh, being intelligent and planning ahead are vulnerabilities?" Rei skeptically asked.

"It just requires the right enemy," Setsuna smirked.

Makoto paused and stared out the window. "I see... wow... so that's why you hired her?"

Usagi nodded.

"Wait... DarkStar?" Rei asked. "What does she have to do with it?"

"Consider: Ranma gave massive headaches to Setsuna, a very cold and calculating person."

Rei blinked. "Of course... Ami went out of her way to avoid angering her. She's... she's afraid of Ranma?"

"Why not?" Setsuna looked out the window and smiled. "DarkStar is everything Mistress Mercury is not. Impulsive, passionate, professional, connected, ruthless, charismatic, murderous. For all her damage, Mistress Mercury..." she laughed. "Mercury is a poser compared to DarkStar. Compare their fighting styles."

"They're both very good and always win."

Setsuna tilted her head slightly and seemed to... listen. "Mercury is a threat to you all, but that's different. For one, Mercury hasn't killed any of you."

"So what? DarkStar's a real monster? Is that it? Ami's jealous?" As soon as the words left her mouth Rei jumped up and turned towards the door which eased open.

Dressed in dark purple leather boots, pants, bustier, and coat, the pale redhead stepped in. Behind her the door was closed by a blonde woman who almost towered over the other demon. The blonde wore a dark silk grey suit skirt that seemed to be Setsuna's twin.

"Ah, I see Rei's gotten better," Ranma smiled broadly. "Nice fire by the way."

Rei looked down and extinguished her flames. "You know where Ami's hideout is?"

Ranma stepped forward. "You told them, Usagi?" She shrugged. "Eve? Evaluation."

"Their door was trivial to defeat. Blinds are drawn open. Only one responded with any proficiency. Of the two who knew we were coming, only Miss Meiou seemed to know exactly when we would enter."

Ranma grinned. "That's not quite what I meant." She stepped up to Usagi and handed the blonde and an envelope. "I was surprised. Minako actually tried to evade us," she said as she pulled up a chair and sat down facing Usagi. "Though a golden robotic succubus doesn't exactly... blend in."

"Your wings are giant and purple," Makoto noted.

Ranma sighed. "Anyway, Minako did lose me. Of course that's when the surveillance swapped. Akumi's got herself a nice little mansion."

"How do you know that's really where Ami is? What if she just stopped there?" Rei asked.

"Very good question," the redhead brightened. "That is why we're late. It took a bit to get surveillance setup. Care to explain, Sis?"

Eve's eyebrows rose for a brief moment. "The target wanted to guard the location against detection surveillance; she tried too hard. So anyone with... discretion in their methods will immediately know that spot for what it is. That level of interferences is not... natural."

"Granted, it's still an assumption." Ranma shrugged. "Maybe, Akumi's clever enough to use this as a distraction, but it's still something we can watch. We are your backup."

"You just keep smiling," Rei groused.

Ranma shook her head. "I warned you that keeping them in the dark would make things worse."

"That was my decision," Setsuna interjected. "I was worried that Ami would take someone else, that Minako would be too obvious."

"So?" Ranma asked as she leaned back. "Minako knows the plan. You're putting an awful lot of weight on Ami not breaking her."

"Minako didn't know about your role." Usagi gripped her glass and sunk her head. "She thought everything was on her spying on Ami and then returning to us."

The redhead smiled thinly. "Not bad. My involvement tonight will increase Akumi's jealousy."

"We hope it will start affecting her performance," Setsuna agreed.

"Taking Miss Aino in this manner suggests desperation or a desire for theatrical drama," Eve stated. "Perhaps, Miss Mizuno feels her progress has stalled and felt forced to act now, or perhaps she has a more elegant way to show off her new toy."

"Toy? That's our friend," Makoto said, indignantly.

"To Miss Mizuno she is just that." Eve shrugged.

"Is... is there any Minako in her?" Usagi asked Ranma.

The brood mother nodded. "The robotic stuff was an act, a poor one at that. She seemed to be having fun in that suit though."

Usagi smiled. "Good, that's good. Ami won't know what'll hit her."

Ranma's smile grew and her teeth began to show. "Excellent, when does the strike start?"

"We've got to confirm the location ourselves," Setsuna said, taking the envelope from Usagi. "Continue your own surveillance. Do your best to keep it hidden from her, that way if she spots you..."

"She'll think we don't want her to see us," Ranma laughed. "I can see why you love this spy stuff, Sis."

"Physiological torture is more challenging and intellectually satisfying," Eve agreed. "Of course there's something to be said for the traditional methods: blood, sweat, and tears."

"You truly are an artist," Ranma smirked when she saw the barest hint of a blush and pheromone change in her sister.

"She's talking about torturing people," Rei flatly stated. "Usagi, you can't be in league with people like this."

"Yeah, I know that. I kill and eat people, gonna freak out on that?" Ranma's voice was innocently confused.

"And that is why Ami's jealous," Setsuna smirked. "You are casually inhuman. You don't play at being a dangerous blood-thirsty creature. There's no act, no apology, no drama. You just are."

"That's not admirable!" Rei cried. "We can't be with killers."

"What about all the 'monsters' we killed?" Usagi quietly asked. "Many of them were sentient, some were even human once. The Shitennou?" She continued, her voice growing louder. "What about ones that are still human? Those cultists? You burned several of them to death. I cut one apart with my tiara and crushed the skull of another? Am I a monster?"

"No, you're our princess." Rei looked down. "You're Queen Serenity's heir, you wield the Silver Crystal. I know how good you are."

"Queen Serenity was not just some peace-loving holistic sappy ruler. You know that She built her empire through conquest right?" Setsuna asked.

"She took over the Earth by making deals with demons," Ranma happily added.

"Liar," Rei glared. "She saved the Earth from a demonic invasion."

"I was there," Ranma sighed. "Setsuna was there too, and Queen Serenity was one of the few friends I had in that life; I helped her take over the Earth."

"The Terrans felt cornered. They lost their royal family and ended up with a 'tamed' succubus instead. They could not defeat the invading demons on their own, but to ask for Serenity's help would result in their subjugation," Setsuna explained.

"But, Serenity would have helped them. Her rule was good." Rei defended.

"So? Benevolence of a ruler is moot to those who value independence. Not everyone wanted to follow Serenity. That's how things like Beryl and Diamond start." Setsuna pulled out her flask and glanced at it. "I say this as the biggest supporter of Serenity's plans for Unification."

Makoto raised an eyebrow. This looser and more open Setsuna was disturbing.

"It came down to me. I was the granddaughter to the head of one of the demonic armies, a Senshi in the service to Serenity, and the Queen of Earth." Ranma closed her eyes. "It didn't end well."

"Serenity did help BlackSky destroy House Vephar," Usagi offered.

"Yes, and the chance to take Vephar's territory, that was enticing to Grandma. It was when the other Houses, like Luxon and Elena started to worry."

"What happened?" Rei asked.

"After I... died, BlackSky and Serenity made a deal. As you know, two demonic Houses invaded the Earth. Vephar's forces preferred to eat and turn just about anyone. She had a lot more numbers, and more land back on the homeplane. Grandma, BlackSky was more careful in who she took, and had less territory. It was a... shaky truce. Vephar killed me because she thought I was making a deal to get her House destroyed."

"A rather perceptive evaluation," Setsuna stated.

"What was the deal?" Rei repeated.

"Serenity would wipe out Vephar's forces on Earth, and spare BlackSky's. BlackSky would then be allowed to take her broods back home."

"But... weren't some of them human?"

"Quite a few."

"Why did BlackSky give up on Earth then?"

Ranma chuckled. "Think about it. The bulk of Vephar's forces, including her most powerful were on earth. Her holdings on the homeplane were still guarded... but easy pickings to an entire House flush with veterans."

"So BlackSky would rather take some territory on this demon dimension than rule the Earth?"

"Of course, a risky guerrilla war against Vephar's demons, the Terran forces, and Serenity and her commandos all at a chance of ruling Earth versus avenging my death by utterly destroying House Vephar and taking a continent of much more valuable land."

"I guess." Rei shrugged.

"Succubae are very attached to their Homeplane. They believe it is a sanctuary made specifically for them by the creator of their species. A place where they would no longer be enslaved. This makes the land in those territories very valuable. Naturally, Earth, being the home of humans is important, but it's not their... homeland," Setsuna explained.

Ranma blinked. "Yeah, that's right." She should have expected Setsuna to know all of this. Sailor Pluto had been around for a long, long time.

"My mother made a deal with a demon to control another planet," Usagi surmised.

"At least it was cleaner than what she did when she took Mars," Setsuna shrugged. Normally, dredging up the past made her numb, but tonight she felt more alive, more connected. Her memories were more vivid, more tangible than they had been in centuries.

Rei's eyes narrowed. "Pardon?"

"This was about thirty years before Earth's demonic invasion. Serenity came and it looked like diplomacy would win. The nobles on Mars were quite amiable. Then the Martian military tried a coup. It was quick and bloody, but they got power."

"I remember hearing about this," Ranma noted.

"Serenity's response was quicker, and bloodier. She sent in her wraith. They got that name because they struck fast and seemed invisible. They just wore cloaks that matched the colors surrounding them, and used magical staves designed to kill quietly, efficiently, and accurately. They would drop onto the planet and cause havoc."

"Good guys. They had less magic than any competent sorcerer, and those staves would have mediocre range in today's world but they knew to duck and shoot at anyone in fancy robes first," Ranma evaluated.

"Yes, anyway. Serenity used them to soften the target, do reconnaissance, and set up the gates. Then the bulk of her armies would teleport in. Of course... her boys got a bit exuberant. By the time the regulars arrived her wraith had killed the entire officer core and gutted the capital. Serenity's Senshi helped, but it was really the Royal Commandos that won the battle."

"Okay, I get it. Queen Serenity was a sovereign and a commander-in-chief," Rei stated. "And I guess she did a lot of... difficult things to get where she was."

"You don't mind her subjugation of your planet?" Setsuna asked.

"My ancestors didn't. You said they agreed with Serenity."

"That was likely out of fear and self interest. At that time only they and the Earth had resisted Unification. The Martians knew their days were numbered. Only the Terrans has the population and magical reserves to resist Serenity. It took a massive demonic invasion to weaken them enough to be taken. None of the other colony worlds stood a chance."

"She wanted peace."

"In her image," Setsuna reminded.

"Why are you doing this? I thought you supported her!"

Setsuna narrowed her eyes. "Yes, I swore total allegiance to my queen and do not regret it. Even knowing the oaths and duties I am bound by I do not regret my service to the Queen."

She exhaled. "It is not a light burden. But I knew exactly what Queen Serenity was. You don't. Only two people here have any idea what the Queen was really like, and what swearing to her, to her heir, means."

"DarkStar and Usagi, right?" Rei asked.

"It's good that you're at least that clever. Yes, Ranma understands. One cannot become Serenity's friend and conspire to sell a planet and not understand her. Usagi..." Setsuna's face thawed and she began to smile. "Usagi, you are your mother's daughter. I'm confident that this won't overwhelm you. You've shown great strength in that."

"I don't know if I can do what... mother did," Usagi admitted. "Taking over planet after planet."

"Well, that's not a worry for you. Earth's the only inhabited planet in the solar system," Makoto offered.

"In this plane of existence and by humans, sure." Setsuna weakly smiled.

"Ja, there are plenty of demons and other things out in the universe," Eve added.

"And you fight them too," Makoto noted, the blonde demon's casual intensity was... wrong. One should not be that at ease with being intensely focused.

"Exactly, in the broadest terms we are all on the same side," Ranma agreed.

"Well if the KGB... well.. FSB's Seventh Directorate and the Papal Expeditionary forces can be on the same side." Eve frowned slightly at her slip. "Why not us?"

"Who?" Rei asked.

"The first is a branch of the Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. They were formed to deal with the NH threat within the Soviet Union and its successor states. The second are special forces troops the Vatican hires from Switzerland," Setsuna explained. "The Russians have manpower but their sphere of influence and funding is limited. The Vatican has the opposite problem."

Eve nodded.

Setsuna smirked slightly at the blonde. "Of course, both are eclipsed by the stellar professionalism and reach of the Company. Not surprising, really. The Russians tried to copy your model, but were hamstrung by the massive, paranoid organ of state that was the Committee for State Security, and the Vatican's always had manpower issues."

"Is this really necessary?" Makoto asked with a frustrated sigh.. "Are we going to have to worry about priests and Russians?"

"The priests don't fight," Setsuna corrected. "That's the Assembly of Man. I told you, the Papal Expeditionary force is Swiss soldiers."

Eve wondered why Setsuna had yet to mention the Sisters of Purity. They were a key part to Vatican operations.

Ranma shrugged. "If we were in Europe it'd be a different story, but so far they don't care. No, we get all the nuts on this continent. Enough power plays and history though, what are you going to do about Akumi?" She asked again with a fanged smile.

Usagi took a sip and paused to collect her thoughts. "We, need information from Minako. I don't want to go in there blind. I'm sure Ami has planned for this. If we just run to her lair, she'll be prepared: traps, weapons, and an escape route."

"Don't delay too long, that's just as bad as doing nothing," Ranma looked at her watch.

"It is time," Eve stated as Ranma got up.

"Leaving already?" Rei asked.

"Well, you don't seem to be making any definite plans now, and unless you want us to go in and rescue Minako and stop Ami." Ranma looked at the magical girls and her voice became more sympathetic. "I'm being sincere. We can help you."

"You've already helped immensely," Setsuna reminded, tapping the envelope she held.

"And when we do strike Ami, you'll be very useful," Usagi said with a dark little smile.

As she watched the two succubae leave, Setsuna reflected on her Princess. She really was starting to become her Mother's daughter.

***************


"Venus has arrived," Sailor Virgo said with a little bow. She concealed her ill ease at the golden figure.

"Wonderful." Mercury stood up and crossed the main-room to her latest acquisition. The analysis of the Time Gates could wait. The metal succubus stood ramrod straight. "How do you feel Mina?"

The figure's eyes dimmed slightly in their red glow, but remained silent.

"Oh, already?" Mercury's smile grew as she stepped around the figure. She leaned in and ran a hand over the cold metal cheek. "Is this how you're going to play?" she asked, amused when the armored girl pulled her head to the side.

Venus pulled her head straight again.

"Senshi, what is your purpose?" Mercury icily asked.

"To serve and train the Queen," Venus replied in a monotone.

Mercury flicked the blonde hairs that made up Venus' crest. "Accurate words" Mercury turned around and walked back to her workstation. "Virgo, show Venus her new accommodations," she said almost dismissively.

Easing back into her throne, Mercury watched as Virgo led the armored sword-woman to a golden altar built into an alcove in the wall. As soon as Venus sat down, golden tendrils reached out and plugged into sockets that were exposed by a subtle shift in Venus' armor. Responding to the tugs of the cables and tubes, Venus laid herself down and shortly her eyes dimmed.

"Connection successful. Power-down cycle has commenced," Orion said from her workstation. "Fluid exchange and body maintenance are queued. Data insertion starting... now." She felt vaguely unsettled with all the euphemisms, but this was important work, and, so far, it was going successfully.

"Good, good," Mercury muttered. Her attention back to the data on her display. She looked up and saw Virgo standing at attention. "You're free to go. I'd suggest training though. Venus will probably want to spar once this is done."

Virgo bowed and headed for the training room.

"And Venus has finished powering down, transfer process starting," Orion noted.

"Fine, keep an eye open if anything goes wrong," Mercury muttered. She switched to another screen and looked at a dataset overlay. "It would work... fascinating."

"The spells really do block the gate's power?" Orion asked.

"There is a strong correlation between the effect our benefactor's spells have on matter and the things that the Silver Millennium scientists found invisible to the gate's senses. Of course this could all be a plant," Mercury admitted suddenly frowning.

"Planted data? To lull people into thinking they can escape surveillance?" Orion rubbed her chin. "Quite possible, Mistress. Queen Serenity and Sailor Pluto could have prepared false data. The scientists would think they had discovered weaknesses to the gates. If any were tempted to sell that information..."

"Serenity would have an excellent trap. Their attempts at secrecy would act as a beacon. Carefully played, she could use this to watch the deepest conspiracies against her."

"Fascinating, and frightening," Orion admitted. "If this is true then, Setsuna knows everything, and has let it happen."

"We would be her pawns," Mercury closed her eyes. "I tell myself that that facility on the Moon would be impossible for Murdock to break into, but that's cold comfort. We've seen Millennium secrets escape before."

"The Path's book," Orion nodded. "But our surveys of it have shown nothing about the Gates."

"Yes, it dealt more with the powers of Serenity, and it's helped us escape purification." Mercury sighed. "I cannot escape the possibility of this all being Setsuna's doing."

Orion chewed on her lip. "Does that worry you? With all respect, Mistress, Sailor Pluto was one of the Queen's strongest and most loyal supporters. She was key to Unification, perhaps our goals are in line with hers."

"That would explain why she let us do our work," Mercury frowned and scrolled through the records. "If Setsuna has total surveillance of us, then there is nothing we can do but press onward." She had plans for dealing with Setsuna but they could not be communicated, not now.

"If I may, personally, I have my suspicions as to Pluto's power," Orion said. "If we accept that Murdock was allowed to operate by her, then that means that Mamoru's death was fine with her. We know our queen, no true servant to her would let her true love die, not like that."

"That's why I worry, I don't like what I'm learning about Setsuna. Her actions at the Fall...."

"What about them?" Orion asked. "What did she do when Beryl attacked?"

"The records on that are wiped, by the old Queen. Dated exactly at her death."

"Granted, that's not a troublesome detail for someone like Serenity, but it's too neat."

"Pluto would never betray her queen." Orion stated.

"Yes, I would rather it if she could. That would make things simpler. There is a nasty secret about all of this."

"The gates are an odd construct," the auburn-haired girl agreed

"Yes, it is unlike Serenity's other creations. The testing and checks for the Silver Crystal were not as involved, and that thing can alter reality. It's more powerful than some chronoscope and temporal displacement drive."

Orion frowned. She could see her Mistress was starting to go in circles. "Murdock still had to get this information. Even if it was planted, he still had to get it."

"It's probably another eldritch book," Mercury admitted.

"One full of magical spells."

"And we know what happens to books like that." Mercury chuckled. "Okay, do a search on all ancient tomes about time travel, and any cults associates with the same themes. Include ones about visions of alternate worlds and teleportation too. These fools often have no idea what they've really got."

Orion nodded and eagerly went to work. It was good when her mistress had a direction and a goal. Paranoid worries did not suit her.

"DarkStar," Mercury stated. Her hands frozen.

Suppressing an expression of pity, Orion turned to the blue-haired girl.

"She was around too, it was brief but... Setsuna knew her." Mercury rubbed her forehead. "That gives her a reason to let Mamoru die and let Murdock 'sabotage' the summoning. Setsuna picked Ranma; Setsuna knew she was DarkStar reincarnated. This can't all be her plans, it just can't be."

Orion silently watched, worried that her mistress would get into one of her "moods".

"I can see her doing this, but I can't see a reason for it!" Mercury snarled. "I can also see her being tricked and used, but I can't reconcile that Pluto with Serenity's closest advisor."

Nodding Orion went back to her work.

"I'm really starting to worry for Usagi. I think she's trusting the wrong people," Mercury sighed and decided that another glass of wine would not hurt.

***************


Bishop Fortson frowned at the report. The losses had started to mount up. It was small compared to that forest debacle, but they were still destroyed. He looked up when the door to his office opened.

A pair of inquisitors entered the room. They wore the white masks with long hooked beaks and large goggles of their office. Both had large, wide-brimmed, puffed black hats that concealed their heads and connected to the hoods on their long floor-dragging charcoal cloaks. Thick black pants and heavy boots peaked out from within their coats. Their gangly arms and long fingers were concealed by gloves that peeked out sleeves. They separated to allow a tall man with grey hair and eyes enter; he had a contemplative and serene expression and smiled warmly at the Bishop.

"High Father Corvine," Fortson said, immediately bowing his head.

"Rise," Corvine gently stated. "I just completed my tour, impressive facility."

"Thank you, Sir. It's been fortunate that the mercenaries have not discovered us," Fortson allowed, wondering what had prompted this visit.

"You've shown care. None of the Assemblymen sent to attack those demons and mercenaries knew this place even existed. The surveillance has also narrowed their focus to the city itself," Corvine explained as he sat down in a chair opposite Fortson's desk.

"I knew that even the most loyal Assemblyman might..." Fortson raised his hand and gave a dismissive wave.

"Our enemy's methods are quite unholy. Your wisdom has kept this facility safe," Corvine said pleasantly.

"You have been gracious enough to approve my requests for more manpower, no doubt your appearance will hearten the men."

"It is good that they recognize my concern for their well being. Doubtless, they know what they face." Corvine studiously avoided looking at the papers on the desk.

"That is why things are different now," Fortson reminded.

"Yes, I've noticed the men waiting," Corvine mentioned, offhandedly.

Fortson forced his smile to broaden. "It's all part of the plan. We know how they operate, but caution is in order."

"Yes, you can't just call them up or attack their base," Corvine noted.

"Well, that will happen.... eventually." Despite his efforts, Fortson's eyes flicked to the two inquisitors flanking the door.

"Yes, a cunning second stage," Corvine seemed to allow. "You also have contingencies in case this trap has the same result as all the others," he idly mentioned leaning back in the chair.

Fortson paused. "I wouldn't dare use these men wastefully," he eventually allowed.

Corvine's eyes closed slowly. "I wonder. Is that because you are weighed down with the value of the lives of the men you control? Perhaps, it's because you've finally sated this morbid hobby of feeding demons? Personally, I think it's because of simple arithmetic."

"High Father?" Fortson ventured.

Corvine opened his eyes and smiled warmly. "Come now. You know you've exhausted your own men, and had to make your case to have more transferred. While this did not endear the other Bishops to you, the importance of your mission required their submission."

"My original orders were a simple recovery of two lost acolytes. The expansion to... to... wiping out a rival organization was unexpected." Bishop Fortson immediately regretted his words, but silence would be more damning.

Corvine nodded, his gentle smile never leaving. "Your loyalty was always your strong suit, and you've learned. As I've said you've handled this mission well... so far."

"Thank you, High Father," Fortson bowed his head and pondered. Corvine never stumbled with his words; he was always serene. "Does something, well, trouble you, High Father?" he asked, suddenly.

"Your concern is most welcome."

Fortson looked up and was shocked to see an almost genuine expression of joy on his superior's face.

"I am troubled," Corvine shrugged. "We seem to have underestimated things. Our supposed allies, organizations that should be working with us against monsters have turned their backs on us. All of them have started to fall towards evil, but what can you expect from mercenaries, papists, and atheists."

"We have always held the highest standards. We do not work with the impure," Fortson softly said. He knew a speech full of bravado and force, one that could rally, but right now it was useless.

Corvine rubbed his chin. Eventually, he gave a slight nod. "Yes, I'm glad you see things that way." He rose to his feet. "The aftermath of your plan will be quite delicate, but I'm certain you can handle it."

"Thank you," Fortson bowed his head again. "I will do my best to honor the Assembly of Man."

"Yes you will," Corvine amiably said as he left the room, followed by the two inquisitors. Preparations were being made, just in case.

***************


Nabiki rotated her wrist and the foot long blade flipped open. It had the same slight red tint as her sister's still unnamed sword. It was an amazing improvement over the all steel prototype. She reached out and slid a piece of paper onto the blade and watched a sliver peel off. She turned the knife over and then tried the other blade. Unlike the short secondary "false" blade the main blade ran the full length of the knife and seemed to cut motes of dust that drifted onto it.

She did another paper test. Except this time she put the paper flat on the table, position the blade along the face of the page and with a gentle push filleted the paper in half cutting its thickness in half.

"It holds an edge fairly well," Master Nishina noted dryly.

He then inspected a scabbard. He turned to a different demoness and glared. "You scratched it."

Nariko blushed, "I was sparring and Akane's claws came at me before I could draw."

Nishina relented. "It's not much damage. The coloration is off, but it can be anodized again, and these are supposed to be used." After putting on a set of protective gloves, he then pulled out the blade and started inspecting its length. "Any balance problems?"

"Nope."

Nodoka walked over. "I'm sorry, but are you saying it blocked Akane's claws?" The materials scientist immediately picked up the scabbard. "I know that typical niobium-titanium alloys have only above average resistance to the crystalline cleaving."

"There's no such thing as a typical niobium alloy," Nishina said as he continued his inspection. "How's the grip?" he asked Nariko.

"Good, the pattern keeps them from getting slick," the demoness said, eyeing her weapon.

Nishina nodded. He did not like using metal for the handle, but conductivity trumped aesthetics. He turned to look at the pair of folding daggers, even those were all metal.

"Did you put energy into the blade?" Nodoka asked as she relinquished the scabbard to Nishina.

"I was about to draw it," Nariko explained.

"Ah. You're taking care of the blade itself," Nishina appraised, before returning the blade to its sheath.

"Thank you," Nariko said taking back her weapon and giving a small bow.

"What about the name?" Nishina asked.

"You didn't give it one..." Nariko frowned. "And it hasn't told me its name yet."

"Good answer," he nodded.

"I'd like to run some tests," Nodoka said, stepping up to her granddaughter.

Nariko looked down at the cradled sword. "Okay."

"Just don't break it," Nishina cautioned.

Nariko nodded as she and Nodoka went to the opposite end of the laboratory.

"Why didn't you put a spring in these?" Nabiki asked as she practiced flipping her blade open. There was a spot for the thumb to rotate them open, but there was also a mechanism that converted the correct rotational acceleration into an opening motion. The action was nearly identical to the test types that she had been practicing on before.

"Springs break." Nishina stated. "If your wrists are broken then you shouldn't be holding a blade."

"I suppose," Nabiki said as she flicked her thumb just as she rolled her wrist. The result was the heavy blade flicking out and locking into place.

"You'll get the knack." He smiled when Nabiki opened the weapon with her left hand. "Like that. Now are you certain you don't want wooden grips? If I use the right species and varnish, it will patina wonderfully from skin oils and other fluids."

Nabiki looked at the steel sections. They were rather plain, especially compared to the metal of her blades. "What do you have?" she asked, knowing full well that Nishina had only given her one of the knives.

"Well, American Hornbeam, Rosewood, Chloroxylon that one has a nice grain, but I'd recommend Cocobolo. It's a nice wood: fine texture, extraordinarily dense, very strong, very resilient to damage, moisture, and handling."

"Good qualities, I can see why one would use it for knife handles."

"Gun grips too," Nishina sighed. "But these days people want fancy composites. It's not a perfect wood. There are some downsides." He smirked. "You have to be careful, most people are allergic to its sawdust so you have to have a collection system if you're going to work it."

"How fitting," Nabiki dryly remarked. "Can you show me the one you put wooden grips on?"

Master Nishina smiled and pulled up a case. He opened it and handed a large silk-wrapped bundle. Inside was the twin to Nabiki's knife. Deep orange, almost golden, wood with darker irregular traces shined under a glossy, almost oily surface. She reached out and found the wood almost wanting to mold to her hands. With a little smile she flipped her wrist and the blade shot out.

"Now this... this is a handle worthy of its blade," Nabiki remarked looking at the entire two foot-long weapon.

"Yes, your grandmother is great at weapons, but she doesn't aim to give them a soul. Most of the time her brilliance has that happen anyway, but...." His voice lowered. "Sometimes, she needs help."

"You've already made the other grips haven't you?" Nabiki smirked.

"Making four twenty-five centimeter grips takes only a bit longer than making two of them," Nishina shrugged. "Besides, I figured you would want, something more expensive than just plain steel."

"The blades are priceless," Nabiki dryly remarked as she closed her knife.

"I didn't want you to be jealous of your sister's scabbard," Nishina innocently stated as he took the all metal knife and started to carefully remove the grips.

"No, I'm pretty sure you wanted to make pretty and lethal weapons." Nabiki leaned in and whispered into the weapon-smith's ear. "You know you're going to get a great big hug when you give me a matched pair?"

"The perils of my profession."

***************

An elegant woman with rich black hair sipped her cocoa, leaned back with a broad smile, and closed her eyes in pleasure. Eventually, she opened her eyes and focused on the woman sitting across from her. "How have you been, granddaughter?"

The other woman blushed slightly. "I've been doing well, contracts are up and my daughters are keeping my busy."

The elder demoness nodded. "And where are they?" she asked with a smile..

"They'll both be here soon, Grandma BlackSky," the brunette assured. There should be a couple greats in there, but BlackSky insisted on just grandmother, and she was Family. "I must say I am surprised that you came here. Mother said you don't spend much time on Earth."

"And how is she?"

The younger woman chuckled. "Same old, same old, she still plays with demon hunters foolish enough to chase her," her hand went to the hilt of her sword in memory.

BlackSky raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, I suppose it works out. Look how much you've learned, Yohko."

Yohko forced a smile. "I'm no longer some broodling." She was about to mention that she had been a demon for ten years. but stopped. It would be meaningless; her grandmother could not even remember her own age to within a hundred years anymore. "I told you already; I'm a mother."

BlackSky put her mug down. "That's what I'm here about. Do you have a mate?"

Blushing, Yohko poked at her cup and looked out the cafe window and at the darkened street. "No... I never really found the right girl."

"Don't be embarrassed, sometimes it takes time to find someone," BlackSky gently said.

"Tell that to my daughters," Yohko joked. "So why did you ask? Playing matchmaker?"

"Would I?" BlackSky innocently asked.

"This wouldn't happen to do with those rumors I keep hearing? The ones that talk about a certain demoness returning across the Pacific? My clients have started making comparisons."

"That's the one. She's got a lovely family. Amazing mother, but-" BlackSky shook her head. "The poor dear doesn't have very much in the way of peers, and you're an older mother."

"I suppose I could try calling her," Yohko allowed. "Is she really a freelancer too?"

BlackSky nodded. "I talked with some very nice gentlemen when I was there. She seemed quite attached to them, but making deals with humans of that nature runs in the family, doesn't it?"

Yohko raised an eyebrow. "Really? I suppose there are worse allies."

"Like magical girls?"

"So those rumors are true too?" Yohko shook her head. "I knew there was less action in Tokyo, but..." she bit her lip. "Maybe I should go visit; my girls would love a vacation, and talking with some succubae their age would help." She sniffed the air and smiled. "There they are now," she said as the door opened.

Two succubae entered the room. One wore a very well-filled, frilly almost-pink dress with a lot of flounced detailing and ruffles. Her dress had black edging and was complimented by a black and pink choker and a ruffled black headband. Thanks to a puffed petticoat her dress came out to a wide circumference but it hardly made it to mid thigh. Her shapely legs were covered in a pair of pink stockings.

Pink stud earrings were matched by a pink pearl necklace that nestled over her cleavage. Pastel pink lipstick and eyeshadow contrasted greatly with her pale skin. She carried a pink parasol with embroidered edges and a curiously thick lacquered handle and a porcelain doll in a matching outfit.

The other wore a plum yukata with a snowflake pattern, and had more subdued makeup that was still rather stark, given her complexion. The one in the dress had platform shoes and black ribbons tied her hair into a series of long curled spirals. The other wore more subdued but still elegant low heels, and had her hair styled more naturally and freely.

"Cute, their hair and dress colors are swapped," BlackSky remarked.

"That's them," Yohko got up and hugged her girls. "Please tell me you changed after the hit, Scarlet." She whispered into the ear of the more fancily dressed of her daughters.

"They didn't expect someone dressed like her," Scarlet's sister assured. "It was an easy job."

"Lovely name," BlackSky remarked picking up the one English word.

"It's a nickname, her full name means Scarlet wings, in our language."

"And of course they ended up red." BlackSky laughed. It was obvious that "our language" did not refer to Silvan Latin.

"She smells familiar, Mom." Scarlet shyly said questioningly, looking at the English speaking demoness.

"She's your great grandmother by several times, BlackSky," Yohko said as she led her daughters back to the table. "So the mission went off okay?"

"All gone," Scarlet's mate assured patting the other girl's stomach.

"Good, I'm proud of you girls. We'll talk later in more detail, but first -" Yohko then formally introduced her daughters to her grandmother.

"What does the other one's name mean?" BlackSky asked.

"Winter child," Yohko said after translating the question for her daughters.

"Lovely. I'm very glad I brought presents."

Yohko's daughters knew enough English to get excited at the last word.

***************


"What do you think the Senshi will do?" Eve asked her family as they sat in the commissary.

"Usagi should have us go in and take care of things," Misako stated as she poked at her breakfast. The meat was gone, leaving just some soggy pancakes.

"That's not what she's going to do," Ukyou stated after she sat down with a new fresh mug of coffee. She then handed a mug with tea to her mother and one with hot chocolate to Akane. "You still pouting?" she asked her mate

Misako nodded.

"I'm sorry you didn't get your normal ham; they had steak and eggs but you ate it all," Ukyou glared, at the put-off teen.

Snickering, Akane took a sip from her cup. "Thanks, Sis. Well, should we care what Akumi does?"

"Her plan is to control Usagi. Reports peg her as an insanely powerful magical girl. Useful to have," Ukyou reminded.

"Power's not everything." Misako's nose twitched, and she rose to her feet. "They put out more bacon, sausages too!" she happily cried as she left the table.

"Misako has a point. That's the Company's central doctrine. The correct application of force to defeat a more powerful enemy," Ukyou stated.

Eve raised an eyebrow, but continued eating.

"They finished my knives," Nabiki proudly stated as she put the twin weapons down on the table.

"Master Nishina and Grandma do lovely work," Nariko noted as she sat down.

"Shouldn't you two eat?" Ranma asked, as she looked over one of the knives. It had about the same weight as the prototype. "Heavy wood?"

"We already ate," Nariko assured.

"Yes, Nishina was dying to do some woodworking," Nabiki smirked.

"It is very pretty," Ukyou said as she ran her hands over the other weapon.

"Maybe I should have asked for wood on my gun," Misako noted, as she ate some sausages.

"I thought Sasha was perfect?" Akane teased.

"Well..." the green-eyed demoness blushed.

"You're the only one left, Akane," Nabiki smirked as she pulled her knives back and slid them into leather slings that connected to her belt.

"Wow, you can really conceal a pair of giant folding knives," Ukyou teased.

"It's no giant handgun." She turned to Nariko. "Or a full sword."

Ranma rubbed her chin. "Nabiki's got a good point. You sure you don't want anything, Akane?"

Akane shook her head. "I wanna be like you."

Ranma smiled broadly.

"There are few better people to emulate than your mother," Eve added.

The redhead blushed.

"Yes, Mommy really is the best." Nariko's eyes twinkled.

"Now, that's too much." Ranma sighed but was interrupted by a ringing on Eve's phone.

"Captain Jarvis, here," the blonde answered, and listened briefly. "I see," she stood up and motioned to Ranma. "I think we should go to the command room."

"What's up?" Ranma asked her demeanor becoming serious. "This about Akumi?"

"Probably not," Eve allowed. "Just before dawn, one of our patrols spotted an NH on our wanted list and trailed him. Surveillance scan came in, it looks like we may have found another enemy force."

"What pattern?" Ranma stood up and stretched.

"V. Going to make a morning operation interesting," Eve smirked.

Ranma nodded. "Girls, get your gear ready and wait in the motor-pool. Nabiki, are you comfortable with your blades?"

"I've been training with the prototypes," Nabiki assured.

"Good, Aunty Eve and I will talk with Jacob. Then we'll probably go."

Misako watched the two briskly walk out of the room. "So vamps, great. Disgusting sacks of trash. Over-dramatic morons bemoaning their undeadness."

"Well, we can kill a whole mess of them," Ukyou offered.

"They don't even taste good," Misako pouted. "Being all corpsified."

"She's got a point," Nabiki reluctantly agreed.

***************


"No more succubus stuff?" Virgo asked looking Venus' form over with a critical eye. The horns, wings, and tail were gone. Though the gold features were still quite lovely, if cold and impersonal. She at least was a spirited sparing partner.

"A jest on Mistress Mercury's part," Venus said, flatly.

"Be nice if you could still fly," Virgo grumbled as she looked at the bookstore's back door. A bare field separated the building they were perched on from their target.

"My wings are merely retracted," Venus stated.

"Okay," Shampoo chewed her lip. "Do your fancy eyes detect anyone in the shop?"

"Two life signs. One is wandering around the shelves another is at a counter."

"You can actually see inside there?" Shampoo raised an eyebrow.

"Energy signatures matched to the layout captured from when we surveilled from the front," Venus said with what Virgo could swear was a hint of pride.

"We'll go when the customer leaves." Virgo muttered.

"You're displeased?"

"No, stealing old books is just what I wanted to do." Virgo turned back to the frozen face. "Is this what you wanted for your first mission?"

Venus tilted her head as if she could not comprehend the question.

Rolling her eyes, Virgo turned back to East York Rare Books. "Don't pretend around me. You're more than some goody-goody robot. You're a girl in a suit."

"This is me, the metal is my magic, it is... integrated," Venus stated, eye-slits blinking on and off.

Virgo frowned. "So, you like this?"

Venus paused, her eye-slits dimmed. "It is not without... pleasure."

Imagining the body-covering metallic suit encasing the blonde, Virgo coughed. "Right... least it doesn't slow you."

"The customer is leaving," Venus stated.

"Those eyes are handy."

"The Mistress' work is the best. Don't be jealous though. I'm certain she has plans for you as well."

Virgo shivered slightly and jumped off the roof. Her skills and her Senshi powers made it a trivial endeavor. As she summoned her swords, she wondered why she felt that way. Venus' suit made her a better warrior.

The whole reason she was serving Mercury was to get the power to destroy that demon. After applying a crystal to the door that Mercury said was needed to defeat the warding that protected it and freeze all the cameras in a twenty yard radius, she drew her swords.

The door sliced open and she rushed across the storeroom. The scent of dust and aging paper crept into her nose and slightly receded when she entered the front room. A spare balding man in a white suit with an amber tie stared at her slack jawed.

His expression became even more disbelieving and scared when the golden armor of Venus entered behind her. Sweat dripping down his brow, he started to chant but was cut off by a glowing blade that seemed to materialized at his throat.

"Shut up. Hands still," Virgo ordered.

The bookshop owner glared but closed his mouth. He watched as the metallic woman locked the front door and drew the blinds. What had to be a gynoid or perhaps a golden golem turned and bored the red slits that passed for eyes onto him.

"Mr. Incognito, you recently spurned a most generous offer from an interested party," said a flat voice emanating from the golden golem, despite its frozen lips.

"I-" Incognito started but was cut off by more pressure from the sword at his throat. The girl was dressed absurdly, somewhat like the rumors that had been plaguing the city. At least he knew they were not involved with the Company. That organization cornered the market on "forbidden tomes" and was second only to the Vatican in the size of its library.

"Silence," Virgo reminded. Mercury had warned them about him.

"We do not require your life, but things will go faster with your assistance," Venus stated.

Incognito nodded slightly. He preferred not to read too deeply into his wares. He was simply a distributor. Of course, he was quite careful as to what he sold to his customers. He liked repeat business, and that was hard to get if a buyer purchased a grimoire from him and then went mad and killed himself or someone else. He also liked avoiding prison or worse, so he was careful to whom he sold his books.

Along the way he learned enough to protect his wares and until today, his life.

"Do we have your assistance?" Venus asked.

Mindful of the blade poking his skin he nodded slightly.

"Good. I will give you the list of required books: All nine volumes of the Revelations of Glaaki, Chronoscopic Travelers, Turba Philosophorum in the original text, Cthaat Aquadingen the Brownian translation, the full eight page pamphlet version of On the Sending Out of the Soul, Unaussprechlichen Kulten in German, Liber Ivonis version of the Book of Eibon, and an unabridged copy of Kryptographik."

The bookshop owner stared. It was an... eclectic mix: a book of codes, one involving summoning beings from the deep, a pamphlet on... astral projection, and various other books on dark magic and history. He was impressed that no nonexistant books were asked for.

He did make plenty of money selling "Necronomicons" that were just Sumerian gibberish. That particular sub-field was awash in frauds and hoaxes of various levels of skill.

No legitimate... hobbyist asked for books like that. Dabbling delineates on the other hand... They were people who read the publish claptrap written by that New England dandy and his cronies and asked for "Necronomicons", "Pnakotic Manuscripts", or "Dhol Chants".

Incognito did give Howard credit, much of what he wrote was... correct. It was like learning about POW camps by watching a comedy sitcom set in one. Yes, the barbed wire and guards and prisoners were there, but the tone of everything was too sanitized. Something completely horrifying had been turned into... entertainment.

"Will you sell us these books?"

Blinking at the word sell, Incognito nodded again and looked down at the sword.

"Good, Virgo will escort you."

Virgo grumbled and stepped back enough to let him walk forward. She was hoping he would try something, and she would be able to kill him. Unfortunately, the weasely, man seemed cowed into submission. A little force and he became happy to sell these books to them.

Standing at his side with her blade at his neck, Virgo escorted him to the back room. This gave Venus the opportunity to plant surveillance devices in the front room as well. The placing of a couple in the back room was what had delayed Venus' entrance.

Virgo could see why tracking this man's interactions was important to her Mistress, but she felt that killing him and burning the store to the ground would be a simple way to cover their tracks.

Keeping a shocked face, Incognito pulled the first couple of books off their shelves, and started unlocking the individual cases that contained the others. It was odd, they were not even asking for his rarest or most valuable books. Did they not know he had a copy of the Celaeno Fragments, or that he had in a lead-lined box the first printed copy of De Vermis Mysteriis commissioned by Ludwig Prinn himself, complete with margin notes and corrections to be put into the next version.

He pulled out a small wooden crate and started putting in the selections. The multiple volumes of the Revelations of Glaaki took up a good third of it. Sighing, he dropped the thick, leather bound folio that contained one of his two original 1783, Salem printings On the Sending Out of the Soul. The folio contained the preserved pages in a sealed case and had an exact reproduction in the opposite pocket. It was an expensive piece, but he liked the composition.

"Nod if that's all." Virgo tapped him on the neck

Incognito took stock and shook his head. He still had to get Liber Ivonis and the Friedrich von Junzt's definitive work on cults. He could have pulled off the common version that he kept on an open shelf out front, but he knew that these women wanted the undiluted, uncensored, original version.

Placing the final two books into the crate, he closed it and used the complementary padlock that he kept with all purchases of a certain... caliber. He immediately raised his hand and offered the key to the purple-haired woman.

"Now, is this everything?" Shampoo asked.

Incognito nodded and found himself turned around. He saw that the golden figure had been standing in the doorway that separated the front and back rooms of the shop. It was completely still and looked indistinguishable from a metalwork statue, with a pair of red lights.

"The transaction is complete." Venus stated. A seam opened; the figure pulled from within the golden contents of her chest a full-sized bar of and placed it onto a workbench to her left.

Despite the blade at his throat, Incognito smiled. What would money matter to a being that could make a golem like that?

Whoever made the golem did sound like a petulant teenager when she called, demanding those books. If real, that bar had to be at least ten kilograms. A bit above his asking price for those books, he guessed. More than enough to replenish his stock, and buy a few new items. He knew someone willing to pay quite handsomely for a Testament of Carnamagos. It would also allow him to put in some much needed security improvements.

Virgo noticed his eyes light up at the bar and laughed. Mercenaries were all the same.

Stepping over and picking up the crate, Venus turned to Incognito. "If the goods meet the Mistress' satisfaction we will do business again. Hopefully with less hassle."

Incognito nodded, and breathed a sigh of relief when the blade finally lifted away from his neck. He watched the two girls back out of the store and awkwardly close the broken door.

He gave a brief incantation and reactivated the wards, sealing the back door in the process. The cameras would have to be setup again, but they were not an immediate concern. Turing towards his workbench he wondered how they had defeated them, those wards were supposed to keep out any magic, human, or nonhuman. He sighed and chipped off a piece of the bar. It was certainly soft enough and looked real. The weight was also right.

He knew he'd have to do a full alchemical test on it. Not just to tell if it was real, but to make sure it was safe. At least gold was easy to exchange. He was still sitting on some difficult to fence diamonds that another client had paid him with.

As Incognito went to the front room and reopened his shop, he started humming. All in all it was a rather peaceful meeting. At least they were sane, and willing to pay. As to what they did with the knowledge that was none of his concern.

***************


A woman with brown hair that was tied behind her right ear and spilled down one shoulder sipped her coffee. Her patience had paid off. Geneva was a large city and it was only a matter of time before she found a place that brewed it properly, including the zhezva pot.

Her companion, a younger looking woman with much shorter hair, looked up. "How can you drink that stuff? It's got the grounds sitting right in the cup." she asked cutting open a wax-sealed envelope.

The longer-haired woman sighed and put her cup down into its metal holder. This cafe even had proper ones made out of glass. "Arisha, there comes a point in one's life when one has to take the time for the extra little pleasures."

"Da, that is why we're doing this." Arisha Dva said as she extracted a few papers from the envelope. The cover letter had been translated into a few languages. She immediately went for the original one and started reading. She always had a gift for languages, one which the Motherland had decided to use. "It's simple enough, A'deen ," she said after finishing.

Galina A'deen frowned slightly "Oh? That sweating lawyer made it sound quite the challenge."

"The mission may be," Arisha explained waving a hand. "But the reasons behind it are simple," she passed a photo over to her superior.

Galina studied the image. Japanese with a rather good dye job. It did not seem worthy of her and her team. "Pretty girl. Revenge? Daughter of some minister, some businessman? "

"Doesn't say, but the letter does warn that she's got... abilities."

Taking another sip Galina considered the photograph. It was not the worst job they had taken, but the compensation was suspicious. "Just her? All nine for just her?"

Arisha pulled out two more photographs. Each had a group of school girls and each one was numbered. "There's instructions and information on each. In a little binder. Handwritten," she said flipping through it. Arisha paused and stared at the binder.

"What?" Galina's eyes widened. "Are you okay? We had just taken care of your-"

"I'm okay," Arisha assured. "It's... well, we always knew that the Japanese and the Fascists had their scientists working together."

Galina looked at the images. "Are you saying..."

"Why not? Just because the NSX Program failed doesn't mean-"

"We did not fail," Galina said icily.

"No, we performed beautifully," Arisha sighed. "But, that wasn't enough was it? The heads of the program, of our nation... they failed. And now..."

Galina nodded. It made sense. Project A had a huge impact on post-war research. Of course, the Japanese would have dabbled in it too. It seemed that they had hit the same "production" barrier too. "Now we've got a job to do."

***************


"We're not sure how many are at the location, but initial surveillance reveals a group of cabins, an old camp. Probably a medium flock of V's. We'll proceed with the quarantine and our teams will move in and clear the buildings," Eve said repeating the earlier briefing.

"Remember, these ones might not die in sunlight," Ukyou cautioned. "They could be ready for us."

The rest of the brood nodded. Undead patterns tended to have a hodgepodge of abilities and weaknesses. Ranma stretched out and leaned her head on the bulkhead of the APC. "We never did figure out the details of that last nest of vamps," she murmured.

"Alexia's brood was more pressing, and it's clear that the vamps went to ground," Eve shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were feeding someplace well outside of the city, like Barrie. If they're smart they can pick a different small town every night, take teenagers, runaways. If they're careful, it would just be noise in the missing persons' stats."

"Yeah and if they were smart they wouldn't kill to feed," Misako reminded.

"Could be nice vamps," Akane suggested with a hardly concealed smirk. "I'm sure there's a reason for a known enemy NH and her buddies to lurk about here."

"Right," Nabiki shook her head. "Least we're getting out of school." Even if the battle was short there would still be plenty of work afterwards, likely the whole day would be shot.

"Yeah, I was going to try to tell Sam and Nami... something," Ranma shrugged her shoulders.

"Really? It was the parent-teacher thing wasn't it?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma nodded. "They're great, they know something's up and-"

"They're just waiting for you to tell them," Nariko said as she held her sword between her legs.

"Yeah. I can see it now," Ranma's voice rose from her normal low and powerful contralto tones to something cuter. "Hi guys! Well guess what, the reason there's all this weird stuff is because I'm actually a succubus that works for the government killing monsters. Oh yeah, the rest of our little clique consists of my demonic spawn, and I'm also the reincarnation of a demonic princess and my ancestors tried to take over the Earth."

"They'd probably nod, and the one that was wrong would pay the winner." Misako smirked.

Ranma sighed. "Probably." There was a tingle in her mind. "Are we there yet?"

"No," Eve said tilting her head. "White check the scanner!" she ordered to the agent operating the NordStar system sitting next to the driver.

"Got a few really weak echoes. Maybe a-" White's response was cut off by an explosion in the vehicle ahead of them. "RPG! North side of the road!"

As Eve called command with the situation, the driver in the convoy moved their vehicles but more rockets launched from the woods to the North. One hit the front of the brood's vehicle and Eve ordered them out. "We have wounded, that's our priority. Misako you clear the woods. Ranma, start taking them out at range. Rest help get the wounded off the south shoulder."

Ranma jumped out of the vehicle and put it between her and the North side. She could feel the Assembly patterns more clearly, but they were still quite weak. Looking around she could see more forest behind her and a squat two story brick building further up the road on the South side.

The redhead looked up to see two of the APCs were still firing the machine guns in their turrets. The men in their would also be calling base, so reinforcements would be coming, unless this was not the only ambush. She caught a glimpse of another missile streaking in and hitting just below the turret armor.

"They got all four vehicles!" White stated as he applied first aid to the gash along Stanford's arm. It and the break in his wrist happened when the steering wheel bucked up in the crash.

"Right, we'll split up the rescue then," Eve said. "Misako, Ranma, some suppressive fire please."

Misako eased around the edge of the truck and started firing Sasha into the woods. She raked the gun across the trees. Most of the grenades hit lumber, but they stopped more RPGs from being launched. A pair of DarkStar Bursts were then summoned to suppress things further.

"They're further up the hill more to the East, change ten meters left," Ranma said sensing through the DarkStar bursts. She then accelerated one of them and slammed it into a group of assemblymen.

***************


Nariko helped an agent pull out another body. The lead vehicle had been hit the hardest: the armor had failed and the blood was thick. Akane had been sent to watch the injured and get them to some cover off the road, while Aunty Eve had stayed behind in the second vehicle to make things out. She helped Lieutenant Patterson down and smiled weakly, at least his injuries were not too threatening.

She turned to see, Nabiki was leaning over two bodies. Henderson was obviously dead, the other... Nabiki tugged at his tags, but it was just a procedure. "Nariko! Over here, you're strong enough, right?"

Nariko jumped over and nodded. The increased gunfire reassured her. It was clearly HOG fire. She looked at Morrison and frowned, his vest had kept him from dying outright at least. He was unconscious but the D stamped into the metal was consent enough.

"Nariko go out and help, I can do it," Eve said stepping into the broken vehicle. Her eyes were bloodshot and tears had been on her cheeks.

Nariko nodded. "I can..." She saw the hurt in Eve's eyes.

"Wetherhold... declined," the blonde said tersely as she climbed over to Morrison. She gave a small nod and energy blossomed around her and Eve as the blonde sunk her teeth into him. A burst of explosions was ignored as Nariko fed Eve who then fed it to her new daughter. Eve smiled peacefully at the young demoness and then collapsed over her.

***************

From his position, Paladin Griswold could see the group of vehicles pass. His team had been given the warning earlier today and he had made sure his men were ready. He tensed up when their comrades attacked.

It almost looked like the big vehicles would not stop but then among clouds of smoke they stalled and the demons got out. Some began attacking the diversionary team to the North while the rest scurried to other vehicles, they were soon followed by some mercenaries. Disturbingly, some of them started to look to the South as well. Time was short. Especially given the high power of that one grenade launcher, but following the mission plan was the best way to help them.

"Concentrate on the redhead!" he shouted to his men as he kept watch on the lead demoness.

Fire flared around her body, her wings spread, and she made a dash for the North side. "Now!" At his command eight men with rocket propelled grenades and three with heat seakers fired. The demoness turned and even managed to flare a bright aura... just as the first rockets started to come in.

Two missed and hit pavement, two more were deflected, the rest...

The explosions briefly obscured things but Griswold soon saw the results. The right half off the body was crushed and the left arm and left leg were ripped off. Most importantly the head was hanging on by a bare thread.

Given the damage, he weighed pulling back his men or telling them to fire a second volley. His indecision was cut short by a 40 mm grenade being shot through his window, followed by every other window and then the doors to the building.

"Misako! Stop firing," Ukyou yelled over the radio as she sprinted over to the abandoned building. Tears in her eyes she refused to look back; she new what mother wanted. "Cover the back!" she ordered.

Seeing the collapsing brickwork and smelling the gore, Misako raced around the building firing into the side as she passed it. Popping around the corner she saw a small squad trying to get into a truck that faced a wooded path and her aura immediately sprung out, ensnared the men, sucked them dry, and clawed at the newly blighted grass under them. She then turned to the rear of the building, twenty meters away. "There's nowhere for them to escape this way," she said over here radio. She saw a man poke his head out of the back door and launched a volley of grenades at him.

"I've got the front Misa-chan," Ukyou coldly assured to her mate's headset. "Just kill them all."


***************


Usagi snapped to attention. Her sharp motion startled the other students in the classroom. "Ranma... oh God," she whispered.

It was a tenuous link, but she felt the connection to one of her Senshi... sever. She excused herself and ran to the bathroom. Gasping, she looked at her reflection. Despair filled her, she had experienced this sensation plenty of times, but it did not ameliorate things.

Across town, Setsuna looked up from her notes and frowned. She did not expect something like this, not this soon. The princess was her priority, she had to make sure Usagi did not do something... rash.

In what was assumed to be a secure location, Mercury suddenly glared at her scanner. The burst of magical energy coincided with the feeling of death. "Orion we need to go, now. Kill everyone not a demon or WIC trooper."

"Are you sure we shouldn't wait-" Orion's interjection was cut off by a slap from her mistress.

"What for Virgo and Venus to return from their little bookstore mission?" Mercury glared. "Then it'll be too late. We go. Now." She grabbed Orion's unresisting hands and activated the teleport.

Suddenly appearing on a wooded slope, Mercury unfurled her tessen, and motioned for Orion to get behind her. The first thing that struck the pair was the smell of burnt powder, sulfur, blood, and pine trees. A constant chorus of gunfire was peppered by heavier explosions and the shrill screams of the dying.

"Sounds like the fighting is further down the hill," Orion could just make out a ribbon of road down the slope and see the plumes of smoke.

"Good, they'll probably try retreating through here." Mercury whispered coldly.

"We're going to avenge DarkStar?"

Mercury laughed for a couple seconds. "Oh no, not at all."

***************

Eve woke up to her shoulders being shook. She looked down and saw a slim woman in ill-fitting armor and uniform peacefully sleeping in a pool of blood, waste, and organs. A connection more powerful and direct than any she had experienced pulled her to the newborn demoness. Folded under her were greenish-blue wings; her hair was a similar shade.

"We've gotta get out of here." Nariko said, thankful that Eve had not been out for long. What happened to mother was bad enough; they did not need to lose anymore.

Eve nodded and scooped up her... daughter, intensifying the connection.

Nariko drew her sword and hopped out of the broken vehicle. She first saw the brick building up the road progressively turn to a pile of rubble. Just before the last bit collapsed a dozen of disheveled men clambered out. "Like rodents from a stricken vessel," she muttered before leveling her sword. A Lightning Devastation attack trimmed their numbers as she ran in and closed the distance.

Nariko saw her blonde sister raise her weapon. Each shot took one side of the group while Nariko went for the center. Unsurprisingly, the agents firing on the building stopped, but surprisingly the Assemblymen did not even bother to raise their weapons. They stared transfixed with frightened eyes and were slaughtered. Only a couple ran away, the rest stared with uncomprehending horror as Nariko's sword did its work.

The two that ran were shot by Ukyou as the blonde emerged with a tiny little smile. She wobbled slightly but leaned over to hurriedly and horridly feed on her kills. Misako bounded from the other side of the building and rushed to her mate.

"You didn't say it was going to hurt you like this," Misako whined as she hugged her stricken mate. "You said they were already scared out of their minds."

"Misako, Ukyou, on your feet," Nariko ordered as she still sucked in energy from her kills. "Eve's got a new spawn. We're not losing anyone else today," she said looking to the fallen agents and thinking of... mother.

Ukyou stood and sniffed. She had been with Nabiki when they went to the trail vehicle. At least the casualties from that had been stable enough, and then there was mother...

"Close up the perimeter," Eve ordered into her headset, as the group crouched down and went to the shoulder behind the brood's vehicle. A drainage channel on the side of the road provided a makeshift trench and triage station. Some of the agents had positioned themselves in the forest behind them, just in case.

"Support's en-route, will be here in a few minutes, Ma'am," Lieutenant Patterson said as he knelt down.

"Good," Eve put down Morrison and smiled despite herself. "The rocket-teams were taken out but it sounds like the diversionary group's still active."

"If you're doing the D program, we've got someone in bad shape." Patterson motioned to the casualties. Most were able to hold their weapons and were actually firing. The few that the surviving medic was tending to were much worse.

"We've got only one left with D," Agent Trenton, the medic, stated as he gave more painkillers. "I was hoping Red would get to Graham but... Thankfully you're here. The other two, he came to me unconscious and she's not that bad."

Agent Lytle slowly shook her head while whispering, "No thanks."

"I'll take over here," Eve stated as she kneeled next to the gasping man.

Noting that Misako was wearing her energy storage earrings, Nariko ordered her to go over and help Eve. She then turned back to Patterson. "Where's Akane and Nabiki?"

"They're with a squad we scrounged up recovering the body. They insisted." Patterson shivered, something... strange was going on over there. The Assembly had reduced their attacks and was obviously trying to regroup. Akane was certain that the loss of their friends in that building had demoralized them.

"Glad that you listened," Nariko said giving the officer a hug. "Once they get back we'll take out the enemy. You guys can cover us and guard the wounded. How's it going, Akane?" she asked over her headset.

"Angry, very angry," Akane stated as she watched the blood around the body... boil, in greater and greater intensity.

***************


Mercury froze another fleeing man and shattered off a leg before Orion lunged and stabbed the fallen man in the chest. A tall man in a cloak holding a pair of long blades suddenly appeared and ran up to them. He threw them at both girls and both parried. One better than the other. Orion's deflection was less complete and the blade sliced through her right am and got stuck to the hilt.

Successfully blocking his knife, Mercury fired a blast of freezing ice and was shocked when the man leaped over it and flipped out another pair of blades.

"I don't know who you're working for but this isn't a game little girl," Father Pierce laughed as he slammed into Mercury's tessen, almost knocking them out of her hands.

Mercury gritted her teeth and with her spare hand launched a barrage of razor sharp icicles into the man's chest. He leapt back in surprise, and she smirked, most of them had pierced his armor.

He threw another blade and Orion was barely able to block away from that one. Smirking, he stood to his full height revealing that his chest had healed. "For the life of me, I can't see why my comrades had such a problem with you girls."

Mercury glared and fired another blast that was nimbly dodged. Pierce came in and stabbed forward nearly cutting her neck. "It's just luck that you ran into some scared acolytes first. One of my Paladins could take you out before you even saw him," he taunted as he danced around Mercury's attacks.

"You're the one playing," Mercury sneered as she jabbed forward with her tessen. "Don't you care that your men are being slaughtered?"

Pierce laughed and dodged an abortive stab by Orion. "I care that they're actually pulling back. We actually did it. That demon bitch is gone."

Mercury's smirk grew. "Oh?"

"I saw it, myself. She was blown apart. Her head's gone off, her chest is jelly, road kill. Shame about the South Team, though."

Mercury laughed. "Oh and now you think, what... that you can kill me and your men can melt into the forest?" she asked as she dodged his attacks. She wondered how Ranma could do it. These bastards could heal way too fast.

Pierce simply smiled, and renewed his attack. He slammed his blades down and had them just barely countered by her fans.

"You took off her head? Broke her body? Destroyed her heart maybe?" Mercury laughed. "That might have worked against any other demon, but not her."

Pierce blinked and felt a screeching noise rush past and chilled his spine.

"I think she's pissed," Mercury used his distraction to stab him in the neck. Pierce pulled back and frustratingly the rapidly bleeding gash started to heal before her eyes. She raised an eyebrow at his shock. "You regenerate yourself and are surprised when other people do it?"

Down on the roadbed, the writhing blood shot back into the body and began to twist and shape. Earrings shimmering, her head snapped back into place as black and violet tendrils started to form around her body and ooze about the pavement as it lifted up and began to solidify. Missing chunks initially started as inky black shadows that began to solidify.

Knowing the demon was weakened, an enterprising Assembly sniper decided to fire, and hit her in a mostly reformed chest. The feeble violet shield did not protect her vulnerable flesh and a gigantic hole was torn through her body. The demon's eyes snapped open and a pair of DarkStar bursts appeared in her shadow-wreathed hands and launched at the man, seeking their goal. Her wings spread and she shot off up the mountain. She was hungry, and could smell plenty of food

The assemblyman got off another shot, this one went higher and tore out part of her shoulder. The wound was quickly filled with shadows. The demoness found a group of fleeing men and tore into her prey. There was no martial arts, no moves, no finesse. She ripped into them and began to feed. Two tried to raise rocket launchers but found their arms and feet cut off by thick purple beams. They tried to crawl away but could not get very far before a more solid demoness descended onto them.

By now much of the brood and a detachment of agents had commenced the counterattack and started going up the hill.

One retreating group of assemblymen was surprised to find a small demoness carrying a pair of blades that looked about half her height suddenly appear right in front of them. The more observant in the group noticed another demon behind her.

Their shock was short lived as she pounced and the redish blades cut open their throats. Some fired and managed to wound her, but it did not hinder her. It was not stealthy or quick as they gurgled and died, but the battle was well beyond that point.

"Icicle Parade!" Nabiki shouted as she shot explosive ice shards into the remaining men. One had actually managed to dodge and pull out a pair of Assembly blades. Behind her Akane sidestepped and used her explosive shadows to get any of the stragglers.

Nabiki laughed and readied her blades. He managed to parry her first blow but was pulled back when he noticed her knives started to sink into the edge of his swords. She then spun down and used one knife to parry him while slicing across his outstretched foot with the other.

His foot healed but he found himself off balance. Finding one of the knives thrown at his head he put up his blades and managed to block. Unfortunately the momentum of Nabiki's knife was still enough that the end of the knife hit and broke his nose.

Worse, it left his midsection open and Nabiki ran the other blade diagonally across his chest, sticking it in its full length. Nabiki giggled and began to feed. Akane knelt down and had a brief snack herself.

***************


Much further up the hill, Mercury's smile broadened, at the pained screams. "I told you. She is coming."

"It doesn't matter." Pierce stabbed forward. Once he got past this girl he could escape and be part of the next attack.

"Oh? Got another attack planned then?" Mercury asked. That made sense, especially if all this was just to kill Ranma. She smirked; she knew what she could do for DarkStar. She flipped her tessen and cast a wider spell. Ice shot out around her coating everything other than Orion in an eight meter radius in a thick layer of ice.

Her mirth died when cracks formed around the Father and in an explosion of ice he broke through the frozen prison. "Should have just killed me," Pierce grumbled as he flexed his hands. He ran up and kicked towards Mercury while making a sideways stab.

Mercury blocked with her tessen and sidestepped... to allow Orion to stab forward with her staff. The bladed weapon went through the assemblyman's chest and popped out the other side.

Pierce dropped his blades and tried to pull the weapon out of his chest. He gasped when he found ice creeping around his hands and screamed when the tendrils started to spread and burrow into his flesh.

Mercury removed her finger from the staff and shook her head. Another spell froze Pierce's boots to the ground, and once again instead of a mere encasement the ice wormed through his feet.

"This healing ability is very convenient." Mercury said after making sure that Orion was firmly holding the staff. "The blade missed your heart so I don't have to worry about that, and unless you rip your hands and feet apart, you can't escape."

Mercury stepped a bit down the hill and cocked her head. "Wow... it's starting to quiet down. Guess no one else's making it out." She then noticed a shadowed figure moving down below her. Mercury could hardly make it out as it bounded between the trees, what she could see was the lethal efficiency.

Every time the demoness moved, she killed. Those that tried to fight her died the quickest, but even they were... artistically dispatched. Mercury did not need much detail to tell when a person was torn apart.

Once the carnage was over, Mercury gave a little wave. It was best to be pleasant.

The demoness noticed and with a few flaps of her wings closed the distance. "Hello, Mercury." Ranma smiled, showing her teeth.

Mercury looked at the gore-streaked demonic Senshi and took a moment to compose herself. The effects of DarkStar's fighting style were... vivid and assaulted her nose. Under the gore was the expected and abbreviated leather uniform. Violet eyes bored right through Mercury, and deep, deep crimson hair spilled down the demoness' back and seemed to twist and writhe.

"What are you doing here?" Ranma asked looking around and seeing the collection of frozen corpses and one that was neither quite as frozen or dead.

"I heard some shocking news. Some bad people tried to kill you." Mercury shook her head. "And then some of them tried to run away when the big bad demon just got angry at their tricks."

"Really?" Ranma dryly remarked. She could feel her family, so that was okay, and the fighting had quieted down. "And who's this?" she asked, walking up to the frozen father.

"Just a little present," Mercury stated innocently. "He was running away right at the start." She put a hand in front of Ranma.

The redhead looked down at the hand in front of her and raised an eyebrow. "What? He's in quite a bit of pain. Nice job on holding him. Did he give you much trouble?" Ranma teased.

"I've kept him on ice so you can eat him later. However, he was bragging about his plans. I think the Assembly's got something else in mind."

Ranma's smile warmed. "It's nice to see that you're a sensible girl. Eve will really enjoy this." She moved her hand to her ear and frowned. "Damn... I lost my headset."

"Probably around the time you got your head blown off," Mercury remarked.

"It didn't come off all the way. And how did you know that?"

"Senshi powers, we can sense when one of us dies. Course, I knew that wouldn't stop you. It was then easy to find the big explosion."

"And you decided to come and help," Ranma shook her head and walked up to the silent Assemblyman. "Guess your little plan didn't work." Ranma forced a smile and turned away from him.

"I'll be right back," the demoness said as she took off down the hill aiming for the closest friendly unit.

"Did it work?" Orion asked.

"We're still alive," Mercury muttered.

They watched as Ranma ran back up the hill. "Okay girls, can you move him without killing him?"

"It'll hurt like hell, but his regeneration will take care of it," Mercury appraised. She then cast a spell that lifted his feet out of the ground and added ice to keep him from thrashing.

"Good."

The trio then started to laboriously move the body down. As they got further down the hill the damage increased. Most of the trees had fire and bullet damage and every dozen yards was a different pile of broken corpses. Every time they met up with a brood member the little demoness insisted on hugging her mother which stopped the procession.

Mercury tried to keep her composure, but the mundane nature of the brood and agents disturbed her. About halfway down a group of agents had run up with a litter that made moving the prisoner much easier, though Orion's staff was still in the way.

Eventually, the litter was carried entirely by agents while the demonic and rogue Senshi watched. They reached the road and found a mess of company vehicles both damaged and fresh. A helicopter orbited above them and more agents marched about. The normal practice of quarantine and cleanup had started.

One of them ran up to Ranma and gave her a quick hug. "Hi Kas," Ranma said after the embrace. "You're out here?"

"I'm just happy you're okay. The reports..."

Ranma nodded. "What's the total? I know my girls are okay," she could actually feel more than the normal six. "but..."

Behind her balaclava Kasumi frowned. "We've got eighteen casualties. Half aren't too serious, the serious ones have already be evaced. Six KIA."

Ranma turned to the prisoner. "I see."

"It could have been worse. Captain Jarvis..."

"The D program," Ranma stated. She could feel them. She turned to see Eve slowly walk out of an idling APC. "Two?"

"Yes, Morrison and Morgan," Eve gave a weak smile.

Ranma ran up to her and gave her a hug. "But... you're too young."

"Did that stop you?" Eve asked. "Anyway, your girls helped me a lot." Captain Eve Jarvis straightened up. "I heard you have a prisoner you'd like me to interrogate?"

"Yes, apparently he knows what their plan is," Ranma smirked.

"Bring him to the vehicle. We can do it in back." Eve crisply ordered the agents carrying the litter.

"Wanna watch?" Ranma asked Mercury. "It's very informative."

"I guess." Mercury looked to see the man being lifted into the interior of the APC and start to be tended by a medic while Eve started a recorder and began to flex her fingers.

"Sudden remorse Mercury?" Ranma smiled coldly. "These bastards just killed a bunch of my friends. They were trying to kill me, my children and everyone I care about. I don't mind doing what it takes to stop monsters like this. Do you?"

"I'm the one who captured him."

Ranma narrowed her eyes. "That's why I haven't kicked you out. You tried to help us. I can respect that."

"I'm still loyal to our queen," Mercury reminded.

***************


"How're they doing?" Ranma asked as she looked at the sleeping forms of Eve's daughters.

The new brood mother gave a slight smile at the two young women on either side of her. "They'll be okay." Her expression hardened. "It's time for the debriefing?"

"Almost," Ranma's eyes widened. "Oh man... I've gotta call Usagi."

"You didn't call her yet?" Eve raised an eyebrow and moved her arms to better hold her spawn.

"Things have been hectic," Ranma shook her head and walked to the phone in one corner of the empty barracks room. After getting the communications officer, she connected to Usagi's apartment.

"Uh... yes?" Usagi asked in a very hesitant voice.

"Hey it's me, Ranma. Calling to say I'm fine. Heh, guess Mercury didn't call you, figures. She refused to come here, I can see that. She wouldn't be caught dead within range of our Jammers."

"Oh... yeah I felt that. I fell onto the bathroom floor," Usagi mumbled. "You're okay? Wait... Mercury? What happened?"

"Ambush, lotta good people killed. Mercury actually came and helped. Captured the enemy leader." Ranma brightened. "Anyway, sorry for scaring you, gotta go. I need to kill a lotta people." Despite Usagi's confused protests Ranma hung up.

She turned to her sister. "Wanna go?"

"Yes" Eve gently poked the blue-green haired demoness. Morrison slowly opened her eyes and looked at the blonde officer and immediately nuzzled into her side.

"Momma... Ma'am?" Morrison asked her eyes confused. She looked down at the dog-tags that dangled over her neck. She suddenly remembered the explosions, seeing Andrea get knocked over with... him as the vehicle stopped, and then... nothing.

Morrison's mouth worked experimentally as she realized the body she was happily leaning against "I'm..."

"Agent First Class Morrison," Eve said as she turned to wake up her other daughter.

Morgan's eyes opened quicker and immediately locked onto her mother. "Wow..." she whispered.

"Come on girls," Eve ordered as she had the two stand up and looked them over. Morrison had not lost much height and was still a rather tall woman. Morgan Graham on the other hand was rather short and had lost enough height to where she was only a few centimeters taller than Ranma. They were handed some female dress uniforms, which showed off the figures of the expected caliber.

"How bad?" Morgan asked after she finished buttoning up. The skirt was odd but she knew better than to question mother, even if she was not her mother and just Jarvis. She briefly smiled at her page-boy length coppery red hair. It at least looked better than the last time it had gotten longer than a buzz. Looking at her reflection, she angled her body and was... impressed.

"It's up to seven. We lost one in surgery." Eve frowned. She did not like it, but people did have the right to say no.

"It's only us?" Morrison asked as she put on a sidearm. She noted one upside; her guns were going to get much bigger shortly.

"Henderson died before we could get to him and Gordon didn't get hurt," Eve stated, listing the other two D program members on the mission.

"What about Andrea.... Mom?" Morrison asked a bit hesitantly.

"Mom works in private." Eve clarified. "Lytle? She'll pull through."

"The enemy?" Morgan asked putting on her own sidearm. She was wondering where her rifle had gone and was more than a bit curious.

"Some... surprising reinforcements came and blocked their escape. After Ranma reformed, it quickly became a rout," Eve said as she opened the door out of the barracks room. A pair of agents standing guard at the door watched the quartet of demonesses leave.

"Keep a watch on them," Ranma leaned over and whispered to her sister. "They're still shocked. Ukyou was like this when she first turned."

Eve nodded.

"It was an ambush. Aunty Red was the target," Morgan concluded.

Eve nodded and lead the pair into a conference room. The Commander and the Colonel were there as well as Lieutenants Tendo and Patterson and Major Saotome. Captain Jarvis and her daughters saluted and took their seats.

"We've gone over the recording from your interrogation, Captain." Jacob stated. "Miss Mizuno's help was quite fortuitous."

"It gives us an option for the next step yes," Eve tersely agreed as she held her girl's hands.

"The Assembly obviously feels that open war with us is a fair price for assassinating Miss Saotome," Commander Stillwater noted. "The manpower alone to do this...."

"The prisoner noted the necessity of having two teams, and even gave the base camp for the Diversionary, Northern team. It was a fair plan. Have one attack sure to force us to stop and engage them. Then once Red is drawn out, eliminate her with a second team. In that respect it did work. They even had preplanned escape routes. They didn't intend to stay and fight us. This whole ambush is just phase one for a larger plan." Eve concluded.

"I'd argue that the real phase one was them spying on us enough to learn our routes and timetables." Jacob remarked. He then looked at the transcript of the interrogation. "If I'm reading this correctly they discovered the Pattern V nest first and used it as bait. They knew that we'd eventually find it and it was far enough away that this was the most likely road we'd take." He flipped the transcript back to its first page.

"Yes, Sir." Eve nodded.

"This Father... Pierce. He wasn't supposed to know the next phase was he?"

"No, Sir." Eve shook her head. "He was almost... proud to have gotten the information out of his superior. He seemed quite confident that the next phase would kill us all."

"A massed assault on a Company base," Jacob frowned. "It would explain the decreased activity the AOM has been having, in addition to having lost so many man before today."

"Many of the known safe houses and training bases have emptied," Stillwater sighed. "Captain, you took care of this man. Did it sound like he was being lied to? That his bosses were just giving him some story to make him feel he might survive?"

"He sincerely believed it, and he did have his men prepare escape routes." Eve looked around the room. "This was the most organized AOM action we've seen yet. I don't buy that it's just a plan to kill Ranma. No, the Assembly feels that WIC is building a demonic army."

"I'm sitting across from some pretty strong evidence that they're right," Major Saotome dryly noted.

"Yes, they've planned more, and we don't have much time. If they haven't started the next phase they will any moment now."

Stillwater paused for a second. "Agreed. Mission approved."

"That's it?" Ranma questioned almost rising from her seat. "You agree with all of my plans?"

"Yes. Why is there a problem Miss Saotome? You helped come up with this plan," Jacob had gotten Miss Saotome's note and agreed with her. "I'd rather kill them on their doorstep than on ours."

Jacob smiled and activated a wall display showing a map of the area with a few pinpoints. There was a single red blip immediately due West of Algonquin Provincial Park "The first helicopter is already on route, and the HIMARS vehicles and their escorts have already left. It was clever to put their base far enough North to escape our sensors, but now we can try netting them."

"No statements to keep me from going off doing something stupid?" Ranma asked looking at the assembled officers.

"It's not like we'd try to stop you." Stillwater shrugged. "Or would want to. Your plan sends a distinct message. Captain Jarvis and her... girls can escort you to your transportation. We'll tell you as soon as we get confirmation."

"Thank you," Ranma bowed and left the room to get to the waiting helicopter. She was then followed by the other succubae.

"Patterson, Tendo, you two know your responsibilities, get the rest of the brood in and net anyone that manages to get out. Complete clean. No prisoners. Patterson, you're senior, take charge." Jacob ordered. "Do not. I repeat do not enter that facility. If they've got half a brain they'll have booby trapped the whole base. Dismissed."

The two Lieutenants nodded and left to get with the rest of the troops. Kasumi still had her men, but Patterson's had been reduced to just him and Stevenson.

"I hope the Assembly hasn't left their base yet," Major Saotome muttered.

"We're moving as fast as we can. Father Pierce said that the next attack was going to take place at night." Jacob shook his head. Of all the lunacy. "Major you should go with Eve and her spawn."

"They're not going on the mission are they?" Nodoka surmised.

"Miss Saotome decided that two newborn demonesses would be a liability in battle, and that Jarvis herself would be too drained and distracted. I agreed with her," Jacob said.

"They would benefit from a family presence," Stillwater added.

Nodoka nodded and a smile grew on her face. "Sergeant... Graham, she's a sharpshooter right?"

"Yes she is; perhaps a visit to your lab would be beneficial to them," Jacob agreed.

***************


"We're not going!" Morgan said with a hint of a whine escaping. "I'm ready," she said clutching her sniper rifle.

"No, you're not. None of us are." Eve stated as she watched Ranma's helicopter leave. "Your Auntie's right."

"Our friends get to go," Morgan murmured as the trio went back to the elevator and began to descend back into the subterranean base.

"Language," Eve hissed.

"Morgan's right, Mom. We're fine," Morrison said before they went through a security checkpoint. The new species of the two agents caused a brief delay that was resolved by the calling of another officer.

"Oh good, you three didn't leave. I was worried about that," Nodoka said as she looked at two new... grandkids.

"Major can you tell Mother that we're good to go?" Morgan pleaded. "I don't need to be too active. At least let mother go!"

"Yeah, we can stay with you," Morrison offered, as the quartet snaked through the corridors.

"They make a good argument," Eve allowed, smiling broadly.

Nodoka spun around. "Oh no, I've spent too much time around demonic grandkids to be played like that." She opened the door to her lab. "Both my eldest daughter and commanding officer have ordered me to keep you three out of trouble."

"That seems hardly necessary," Eve started.

"Don't make me pull rank." Nodoka said as soon as she got the demonic trio inside. "I do have some ideas on what we can do." She frowned when the two newborns sullenly slumped on her lab couch. There was one sure way to cheer up sad succubae.

"You two have very pretty hair, and you've got your mother's eyes Morgan," Nodoka smiled.

Morgan who until today had brown eyes blinked. She looked down at her slim hands and shivered. "Mommy..."

"It's okay," Eve said reaching around her shoulder. The blonde looked over and saw Morrison about to cry as well. "You'll be okay."

Nodoka frowned. "Would you like to talk about weapons, then?" She then stood up and moved in to join in the group hug. As this happened she made a note to get out the large mirror. These girls needed some help adjusting.


End Chapter 19

Once again, I'd like to thank my pre-readers. They read through my most egregious mistakes so you don't have to. DGC, J St C Patrick, Terra, Pale Wolf, Wray, Kevin Hammel, Ikarus, and Jerry Starfire.


Revision Notes: Another busy chapter. The Assembly tries to take out Ranma. Eve's developing and growing into a brood mother in her own right. And Mercury is starting to realize just how deep the waters are.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 10: SteelRain
Formerly: Retain and Retrain i


To: General Anderson Operations Centre 01
From: Colonel Jacob Edwards WIC Toronto

On this date, elements of the Assembly of Man ambushed a WIC convoy enroute to a Pattern V nest. There were 7 agents KIA and over 26 AOM. Given our special contractors, exact count of enemy casualties will take some time. Speaking of them, Miss Saotome was the intended target. Attached information indicates the advancement of her regeneration. The weapons created by Master Nishina and Major Saotome performed well and proved pivotal in the combat.

The D program saved the lives of two agents. They will be put under Captain Jarvis' direct command. She had fought well and did not falter. I believe that she will be a solid core for a potential new unit being formed from this program. Miss Mizuno also assisted with the capture of an Assemblyman that gave us the location of their base, which is currently under surveillance. Her risk is being evaluated.

As per your earlier orders, long-range assets have been released and will be used in the counter attack. That operation is currently commencing. Miss Saotome has agreed to spearhead this mission while our forces maintain the quarantine.

This seems to be the culmination of the recent AOM surveillance. Once they learned enough about our movements, they would strike, and attempt to eliminate our "demonic advantage". Following that, they would attack in force. Our operation will counter this.

As mentioned before, Miss Mizuno is quite busy. Her recent abduction and transformation of Miss Aino into a "golden succubus Senshi" has prompted Miss Tsukino to hire Miss Saotome and by extension WIC. This schism in the Pattern Silvers has given us a favorable position.

***************

"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't."
"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men."

-General George Patton


Ranma flew just above the trees. To her relief the first helicopter on the scene had found a huge Pattern A signal in the suspected location. It was rough but they did not dare let the helicopter get any closer than necessary; it was enough to get targeting coordinates.

The Blackhawk that dropped her off had gone back to sweep the areas to the South of the base. There was still a chance that the Assembly had left for their attack and that this was just a decoy.

"HIMARS is almost in range," Maya Iverson's voice said into Ranma's headset.

The redhead could now just see the target. It was active, her senses were quite clear on that. "I can see it now, and I can smell the bastards. Lots of them, right on some mountain, wow... how arch-villain can you get. It's a wooden building on top. Pretty large. I dunno if they've had time to dig into the hill." The redhead smiled and circled back a bit. She did not want to arrive first.


Just under twenty-two miles to the South a blocky green truck pulled off to the side of the road, escorted by to the two APCs guarding it. The truck was ugly and skeletal enough to have to be military in nature. As soon as it stopped, the large box on its back bed angled up and opened.

The truck was a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, and carried one Multiple Launch Rocket System, half the capacity of its treaded and larger cousin the M270. Moments after it stopped, the box had angled to the proper position and a pair of 227 millimeter diameter and 3.94 meter long missiles shot out of the block of six missiles.

As the pod rotated back into position, the truck started to accelerate and pulled back onto the road. The convoy had been stopped for less than a minute,.

Nearer the mountains, Ranma could just make out the streaks coming in from overhead. She idly wondered what Jacob had done to get approval for those things.

Fins on each of the missiles guided them to slightly different locations. Each rocket contained over two hundred pounds of high explosives and was fused to explode upon impact. Both struck the monastery on the summit which was blown apart by the pair of large explosions.

Ranma's enjoyment at the explosions and the reduction in life she could sense was interrupted by Maya. "What's the status?"

"They hit," Ranma said as she flew in. "Top building's gone. Can still sense 'em, they've probably burrowed in. Maybe around the mountain too." She adjusted her wings and was shocked to see movement on the East side of the hill. "I'm seeing some guys, and cuts into the mountain to the east. Big clearing." Ranma was miles out but could see them moving around, like ants out of a knocked-over nest.

"We suspected that's where their vehicles are, firing another volley. Stay clear." Maya's even voice stated.

Ranma landed on the upper branches of a tree and strained her vision. It was not a long wait. Three missiles came over and split apart well above the clearing and burning mountain. By straining herself, she could make out what had to be hundreds of little objects.

Her smile broadened as nearly two thousand bombs exploded around the mountain. Each one had a fairly simple seeker in it which adjusted its own fins to give some guidance. Each one tried its best to find something warm to kill. A parade of explosions ripped through the trees, destroyed outbuildings and vehicles, and slaughtered men. Whether they were trying to rescue people from the monastery, get to their vehicles or simply figure out what happened was immaterial.

Soon enough the sounds of the explosions died away and the sounds of fires, secondary explosions, and screams became obvious. Despite her stealth, the succubus whistled. The fires nicely complemented the reds and oranges of the quickening sunset. "Maya, that'll do."

"Is anyone alive?"

"Yeah, I guess they had enough time to make a few bunkers. Specs did say there were some tunnels here already." Ranma laughed. She could smell maybe half of what was there originally. "I'm going to start the next phase," she said as she took off and flew towards the burning base.

***************


Once the rattle of explosions stopped, Father Oswald pulled up his head. "So who's left?" He looked around the concrete room, and frowned at the widening cracks. Most of the tunnels had been built to support the old mine below them, but now....

"B, C, and G groups are okay. I can't raise anyone in the monastery or outside," an acolyte at a radio said.

Oswald sighed. "Send a team to look at what happened by the main entrance. But be careful. I don't know what the hell did this."

"What about the top?" a paladin asked, leaning on his gun.

Father Oswald laughed. "Those first explosions, that's what. Everyone go to the armory. Get heavier loads." He rubbed his eyes. "We'll send a team to the number three tunnel. If it's clear we'll leave through that."

"No," a stern voice said from the passageway that once lead to the surface building. Bishop Fortson stepped into the room flanked by the High Father's Inquisitors. For once he was glad for their presence; they were the ones that had rushed him down into the mountain.

"Sir, we've lost a third of our men, at least. No one's responding from the outside," Oswald shook his head. "We've got to regroup, and then get out of here."

Fortson glared. "That's not feasible. We will not run; we cannot run. This is the best place to choke them. We knew there would be reprisals, and this is their cowardly answer." Fortson grinned at the assembled men.

"This is the best they've got. They'll have to come into this mountain if they want to take us, and that is where we hold the advantage. You're correct. Go to the armories and secure all the entrances. Once they get into the tunnels, we'll destroy them."

***************


Ranma landed close to the edge of the cluster bombing. Destroyed vehicles, broken bodies, and burnt weapons were spread before her. Smiling, she moved past the ruined outbuildings.

They were connected by a series of trenches and machinegun nests. Shadows crawled about, dancing under the burning wreckage. The demon's smile grew and she studiously avoided any unexploded ordinance. Everything was ravaged and the few survivors Ranma found on her way were impolitely dealt with. "Maya, tell those rocket-guys I owe them a few beers," Ranma whispered into her headset.

She looked up at the steel doors blocking the entrance to the underground tunnels. There was a roofed overhang which gave them some protection. The train tracks built into the ground seemed to indicate that this was once a mine. "I'm going in, radio silence," Ranma said as she jumped over the door.

The entrance was intact well, and she could smell that people had survived inside. If they had any sense, they would cover the door and be ready for a demon to burst through.

Thus she was not going to simply burst through.

She landed on the slope above the entrance and searched.. The ground had cracked and started to collapse around what was once an air vent. She sliced off the vent cap and fired a pair of DarkStar Bursts. Concentrating she guided the orbs out and over the lip that roofed the doors and right into the flat steel plates.

The demonic orbs flew into the blast doors and detonated.

Gunfire immediately responded, and was followed by the now intimately familiar sound of rocket propelled grenades going off. Soon, with no enemy trying to burst in, the response quieted down. She smiled, knowing that the already nervous Assemblymen inside would only get more apprehensive. A mental state like that was much more likely to cause mistakes.

After a few more seconds, she launched another diversionary attack. This time there was a thud as one of the doors blew out of its tracks and fell to the ground. As the gunfire restarted, she flared her aura and jumped over the narrow vent.

It bent and buckled but a DarkStar Burst broke through the elbow and the part of the layer of concrete that made up the roof of the entrance chamber. Concrete shattered and rained down in chunks killing a few unluckily enough to be immediately underneath.

Nimbly landing, she fired DarkStar bursts at the men in the far corners who had rockets and their unfortunate reloaders. In that time the people in front of her closer to the entrance had managed to turn around and face her.

Shadows welling around her, she slowly rose to her full height. Her eyes scanned the crowd that surrounded her and watched as they fidgeted and tried to look away. Her nose detected the smell of urine. At least the people in the close circle had their guns up and shouldered. So, they had that much sense, she thought as her aura flared. They shot, and she immediately dropped to the ground.

Friendly fire took out much of the crowd causing panic and confusion. Going low, she darted forward claws and tail filaments outstretched. Those in the circle who were shot had already fallen and were soon joined by a quarter of the remainder who were now missing legs and feet. She rolled over, fired two DarkStar bursts to the quarters to her left and right, and raked her eyebeams over the last quarter opposite her.

Most were only wounded by the severe slices and physical trauma. Some even tried to lift their weapons, but a barrage of fireballs landed among them and ignited, splashing their magical napalm loads. As they died she pulled in and started draining, if she had more time she would have taken a few snacks, but this was business.

The men furthest in the room had enough sense to fire. Her aura mostly held and she ducked to the side and used her beams to cut them down. She then ran to the far end of the room and looked through the doorway, and saw that there was one corridor that went down deeper into the mine and another that went up through a set of stairs. She could hear heavy footsteps.

Nostrils flaring and soaking in the enticing, heady scents of blood, gunpowder and offal, she paused and glanced at a fire-evacuation map bolted onto the wall. Eyes twinkling she decided which way to go.

***************


"Bishop, this is Oswald," the father's scratchy voice came out on Fortson's radio. "We got to the main entrance. C group is gone. Looks like a bunch of demons." Oswald dryly swallowed. The room was a charnel house. It did not look like his men got anyone.

"You're sure of this?" Fortson asked.

"Sir, I'm up to my knees in torn-apart bodies," Oswald pulled one of the corpses and frowned. There was a whole set with even more worrying wounds. "Some were shot too." He kicked a piece of concrete away and looked up. "Oh God, they came in through the ceiling, and the rest took out the doorway."

Looking outside, he squinted out onto the flaming hillside.

"But they didn't come in? Why?" Fortson could think of a few reasons why they would pause, but none that helped him.

"I don't know, Sir. Both the G group stations are still okay. There's nowhere else for them to go," Oswald's apprehension grew. He looked to the dozen men with him. Most were shaking and were wary of the doorway, at least they had that much sense.

"Are you sensing any demons? They're probably waiting out there for you." Fortson asked.

"No, nothing." Oswald said leaning forward and looking around the burning wreckage. Nothing was moving. His head then exploded and was followed by a distinctive crack a second later.

Half a kilometer down and inside one of the less ruined buildings, Sergeant Smith worked the action on his rifle. He was quite pleased to have taken this role on the quarantine force. Taking aim at another enterprising target that tried to run out of the battered entrance, he fired.

Mechanically, he took sight, and found a fool that was not crouching low enough. He frowned, these bastards took out Morgan? They did not even have the sense to fight back, which was fine with him. After taking his fourth kill, he called into his radio. "Smith here, Red's right. They're snooping around the main entrance. I've got them bottled up."

***************


"Oswald!" Fortson shouted into his radio. "What the hell happened?" He pointed to one of the men in the communications room. "Go down, meet G group to see what they're doing."

The paladin nodded and left the room and started running down the stairs.

"Why did they pull back?" Fortson remarked. "They got right through C group."

"Maybe the strength of our defenders gave them pause, and they retreated," the radioman offered hopefully.

"That would be nice, but I wouldn't bet on it," Fortson looked to the two Inquisitors. "It's time for you two to do your job. Go down to the mine level. They're going to come in. Junction off the number three tunnel and the main entrance. It's got to be one of those two ways."

The goggled men nodded and went down the stairs.

"They're not taking anything from the armory?" the radioman asked cautiously.

"They don't need anything like that," Fortson leaned back in the folding chair. "They're toying with us,"

"Sir! Paladin Babbage's calling," the radioman said.

"Yes?" Fortson asked taking the call. "Is your post holding up?"

"Yes, no one's gotten past the main entrance, but Sir, Father Oswald's dead. Sniper. His team's being picked off. Should we help?" Babbage's voice cracked.

"No, stay put." Fortson sighed. "That's what they want Son. They've baited that room nicely, but it's a trap. Stay put. You're getting some help."

***************


As Ranma slinked in the corridor, she paused to listen. Her ears managed to keep her from running into to anyone, aside from an unfortunate acolyte carrying a box of grenades. Maps always made places easier to get into. It had taken a few tries digging around on the summit, but people tended to think that passages choked with flaming wreckage were impassable.

Even people who should know better, like those fighting a demoness with fire powers. Ranma just had to find an entrance with the right balance of enough damage to look impassable, but not too much to actually be that way, and she was in.

She leaped in and released a pair of fireballs. The female acolyte's frightened and pained scream was cut short by a glowing claw slicing through charring meat. Crouched over the flaming body, the redhead bit the shoulder and paused to savor. Rising from the lumpy smoking smear, she eyed the grenades. She flared her nose. Marveling at how there were not even patrols to avoid, she followed the scent. Tilting her head, she noticed a pair of acolytes guarding a door.

A pair of eyebeams sliced though the head of one. As blood streamed out of the two holes in his face, his partner looked over in shock. It only took a second but by the time he turned back the demon was almost upon him. His gun was up on target and he fired.

Ranma pushed the rifle to one side away from her body. Most of the shots missed, a few bounced of her flaming aura, but one pierced, and tore into her side. However her focus was on her prey. She fired a jet of napalm. As the man ignited in a panic, she turned and kicked him in the right arm, breaking it, and twisting his body. She then reached over and dragged her claws over his face; the bones of his eye sockets, jaw and nose giving only the barest resistance.

Abandoning pretense of silence, Ranma sliced the metal door's hinges off and looked inside. Her nose had been right. Inside was a collection of large and small arms, ammunition, and a fair bit of explosives. The pair of large tanks in the back looked especially ominous with their warning labels and connecting pipes.

She shrugged and tossed a few fireballs around the room and ran. While that map did not list such rooms as armory or command post, it did list stairwells, and Ranma was determined to get to a different level as soon as possible.

She dropped down the stairwell, and sliced apart a small checkpoint. Ranma was turning the first soldier into an interesting splash of blood and sculpture of entrails when she noticed another one pull out a radio. One purple beam bored through the radio spreading molten plastic fragments which landed on his face, which was irrelevant as the other beam sliced through his jaw and up into his soft and hard pallet. Meanwhile, the last man used this distraction to take careful aim and empty his magazine into her stomach, which flared purple before being shot.

There was a loud, flat explosion that shook the ceiling and smoke started to pour down the stairs.

Holding a hand to her perforated and bloodied side, Ranma laughed, kneed the momentarily distracted man, and ripped the gun out of his hands. "Not bad, try to slow me, allow your buddy to call for help," she said as she slashed across his chest. "But, he should have called first thing."

Recalling the layout of the facility, she went down the narrow corridor. There should be a major junction down and after a left turn. It would be sensible to guard such a place.

***************


"We've got to get out of here!" Johnson the radioman shouted, as the smoke thickened. More importantly, to him, were the even larger cracks in the ceiling.

"What was that?" Fortson shouted.

"I can't raise the south stairwell team, or the armory guards. They're on this level, coming for us!"

Fortson's face paled. "They took out the armory?"

"Yes, that's what that big explosion was. At least the men are already armed. It could have been much worse" Johnson looked up glad that the ceiling had not fallen on them... yet.

"Yes... it could," Fortson rubbed his forehead. The armory was supposed to be the most secure place. It was already holding explosives. It seemed perfect to store the device there. The whole aerosol system was now worthless. "You're right." He stood up. "It's just going to burn and smoke us out. Like this it's more a risk to us."

Johnson nodded, already packing up the radio system.

"At least we've still got two more aces." The tunnel incineration system may have been knocked out before it could even have been used, but at least he still had the Inquisitors, and one last trick in tunnel three.

Once they made it to B group by tunnel three, Fortson had them check out the situation.

"Oh no..." Johnson gasped. "We've just lost Babbage and his team."

"Raise him again," Fortson ordered. He looked down the corridor. There were only two options, back into the mine passages, or out the small discreet exit.

"I got him!"

"Babbage!" Fortson asked. "What happened?"

"So that was his name?" a female voice paused. "He actually had a bit of sense. His men were not too shocked at having the enemy appear behind them. If he was the one in charge... ." Ranma chuckled. "I actually had to heal. I mean I needed to drain you scum, more than just a little fun."

"You will be destroyed, unholy monster."

"That's the spirit!" Ranma's tone brightened. "You went through a lot of effort to invite me over here. Made sure I was quite angry. The least you could do is try. This is what you wanted right?"

"It's too late for you," Fortson smirked. "The Inquisitors will get you."

"Oh, why didn't you use them before?" Ranma knew from her former acolyte daughters that the Inquisitors were the most powerful of the Assembly forces, and were used almost entirely as a means to keep the Fathers and Paladins in line.

"I'd think that you'd have tried the extra scary guys a long time ago." Ranma blinked at the silence. "Hello? Huh, fine then," she switched off the radio and went down the smoky hallway. Her eyes focused when the larger Assembly pattern became more obvious.

She could sense two of them, and saw their long coats but marveled at their masks and poofy hats. This is a joke right? she though eyeing the pair, and wondering how they could hear or see with any skill. They looked scary, or at least a juvenile thespian's idea of scary. At least they were each holding the expected pair of glowing blades. A pair of DarkStar Bursts were launched and guided towards them.

The Inquisitors flashed back just before the orbs hit and even twisted when the spheres changed their course to match. The explosions were followed by several rakes of eyebeams before Ranma closed in.

Huge gashes and bloodstains bloomed over their black sliced and torn coats. One had lost his hat, revealing a bald, veined head. With surprising quickness he put up a blade and blocked Ranma's claws. The other came in and tried to decapitate her, not even slowing when Ranma disemboweled him with her tail.

She pulled back, shooting a fireball right at the hatless one's face. His aura flared and protected his head though the heat seemed to scorch his mask. The other one pulled back slightly and the hatless one charged in.

Parrying a thrust Ranma blocked his left arm and then extended and broke his right at the elbow. She then twisted and sliced through the shoulder. Dropping down, she avoided the other one's blades while she fully removed the arm of the hatless one.

Tossing the arm down the corridor, Ranma leapt back and was unsurprised to find the hatted one had healed his chest and was now covering the one-armed Inquisitor. She growled and, after deflecting the first one's blades and slashing his face, made for the one-armed one.

His partner managed to stab his blade through her side, but Ranma had grabbed an arm and with a quick claw extension cut his hand apart. Still sliced open, she caught a glimpse of his right arm mostly regenerated. She tore the blade out and felt her flesh knit together. At least she had plenty of food before this fight. Between her two foes, she twisted and saw some acolytes down the corridor aiming a rocket launcher.

Once the rocket fired she knocked the less injured of her foes into it and returned to the armless Inquisitor. She grappled him to the ground and tried to slice right through his chest, mincing most of his organs; she had separated most of his head, when she suddenly jumped away and watched a rocket hit the mutilated body.

She flicked off a DarkStar Burst which followed the rocket team even when they ducked around a corner in the corridor intersection. Ranma turned to the hideously alive body and was about to feed when she was knocked away by the other Inquisitor. He smelled of cooked meat and burnt leather. Most of his coat and cloak was torn away, revealing a pulsating, strangely throbbing body.

With increased vigor, he fought Ranma and did his best to keep her away from his prone partner, who was beginning to heal anew. She sighed and blocked her foe's blades while the shadows darkened around her. Knocking past him, she got closer and extended some of them to the injured Inquisitor, who tried to get to his knees.

He stumbled and slumped back down in a bloody mess as the tendrils fed energy to their mistress. The demon's feeding was interrupted when the other Inquisitor slashed through the inky mass with his glowing blade. Ranma glowered and the room grew to near total darkness.

She tried to dodge another attack of blades and despite having her chest pierced, knocked the healthy Inquisitor into the rising bloody mass of his partner. The two tumbled into each other and landed in a heap. Before they could recover Ranma fired a DarkStar burst at the two and only after repeated strikes with the magical shrapnel did she remove the blade embedded in her own chest.

It came out painfully and was surrounded by rotted flesh, but her body was regenerating. The bloody hole closing, she leapt onto the mass and started cutting apart limbs and organs.

As this happened, the pile thrashed and knitted itself together. A mangled torso headed with half a skull and with two and a half arms and a tiny knee coming out of the belly button even tried to rise out of the mess and tried to grab her. Violet eyebeams ripped apart the gibbering mass and her shadows started to consume it. Sickened, Ranma pulled back and sprayed it down with several fireballs, setting it alight.

The mass of flesh was eventually reduced to an ashen smear and collection of brittle bones. She stepped forward kicking away a broken mask and a burnt floppy hat. "That's the best you've got!" She demanded. "Tenacious but not skilled!"

Stretching her neck, she calmly strode towards the corridor juncture. There were still targets alive in this facility.

***************


"Bishop, we've lost G group," Johnson quietly said. He looked up from his radio and down the length of the tunnel. Even here the smoke was starting to curl and waft down.

Fortson nodded. Part of him had prepared for this. If the Inquisitors failed... he looked over the remaining men. Most were behind metal and concrete barricades and had their weapons trained on the narrow bend in the tunnel. The enemy had to come through that opening. Behind them was the rest of tunnel number three; it extended down the mountain and to an unused side passage. When the men last checked their emergency vehicles were still there.

"Men, we've got one last chance to avenge our brothers. When it comes through here hit her with everything. It'll slow her down, and then we can stop her," Fortson said in a tired, but conspiratorially confident voice. All his men had to do was hold her in one spot long enough, then she would be trapped.

The battery powered lights the corridor seemed to weaken, especially down towards the rest of the tunnel system. A barrage of black orbs shot out and bent around the dog-leg in the corridor. The first two hit the metal plates being used for protection. Some failed, men screamed as they were hit. A few of the more exuberant troops opened fire.

Rockets shot off and were followed by machinegun fire. Fortson frowned; he could see the bullets and explosives disappear harmlessly into the smoke, meanwhile the black spheres could shoot out with impunity.

"Bishop! She's coming!" one of the remaining fathers screamed as he dragged a wounded acolyte further back.

"Pull your men out, and hold!" Fortson yelled as he stared down the corridor and waited. The rockets stopped firing as the men inched further down the narrow corridor. Only a pair of machine gunners, were still shooting, keeping her at bay. A pair of purple beams shot out and tore into one of them.

Twisting the handle of the detonator, Fortson smirked. He had her. The explosives were buried into the rock, muting the effect, especially when compared to the rockets that had been fired previously. Stone and concrete cracked and the ceiling at the bend collapsed, sealing the tunnel.

Fortson strained his eyes to inspect the chamber. Satisfied, he allowed a brief smile. "Out of the tunnel!" He gave one final look and turned around. Hopefully she was crushed by the weight of the mountain; if not, there was still a few yards of solid rock between them and her.

Sensing nothing, he ran down the tunnel and found the door already open, the camouflage netting already discarded off to the side. A few large trucks were parked around and men were already loading them up. "Good job men, we did it," he praised the men who were still suspiciously watching the trees surrounding them. An irate and highly lethal demon being excellent motivation, the engines started quickly... and loudly.

They piled in and began to maneuver down the small forest path. It was not far until a larger trail. Fortson ordered some men to lean out and watch with their weapons. They were not safe yet. He wanted more distance. He had to tell Corvine what happened.

Fortson's small smile evaporated, just as he could sense demons, the explosions started. The first of the trucks blew apart under the barrage, followed by the last one. His men spilled out of the other vehicles and started to fire into the woods.

A splitting headache formed and his eyes blurred. He could see his men starting to become disorganized, and then the enemy gunfire died down. A sickly green mist came up and started sucking his men dry. Already shaky, many of them screamed and tried to run back to the vehicles, which was when the lightning hit.

On the opposite side men were being impaled by icicles that then exploded into gory messes, others had their weapons become wreathed in shadows and explode in their hands, the metal shards turning to shrapnel. Then came the fireballs and the screams of men burning alive.

Fortson himself gaped and tried to push back his headache when he was knocked down. Pain grew in his shoulders from several deep cuts and he could hear the distinct sound of demons feeding. He looked up and saw a blonde woman smile and raise her gun.

There were a few shots and then blonde made sure to remove his heart and other key organs. She then checked with her sisters and spoke into her headset. "This is Ukyou, we caught the group trying to escape from the tunnels. Who's left?"

She smiled hearing the response. "Good, we'll be coming back in."


***************



Ranma sipped some coffee and waited in the armored transport. "That's the only group to escape the mountain?"

"That matches our patrols," Kasumi allowed as she looked over a recently printed map of the area. "That initial strike took out everyone topside."

"But did anyone make it out before that?" Ranma asked leaning back a bit.

"Our first sweeps came up empty and we haven't detected anyone else. That's all we know." Kasumi looked at her former fiancee. "You're looking good."

Ranma fluffed the deep red hair that spilled down to past her hips. "Well a good meal does wonders," she smiled toothily. "At least we got these bastards back."

Kasumi gave a little nod. "Yes, there were enough here to cause some real trouble. I guess they thought that once you were killed the rest of us would be easy to kill."

"And destroy your horrible demonic soldier program?" Ranma smirked.

"Their actions started it," Kasumi reminded. She turned to see her sisters and the rest of Ranma's spawn return. "Hello girls."

"Hi Aunty!" Misako smiled as she put her gun down. She turned to Ranma. "Thanks for letting us have them, Mom."

"They tried to collapse the mountain on me," Ranma stated.

"You just jumped back, out of the way," Nabiki dryly remarked.

Ranma coughed.

"You do look good, Mom," Misako noted. "And anyway, Ucchan got Bishop Fortson. Damn fool shit himself." She laughed.

"He was rather pompous," Ukyou allowed. It had been shocking to see the effects of the MLRS strike; it was amazing anyone was left alive. "So how was your mission?"

Ranma shrugged. "They tried. That bishop guy had a few tricks; he did manage to escape."

"And then we heard their trucks," Nariko smirked as she cleaned her blade. She handed some of her cleaning supplies to Nabiki.

"Thanks Sis," Nabiki said.

"You sure you had to go into the mountain by yourself, Mom?" Akane pouted.

Crossing her hands over her ample chest, Ranma narrowed her dark violet eyes. "Yes, I wanted to finish them, and this way you guys could capture anyone that got out."

"I guess that works," Akane allowed.

Ranma stood up and hugged Akane. "You girls still got plenty to eat."

***************


"Well, that was successful," Jacob remarked, looking at an overhead view of the former Assembly base.

"Assuming we got them before their strike force left," Stillwater cautioned.

"I doubt it. If their plan was to attack us in a weakened state they would not have left this many troops and vehicles in reserve." Jacob sipped his water. "No, we took out something two, three companies in strength. With minimal losses on our part."

"Counting today's earlier casualties?" Stillwater shrugged and looked at the transcript of Ranma's report.

"Yes, it's all part of the same mission. They thought they could destroy Miss Saotome, and then neutralize us."

"Instead we got quick enough intelligence to get them before they even left," Stillwater raised an eyebrow. "They had to have known their ambush failed, and they were still there."

"Yes? They thought it was secured. The late Father Pierce was not supposed to know the location of their base. So, they waited. Maybe they were going to try another ambush, maybe they figured a big attack was no longer worth it. They also tried to lay a trap there. Miss Saotome did say there was a lot of booby traps and prepared defenses in that mountain," Jacob shrugged.

"Their defenses were formidable," Stillwater allowed.

Jacob smiled. "Good thing the general, and our hosts, allowed us to use our MLRS capability."

"It gives a good impression. We repaid them with a fury fifty times what they did to us."

"We? Miss Saotome was responsible for at least half of the casualties."

"I appreciate her sympathy." Stillwater narrowed his eyes.

Jacob nodded. "This will be interesting to follow. This is more than their last attack. The losses from that were a sixth of tonight's. Our intelligence has shown that their bases and training camps had drained. This..."

Stillwater smiled thinly. "This hurt them. A bishop was killed, a fortress destroyed. Mountains of equipment, arms, and vehicles. They lost Inquisitors tonight. Their Fathers are getting strained, and even the hordes of acolytes add up."

"The plan worked. Kill everyone outside, trap the ones inside, and pick off anyone that tries to escape."

"Simple plans work best. I suppose Jarvis could have had an interesting chat with the Bishop, but there's still records in that facility. Searching will be difficult. Miss Saotome was rather exuberant." Jacob almost laughed.

"I'm more concerned what the remaining Assembly forces will do. This was a massive commitment towards defeating us."

"According to our reports, a force that size would be the bulk of their regular troops." Jacob paged to another document. "Yes, one Bishop would not have that many men under his command. Had to have been from higher up."

"Yes, a big wager for them." Stillwater stroked his goatee.

"I think it's appropriate for pressure to increase on other fronts too." Jacob suggested.

"I'll kick it up to the general. I think the idea of massive reprisals will appeal to him."

"He did let us use the big guns." Jacob reminded.

"Indeed, and that Pattern V camp is still out there," Stillwater stated. "The larger target took precedence, but that group should still be destroyed."

"The strike is already being planned. We'll do it at ten-hundred hours."

"Good. How is the cover story going?" Stillwater inquired. "This was in a remote area, but not that remote. You don't have explosions that size without someone noticing."

"We're going with the war-game excuse. Some testing of missile systems, dummies of course. Also add in a few demolitions work, including the destruction of an abandoned mine. Top it off with some training of their men by an eager military contractor."

"The actual Canadian forces being used?"

"I've placed a call with Joint Task Force Two."

"They have been grousing that we've taken their territory." Stillwater reminded. They and the Canadian Special Operations Regiment had been quite cross with the Company contract.

"Yes, well as good as Canadian Special forces are, JTF2 is trained for Counter-Terrorist operations, not fighting eldritch monsters. We'll bring some of them in. Show them some equipment and give them the training."

"Yes, use an actual covert training mission to cover this up. That fits with our main cover." Stillwater allowed. "And the bodies, lotta cleanup there?"

"They're soldiers. Only two select teams will come in, and they should have some idea what their country is facing."

"Even if it's not really the Assembly," Stillwater chuckled. "Well, it is in our contract to start training them."

"Yes, but I'll keep the demons under wraps. For now"

"Still, this will keep Land Force Command off our back."

"It is their country," Jacob pointed out.

"Yes, and if anyone can handle it JTF2 can. Their work in Peru and British Columbia was exemplary and the rescue of that Peacemaker Team was top notch."

"We'll see how it goes. Not everyone takes well to knowing the full story." Stillwater rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had not wanted to deal with the local military but this was a convenient time. "If things go very well, maybe we can have Captain Jarvis start to liaise with their team."

"She may be busy with her extra responsibilities," Jacob reminded.

"Yes, the D program is getting its first real test. Your evaluation of Graham and Morrison?"

"They both have the personality to deal with it, and there's already a support structure in place for them. We'll just have to keep a close eye on their progress."

***************


"I rather like this design." Morrison pointed to one of the schematics.

Nodoka smiled. "It started when I began building a weapon around a proposed 17mm round. Fascinating challenge. One of the more surprising aspects was figuring out how to give a magazine with reasonable capacity without being unwieldy. A horizontal magazine with staggered rounds, could allow for forty rounds and be only forty centimeters long."

"That's a ridiculous round." Morgan paged over to look over the properties of the proposed munition. "If velocity drop is correct then this round would be limited to closer ranges.


"Not really," Nodoka countered. "There's plenty of large calibers in our work. The Barrett XM109 fires a 25mm specialty round. Lots of options and is stock available. The 17mm is just adapted from anti-material sharp shooting roles."

"That gun's almost impossible for a human to use." Morgan blinked. "Oh... oh my." She frowned.

Nodoka's eyes lit up. "Did you ever use that Barrett, Dear?"

"It was okay. I didn't like that it wasted it's potential. The thing's only 46 inches long, they could at least have put a better barrel on it. It was also being held back.. they had to cut it down so much just so it could be... usable" Morgan's voice trailed off with the realization that it might no longer be such an unwieldy weapon. The action was a bit unusual too. Unlike many sharp shooters, she was not married to bolt action, but it was more stable.

"It still put the bullet at the maximum range," Nodoka stated.

Morgan shrugged. "A good gun should be like a custom sports car, that thing... it was a concept car. It looks great at a convention with a busty girl on it, but it's not for real use. They had to rein it in too much."

"Really now?" Nodoka turned to one of her aides. "Ayanami, go to the armory and sign out the XM 109. I believe we have two."

The young Science and Technology agent nodded and walked off. On her return trip, she would be irritated to find that the gun weighed over thirty-three pounds.

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Daughter, you challenged her," Eve said giving the diminutive sharp shooter a pat on the head.

"Well, I bet you can't make this," Morrison mischievously smirked, pointing to another monstrous gun design. It was in a bullpup configuration and had some similarity to a submachine gun, but it was really a weapon unto itself.

Nodoka chuckled. "Oh? That's the 17mm gun you pointed out? More work, total rebuild I can request the test gun. It's just a single shot, but it'll fire the round."

"You did make these," Eve said pulling out her sidearm. She gave Morrison a little wink.

"Much simpler task."

"Yes, making a long-rifle to Morgan's specifications would be easier," Morrison teased.

"I don't even know what I can do," Morgan sighed. Her body felt too strange, too familiar. The body was so... alive and connected, but it did not feel... herself.

"We'll take you to the range tomorrow," Eve assured as she put an arm around her.

"Don't worry girls, you'll be fine. Eve will be a wonderful mother to you." Nodoka said her eyes locking onto the blonde demoness.

Eve blinked, and decided to do what came naturally and held Morgan closer to her. She then felt the young demoness start to drain her, and pulled Morrison over as well.

Nodoka smiled. "Good." She started making some notes on her clipboard. Her phone rang. "Yes? Oh wonderful. Of course, send them down."

"They're back?" Morrison asked, sleepily opening her eyes. She knew the mission was a success but it was nice to know her... aunt and cousins were coming back.

Nodoka nodded.

"I can see the benefits of such a large round, Grandma. Even at sedate speeds, it can impart a huge amount of power, and the dimensions allow for some very creative specialty rounds. But I'm worried about the logistics. I mean to even get it reasonably fast will require huge pressures and as a result lots of weight," Morrison said.

"Misako's gun weighs almost as much as your sister," Nodoka gently stated. "I exaggerate but the nature of your bodies removes many constraints."

"Physical, training will also start tomorrow," Eve added. "Unlike your cousins, you don't have school so that's good. You have a whole slew of abilities you need to learn."

"We can fly," Morgan muttered. She blinked. "We can fly?"

"You knew what the D program meant right?" Eve asked as she continued to hold each girl to a side.

"It's a great idea when you need some life insurance, it's another thing when you find yourself sporting an amazing rack," Morgan muttered as she lifted her breasts.

"You get used to it," Misako said as she and other succubae entered the room.

"How are you girls doing?" Ranma said as she ran over and hugged Eve and her daughters.

"Are the numbers I've been hearing real?" Nodoka asked. It was obvious that her daughter had fed quite well. Her hair was quite glossy and... active.

Ranma turned and gave a satisfied smile. "We annihilated them."

"Mother did most of the work," Nariko added.

"Good work," Nodoka put an arm around her daughter. Noticing the crimson hair curl around her arm, she resolved to purchase a bigger brush. "Hopefully, things will calm down a bit, you've already missed most of the school week."

Ranma nodded. "Hopefully day after tomorrow. It's not too long, I've already asked Drake to pick up our makeup work."

"Is Master Nishina around?" Nabiki asked.

"He's in the commissary having a late dinner," Nodoka said.

"Good, I want to show him how my blades held up."

"He was very proud of those grips."

"I should go see him too," Nariko said before following Nabiki out.

Ukyou looked at the two new succubae. "I guess my second gun will be postponed again."

"No, I decided to place a larger order with our internal supplier," Nodoka said. "The next batch should be here in a couple days."

"Excuse me," Ayanami said as she lugged a gigantic gun-case into the room. She knew her boss had her family in. The scent of succubae fresh from battle was quite distinctive. She put the case onto a workbench and opened it up.

"Oh yes, that is a... stark gun," Nodoka said appraising the weapon.

Eve allowed her daughter loose and Morgan walked up to her grandmother.

"How you doing?" Misako asked crouching down to Morrison's eye level. "You killed one of us with a just a knife right?"

Morrison nodded at the coifed woman.

"Good, you'll make a great succubus," Misako patted Morrison's knee.

"There's more to us than being violent and lethal," Akane noted.

"Yes, we have to be sexy and sensual, and I think she's got that too," Misako said, causing Morrison to blush.

"Misa-chan has a point." Ukyou agreed. "If she can become a proper succubus, anyone can."

Eve raised an eyebrow.

Misako coughed. "You've also got a very scary and intense mother too, but don't worry. You're healthy"

Morrison blinked. "I forgot about her!"

"Who?" Eve asked.

"Andrea," Morrison's lip quivered. "I should go and see her."

"I'll take you up," Misako said as she and Eve helped Morrison to her feet.

"You think, I'll be okay?" Morrison asked as the pair made their way down the corridors.

"Aunty Eve is better at hiding her emotions, but she's strong, and lonely." Misako shrugged. "She wants someone to care for."

Morrison gave a little smile as they entered the medical rooms.

"Yes?" Dr. Covington asked, not looking up from her chart. Things had been stable for a bit, but the situation could always get worse.

"Agent Lytle, Ma'am. Can she take visitors?" Morrison said as she gave a little salute.

"She wasn't that bad, some breaks but should recover fine." Covington allowed as she looked the young demoness over. It was what she expected, not nearly as surprising as Captain Jarvis was. "Don't stay for long though," she said pointing to a bed.

Morrison passed the other wounded agents, and exchanged pleasantries with the few that were awake.

Andrea Lytle watched them approach and pull up seats. "Well you wondered what being female would be like," she chuckled at the blue-green haired demoness. She was about the right height and had some of Morrison's more solid build, but the skin tone was completely different and the body had all the sleek and very female curves of the species. Most notably her facial structure gave just enough of a hint as to who the woman was.

"Yeah," Morrison coughed and pulled at her skirt.

"Dress uniforms? Well, the captain is strange."

Misako smirked.

"It's good that you're okay," Morrison offered weakly. She could tell Andrea was confused "I mean... it was bad today."

"Red took care of them," Andrea stated, coldly.

"Young and the other missile guys did a lot and Smith helped too, that'll make Sis jealous."

Andrea chuckled. "Sis, now? Next thing you'll want to hug everyone and happily purr."

Morrison crossed her arms over her chest. "No I don't."

"Oh yes you do," Misako teased. "Just hug her, she won't mind it."

***************


"It's a fruit basket." Mistress Mercury said, glaring at the woven whicker container. It contained a few nectarines, a couple sour apples, a smattering of plums, some strawberries, and, of course, passion fruit, She closed the thick grimoire and steepled her fingers. "I trust it's been checked out?"

"It's clean, nothing magical or technological. Though the note was... odd," Orion coughed and motioned to Virgo who handed the oddly thick pamphlet over. The cover showed a lovely rugged landscape with a dark blue lake surrounded by heavily forested rolling hills. Lettering on the bottom said "Greetings from Algonquin Provincial Park"

Mercury opened it up and found on the inside cover surprisingly sloppy letters stating "Akumi: we couldn't have done it without you." It was unsigned. Though photos in a pocket on the opposite cover revealed who had sent the note.

Virgo swallowed nervously; she was still shocked by the images.

Mercury's eyes widened when she looked at the first picture. It was another landscape but this one looked to be a snapshot from, appropriately enough, hell. The ground was chewed up as if attacked by an angry god. Bodies and parts of bodies were scattered until they became too indistinct to make out. Vehicles and buildings were similarly ruined and marched up the hillside until they came to the shattered foundation of what had to be some kind of building.

Morbidly curious, she flipped to the next picture. Her hand spasmed in shock as she stared at a corridor that was literally choked with corpses. There were burns, clean slices, ragged tears, shrapnel damage, and wounds Ami could not even begin to contemplate. Bite marks and missing chunks of flesh stood out to her more than the frightened, frightened eyes. At least, not many of the cadavers had heads let alone eyes.

She turned to another photograph and saw a large room. Instead of a heap of dead, the entire floor was covered in a disturbingly even layer of biomass. Wide arcs, fine sprays, chunky splatters, and big droplets decorated the walls and ceiling of this chamber.

Another photo showed a stairway and a... pile. It was only by counting boots that Mercury could tell that it was two people that had died. Yet another image showed a perplexing pile of ash, bones, and heat-warped blades. Her lip quivered as she flipped through the photographs. The carnage ran together.

She knew what would happen to Pierce. She had even been there to watch Eve... work on him, and had been relieved to see it end. Mercury knew what they would do with this information, but still...

The part of her that was inquisitive, thirsted for knowledge and wanted to prove how bright she was began to count. Mercury flipped back through the images, and tried to make sense. Even the raw, cold numbers were horrifying.

There were weapons, they had all been armed, it was their base, and they were still completely slaughtered. She flipped the pictures over and tried to see if there were any comments, remarks, reasons why someone would send this.

"She wanted you to know," Orion stated.

"Demon wanted to show off, tell you what she can do," Virgo added.

Mercury raised an eyebrow. "Yes, very perceptive Virgo." She frowned and put the photographs down. It hurt her head.

"She also knows where you live," Virgo reminded.

"You're right." Mercury paled. She wondered how much of this message was showing off and how much of it was a threat.

"We teleported back yesterday, she couldn't have followed us."

"So, she's known for longer," Mercury rubbed her forehead. "Great, how long has she known?"

"It's addressed to here using your... birth name," Orion hesitantly said.

"Really, I'm surprised she didn't list it as 'Secret Hideout'."

"Well, we can check for surveillance?" Orion asked.

"That'll tell us where they're watching us now," Mercury hissed. "Still that's good to know."

"She tells us she knows your secret hideout is by sending pictures of her killing people in their secret hideout," Virgo slowly said.

"How would our defenses hold up?" Mercury asked Orion.

"These images show DarkStar tearing apart a mountain citadel with trenches, lots of weapons, concrete bunkers, and what has to be hundreds of men. We live in a converted brownstone townhouse, and there's four of us."

"There's more than numbers."

"Yes, there's also skill," Virgo stated. "We're doing well, Venus especially, but..."

Mercury looked over to Venus who still had upgrades being readied while on the golden alter. "Was this just her? Did her spawn help? Did WIC?"

"I can study the pictures in detail... but it looks like demons did this. I don't know how many," Orion allowed.

"And there's even more of them now," Mercury sighed and finally reached for her wineglass and a new bottle.

"She could really just be saying thank you." Orion shrugged. "A demon thing?"

"It's still a message. She wants you to know what she can do."

"And what I did." Mercury frowned. She had killed quite a bit to be honest more back in Japan than here, but it was always... She shook her head. The Assembly was foolish enough to attack DarkStar, they had it coming to them. That could be the message being sent: This is what happens to people who think they can fight me.

Orion nodded and had the photographs spilled out on her workstation. She pulled a magnifier out of a drawer and started examine for anything... noteworthy, and to count.

Mercury eyed the fruit. "They even thought they had killed her. She was really damaged, but that just got her mad."

"Worse than Pluto," Virgo muttered.

Mercury laughed. "Maybe, maybe, she is worse, but I can almost understand DarkStar. Everything she does makes sense. I know what she wants; I just can't stop her."

"And Pluto?"

"I don't even know what she is," Mercury grumbled. She flipped her recently purchased copy of Unaussprechlichen Kulten open. "Take this book. On the one hand all these cults... it's rather depressing. The fall of the Silver Millennium let all these vile monstrosities creep back into the world and they started preying on ignorant humans. On the other, it's full of deluded ramblings: lurker beyond the threshold, star out of time, keys of the gate. It's all nonsense. Of course, a primitive cultist wouldn't understand a magical construct this complex."

"They're worshiping old junk? Broken things from old magical kingdom?" Virgo asked.

"Why... yes. Some of them, some cults actually worship monsters, others merely worship... artifacts. How'd you guess?"

"Old village had plenty of old stuff. Elders said were sacred artifacts, but didn't know how they worked half the time."

Mercury nodded. "Yes, and we've got a time travel device, which of course they thought was some kind of god."

"They did?" Virgo asked.

"There's a strong correlation between the spells that we were given to block Setsuna and the apparent 'blind spots' of the gates," Orion explained. "The spells we're using are also similar to ones discussed in that book."

"The Path of the Will shows that some of the Silver Millennium era knowledge was passed down. Over the years it got corrupted by all the translating. They thought our Queen would become some silvery monster," Mercury laughed and took a sip of her drink. "So it stands to reason that tomes dealing with the gates would similarly be warped.

"Spells to block out spying machine become spells to ward off evil spirits," Virgo surmised.

"Yes, that's about right." Mercury sighed, an alert came on her display and with a thin smile she got up and walked over to Venus' alcove. "At least this is working well," the darkly dressed woman stated looking over the gold figure.

Running a hand over Venus' exquisitely detailed face, Mercury opened a hatch in the golden figure's stomach. After briefly marveling at the golden contents she typed in the authorization code, and sealed it shut. The new material being pumped in had enough time to connect and adapt. Golden liquid began to flow and solidify, especially around the joints. The limbs seemed to get longer and the frame expanded several inches, the plates growing to match the larger figure.

Extra armored plates formed around the elbows and knees giving more protection while allowing for mobility. Shoulder armor came out and became two overlapping circular arcs. Boots went from pointed and stylish to heavy and articulated. Plates formed over the golden stomach becoming thicker and with a fine seam down the center.

Skirting became heavier and more solid. Cleavage disappeared as the collar spread across forming a large protective triangular plate. Finally, the golden gel expanded over the face smoothing the features. Ears and lips were covered over and the nose was pulled in and the entire face was smoothed. The only details were Venus' currently dimmed eye-slits.

"There, that's better," Mercury said gliding her hand over the polished featureless face. She punched a command in the alter and stepped back as the cables and piping retreated. Their connection ports were quickly covered by armor and the figure's eye-slits flared with a bright red light.

The figure pulled itself upright, and paused. The armor had changed, and new routines and programs were activating. "Mistress," Venus said, bowing her head down.

"Are you sure the time is right?" Orion asked.

"Virgo, your assessment?" Mercury asked.

"Golden-girl wants to learn and does it well, but she's not ready, still playing at warrior." Virgo noticed that Venus' head tilted ever so slightly towards her.

"She still acts like a magical girl?" Mercury shook her head and put her hand on Venus' armored knee. "We've got to break you of that habit."

Orion coughed. "Still, even when Venus is trained..."

Mercury frowned. "I can't beat DarkStar. I have no idea what Setsuna's even doing. That leaves one person."

"But the Queen is protected," Virgo reminded.

"That's exactly why we need Venus."


***************


Lying down, Morgan sighted through the scope of the immense rifle. Controlling her breathing, she adjusted weapon's position ever so slightly, and it shifted ten meters laterally down range. She paused and savored the moment. Sergeant Morgan Graham always felt connected to the target, linked by the power of the weapon, but now it was... different. The scope was more responsive, it even took relative orientation and ballistic trajectories into account, but there was more to it than the equipment.

She depressed the trigger; a twenty-five millimeter shell fired. Obeying simple kinematics, it raced forward at well over twice the speed of sound. Even at this velocity, it still took two and a half seconds of waiting for Morgan to see the results. The high explosive round hit it and sliced through the inch thick armor in a bust of fire.

Remaining still, she inspected the damage. The large burnt hole was offset a couple inches to the left. She frowned. At least the reloading action was smooth enough, though part of her still wanted to work the action manually. Moving to another target she fired again and found this one hit more symmetrically.

Putting in a fresh magazine she went out another half kilometer. She was starting to understand why the Soviets liked female sharp shooters. It was all fine muscle control, add the succubus edge... she did not even have to adjust her sight. The widgets in the scope automatically compensated for air pressure and gravity. The weapon seemed... eager to help. Two and a half kilometers out was still perfectly clear. She knew her eyes were helping too, the clarity and range they gave her was shocking. The concept of not needing any special night scopes was thrilling too.

This time she fired at the first target, and immediately shifted the gun as it automatically reloaded. After acquiring the third target and depressing the trigger, she heard the first giant bullet impact. It was followed by the two others.

Moving almost imperceptibly, she swiveled to check the other targets. They had all hit, though the second one was the worst, accuracy-wise. She fired off the two remaining rounds, this time taking more patient shots and was pleased with the results. She ejected the magazine and slowly rose to her feet.

"Interesting show," Nodoka remarked from her spotting scope.

"Barrett built a fair weapon. It's just not for humans," Morgan allowed. Even throttling it back as much as they did the weapon was still just barely usable... in human hands..

"How's the BORS?" Nodoka asked referring to the Barrett Optical Ranging System. The advanced scope would automatically determine targeting corrections using the tilt and position of the gun in addition to range, temperature, barometric pressure.

"The gun..." Morgan's eyes flicked down to the weapon in her hands. "It wants to help. What's the fail-safe like?" She did not want to have the scope ruined because it ran out of batteries or a wire snapped off.

"Power-off and the projection stops. The scope is fully functional in mechanical mode. It can be disabled manually by pressing the off button, which is a mechanical disconnect," Nodoka assured.

"That's good." Morgan twisted her neck. Electronics could fail at the worst of times, and even hardened systems could fail in a hostile enough environment.

"Is it worth pursuing?" Nodoka asked an eager edge to her voice.

Morgan looked down at the weapon. She had spent the morning practicing on it, and had found it had... potential. She could almost feel what the gun wanted to be, what it could be, if someone would just let it. It was also a good way to work out the feelings from last night. Being with Mother had been comforting. She looked back to her grandmother. "Yes... it could work."

"There is room for improvement." Nodoka went on. "It's essentially a scale up of their fifty caliber version. Their receiver is good, but we can increase the velocity. The higher pressure will have to be compensated for, but I was thinking of a new barrel."

"Oh?"

"It's not even four feet long; we can make it bigger. That will help give it more range. Though that will make it more unwieldy."

Morgan looked down. She was already beating her old records. As a human, Morgan had preferred a slightly more manageable weapon, and had enjoyed the lead flower sabot system, but this... Where could she go from here? There was no point if she did not challenge herself, this body demanded that. She had to admit that the weapon was fairly short. The bipod was only a few inches short of the muzzle brake. "Yeah.. that sounds good."

She put the weapon down and started gathering spent casings. The large shells made her hands look even smaller and made a big stack in a spare container. After cleaning up, she looked at her old weapon and frowned. It was a good gun, but it felt both too large in length of pull and yet too light. It was designed for a body that was both larger and weaker.

Eve walked up and noticed the status of the targets with a smile. "Good work today." She hugged the short succubus.

"Wow, that one's over one and a half miles," Morrison said checking out the range markers on the sharpshooter range. Her own test gun was sitting next to her sidearm.

Morgan blushed slightly. "How was your pistol work?"

"Good, I think you'll like it. Gra-... Major Saotome made a very accurate gun," Morrison said smirking a bit at her sister's nervousness. "What did you think of that test type gun?"

"The 17mm?" Morgan shrugged. "The round has promise, the weapon itself was just a simple one-shot frame. But increase the rate of fire... I guess it'll work."

"Yeah, for close to medium work it could be real devastating. Didn't even strain my shoulder." Morrison had found the recoil suspiciously manageable.

"Come on, it's time for a snack," Eve assured as she lead her girls away from the range. Morgan whimpered a bit and decided to hold onto the rifle, while Nodoka took more notes and picked up the 17mm test gun.

"It's not even noon yet," Morrison said.

"You're going to be doing more physical training later," Eve explained. "You had a good start this morning, but we're going to start flying today."

Morrison and Morgan nodded slowly as they walked to the small commissary in the B facility. "How did the S&D with the Pattern V go?" Morgan asked. Their early morning training had been cut short by Aunty Ranma and her spawn leaving for that mission.

"Destroyed," Eve remarked. "They found some indication that the Assembly was watching them too."

"So, they were bait." Morgan shook her head. She looked up to see part of the brood, her brood, eating at some of the tables.

"If it isn't the bashful sisters," Misako teased.

"They still slept nude with us," Nabiki remarked.

Morrison coughed as she sat down. "Sorry, this is... new." She looked to her mother and was unsurprised to find Eve had a blank face. Morgan's similar expression wasn't unexpected either. Sharpshooters were a strange lot. "Oh come on, it was a bit strange to sleep with a bunch of amazingly good looking nude women."

"Really? I didn't know you struck out with the ladies, Rich" Morgan plainly remarked as she put her gun down on one side of the table.

Misako gave the rifle a slightly jealous glance.

Richard Morrison rubbed her forehead. "Yes, I don't have an androgynous first name."

"To be fair, you did nuzzle right onto my side," Eve reminded.

"That's what succubae do," Morrison pouted.

Ranma smirked. "Don't worry, it's surprisingly easy to be one of us."

"Though it takes a lot of hard work to do it right," Misako added.

"Yes, a tackle box full of makeup," Nabiki smirked.

Misako glared.

"The service is going to be later today," Eve suddenly interjected.

Morrison looked down. Henderson was gone, Wetherhold too. She was not as close to Franklin and Porter. It was not the first time friends had died.

"I know," Ranma nodded and looked to her quieted spawn. She coughed.

"Maybe, Akane, Ukyou, and Nariko need help setting up the training equipment," Ranma casually remarked. Misako and Nabiki stiffened. The redhead then noticed her mother was still writing on her clipboard. "Cooking up something good for the girls?"

"Oh yes, I think the girls will be quite pleased." Nodoka said with a little smirk.

"So Aunty, how was the mission today?" Morrison asked.

"Easy, only one of the vampires had any skill." Ranma remarked. She felt a familiar tickling in the back of her mind and placed a call with her phone.

"He tried to dodge Sasha." Misako chuckled.

Morrison blinked. An automatic grenade launcher was a good way to get suppressive fire against a high-speed NH, but she doubted if "Sasha" was used in such a restrained manner.

Misako was able to manhandle her bulky weapon with unreal ability. The young succubus paused, remembering her own experience manhandling her new sidearm and that monstrous 17 mm round. The ability was all too real.

"Lousy vampires, they turn to dust as soon as you start cutting them up," Nabiki grumbled.

"You still got more to eat than I did," Misako pouted.

"You saturated your guy with grenades at forty meters. There wasn't anything left!"

"Jackass kept jumping around." Misako smiled. Once a bit of shrapnel sliced off his left foot he became trivial to take out. "Then he cried when he got a little booboo."

Ranma smiled and turned to Eve's spawn. "Are you girls ready for more training?" She blinked, yes that was definitely a familiar sensation.

"Oh, yes," Morgan nodded, stealing a glance at her gun, while Morrison grinned and nodded.

Then Ranma's phone rang and a familiar voice addressed her. "Yes, Miss Saotome, you do have two clients in the entrance hall," Maya said.

"Thank you," Ranma then closed her phone and stood up. "Nabiki, you're coming with me. Eve, start the physical training with your girls as normal. Akane and Nariko already have the lessons planned out."

"Why me?" Nabiki asked as they left the room.

"Usagi's brought someone." As Ranma approached the foyer in an adjacent building she could sense the two Senshi. Neither seemed fully... human, and their connection stuck out, it was like looking at an anchor from the seabed, where a slight chain ran up to infinity.

Ranma stepped into the waiting room and motioned for the four agents to leave. She slowly looked at her two guests, both appeared ill-at-ease. Usagi was expected, as was Setsuna honestly. Ranma could imagine being under a teleportation jamming field was not something the Senshi of Pluto enjoyed.

Usagi's eyes shimmered as she watched the redheaded figure confidently stride in. Her hair seemed to flow around her and freely mixed with the shadows, while a leather bustier and leather pants clung to her form.

"Usagi, how nice to see you. What brings you out of school?" Ranma smiled slipping her arms in front of her chest.

Usagi blinked back a tear and ran over to the demoness. "You're okay!" She hugging Ranma and resting her head on the redhead's shoulder.

Ranma returned the hug and gave a light chuckle. "I did call you and say I was okay."

"And then you said you were gonna kill a lot of people."

"Yes." Ranma smiled and, with some regret, let Usagi pull away.

"How many?"

"Over half were taken out by Steel Rain."

Usagi blinked. That sounded like a demonic name. "SteelRain... so is she a relative of yours?"

Ranma laughed. "Not exactly."

"It's slang for the bomblets in a type of medium range ground to ground rocket system. Basically each rocket contains hundreds of smaller explosives. It's very... effective," Setsuna explained. "And not normally used outside of war zones."

"They had three battalions, over three hundred men, material, and vehicles ready to go."

Usagi's face paled. "You... you bombed them."

"Of course."

"Why?"

Ranma flicked one of her bangs aside. "To kill them. Made my job easier," she said in a slow, flat tone.

Usagi swallowed. "If they had that many. They were going to attack but.."

Sensing the blonde's roiling emotions, Nabiki stepped a bit closer to her mother.

"They came at us first," Ranma idly said, inspecting her fingers. "They wanted a war with me. They wanted to fight the Company. Fine." She smiled. "They got their fight."

The blonde exhaled. "It's not like you had to fight fair is it?" she asked her voice a bit strained. "They weren't were they?"

Ranma raised the corners of her lips.

Usagi shuddered. "You killed them all didn't you?"

Purple demonic eyes flashed. "Personally?"

"We'd have to subtract those the artillery killed, and how much support did you have on the ground...." Setsuna's musing trialed off when Usagi shot her a look.

"Better in their mountain hideout than down here, where someone else could get hurt?" the blonde asked.

Ranma smiled. "You felt what they did to me, to my friends. They killed. I can regenerate from that stuff, humans can't. Ami felt it too. She actually came to help. She wasn't bashful either. Neither are you; I saw what you did in that toy store."

Usagi narrowed her eyes and stared Ranma eye to eye. "That was different."

Ranma's grin turned to a smile. "Yes it was. The Assembly only attacked demons and soldiers, at least they had that much. I can respect them for keeping it.. professional."

"But... well.. yes." Usagi blinked. "What was Ami doing? I mean helping you?"

"She teleported in. Helped us capture someone that knew where their base was. Quite helpful."

Usagi gave a skeptical look. " 'Quite helpful.' And yet she thinks you're corrupting me. Doesn't that strike you as suspicious?"

"I think Akumi wanted to prove herself to me. That she could help. Though that Assemblyman did give her some problems. Her pretty uniform was all cut up," Ranma flatly stated.

"I'd assume she also did it to get on your good side," Setsuna added.

"Probably."

"Was... Minako there?"

"Nope. Just her and Orion."

"Why didn't she bring Virgo and Minako?" Setsuna asked.

"That's a very good question. She could have used more help." Ranma rubbed her chin. "They might not have been available."

"We can check to see if there was any other disturbances yesterday," Nabiki offered.

"Thank you," Setsuna said.

"What if Minako was imprisoned and... Virgo was guarding her?" Usagi asked.

"Possible, but Merc's not one to waste an able body on guard duty. Not when she's got a perfect metal prison already made."

"She might not trust Minako alone."

"Maybe. Ami might be worried that Minako could be more than a... test subject. After all isn't that what your plan was? Make Mina into a double agent?"

"She was supposed to contact us but has not," Setsuna said with enough distaste to convey her opinion of this plan.

"Ami won't hurt her. That's not her aim. She wants me to be this proper queen she's got in her head. She's trying to... well... teach me. Hurting Mina pushes me too far." Usagi flexed her fingers and then curled them in.

"Oh?"

The corners to Usagi's lips rose. "Yes part of her is afraid... afraid of what the battle-queen she idolizes, the fantasy of My mother, that Serenity would do when faced with a wayward Senshi."

Ranma blinked.

The blonde smirked. "She'll worry that I'll sic my pet demon, you, on her."
"Indeed, but what does she want Mina for?"

"Turn her to her side. New armor, new mentality. Ami's showing me what she can do. How she can 'fix' us all." Usagi's hands clenched. "We're not broken."

Ranma's eyebrow rose briefly. That was an interesting plan. Mercury was still trying to prove her worth, prove her value. "No, but you do need more training."

"Yes, I've stepped up the pace," Setsuna said. "I'm inclined to agree with Usagi. Ami's plans for Minako are to transform her into a fully armored warrior. That first coating was just a test, Ami's would want this perfect. She is showing how she can take a random Senshi and turn them into a lethal warrior."

"She's trying to impress me," Usagi sighed.

"Nothing like a little kidnapping to do that." Ranma wondered about Mercury. Mina could be acting the whole time. If the suit was fancy enough, she could even be converted to Mercury's side. Though that probably involved a fair bit of mental manipulation. Usagi and Setsuna had to know this. Mercury and Orion were both mentally altered.

Ranma once again looked to Nabiki who shrugged. "Has your own surveillance picked anything up?" she asked Setsuna.

"It's definitely the place. You're right the she went overboard on the protection. Once you know it's there..." Setsuna trailed off. The protection was too good. It was exactly tailored to block her powers, and not just the parts cataloged by Serenity's research mages.

"Anyone coming and going?" Ranma asked.

"Just Virgo and Minako. It looks like Mercury has them on little missions. Probably to get more information. That may have been why they were unavailable yesterday." Setsuna remembered Usagi's face when she told the princess about that; it was worrying. So were the books that Mercury was looking for. If she got her hands on that kind of knowledge...

Nabiki knew her mother's worry. Usagi was too paralyzed to act, and seemed to be throwing every bit of initiative to Mercury.

"Ami's numbers will continue to grow. You should stop her. We can do this."

"She's not a threat to you," Setsuna reminded.

Ranma shrugged. "That's because she knows what happens to people that hurt my family."

"She could still take an agent. Try to get at you that way. Make a spy or something." Usagi looked out the thick doors.

Ranma laughed. "Ami's more afraid of them than she is of me."

"Really?" Usagi's voice was skeptical.

"She expects a demon-queen Senshi to be a challenge and scary, but 'normal' humans? They're not supposed to factor into things at all. For all her talk, she still thinks like a magical girl."

"You're a magical girl too."

"Maybe, but I never thought like one. I've always been a martial artist or a succubus. Now I'm both. Mercury's making the same mistakes she's accusing you of making. For one thing she's underestimating humanity."

"What, but she's human."

Ranma waved a hand. "Irrelevant. She hasn't worked her head around what humanity can do. Shame, Janet seemed to have a pretty good grasp on that."

"What do you mean... 'what humanity can do'. She's a human."

"No, I mean what normal humans can do. People without a magical junction to a whole planet."

"Huh?"

Ranma exhaled. "You see, I've realized something part of why humans with the right tech and training will trounce any NH. It can be quite bloody, but the outcome is eventual."

"Didn't you just beat a bunch of well-armed humans?"

"But only because they were amateurs, that and other humans softened it up first," Ranma's expression sobered. "The Assembly had a real good defense set up, but they were expecting a demonic hoard, not Steel Rain. If we hadn't simply leveled them with artillery it would have been a meat-grinder to get rid of them. They were dug in, well defended and ready for demons."

"So you hit them with something they didn't expect?" Usagi asked.

The redhead smirked. "Once their lines broke, I could slip in. That's the human advantage."

"Well of course, we're the good guys, and we have numbers."

Ranma paused then nodded. "Good point on the second one. Still demons and the like, kill because they can. Humans... humans have made it into their business, institutionalized it. Humanity got its start surrounded by superior predators. Things that had fangs, claws, night vision, stronger bodies. Stuff that could outrun a man and climb up a tree right after him. What did humanity have?"

"Endurance, humans could outlast most ambush predators, when other species would tire out, the humans would just keep following," Setsuna stated. "That and brains."

"They are tenacious, clever buggers aren't they?" Ranma grinned. "Yes, and the first thing humanity applied their minds to was killing. It's not fair to kill an animal with a gun, a bow, or even a flint knife..." she shook her head. "And that's the point."

Usagi frowned. "In an actual fight..."

"Humanity wasn't done; they got even more advanced. Science, industry, research, all for one thing: death. And those numbers. It takes a whole society to build up that research and industrial capacity. Eventually, humanity formed institutions and professions around it. Tactics, teamwork, spying. All to put the right people, with the right weapons, in the right spot."

"That's... you make us sound like monsters." Usagi flexed her fingers.

"Do I?" Ranma leaned forward with a pleased smile. "There's the history of your own kingdom. The things your mother did with magic."

"It's not that simple!" Usagi shrieked.

"No. Humanity's not that simple." Ranma agreed. "However, why you have still survived is that simple."

"Ranma's right, Usagi. Look at what your mother did. She made the Senshi. She setup her navy, and equipped her commandos. She did this by organizing her mages while other kingdoms concentrated on flashy and impressive-looking spells. Other mages learned their own magic; hers learned how to teach, how to enchant, how to produce. She worked on effective spells. From making soldiers that could quietly kill from far away to acquiring the power to destroy a planet."

Usagi rubbed her forehead. "Yes, I know. My mother took over and frequently killed to do it."

"It's not bad. She honestly believed that Unification was the best for humanity, and it worked. Humanity advanced by leaps and bounds under her rule," Setsuna stated.

"And was almost destroyed by a jealous noble in league with dark powers," Ranma reminded.

"Not humanity's best moment." Usagi sighed.

"You couldn't be more wrong." Ranma lifted up Usagi's chin. "You know the numbers Serenity's forces faced. You can't imagine what it was like for the normal soldiers. They weren't going to be reincarnated. They knew it was the end, but they still fought."

Usagi stared into Ranma's violet eyes. "They all died. Everyone died."

"You're half right. Serenity lost her armies, she lost her life." Ranma's voice sharpened slightly. "She lost her daughter when the fool killed herself. But humanity lived. Earth survived. Her armies held long enough to make sure that would happen."

"Some victory."

"For humans? That's enough."

"Why is a succubus that has clearly been talking about humanity in the third person so strongly cheerleading for them? You've killed a lot of humans."

"I've also killed a lot of succubae, and I still like my species." Ranma nodded to Nabiki slightly. "I chose my side."

Usagi studied the demon's eyes.

The redhead's composure slipped as she tried to glance at her watch and she covered up and awkward expression. "Um... I've got a memorial service for some friends soon, so you guys have any last questions?"

"Fair enough," Setsuna allowed. DarkStar had chosen the same side back then. The difference was that she had more initiative now, and broader support.

Usagi gave a dry, surprisingly cynical, smile. "It's great that I have the approval of one of the architects of Serenity's Unification. I know exactly where you stand with humanity."

Sailor Pluto smiled wondering if Usagi was talking about her or DarkStar. "I suppose you do."

"It's not all roses with humans. They adapt. Look at history. We know what people are capable of, what they can do, but it's still worth it. That's why people will fight and die for these ideals: country, duty, species, planet, honor." Ranma rolled her wrist as she recited the list. "But we also know that it really comes down to fighting for the people you're with. The guys right there with you."

"You going to lecture me on that too?" Usagi stated her voice adamantine.

Ranma shook her head. "No, that's one thing you understand completely."

End Chapter


Revision Notes: Here we go the big battle at the AoM base and the immediate fallout from that.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 11: Investments and Wagers
Formerly: Retain and Retrain ii


Corvine looked around the circular table. The other council members were present and the doors to the chamber had just been locked. He cleared his throat. "It appears that Fortson's entire force was wiped out." His grey eyes watched the assembled men and women shift nervously.

"There were over three hundred men there, the bulk of the Assembly's forces," Catharine Longmans, the youngest looking person at the table, stated. "Well, how many casualties did they get?"

"Yes, that mountain was a death trap. For all his flaws, Fortson knew how to dig in." a stout bald man named Futhark admitted.

"I would guess his little ambush had to have failed, given that the mountain was attacked," Catharine stated sourly.

"That 'little ambush' fared better than the mountain defense." Corvine shook his head. "We killed some of their men, then they responded by blowing up the entire base. Surface defenses were obliterated. Still the mountain would have held but..."

"DarkStar survived the initial attack?" Futhark asked.

"Sources confirm that she is still alive. We can only conclude that something went... wrong in the ambush. WIC and the demons learned of the base and counterattacked."

"Knocking them out before they could attack." Catharine picked up a glass of water and stared at it. "But Fortson had planned for that. Those mercenaries should have died by the score trying to storm that fortress."

Corvine kept his eyes from rolling. "That's why they didn't. As I said, they obliterated the surface defenses. The cover story is of missile testing in the area. Stories of war games being conducted with the military."

Catharine leaned forward. "They had the army attack it? Artillery? Planes?" She paused and whispered briefly to the man on her right. "But you said the mountain would have held even if the top had been blown apart. What happened?"

"We are still researching the means that they got in. I'm certain DarkStar was a significant factor."

"If she survived, she would fight there," Futhark stated. "History is our guide here. DarkStar never looked down her nose on support. She's not too prideful to accept help."

"Especially when it comes to killing her enemies," Corvine agreed. "Yes, WIC uses its technology to rain fire down and then sends in the demons to mop up."

"There were two Inquisitors there," Catharine stated.

Corvine did little to hold his disdain. "Obviously, they were insufficient."

"Same as the Assembly itself," Futhark sighed. "What of other assets? Fortson wasn't handed everyone was he?"

"There's our remaining Inquisitors, the other Bishops, a smattering of fathers, and some green acolytes left. Everyone else was pushed over to Fortson," Corvine said after consulting his notes.

"Everything was wagered on this operation? That does not speak well." Jameson, who until now had been silent, finally stated.

Corvine turned to the robed man. "Risks have to be taken, and that is what the Assembly of Man is for. We had tried eliminating DarkStar and her spawn, but that required progressively larger operations. We still had to weaken the WIC presence there. Fortunately, Fortson came up with a plan that minimized the risks."

"He still failed." Jameson stated.

"And that's because this council underestimated our enemy. Fortson did his best, he planned well, and even kept it secret. Of course those converted acolytes were convenient motivation. Always good to get some revenge for inspiration."

"And it happens so frequently with demons," Catharine noted.

"The situation is even worse," Futhark added, glancing at Jameson. "Several monasteries and other facilities have recently been targeted."

"WIC," Corvine ventured. "Fortunately, most of those places have been emptied."

"Yes, the Assemblymen there were already killed. In one day we have lost an army."

Jameson raised his head. "Perhaps that is inevitable. It has become clear that our catspaws have become inadequate. Both Corvine's toy soldiers and Catharine's spies have proved insufficient to achieve our goals."

Corvine stared at his notes.

"What? My group has been bringing in fresh information and is the only one still on target!" Catharine calmed herself, and rubbed her eyes. "We had people in place, our end was going fine," she said in a calmer voice. "I have only had one operation exposed and burned."

"Yes, it was your asset that started it all," Futhark dryly remarked.

"It is time to suggest... alternative means," Jameson smoothly stated. "While there is still a part for our conventional means," he gave curt nods to Corvine and Catharine, "it is also obvious that our current roster is insufficient for our future plans. Do we agree on this?"

Corvine reluctantly nodded.

"I still think there is hope in the intelligence angle," Futhark said, to Catharine's surprise.

"Things are positive, but this is a long term plan... and the Company and DarkStar would still be a problem."

"Yes, our lack of decisive action has allowed DarkStar to become a problem," Jameson said looking to Corvine. "Did she not start out as a lone demon easy to eliminate by a team of Fathers?"

"That is a supreme underestimation of her ability," Catharine stated. "But yes, we should have destroyed her from the start." She turned to Jameson "So what is your plan?"

"Recently my assistant has been courting a group that can provide us with the manpower and expertise that we so painfully require."

"Expense?" Futhark asked.

"Is that really relevant?" Jameson asked. "If we fail at this the world will be destroyed."

"At best, at worst it'll fall under the complete domination of monsters," Corvine added.

"Yes, it is our responsibility, but if we spend all of our resources now we will not have them for later," Futhark cautioned.

"I'll show you what these clients have to offer; I'm certain you'll agree they are well worth the money," Jameson assured with a little smile.

***************


"And so missing out on his mom's strawberry shortcake the Poky Little Puppy went to bed feeling quite sorry for himself," Eve said as she finished reading the slim book. She smiled warmly at the two young women nestled up to her. "Thoughts?"

Morgan frowned at the final picture and gave a little yawn. "I liked the Silva Succubus story better, Mommy."

"The story's sweet, but it's sad too." Morrison pulled her head up off of her mother's lap and twisted her body for more comfort. It had been a busy day.

"Thanks, for humoring me," Eve patted Morrison on the head.

"No, I liked it," Morison said with a slight whine in her voice.

Morgan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's nice." She then gave a reassuring hug.

"Andrea's right we're all huggy and sappy now." Morrison muttered, turning her head to look up at her family.

Eve coldly looked down at the young demon. A small smile formed that quickly bloomed and spread across her face. "We've changed. We're succubae. It's our nature now."

Morrison blinked. Mother was right. That Captain Jarvis was her mother was evidence enough. The... power was frightening and comforting.

"I have to go to the bathroom, be right back," Eve said as she lifted Morrison up and put her down on the couch they were sharing. She got up and walked out of the living room and passed through the kitchen.

Soun and Genma stopped their low chatting and looked up at the blonde. Soun looked over to his friend and gave a little nod. He knew what Genma wanted. "Sorry, but I've got to call the Drake," he said obviously excusing himself. He hesitated by the door and turned to the tall woman. "Thank you for helping my daughters. It's nice to know that they're being led by someone that cares." He gave a little bow that the officer reflexively returned.

Eve's face contorted into confusion briefly before returning to her customary expression. "Huh."

Genma chuckled. "It's hard for him. He still sees them as his little girls." He motioned to the seat across from him at the kitchen table.

"And you?" Eve asked sitting down.

The older man laughed. "Oh, that's a good one."

Eve frowned. "Yeah, you never saw your child like that."

"I raised him to be a man among men." Genma smiled wistfully. "I suppose it worked out pretty well." He sipped some sake from his glass.

"She's a happy mother of five and you see how she dresses."

"It's not very girly is it?" Genma countered. "There's also the Art. Very dedicated there. Even the Master's impressed."

"She still training with him?" Eve asked.

"In the dojo. Let them have their fun. He's an old letch and she..." Genma shook his head, and sighed. "Well, she won't take his crap."

"She doesn't take anyone's."

"How was that last battle? She seemed to have more of a spring in her step when she came back," Genma delicately stated. He looked at the bottle and offered a glass to Eve.

"Yes please." Eve downed a couple fingers of the liquor. "I wasn't there, but yes, it was big."

Genma looked into his glass. "They were those cult weirdoes, right? The pretend priests?"

Eve nodded.

Leaning back he shrugged his shoulders. "At least she's got a good friend in you. Sister, I guess. I'm not the most.. moral person; so I really appreciate that she's got someone to count on. She needs that. needs someone she can look to."

Eve's eyebrow raised. "Oh?"

"I know, I know, Ranma dotes after her Mother." Regret entered Genma's voice. "And I know Nodoka's not really... well she'll tell me in time. But you're her age, or close enough, and you're like her."

Eve stared.

"I know what you do. You interviewed me once, remember?" Genma asked dryly.

The blonde shrugged.

"You're too hard on yourself."

"I know what I am," Eve stated.

Genma smirked. "Even with Ranma's help?"

Smirking, Eve reached out and refilled her glass. "She does have that effect on people."

"That she does."

***************


Part of the University of Toronto library system, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library was the largest collection of publicly accessible rare books in the country. Hikaru browsed his list with a slight smile. Most hobbyists looked down on such places: they were too public, too open, and too little "good" information.

He agreed with their statements. This was entirely the wrong place to get juicy books. That was why he liked it. He could research the details, the minutia, the stuff most of the hobbyists overlooked as "too boring". Its mundanity made it safer. From one of the upper levels of the mezzanine containing part of the stacks he noticed someone walk into the door.

Not breaking stride, the person had waved his hand and collided with the unresponsive opening. The young man paused and with a rueful shake of his head grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. He walked through the next set of doors and stepped into the lobby and looked up onto the many levels of books.

Hikaru sighed and looked down at Rod Ferris. He was a competent researcher and had access to some interesting tomes, but Rod seemed too... exuberant. This was not the field for impulsiveness.

Briefly watching Rod confound a librarian and deal with the elevator, Hikaru shook his head and returned to his list. He was not surprised Rod knew he was here. If one could not figure out where a... colleague was researching, then that person was hardly cut out for the job of learning eldritch information that man was not meant to know.

"How's the bindings going?" Rod asked with his customary slanted smile, but Hikaru could swear that he detected a hint of unease behind that lopsided grin.

"Just fine," Hikaru muttered putting down his clipboard. "What was so urgent that you drop in unannounced?"

"Well there's been an incident." Rod's eyes darted to the shelves full of books. "I'm not sure if you'll be safe, you've done some business with..."

"The bookstore? That's old news," Gos raised an incredulous eyebrow. Places that sold eldritch tomes did not stay secret at least not to those already in the know. "And I only went to Incognito for a few mundane books."

"You don't like him?"

"He's a businessman. He doesn't care who he sells to, that's dangerous." Hikaru pulled out a pen and absently wrote a note on his pad.

"Dangerous enough to get some magical girls after him," Rod said, his not exactly amused smile returning.

"Yes, he has attracted some... official attention," Hikaru shrugged. He knew about the rumors: men in black, magical girls, grey commandos, and white devils.

"Well, that's not what I'm talking about." Rod's expression turned to a full smirk. "There was that explosion. Same night as Incognito's... closing." Despite himself, Rod was fairly impressed that Hikaru knew about the bookstore "robbery". Rod only knew because his superiors informed him, at least before he had to go to ground.

"Police reports indicated it as a training exercise. There's some conflict with the forestry people about proper permissions." Hikaru shrugged.

"There's more to it than that."

"Of course," Hikaru nearly suppressed his urge to roll his eyes. "There's obviously more... federal troops in the city, and they're not just after Azifist cultists."

"Oh, a conspiracy!" Rod's face brightened. "You mean there's more to this than some terrorist lunatics? You know there's no confirmed connection between the Azifists and Al Qaeda." He chuckled darkly.

"Both have death-cults full of useful idiots." Hikaru rubbed his forehead. "People do believe what they want to. Accepting terrorists trained by the Soviet bloc and then later down in the Middle East..." He shrugged. From a... historical perspective, most current events were like wasp hives: complex, impressive, dangerous but ultimately transient and easily circumvented.

The emphasis in Hikaru's mind lay in the "most". He knew it could be still be wishful thinking and confirmation bias on his part but the evidence was starting to mount. Today's research was starting to add to the picture.

"Humanity knows it's not alone. There's clay tablets in the Smithsonian and the British Museum that had to be dated using Potassium-argon. It clearly predates humanity, but people don't care. The canals on Mars got some interest, until better telescopes proved that they were just worn down embankments."

"Artifacts of Pre-human civilizations fall into two categories: the fraudulent and the boring." Hikaru shrugged. In his experience, media producers, and for that mater media consumers, were exceptionally gullible and ignorant, and why not? They only cared about the "narrative". Ancient, incomprehensible, tablets did not fit the stories that people wanted to tell, and wanted to hear.

"I dunno, Shinichi Fujimura was a bit of an artist, though he didn't have the scale and initiative of Dan Idaho."

Hiraku nodded. He knew all about that archeologist. He claimed to have evidence that a "precursor civilization" had destroyed itself though uncontrolled genetic and industrial manipulations.

It made a good splash with newscasters interested in framing environmental issues, until it was revealed that the archeologist was actually a confidence man that had been in and out of prison for setting up doomsday cults and then skipping town once he got all their money. The conned journalists had quickly tried to forget about the incident, which, Hiraku reflected, was helped by a news cycle measured in seconds and a market inundated with incompetence and forgeries.

"I hear he's writing a book about it. Sure to sell well."

"More with the healing crystals people than the black helicopter ones." Hiraku muttered, strongly suspecting that that was Dan's plan from the start. Scandals did make great publicity, something that no self-respecting... hobbyist wanted.

"So, the stars are almost right, eh?"

Blinking, Hikaru snapped out of his rumination and stared at Rod. "You've seen it too?"

"Astronomy is rather specific on the subject. Are you familiar with the work of Oswald Bridge?"

"Astrophysicist, excellent amateur billiard player, brilliant mind, standard cycle of discovery, theory, disillusionment, discreditation, and finally madness."

"You left out the part where he subdued his fiancee and conducted a... detailed search."

"Is this relevant?"

"His work was on the gravitational resonance of various stellar objects," Rod smirked. "Of course at the end his work was considered just another cautionary tale like Blondlot and his N Rays."

"Where is this going?"

"You know as well as I do. Civilizations rise and fall, not all of them the same species. The archeological record is clear on this. We are at a crossroads."

"We're always at one. The tomes and books have been pointing to that for decades."

Rod smiled, his face contorting into an unpleasant, predatory glee. "Decades? Consider the timescale. For a book carved in basalt and found in a bog in the Welsh countryside, that's a rounding error."

"That would explain the heightened presence."

"You can feel them too? Impressive."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. That was a basic survival tenet. "Things are... coming together?"

"If you want to call it that. Things are going to get interesting." Rod smiled broadly. "But what if..."

"What?" Hikaru leaned forward slightly.

"What if, I am not... right?"

Hikaru sighed. Dealing with Rod was like this: two steps forward, three back. A phone rang down at the librarian's desk on the ground floor of the lobby. Hikaru raised his eyebrows to see the librarian look up from her desk and stare right at him and Rod. "Maybe whoever's on that phone is," Hikaru sarcastically remarked, his voice a bit hollow.

Rod leered conspiratorially. "It certainly has a certain element of... possibility."

Hikaru looked down to his notes, and turned to see the still staring librarian out of the corner of his eye. "Uh, yes. Well maybe. Things are risky."

"It could just be your parents calling," Rod offhandedly said.

"That would be better," Hikaru allowed.

"Than being picked up by anonymous gruff men in a black van?"

"These things happen," Gos gave an apathetic hand motion.

"I suppose you wouldn't mind being put into intellectual bondage." Rod's voice became serious. "It's not like you care what's done with the information you gather."

Hikaru stared. He felt as if he had been slapped. Rod was least responsible person he had known, who was he to judge him?

"Oh, don't worry. If those weird Goth girls haven't gotten their attention, I'm sure you're safe," Rod said his voice once again jovial, but now there was a distinct undercurrent of malice.

"They have gotten a lot of attention," Hikaru admitted.

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Rod's voice was now its irreverent self. "You have to admire their ability to not care, and not worry about people judging them."

Gos raised an eyebrow. "They're not open. Ranma and her friends are very private."

"There's a difference between showing discretion and living in shame." Rod waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh?" Hikaru was not sure if this comment was directed at him. He preferred to be left alone and knew that the right outward appearance would help facilitate that goal.

"Sometimes I wonder about my sanity." Rod said, perhaps to himself.

Hikaru held his tongue.

"What if I am too sane? Like in the way a baker, a single mother, a barber, a radiologist, a barker, or a metallurgist is too sane."

"I don't think you need to worry about that." Hikaru was not one for dry and sarcastic commentary, but it was too obvious.

Rod made a point of looking at his watch, even though it was upside-down, and was flashing all zeros. "Well, I've got to go to the auto-parts store and get some new Sierpinski gaskets for my Dodge."

Not knowing much about cars, Hikaru simply nodded. After Rod left, he paused to wonder exactly why his... friend had come. Things had been getting stranger and stranger.

***************


Walking into the small shoe store, Svetlana adjusted her coat with a slight sigh. The capitalists were certainly out in force. Pulling off her sunglasses she glared at the collection of high heels. She had been raised a rather practical girl and had been taught such things were Bourgeoisie frivolities. Besides, the stores in Paris had much nicer quality. Rome too, for that matter, but she had other issues with that city. They all did. Despite her distaste for consumer excess she still wore nice coats and kept her blonde hair shampooed and held back with fairly expensive hair clips.

"Your head's in the clouds," Galina coldly stated.

"I've been thinking," Svetlana said, putting the ill-made leather pump down.

"It's that bad?"

Svetlana slowly turned and looked up her commander. "This could be a problem. A real... opportunity."

Galina nodded. "Can we do it?" The two women stepped out of the store and she caught a glimpse of Vosem and Shest across the street. Vosem in her long hair and generous figure and lanky Shest in her pixie cut could almost pass as a couple.

Svetlana looked straight ahead, her eyes recalling the rooftop view from earlier in the week. "We need to make sure we're not fighting them." Her hand went out and stroked her arm.

Galina nodded. Finding the right city had been one thing, setting up a viable operation was a whole other issue, but her girls had made her proud. "Our client seems to be under their protection." In this case the person paying them was most definitely not their client.

"There's no pressure," Svetlana reaffirmed "We don't have to beat them... much."

"You do know why we lost, right?"

Unlike her comrades Svetlana did not hold the delusion that they had not been beaten. "Superior organization and economic models."

Galina looked around and her eyes studied the bustle. Even now she could tell which side any given city had been on. "Unpredictability. It doesn't matter how brilliant your intelligence organs are, if your enemy changes on a whims, if even they don't know what they'll do, you can't predict them."

Svetlana rubbed her left arm again. "We will wait, and we will strike."

The pair walked a few dozen yards in silence and then by seeming coincidence ran into another young woman. During their warm exchange of greetings and handshakes a document could have passed between them. There certainly were enough people to cover a good pass or they could have done a brush-pass without even breaking stride.

Instead the trio of girls kept idly chatting as they walked. "You're right. Ryzhaya bestiya is in town," Chetyre said just holding her voice even.

Galina's lips thinned. "Is she still angry? Did she yell at you?" How dangerous is she? Were you spotted?

"No, she was very pleasant. She had more important stuff than me. It looks like she's mellowed out, but I guess she's had a bad breakup. Fought with her boyfriend for a week."

"That's a shame." Galina held her relief. Despite it all, they were the best. Chetyre knew the dangers that came with sloppy work. "See if she's on the rebound?"

"I heard she's seeing someone new, yes." Ivanova Chetyre allowed. She took a sip from her water bottle.

Galina stopped and turned to face her subordinate. "You didn't flirt with her boyfriend did you?"

"No... of course not." Ivanova looked down. Her tradecraft was solid. It could rival anything that came out of Dzerzhinsky Square. It was just... "She's the jealous type. Ryzhaya bestiya could just be paranoid."

Galina smiled. "I wouldn't blame her, given her looks."

"There's also her other girlfriends," Svetlana said and was quietly thankful for the distance her role afforded.

"There's also her birthday party. Huge turnout." Ivanova shook her had. "She's a bit miffed that we didn't come. Not to mention all the people that crashed the party."

"Oh? How big was it?"

"About three hundred or so, real nice. At a resort out in the woods. Fireworks too."

Galina's eyes sparkled in interest. "Wow, she must have been one happy girl."

"I haven't heard of a party that size in years," Svetlana added.

"Yes, she seemed pleased with her presents. Her friend Johan helped with the cleanup too. Stayed after the party and rolled out all the drunks passed out on the floor." Ivanova added. It had taken some digging but a lithe girl with the right accent could get in with any forestry official.

Pausing to decode, Galina chuckled. "Oh yes, that's wonderful news. Truly." She looked over to the other side of the avenue and caught a glimpse of Vosem and Shest boarding a streetcar. Good. they still had to do some surveillance at the school.

"What of Dwa? When will she and her friends come back?"

"Arisha and the rest are coming over here shortly. Their ballet competition in Tokyo is wrapping up. Only a couple other teams even showed up." Galina explained. The problem with codes was that their mere presence was often enough. If anyone were seriously trailing them, it would not matter what they said or how they tried to disguise it. On the other hand, some precautions were only prudent.

"Good, I think she'll like the climate here, It's a bit like home." Svetlana twisted her neck and looked up at the cloud-laden sky. "Having the whole team over here will be good for them. Can get a nice break before the next stop on our tour."

"Oh, it gets better," Ivanova coughed. "Some of Johan's little sisters have joined her cheerleading squad."

Galina stopped. The amused and slightly weary expression and look that would have been at home on any Comparative Literature Graduate Student, Russian of course, vanished and was replaced by a deep coldness. "Really? Huh. Good for her."

Svetlana and Ivanova turned to face her and waited.

"I guess we were wrong on Zaika and her friends." Galina's face broke into an broad and pleased smile. "But no matter. I think we'll be just fine here."

"Are you sure? Ryzhaya bestiya's got a very impressive team on the floor, and we're gymnasts not cheerleaders. Totally different work."

"Then it's up to us to show what we can do," Galina stated with pride. "We'll prove ourselves. We are over here representing our motherland."

Svetlana nodded and allowed a brief smile to pass over her face.

Ivanova inhaled. She was apprehensive, but there was nothing else for them to do. It had been quite some time before a mission that was truly a challenge. Recently their work had been just enough to keep their skills and bodies maintained. It would be good to test their limits.

"Is Ryzhaya bestiya really that popular?"

"Oh yeah, I saw her yearbook, full of signatures," Ivanova said, referring to the dossier she had slowly constructed over the last week. The data on the power scrying results alone were quite disquieting.

"Excellent," Galina said resuming her stride with renewed confidence.

"We don't need to go head to head with her," Ivanova advised.

"Fortunately, she's not our client, so we can be more flexible with her," Galina smirked. Work was always a large portion of dull methodical preparations followed by a small period of intensity. The most pertinent question remained... what was the caliber of their opponents?

***************


Morrison frowned into the mirror. In the reflection, a young green-haired succubus pouted cutely. She sighed which caused interesting effects on her chest. Flicking her hands dry, she rose up to her full height.

A blonde stepped out of a bathroom stall and observed. "Are you okay?" she asked as she washed her hands. Morrison could not be sad about today's training, she had flown beautifully, and even nailed her landings.

"Fine, I'm just struck by how hard it is to not be drop-dead gorgeous," Morrison darkly muttered. "I really shouldn't complain. Mom's been great and the rest of you..." She smiled warmly but it faltered and the woman looked down at her high heeled boots and grey slited silk mini-skirt..

Ukyou stepped up and patted her hand. "I know. It'd almost be easier if Eve sucked at being a mother, or if you had been altered."

Morrison chewed her lip. "It's horrible to say that. I mean the others... they were brainwashed."

"Not exactly. Akane really did become Eclipse... still is, I guess. And our little sister.... well... I don't think even she can think of herself being anything else. And Ryoga... well he and Aurora hated our mother before, but a mother's love just overpowered all that hatred... and changed her. Our bodies... we become what our bodies are." Ukyou's grip rose from Morrison's hand to her shoulder and drew her into a hug.

"It's just... I'm an agent. I've been trained." She leaned onto her cousin and could almost feel herself start to purr.

"So? It's okay. You should have seen how nervous and apprehensive Eve was at the start." She hugged the new demon tighter. "It'll work out."

"I know. The shrink was clear on that," Morgan said.

"Doctor Du Maurier seems to know her stuff." Ukyou nodded. Normally, company consolers dealt with issues arising from repeated and grisly carnage and exposure to the macabre and eldritch. Morrison's situation was clearly the later. Counseling was a part of the D Program. It was hard to find someone with the right training, clearances, and willingness to learn about succubae and their mental quirks.

For onesuccubae do not get gender dysphoria or species dysphoria for that matter, or at least not for very long. What they were, we were, Morrison mentally corrected, susceptible to going feral.

"Look Richard." Staring into her eyes, Ukyou noted the shock Morrison saw at the use of her first name. "You're going to make it through this."

"That's what scares me," Morrison admitted in a quiet whisper.

"What?"

"I'm not like Mom or Morgan or you, I don't have problems with my family. Aside from not joining the Corps like the rest of them."

"It's okay, Nariko's still on great terms with her father."

"Yes, but she can go see him and cry in his lap."

"They're Marines right? I'm sure they know..."

"Know what?" Morrison said crossly. "My father knew enough to not be ashamed when I signed on. He was courteous enough to overlook the obvious cover story."

"What's going to happen now?"

Morrison smiled ruefully. "Say someone dies on a secret mission? With the military they can't tell the family how the person died or why or where. Just that they're not coming back. In WIC it's even worse. Guess that's an upside to most of us being alone."

"You didn't die though... you could..."

"What? Write letters?" Morrison sighed. "It's easier this way."

"You don't have to give up like that."

"Really? Are you going to see your family? I know you've got a father back in Japan."

"True, but I would end up killing him and slowly feeding the remains to Mom." Ukyou growled. "Moron's the reason I spent years painfully binding my breasts."

"Ouch." Morrison shuddered. She could imagine what that pain would be like. Becoming newly and intimately familiar with breasts would do that. She found that out when she flopped down onto the bed and then ignoring that first-hand warning tried to sleep face-down. Though sleeping in one brood-pile did mitigate things

"Look, if you're thinking about giving up on your human life," Ukyou sharply inhaled. "Right... what human life? You're a Company girl, always have been, save the girl part."

"You're right. I didn't have anything, save the occasional phone call with my family." Morrison straightened up.

"And you're worried a sudden swap to letter writing would be suspicious?"

"To them? They're not dumb. The black sheep of the family goes off to some obviously black bag outfit and suddenly stops talking. What should they make of that? At least I don't look very much like my sisters, I take more from my new mother like that."

Ukyou pulled away. "I don't know. It's not an easy question."

Morrison nodded. At least her new family could be in on the secret.

"The Sam and Naoko thing is tearing at Mom," Ukyou mentioned as the two walked out of the bathroom. "She wants to tell them, but..."

"It's supposed to be a secret." Morrison eventually said. She then opened the door to the Major's lab and blinked. Morgan's eyes were happily sparkling. Morrison turned to see what had captivated her sister. Sitting in a complex and padded pair of vises was a Barrett XM109.

Or it used to be, the already large weapon had seemed to grown by well over a foot. Most obviously, the twenty-five millimeter rifle had a new barrel. Inscribed on it in block text was was: WIC Munitions. Below that in a formal copperplate was "We do what we must because we can."

Nodoka stepped up. "Our head machinist Gladys came up with that idea. She thought it needed more."

Morrison nodded grimly.

"Don't worry, we can put something on your guns if you want. Apparently, she came up with a whole poem." Nodoka said. "I'm sure she's come up with something nice for you girls."

Morrison nodded and turned back to the large gun. Noticing the stock, she smiled. It had been reduced in size, to better fit Morgan's light frame. So, the new barrel had to be even longer than she first thought.

"What do you want?" Major Saotome said as she checked the readings from a laser level. She gave a little wink to Ukyou. She also made a note to talk to Morrison later.

"I didn't think it was coming in this fast." Morrison marveled.

"The machinists are quite good. Especially if they don't want Gladys mad," Nodoka agreed. Her own caution had remained high until after she had inspected the metalwork herself. "There's still more work to do. The receiver and other parts need to be reinforced."

"Even more power?" Morrison coughed.

"Why not? We can use conventional low-velocity 25 by 59 mm grenade and something with more speed," Nodoka explained.

Morgan's eyes gleamed.

"How much range do you want to give it? " Ukyou said, wondering if Misako would be jealous. This weapon was much longer than Sasha.

"This isn't for range but penetrating power. Kinetic energy does go up with the square of velocity." Morgan explained.

"We've still got to test out the ergonomics." Nodoka said making a note on her clipboard. She made another to talk with Ukyou.

"Practicing sounds good," Morgan said eyeing her new gun. Her arm was gently pulled by her sister.

"Can we talk?"

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Sure." She followed her sister to the far end of the laboratory. "What's wrong?"

Morrison looked into her calm blue eyes. "How are you doing?"

Her eyes briefly flicked to the side and Morgan hesitated. "Well, my shooting's better than it's ever been."

"There's more to life than that."

Morgan leaned onto a counter. "Why complicate things? It's rather nice being a species that has no pretenses. Where being a killer's normal; it's expected."

"We already had that," Morrison remarked.

The corners of Morgan's lips pulled up into a cold grin. "Yes, handy that."

"Things are going to be different," Morrison suddenly smirked. "Aren't you worried about what will happen when you make your next kill?"

Morgan tilted her head her tail flicking its tip.

"We eat our kills. Mom did it too."

The russet-haired girl rubbed her forehead. "Well, I've hunted. I ate afterwards."

"We'll just go to the morgue and cut up some steaks? Maybe make jerky?"

"Nah, the meat wouldn't be as fresh then. Oh well."

Morrison smirked "Aside from that... how are you doing?"

"Just going with it, I mean... we've kinda got a second chance here." Morgan frowned. "Well, we're still agents."

"Like death would get us away from the Company," Morrison smirked.

"At least the uniforms are better now," Morgan idly said.

Morrison raised an eyebrow. "You spend most of your time in Ghillie suits."

"Still can look good the rest of the time."

"You're starting to become one of them," Morrison teased flicking Morgan's bangs.

"I'm not the one wearing eyeshadow."

"Misako said it looked good." Morrison quietly said. It had been easier to just let Misako put the makeup on her. It was not like anyone would really care. Succubae were supposed to look good.

"Look, don't worry about it." Morgan hesitantly reached out and squeezed her sister's hand. "So you let yourself get a little makeover. Who cares? We're Company. We're past caring what other people think."

"Mom, Ranma, the Colonel, Stillwater?"

Morgan blinked. "Fine, but you think they care about that? No matter what happens, one thing won't change. It can't change."

"The oath."

"Sure, there's some new... fringe benefits, but the job is the same."

"Okay, but if you start to feel..."

"I'll talk to you and mom," Morgan said as she put her hand to Morrison's shoulder. The two walked back to the front of the lab where Nodoka was inspecting the sniper rifle while Ukyou had two Standard Succubus Pistols stripped and disassembled in front of her.

"So you finally got a second gun?" Morrison asked as she slid up to the table. It was odd. The gun was not heavy, and the recoil seemed normal. It was only when she tried to use a forty five caliber that the scale became obvious.

"Yes," Ukyou said giving an exaggerated pout to her grandmother, winking was too obvious. "Hmm.... not too much wear." She inspected the components and mulled over them. "Oh these are for you." She handed a new slide to her cousin.

Morrison picked up the part and looked at it. This time, written under the WIC Munitions logo was: For the good of all of us. For the ones who are dead. She smiled and turned to Nodoka and gave her a hug.

The scientist's smile grew when a slight purr came from the young woman. "I wanted to surprise you." The "blank" slides would be returned and could easily have new inscriptions placed.

In addition to the new weapon, Ukyou had a slide replacement as well. Despite starting with a conjunction, the first message was simple enough. The sentence on the other gun was more baffling. "But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake."

"What kind of sense of humor does Gladys have?" Ukyou asked

"Gladys Coulton's first job was for Republic Aviation making parts for fighters. She and some of the other girls would put together... care packages to be delivered with the planes."

"They thought the boys could use some encouraging photos?" Morrison ventured.

"Nothing too... improper. It's how she met her husband John. She sent a photo and he wrote her a song."

"Sounds like a nice couple," Ukyou sighed.

"He was shot down over Korea."

Morrison imagined the old widow scowling over the metal, searching for any flaws, and then finally chuckling as she wrote a message into the steel.

"But why cake?" Ukyou asked staring at one of her guns.

"She was a fan of cheesecake, apparently," Morrison deadpanned.

Ukyou shook her head. Sometimes the Company could be a bit... eccentric. The constant pressures from the work had to be it.

"Gladys is looking forward to more work. She enjoys a challenge too." Nodoka chuckled. Engineering was more than science; it was applied science.

"I wonder if Jacob will give me any pointers." Ukyou mused as she reassembled her guns.

"You know about that?" Morrison asked as she stripped her weapon and replaced the slide.

"One of his nicknames is Gunslinger and he wears two guns slung low on his hips. I suppose it could all be rumor and him 'looking cool', but that's not something WIC troopers do is it?"

Morrison smirked. "You've never seen him fight then?"

"The chance hasn't presented itself."

"He likes to use the ranges real early in the morning," Morrison hinted.

"That's just him shooting targets. I guess I'd see if he's fully ambidextrous."

Morrison chuckled. "He has his ways."

"I can ask him then, I guess. You think he'd train?"

Morrison nodded. "Yeah, it's not a common skill, even among us. Normally, a rifle's more practical."

"Well, we're not normal are we?" Ukyou asked holstering her weapons. "So how's Grandma's work with you? Going ahead with that 17mm monster?"

"It's smaller than Morgan's."

"Yes, that's kind of the point," Nodoka said as she approached. "Hers is a long range anti-material and special-anti-personnel weapon. The WM 17S HSMG is a much lighter and compact weapon. It is roughly in the shape of a FN P90."

"Heavy Succubus Machine Gun?" Ukyou ventured.

"Willard Munitions Seventeen millimeter Shoulder-mount, Heavy Submachine Gun," Morrison clarified. "It got approved? We were just doing the single-shot testing."

Nodoka nodded. "Yes, the case was made for a weapon between the SSP and Misako's IGMG. A... conventional rifle," Nodoka shook her head. "The name's a misnomer, honestly while it's the size of a sub-gun, the caliber certainly doesn't count, and to be honest I'm not sure automatic fire is the best mode for the weapon."

"Has prototyping started?" Morrison asked, breezily ignoring the scientist's concerns.

"Yes, we know how the bullets perform, so fabrication is the next stage," Nodoka said as she went to a cabinet and pulled out a box of 17 by 65 mm WIC custom.

"Wow," Morrison picked one of the shells up. "I'm still amazed at these. They're shotgun sized." That was fine when she was using them one at a time, but she could see Dr. Saotome's concerns about recoil management on prolonged fire.

"Well, the twelve gauge is 18.5 mm by 70 or 76 mm," Nodoka said as she picked up one of the relatively blunt bullets.

"Still, they're big," Morrison said as she hefted the bullet, and wondered when she could fire the test gun again. The whole casing was reminiscent of a fifty caliber Browning Machine Gun but shorter and with a larger slug in the head.

"Why don't you just make an autofire shotgun system?" Ukyou asked.

Nodoka nodded. "I thought of that, but that would have less accuracy and capacity. With the HSMG you'll have a forty round magazine."

"What about temperature?" Morrison asked. "Pressure's one thing, but the heat expansion and wear..."

"Thermal management did require some creative solutions," Nodoka allowed. It was wonderful to deal with such... robust users. Though that was a mixed blessing. She had to make the weapons rugged enough so they could be used as a blunt weapon and be able to block blunt and bladed weapons. "But I've got some good natural convection cells and good radiating sections. It'll hold."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, it's going to be a very solid weapon," Nodoka stated. The weight limits for succubus weapons were quite the blessing. Which was to say: what weight limits? Ergonomics was the main concern; the weapons had to be easy to hold and have good balance.

"What about barrel wear? I mean if this thing can hold a forty round magazine..." Morrison asked as she rolled one of the bullets in her hand.

"Based on the data from the test rig, I think I can get an acceptable lifespan. A good protective coating will help. The barrel will be easy to replace though," Nodoka assured. "However, it'll take some time to build the 17mm gun. We should talk about something in the meantime. I can adapt one of our larger machine guns, make the belt feed from an under-slung box. It's not exactly the ideal role."

Morrison nodded. The primary reason for the bull-pup design on the HSMG was to allow its use in buildings and close-quarters.

"Well, you don't need it to be terribly accurate," Morgan smarmily said as she turned and looked cutely at Nodoka. "So when can we go to the range?"

Nodoka chuckled. It was easy to keep her girls happy. "After I get the requirements from your sister on her gun. Then we can test the 17mm rig more too."

Morgan smiled and after loosening the vise, put the end of the gun on the floor and leaned it on her shoulder. The weapon extended past her shoulder and ended several inches above her head.

"Good, we can meet the others," Nodoka added.

"Well, Mom and Nariko are still home with Nariko's dad," Ukyou said.

"He is a good father for her," Nodoka agreed.

"Our Mom's there too, right?" Morrison asked as she rummaged around for the 17mm test gun. It was a single shot rolling-block weapon, that was reminiscent of a wall gun, a very heavy bore gun too large to be fired from the shoulder. They were leaned on walls and ledges and were a formidable if bulky defensive weapon in the 16th through 18th centuries.

"Yes, Eve's there too," Nodoka said, wondering if her... other daughter, was trying to get more permanent housing.

***************

"You want a house?" The Drake asked looking at the stern blonde. This was his responsibility. Being a Company associate opened a lot of doors for his real estate and land development business. Most opened on their own and could not be closed until he did what was expected of him. At least, finding an appropriate house would be easier than a facility that can be used as a paramilitary base.

"The closer to here the better," Eve nodded.

The Drake looked to his older daughter. "Well, I can look. I'm certain some of the neighbors are concerned. I'm sure with the right offer..."

"It would be handy," Ranma smiled. "It would give us more space."

"Alternatively we could expand this house. I'm sure Soun wouldn't mind," The Drake offered. He had just talked with his old friends yesterday and it was certainly possible.

"That might allow for more concentrated security." Eve nodded. "Possible."

"Another house could work too, like if they share a border," Ranma offered as she sipped some tea.

Drake Kuno looked at Eve. "So you've got some kids. Agents and succubae? They'll be a handful."

"Tell me about it." Eve warmly smiled. She pulled out her phone. "Yes? Oh really." She turned to her sister.

"What?" Ranma asked.

"You've got some visitors. Sam's driving up with Naoko," Eve said.

Ranma blinked. "School's out already?"

"Time flies," The Drake said as Ranma got up and went to the front door. He had taken the afternoon off, but still knew when his school let out.

Watching Sam, somewhat clumsily, park the car and get out, Ranma opened the door and stepped out to meet them.

Naoko blinked at the redhead's hair. "Sunny? What happened?"

"Clearly she took a few days off to go to the spa and get her hair done," Sam dryly remarked putting her mother's car keys away.

Ranma's eyes looked down. "Uh, let's talk inside."

"Right," Sam nodded.

"So, what's brings you guys over?"

"We were worried." Naoko said after entering. She looked out and saw the principal sitting with some striking blonde woman.

"Yeah." Ranma sighed.

"Sorry if we... interrupted anything," Sam said looking at Principal Kuno.

"Maybe we should talk out back," Ranma said leading her two girls out to the side yard.

"Where's your... cousins?" Naoko asked.

"Aside from Nariko Kuno of course," Sam stated.

They crossed to the back yard and Ranma sat down on a bench under a large oak. "I don't know what to say, I mean..."

"We're not pressuring you," Sam assured, sitting down next to her pale friend.

"We just want to make sure you're okay."

Ranma gave a bitter laugh. "I'm feeling great. Course if you knew..." she shook her head, causing her long tresses to spill over Sam.

"We're not stupid," Naoko said, while Sam tried to get Ranma's hair off of her.

"I know," Ranma sighed. "It'd be easier... oh well."

"Okay, what is it? Alien?" Naoko asked the hesitancy gone in her voice.

"Vampire?" Sam offered.

"Demon?" Naoko's tone was almost... hopeful.

"Werewolf?"

Ranma's blush had grown to almost human levels and she began to sputter. "Uh... what makes you say that?"

Naoko pointed to Ranma's hair, many of the strands still clinging to Sam.

"Oh."

"We know you're doing something," Sam looked down and rubbed her eyebrows. "I mean the flock of lesbians. Akane's new look. Tatewaki and Nabiki leaving and replacements showing up. That and the well... effect you guys have on everyone."

"We do look like this," Ranma said pointing to her chest.

"That's not all," Naoko said, noting the use of we.

"And look at our uniforms," Sam said pulling at the dark violet material of her seifuku.

"They look nice." Ranma said absently.

"Yes, very complimentary. They fit great and stay real clean too," Sam said dryly. She decided not to mention the absence of sticking on the seams.

"Look, don't worry," Naoko said kneeling down in front of Ranma. "You know us, we're not going to reject you. It's not like you're a cannibal."

Ranma's eyes widened.

"And even then it depends on who you've eaten," Sam added.

"Red's always been a good friend, I'm sure they had it coming. Hypothetically, of course."

Ranma twiddled with her fingers. "Well... there's a reason I look this way."

"And why the rest of your friends do too?" Naoko asked.

Ranma slowly nodded. "Oh, yeah. It's even related to my... well you know that secret."

"That you're a lesbian? That's not much of a secret. Or does it have to do with the scary secret agents you hang out with."

"Are the sunglasses really that obvious?" Ranma asked.

"Oh no, not at all," Sam said, remembering the van parked on the street, or the other people hanging around the property.

"Well, we'll start simple. I work with those 'secret agents', though they're more soldiers."

"Using your badass martial arts skills?"

Ranma laughed. "Yes, that's right."

"Well, unless you're insanely, insanely good no real group would use a high school girl, not without some training. So there's got to be something else," Sam mused.

"And it's probably related to all the weird fights and missing persons going on," Naoko added.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, there's a lot of bad people out there, and we fight them."

"And the rest of your... family is in on this too?"

"Even my mother. She's a Major and builds all of our weapons," Ranma said quietly.

"Good thing to keep secret," Sam gently stated.

"There's more isn't there? Some young... counter-terrorism girls, well, that doesn't make any sense, but even if it did. Why dress all sexy?" Naoko paused. "No why... why ooze sensuality?"

Ranma rubbed her forehead. She had risked worse rejection than this... or had she? She never knew her mother before meeting her, and she knew she would lose Kasumi as a lover. She chewed her lip for a moment. "I think you can guess," she said as her horns slid out into view.

"Cool!" Naoko gushed.

Sam reached out and poked one. "Cute little things."

The redhead purred slightly. "Really?" Ranma asked looking up.

"Well, I was right," Naoko smirked and held out her hand.

"I should have known vampire was wrong," Sam grumbled as she opened her purse. "You're nowhere near emo enough, but I thought maybe the media portrayal was wrong. You're pale, seductive... have fangs."

"That describes most of the mythological beings," Sam reminded as she affected a chipper smile.

"But you guessed demon?" Ranma asked.

"Well... not demon generally. With the body and clothes." Naoko left the unsaid question hang in the air.

Ranma chuckled. "Yes, yes I'm a succubus."

Naoko glanced to Sam and made another grabbing motion with her hand. "The rest of them are too right? That's what happened to Akane."

"And Nabiki..." Sam looked up from adding a bit more money to her friend's palm. "And Tatewaki? Oh wow... you mean Nariko's?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Yes, she's my eldest daughter."

"Daughter?" Naoko was curious. "So.. what, you turned them all?"

Sam interjected before Ranma could respond. "Duh. How else would they become demons? I guess some other demon could do it."

Ranma idly scratched her horns. "Yeah, there was this bad demon, she turned Akane, Nabiki, and Misako. I had to kill her," she said nervousness being replaced by happiness.

"That's when Akane and Nabiki left school for a while. And then they came back and your 'cousin' had died," Sam remarked.

"Yup, that's it. Was really sucky time. Before that I was having all these mother issues and then had to fight this evil selfish bitch."

"I don't know how I'd deal with having kids, especially ones my age."

Ranma shrugged. "The body takes care of a lot of it. We mature quickly and all that."

"Wait, so... you're a succubus right?" Naoko asked. Something was off. It explained things, but that did not exactly put her mind at ease.

The redhead pointed to her horns, and after a moment summoned her tail.

"Oh wow," Sam said as she grabbed the spade-ended appendage. "Really cool."

"So, how come you're a lesbian? I mean aren't you supposed to seduce guys? I mean you're all lesbians right? Sam and I are the only ones in the group that like guys."

Ranma paused and half-heartedly tried to wriggle her tail out of Sam's grip. "I think Misako likes guys. Akane's more into Nariko. Nabiki's still looking for a mate."

Sam let go of the tail. "Well, if Tatewaki became Nariko. Maybe there's no males."

"You need males, or maybe Nariko is the male of the species," Naoko countered.

"They could be hermaphrodites." Sam said. The thought was creepy, but not much more than that demons existed.

"How do they impregnate then?"

"They're sex demons, does it matter? I'm sure they find a way."

Ranma blushed and made a point of hiding her tail.

"True." Naoko tapped her chin. "So, a secret military organization is using sex demons as some type of elite soldiers? What to fight other sex demons?"

"Sounds like that show you had me watch last year," Sam muttered.

"La Blue girl didn't have a military organization in it."

"Well, we don't just fight demons. Pretty much any supernatural or secret organization, but it makes a lot of sense to use succubae. We're strong, fast, heal really quick, great sense of smell, can see in the dark, and there's the flying."

"You can fly?" Sam asked her eyes twinkling.

"What's a demon without wings? Of course she can fly. That makes sense. Good reasons to use demonic super soldiers. So, who's that blonde woman? Your handler? She's gotta be government."

Ranma nodded. "She's also my sister."

Naoko raised and eyebrow. "Since she doesn't look Japanese but is pale and well..."

"A knockout." Sam offered.

"So who isn't a demon?"

"Well... anyone that's male, and... well, Mom, Kasumi, you girls. Uh... that's about it."

"And Kasumi's part of this too? I mean she's gotta be right?" Sam asked. Kasumi's past incidents in High School made it too much of a coincidence.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, you two... well you're my only friends... that... I was keeping it a secret from."

"We know why you weren't telling us."

"Yeah, normal superhero reasons. Protecting us and all that."

"Secret agent sounds less lame. Superheroes are down there with magical girls. Silly uniforms and no killing," Sam sighed. "That nonsense is how you get the same damn enemy popping up again and again."

Ranma raised and eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You're a cannibal Sunny, and even if that's just eating other demons, that's still something namby-pamby 'good guys' don't do," Sam explained giving Ranma a hug.

"There's also you being a demon. Heh, a demon named Sunshine. That's too cute."

"My Dad's idea. Well, Drake helped on that." Ranma wanted to sigh, but she was being hugged.

"It's okay, Sunny."

"So, if your mom is human, how'd you become a succubus? Is your dad a demon lord or something?" Sam asked.

Ranma laughed. "Oh man, that's hilarious. No... no. He's human. I've just..." The redhead shook her head. "Do you two believe in reincarnation?"

"Does it matter? I mean you're a secret agent demon-girl," Sam smirked poking Ranma's horns.

"It does make sense." Naoko added. "Well, it explains the scary pale Goth girls."

Ranma inhaled. It was going to be a long story. "Well, it started with an ancient magical kingdom..."

End Chapter 11

Once again, I'd like to thank my pre-readers. They read through my most egregious mistakes so you don't have to. DGC, J St C Patrick, Terra, Pale Wolf, Wray, Kevin Hammel, Ikarus, and Jerry Starfire. Other thanks go to Stratagemini, Trimatter, PH Wise, Dorin, and others previously mentioned for some future planning.

I'd also like to give J St C Patrick special thanks for giving this chapter his attention and going over with again and again despite being very busy. I'm honored that he used his time to help me. Thanks.


Revision notes: Another fun one.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 12: Sharp Rescue
Formerly: Restoration and Regret Part 1



Three people sat on a bench in a back yard. It was a brisk fall afternoon. Of the three the redhead of the group was much more at ease and natural than normal. Naoko was amazed by the change, normally Red was sensual, to be fair she always exuded a sense of sex, but restrained. She often would have an air of exasperation and fear about her.

Now however, she was still sensual and restrained but she was... open. There was a frightening conviction to her. Below the serious Goth girl mask was a serious succubus.

Naoko chewed her lip. It was not much of a change, but that made sense. Why would Red bother pretending to be something she was not at school? Like a Goth? It would be easier to just try to act like the human version of her demon persona. The problems cropped up in that humans did not have children who were their own age.

"And let me tell you, reincarnation... it sucks." Ranma leaned back, and looked up at the sky. Part of her wanted to fly; it would be neat to show her friends that... but she was trying to limit the time spent in the air at her house. The neighbors had started to... comment.

"Least, you got a better life than the first time around," Sam offered. "I mean you had to deal with... what, how many sides?"

"There were the two invading demonic armies, the Terran kingdom, and a... goddess-like Moon Queen with her own expansion plans," the redhead looked at the four extended fingers and frowned. She was sure she was forgetting a group.

"And you just happened to be related to all of them," Sam noted. "If it was anyone but you, I'd think you were lying. That you were some creepy fangirl that thought she was a video game character. Cute purple tail or no."

"You think I liked it? Grandma and Serenity were nice." Ranma noted their blank faces. "Grandma BlackSky. She headed the smaller of the invading demon armies."

"And Serenity was the Moon Queen?" Sam asked. Once you accepted the far-fetched and insane premise, it was fairly straightforward. A power-hungry Moon Queen would want to take over the Earth. Especially, if she had the rest of the Solar system. And what better time than when the Earth was weakened by a demonic invasion? That Queen could even make herself out as the hero, and if she aligned herself with a succubus connected to both the demons and the Terran Royal family...

"Yup. Good leader, but guess she got soft in the head when she became a mom," Ranma frowned.

"We don't have to worry about that with you?" Sam teased.

The redhead swiveled her head, causing her eyes to lock onto her blonde friend. "No. Motherhood woke me up. I saw what I really was, what the world was, and knew what I had to do. It was the only choice I could make. I'm a brood-mother."

Sam was transfixed by the pair of purple pools. There was no glow, no eye-shine, but she could tell that her friend was not human. Compared to the eyes, the redhead's horns were minor additions. The deep violet depths revealed a being of raw vitality. She had expected demons to be... undead. Instead, her friend was alive, more alive than either of them. Here was a being that controlled life: she could take it, consume it, shape it, even create it.

Sam cleared the throat. "Nariko was your first."

Ranma blinked, and when Sam looked into her eyes they were less intense but the pattern was still there. It was like seeing a hidden picture. Once she saw the leering old man made out of tree branches; it was impossible to not see him, or in this case, even when they were not glowing she could tell that Ranma's eyes were not human.

The redhead nodded. "Yes, and... I didn't see.. I didn't want to see. Acknowledging what she was... what I was."

"Denial is a powerful thing." Sam agreed. It had been a long time before she let herself see what her parents were. It was easier to pretend that their parties were just normal social events. If she faced the truth... she would have to confront them or accept what they were doing. Neither option appealed to a teenage girl, with her own sexual issues.

Ranma nodded, and leaned onto Sam's shoulder. "Then there was the guilt. Nariko... she never gave up, she put her faith into me. She thought I was the greatest."

"Certainly explains the mug," Naoko glibly stated and immediately regretted it as Ranma's eyes started to water.

"She didn't deserve me. I wasn't good enough. I had abandoned her!" Ranma blinked back her tears and steeled herself. "She didn't care though. She didn't want some perfect mother. She wanted me." Ranma smiled. "She believed in me."

"Tatewaki was very stubborn," Sam said.

"Nariko is too. No matter how much I pushed her away or tried to forget... she was there, waiting. Then, once I accepted..." Ranma looked down.

"She forgave you for what you did?"

"No." Ranma said in a quiet voice. "She never blamed me in the first place. Having Mommy was enough for her. She did help me forgive myself though. She hated to see me sad."

"Awww, so her faith in you turned your life around?"

Ranma smiled. "Yeah, started being a sappy demon mom, for them."

"It must be great for them to have such a supportive Mom," Sam wistfully stated.

"Yeah, and my own mom's been wonderful. She helped me through this and never rejected me."

Sam nodded.

Naoko blinked. She knew Sam's mother. The woman was very understanding, much more than her own mother who had some very stiff and rigid ideas about sex.

Sam chewed her lip. "You saved Tatewaki's life in that school attack, but what about the others?"

"Same story really. I had to save them. Akane was shot by Kasumi, and Ukyou-"

"What? Is she insane?" Sam asked.

"Oh no, Akane was turned into a demon by Alexia, and was sent back here to try to kill me, or at least cause a mess. Fortunately, Kasumi and Nariko stopped her, but you can't stop a demon easily."

Sam frowned. "Alexia... didn't you say she was your cousin... the one that died?"

Ranma nodded. "She was a selfish, insane bitch. Grandma exiled her, and she figured killing me would get her back into Grandma's good graces."

"But BlackSky doted over you, and destroyed a whole demon army when you were killed... the first time." Sam was starting to wish she had been taking notes.

"Thanks for implying that I'll die again." Ranma shook her head. "Alexia had heard the stories of DarkStar's life, but she thought I was a traitor, working with the humans. Seeing my relationship with the Company proved it all over again in her mind."

"What kind of moron was she?"

"The kind that gave herself a deep carrot-like tan."

Sam looked down at Ranma's bone-white skin, and recalled that the rest of the clique... brood, were the same pallor. "What did she do? Paint it on?"

Ranma nodded. "Misako said that it took half an hour every day, not counting the time in the tanning booths to set it."

"Why waste time with spray-on tans? Isn't that what magic's for?" Naoko asked.

Ranma held up her arm.

"Yeah with skin like that wouldn't you fry in the sun?" Naoko paused. "Wait... no I've never seen you get any color."

"It's just how we are," Ranma shrugged. "I wouldn't be shocked it we came in other colors, or could change to them."

"Okay, you had to save Akane, but that doubled your kids," Sam said.

"Yes, I was starting to really get deep into it." Ranma paused wondering if she should mention her birth form. They knew that succubae changed genders, but it did not really matter. At the very least she would tell them to call her Ranma before this was over.

"And the others... Alexia grabbed Nabiki?"

"Actually yeah, but not before Alexia turned Ryoga." Ranma smirked at their blank faces. They had no idea who Aurora was, let alone Ryoga or Acolyte Hibiki. "He was a grade school rival of mine, who ended up joining a cult. Got some glowing aura powers, an umbrella sword, and went after me. Partnered up with another rival from my childhood too."

Sam and Naoko exchanged a flat look. "You're kidding us?" Sam slowly asked. She sighed. "No, you're not."

"Yeah, my life's always been weird. So, Alexia found it a wonderful opportunity. Ryoga was a good fighter, but not good enough to defeat her. Alexia also got a kick out of turning a male demon-hating acolyte into a primping succubus. So she made Aurora, an aggressive girl that hated me just as much as Ryoga did."

"What about his partner?" Sam asked.

"Ukyou?" Naoko guessed.

"That's her. Well she was... afraid. Like Ryoga, she'd joined the Assembly of Man to get revenge on me. They offered them powers in return for fighting demons. That I ended up being an actual demon seemed like proof to them.

"But Ukyou, she was worried. She started seeing the Assembly for what it was, a cynical cult that used its members. She saw Ryoga being turned into a true fanatic. She wanted out. After Ryoga was turned, she defected to the Company.

"She still hated me, but she was at least happy to be out. Even started to warm up to me. I'm shocked when I called her cute she didn't try to mount me."

"You are a succubus. Who wouldn't want to have sex with you?" Naoko smirked.

"Tease," Ranma stuck out her tongue. "Then came the attack. Aurora wanted to show off her new body, and take Ukyou as her mate. Guess that worked out in the end."

"Ukyou was taken?"

"No just wounded. Ukyou had talked enough with me and Nariko to realize that demons can be... well..."

"Human?" Sam ventured, idly running her hand through Ranma's rich hair.

"Close enough." Ranma adjusted so Sam could get a better grip, and maybe get both hands in. "That's how I got my third daughter, and lost my first friend."

"Huh?"

Ranma looked down. "Aram Kowalski, he died in that battle. Remember what I said about the Company? He went down fighting. The rest of the Alexia story's a mess. She took Akane remade Eclipse. She stole Nabiki. She had a habit of turning everyone she could get her hands on.

"Most of them she neglected and they turned into simple minions. Easy to make but physically young and mentally..." Ranma's tone became venomous. "It was horrible. They were her daughters. She used them. When they died she just made more."

"What about Aurora and Eclipse and whoever she made Nabiki into?" Sam asked.

"Oh, her daughters?" Ranma gave a bitter laugh. "They were dress-up dolls. You should have see how she had them dress. Akane wore practically no clothes, too much jewelry and slut-war paint, Misako was in evening wear, tanned and used a tackle box worth of makeup, and Nabiki was made into a pink little sister."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "They're kinda still like that, Sunny."

"Welcome to the fun world of succubae. Sure we can fly and look great, but we're also sexually dependent violent killers that can be dominated and warped by our mothers."

"Why not just reset them back?"

"What are these wings like? Leathery? Big? Feathers" Naoko interrupted.

Ranma blinked. "No feathers. Well, they're large enough to fly with.."

"That's so cool! Can we see?"

"Not here, but I know a place."

"Makes sense, you are a demon." To herself, Sam repeated the statement. As long as one accepted that part, the rest was... mundane. "So why didn't you just fix your girls?"

"Because then I'd be like Alexia. Eating her body is close enough for me. It's not like there's a switch to reset them. At least Akane had the first time she was my daughter to aim for; she was pretty okay. Bit of a stubborn, mouthy girl at times."

Sam nodded. "Sounds like Akane."

Naoko snickered.

"But Nabiki and Misako.... Misako didn't even have that name. She was just a poor succubus that had seen her beloved mother ripped apart by her worst enemy."

"But Ryoga was tricked by Alexia! Alexia was a monster that used her." Sam gave her hands a rest, but left them on Ranma's back.

"How does that matter? Alexia created her, and sure the love was cynical and twisted but it was all Aurora had. Love is a powerful thing. Aurora couldn't go back. The Assembly would kill her on sight; they've tried a lot. She's too female to be Ryoga. I'd have never taken her, but Ukyou was insistent."

"But you were her mom." Naoko stepped closer and knelt down to Ranma's level. "You said that succubus mothers are powerful, wouldn't that really mess with her mind?"

Ranma nodded. "She had a breakdown. We tried our best."

"You did good," Sam said. squeezing her friend's hand. "Misako isn't as mature or responsible as Nariko, but she seems very happy, if a bit too loyal and... strange."

"Yeah, she's figured that since I killed Alexia, that I'm a better mother. Training and battle's only reinforced that."

"That explains her... exuberance."

Ranma gave a little smile. "I can even see some Ryoga in her when she taunts in battle, but the point is that I didn't force her to be something. That'd be wrong; I helped her become who she wanted to be."

"Nabiki wants to be Nabiki Saotome? Cute and little and pink?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Nabiki wanted a mother. She's also pretty vain, but didn't like putting in all the effort to look... good. She was an opportunist. Being a demon gave that to her."

"The pink's just a side effect?" Sam sounded uncertain.

"I could remove it, but would it be worth it? I could have made her bigger too, forced her to be the middle sister, but why should I force her mind to some human ideal? Overcoming what Alexia did to her is hard enough without me adding new baggage."

"But she's not overcoming it if she's still the cute little sister," Naoko argued.

"Neither is Nariko by staying female and being a nice big sister." Ranma paused. "I guess overcome is the wrong word. We can't change what we are or what we've been made into but we can adapt and make the most of it. I wanted my daughters to be more than Alexia's dolls."

"Okay," Sam eased back. "So... reincarnation. Did that Moon Queen do it too? Is she running around here?"

"She reincarnated me but..." Ranma shook her head sadly. "No, her kingdom came out ahead and lasted for a while after I died. Then she had kids and," she raised a hand and flipped it over, "it's the one thing she screwed up as. When her kingdom fell she sent her daughter and the others forward."

"Others?"

"Yeah, whole gaggle of magical girls." She rubbed the bridge of her nose.

Naoko gave the redhead a long stare. "Well... they did work for a magical kingdom on the Moon."

"Magical girls? With the silly speeches and creepy fan-service uniforms?"

Ranma sighed.

Sam tried to imagine a lacy and bowed girl waving a sparkly wand standing next to a gruff agent in black body armor holding a large rifle. It did not work. Her attempt to match up a magical girl and a succubus worked better, if much more graphic.

"The problem... the problem is that they got these powers. They got them before they learned how to fight." Ranma chuckled. "What made it worse was that it worked. Apparently, they beat a lot of bad guys, even saved the world a few times. All while standing in front of the enemy and making speeches."

"Wouldn't that get you shot?" Sam asked.

Ranma shrugged. "I dunno, before my time. I'm new to this, didn't know there were rules. I just figured: kill the bad guys."

"Are they at least powerful? Do they know how to fight?"

"They've got some serious magic, strong and resilient too, but as for their close-in fighting..." Ranma gave a noncommittal wave of her hand. "They're getting better." She laughed. "Course that's why little Akumi split off with her evil club."

"Akumi?" Sam asked.

"Evil club. How much have you been keeping secret from us?"

"I'm a teenaged mother of five, a succubus, queen of the earth... I think, part of one of the larger global conspiracies, and it's that Ami and Janet were lesbian lovers that turned evil is the one you guys are shocked at?"

"Huh," Sam rubbed her chin. "Well, we knew those two were lesbians."

"They were only a little bit less blatant than you," Naoko added. "So are all the new transfers magical girls?"

"There's Rod and Hiraku."

"As weird as they are? They're probably KGB or dentists."

"Probably," Ranma agreed, making a note to ask Eve about those two.

"So... let me guess. Ami and Naru started wearing black... leather, getting more... aggressive. Maybe some increase in curves?"

"Not every lesbian is a sensual femme fatale," Sam admonished.

Naoko simply pointed to Ranma.

Ranma coughed. "She did start wearing that corset, and the ice skirt, and then the evening dress."

"That's... not comfortable," Sam said raising an eyebrow.

"Neither are the heels she wears," Ranma agreed.

"We can't all wear big boots with clunky heels."

"They're comfortable and practical."

"Less than a flat boot," Naoko reminded.

Ranma pointed to herself. "Succubus, remember?"

"Wait, you have to wear sexy clothes?"

"Used to. Was a curse I was under, where I was stuck in a leather mini-dress."

"Just one dress?" Sam wrinkled her nose.

"Magic clothes. Anyway, it got better when I came to school here," Ranma gave a sarcastic smile. "I had two sets of clothes! The leather miniskirt and my uniform."

"That's what you meant when you said you made that uniform?" Sam asked.

Naoko blinked. "I thought you liked it. You girls wear it now; we wear them now!"

"Explains the lack of seams," Sam muttered.

"Yeah... I've had some... changes. Whole demon mommy thing. It wasn't fun alone, being stuck with a stupid name." Ranma then found herself being hugged by both her friends.

"It's okay. We're not going to reject you," Naoko assured.

"Yeah, we remember the sad Sunny," Sam added. "It makes sense to us."

Ranma purred. "Really? You're just going to... accept me?"

Naoko broke the hug. "We knew you were a scary, serious lesbian with something strange going on with your 'cousins'. This just explains it."

Sam chewed on her lip in thought. "Going to school under the name 'Sunshine Saotome' a new thing?"

"Uh, yeah."

"What was your name before that?"

"Ranma," the redhead said automatically.

"But Ranma's your brother."

"Who we haven't seen in months," Naoko added.

"The last time was at a coffee shop when he was with Nariko." Sam noticed the slight blush on Sunshine's cheeks. "Come to think of it... I've never seen you with your brother."

Ranma sighed. "Do I really have to say it?"

"I dunno, maybe Red's brother is off with Tatewaki."

Sam shook her head. "No, he's with Nabiki Tendo." She turned to Ranma. "So you were a guy. Huh, and so were Nariko and Misako."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Yes, and we're more girly than Nabiki, Akane, and Ukyou. I know."

"You, 'girly'?" Sam laughed.

"I'm wearing tight leather and dark eyeshadow," Ranma pouted.

"Yes, but that's just you. It's like your hair. It has to be open and wild like that."

Naoko nodded. "Yeah, can you imagine it braided up?"

"I don't I think it would fit her," Sam said running her hand though the thick mane. "It's hard enough to believe that you can put it up for school in that bun-ponytail thing of yours."

Ranma shrugged. Her hair mostly behaved itself.

"So dark conspiracies, magical girls, guns, sex; sounds fun," Naoko evaluated.

"You're kidding, right?" Sam tugged an eyelid to get an eyelash out of her eye. "It's a miracle Red's sane."

"You know, my name's really Ranma?" the redhead asked.

"Awww, so we can't call you Sunny anymore?" Sam pouted half seriously.

"Don't you try to be cute on me." Ranma grumbled.

"You think I'm cute?" Sam laughed, and wondered if she should be more forward and try asking a guy out instead of waiting on him.

"Now, you got her started," Naoko sighed. "It's pointless Sam, we call her 'Red' far more often anyway."

"It's a real compliment to be called cute by a succubus," Sam defended.

"I guess," Naoko relented.

Ranma rubbed her forehead. "Guys, I'm not some fashion expert."

"You made your own school uniform."

"That was magic." Ranma flatly stated as she looked out into the woods behind her. At least there was some form of argument, it was still odd. "Um, you guys are.. okay with this?"

"The school's been attacked, there's been rashes of bizarre murders, strange men and black helicopters about and we end up with a group of vaguely-scary Goth girls that are really good at martial arts."

"Frankly, it's a relief that you're just a demon."

Ranma blinked. Sometimes, her friends could be pretty weird.

***************


With a warm smile that never reached her eyes on her face, Galina A'deen stepped out onto the balcony of the suite she had reserved for her team. The luxuries their self-employment offered were rather nice, and it was the least she could do. There would be few chances to dominate a hotel's kitchen with special orders, including sending out for some of the more exotic items.

Galina turned to see lanky Ivanova still cradling the bottle as the other girls poked at her with empty and full tumblers. It was a horrible rot-gut, and Galina was amazed to find it available outside of the Motherland. There was no cap, just a non-resealable foil cover, but Ivanova loved it. She said it reminded her of home. That bitter irony caused the smile to finally reach her eyes.

Arisha stepped onto the balcony and stared out into the city. "The girls seem to be enjoying themselves."

"It was good that you found that bakery. It was nice to have some proper black bread." Galina muttered as she watched them. Ivanova had pushed the others away and as she slumped onto the couch the bottle slipped. Twisting as she fell, she reached out and grabbed the tumbling bottle by the neck. Impressive reflexes aside, she was still soaked.

"Chetyre's getting clumsy again," Arisha noted without turning.

Galina's mood dropped and became icy cold. "Not even going to entertain that it's just drunken silliness?"

"We don't get drunk, and you shouldn't hope that it's just an accident."

"She cleared her physical. Interface is fine, structure good, her power cell has ten more years."

"Wonderful, it'll outlast the rest of her," Arisha dryly remarked

"I'll have Svetlana and Sem look her over again. They may have missed something."

"Possible. It's not like we know everything. Even with the blueprints, we're still guessing half the time." Arisha gave a bit of a smile. "But we're learning more and more each time."

"I don't even think Comrade Scaglietti knew the whole story."

"The Colonel merely headed the research. If anyone's to blame it's that stubby zampolit that hovered about him. It's traitors like him that cost us. Self-important little political officers and functionaries, they acted like tin-pot Tsars. That held us back. Proletariat sentimentality, we were the future. We were supposed to be a Technocracy from the start. That was how the New Soviet Man was to be made, and lead humanity to a better age."

Galina frowned. She did not want to dwell on the past, not tonight. "We can be that again, the situation..."

"The situation? Oh yes, the Motherland is sharpening its sword and strengthening its shield. But to protect what? Yes, impressive restorations in the Organs of State, but not in the ways that matter. Who does the sword work for? What does the shield protect now?"

Arisha's eyes flared as she spat. "A checcka pig and his oligarch- let's be honest- bourgeoisie cronies. Hah. We were warned about the seductive call of capitalism, and look what it's doing to our homeland. Look what it's done to us."

"Yes, there used to be twelve; a quarter of us are gone already. We can't keep doing these missions forever."

"What are we supposed to do?" Arisha asked." Our homeland has fallen and the West's decadence keeps growing."

"Yes, they're afraid of being offended. Maybe that's something, nationalization is just a euphemism."

"What? Human Rights Commissions and Speech Codes?" Arisha smirked. "Those don't count. Sure, they regulate speech and operate outside of the court system, but so did the Volksgerichtshof. Now granted, no one over here's started executing people for distributing pamphlets, but they are prosecuting people for 'offensive speech'. The State being the moral arbiter for everything is something the Fascists did. "

"And the Motherland," Galina mildly reminded.

Arisha's brow furrowed. "That's different. That's the whole point. Political doctrine is everything. Without the correct ideology, the organs of the state just exist to keep power. Without an actual reason for it all, controlling the populace..." She shook her head. "There's a reason the Fascists copied so many of our methods. It shouldn't surprise us that the West is doing the same too."

"The checcka did spend years cultivating 'useful idiots.' " Galina allowed.

Arisha nodded. "Even here in this client-state of the Main enemy."

"Yes, the capitalists were most cruel, letting puppet nations actually think they're independent and that sovereignty means something." Galina smirked. "The Europeans are busy building their own guiding bureaucracy, covering such important continental issues as sizing playground equipment and inappropriate names for livestock."

"If anything this, all shows the decadence of the West. The wine are happy to let their Oligarchs pervert technocracy into a new opiate of the masses, distraction, control, chains. Some of these fools actually thought Batista's usurper had created a paradise, or that we were misunderstood. They were such pathetic traitors; it really was for the best that they fell under our influence. Better than the Chinese, at least."

"And then we fell."

"And people without doctrine, without the correct ideology, still tainted by their dedacende tried to replicate our work..." Arisha spat.

Galina raised an eyebrow. "Poor deluded fools."

"Indeed."

"Where are you going?"

"This gives us some future options. I mean, if the West is creeping this way..."

"What, take advantage of things? Help things get more secure? Make some "Totalitarianism With A Smiley Face'?" Galina tiredly asked. Arisha was hard to stop when she got wound up.

"Sure, toss in a few other buzzwords. Make some harmonic multi-cultural sustainable collectivism. The romantic fools would lap it up; people love being able to save the world. Where else can you get a feminist anti-war club, a militant Maoist cult, and a Sharia law advocating alliance rally for the same 'revolution'."

"All had been fraternal socialists allies in the past. That's why the same people fell for Worker Solidarity," Galina remarked leaning out onto the balcony.

Arisha glared. "You still believe, right?"

Galina turned, eyes narrowing. "Believe? Faith is an opiate, whether it's for religion or ideology. Anything that cannot be logically deduced from actual evidence is weakness, an illusion. Communism is perfect. There is no arguing about that."

"Then why the doubts?"

Laughing, Galina turned back to her subordinate. Her politicizing of everything was annoying, but it was proper doctrine. Politics were everything. "You should know why. It's the whole reason we were made."

Arisha sighed. "Yes, I know. Communism is perfect; humanity is not."

"That's where we were supposed to come in. A new age, the latest development, the New Soviet Man." Galina looked back into the suite at her "men" and smiled broadly.

"But it was canceled. We were... too expensive." Arisha clenched her fists.

"The politburo would rather purchase more arms trying to match some actor and his CIA flunky. Never mind that they had a project that could truly bring about changes. Their ideology demanded it, but we saw how much they cared about ideology."

"You think Comrade Scaglietti was..."

Galina leveled her gaze "There were questions, people wondered about his loyalty. Especially on such a radical project."

"But his father was a communist guerrilla. He died fighting the Blackshirts."

"Italy was a mess then, is a mess now. It is Italy." Galina sighed. "Mussolini was a classist traitor, abandoning his socialist roots. He worked for a socialist party and wrote for Il Popolo, and edited L'Avvenire del Lavoratore."

"Yes, Future of the Worker. A promising publication." Arisha clenched her fists. "To think that a man who seemed to be such a... respected socialist would betray us so completely. He invented Fascism. He twisted something that would benefit, all workers, all of humanity, into something just for his country. How petty, how power hungry."

"At least Il Duce's comrades were able correct him in '45." Galina shook her head.

"Mussolini's why Scaglietti's mother fled East."

"Yes, for someone whose father rallied against the very birthing of fascism, all they could see was his Mediterranean blood."

"His loyalty should never have been questioned!" Arisha bristled.

Galina took a sip. "His loyalty to what? The Party? The Motherland? The Politburo? International Worker Solidarity? The Glorious Future?"

Turning, Arisha stared out at the city before them.

"If anything, he was too trusting, he put too much... faith in his superiors. By the time he realized what was happening..."

"It was too late."

"And almost too late for us."

Arisha glowered. "Yes, the humiliation of being... saved by those opiate peddlers."

"Better than being liquidated by a State betraying its ideology, or maybe we would have been sold off to foreign governments, like so much other military hardware."

***************


"Any news?" Usagi asked after Setsuna entered the apartment.

"Ami's been busy," Setsuna sighed as she sat down on the couch. "She's made a few changes." She pulled out a few photographs. The first one had a golden figure and a purple-haired woman in an approximation of a Sailor Senshi uniform.

Usagi frowned at the smooth and bulky figure that, hopefully, was merely concealing Minako. "She took her face."

"Yes." Setsuna pulled up another photograph.

Makoto looked in from the kitchen. "Where'd you take these from?"

"We have been watching Ami's lair," Setsuna stated.

"Is it me, or is Naru growing up?" Usagi muttered with a deep frown.

"Ami has been turning people, look at what she's doing to Mina," Makoto said walking over to get a better view of the photograph.

"What's the sick dominatrix doing this time?" Rei asked as she left her room. She looked at the photo of the golden figure sword fighting with a purple-haired woman. "Damn... she's making Mina into a real toy, isn't she?"

"She's gonna want to make the rest of us like Mina," Makoto muttered.

"Why not? Ami's trying to show off how much 'better' she can make all of us," Rei sneered.

Usagi stared at the pictures and clenched her jaw. The image of a corseted Ami teasing her old auburn-haired friend loomed in her memory. Her gaze slowly went to the glowing red eyes of Venus' blank face.

"This isn't good," Makoto grumbled.

"What are we going to do?" Rei asked. "It's just going to get worse. It's only a matter of time before Ami gets another one of us."

"What then? We can't just wait for her to come and get us." Makoto turned to Usagi. "You have any ideas?"

The blonde blinked and slowly worked her jaw. Eventually she found her voice. "I can't let this happen. I can't let Ami do this to all of you."

"Finally in the mood to mount an assault?" Makoto idly asked.

Usagi narrowed her eyes and turned to Setsuna. "Make the call."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "To Ranma, or should we call the Company instead? They are her... business contact."


Usagi nodded. "To the Company. I'll call Ranma. We need to do something. Ami has to be stopped."

***************


Morgan leaned down on the roof top and idly adjusted her Ghillie-suit so that it covered her head. At least her wings could be summoned at will, she noted. As handy as they were, they were conspicuous even when folded up. A less obtrusive and more violent object, her tail twitched and moved below the outline-concealing coverall.

Similarly concealed was the massive bulk of the WIC Munitions 25mm SSS. Even with matte paint, a sixty-two inch weapon gave a noticeable silhouette, and needed a similar method of concealment.

Her position on the roof, and even the roof itself were selected not just for its own views, but the proximity to other perches. An intelligent enemy would have their own sharpshooters in place. She licked her lips at the chance. Her new weapon practically begged it. She had always been a predator. Demonhood merely increased her options.

Settling down, Morgan focused the lenses and began the main part of her mission. She inhaled and expanded her senses. The brownstone was unassuming, even the various energies emanating from it were unassuming. Her attention slowly moved, and she was able to sense Pattern Silvers and her... mother and family. Command had also radioed in: overhead surveillance matched what she could smell. They reported that orbiting drones also detected no visual activity.... yet. It was about to begin.

***************


A blaring alarm broke Mercury from her sleep. Righting herself, she tossed aside a silk sheet and the still-dazed form of Orion. After Mercury summoned her computer, her eyes widened at the display.

A disturbing arrangement of symbols appeared around the perimeter. "Orion! Transform! Call Virgo!" Mercury ordered. She was about to activate Venus via the golden Senshi's alcove, when a sustained series of explosive thuds started up.

"What the hell's that?" Orion asked after completing the call to Virgo.

The thudding gave way to a loud crack followed by much closer explosions. "The brood." Mercury frowned at the display over her eyes. Apparently, magical shielding was one thing, but an automatic grenade launcher was another.

"Teleport?" Orion asked.

Transforming to her battle armor, a corset and ice-skirting, Mercury shook her head.

"They jammed us? What do we do?" Orion asked, wondering which self-destruct system they would have to use.

Mercury was about to advocate the survivability of surrender when the camera feed from the foyer caught her attention. The whole room was ruined, valuable woodwork and tiling had been thoughtlessly destroyed, but there was an upside. Instead of seeing leather-clad demons or armored agents, she saw a different group rushing in.

The blue-haired woman allowed herself a slight smile. "Looks like our queen's taking a personal interest."

Orion's mood brightened. "We're not doomed?"

Already in her Senshi Seifuku Virgo stepped into the room. "The upstairs is still clear, Mistress."

"It's still early," Mercury said as she flipped her tessen at the opening door. The war fans rapidly cooled causing some ice to fall to the floor.

Virgo's glare quickly vanished. "Who's attacking?"

"Senshi. We've got some leeway." As her composure reformed, Mercury adjusted her silver ring with its single obsidian stone. "Orion, when we leave, set the storage charges. Even if you've seen me do it. Virgo you and Venus will close in while we cover them. We've just got to delay them."

"The demons are here too?" Virgo asked as she gripped one of her blades.

"Oh, yes," Mercury laughed as she locked down the interior compartments of the house. "Our Queen's trying to prove she can fight with the big girls."

Another explosion went off, this one almost beneath them. "Remember, we've beaten them before."

The trio went down into Mistress Mercury's throne room. Venus was already standing, facing the armored doors. While the doors themselves were being damaged, the translucent-blue sheen of the shield was holding.

One final hit and the shield dropped, Mercury rotated her tessen and a few dozen icicles shot into the hole, where they met an iridescent ripple and were flung aside. Mars and Jupiter were the first through, and were caught by Virgo and Venus' blades.

Eyebrows going up, Mercury noticed that her former friends did not pause but cast spells right onto their foes. Arm flaming, Mars punched Venus in the side and caused some golden armor to drip onto the floor,

Her forwards pushed aside, Mercury watched as Sailor Moon strode into the room. Her pace was brisk and purposeful. Standing behind her and to the side with her staff leveled was Sailor Pluto.

"You finally decided to be proactive?" Mercury forced herself to smirk. "Orion, please entertain, Puu. The Queen and I need some privacy."

Eyes still narrowed, Sailor Moon kept moving forward. She held her scepter at her side, but it seemed to be dead weight.

"No speech on how your love will save me? No comment on justice? I'm surprised. Maybe all this working with demons is affecting you. Did it feel good to buy the services of a man-eater?" Mercury quietly asked as she looked up to see how Virgo and Venus were doing.

"Why are you doing this?" Mars demanded as she tried to block one of Venus strikes.

Venus seemed to pause. The face featureless, save the even glow of its red eye-slits. Finally seeming to use its entire surface, the golden warrior spoke. "Understanding will come after the Mistress improves you."

Across from them Virgo grinned. "Outsider-girl has gotten better," she said after grounding a bolt of lightning with one of her swords which then absorbed the energy.

Jupiter chuckled and stepped back to get closer to Mars.

"They can't win," Mercury dryly noted as she motioned for Orion to attack.

The auburn-haired girl lunged forward, locking staffs with Pluto. The green-haired woman paused briefly, almost as if she did not know what she held in her hands. After Orion's blade sliced a gash over her cheek, Pluto straightened up and flipped her staff over, nearly knocking Orion's away.

Shaking her head, Mercury strode forward to meet her queen. "It was a good try. You used your allies, you even got into my throne room." She clapped her hands. "I was even scared when this began? Do you know why?"

Still silent, Sailor Moon stepped forward. She looked around and saw her friends fighting... each other. Her gaze lowered.

"You could have brought the demons in. They would have beaten us, easily. And we could have stayed alive. Probably like them, but in for a penny in for a pound." Unsummoning a tessen, Mercury reached out and touched Sailor Moon's shoulder. "You hesitated."

Sailor Moon shivered at the contact but she still stepped forward. The blonde started to whisper, it was a quiet almost defeated voice.

"I know why you really came. You've learned, but only enough to realize that you need me." Vanishing her other weapon, Mercury put her right hand around her queen's side and. "Is that why you're here? Don't be ashamed, I'll make sure the others still look up to you."

Unresisting to the contact, Sailor Moon nodded, but the whispering did not stop.

Mercury leaned her head in. Bright pain cracked into her chin as Sailor Moon jabbed her scepter into the blue-haired woman's jaw. She had a brief moment to scream before a giant white light burst from the scepter right into her head. Light consuming her, Mercury moaned in pain and slumped to the floor in a heap.

"You're right. I couldn't win," Sailor Moon said, holding her scepter over the Mercury's gasping form. Her tone was quiet and sad. "Not by playing fair, at least."

"Mistress!" Orion screamed, as she tried to run towards her, but Pluto stepped in and blocked her path.

The blue-haired girl blinked. Groaning, she lifted her head. "Usagi... what's... what's going on?" She looked down and gasped. "What am I wearing?" She winced and poked her jaw. "Oww..."

Hope welled within Sailor Moon. "Ami?" she cautiously asked.

"Yeah," the girl-genius winced again, but her attention focused past the blonde. "Usagi. You've got to help Rei and Makoto!"

The blonde turned to see blood splash from Jupiter's side as Virgo got a hit in. The brunette screamed, and fell when the flat of the blade hit her head. Meanwhile Mars had been cornered by Venus, who was holding her in place. Flames danced around Mars, but all they did was melt and soften some of the golden armor; the grip was held strong.

Sailor Moon heard movement. She turned her back around, and jabbed forward with her scepter. The edge to one of the wings at the end of the handle thrust into Mercury's shoulder and cut deeply, pouring blood over the faceted crystal.

Still woozy, Mercury screamed and stumbled back to her knees. "Stupid sharp thing. Guess trying the same trick back on you was a bit tacky." She grumbled holding her shoulder.

"Why must you be so difficult?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Knock her out, and finish Virgo," Pluto said as she kept Orion at bay. She wished she could do more, but...

Sailor Moon nodded. "You'll thank me when this is over," she said turning back to Mercury.

"Maybe," Mercury said as she pulled on the obsidian stone on her ring. It cracked and there was a flash. Unlike the blinding purity of Sailor Moon's attack, this was simply blinding, painful light. There was also a smell somewhat like spoiled beets and burning tin.

Unable to see, Mars felt herself being pulled away and made her move. Flames intensifying, she slipped a hand loose from Venus' drippy grip. reached up, and after some scrambling rammed her thumb and pointer finger onto the eye slits and cast her spell.

A fireball appeared and smashed onto Venus' faceplate, which started to melt. The figure stopped, and dropped to the ground, still holding Mars. Feminine screaming emanated and was then cut off.

After a few seconds, Mars could make out vague shapes. She slowly saw the damage she had done to Venus. At least a blank face gave the hope of a human one underneath, but the molten broken mess that went deep into Venus' head sickened Mars.

She wiped her mouth and stood back up. "Oh god..." In an exchange of one kind of horror to an entirely new one, Mars looked over to see Venus' arm twitch and reach out.

"They got away," Moon said, as she held the bloody scepter at her side.

Mars looked over to see a door on the side of the chamber that was ajar. "Do we..."

Moon shook her head and pointed to the others. "It's just us." She stepped over to Pluto who was on the ground curled up retching.

"That dirty little bitch!" Pluto managed to gasp out in between emptying the contents of her stomach.

"Uh... what about Makoto.... and Minako?"

Sailor Moon knelt beside Pluto. "Will you be okay?"

"Give me... moment." Sailor Pluto nodded and rocked back and forth a bit. Her skin had a slightly iridescent sheen.

The blonde went over to the unconscious form of Jupiter. The white light managed to make the cut vanish and her breathing seemed better. It seemed to do. Her frown deepened as she came to Venus.

It looked like a facemask was smashed into an empty helmet. The rest of its armor was heavily warped and melted, even at the joints which moved with difficulty. The figure was trying to sit upright, and one unevenly glowing eye slit stared at Sailor Moon. "Mina..."

"We need to tell the others that they got away," Mars reminded. "They may have stopped them."

"You do it," Sailor Moon said, not taking her eyes off of the golden figure.

Mars nodded and ran back out of the throne room.

Closing her eyes, Sailor Moon centered herself. She opened them, and saw the same large, broken, melted monstrosity. She raised her scepter, and with light emanating from it, moved it like a torch over the figure. Golden fluid melted and broke off in thick streams and heavy chunks.

For a brief moment Sailor Moon feared that it would all melt away, but she focused. Minako was still in there, she had to be. Her faith paid off when a slim female figure started to emerge from within the light. A final thin golden coating flaked away revealing human, if tanned skin. A helmet crest, turned to a Mohawk before filling out into a full head of hair.

As solid red eyes faded into blue, the nude figure closed her eyes, and then opened them again. She blinked again, seemingly fascinated with this new ability. Her eyes focused on the other blonde, then she leapt up and embraced Sailor Moon and began to cry.

"It's okay," Moon reassured.

"You got her," Pluto said as she rose to her feet. In a personal affront unique to her, the room seemed off-kilter to her. "At least some good came of this."

"What happened to you?" Mars asked as she led in a couple medics and agents. The armed men and demons rushed to the side door and entered it.

"You girls can smell that, right?"

"The rotten vegetable stuff? Of course." Rei asked as she helped Jupiter onto a litter.

"Part of that special flash bang, well, she added a scent that I'm especially allergic to." Pluto gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. She needed to focus. "Mercury escaped, didn't she?"

"We think she slipped into some tunnels under the building. It looks like she dug into the access conduits under the streets," Captain Jarvis stated after consulting with her subordinates. She gave the blondes a passing glance; they both smelled like Pattern Silvers, at the least. "None of our sharpshooters saw them get out. We've put some people in the tunnels but..."

"Even if they dead-end, she just has to get far enough to be outside jammer range." Sailor Pluto said, finally feeling a bit more herself.

"It was not a total loss," Eve stated, she wanted to admonish them for turning down direct support. A bit more help and things could have ended tonight, but the client, Miss Tsukino, had insisted on doing things her way.

Minako coughed and spit up a bit of golden slime. She stared at it and looked around the floor. For some reason, the pounds and pounds of golden ooze and armor had just vanished. She turned back to Moon, who was still hugging her. "You saved me,"

Eve nodded, walked back to the side door resting a hand on her holster. She wished Ranma was here, and briefly marveled at having family that she could rely upon for emotional support. She looked at the tunnel and sighed. It was likely that the enemy had already left, but even a routine search would be more satisfying than... this. But someone had to be here, and she would rather the rest of her family be out in more useful positions.

Mars got up and followed Jupiter as she was carried to the APC. Her magic would heal her, but she was out of it for a while.

Sailor Pluto looked around and noticed the smoke curling around various book cases, electrical equipment. "She must have linked self-destruct charges to her equipment. She would keep a copies of it all on her Mercury computer, so losing this wouldn't be much of a loss for her."

"The building's going to go?" Sailor Moon asked, as she draped a Company-provided blanket over Minako.

Sailor Pluto shook her head as she poked some of the melted slag. "I doubt it. She doesn't want us dead, but she wouldn't want us to have her data. Though I would check for charges. Ami strikes me as the kind of person to have multiple self-destructs for her lair."

"You've got me," Minako flatly stated. She blinked and then repeated herself in a confident tone. "Oh wow... that's what it's like to sound human again," she laughed. Reaching down, she cupped her chest and laughed.

"Are you okay?" Sailor Moon asked as she shifted out of Senshi form.

"I'm soft again! Oh, you've got no idea..." Minako quieted down and looked at her skin. It was skin, but... the tan and the slight sheen were... She shook her head.

"She made you into a tool." Pluto stated.

Nodding, Minako thought she heard some sympathy in the older woman's voice. "I was... programmed. She... she was making me for you, Usagi. As-" she stopped. Thinking about having a working jaw again had distracted her. She shook her head again. "She had reformed me as a present for you."

***************


Shouldering the modified M2 heavy machine gun, Morrison crept through the tunnel. It was a bit odd to have her eyes exposed. Training had shown that the standard-issue goggles were mostly superfluous and, worse, would sometimes conflict with demonic senses.

A pair (kept in case dust protection was required) was still pulled up and over her helmet, which only needed slight modification. Morrison once again thanked Mother that her horns were small enough to not interfere that much. The rest of her armor had been modified by Major Saotome. It was lighter than the standard issue, allowing for more flexibility and mobility. With her new strength the weight differences were not readily apparent, until she took to the air. Then every pound shaved off became a blessing.

Her mind concentrated on the task as she moved forward, careful to keep the long barrel of her gun free from obstruction. A hand reached out and squeezed her shoulder. She stopped and let Gabriel step up and whisper into her ear.

"No reading," Gabriel said as he pointed to his scanner. Technically he was picking up several Pattern Silvers and Pattern D's, including one standing before him, but nothing of their quarry.

Morrison nodded and knelt down. Before her, she could see a couple sets of heel prints. The disturbed dirt and dust was faint, but had given enough of a trail to follow. As she pointed and made a motion indicating tracks, part of her wondered how anyone could walk on a narrow spike under their heel.

Eventually, the tracks vanished, and the group halted. Smelling a bit of ozone, Morrison sniffed the air more intently. The buzzing in the back of her mind had decreased and she stepped forward, over the last tracks. "Residual?" she quietly asked Gabriel, while the other men in the team stood back at the ready.

Looking at his display, Gabriel simply nodded. They were far enough from the jammers for the effect to weaken.

Frowning slightly, Morrison's hand tightened on her weapon's new grip and calmed herself. The silence was deceptive. In addition to the obvious scents, she could hear her own heartbeat and those of her team, but that was it. They explored further and found where most of the tunnels linked to blocked doors or dead-ended. She supposed that mechanical and other noises could interfere, but still, anyone else in the tunnels would have to be a long way off.

She slowly rose back to standing. "They're gone," she quietly stated, and motioned for the team to pull back. Only at the end when she had to turn around did she experience difficulty in rotating the long gun in the passageway. Emerging into the damaged room, Morrison blinked at the sudden brightness, and was a bit surprised at all the people still around.

"Status?" Captain Jarvis asked. turning away from the two blonde Pattern Silvers.

"They went underground and teleported once they were out of range of the jamming. They might have gone further, but we probably got their teleport location."

"She escaped?" Usagi asked as she adjusted the blanket draped over Minako.

"Aerial recon didn't pick up anything?" Morrison asked.

"Pattern detection doesn't work as well underground. Teleporting is even more of a challenge.."

"You have a helicopter up?" Rei asked.

"Drone plane with Scanners," Eve explained.

"They can stay in position much longer than a helicopter," Morrison added.

She blinked at the young agent and looked between her and Eve. "You're one of the new demons?"

Morrison raised an eyebrow. Her wings were folded at her back and her tail was swishing behind her.

Usagi bit her lip. "Sorry, it's just odd. I mean... succubae are supposed to wear little leather miniskirts, not... body armor." It was no sword or wand, but at least the giant gun seemed proper enough.

"Better than my getup," Minako groused.

"Mom won't let us wear bikini-uniforms yet," Morrison said with a false pout.

"We should have some standards," Eve dryly remarked.

"At least we got you back," Usagi said as she hugged her rescued Senshi.

"And Ami can't have destroyed everything," Sailor Pluto said, clutching her head. She detransformed and blinked her eyes before standing back up. Inspecting the broken remains of Ami's equipment had intensified her headache. At least the "Venus Alcove" was still working.

***************


Over fifteen hundred yards away, Svetlana idly watched the collection of vehicles and armed men. They seemed strangely tense, probably due to the suspicious calm. The energy surge A'deen had detected had potential.

Ivanova, her spotter, had flashed her sensors and picked up some strong magical signatures. Further evidence came in when a pair of their secondary targets had left the building and got into a waiting truck. They also split their time watching the area between them and the target for anything suspicious in a window or roof.

Adjusting her cloak and easing closer to the building ledge Ivanova activated her radio. "Galina, this is Tri, confirmed Senshi, request targeting orders."

Back at the hotel and using a holographic display, Galina looked at the images that Tri had sent her. She paused, tonight was supposed to be reconnaissance, but if the opportunity presented itself...

Galina smiled thinly and looked at the other girls, now clustered around the rune-circumferenced display. "Yes, if you see Zaika, do it."

"Understood," Svetlana said as she focused on the front door while Ivanova scanned the rest of the building. Her ash-grey weapon opened, revealing a red inner barrel and gave a slight blue light as muted patterns on her feet sprung into being and began to rotate against each other. Soon the fruits of their patience entered Svetlana's sights.


***************


As Setsuna lurched out of the building, she grabbed onto the door handle of the brownstone. She turned to see Usagi helping Minako down the steps. A smile briefly crossed Setsuna's face, Usagi had done well tonight and Minako had been saved. That made Ami's escape and knowledge of one of Setsuna's weaknesses more palatable.

She knew the books Ami had bought, and had read them long ago, but it would have been nice to know what notes Ami had made. A piercing tingling interrupted her thoughts, the fuzziness in her mind burned away, she flashed to Usagi's side and an iridescent blue glow burst from her skin, instantly coalescing into thousands of glowing spheres that rose up and impacted with a blue-grey lance that seemed to strike down from the heavens or at least was a beam that shot down from above at an oblique angle. For half a second, the energy beam burned through several dozen of the spheres before it winked out of existence.

"What happe-" Usagi started before she was pushed towards the ground and carried by Setsuna, who seemed to get them to a waiting APC in the blink of an eye.

"Sergeant Graham, sniper. Take it out," Eve ordered into her headset as she pulled back into the brownstone for cover.

Still wearing just a blanket and being helped by an agent, Minako froze for a brief moment. Then Minako dropped her towel and streaked towards her princess.

Above them, Morgan had seen the blue beam and was already following it to its source before receiving orders from her mother. It was almost opposite from the brownstone-lair from her current perch and had to be over two kilometers away.

Admiring the location chosen, she adjusted her scope and saw with still-shocking clarity the roof of a far off office building about even with her perch in height. A female-figure with something long and grey had pulled back to the stairwell on the roof.

There was another figure in an identical grey and possibly red bodysuit with a smaller weapon, who looked like she was covering their escape. Pulling the trigger, Morgan frowned, preferring to take the sniper herself.

Once the 25mm shell was away, she immediately pulled back, keeping an eye on the target for as long as possible.

***************


Cursing her target's magical shielding, Svetlana was backing down the first couple stairs when she saw Ivanova. Her spotter was rounding the corner when everything above her belly button was consumed by a flat explosion. There was no fireball, just a burst of gore and metal fragments ,large and small, that used to be Ivanova's upper half. Svetlana dove down, but shrapnel still pelted her own shield.

It was not until her ears picked up a sharp booming crack that she was able to detect the source of the attack: a rifle. One with far too large of a payload to be fired by a normal human. "Bastard," she swore to herself as she cautiously eased up. Some small comfort came from her silent Geiger counter.

The enemy rifle was not invincible, a thick titanium sphere within an armored chest would not be breached.
Creeping backward, she licked her lips. After she killed this sniper she swore to return, Ivanova deserved better than being collected and studied. At least Ivanova's death had allowed her overeager "friend" to reveal himself, or more likely herself. Galina's questioning was ignored for a few seconds.

Having hearing enhanced well beyond the human range was one thing, but without proper processing it was just more noise. Fortunately, mathematics had no politics. Therefore mathematicians were safe, and the Soviet Union produced some of the world's best. They also had the best people in espionage, so Svetlana had the hardware required to process the rifle's retort, including the delay between it and the bullet's arrival.

Svetlana went down a floor and - after sensing it was empty - used a thin blade that extended from her left index finger to break into the proper office, one with a South-facing window.

She went into position, and her eye automatically dialed into the right range and orientation. Svetlana saw a slightly shorter apartment block and adjusted her angle until she saw the roof. In a pool of shadow was a disorganized pile with a bit of a straight, long object to one side.

"Ivanova has fallen to a sniper. Probably Company, probably not human, I'm going to kill her." Svetlana sighted her eye down the length of her weapon. "Going to radio silence." She turned off her communications system. Her location had been found out. It probably was via her weapon's luminescent beam, but there might be other ways. She was going with passive sensors from now on.

Adjusting her output levels, she depressed her trigger and a thin beam struck out and flashed the pile which exploded satisfactorily. Her attention focused on the burnt remains, which seemed disturbingly mundane and inorganic.

***************


Morgan pulled back her wings and climbed up the far side of another building. She looked and just saw a thin blue beam appear connecting her previous perch to her prey's building. If the spotter was any indication, her target would be an interesting challenge. Frowning, she was only able to limit its origin to a few windows on the South-facing side of the topmost floor.

Zooming in, she inspected the few windows until she found the telltale mark of broken - in this case, melted - glass. Thanking her new species, she was able to see inside the office, which looked completely empty. There was an open spot where a woman with a very large gun could have been waiting. Morgan gently rotated her gun and scoped out the adjacent offices to see if her quarry had moved just a bit over. She knew how many moments had passed since the beam had been fired, her enemy could not have gone far.

***************


Doubt entered Svetlana's mind. That had to be a decoy, but the trap had not sprung. There had been no counter-fire directed at the room she had shot from. The other shooter had to be alive, but had not used this chance to fire back. Something was wrong; maybe her location had been found via radio chatter. Her own scanners were not much help. She could detect encrypted radio chatter, but none of it was originating from the height where that sniper had to be stationed.

She blinked at the time on her heads up display. She had been here too long; agents could be coming up the stairs right now. Before making her way to the other side of the building. she adjusted her weapon and pulled out a part of the inner barrel, placing it on the floor.

Once the legs were extended and the little tripod with its meter-long weapon was assembled she ran to an interior corridor and made her way to the opposite side of the building. She could not sense anyone coming towards her, but it was only a matter of time.

Part of her attention was on her secondary sentry. It was a weak weapon with only a few shots, but it would do the job. She remotely adjusted the targeting device and scanned about until she found a rooftop. The silhouette just might have been her prey, but there was enough of a chance that it would not seem like a random shot.

She waited until she had opened a window on the opposite side of the building and was on the ledge when she fired and jumped. Her leap was helped by a runic glow on her ankles, which had previously been covered up.

She smashed through the opposing window and was shocked to find the feed on her sentry was still active.

***************


Morgan turned to the source of the attack and held her trigger finger. Something was off... the shot had been sloppy. From what she had seen her prey was better than that, more precise and machine-like. She looked into the office and found a single tripod-mounted weapon a couple windows down from the earlier shot. After ascertaining that there was no gunner she saw the weapon's elevation change slightly. Her eyes sparkled; her opponent's nature was becoming more and more apparent.

The sharpshooter frowned at breaking radio silence, but knew she had to tell her teammates. "Remote rifle on top floor, North side, two windows off-center. Decoy," she whispered into her radio, and immediately changed her position to scan buildings behind the office tower.

In one of the stairwells of the targeted building, Ranma stopped to listen to her earpiece. "Gotcha," she said, briefly pausing in her ascent. The other stairwell was watched by two of her spawn, and the elevators were held in the lobby by a squad of agents while Ukyou and Misako waited just inside the lobby.

Ranma silently went up the stairwell and halfway up released a pair of DarkStar Bursts. The two orbs sliced through the door on the top floor and split up. One followed Morgan's directions, while the other hovered among the cubicle farm.

Through them, Ranma could tell that the office building was empty, save for the turret, which was destroyed using one of the orbs. Its twin then went on and focused on a small office on the building's opposite side.

From a roof two blocks away, Svetlana saw a black and violet orb fly near the open window. She had just seen her sentry get knocked out and wanted to destroy that demon, but... firing on the orb would only reveal her presence. She scanned her weapon, hoping for some other target, and for a split second considered just shooting through the lobby. If she had her beam wide enough, it would hit someone.

She eased the pressure on the trigger and shifted her aim. Scanning the rest of the city, she frowned. That was merely a distraction from her real target, and effort to slow her down.

***************


Mercury glowered at the city below her. The smattering of long-range weapons fire had died down, and the city looked misleadingly serene. "Tonight has not gone well."

"At least the self-destruct went off successfully," Orion gently said, standing on the opposite side of their high-rise condo's living room. She was at the mini-bar.

After slowly turning to glare at her lover, Mercury returned to her window-borne musing.

Orion blushed and went back to the wet bar. She knew she had stocked this hideout with some of her Mistress' preferred reds.

"You stunned Pluto," Virgo said, sitting at the breakfast nook. She had her blades out on the table and was looking them over. "That's good."

"That worries me, but..." she sighed and accepted a wineglass from Orion. "That little stunt with the sniper." She took a long pull from the glass and motioned for it to be refilled.

Virgo paused. Pluto had kept her combat talents hidden; secrets like that were always risky. "She's very fast, and those orbs-"

"No!" Mercury screamed. "You don't get it. That energy... my computer..." Her hand shook, spilling some of the dark liquid on her evening dress. It matched too well. Her books, the data from the Moon, tonight's readings... it left one inescapable conclusion.

"What are we up against?" Orion quietly asked, holding the bottle to her chest.

Smiling slightly, Mercury reached for the bottle and caught herself. She then held out her glass and raised an eyebrow arrogantly. Once Orion started pouring, Mercury continued. "My little distraction worked better than I ever wished, but I never imagined... It's bad enough that our Queen has a new enemy, but we've proven something horrible about one of her most trusted Senshi."

Virgo wanted to ask if this Senshi would start putting her hair up in a bun and wearing corsets, but instead went with a tamer inquiry. "What kind of monster is Setsuna?"

"How very astute," she remarked thinly smiling before draining her glass. "It had all been very clever. We all thought DarkStar was the real monster, the real corrupter."

"Setsuna's worse?" Orion blinked, as she automatically gave her mistress more wine. For that to be true she would have to be...

Mercury gave a slight chuckle absent of joy or hope. "Our mission remains. Our queen's always been in danger. Setsuna's been playing us all from..." Her mind flashed to the observation room, buried deep under that Lunar complex. The secret had to be that old. "Back to the previous Queen." Mercury gasped. "There's been a monster in the house of Serenity since the start."

***************


Now overlooking a wide swath that encompassed enough of the battlefield to contain her prey, Svetlana settled down into position. It had been harrowing, but she had gotten enough distance between herself and the unpleasant distractions in the first building. A slight droning hit her ears and after triangulation, she zoomed her gaze in and saw the small plane. With a wingspan of only a couple meters, it was a little plane without a cockpit. Her attention went to the wings. The unmanned craft looked unarmed, though the sensors it carried were more dangerous to her than any missiles.

Her camouflage was good, but that toy was still another set of searching eyes, and shooting it down would just alert others to her location. Svetlana cursed using her remote gun. That would have solved this problem nicely.

After a moment's pause she tuned the sensor data she had already collected. She almost wanted to go to active scan, but it was not worth the risk

Svetlana had other alternatives. Now secure in her position, she went back through what her sensors had recorded when she was moving and found something. The radio waves were encrypted but she did not care about their contents. That an encrypted radio was transmitted on a military band from a high building was information enough.

At that time, backup had not even started to ascend the building, but it did not really matter who had transmitted; it was a lead. Thinly smiling, she adjusted her targeting to that building and watched. There was a chance her target was still there, or would even use her radio again.

One benefit of encryption was that she knew which signals were meaningful and which were less of a priority. The constant chatter took a bit to triangulate; it would have gone faster if she had a spotter to compare signals with but...

Svetlana calmed herself. She knew what she was up against. That rifle had a large charge, large enough to hold a fused-grenade or other explosive shell, but it was still a conventional weapon. Her target was just one person. Given the size of that weapon, the user's mobility, and the local composition of WIC she was up against a succubus. This made her rather formidable in close and medium range. If they got too close, the demon could smell her out.

The good news was that she was up against a demon. Her body may be hardy, but those demonic senses, while honed, were primitive. The demon had excellent night vision, but she could not triangulate radio waves or rifle shots.

A couple kilometers away, Morgan was executing her own search pattern. She was a demon and concentrated on what those senses would bring her. She calmed herself and checked the wind. The distance was in her favor. If she got within half a kilometer any competent NH would be able to smell her out, even in the bustle of a city that almost reeked with energy...

Morgan blinked. Her target would not run away; the dispatching of her spotter ensured that. A sharpshooter and spotter team were close, and retribution would cloud judgment.

She also had to have very advanced electronics, a variable output beam weapon, and at least one remote sentry. Morgan's mind flashed back to what she had seen before her first kill. A tight, grey bodysuit. The uniform was odd, but not as strange as fighting in leather miniskirts and bikini tops. The body armor and weapons seemed rather advanced in tech, but the real oddity occurred when Morgan took the shot.

At first she thought it was unprofessional vanity, wanting to see what her gun would do. Normally, special tungsten-core sabot rounds (inaccurately called Lead Flowers) were used against shielded enemies. While the shield was a bit of a surprise, that it failed was not. The 25 mm by 59 mm round was more than sufficient. She was also able to see what was inside the spotter. It fit with the rest of the high technology and extreme mobility: normal humans could not jump between high rises.

Morgan slowly tracked her scope between buildings and once again pondered what a sharpshooter with such technology would be like. Either the unmanned aerial vehicle had yet to fly over her location or her camouflage was sufficient to evade the UAV's cameras and scanners. The sniper also had very good counter fire, but it was delayed. A thin smile formed as she did the math in her head. It matched up to the sound of her gun's firing. It was interesting to see that capability in a person instead of a vehicle.

As she scanned roofs looking for the tell-tale glow, Morgan pondered. Her enemy was advanced, but there were limits. Given that she had not been fired upon, her target's optics had not been able to find Morgan. This implied that her concealment and cover methods, so far, were holding up.

At the very least her target would have a few forms of night vision. Fortunately, the urban environment produced a lot of noise, deteriorating quality. Even thermal scanning was less useful if one knew where to shoot from.

Morgan's tongue flicked out and felt the microphone of her headset. A slight smile formed. You found your prey by tracking light, sound, heat, scent, all things the target emitted. There was still something Morgan gave off.

It was far-fetched, but so were cybernetic assassins, and paramilitary succubae for that matter. Morgan did not need to worry about how someone could locate her using radio transmissions, only what it would mean given the possibility that they could.

Realizing that many agents were using their radios, Morgan surmised that she had her target's full attention and gave a little smirk. Contacting her comrades would be a challenge; her target could be tracking cellular transmissions too. The demon's eyes twinkled and she slowly eased to the metal wall to the left of her hiding space and with a flick of her claws sliced a small hole that she slipped through. Navigating her long gun down the roof access stairwell she found herself on the top story.

After seeing a pile of three newspapers in front of a door, she listened and disengaged the lock on the silent apartment. After her eyes and nose confirmed the absence of the residents and that they still owned a landline telephone. She picked it up and made her call. It was a risk but, while decoding the electromagnetic broadcasts was one level of advanced technology, monitoring every single landline was another.

It took longer to confirm her identity than explain her idea, but Morgan was fine with that, it was a simple plan. The timing was what was important. She had to reach her next shooting location before the others got into position. After hanging up, she used the fisheye and her nose to check the hallway before returning to the stairs. It would not do to run into anyone else who lived on this floor. While her "friend" might not be able to monitor every landline it would be smart of her to keep an eye on any calls to 911. Especially panicked calls about seeing a demon with a giant gun.

***************


Standing on a busy sidewalk, Shest looked up at the sky with dread spreading across her face. A few others would nervously glance up, the loud explosion still fresh on the minds of many. She fingered the edge of her coat.

"Are you sure I can't go to the party?" she asked, desperation creeping into her voice.

In a hotel across town, Galina sighed. "No, we can't risk it. We go in like this and it'll spiral out of control."

"I'll just go in and get her. I don't think she can hold her liquor and I don't trust her driving home," Shest asked chewing her lip.

"Could you really get the keys away from her?"

"I'll get her before she notices. You know how I can just slip in and out," Shest offered.

Galina closed her eyes. "She's already at the party. Don't you want her to help Ivanoa or just run off? They're... partners. You know what that means. Remember the Maltese Falcon?"

Shest blinked and recalled Humphrey Bogart's lines as Sam Spade. "Da. 'When a man's partner is killed, he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him.

'He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it. And it happens we're in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed, it's-it's bad business to let the killer get away with it, bad all around, bad for every detective everywhere.' "

"It's something even those in the West understand. Should we have less honor than those that only care about money?"

"I should still help her."

"How? She's not answering our calls, and you don't even know where the party is." After not receiving a response, Galina continued. "She'll have to do it herself, I trust Svetlana's judgment."

Stopping her walk, Shest stared at a large restaurant window. "I understand, but this was reconnaissance and there's already been one loss."

"It might become three if you come blundering in. Svetlana does not need a distraction."


***************


Svetlana stewed and shifted her neck slightly. She was starting to wonder if her prey had run off. Still receiving plenty of encrypted chatter, she was inclined to doubt that. WIC was still hunting her. They had even started infiltrating that first building. Her eyes widened and she formed a wicked grin. Her capitalist friend thought she was so clever. So she had figured she was being tracked by her radio broadcasts, and returned to the one high place Svetlana would not find encrypted radio emissions unusual.

Svetlana adjusted her position and was not shocked to find no visual signature. Her friend was rather good at hiding. Her computer locking down another location, Svetlana checked its overlay on her internal heads up display. The capitalist demon was waiting on the next-to-top floor in a corner room that was staged back from both the windows. Adjusting the aim Svetlana had to admire her foe's tactics. That spot gave a good view, and was far enough back to give good protection, nice concealment, and a viable escape route. There her friend had a reasonable view, but could securely communicate and direct the other mercenaries. Unfortunately for the demon, Svetlana's weapon was not limited by mundane things such as walls and floors.

She held her gun and after a sufficient charge depressed the trigger. A thick blue beam shot out, slicing through the roof of the building on a diagonal and blew through the walls in that corner and exploded obliterating the entire room.

The radio signal winking out, Svetlana immediately went to her feet, knowing that the mercenaries would track her beam. She was several kilometers away from the nearest agent but there was no reason to waste her head start.


***************


"Impatient," Morgan stated as she watched the beam destroy the corner of the building from several blocks away. Normally, going from one sniping perch to another was the most dangerous part. Instead, Morgan took the stairs to the garage of one building where she entered the waiting unmarked Company car which drove her to the current building she was perched on. The locations and the requirement for total radio silence were all in her original call.

The rest of the plan was waiting. First was waiting for someone to place a radio within the right spot. It was bulkier than a headset, but was capable of making the exact same broadcast, and was set to do it whenever it heard the correct signal, from a phone line plugged into it.

Then came waiting for Morgan's cybernetic friend to bite at the shiny lure before her. A lure that looked like WIC had figured out their radios were compromised. People liked to think they were being clever, especially when they could unravel someone else's less-clever scheme in the process.

On the roof of a building she picked for its ability to watch over areas that could target the lure, Morgan's eyes hardened as she rapidly traced the path of the highly destructive but highly visible weapon back to its source. It winked out just before Morgan reached its terminus but she was able to see a figure get up and start to back away.

She was over three and a half kilometers away, but Morgan clearly made out the bodysuit and large weapon. Happy to oblige its mistress, the modified Barrett Optical Ranging System adjusted the targeting for the range and other factors. Morgan aimed and took the shot.

Keeping the moving figure in her sights, she counted down. Even for a round going at over three times the speed of sound, it would take three seconds for the payload to reach its destination.

Too slow, Morgan scowled as she gave a follow-up shot with a longer lead on her target. She saw the first round explode on the staggered wall behind her target and blow up against a flickering shield. Damaged, the target was still moving when the next shot hit, it overshot her but the concussion blew her down and knocked her gun tumbling away.

Her blood heating up, Morgan shifted her aim to that heavy weapon, and with a single 25mm round blew it apart. Her aim settled back to the distant target, sprawled out on the roof. Seeing liquid ooze from of the body, part of her wanted descend upon her prey.

With the prone enemy sighted in, Morgan risked her radio. "I've got her immobile, destroyed her weapon. Permission to attempt-" her tongue came out and licked part of her lower lip. "-capture?"

Back in the first building, Eve asked for the target's location. After receiving it she frowned, but she new it would be that far, given how hard it was to sense her daughter. Morgan was the closest by far, evidence that this sniper was slowly working a retreat. The blonde weighed her options. This did seem to be a new and unknown group. Waiting might allow for enemy reinforcements. "Approved, information is highly desirable, but no excessive risk," she said into her radio. Immediately afterwards she informed the rest of the team and spread her wings.

Smiling, Morgan spread her wings and took to the air, skimming the buildings. Keeping an eye on the prone target she closed the distance. Eventually she landed on the opposite end of the block, that the tall buildings were giving way to houses and low warehouses. She used her scope to get a hard confirmation and found that her target was still breathing. The wind changed directions and the scent of burnt powder and blood hit her nose.

Her senses heightened, she leapt the street and landed on the final building. Shouldering her weapon, Morgan felt a bit ridiculous. Her gun was never meant to be used within a dozen yards.

The scent of blood and the slight trace of a Pattern filled Morgan and tugged at her stomach in an urge that felt totally familiar to her. Her attention snapped back when the grey body-suited woman pulled her head up. The strong scent of blood had an almost oily undertone. One leg had been blown off at the knee, another was unnaturally twisted above the ankle, much of her torso had been broken apart and was leaking blood and a clear fluid that smelled unappetizing.

Remarkably her head was fairly undamaged save for a few deep gashes and cuts that seemed almost cosmetic despite their gore. The rival sharpshooter coughed and gave a weak smile. "You tricky demon bitch," she gasped in a heavy accent.

"Impatient," Morgan repeated from when her prey fell for the bait, resisting the urge to salivate.

"Smaller beam would have been less visible," Svetlana agreed, reaching up with her good left arm and brushed back a bit of her hair. The demon was still wearing a concealing suit and had even covered parts of her weapon. "Nice gun," she noted appraisingly surveying the long steel weapon. She liked using a weapon that ran at the speed of light, but as current events showed, "slow" weapons were effective, too.

"Careful with that friend of yours, at this range there won't be anything left of me to dissect," Svetlana coughed, her eyes almost twinkling with amusement. The young demon before her seemed almost... bashful and restrained, but it worked in Svetlana's favor.

In a smooth motion, Morgan's left hand went off the stock and pulled out her SSP and only after the over-size automatic was aimed at Svetlana did she lower her rifle and flip her arm into a one-handed carry. "Better?" she smirked a bit, feeling the connection with her mother clear and strengthen.

"Should call your friends," Svetlana said as she flicked her arm back down and flicked out a cylinder from within her arm.

On seeing Svetlana's expression change, Morgan dropped her rifle and went down. As the blue beam shot out and hit, the succubus, having kept on target, depressed the handgun's trigger.

While fifty caliber bullets broke through Svetlana's reinforced skull, the beam cut though Morgan's right shoulder and into her lung. Still holding her handgun Morgan checked the corpse. She did not smell any explosives in her, but caution and pain were mixed by the growth of her hunger.

She could feel that backup would be here soon, but she had more immediate needs. Her claws sliding out, Morgan cut into the body like opening up a tin of ham, though with more hearty flavor.

***************


Eyes flaring a dark blue, Eve folded her wings and dropped to the rooftop. Body tensed and heart racing, every part of her was focused: protect. The scent of blood, her daughter's blood filled her nose, as she landed and went right to the crouched figure.

Morgan gasped as her rifle was pressed to her chest as she found a pair of immense wings wrap around her body and her mother's presence fill out and spread around her. "Mother," she whispered from within the leathery cocoon.

"It's okay, you did good," Eve said as she hugged her daughter with one arm while keeping her gun outstretched, she did not detect any enemies but that was irrelevant.

Finding her mother's chest, Morgan leaned her head onto it and sighed happily. She could hear the larger demon's heartbeat slow from its panicked pace. Despite the dominance of mother's scent it was soon joined by other familiar ones.

"How badly were you hurt?" Eve asked holstering her gun once her sister had landed and was able to balance out the embrace.

"Not very," Morgan quietly said keeping her head in place. "I fed fine, Mom."

Eve inhaled and blinked her eyes rapidly. Briefly freeing a hand to wipe, she turned to Ranma. "How do you do it?"

The redhead sighed and crouched down. She looked at the chewed up corpse without any empathy. She smiled at her sister and niece, and leaned in. "Now you know my motivation," she said after giving Eve a quick kiss.

Eve's eyes flared brightly. "But... I wanted to..."

Ranma smiled, her teeth gleaming. "You understand."

Eve froze, staring into the deep violet eyes. She saw the raw primal power. Here was the soul of a true predator, someone who would do anything to protect her family. Tightening the hold on her daughter, she gasped. "I'm... I'm."

"Like me?" Ranma laughed and wrapped her wings around both Morgan and Eve. She leaned in and whispered into the blonde's ear. "Why did you think I turned you?"

Eve blushed and held her purring daughter. She looked back at her sister's eyes and found herself unable to answer.

Morrison landed and gave a whistle at the corpse, but it was mostly perfunctory. She looked to Ukyou and Misako who had already landed and were providing cover for the others.

"Go on, it's your group hug," Misako said with a bit of jealousy as she cradled Sasha.

"Yeah, we're going to have plenty of time to show our affection tonight," Ukyou added as she watched the young demoness eagerly walk to her mother.

Eve's circling thoughts were interrupted by the presence of her other daughter. The captain's wings automatically parted to allow her access and wrapped back around the two girls. Feeling the two heartbeats of her spawn and the beating from her sister, Eve's mind focused and the answer came. She gasped and her tail straightened at the thought. "You turned me..." She hesitated; the simplicity was too stunning. "You turned me because you knew I would become your sister, fully and completely."

"I knew you'd understand," Ranma laughed as she leaned in and kissed her sister again, this time she did not break away and Eve gasped as a flow arced between them, the blonde felt the demonic power buildup saturate her body. Ranma's obsidian earnings flickered a dark violet.

Her wings flexed and quivered and became more accommodating, curving and swooping the now fully-embraced spawn as the insides softened and molded her spawn to her while hardening on the outside. Her tail spasmed as it greatly thickened down its length before reaching the fins which swelled to a larger spade shape.

A burning hunger gnawed at her, and was then abated by the flow of sustenance from her sister. The excess filled her, deposited in choice locations softening her features and causing her pants and chest armor to tighten. Her hair bun undid itself; her tresses fell about and started to separate. The process increasing her hair's body as it mixed with writhing crimson tresses, and moving over her spawn.

"Nice tail," Ranma laughed as she reached out and stroked it.

Eve groaned. Her mouth moved and she felt her jaw open wider than ever before and her teeth sharpened, adding more fangs. She had seen Ranma feed this way before, and had briefly wondered about it. Before her mouth closed, she stuck her tongue out and was surprised it was able to reach to Ranma, who had reached out and was gently rubbing her horns, which felt more sensitive, curved and a bit larger.

As the blonde began to purr, her tail wrapped around Ranma's thinner but longer one. She put her head on Ranma's chest and opened her mouth to gently lick her neck. Her clothing transformed, the armored plating shifting into a bodice and cupping her fuller figure around her chest while covering her waist in a series of pleated plates. The rest of her uniform shifted into a gauzy, stretchy dark blue material that clung to her body from her chest to her legs, which then fused from her ankles to her waist forming a long tight skirt. Her equipment and holsters migrated to a pair of belts slung over her hips.

A dark violet four-pointed star flared into existence on Ranma's forehead and was followed by a similar mark emerging on Eve and her spawn's heads. As the flare died down leaving the purple marks, more power flowed into the demons. Eve purred again and found herself drifting off into bliss.

***************


"How do you, feel sister?" Ranma asked pulling away from the blonde.

With a bit of a pout, Eve pulled away from the redhead and looked around and was surprised to find themselves in her office. Her daughters were sleeping on either side of her and a large mirror had been added to the room.

"I flew us back to the rally point and got us back to base," Ranma laughed at Eve's blank look.

"Fine, a helicopter landed and the rest of us moved you sleepy girls onboard, while the techs got out and started scanning the body," the redhead explained as she helped Eve up, and put her in front of the mirror. "Well? Is it everything you wanted?"

The blonde froze. Her hair arced behind her, and had almost as much body and length as her sister's; by the way it was moving, she guessed that it had the same vitality as well. The increase in the size of her horns helped keep them from being overwhelmed by her tresses.

Her face was subtly different. It looked somehow a bit more mature and much less harsh. She smiled and it looked more genuine and loving; she allowed her smile to widen, and found her teeth even sharper. She almost missed the silver-edged four-pointed star on her forehead as it flared purple before vanishing again.

"Better than the silly quartered circle," Ranma chuckled as she summoned a similar mark. "And it's about time we started making more of a mark."

Politely ignoring the pun, the blonde slowly nodded, warmth welling up within her. A heavier tail swung behind her, occasionally playing with Ranma's, and her wings had to be pulled away from her daughters. As she walked she found her hips swaying with more notice, but put that up to how her feet were angled. She found that her uniform had turned into a tight, thin, deep-blue dress that went nearly to the floor while silvery armor with a breast plate and skirting shimmered in the reflection. Armor plating for her chest and pleated skirt shimmered in the reflection. Her weapons were still attached to her belts, and she had her rank and the Company logo pinned to her chest, though it looked almost like an afterthought.

"I think it's cute, kind of like a Sailor Senshi skirt. You have good taste," Ranma playfully whispered.

Eve nodded, finding the material stretchy enough to enable her to walk. She then looked at the bottom of her dress, and blushed. A pair of silvery spiked high heels were attached to her feet, arching her legs up a few inches.

"They're not exactly regulation, but neither is that dress," Ranma teased.

Eve nodded and sat down back between her daughters. Her wings automatically extended and comforted them while she crossed her legs. After adjusting herself to look over her chest she looked down at her shoes. "Well, I can always change them."

"If you want to." Ranma broke away from admiring the view to check her watch and sighed. "We should get back and see how Usagi's doing."

Eve frowned. "We'll have more time for fun later tonight."

"But first we need to show Usagi a little something," Ranma smirked.

***************


"I'm sorry," Minako muttered. She glanced over at Usagi and returned to staring at a concrete wall. The grey WIC jumpsuit she was in was comfortable, but after being armored, any fabric would be. Artemis sat in her leap. The white cat happy to simply be petted.

"Don't be so morose," Rei reprimanded, looking at Minako, but only after the blonde had blinked did Rei turn away. The priestess resisted her own urge to look up, the blank ceiling of this... basement seemed to press down on her. She avoided the walls, too. Somehow, the attempts to make the place cheerier were even more depressing. Photographs of helicopters and planes and other military hardware seemed to be a bit over the top.

"Give her a break. She was just freed from being Mercury's slave." Makoto said putting her hand on Minako's. The blonde sitting across from her did not move, but her hand was warm. Makoto smiled. "It's okay, we got you."

"It's great to have you back," Artemis added as he rolled onto his back.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Minako's lips.

"So what was that?" Usagi asked, pulling back from the table to look at Setsuna, who was at the next table over nursing a cup of tea.

Setsuna looked up and rubbed her eyes. "You were being shot, I moved in to protect you," she flatly stated, noting that Minako winced at her words.

"Well, yeah, but those were just your training balls."

"They're not just for training," Setsuna said, taking a slight sip from her tea. It was surprising - she had not expected to find this quality in a company commissary.

"What, exactly, happened?" Usagi chewed her lip. Her mind flashed to the iridescent dome that had appeared over her. "Someone tried to kill me?"

"Yes." Setsuna put the mug down, trying not to grin a the sight of Usagi's thoughtful expression, and her firm eyes.

"Find out everything you can about who did this," Usagi stated, she looked over to the demons who were in the other side of the commissary, seemingly chatting to themselves. "Where's Ranma?"

"Helping hunt down the person that did this," Akane shouted.

"We heard Morgan got one of them," Nabiki added as she flicked one of her blades open and then closed again.

Setsuna gave the group a closer look. In addition to Nabiki's idle play, Nariko was polishing the scabbard of her sword while clearly watching one of the doors. Akane had chosen to watch the remaining door. She smiled thinly. Ranma appeared to be giving Usagi her money's worth.

"That's it? People are just gunning you down in the street?" Rei put her fingers to the bridge of her nose. Things had been much better in Japan. At least there the people trying to kill them had the decency to gloat.

"At least this time, innocents weren't used as bait," Usagi glowered.

"Could it have been Ami?" Makoto asked.

"No," Minako suddenly stated. "Mi- er... Mercury had plenty of chances to do it, killing our Queen was never her intent."

"Queen?" Rei tilted her head slightly.

"The Queen is dead, long live the Queen." Setsuna said with a mix of levity and sarcasm.

"They still attacked when I was leaving. What happened? They must have been waiting at Ami's place."

"Using it as bait?" Makoto asked. "Why didn't they just go after us at our apartment?"

Usagi nodded. "Good point, maybe they were following us. But why then?"

"The fight was over." Nariko interjected as she entered the room. "You were all calming down and looking towards the future. If the attack had happened earlier, you would all still be in combat mode. Instead, they took the shot when you were tired, distracted." The demon smiled happily. "Not a bad plan all in all."

"You make it sound like that was a good thing," Rei grumbled.

"It is," Setsuna stated. "Understanding how the enemy thinks is useful. That's how Usagi beat Ami tonight."

"She didn't expect us to come after her. She didn't expect me to trick her." Usagi chuckled. "She expected me to break down, to fall into her arms and ask her to make it all better." The blonde smiled, eyes sparkling.

"She still got away," Artemis said.

"We hit her in her lair. Did you go upstairs? She'd built up a whole life there, and we kicked her out of it."

"And you got me," Minako, quietly, said. She resumed petting the moon-cat.

"Yes, we did." Usagi hugged Minako, who brightened at the contact. "Soon we'll get Naru, and Ami too."

"There's also Virgo," Minako added.

Nariko looked up and ahead. "Oh good, mother's back."

"What, can you smell her? That's just creepy." Rei shook her head.

Nabiki blinked. "What's creepy about being able to feel our mother and family and know that they're ok?"

Giving Rei a dark little look, Nariko stood up and walked to the corridor. Ranma and the remainder of her spawn entered, followed by Eve and her daughters. The blonde was wearing some type of long clingy dress and had an arm around each of her spawn.

Behind them a pair of gurneys with large bags were being pushed along. One of the bags was lumpy, misshapen, uneasily distributed item that did not look like a human cadaver or even one item.

Usagi looked at the tall blonde. Her form looked more mature and meshed with the love radiating off of her. Consistent with her body, her clothes also screamed demonic, complimenting her horns and wings.

Ranma was the only one not carrying large guns. One of Eve's daughters was carrying an immense scoped rifle of some type, that made the other large weapons seem almost human scaled to the moon princess.

Usagi's attention went from the weapon to the two body-bags being pushed down the corridor behind the demons. They were under heavy guard. "Are those?"

"Why yes, they are," Ranma said, smiling a bit.

Rei watched the redhead turn and seem to feign surprise. Which was odd, the demon had to have known the bodies were being moved right behind her.

"Yes, they were both cyborgs of some sort." Morgan's eyes brightened in remembrance. She made a point of keeping herself from licking her lips.

Once again Eve frowned at the damage to Morgan's upper armor, but she had ordered her daughter to try to take her alive. "You did good, Honey," she assured with a hug.

"Is that the gun?" Usagi hesitantly asked, starting at the weapon; it was longer than the diminutive and redheaded succubus was tall.

Morgan blinked. Her mouth opened and closed in confusion. "Well, no. This' mine. Grandma made it for me."

"Grandma?"

"Major Saotome."

"Oh, yeah... Eve's Ranma's sister," Usagi said in a tone she hoped was absent-minded, instead of jealous, as she stared at the length of the rifle. Surprisingly long and almost elegant, the weapon was not bulky. Her eyes were drawn to the inscription written on the side. "We do what we must, because we can," she automatically read aloud.

Morgan gave the blonde a long puzzled stare and with a shrug moved over to where Akane and Nabiki were sitting. She put her weapon down on the table and noticed when Misako followed suit. The automatic grenade-launcher was much shorter than her rifle and elicited a sour glare from Misako and tight smirk from Morgan.

Usagi shook her head as she got up and walked to Ranma. "So... cyborgs?"

"Yeah, people with bits of metal and motors in them, pretty strange," Ranma shrugged. "You wanna see them? Well what's left of them."

Usagi coughed. "Uh... no need."

Rei noticed the frown on Ranma's face and wondered if the demon was disappointed that Usagi didn't want to see dead bodies or for some... other reason. Did the gurneys really have to go down this hallway?

"We've fought droids before. Though I guess these are different. The robot things we've fought before never left bodies."

"These were humans. Heavily modified with cybernetics, but still human," Eve stated.

"How can you be sure?" Rei asked "If they were mostly robotic..."

"The flavor is very unique," Morgan stated.

"Oh hush, like you've ever eaten human before," Misako pouted.

"So... not say... a gooish monster made from a glass of wine then," Rei proposed.

"Oh, yes, Jamanen. Thanks Rei, thanks for reminding us about the creepy monster that could hide in ceilings, turn her arms into swords or trap us inside her." Makoto shook her head. It was horrible, she had to shower for over an hour to get clean afterwards.

"We have fought a lot of them."

"Speaking as someone turned into armor and goop, I can say it's not very fun, being controlled and used like that." Minako added.

"I doubt most people turned into minions found the experience fun," Airtimes added, nuzzling her.

"Did you figure out who they were? Why they were doing this?"

"The one that shot at you had some kind of accent, maybe eastern European," Eve stated. "We're going to do a full autopsy, track down where their hardware came from at least."

"That's it?" Usagi paused. "What's left of them, I mean. And you'll dissect them?"

Ranma shrugged. "Right now, it's all we have to go on."

"Least it's over," Usagi sighed.

"Why?" Eve asked as she stretched her back a bit and flexed her wings. "There could be more of them. Their technology was rather advanced."

"What did they use to shoot me?"

"It's some kind of beam weapon. There's not much of it left." Eve explained, putting a hand to her hip.

"It was all just cyborgs?" Rei asked. "No magic?"

"I smelled a bit of a Pattern," Morgan said as Ukyou handed her a cup of coffee.

"Major Saotome and Section Chief Ono will look into that." Eve stated.

Usagi nodded. "Tell me what you find. I want to know why another group wants me dead."

***************


"Svetlana and Ivanova are dead," Shest reported, after she entered the bedroom to the hotel suite.

"Yes, we were aware Svetlana had fallen." Galina frowned.

"Svetlana managed to wound the demon, but she was shot and... eaten," Shest dropped her purse to the floor and started to undo her blouse.

The old veterans who had trained them in combat had a saying. "As bad as the Fascists were, at least they wouldn't eat you." It was their way of saying that things could always be worse.

"We did want a challenge," Arisha dryly remarked as she watched a replay of the footage Svetlana had managed to broadcast, while jotting down notes on a small pad.

"Yes, little Zaika has some formidable guardians," Galina remarked. "Do we have any idea what the green-haired one used to block the attack?"

"No," Arisha moved to the end of Svetlana's data feed. "But we know that the demonic sharpshooter was armed with a... conventional weapon," she said, highlighting the image of Morgan's weapon.

"Well, that pushes the upper limits of what gunpowder can do," Shest remarked, after she had stripped down to her red and grey bodysuit.

"This matches our intelligence. The demons are a new program, and thus their weapons are adaptations of existing hardware," Arisha stated. "In time they'll have more fitting weapons. It's fortunate that we're facing them now, before they're more properly armed."

"I wonder," Galina stated, studying the image.

"What?"

"Most of our weapons are tailored to our bodies. They're integrated. Our powers and our armor are also part of this holistic approach. It would be unwise to assume our enemies are using the same methodology."

Shest blinked. "These are demons."

"Exactly. It's a fascinating approach. They're transforming existing warriors into these demons, and instead of hyper-specialized weapons they're just upping the same equipment they already know." Galina tapped her lip. "It doesn't give as much of an individual advantage, but does provide a cheaper alternative, and one that's better integrated with their regular troops."

"What of Zaika?"

"I doubt she'd be foolish enough to be alone, but even now she's not using a full guard."

"The smart thing would be for her to stay on base?" Shest asked, before wandering to the kitchenette.

"Our surveillance shows that while Zaika's apartment is being watched, they are alone." Chetyre said, looking over her display.

"Should we attack now?"

Galina shook her head. "They will be on alert now, and clearly we underestimated their capability. We need more about how they perform. Especially the older dark-skinned woman."

"Perhaps, she should be eliminated first? The rest are younger and fraught with internal splintering." Arisha suggested.

"We must be careful. That may end up driving Zaika closer to the demons." Galina noted.

"No matter what our next operation is, if it fails, Zaika will get more worried." Chetyre paused to look at her display and continued. "To be frank, tonight's event should have put her over the edge. The amount of complacency she has is... startling."

"Is it? She's had many, many attempts on her life, and apparently has killed the leaders of all of them herself," Galina smiled thinly. "Right now, some of her forces are in open rebellion. Tonight was a part of that ongoing battle against that faction for Zaika. And she still has not changed her life that much."

"She is either very stubborn or very sure of her powers," Chetyre stated.

"Perhaps, she has faith in her own destiny," Arisha snorted.

"Intelligence indicates she has... fanciful long term plans." Galina allowed. "

"We have learned more about her plans," Arisha reminded. "One source indicates, she desires a revolutionary state with her at its core enforcing tranquility and equality. Others have confirmed that her ideology is strongly on justice and enforcement."

"She definitely has a feeling of importance. People have called her a messiah, a princess, a queen, a goddess. Her family... well, has the white-collar wage-slave become part of the proletariat?"

"If they have no ownership of the means or production and no tangible wealth, then yes," Galina patiently confirmed.

"Then she's not bourgeoisie, let alone royal. Clearly, the messianic messages are just propaganda."

"So, command driven, progressive, collectivist and propagandist?" Galina muttered. "Her ideology could have been pulled over to our side. What a shame."


***************


Minako hesitantly stepped into the room she shared with Makoto. Airtimes raced in in front of her and jumped up onto the bed. Makoto's half of the room was its normal state while her half looked frozen in time. Walking over to her dresser, she stripped out of the WIC-supplied jumpsuit and put on a skirt and blouse. She looked at a mirror and smiled at the curvy and tan figure reflected back at her.

"Enjoying the chance to be yourself?" Setsuna asked opening the door.

Minako gasped in shock, her eyes flaring a hint of red before going back to blue. "Uh... hi Setsuna...."

"You should be more careful," Setsuna teased, walking up to Minako after she closed the door behind her.

The blonde looked down. "I'm still adjusting."

"You've been through a lot. Are you ready to tell Usagi?" Setsuna asked, suddenly changing the subject without changing her tone.

"Are you?" Minako replied.

Setsuna smiled thinly. "I was just protecting her."

"Right, and guess that's what I'm doing too," Minako replied, as she started tying her hair back with a ribbon. "I'm still a Senshi, like you."

Setsuna chuckled. "Well, not exactly like me."

After raising an eyebrow, Minako turned back to her reflection. "Do the others know?"

"About us? Not so much. Rei has some suspicions that you've been... changed."

"I have," Minako glowered. "Least I'm still a Senshi."

"Of course. Mercury wouldn't have changed that." Setsuna smirked. "She is starting to figure out just how far the definition of Sailor Senshi can be stretched."

Minako nodded.

"Getting you back is a good victory. It'll help our Princess. She's got some confidence back. Especially-"

"Especially now that there's yet another new enemy."

"The brood did kill both of the assassins."

"There will be more." Minako frowned. "There always is. I still think we should move into Mercury's place. That's a much more secure facility."

"That enemy knows where it is," Setsuna flatly said.

"Like they wouldn't know where this place is either."

Setsuna nodded. "But wouldn't it look bad? One of Mercury's former minions suggest that we move into Mercury's old lair?"

Minako sighed. "Yes, Ami's original plans had us all moving into there, where she could slowly change and improve us at her leisure."

"That was before you unraveled her Mistress Lyra story."

"Nice way she repaid me for that bit of logic. She was a real state trooper, there." Minako shrugged.

"That's not the right phrase," Airtimes said.

The two women ignored him.

"At least she didn't make you into a trial princess."

"Pretending to be the princess was bad enough when I was human," Minako grumbled. "I guess it could take some of the pressure off of Usagi, but she'd never go for it."

"Careful, there," Setsuna smiled.

"I figured you out," Minako started rummaging around in her dresser until she found a compact. "Ami will too; she did send me and Shampoo to get those books.."

"Do you have a list of them?" Setsuna idly asked.

"Course," Minako said, as she pulled out a piece of paper and wrote the titles down. She handed it over to Setsuna who frowned.

"Mina... you wrote this out using an eyeliner pencil." Setsuna shook her head.

"You wanted them right now." Minako started putting on eyeshadow.

Setsuna frowned and scanned the list. "Revelations of Glaaki, Chronoscopic Travelers, Turba Philosophorum, Cthaat Aquadingen, On the Sending Out of the Soul, Unaussprechlichen Kulten Book of Eibon, and Kryptographik."

"Any of it legit?"

"Oh, they're all dangerous books. Most of them won't help her...."

"But?"

"They all have a high chance of driving her insane or attracting transdimensional monsters."

"Yes, we wouldn't want Ami to get corrupted," Minako dryly noted. "What about you? You – I mean – the gates in any of those books?"

"Pardon?"

"Some stuff from the Silver Millennium survived, and it's not like primitive humans would understand it."

"Yes, it would be easy to get a cult using magic and knowledge from that era."

"You're evading," Minako teased.

Setsuna gave a level gaze before breaking into a tiny smile.

"It doesn't take a Conductor to figure something's up with you, and given that you're... you, it's gotta involve the gates."

"And?"

"That's assuming Mistress Mercury's paranoia isn't just her getting punchy, there's got to be something up with you. You're very mysterious and knowing." Minako smiled at her reflection. "It's nice to have eyelids."

"True." Setsuna nodded.

"Well, we've got to worry about the others."

"Oh?"

"Ami knows all about me, and has figured out whatever the deal is with you."

"Yes, that will be a problem."

"I'm certain that you have a plan, but do you need any help with it?" Minako offered as she put on some lipstick. "I mean it's not like Usagi's going to listen to what Ami has to say. Meatball-head is going to trust us over her, she's got that hopeful idea going on."

"You've been thinking things over."

Minako closed her compact and turned to Setsuna. "I've had a lot of time to think."

"Ami didn't have much fun with you?" Setsuna teased.

"Training, testing, and being powered down in an alcove." Minako shrugged. "I really feel sorry for Shampoo; Naru too, I guess."

"Oh?"

"Mercury did lose her test subject."

"You've spent the most time with her. Will she do something rash?"

Minako nodded. "She'll be upset, feel cornered. Shampoo... she was recruited to get to Ranma, but... Naru's the cheese."

"Cheese? You mean Ami will use her?"

"Usagi's relationship with Naru is about all Mercury has left."

"But they're lovers, or has Ami changed that?"

"They're still close. That's why Ami hasn't done anything yet."

"Troubling."

"Did your search of Ami's computers and records turn anything up?"

" 'Course not, the charges she put in nicely destroyed whatever she was working on."

"All she really needs is her Mercury computer." Once again, Minako smiled at her reflection. "And don't forget these cybernetic assassins, either. The princess is really going to need our help."

"It's not like the Mau have been much help," Setsuna admitted.

"I'm right here!" Artemis said with all the angry gravitas a cat could give.

"Of course not, this is beyond Artemis," Minako sighed.

"Again, magical advisor right here," he grumbled.

"Or maybe he could just smell you." Setsuna smirked at Minako.

"She doesn't smell that different," he muttered.

"Something like that would shock me, too. Well no, not me, but a regular human, yes" Setsuna admitted.

"And no one gives you a second glance."

"That's experience. DarkStar's grandmother can do it, too."

"And Murdock."

Setsuna's grin finished. "About him. What's his role? How often did he meet with Ami? Was he controlling her overtly? Or was he still using Naru as his plant?" she asked in increasing tempo.

"Didn't meet often. He seemed... amused. Disappointed, too. Does he actually know what he's doing?" Minako asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I used to think his ineptness was just an act, but now... Maybe things have gotten out of his control, or maybe that's what he wants us to think."

"I doubt he planned for me to be freed or for Usagi to beat up Ami."

Setsuna chuckled. "No, Ami didn't plan on that. Murdock? Maybe he's built up Ami just for Usagi to tear her down."

"We can guess that Usagi is his real target." Minako paused and shook her head. "Nothing ever changes, does it? It's still some velour-dandy going after the Princess."

Setsuna froze, imagining Murdock dressed in a velour jumpsuit. The idea of stretchy velvet over his grinning body was... upsetting in novel ways. It then shifted to Diamond of the Black Moon Clan in a similar outfit. "Wow... he doesn't dress that way does he? At least, polyester instead of velour?" she asked as she pulled out her flask.

"Nope, still likes poorly-treated bland suits."

"At least there's that," Setsuna sighed. "What about Naru? Is she being used as a way to influence Ami?"

"Why not," Minako shrugged. "Naru does advise her, and is so polite and deferential, and is always there to give her Mistress plenty of wine."

"And there's the sex." Setsuna sighed. "Troubling. Add in these cybernetic assassins..."

"Yeah, least Ami and her minions.... we... they.." Minako gritted her teeth and "The plan wasn't to kill any of the Senshi."

"Yes she had the very original idea of changing us, making us better." Setsuna smirked her mirth returning.

"Talking about the first Serenity?"

"She was the one that setup the Senshi."

"Yes, whole 'planetary power' thing. Well, dwarf planets too, and asteroids. Pretty much any rock that's big enough."

"Serenity wasn't using current planetary standards."

"Guess so. She couldn't have looked into her future to see what was and wasn't a planet." Minako looked at Setsuna's blank expression and blushed. " I mean she could, obviously. But why would she care? Why this time period?"

Minako tapped her chin and before Setsuna could respond, resumed her train of thought. "Well, this is the time she sent her daughter and the rest of us too. So, she should have at least checked out this time period." She stared off at one of the walls for a few unblinking seconds. "I know! She wanted to make sure that we would still resonate with the populace. That way, we could be the proper folk heroes to help Usagi takeover the world."

"I don't think Serenity had time to plan all this during the Fall, even after sealing Beryl."

Minako deflated. "You would know."

"Quite. Don't worry about it. Usagi's got you back, and we'll make it through this. We always do.." Setsuna said, reaching for the doorknob.

The blonde looked at her reflection one last time. She evened out her blush a bit more and turned back to Setsuna, giving a slight nod.

End Chapter 12


Once again, I'd like to thank my pre-readers. They read through my most egregious mistakes so you don't have to. DGC, J St C Patrick, Terra, Pale Wolf, Wray, Kevin Hammel, Ikarus, Jerry Starfire, and Mike Koos.


Revision Notes: And here's the Combat Cyborgs making their debut attack. And Morgan having her... start. I suppose this is when some of the major elements that define "the Return" start to come together.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 13: Artificial Ideologies
Formerly: Restoration and Regret Part 2 i


"Fascinating," Section Chief Ono peered into the chest cavity. Even given Sergeant Graham's... incisions the subject's... chassis proved rather difficult to open up. "I can see where the organs were, but there's extensive support struts too. Titanium you think?"

Dressed in a surgical smock identical to Ono's, Nodoka nodded. "Strong, light, not prone to biological rejection." Using a pair of pliers, she picked up another piece from her more diminished and already sectioned subject. "Sir, I think I found something."

Ono stepped over to the other table, careful to give the two other agents in the room space. In battle-dress, they held rifles at the ready. The pathologist had conducted enough autopsies where the subject was still a bit... lively to appreciate their presence. In a similar precaution, a pattern scanner and a sensitive radio receiver were also active in one corner. Before entering the facility the bodies had been checked with a Pattern Scanner and inspected by a scent dog for more mundane booby traps.

Leaning over the lighted magnifier, Ono blinked. It looked like some kind of hydraulic control but part of the sleeve was cracked exposing some writing. "Cyrillic?"

"Makes sense, this... hardware." Nodoka shook her head. "A lot of it is what you would expect transmitters, chipsets, structural pieces, actuators, but other parts...." She picked up the wand to a narrow-range scanner and waved it over a couple pieces of meat and blood smeared metal.

"Pattern V... no... maybe some S too. Very weak That doesn't make sense, not given Morgan's report." Nodoka chewed her lip. "The canine team has cleared the cadavers?"

"Right as the bodies entered the base. They didn't like them much, but no explosives, other than the remnants from the sergeant's weapon," Ono agreed. "But yes there's no rapid decay of organics." He sniffed and noticed that he was smelling the normal cordite, burnt meat, and such cocktail. "Pattern V's also don't have urea or feces. These cyborgs actually have digestive tracts."

"They do have musculature and skin, those parts do need nourishment."

Ono nodded and started probing the a multi-meter again. He wanted to make sure this thing was dead.

Nodoka frowned at the electrical reader. "Do we know what their power source is?" she asked as she poked a bit further into the chest cavity.

"It could be magical, or some sort of battery or engine. We don't know what their fuel could be."

"But the power requirements are far too large for anything normal." Nodoka's frown deepened as her probing pulled back a structural member and revealed an orange-sized sphere nestled in the chest cavity. Several cables connected to it. Motioning to the guards, Nodoka reached behind her and pulled up another piece of equipment. "Did they do a radiological study?" she asked moving the Geiger counter's probe over the sphere.

"Yes, it came out clean," Dr Ono said leaning in to see Nodoka's readings. "Good shielding?"

"Maybe," Nodoka said as she walked to the fragments that made up the other specimen. "A nuclear battery... well I didn't think it would give enough power or get this small, but I didn't think cyborgs were feasible either." The scientist poked around the debris until she found a similar sphere. It was battered and misshapen and in one location a piece of shrapnel had sliced through the surface revealing a layer of some kind of blue mesh.

At the point of rupture the radiation reading was higher. "There must be more layers in it, maybe some lead after this blue stuff."

"Are the levels dangerous?" Ono asked.

"No, but we should use a lead shielded box for both of these," Nodoka motioned to one of her assistants who went past a guard and had him help her move a container to the specimen table. Foam sections were removed, and using a set of pincers, the damaged sphere was lowered inside.

"I'll remove this one," Ono stated as he started photographing and logging the wiring on the undamaged sphere. Nodoka came over and started helping him disconnect the orb. Most of the connections were modular and came out easily.

"Compact, it has to be advanced," Nodoka noted. "There's not much of a Pattern on it though."

Ono nodded and started to lever the sphere out of place with some difficulty. "Damn thing, it weights enough to have some real heavy metals in it."

Once the sphere was added to the other side of the box and the container was sealed Ono looked at it critically. "There has to be something wrong with those things. If they are a power system there has to be a reason they weren't used in other things. They're going to need watching. We don't know if they're shut down or idle or what."

"Expense likely. They're stable enough to be in a combat cyborg, so they have to be hardy. Maybe they are used in other roles. Nuclear batteries are used in space probes, and some isolated facilities. They aren't this small, though."

Ono went back to the body. "Yes, but that might not even be the power system. Though it does connect to this distribution network and right into this processor."

"Did you find anything that could work as an interface?" Nodoka went over to the more complete body and moved that table's magnifier over sections of the ruined bits of metal and bone that made up the cadaver's skull. She looked back at the locked case. There were plenty of new things to learn from these specimens.

After discarding the potentially contaminated leads, Tofu put the electrical reader down on a tray and walked over to the shattered head, using a long surgical pick he pointed to some bits of jelled brain and electronics. "There's a few areas here, but... it's crude. This technology. It shouldn't work."

Nodoka nodded. "You can't just put computer chips in a person's brain and expect them to work."

"I don't know what this is," Dr. Ono sighed. "That pattern's got something to do with this. Maybe whoever built this found a shortcut."

"Ghost in the machine. Sir?" Agent Gabriel Smith suggested as he shifted his gun slightly. To his left Sophie Addison's eyes went down to the scanner output.

Ono blinked. "Perhaps. Pattern V's are essentially flesh-borne golems reanimated by their former spirits."

"Was that how they got around the technology limitation?" Nodoka asked.

"You're right, this stuff... technically it's advanced, but I wouldn't be surprised to find it in a Russian sub."

"Not many people would have access to this kind of technology and this... magical skill. We don't know how they bonded the organic nervous system to the cybernetics. The smattering of obsolete equipment worries me though. While there are a few computers in here that appear newer than the rest, and some other things that I –think- are computers, there's also some old electronics too." Nodoka's eyes went to the metal plating that made up the walls, ceiling, and floor of the room. "We can't leave until these things are dissected and tagged."

Ono nodded and resumed his work. "The obsolescence shows either a lack of a need for a total retrofit or a lack of a capability to do it."

"The Pattern aspect also gives production questions. All the hardware can be purchased or machined, but how hard is it to... bind a ghost," Nodoka smiled at Gabriel.

"I can probably get a date from the age of the stuff in the brain here. I doubt they would have repeated that surgery." Tofu said as he used a scalpel and a set of miniature wire-cutters. Once the specimen was loose he pulled it out using a hemostat and put it into a reinforced Plexiglas specimen case. There was still a lot of work to be done, but at least they had a place to start from.

***************


Morrison stepped into the commissary with a slight smile. She walked up to the table where Morgan was sitting. Another agent, was across from Morgan. Morrison calmly held her hand out for the large German Shepard that was sitting next to her sister. The dog gave her a sniff and then went back to looking at the meal Morgan had in front of her.

"Good, Duke's gotten used to you," Agent George Clymer, the dog's handler, remarked.

"Well, the rest of the brood's gotten them used to succubae right, Sarge?" Morrison asked.

"They still don't like strange demons, humans either," Sergeant Clymer remarked.

"What's wrong, Sis? Mom wants us to go to sleep soon," Morrison happily said.

"Oh, it's that late?" Morgan said feeding a piece from her beef stew to Duke, despite George's cough. "That would be pretty nice."

Morrison held the bridge of her nose. "We have a problem."

"What? Because I'm having a nice meal with a K-9 unit?" Morgan's eyes flashed a slightly brighter shade of blue.

"It's more that you're trying to be ambivalent about being with Mother. You felt her earlier tonight. You know what she's like."

Morgan glared. "I'm not allowed that much?"

"No, you're not." Morrison sighed. "We're not."

"It's not like I was hiding, I'm not delusional," Morgan said petting the large dog. "I just saw them eating here. Duke was brought in special from the B base you know. Good boy, you made sure those girls I killed wouldn't explode or hide freaky monsters."

"You shouldn't be having problems with killing," Morrison stated.

"No, I shouldn't, and you're jealous."

"Of course, I've smelled the kills. I saw mother hugging you first. You..." Morrison sighed and sat down on the opposite side or Morgan. "It was the feeding wasn't it."

The diminutive sharpshooter simply looked her sister in the eye. "I was sloppy. It won't happen again."

"Sloppy? About the feeding or the wounding?"

"I need to file a report with my CO." George coughed as he stood up. Having three older sisters he knew when it was best to leave and go outside for a walk. "Duke, stay."

Morgan watched the man leave. "Do you know much about the canine units?" she asked her sister.

"Used as sentries, trackers, and for security. It's their noses." Morrison said reaching over to let the dog smell her again. She had an idea where this was going.

"It's fascinating really. We raise them and they think we're part of their pack. The Company has been breeding dogs for at least a hundred years."

"What? And we're the next in line?"

Morgan chuckled. "Why not? We're a pack based species too. What do you think of Andrea, now that you two can go clothes shopping together?"

"You're not one to get morose about becoming a 'dog of the military'. We signed away that part of us long before the D Program."

"Yes, no one leaves WIC. Even those agents that are... discharged. They really just go to work for some useful company and moonlight on occasion." Morrison put her hand on Morgan's shoulder. "What's bugging you? Is it the urge to feed? Did it..."

"No... I mean I was hungry, I'm not gonna deny that, but I don't think it made me sloppy. She just got in a shot, trying to take her alive..." Morgan shook her head.

"Mother made that decision. You did the best you could," Morrison assured pulling her arm around the smaller woman.

"It's not just that, there's the future," Morgan said scratching behind Duke's ears.

Morrison's eyes went to the dog. "What? A Company breeding program for succubae? Isn't that a bit... superfluous?"

"Convenient isn't it? The D program brings in plenty of already trained agents, and our... nature ensures that there will be pregnancies." Morgan leaned into the hug and smiled a bit.

"Red? Well... once aunty Ranma gets Miss Tsukino. Yeah, I can see it." Morrison nodded.

"There's also mother," Morgan smirked.

"Sure, eventually she might go. So, what's wrong? Worried that the higher ups aren't doing this out of the goodness of their hearts?"

"Pragmatically, it makes perfect sense. Keep good relations with Aunty Ranma and retain agents that would otherwise be lost. Makes up for the expense of the program. Of course..."

"Yes?"

Morgan patted Duke, and gave the silent dog, a bit from her stew, which he gingerly ate from her fingers. "Well, Mother's an officer, and she asked to be turned. We're the first. It's up to us to show how viable the program really is."

"Getting performance anxiety? You did kill a pair of Russian super soldier cyborgs by yourself."

"You're wrong, not by myself. That other sniper died because she tried to go alone. My trap worked because I knew when to call for help." Morgan paused. "Russian? Really?"

"Yup, heard it from Grandma when I was telling her about my weapon's performance. Didn't even fire the bulky thing. But yeah, there was Cyrillic on a few of the components, some of which were pretty old."

"Anything definite? Or just labels on some parts?"

"I know. It doesn't prove Russians, but not many people would use Soviet era electronics, unless they had too."

"And a pair of cyborgs were sent after Miss Tsukino."

"She does have a way of getting enemies. Dangerous ones too. This one almost got you." Morrison hugged a bit tighter.

"She was a very focused enemy," Morgan snuggled a bit closer. "There's going to be more of them."

"Oh? Could have been a two woman hit team."

Morgan shook her head. "Nah."

"Why's that?"

"Scalability. If someone can build one or two of these cybernetic women then a few more would not be that much more difficult. The design exists and one knows how to install the parts," Morgan explained.

"If that's true then how come there's not legions of them?"

"That's a good question. Maybe it's the same reason that the Schutzstaffel and Fallschirmjager were not able to field battalions using Project A."

"Someone destroyed the factory where they were being built?"

Morgan shrugged. "Maybe they were too expensive for only an incremental improvement. That's the problem any super-weapon has. They all sound amazing on paper, but often prove unreliable or too expensive for their capabilities. Mecha sound cool, but they'll break all the time, get stuck in mud, and cost a fortune."

"While a normal vehicle can do the same job and not be a huge target." Morgan pause. "So what about us?"

Morrison shrugged. "We're not super weapons... soldiers... whatever."

"We have powers beyond humans."

"So does he," Morrison said as she scratched Duke's chin. "We're just another species. It's not like we have to be specially made; it just takes an adult succubus."

"So that's it? We're cheap?" Morgan snickered.

"Why not? What's the main failing all super weapons have?"

"Cost?"

"Yup, that plagues all research projects, especially the ambitious ones." Morrison leaned in. "The money saved can be used to make better equipment. Like that gun of yours."

"It's really just arming and training succubae isn't it?"

"Yes, and you're a succubus." Morrison leveled her gaze at Morgan. "You know about the killing part, but you're gonna want to feed too." The green-haired succubus smiled. "And of course there's the sex."

"I think I can handle lesbian demon sex," Morgan stretched her shoulders.

"It might not be lesbian," Morrison teased.

"Oh well," Morgan shrugged.

Morrison blinked. "Huh... so what, the only problem was the kill? Succubae are up close and personal. Would it be hard to be so far away?"

Raising her hand and flipping it over her wrist, Morgan gave a noncommittal grunt.

Morrison sighed. "You should probably talk with Mom about this. This could get bad."

"I was okay, until I got close. That's when the smell..."

"Being wounded didn't help either."

Morgan gave her sister a long stare as exasperation changed to befuddlement before mellowing into apathy. "Yes, food was on my mind."

"We're still young. We've got to grow more."

"Have any other tautological bits of advice?" Morgan dryly asked. "At least Mother's given me some space."

"You loved it when she hugged you," Morrison reminded, embracing the smaller demon herself.

Pausing to enjoy the contact, Morgan smiled. She felt a slight purr form and let it fade away. "It's not like resisting does anything."

"I wouldn't go that bleak, but you were right. We don't need to make this complicated. The job's the same; we've just got to keep at it." Morrison said.

Morgan gave a slight sigh. Feeding had healed her body and being with mother healed the rest of her but it was still... demonic. "And what about you? Have you decided what to do with your family. Your human one?"

The taller demoness frowned. "I dunno. What are you going to do? You still keep in contact with them?"

"Just my cousin. Pa died when his rig fell into the sea, and mom turned all the money the petroleum company gave her into Scotch. She's still in Glasgow, in a potter's field by now. Brother left the rest of us and married some girl. They moved South. Both died in the London Troubles." Morgan stopped and stared at her gun.

Morrison raised her eyebrows. Until now she had no idea why her sister had joined the Company, instead of the SAS or a more... overtly Protestant organization, but that may have given her some clue. "Morgan?"

"I still write my cousin sometimes. She's a nice enough girl. Does welding up in Glasgow."

"Your handwriting the same?"

Morgan shrugged. "Close enough."

"Unfortunately, my family's a bit more suspicious."

"Yes, the skin pallor and alto voice would raise questions, but... ain't that the point? They're Marines; they already know you're up to something."

"Yes, leathernecks are perceptive like that," Morrison said dryly.

"Eventually you're going to tell me why you did that."

Morrison blinked.

"Come on, you've mentioned your family's military history, and you up and decide to do mercenary work. It don't add up. One of these days your going to tell us why you joined WIC," the sharpshooter teased.

"That information has been thoroughly documented by Recruiting and Training Section," Morrison said a bit briskly.

"Yes, and the Colonel and Commander know. Heck, I'm sure Mother's had full access to our files since day one, but... that wouldn't be fun."

"And I was curious as to what made you pick the Company."

"Well, now we've got a bit of a trade to work out." Morgan turned and looked at the commissary's entrance and watched as another demoness walked in. Red eyes narrowed, she walked up to the table and wordlessly sat down.

She was only an inch taller than Morrison but she seemed to loom over them as her presence dominated the room. Nariko cleared her throat "So, is everything okay?"

"Is it that obvious?" Morrison blushed.

"Well, it's making your mother a bit worried. Poor woman, she's been fidgeting all during her meeting. Mother's been trying to help her."

"She's too professional." Morgan stated.

Nariko laughed. "No, Mother told Aunt Eve not to go. She had to keep her from clawing at the walls."

"What? Why?" Morgan asked.

"It's some parenting thing? Independence?" Morrison asked

Nariko nodded. "Independence is important. She's learning that you two are going to feel bad, are going to get sad and that she shouldn't come in and make everything better."

"What if it got serious? What if we started to... spiral apart?"

"She'd tear her way out of the office and run over here, but you two are growing up. Fighting is only part of it." Nariko smiled and pulled a treat out of her pocket and gave it to Duke, who broke his eyes away from the stew bowl long enough to crunch it down.

"Emotional development?" Morgan asked.

"That's close enough," Nariko shrugged. "It's important for you to bond and grow up, and for Aunty Eve to help."

"Sometimes by not helping?" Morrison asked.

"So, why are you here then?" Morgan inquired.

"Well, there's a dog," Nariko smiled as she leaned over to scratch behind Duke's ears.

"That's what brought her over here too." Morgan pointed to her sister. "Sure there wasn't a concern for us? No massive burst of empathy?"

Nariko smiled. "That's a silly question."

Morgan smirked. "The answers are never complicated are they?"

"Why make things more trouble than they need to be?" Nariko agreed. "Your lives are complicated enough."

"Being succubus secret agents?"

Nariko grinned and put her hands on the two sisters'. "Don't worry you guys are doing great."

Morrison blushed, her nostrils sniffed in a familiar scent. "Mother!" she said standing up as the blonde entered into the room, and somehow, despite her dress and heels, managed to sprint to her daughters. Smiling, more with her eyes than her slightly upturned lips, Eve embraced both of her spawn and held them to her chest.

"Sorry for that, the meeting went a bit longer. Morgan's kills gave us quite a bit to talk about," Eve said hugging her daughters a bit tighter.

After entering the commissary after the Captain, George Clymer raised an eyebrow. "Wow, still shocking to see Jarvis... human," he quietly noted, before looking at Nariko. "Emotional."

"What else did the Captain have?" Nariko said patting Duke on the head. The dog's attention was split between Nariko and George.

"Well, have a good night. I know Duke's going to be grouchy in the morning," George said before telling the German Shepard to come to his side.

"A nice early run should straighten him out, Sergeant," Eve said as she walked past the canine-handler.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Eve nodded, and turned to her girls. "Come on, we need to get to sleep too."

***************


Genma took a drink, draining his sake glass. "I just don't know what to do. It's been such a long friendship. We've known each other for over twenty years, and I can't believe it's... I mean I'm trying to be better." He slowly refilled his glass. "I really am."

Ranma frowned. It had come to this, even her father was asking her for relationship advice. It was not how she had expected to spend her weekend. Though it was nice to take the occasional break from training. "Sometimes people just grow apart."

Genma gave his daughter a level look. Nodoka had given him the papers.

"Have you talked about it?" the redhead asked.

Genma snorted and glanced over at his... former wife. The divorce papers had been a disappointment, not a shock. They had been apart for over ten years. The marriage he had destroyed in all but name was now over. The feeling of closure was a small comfort, but the hurt was larger. "What do you think?"

Nodoka raised an eyebrow. "I'm amazed that you're actually being sensible about all this."

"Exactly! I eventually accepted it. Why couldn't Soun?" Genma tapped his forehead with his index finger. "He's supposed to be the sensitive and deep one."

Nodoka chuckled. "In this case I think being maudlin and emotional was a detriment. Succubae are simple creatures, much like oafish martial artists, though with less greed and a bit more impulse control."

Genma turned to face her. "Left-handed compliments? Are you feeling okay?

The officer shrugged and went back to her notes. "Well, I have realized that you have a valuable contribution towards the effort."

Taking a sip, Genma thought over her statement. "The training's not that much. It keeps the Master off my back, and gives me something to do. It's also nice to interact with my grandkids."

"Is spending time with Soun getting that difficult?" Ranma asked.

"It's depressing. He keeps acting as if..." He waved his hand off. "And I thought The Drake had it bad when his wife died, but at least he faced her death."

"You're not comparing that man's interests in negotiable affection to Soun's inadequacies?" Nodoka asked.

"Why not? The Drake's certainly been the best father these girls have had." Genma laughed.

"You have gotten better, Pops."

"Which brings us to his problem." Nodoka turned to her former husband. "You're going to have to accept that you're the better man. It is good that you want to help Soun."

"The Drake's taken him out today, maybe another voice will help him," Ranma offered as she took a sip from her own mug.

Genma shrugged.

"Doubtful, but worth a shot," Nodoka admitted. "Soun can still see his little girls. Not like what we and the Drake had to deal with."

"Is the gender change that important?" Ranma asked.

"Well it keeps us from confusing you with when you were human," Nodoka explained.

"The curse screwed that up for me. I could still see you as you were," Genma added.

Ranma downed her mug and paused as she refilled it. "Yeah, same thing happened to me. What do we do?"

Genma shrugged. "I dunno, that's why I'm asking for your help."

"Well, we can't do anything to make the situation much worse," Nodoka frowned. If things did get much worse, Soun would have to be put into more... restrictive protective custody.

"Well... can we have Soun actually spend some time with his three daughters. That should clear things up right quick. I can ask Akane and Nabiki what they think of it, they're in the dojo with the old Master right now," Ranma offered.

Kasumi stepped into the kitchen gave a little smile. "Worth a try, but you're underestimating just how deep of a hole my father's hiding in."

"It's really that bad?" Ranma asked.

Kasumi smirked. "There's an obvious solution, just bite Father and get it over with."

"That would make him face up to current events, or have a mental breakdown," Nodoka evaluated.

"Well... it would be a more controlled breakdown," Genma allowed.

"Shouldn't you all be more disturbed by this idea?" Ranma turned to Kasumi. "And you, you don't want to be turned but you're suggesting that I make your father my daughter?"

"We're not being serious. Oh, you got some mail," she offhandedly said as she put a folded piece of paper in front of Ranma on the kitchen table.

"Not only do you guys go through my mail, but you won't even let me have the original," the redhead grumbled as she picked up the photocopy.

"This was a special case, we wanted to check it for fingerprints."

Ranma blinked at the letterhead. "Is this thing for real?

"Yup, the head of the Vatican Expeditionary Force and intelligence branch wants to meet with you."

Ranma turned to her father. "Hey! What did you sell me for this time?"

"That hurts Girl, like I would be foolish enough to make a deal like that." Genma stated with a bit of a laugh. "

The redhead raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we've never been to Italy. Besides you don't need to con a church, helping poor travelers is what they're supposed to do."

"True."

"Maybe it's your mother-" Genma caught himself. "Maybe she has an idea."

"Our daughter is a demon. I think that's enough."

"Doesn't say anything about me being queen," Ranma said, skimming the letter. "Just condolences for those Assembly morons and an offer of some information to help things about... Soviet cybernetic assassins."

"The Vatican is in Europe and communism was a big threat to them."

"They were atheists right?"

"Very much," Kasumi nodded. "Any morality and beliefs that did not come from the State were seen as a threat to their power."

"So... this information is an apology? All, because the Assembly was a bunch of aggressive losers."

"Well Catholics do get angry when Protestants do stupid things in the name of Christianity." Kasumi held back the second part of the statement to the effect that such idiocy was the Catholic's domain.

"What's this about?"

"The Protestants are a breakaway faction that rejected the corruption of the Catholic church and formed their own organizations." Kasumi explained.

"That's what I don't get, from what I've seen the Assembly plays priest dress-up as a way to look... legitimate." Ranma shrugged. "I mean I don't really get even what the difference is between Catholics and Prodestants."

"Yes, Ukyou and Misako are not exactly brimming with theological knowledge or even a basic understanding of scripture."

"Yes, you know more Christian teachings than they do," Ranma smirked with a little wink.

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "You thought it was cute."

"Well it is nice to see that you do wear some jewelry, and I was a bit surprised when it didn't burn my hand," Ranma lightly said.

"Oh? It's not like an ofuda would burn on you either," Kasumi replied with a smile.

"Shinto stuff's different," Ranma grumped.

Nodoka paused then turned to Ranma. "You've been keeping up?" She glanced at Genma.

"I made sure to go to temples on important occasions," Genma said with a bit of pride.

"When you wanted something, and don't try to claim it was spiritual guidance."

"The body still needs more sustenance than prayer alone."

Ranma chewed her lip. "Well it's not hard to believe in kami, when you actually are a supernatural being."

Kasumi nodded. "Also succubae have pretty familiar elements, being a slave race led to a promised land by a messiah figure. Add in some ancestor worship and you've got a pretty solid belief system."

"Coming from someone that ritualistically consumes the flesh and blood of their man-god."

Kasumi blinked. "That sounds like something succubae would do too."

Ranma rubbed her forehead. "Great, maybe this Bishop O'Malley just wants to convert me."

"If you do go over to their side, make sure you at least get some really good soup out of the deal." Kasumi laughed.

"Huh?"

Kasumi sighed. "During one of the Irish famines the Catholics would only give food to peasants that converted, hence the term 'Soup Catholic'."

"Huh, obscure history reference," Ranma shrugged.

"Don't they teach you anything in school?"

"Well, we do miss a lot of days. Fighting cyborgs and monsters and cultists and what not."

"And are you really touting the educational qualities of an institution run by Drake Kuno? I do recall you never graduated from there, Lieutenant." Nodoka stated while doing her paperwork.

"He does fund and staff his little hobby fairly adequately, Ma'am," Kasumi allowed.

"Careful a compliment may spill out," Ranma laughed. "So, this letter legit?"

"Fingerprints match. We've been talking with the Papal Nuncio in Ottawa and confirmed it with the Holy See itself."

"Nuncio their diplomat?" Ranma guessed.

"Yes, over in the embassy in Rockcliffe Manor House."

"Okay, let's see how that goes," Ranma shrugged.

"Just like that?"

"Well, the guys says he has information on these assassins, and we're all supposed to be allies."

Kasumi nodded. "I'll tell them to set up the meeting."

***************


"How was your weekend been?" Naoko asked Ranma and her spawn as they sat down at the lunch table.

Ranma tilted her head. "Well, Ukyou made dinner last night. Was really good."

"Oh? Sounds like a wild time," Sam teased.

"This is a bit public to get into the juicy bits," Akane smirked.

"I dunno, everyone knows about the wild sex," Misako added as she pulled out her leather lunch bag and started unpacking her meal.

"How's things going with Usagi?" Sam asked.

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Well... we helped her get a friend back."

Sam gave Naoko a glance. "That's good," the short-haired blonde stated

"Now you're not fishing for dirt, are you?" Nabiki asked as she opened the Tupperware container. "Hmm... is this mine? It smells like pork."

"Oh, that's mine!" Misako said leaning over to snatch it.

"No, we're just your friends."

"Yeah, we don't really care about the greater intrigue. I mean, as long as you're doing the right thing what do the details matter?" Sam asked.

Ranma blushed. "Wow, that's a lot of trust you're putting into us."

"We know you. You don't care about power, you're all doing this because you have to."

Nariko paused. "We do what we must because we can," she said quoting the inscription on Morgan's gun.

"So you don't see any sinister motives on our part?" Ukyou skeptically asked. "I mean, have you met Misako?"

"Aww... thanks," Misako blushed.

"Misako? She's fine, it's not like she's spouting Love and Justice nonsense," Naoko remarked.

"You guys aren't serious?" Ranma blinked. "I mean..."

Sam sighed. "You did tell us, and it's not hard to figure out."

"We've got secret identities too," Nariko reminded.

"That's different." Sam said.

"Yeah I can't imagine you guys dancing about shooting sparkles and glitter," Naoko added.

Nabiki gave a little smirk.

"What's the deal with Love and Justice being nonsense?" Ranma asked.

"Oh they're fine, but you have to wonder about a person that makes it a point to say she's for that stuff. Isn't she already fighting monsters?" Sam asked.

Naoko chuckled. "Yeah, it's like a guy that constantly says he doesn't care what girls think about him. Obviously, he does."

"Otherwise he'd just shut up about it?" Akane asked.

"He might not want to look like a painfully awkward geek," Misako shrugged as she forked a bit of pork.

Ukyou sighed and went for the low hanging fruit. "Well that sounds about as successful as a girl putting on a few pounds of makeup so she won't look ugly."

Misako shrugged. "I didn't say it was a smart idea."

Ranma turned back to her blonde friend. "So what are you saying?"

Sam looked to Naoko who nodded. "Sunny... don't get stupid. We know how you get around her and..."

Ranma's eyes narrowed, and she felt the slightest hint of a blush struggling to form.

Looking at the nearly luminescent violet orbs, Sam coughed. "We know her too, and it's all... black and white to her. She's not from the same world as the rest of us. My God... it's like she never got above the age where every girl wants to be a pretty princess."

Misako snickered.

"She's not that bad," Ranma stated a bit tartly.

Misako's grin grew.

Sam sighed. "Okay, you told us that, but there's a reason we believed you. Usagi's a total 'little princess'. She thinks the world will fall at her feet."

Naoko nodded. "And from what you've told us, she can make it happen."

"Usagi wouldn't," Ranma stated.

"And if she tries? How would she make the world better?"

The redhead tiled her head. "What are you saying?"

"Just keep your eyes open."

Sam turned to the other demons. "And if she does get stars in her eyes, you girls better be there to pick up the slack. Can we count on you to be paranoid and suspicious bastards?"

"Don't forget ruthless and cynical," Naoko added.

Akane and Nabiki gave each other sidelong smirks, meanwhile Misako simply cackled maniacally. Ukyou raised a single eyebrow.

Nariko turned her head and looked at her mother's two human friends. "Don't worry. She's sacrificed everything for us; we have to do our best to help her."

"And the best thing about having to kill Usagi, is chances are she'd pay us to do it."

"Misa-chan...." Ranma hissed.

"No, Sunny," the green-eyed girl gave a toothy grin at using a public code word for Mother. "If our little princess fucks up that big, I'd say it counts under the terms of that deal."

"Even if it didn't... could you live with yourself for letting her do... something horrible, just because you want to find out how complete her dye job is?" Sam asked.

Misako chuckled.

"She's a natural blonde," Ranma stated without much thought as she opened a cracker packet and put a bit of cheese on one.

"Oh? When did you check?" Naoko teased.

"During gym, silly," Ranma said before eating some.

"My, my, Sunny's got wandering eyes." Sam shook her head.

"We are trying to warn her," Naoko added.

"It is kind of hard for us to not look," Ukyou coughed.

Sam blinked. "Oh, yeah... the lesbian thing. The locker room must be like one big meat market for you guys."

Misako bent over laughing.

"Are you trying to make her explode?" Ukyou asked as she put an arm around Misako and helped her calm down.

"If I find any other double entendres, I'll let you know," Sam smirked.

"So what's with this? I can take care of myself." Ranma reminded. "You girls kind of know what I've done."

"Yes, very strong, very family minded, and good fighter, but you're still vulnerable." Sam looked down at her lunch.

Ranma chewed her lip. "My desire for a mate?"

"Yah," Sam stated.

"Ask your sister for help?" Naoko suggested.

"She is more level-headed," Ranma agreed.

"Yes, very supportive, loving, and scary woman," Sam laughed.

"Speak of the devil," Naoko muttered as she pointed to the far door to the cafeteria. She saw that it was quite superfluous. Ranma's nostrils flared before Naoko got her arm up. At least the redhead's obvious... interest did not seem to be clouding her eyes... much.

"Least she's got them guarding her," Ukyou noted, looking at the trio of girls around Usagi.

"Minako's looking alert," Nariko noted as the quartet moved towards them.

Usagi looked at the silent octet of darkly dressed schoolgirls and blinked. "Sorry... were we interrupting something?"

Misako lifted her head up. "Oh, we're just plotting to kill you."

Minako stepped in front of Usagi who just blinked in confusion.

Ukyou tightened her grip on Misako. "Do you have any tact? Any at all?"

"It'd be nice to assume that's just a morbid joke." Rei's glare went from the demons to the princess foolish enough to hire them.

"Do we wanna know what brought this up?" Makoto asked.

"Don't worry, it's a joke. It's not like we're having a tactical planning session," Nabiki assured.

Usagi sighed and stepped over so Minako wasn't in her way. "So, Setsuna told me that you've got some more information?" Her eyes darted to Sam and Naoko.

"Yes, fine we can have a private chat about that." Ranma rolled her eyes and stood up. Her hand reached out and grabbed her packet of crackers.

Minako made a facile cough. "Do you mind?"

"No, you can come too." Usagi smiled. "Makoto, Rei, we won't be long."

"So how have you been doing? Getting used to being... human again?" Ranma asked Minako as they left the lunchroom.

"It's been taking some effort," Minako sighed. "I forgot my lunch today."

"Eating?" Ranma said offering her crackers.

Minako frowned and waved them away. "It's taking some adjusting."

"Don't worry, you've been doing great," Usagi said giving her a quick hug. She knew from what Setsuna had said that Minako needed a lot of support. "So what do you know?

Ranma glanced at Minako before turning back to the princess. "The Vatican contacted me. They said they've got some info on your cybernetic assassins."

"Catholics? Why?" Usagi asked.

"They're in Europe and those girls had Russian parts in them, and I guess they've got a big spy network."

"They haven't given you the info yet? Planning a meeting?" Minako asked as they walked down the hallway.

"Yeah, plan to meet at some museum in a couple days. I doubt they'd do anything too stupid, but... " she shrugged and ate a cracker.

Usagi frowned pensively and looked at the redhead.

"Cracker?" Ranma offered.

Usagi reached out and bit into one. "Eww... what's in this? Meat?"

"Chicken broth actually." Ranma chuckled.

Minako's eyes widened. "If I didn't know better..."

"I'm going to eat it. It's... just odd," Usagi said taking another bite of the cracker.

"We're Japanese," Ranma sighed. "How's this strange to you?"

"It just surprised me," Usagi said finishing the cracker and taking another from Ranma. "What is this? Some type of demon recipe?"

"Uh no... just from the store. Called Chicken in a Biscuit or something."

"Oh."

"You're disappointed? What that it's not freshly baked using the blood of a kill? And you ate it anyway? What's wrong with you?"

"It was free food."

"What if it was some guy off the street?" Minako asked.

"I'm sure he had it coming. This is Sunny we're talking about." Usagi shrugged.

Ranma raised an eyebrow.

"Back to the Vatican, they have information?" Minako asked.

"They're setting up a little meeting, so things will get... unpleasant if they were lying." Ranma shrugged.

"Because it would be a trap?" Usagi asked.

"Pretty much, and the Vatican doesn't need a war with the Company."

"The Assembly thought differently," Minako pointed out.

"Yes."

Usagi tilted her head. "These are good guys?"

"They're not crazy cultists," Ranma allowed. "The Assembly was small-time. I've killed most of their troops. The Vatican wouldn't lie, least like this."

Minako nodded. "Europe is a sensitive area, especially with the non-human situation, and its past history."

Usagi blinked.

"Sailor V. London. Remember?" Minako asked.

"Oh yeah." Usagi turned to Ranma.

"I'll tell you what they said after the meeting. We know what their bodies are like, but it would be nice to know more of their numbers, tactics, and why they're trying to kill you."

Usagi's narrowed her eyes. "I want to come too. This is my life we're talking about, and I should be involved."

Ranma tilted her head slightly and then smiled. "Excellent.

"Oh." Usagi paused. "What's the catch?

"None, it's good that you want to meet with this Bishop. It does send a message."

"Really?"

"Sure," Ranma said in that same bored tone. Her eyes then twinkled darkly. "Oh, have you ever flown in a helicopter?"

***************


Clenching her teeth at the vibration, Usagi tugged at the harness over her chest and closed her eyes. It got the jarring out of her vision but the lack of reference made the slight but constant altitude buffeting feel worse. "Ick," she said opening her eyes. "How can you stand this?" she loudly said into the headset that had been provided to her.

On the opposite side of the helicopter, Ranma and Eve exchanged a smirk while Commander Stillwater merely raised an eyebrow slightly. "You did insist on coming with us Miss Tsukino, and it is over a four hour trip by car," he casually stated.

Usagi frowned and turned to Ranma. "How can you handle it?"

"I fly every day," Ranma shrugged. "Least we've got a nice view. Not many clouds. You can almost see the States from up here."

"You're exaggerating," Eve noted with amusement as Usagi turned her head and tried to look at the southern horizon. She adjusted her legs so they crossed at the thigh instead of the ankle, not that it made much of a difference given her dress style.

Usagi's stomach lurched and she twisted right back around and looking at the bulkhead across from her.

"You're doing good," Ranma offered.

Usagi nodded and fixated on Eve's clothes, instead of a pair of gun belts she had a large blue leather purse with a silver chain slung over a shoulder and a blue choker with a silver broach with the Company logo and flanked by what she presumed were rank insignia.

"Like the new uniform?" Eve teased letting her horns become briefly visible. She looked at her daughter, felt the connection but there was still... She could only feel one, and a small frown formed on her face before vanishing.

"It's informal much like the suits," Stillwater pointed to his own grey pinstripe suit with its black tie and silver WIC lapel pin. "It gives a bit more elegance than the skimpy skirts of the normal dress uniforms." Stillwater shook his head. "Not sure what the brass were thinking about that.

"You can just do that?" Usagi asked.

"I am the base commander."

"We told you this was a bit formal," Ranma smirked as she smoothed her purple silk dress. Its collar was a bit higher than her normal taste, but Nariko had bought it for her.

Usagi coughed and looked down at the white leather dress and heels she was wearing. "This isn't that bad is it?"

"Oh no it's very lovely," Eve assured as she adjusted the strap to Usagi's dress so it stayed on the shoulder while Ranma untied it in back.

"The problem is that you don't have it tight enough," Ranma said as she relaced the back and gave a tug. "It's all sagging." She then tied it off, and pulled back.

The blonde teenager blinked, not sure if she was just insulted.

"Yes, much better," Eve agreed, smirking as Usagi gasped for air. "It's a lovely start, Dear. I'm sure you'll fill out grand when you're a little bit older."

Usagi coughed and went a bit green.

Ranma leaned over and whispered to Eve in demonic. "Jealousy or airsickness?"

Eve smiled and noticed Usagi hold her stomach. "Both."

"Well, it's not like we told the pilots to roll the 'chopper," Morrison remarked.

Eve's frown came back again.

"You're doing fine," Ranma whispered to Eve in demonic. At least the language lessons were paying off. Though they only had a phonetic guide for pronunciation, they could understand each other...

"Don't worry Mom, Morgan's having a good time practicing on base. She's getting really attached to her gun." Morrison's good-humored jealousy was plainly present.

"Something wrong?" Usagi asked.

"Eve just misses her daughter; she hasn't spent much time away from her. I still feel pretty sad to leave mine back at the base. You understand, I'd hope," Ranma ended tersely.

Thinking about Usa, Usagi smiled a bit. "At least she's having a good time with Hotaru and the others."

"It's not a long flight, we'll be there in no time," Nariko reassured patting Usagi's thigh.

"And then you can talk to this Spook Priest about these Soviet cyborgs trying to kill you," Ranma said and gave a bit of a chuckle. "Sorry, but that sounds just... silly."

"Maternal Magical Girl Demon Queen," Eve gently reminded.

"Torturing spawn of a demon, a Nazi paratrooper and an Ace of Aces," Ranma replied.

"And be careful," Stillwater advised. "This man is the head of the longest running intelligence agency on the planet. He's going to use this chance to see what you're like. He also knows Latin; so no Demonic. He can probably figure out what you're saying."

"I figured it was more than to tell us about this new enemy," Usagi stated.

"He could be chummy, or he could be confrontational. Maybe he'll belittle you or try to confuse you. I can guarantee that he fully intends to make this meeting a beneficial exchange on his part."

"Just talking with me is worth giving up information on a group of assassins?"

"It's what I would do," Stillwater adjusted the knot to his tie absently.

"It also helps their relations with you guys too," Usagi noted. "And... you guys have... dissected two of these cyborgs. So... it's not that much new stuff."

"Maybe, he doesn't know anything about you." Stillwater stopped fussing with his tie. "Unless Miss Hino's school was keeping tabs on their gifted students. Given their Sisters of Purity, a miko with spiritual powers would interest the Church. Of course that doesn't include the basic research even a novice spook would do on your history, especially recent."

Usagi nodded. "Yeah, that came up at lunch. TA is a Catholic school. So... maybe they do know about us, but he may not reveal that during this meeting, or maybe he'd say the school did know about us."

Stillwater gave a noncommittal gesture.

"But if he said they had been spying on us back in Japan, he could be lying, and using that to make us think he knows more or using it to get me paranoid or slip up and reveal something."

"Isn't it a delightful game?" Eve smirked.

Usagi groaned. "And what about you? I mean you're bringing four demons to talk to a priest."

"The letter was addressed to me and used my Company Freelancer title," Ranma noted.

"Oh? Don't they know you're a Sailor Senshi and a Queen?" Usagi sighed. "Or are they keeping that secret. Stupid spies."

"It's okay." Nariko patted Usagi's knee.

"So they know about Ranma and probably her kids, but what about Eve and the agent succubae? What are you bringing them to show off?"

Stillwater stroked his goatee. "Would that really be appropriate?"

"You're giving them something to think about too? Aren't they your allies?"

"They haven't balked at our employment practices in the past."

"And we don't question their use of the Sisters of Purity," Eve added.

Usagi hesitated an obvious question on her tongue. She thought over that name. "Nuns? Some kind of magic? Are they spies? Or is it more in a fight. I guess with a name like that they'd work on demonic possession. Maybe powers like me." Usagi groaned and felt her brain flip and see the world in a more... complicated way. "Or the name is a ruse and they're really warrior nuns with guns or axes or something."

Ranma shrugged.

"You seem rather calm."

"Being tense right now won't help."

"No, not that. I mean all the lies and secrets. Everything can be taken a different way and how can you trust anyone?"

"Well you try to use your best judgment and work from what you do know," Ranma looked at Usagi. "You may want some help on the first part."

"That was Ami's job. How do you do it? Ami fears you. She'd fight us all the time, but she'd help you. It wasn't until you started helping us that we actually beat her in a fight, and she only escaped because I didn't let you help in the actual fight," Usagi rubbed the corners of her eyes.

"Genius is overrated?" Ranma ventured.

"You can't beat someone at chess when they're playing poker," Eve stated

"She knew what would happen if she messed with Mother."

"The key to all this is simplicity. That's it: just simple, robust plans, with lots of backups. Shit happens, more complexity just means more stuff will go wrong," Stillwater explained.

"That's it? Ami knew what would happen to her. That is simple," Usagi said.

Ranma coughed. "You still have Setsuna."

"Yes. A mysterious and aloof plotter is now suddenly my best chum. She's at my side all the time and has even started training us." Usagi tried looking out at the water in the distance.

"Your pet suddenly isn't being useful, is it?" Ranma offered.

"Luna? Yeah, that would scare me." Usagi laughed. "Poor thing, she's trying to keep up with all this, but it's overwhelming her. At least Airtimes is happy to have Minako back and he's cheering up Luna."

"Oh," Ranma dryly stated. She was not fond of cats.

The blonde's eyes turned to the floor and she chewed her cheek. Eventually her thoughts turned to the idea that on the other side of that flooring were thousands of feet of empty air, and came to something more disturbing. "So, what if we get shot at?" Usagi asked with her gaze still on the to the floor. It did not seem very thick to her, nor were the walls.

Stillwater put his elbows on his thighs, interlaced his fingers and rested his chin down on them. "We're hoping for that actually."

"What?"

"The base commander, Sailor Moon, and DarkStar. Pretty juicy target," Morrison stated.

"You're using me... and yourself as bait!"

One of Stillwater's thumbs scratched his goatee. "Yes."

"That's insane!"

"Why?" the commander impassively asked, the gold band on his ring finger reflecting the sunlight.

Usagi blinked. The man seemed to be perfectly at ease, but she would occasionally see bits where his eyes would focus on her, gauging her, evaluating her. "It's just so risky."

"It is?" Ranma blinked. "We're already targets, we might as well take advantage of that and make a nice trap."

"But what if they shoot us out of the sky?"

"Won't be the first time," Nariko stated.

A slight frown formed on Stillwater's face. "I'd prefer that not happen. It's an expensive requisition."

"A joke?" Usagi asked.

"We at Willard International Consulting do not have a sense of humor that we're aware of."

"Well put, Sir." Eve added.

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Really? I was pretty sure you were smirking at the footage of that Assembly base we wiped out."

"Taking pleasure in a job well done is one thing." Stillwater paused. "I'll admit there was some schadenfreude."

Usagi blinked in confusion.

"It's German: means taking pleasure at the misfortune of others," Eve smirked.

"Wasn't that when Ranma killed a lot of people by herself?" Usagi asked.

"Oh no, the artillery crews killed half. It was a wonderful way to say hello. I only killed a fifth of them." Ranma chuckled. "Humans are very interesting, aren't they Usagi?"

"I'm human." Usagi blushed.

"Of course you are," Nariko happily agreed.

Not hearing even a hint of sarcasm, the blonde studied the demon's face: no smirk, no malice. "Well if we're bait, and the helicopter gets hit.. what'll happen? Guess you guys can fly out but the rest of us... what, would we be carried?"

"Count the number of demons on board," Ranma smirked.

After finding that the number of humans equaled the number of demons, Usagi blinked. "Insane."

"It's worked before," Nariko shrugged.

"I still think this Bishop is being a bit cute, Sir," Eve stated.

"By scheduling the meeting today?" Stillwater gave a slight shrug. "He's showing he knows about our activities with the government, without being too blatant or crass."

"Huh? Government" Usagi blinked.

"Yes, the one that contracted our services," Stillwater stated.

"This a normal meeting? Or are they going to chew you out for the whole rocket thing?" Ranma asked.

"It was within the terms of our contract."

"Your contract with the Canadian government covers blowing up a mountain full of cultists?" Usagi skeptically asked.

"Asks the woman that contracted me with some... odd requirements," Ranma smirked.

"She is trying her best," Nariko stated.

"Sometimes it is not enough to do our best; we must do what is required," Eve stated.

"So that's how you'll spin this? I mean all these demons. How would they take it?"

"Churchill, right?" Stillwater turned to Eve. "Interesting man. Another quotation seems appropriate. 'If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favorable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons.' "

"I prefer what he would say if the Sea Lion had come off and my ancestors had invaded. 'The hour has come; kill the Hun.' "

"That doesn't answer my question," Usagi grumbled.

"Oh, it does," Ranma smirked.

"That humans can be worse than demons? Yeah, I have fought plenty of humans, and things that used to be humans," Usagi sighed. "I just wish I knew why they hated me so much."

Stillwater and Eve exchanged a smirk. "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life," Eve quoted.

Usagi glared. "Yes, I know that. I've saved the world before. Stupid rock, making it so no one remembers."

"We don't get much accolades either, but then you know it best. ' If you are going through hell, keep going.' " Eve added.

"That's why I'm here." Usagi paused. "That was another quotation wasn't it? What's with you and this guy?"

"He was England's Prime Minister when the rest of Europe had fallen. The enemy looked nigh invincible and at the time the United States had not entered the war." Stillwater explained.

Eve nodded. "And he was saying things like this. 'Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.' "

"Now that I can stand behind." Usagi's lips curled into a smile. Part of her wished she had heard these words before, to know that someone else had seen such dire circumstances and had still moved forward.

"This is what WIC does. We've done it for a long time." Stillwater stated. "We don't have your powers. 'We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire... Neither the sudden shock of battle nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools and we will finish the job."

"I get it." Usagi flexed her hand. "That's how you'll play it to the government? That this was all part of this long war? That you just had to fight them?"

Stillwater nodded. "Things are that important. If you'll permit me another quotation. 'You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.' "

"You're not the only one trying to save the world," Eve said.

Usagi turned to Ranma "And what do you think?"

"It's a bit more easy to swallow than babbling about Love and Justice. There's no need to gussy it up. We fight because we have to. These cyborgs are just more goons the enemy is throwing at us."

"The enemy? Who?"

"Does it matter?"

"I don't know," Usagi sighed. "It is odd. I mean you're German right?" she asked Eve.

"You're Japanese. Are we defined by what our ancestors did?"

"That's an odd question coming from you, Captain." Stillwater raised an eyebrow.

"I never thought I was defined by it," Eve stated.

"Just weighed down by it?" Ranma asked.

Eve smiled a bit. "Not as much as I used to be."

Usagi noticed the demons suddenly tense up and start looking at the windows and reaching for their weapons. She turned and saw the sky shift, and her stomach go into a lurch.

"We're on descent," Lieutenant Hilbert said from the cockpit. "Coordinates cleared with ground crew."

"Landing site looks good," Lindemann the copilot said as the helicopter dropped down.

Usagi looked out and frowned. To the side was a lumpy field. Momentarily distracted from her stomach, the increasingly closer view revealed that it was not a lumpy field, but instead... a field planted on top of a building. Her confusion was cut off as the craft throttled up to retard its descent and jolted as it landed on the parking lot.

She blinked and watched as the others unbuckled and got up. Pulled up by Nariko, the blonde was ushered out of the helicopter and blinked at the collection of soldiers outside the vehicle.

"I told you we had plans in place," Ranma teased as she walked out and started chatting with a group of agents waiting by an armored personnel carrier.

"But that's a... limo?" Usagi blinked and looked at the black stretch car and the group of men in dark suits with automatic weapons near it.

"That's for me." Stillwater frowned and put on a pair of shades. As he walked towards the black car a pair of men detached from the group. Both were appropriately bland and thin with nearly matching hair in the 'easy to manage but professional' style. Even their dark suits were similarly cut, one had a silver WIC pin on his lapel, the other had a Canadian flag on his.

"Has this meeting been moved up?" Stillwater asked eyeing the black car.

"Not as far as I know, Sir." The Company man coughed.

"We merely wanted to give a bit more of a... official veneer to things," the Canadian said as he held his suit coat from being whipped around by the slowing rotor blades.

"I suppose this is a bit much for you," Stillwater said eyeing the military vehicles in the lot. At the edge of the roped off area, the expected crowd had gathered and some of the more... personable agents and some of the local security had started giving a bit of a tour-guide spiel.

"We've had military occupation of our capital before," the Canadian said stiffly as he watched the group of women move away from the helicopter.

"Yes, October '70? Nasty bit there, Gagnon."

"Yes, it was," the spook said tersely.

"So Andre," Stillwater smiled. At least this man had a decent pseudonym. "Your boss at CSIS felt that the black limousine was appropriate?"

"You felt that a helicopter in a museum parking lot was fitting. I suppose we're all allowed our clichés. Your Captain Dewey kept me informed," Andre said motioning to the suited agent standing between him and Stillwater.

"Good," Stillwater said.

"If anything our presence should help give the proper impression with the people you're currently meeting with. Your friends from Rockcliffe Park are still going to be fashionably late, but I'm sure they've seen this little entrance."

"It may take them some time to leave their embassy," Captain Dewy commented.

"Especially if they have to wax up their diplomatic vehicles," Andre remarked dryly. "Shame they don't have any of the Pope's tank divisions for an honor guard."

"And your men will just wait out here until it's over."

Andre shrugged. "It's a nice day."

"And if it gets cloudy some of you may wander in and browse the exhibits."

The Security Intelligence Service agent pointed to two of the men by the long black car. "Well John's a real art lover, Lopez is a real history buff, and Franz really likes the soup they have in the café out by the patio." Andre gave a little chuckle.

"Well I'll have to tell the girls about that. They're always looking for new dishes to taste."

Across the cordoned area Usagi was watching the exchange. "So, the limo's for Stillwater and his meeting. That makes the guys in black and that one guy talking with him... secret agents? For the government not you guys," the blonde clarified.

"Yeah, that's about right," Eve noted.

"And the guy at Stillwater's side? Some other Company guy? He doesn't quite seem... government."

"That's Captain Dewey."

"Huh... I've heard of him before."

"You should have," Ranma smirked. "He's the one that soaked you on our contract."

"Contract, so.. lawyer?" Usagi turned to look at the bland, thin man again. "That didn't seem very fair you know."

"You did have Setsuna's help," Nariko reminded.

"It's how you make things nice and legal," Ranma laughed.

"Or legal enough." Eve glanced at her watch.

"We're still a bit early, Mother," Morrison remarked.

Eve nodded.

"Should we wait for the Commander?" Morrison asked.

Staring at the building, Usagi tuned out the conversation. The fields of grass growing on top of the museum was only part of the strangeness. The walls and windows of it were very stark and angular, especially the one spiked almost... prow-like thing in the front of it.

"Ugly building ain't it?" Ranma asked after walking up to Usagi's side and prodding her forward.

"I think it kind of pretty." Usagi blinked and went with the group as they walked closer to the building. It's a museum, right?"

"The pre-mission briefing did mention a war museum; it should be interesting," Nariko said in an innocent voice.

Trying to see the smirk she swore was there, Usagi nodded and was led into the lobby. Her eyes widened at the collection of vehicles and weapons. Hung from the ceiling were several planes and a few tanks were parked in the entrance and outside. A slight contrast with the modern war machines idling out in the parking lot. Twisting her neck about, she was on a second floor overlooking a large internal space before, being nudged in the ribs.

"You're acting like a tourist," Ranma whispered to her.

"It's... a bit much," Usagi sighed. "I mean look at all this stuff!" she said waving to a 1:10 scale model of a U-boat.

"Lots of neat stuff, shows what people can make, but you're not here to sightsee. We've got a meeting, one you insisted on being present for," Ranma reminded as they walked down a hallway towards the art gallery.

"Huh, so Stillwater is with us too," Usagi noted looking behind her.

"We've really got to work on her situational awareness," Eve sighed to Ranma.

"Oh yeah," Ranma's eyes went over a few aerial images of bomber formations and black flak clouds. Her attention then went to the other people browsing the room as they passed through. She had yet to smell anything abnormal, but humans had attacked Usagi before. "Isn't Setsuna training you?" Ranma politely asked. Her daughters had already bugged their training site.

"Yeah, she says I'm getting better." Usagi turned to see an oil painting from the perspective of an aircraft carrier's deck. Frozen in time, it looked like hundreds of planes were diving towards the ship, some were being destroyed by anti-aircraft guns and others were being taken out by other planes.

Eve stopped and looked at the painting. "Good taste," she said leaning in with a critical eye. "Pacific. Ahh it's from the Hornet."

"The meeting should be in the next room over," Morrison said as she folded the map and adjusted the large bag at her shoulder.

"Check it out," Ranma nodded to Nariko and Morrison. The two young succubae eased into the room, Morrison with her hand going into her bag and Nariko clenching a long cloth-wrapped bundle.

Ranma, Stillwater (who had pulled out a small Pattern Scanner), and Eve waited while the next room was given a brief sweep. The agents that had preceded them had already swept the room for explosives and other threats and the Pattern Scanners on their vehicles had not been tripped. "I've found it!" Nariko shouted the code phrase for all-clear.

"Wow, you're not going to miss it," Morrison added.

Following the group Usagi stepped into the next room. Embarrassment over lack of awareness vanished when she saw it. Transfixed she walked forward, closer and closer to the painting. This had to be it.

It was the ocean. Rough seas consisting of waves of various sizes piled onto each other until it was one vast churning mass. Above, the sky was a collection of bruise-colored clouds and darker wisps and other riotous structures of vapor that mirrored the liquid below. The painting's scale added to the vastness.

Dominating one wall the painting seemed to loom over the occupants. Several meters in height it was still much wider and seemed to wrap around the viewer in a panoramic view of a raging, churning world.

Usagi found herself following the waves, and was shocked to find a dark ship. Almost the same grays and blues as the seas it was easy to miss at first. Sails ripping, it had several masts and the detailing on the decks and rigging showed a remarkable effort on a vessel that looked like it would be swallowed by the enormity of the seas around it.

Looking at the sides, she noticed something that could almost be hints of red color. She blinked; the ship was firing its guns. Following the line of fire, she spotted another ship, this one with more minute splashes of color. Its guns were firing but the decks were also on fire and several small boats swarmed around it.

After a bit she recognized that they were not rescue boats, but armed craft: boarding parties. Her gaze drifted off and she found another ship, this one listing heavily to one side and being swamped by a following wave. The artist had felt the need to detail all the crew being washed off even as they tried to fire their guns or make it to boats and escape.

The blonde twisted her head and found her eyes resting on another part of ocean. This one appeared clear until she realized the bits of wreckage and floating bodies. Further inspection revealed sharks preying on the swimming survivors, and even a few tentacles bursting out of the water. A bit away a larger ship's crew was divided between firing at a pair of darting vessels and various... things creeping up the sides of the hull.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them found her view had shifted to another spot, this one with a group of immense ships firing on each other. Some were still hidden in fog, but they all looked too close and too heavily damaged to survive the battle.

Usagi tilted her head and saw more ships and more battles. It was all a jumbled mess, and looked to be just as many ships were being destroyed by the waves as by the cannons as by things rising from the deep. She stepped back, her stomach lurching more angrily than before. Her heel wobbled and she managed to steady herself

"Pretty intense," Ranma almost reverently said. "You can almost smell it."

"Most people say Kaster's 'Wilander Earl of Worcester at the Battle of Mammon Plain' is his superior work," Stillwater remarked.

"The one in the British Imperial War Museum?" Eve asked. "That one has better detail, and takes fewer artistic liberties.

"Oh?" Usagi asked, her eyes scanning over the maelstrom.

"Yeah, things like having shields on the wrong side of the soldiers on the opposite side. Gives better symmetry. Here, Kaster put in far too many ships. There's never been a battle like this, especially ships from all these time periods, Cogs, Man-of-Wars, Junks, Ship-of-the-Line, and so on."

"I doubt there was an Admiral Walsall or a Battle of Belphegor, Sir," Morrison noted.

"Indeed, here, he's just giving the impression of the battle," Stillwater noted, looking at his watch.

"Lets the viewer fill in all the details," Usagi said with a shiver.

"I guess if this Vatican guy wanted to make a point, this painting would do it."

"Cheerful," Usagi dryly remarked. She twisted to see the demons change their stance and start to move their hands to their weapons.

"Wonderful," a boisterous voice said as a man in dark clothes walked into the room. He was broad-shouldered and barrel-chested. Wearing black slacks and buttoned-down shirt; the notch in his shirt collar and white insert seemed to be the only concession to his station.

At least clothing-wise, a large silver cross hung from a leather cord at sternum level. Usagi blinked, it looked upside down. She then noticed a pair of silver cufflinks and frowned. At least compared to his necklace they were subtle. Behind the priest was an old nun in a habit and eyepatch to one side, and a tight lipped man with short brown hair that had to be from some sort of military unit or the other.

The priest almost walked past Usagi and stared at the painting. "Photos don't do it justice, even prints can't get the raw presence of it." He turned to Usagi and chuckled. "I didn't think you were going to come too, Princess, but this does involve you," he added almost absently.

Still grinning, he turned back to the painting and sighed happily. "I've seen much of Kaster's work. One of his earlier pieces is in a library off to the side of the Basilica, and of course there's the one in London but this..."

"Fascinating," Stillwater politely stated. "It's good to see you Bishop." Technically O'Malley was early, though it was a near thing.

"Agreed Commander," the bishop smiled. "So you must be Miss Saotome, a pleasure." He said with a slight bow.

Ranma raised an eyebrow "O'Malley?"

The bishop nodded. "First, let me formally apologize for the actions of the Assembly of Man. We've already forwarded what information we have on AOM members trying to seek refuge in Catholic Churches." The Irishman's tone darkened. "Even by protestant standards those men are scum."

"Thank you," Ranma warmly replied, while internally wondering why the Vatican would have such hostility towards the Assembly. She supposed it could be some political thing. Her attention went to the elderly nun; the scent was hauntingly familiar to that of a Pattern Silver but it lacked the smooth refinement. The power was contained but it was raw and rough, hardly the smoothed and faceted constructs that lay within the Silvers.

The demoness smiled slightly and almost laughed when the old woman returned the expression. The Sisters of Purity seemed to be quite... interesting.

"Why is your cross on wrong?" Usagi asked.

"We are the sinister and secret part of the Church," O'Malley smirked.

Eve raised an eyebrow.

"Bishop..." the nun hissed.

O'Malley sighed. "Yes, Mother Temperance. It's the Cross of Saint Peter. He was the first Pope, and we're the Papal Expeditionary."

"Wait... all those rock bands trying to be Satanic are just... morons?" Ranma laughed.

"You're a demon, should it surprise you that they got the basic symbols wrong too?"

"Fair enough," Ranma crossed her hands over her chest. "What do you know about these cybernetic assassins?"

"Much," O'Malley smiled that broad moon-faced grin again. "But I'll start with what we don't know. We don't know who assigned the hit, why, or even who the target is."

"It's clearly Usagi."

"Well, yes, the girl of magic with such interesting rumors around her." he turned to the blonde teen. "If you really do have the Holy Grail we'd be most interested in that. It is our Lord's favorite cup."

Usagi's eyes widened and she looked away, back at the painting.

"Is this a time for joking?" Ranma asked.

"It was." Still looking at Usagi, O'Malley frowned. "What about the rumors about the future?"

"That's not your business," Usagi stated.

"No, but it could explain why someone sunk a lot of money into killing you," O'Malley chuckled. "This of course, assumes you're the target."

"We come to what it is that you know," Stillwater stated.

"We know who these assassins are, who built them, what their purpose was, and why they're freelancing now."

"That was the gist of your letter," Stillwater agreed.

"They are Russian. Their bodies would tell you that much. To understand why is to realize what the Soviet Ideology was like. Firstly, despite the evidence to the contrary, they're atheists," O'Malley looked among the demons and smiled. "Now don't get me wrong, as religions go, it's very succinct. No missed mass to feel guilty about either. If they'd just ended it there they wouldn't have had such a mess."

O'Malley sighed and spun one of the small cross cufflinks using the opposite hand. "Now Communists... poor bastards. They gave up religion only to make it all over again. Their leaders promised a 'Glorious Future' a 'Worker's Paradise' if only the people were faithful and obedient. They put all their power in their leaders who ruled like god-kings, what they said was truth, events that they approved of were history.

"Here's the problem: there's no God to blame when things go wrong, and they tried to put heaven on earth. Classic rookie mistake. I mean, God's very accommodating, you let him do all the heavy lifting. If your religion is wrong, no one will find out until after they're dead."

"That's very cynical," Morrison noted.

"Well, that's how the Communists saw Religion, as an opiate. Something to keep the masses down. That's why they copied our methods, to help control their own populace. But there was a problem... the very equalizing, romantic appeal of their Ideology... is what made it impossible to work." O'Malley laughed.

"Huh?" Usagi asked. "Pretend I don't know much history."

"Communism presumes that people will purely work for the good of society. That they will submit to the State in all things: the redistribution of capital and resources to their very opinions and ideas. It's a design where everything is done for the people. Eventually, they believe that people will be so nice that there won't even need to be a government. People will just do it because it's right."

Usagi smiled a little. "That sounds nice. Very fair."

O'Malley sighed and reached into his black coat and pulled out a small flask. "So you're one of those?"

"People being fair and working for the good is good," Usagi glared.

After taking a small swig, O'Malley laughed. "You know what people are like. How would you make them behave? The Communists did it by controlling every aspect of a person's life, treating them as a resource, a cog in the machine, something that needed constant guidance and correction."

"I think she'd wave a magic wand and wish it all better," Ranma darkly noted.

"I see," O'Malley shook his head. "Well, the Communists didn't have magic... not like that at least, but even they had to admit the truth about humans."

"And that is?" Usagi glared.

"We are a mean, greedy, selfish, and deeply flawed species. There's a reason Original Sin has traction. People aren't always noble and don't work for the best. If that were true, the world wouldn't need people like me."

"Soldiers? Spooks?" Usagi asked.

"Priests." O'Malley corrected. "God has the ability to make people perfect, though He doesn't do that until it's too late, but the Soviets didn't have God. What they did have, was the New Soviet Man project."

"They were planning to make people better?" Eve smirked. "The Fascists had a similar program."

"Naturally, International and National Socialism have a lot in common. But other that ideological similarities, the Western powers weren't the only ones to raid the more... colorful German projects after the war."

"Making people better is bad? How cynical are you people? I mean isn't that what you want? You're supposed to be a priest. That's what I'd do-" Usagi froze and closed her mouth.

O'Malley looked over Usagi critically while the room went silent. The blonde teen looked around and saw people tensing and their hands begin to move.

The bishop began to laugh. "Oh my no... sorry. Messiah? No thanks, already got one." He looked at his flask and took a sniff. "Have you tried the Jews? They still need one."

"A joke?"

Stillwater cleared his throat. "Miss Tsukino, his God thinks it's a miracle to use divine powers to furnish refreshment and booze for a beer-blast, metaphorically. He actually used wine."

"And our vision of heaven is a wake where the publican doesn't kick you out because it's sunrise," O'Malley smiled.

"And your tab is always on the house," the stiff military-man said, finally speaking.

"Quite correct Oberstleutnant von Silenen," O'Malley sighed. "As I was saying, they wanted to make people better. Not God, them. And by better they meant more... in-tune with the system. This is why they were so big on education. Well, something the called education but was anything but.

"They felt that they could mold the New Soviet Man and Woman by indoctrination. They had some results, but there was still that pesky humanity."

"People are still people," Ranma nodded.

"Indeed. Even the Anglicans didn't say that man could perfect himself." O'Malley, pocketed his flask. "The Garden of Eden says it all really. God gives us everything we could ever ask for and then adds a bright big Button marked 'Don't'."

The bishop turned to the painting. "But I guess I can see why some people wish to make us the kind of species that wouldn't press the button."

"The Soviets tried a more active method?" Ranma ventured.

O'Malley smiled. "Quite right. Research like that needs a lot of resources; the Red Army got involved. They loved the idea of more reliable and obedient soldiers."

"The cyborgs?" Usagi guessed.

"The scope of the project had... expanded a bit." O'Malley felt it was a good time to fidget with his cufflinks again. "Perhaps a drink, that is some food would be in order. The café downstairs comes highly recommended."

"I did hear they have a good soup," Stillwater allowed. Outside would allow them to have a bit more control over the situation, and reduce the potential for surveillance. Though the government could have bugged the whole building and exterior. As they left the room, he motioned for Eve to make the required call... discretely

"The Soviets, in trying to make people into better, more obedient subjects, made these advanced cyborgs?" Usagi asked as they exited the gallery section.

"It was really the union of two ideas. Sooner or later everyone tries to make super soldiers. Though some people are more sensible about it. They don't put all their eggs in one basket." He turned and grinned slightly at Stillwater.

"And the Soviets were very paranoid. The idea of giving such advanced and integrated powers to a single person... scared them. They wanted to be certain the Combat Cyborgs were reliable. It's bad enough when the occasional pilot lands some secret plane in Japan or a NATO country, or heaven forbid a submarine's officers mutiny and defect. Losing one of these soldiers was too much to contemplate"

"And once the system was proven... they would start turning more people. Start with the soldiers, and then go into the general population," Eve's eyebrows raised as they went down the stairs. "Ambitious."

"Naturally," O'Malley chuckled as the group crossed an exhibit on biplanes and cut towards an exit. "These were men that thought boldly and dreamed big. It was not enough to want to rule the world. they wanted to change humanity to make it into their world. One is almost compelled to admire the sheer audacity."

"How did it fail?" Ranma asked. "If their plan worked out, they'd still be around."

"And have started on their quest to change humanity for the... better," O'Malley nodded.

"That's about the worst way to help people isn't it?" Usagi asked. She was trying to catch up with the conversation and with the faster walking group as they exited the building using a set of side doors.

"Indeed. Their whole brochure was a world without greed, hate, class strife or poverty. Where everyone would work for the good of the people and no one would want. Of course you can't just make a wish and have it all better," he tapped his flask but thought better. "Not everyone will want to submit to your utopian schemes, and then what do you do?"

"Liquidating unbelievers is always an option," Eve stated as the group walked up to a patio that was next to a café off to one side of the museum.

"It's always so... messy," O'Malley sighed as he sat down.

Usagi hesitated looking around her. All the other tables were empty and she could see some people in dark suits out in the parking lot and idly chatting with men in more... aggressive armor and weapons in the grass outside the museum.

"Short of closing the museum, the security here is as tight as it will be," O'Malley said noticing Usagi's unease.

The teenage blonde pouted as she sat down. "How do you know so much about these cyborgs?"

"How?" O'Malley laughed as he leaned forward. "You want to know how we know so much about these Soviet Assassins? We helped them! Considerably!"

"What?" Usagi's shock bled into confusion when she saw Stillwater and Eve looking on with blank faces while Ranma was cleaning under one of her fingernails. At a nearby table Nariko, Morrison, and O'Malley's entourage watched with what looked to Usagi as mild interest.

"You also wanted to know how the program failed?"

"Funding," Stillwater stated from behind his folded hands.

"That's the short answer," O'Malley allowed. "Super weapon projects are always plagued by that fault. You sink untold resources, manpower, and money into a project and it creates what: a few hardly-guided missiles, a giant tank that can't cross bridges and breaks down easily, or a handful of super powered soldiers that were found to still be mortal."

"The knowledge gained from these programs is often far more useful than the immediate results," Stillwater reminded.

"Yes, to the benefit of the victors, who can pick over the remains of an enemy willing to indulge in such flights of fancy." O'Malley pulled out his flask. "But we drift. Money was only part of why the program was canceled. If the Politburo still had their original... faith in the program they would have been willing to reduce funding to their nuclear arms first.

"No, the program failed because they became worried. A program this size had many researchers. Most had worked on ways to make minds more pliable to indoctrination and ways to get soldiers to last longer in the field before fatigue and stress kicked in. They had more esoteric information, too."

"There were rumors that the Soviet had captured documentation about Project A." Stillwater stated.

"Yes, the Red Army captured a group of German scientists trying to escape to Yugoslavia. Two of them were researchers on Project A. We don't know how much they gave up before they died, but we do know their information was not particularly helpful, at first. It wasn't until many years later that they got a researcher brilliant enough to use the data." O'Malley took a sip from his flask.

"The Soviets did not want an army of ghouls?" Ranma asked. "Sensible."

"A blunt force that depends on raw quantity to overcome the enemy? They already had that, and with more intelligence and control."

"What's all this?" Usagi asked.

"The Nazis tried to make an NH army in WW2," Stillwater explained. "The Allies stopped them before they got any real results."

"And the Soviets then got a mess of the research, but didn't know how to use it in their own super soldier program. Until, some big brain figured it out and made these cyborgs?"

O'Malley smirked and put away his flask. "Perceptive. Yes, the 'big brain' was a doctor called Scaglietti. He was the one who figured out how to integrate cybernetic components with human flesh. As you already know, some of those components are rather... crude. Project A's necromantic research included the ways to bind and modify flesh."

"Giving a shortcut," Eve noted. "They couldn't make real cyborgs using their level of technology, but they could use magic to link it all up?"

O'Malley nodded. "This was the first stumble in the Scaglietti's part of the program. Only some people could accept the 'treatment'. This greatly limited the number of people that could accept the modifications. Reducing an already small pool of politically optimal candidates."

"Expensive and unscalable." Stillwater noted.

"The situation degraded further. Other scientists were unable to reproduce Scaglietti's results. The Politburo thought that Scaglietti was hiding something and started to get –more- paranoid."

"But it's magic, it might not have been able to work for anyone else," Usagi said.

"Either way, Scaglietti's masters were getting increasingly impatient with the gap between the scientist's rhetoric and his results. A fanatical communist, Scaglietti was obsessed with the perfection of humanity, especially when it went hand in hand with proving his own brilliance.."

"He must have felt that that result was just within his grasp," Eve noted. "That he just needed a bit more time to perfect them, and then he would be able to show them all."

"Yes. Then the Politburo then began to worry about him succeeding. Ignoring their expense, the Numbers were quite formidable."

Stillwater made the deductive leap. "He numbered them. Only the successful subjects?"

"Of course."

"How many?"

"Twelve. Out of God knows how many victims, only a dozen survived and were still 'useful'. All were female, which was highly suspicious. One died in training. That was when serious questions started to be openly asked. Scaglietti promised perfection. Though I suppose that they could be killed came as a relief."

Ranma smirked. "The Soviets themselves stopped the program. They didn't want to pay a man to make invincible totally obedient soldiers. They were afraid that they'd be the first ones he send them after."

"Yes, they were more concerned about their own power than allowing the unfettered expansion and perfection of Scientific Communism," O'Malley shook his head "Scaglietti was not pleased. He felt that the Politburo was corrupt and that they were standing in the way and cutting off his funding because he was not ethnically Russian. He also believed that the program was being sabotaged by the KGB, which was livid that such a program was still under military control. I'm sure both contributed."

"What happened?" Usagi asked.

"Regrettably anti-climactic. During a visit to Moscow, he was accused of being counter-revolutionary and planning to stage a coup. He was arrested and summarily executed. This gave a small window for the Politburo to organize a response."

"They thought the Numbers were unreliable?"

"Our agent had an oversight position in the program. His conscience compelled him to provide us with information; it also compelled him to try to get the program shut down. Unwittingly, he contributed to the order to have them executed.

"The man had assumed that the project would have been quietly dismantled and the Numbers would be turned over to various Spetsnaz units. Instead, the Red Army was going to come in with tanks, artillery, and air support. Once the mess was cleaned up the program could be restarted, with someone more frugal and... reliable."

"So, that's how you came to save them?" Usagi asked. "You're the reason they're free and trying to kill me."

"You mentioned restarting the program. Did they?" Eve asked.

O'Malley pulled out his flask and took a sip. "When we rescued them, we made sure there was no research material left at the base."

"But you said others were trying to repeat Scaglietti's experiments," Eve reminded.

"Yes, I did. They all failed. It seems that Scaglietti had kept some part of the process a secret, his own little edge. Not that it did him much good in the end."

"Still..."

O'Malley sighed. "Yes, someone could have figured out what the missing part was. Or maybe they figured out a new process, one superior to Scaglietti's. We don't know. Even if the Soviets were to throw even more funding at this project... it still had to have failed."

"Why?" Usagi asked.

"Same reason Scaglietti's had to have," Ranma stated. "The Soviets failed. They didn't have an army of super soldiers to hold their empire together."

"They didn't fall because of military weakness, it was economic," Eve corrected.

"Fine, there's still not an army of cybernetic soldiers loose. That many couldn't be covered up."

O'Malley nodded. "I'd bet money that the Soviets kept dabbling in cybernetics, but... not on this scale, and they didn't get any-" he hesitated for the briefest bit of a second, "-spectacular results."

"You don't think they're building a secret army and just waiting for the right time to strike?" Eve asked.

"Frankly, I'd think that time has come and gone."

Usagi sighed. "You're still going in circles," she grumbled narrowing her eyes. "This isn't about an imaginary maybe group of cyborgs. You still saved the group that is after me."

"They were going to kill eleven teenage girls whose only sin was to have been indoctrinated into that belief system. They were the few who had survived hellish experimentation. What would you have us do?"

"You saved them, but then what happened? Why are they after me?"

O'Malley sighed. "For the money."

"They're just assassins for hire? There's no reason for it?"

"I'm sure the person that paid them had a very good reason for it," Ranma noted.

"But why are they like this?"

"Do you know what it's like to lose faith?" O'Malley asked. "These girls thought they were the chosen. They believed they would lead a new era in human history. Then they find out their that creator is a traitor, that they're too expensive, that troops have been sent to kill them all, and that their rescuer is the Church."

"Impressive," Stillwater said.

"We tried to help them. We at least kept them from killing themselves, or running back to Russia. Then they'd kill themselves and a large part of Moscow would be destroyed. Eventually, the shock wore off and they left our care."

"You didn't keep them?" Usagi asked

"We were their liberators not a new set of warders. They were not particularly violent. They had only been trained in combat, they had not been used in battle yet."

"You believed they wanted to lead normal lives," Eve noted.

"And they did... for a time. We lost track of them and rumors started floating up about a group of 'hit men' that could take out even the most protected targets. Standard line really. They were the best, never failed, and were quite expensive."

"Why did they do it?"

"It costs quite a lot of money to keep their bodies in combat condition. We offered to help them, set them up with jobs, but they wouldn't take our... charity."

"Okay, they wanted to work on their own, but they didn't have to become assassins," Usagi siad.

"I think they were doing it to prove that they could. To show the USSR just what a resource they had thrown away. They had the thrill of the hunt. The Soviets would still try to track them. We were looking for them. INTERPOL and NATO were also interested in those that could get in and kill such... secure people."

"And then the Iron Curtain fell," Eve said with a little chuckle.

"That's when things got... worse. They had outlived the empire that had built them, outlived their creator. Their only purpose was to continue their path, and find a mission that wasn't... boring," O'Malley said the last with a wide grin.

Usagi blinked. "That's it?"

"Pardon? I thought I talked for quite a while."

"Yes, there's a lot of background, but it really sounds like I'm being hunted by a group of powerful, well-trained super-cyborgs because they think it'll be a challenge!"

"I'm sure you could always disappoint them on that count," O'Malley offered.

"It's just..." Usagi shook her head. "How good are they?"

"No one's ever been able to get a firm lead on them. They are quite good at infiltration and have some impressive firepower. I've got a file on what we have been able to learn about their abilities, which should compliment what you've learned from the two casualties."

"You sound impressed. Has anyone else killed one?" Stillwater asked.

"There was the one back during their training. There were rumors that another was killed when a West German munitions dump they were sabotaging prematurely exploded. Another may have died after being wounded on a mission in Gibraltar.

"Nothing firmer?" Eve asked.

"The only way we know is to find a likely target that's gone dead or missing and start snooping around. Most of their missions don't require their full compliment, or we never figure out how many of them were actually involved."

"Their tactics sound like hit and run. What is their capability for sustained combat?" Stillwater asked.

"It looks like they start with extensive observation, but they're not above taking a shot if the opportunity presents itself, as in Miss Tsukino's example. Once they figure out the weaknesses they will come in hard and fast."

"They'd then try to make the kill and leave right away," Eve evaluated.

"Yes, they don't have the –heh- numbers to fight a prolonged battle. Unfortunately, they're very good at getting out." O'Malley sighed. "This is what they were built for."

"Their armor protects against small arms and their electronic warfare gives a decided edge. Suitable for that mission," Eve evaluated.

"And they still weren't good enough? What did these high up Soviets want?" Usagi asked.

"Perfection," O'Malley stated.

"They also wanted a lot more of them, and a lot cheaper," Ranma added.

"What about non-humans? Do they have any experience in that field?" Stillwater asked.

"We don't have any records to that effect," O'Malley shrugged. "As I said, we've only been able to track their 'hits' by interviewing the survivors and investigating the destruction. That only happens when they have a... flashy mission; someone high profile dies in an.. interesting way. The quiet ones, we may never hear about."

"Especially if their target doesn't officially exist," Ranma shook her head.

Usagi narrowed her eyes. "Who hired them?"

"That we don't know." O'Malley paused. "We've had a bit more success at tracking their financial side. It's what you would expect. They use lawyers in various... accommodating... countries as couriers. They seem to just pass papers between various parties. These set up the terms, target and payment. However, we don't know how the initial contact is made."

The redhead blinked. "What, they have an agent?"

"Perhaps. They have some way of leveraging their reputation into further contracts."

Stillwater frowned. "One supposes that a person requiring an assassin of their skills knows people. Informal contacts could get the right questions asked. I'd bet these Numbers then put out their own feelers, after verifying the interested party."

"So you don't know why someone's spending a lot of money to get me killed?" Usagi asked.

"We are working on it. However a list of your enemies with the resources available to pay such a fee would be useful."

Ranma snickered.

"Yes, I've had a lot of enemies, but they're all gone."

"None of them survived? Not even a few adjuncts or other flunkies?" Eve asked.

Usagi tapped her chin as images of destruction and death flew across her mind. "I don't... think so. Anyone alive was really just possessed. Everyone else seems to have been turned to dust. There was the time... time reset and there was that future timeline that collapsed."

For a brief moment O'Malley's expression went from the jovial Irish priest to something precise and measured. He noted that the WIC officers had even less reaction to the blonde's outburst. His face melting back into a warm smile, O'Malley looked between Miss Tsukino and Miss Saotome. Of the two he rather preferred the demon. She seemed to have a firmer... grip on things. Not that he doubted the veracity of the blonde teen's babble, that would have been far more comforting.

"There is Murdock," Usagi added. "But I don't think he wants me dead."

"Unless, he's confident that you won't lose."

"Or maybe they're not trying to kill me, maybe they're going to kidnap and brainwash me."

"They shot at you with a giant beam weapon," Ranma gently reminded.

"I've got hit with worse," Usagi shrugged. "Murdock could have given up trying to corrupt me, and figured that killing me was the next best thing."

Blinking, Ranma thought for a moment. "That's actually a pretty good point."

"Yay," Usagi deadpanned.

"This Murdock is the cause of some trouble for you?" O'Malley asked.

"Yeah, he's caused –" Usagi closed her mouth and looked at the warmly smiling Catholic. "Wow, you are good."

"It's just letting other people talk, and listening." O'Malley eyed down at his watch.

"Especially to what's not said," Eve added.

"So what is known?" Usagi frowned. "We know how many of them there are... sorta. We know what they're like inside. We know how they fight, and a little bit of their powers. That's if we can trust what you're telling us."

"That seems about right," O'Malley said as he motioned to Oberstleutnant von Silenen. The Swiss Guard smoothly lifted his briefcase and in one motioned unlocked it and withdrew a large, bound folder. O'Malley noticed the raised eyebrows. "It's not all paper. Some of is microfiche," he added with a smile.

"Microfiche?" Usagi asked.

"Miniaturized images on translucent film. It's a much denser way to store data, and more stable than magnetic tape," O'Malley shrugged. In some areas the Vatican was quite slow to adopt new technology.

"Oh. That's it then? They're loose and you've given us a good luck and God bless?"

O'Malley stood up. "It sounds trite, but we had no choice. Destroying them, when we had the chance, would have made us no better than the Soviets. However, if you want more help from us, you only have to ask," he stated, idly adjusting his cross.

Ranma chuckled. "You up for it, Usagi?"

Ignoring the demon's suspiciously vague question, Usagi turned to the so... carefully disarming-looking man. "Uh... no thanks. I mean. We've already got it handled." She looked over to Eve and Stillwater who had opened up the file and were already reading over the paperwork.

"Understandable," O'Malley said as von Silenen closed the briefcase. "We haven't exactly inspired Miss Tsukino's confidence in our abilities have we Oberstleutnant?"

Von Silenen tapped his chin. "I would be inclined to agree with you, Sir."

"It seems that the redhead has enough spirit in her," Mother Temperance cackled.

Ranma eyed the older woman. "Huh, I guess being a battle nun loosens you up."

"You have to have a sense of humor in a job like this, Dear."

O'Malley's grin became more of a smirk. "Yes, see how well-behaved and civil we are even to mercenaries and hell-spawn. We understand that we are all God's children."

"And what, children fight each other?" Usagi asked.

"And, we know that family pulls together in the tough times." O'Malley gave a slight nod. "But there's more to that. Something that people seem to forget."

"And that is?"

Temperance smiled, it was the same bittersweet smile that Usagi had seen Ranma so often sport. "Children grow, and are forced to mature. Forced to lead their own lives, and fight their own battles."

"Perhaps it's best to ponder the theological implications of that," O'Malley advised.

"Well..." Usagi paused and wondered what that meant.

"It's just part of growing up," Ranma said as she got up.

"I guess." Usagi turned to O'Malley. "Thank you for your help," she said with a little bow.

***************

Back inside the museum, a man and a woman sat in the cafe enjoying their coffee. "It looks like the meeting's wrapping up," the woman quietly said to her companion. The other tables were starting to fill, and some of the other patrons had noticed the group out on the closed patio. Some were even rude enough to stare, reflecting what the woman gauged as a severe lack of culture and breeding.

"Why, so it is," the man muttered as he folded to a new page in the paper. The fawning, smug editorials, the blatant, inept lies of the articles were quite familiar to him. It had none of the fear-inspired craft of his homeland's productions nor the rigorously state-approved themes. He'd seen vastly better but it was a remarkable study on the prisons people would build for themselves.

"You're not concerned?" the woman asked, pushing a lock of chestnut hair behind her ear. She did not like wearing the wig, but sacrifices had to be made.

"Why? Our Dear Comrade Doctor is... history." The man said the last word with care as if savoring it.

"Still, it will be fascinating to watch his legacy perform."

Mulling over her words, the man flipped to a new page. Legacy was quite appropriate. "No doubt."

"It is useful and fitting. Failed systems we can learn from. However, if they succeed..."

He knew what she meant; buoyed by victory, they would be eager for another mission. The man lowered his paper and locked his blue eyes onto hers. "Flattery is appreciated, but I did not hire them. That is what worries me. Fate can be generous, but not this generous. Besides we have our own mission, and our own prodigal... daughters to watch."

She bowed her head briefly. "Understood," she said as she picked up the mug. Her eyes caught one of the... guards walking out beyond the patio. The whole spectacle was a crude display of power, but she had to admire the lack of fear in expressing it. At least some were still able to be comfortable with the idea of power, even if their ideologies were reprehensible lies.

"Do you?" the man returned to his paper, and its soothing banality.

End Chapter

Author's Notes:

I'd like to thank my pre-readers. They read through my most egregious mistakes so you don't have to. DGC, J St C Patrick, Terra, Pale Wolf, Wray, Kevin Hammel, Ikarus, Jerry Starfire, and Mike Koos.

An extra thanks goes to J St C Patrick. Go onto the fanart page of the Fukufics site and you'll find an opening sequence for The Return that he made. It's really something else.


Numerically Designated Magical Combat Cyborgs designed and built by Doctor Scaglietti is from Nanoha StrikerS owned by Keizō Kusakawa and Seven Arcs. The individual characters are different from the StikerS ones, being they're bitter Russians living as mercenaries and not prototypes being used by a man fighting the Time-Space Administration Bureau


Revision Notes: And here we've got the big meeting with the Vatican and more information on the Combat Cyborgs. A group that turns out to have been a long running enemy. One chapter left in Book 2.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

The Return
A Ranma Sailor Moon fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple

Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma. So here's the disclaimer

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC.

Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/

Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/


Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com

C&C is appreciated.

Book 2: Betrayed Consequences
Chapter 14: Higher Supervision
Formerly: Restoration and Regret Part 2 ii


"Are we going back?" Usagi asked eyeing the helicopter. The museum meeting had been disquieting. The jovial Bishop had carefully explained that a group of cybernetic Soviet assassins had been hired to kill her, and the group of lethal woman had no emotional investment in her death other than relishing the challenge of it.

"Nope. Stillwater's got another meeting," Ranma shrugged as the older agent went to the Security Intelligence Service men. Captain Dewey had rejoined the commander and followed the man into the black limo.

"What do we do now?" Usagi almost whined

"I thought this would happen. So, I did some research on the city and found a... fun place," Eve smirked.

"Oh?" Ranma asked and leaned in while Eve whispered into her ear. The redhead's eyes widened. "Really? I've heard about places like... that. What if... that could get very expensive."

"Don't worry, I'll pay," Eve laughed.

"Well, we're going to have to get changed for it."

"Where?" Usagi asked.

"Somewhere where this just won't work." Ranma pointed to her skirt.

"It would be impossible to get on or off wearing something this long and stay decent." Eve nodded. "And even if you could, it'd get too torn and stained."

"It'd just get in the way."

"Where are we going?" Usagi asked as they went to a waiting transport.

"Someplace fun," Morrison said as she leaned back on the wall of the armored van.

"You don't have to come," Nariko stated as she fussed with her blade's scabbard. "There's some agents guarding the helicopter.

"Yeah..." Usagi noticed Eve's and Ranma's clothes beginning to ripple and shift. Their clothes eventually formed into what Usagi thought of as succubus-casual: leather pants, sturdy boots, and leather jackets. The blouses each wore were the same color and material as the dresses they had on before.

"How far is it?" Ranma asked while adjusting her jacket.

"It's only seven kilometers, mostly due east," Eve replied.

"We're going east?"

"South-east," Ranma corrected.

Usagi blinked. "How can you tell?"

"We started out north, right, left, right, soft left," Morrison explained.

"There's also a compass on the dashboard," Nariko happily pointed out.

Usagi sighed. "You're going to keep this a secret?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Ranma looked out the heavily tinted windows at the small river while they crossed a bridge.

"I called ahead they should have everything ready, but.." Eve paused. "You haven't really done this before. I mean there were some, but this is much more intense."

"Isn't it like riding a bike?" Ranma raised an eyebrow. She smiled as Usagi tried to follow the vehicle's direction as it spun around on a cloverleaf interchange and then crossed another bridge

"Somewhat." Eve chuckled, as they pulled off the highway.

"Where are we now?" Usagi asked looking out at the collection of warehouses with their streams of tractor trailers.

"Remember to use your.. mature identification," Eve reminded as the van drove down the industrial road.

Ranma opened up her purse. "The one that has me as thirty-four?"

"You're not that old."

The redhead rubbed her forehead. "No, but most people wouldn't understand how someone my age could have daughters their age. What do you do with your daughter?"

"I just say she's my cousin."

"Not bad really," Ranma nodded, she then started brushing her hair, which almost seemed... eager at the contact. "It is a bit of a pain. My ID originally had me as 30, that was a little bit easier to pull off."

"But then someone pointed out mother would have had to have been 13 when she had me," Nariko said.

Eve coughed. "We did get your records straightened out."

"Yes, a seventeen year old being pregnant is much less scandalous. That she would then have four more within three years is... not" Morrison remarked.

"Funny," Ranma remarked as she got her hair pulled back into a more... mature set of teased tresses. She adjusted her neck with a slight pop and smirked.

"You look the same," Usagi frowned.

"But she's got old eyes," Morrison offered.

"I... guess," Usagi shrugged. The truth was, she had a hard enough time remembering that Ranma was the same age as she was. That still didn't mean she thought Ranma was in her mid-thirties. Twenty something was more appropriate. Though the cap between that and seventeen could seem vanishingly small.

"We're here," Eve said as the van stopped. She then opened the door.

Usagi looked out and the first thing that she noticed was the two other vehicles that had followed her. That the escort was not unexpected struck her as surreal. She then saw where they had arrived.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

"Nice," Ranma said as she ran a hand over the chrome and leather of one of the motorcycles.

Usagi read the sign on the shop. "Ottawa Harley Davidson? This is why you changed clothes?" She walked across the parking lot and looked at the motor-bikes. There was something very appealing about them. Primal.

"You can't ride a bike with a skirt on," Nariko remarked.

The door to the shop opened and a large bear-shaped man exited. His dark brown hair and thick beard concealing a broad strong jawed face helped enforce the ursine resemblance.

Usagi was not surprised to see that he was wearing as much leather as Ranma and Eve were.

"You're the biker Mom?" the man asked in a raspy voice as he lit a thin ill-smelling cigar. The man looked the redhead over, and then eyed the other vehicles. He recognized the type, and he saw that the women before him were carrying. It was only mildly surprising. The woman with the red eyes seemed especially... alert. Despite their mainstream popularity, motorcycles were still a part of the real counterculture. His gaze went back to the tall-blonde woman. "You must be Eve; we talked on the phone yesterday."

"Yes and you're Michael 'call me Bob' Hodgson," Eve said shaking his hand with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Hodgson smirked at her grip. "So have any of you ridden a motorcycle before?"

Morrison and Eve nodded.

"Bob? Why do they call you that?" Usagi asked.

Eve frowned slightly.

The large man chuckled. "My pa gave the name 'Mike Hodgson' a bit of tarnishing if you catch my drift."

Usagi blinked.

Ranma rose up from looking at one of the motorcycles. "Bob, I've never ridden a bike, what do you recommend?"

Pulling out his cigar, Hodgson stroked his beard and then put it back in. "Well, I've got a few ideas. It depends on how you ride."

***************


After entering the conference room, Stillwater handed his briefcase to Captain Dewey who sat down at the large circular oak table and opened the leather case. Looking to the left to make sure the door to the low-lighted room had been closed and locked, he finally sat down at the remaining open spot.

Taking the other six places at the table was a mix figures that any Canadian would recognize and some that only a real policy wonk would know. "Governor, Prime Minister, Ministers, Director, and Colonel," he said nodding to each of the officials. "What can I do for you?" he asked putting his elbows on the table, and leaning forward with his pointer fingers together and just in front of his lips.

"We're glad you were able to fit this meeting into your busy itinerary for today," the Governor General smiled coldly, not showing her teeth.

"This meeting has been scheduled for some time," Stillwater allowed, a bit comforted that the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service managed to keep tabs on the diplomats in the city.

The Minister of National Defense gave a sidewise glance to the Prime Minister who gave a curt nod. National Defense motioned to the one man at the table in military dress.

"We've received your proposal to provide training for a group from Joint Task Force Two," the Commander of Canadian Special Forces Command a Colonel with a large face, thinning hair sitting to the left of Stillwater stated.

"Yes?"

"It's the location you wish to do the training. I don't see a logistical a problem with it," The Colonel's eyes flicked over to the right at the officials. "However, there is some worry about the potential fallout, if what happened there became publicly known."

Stillwater taped his lips. "An organized and well equipped group planning to attack multiple targets inside Toronto was neutralized. We felt training Canadian military personnel there would nicely mesh with the cover story."

"Do you realize the public outcry?" The Minister of Public Safety glared at Stillwater. "We don't want another Somalia Affair."

The corner of Stillwater's lip rose slightly. "The Somalia Affair? Yes, special operations troopers torturing a young man. Shameful. How is that relevant?"

"Well... your methods..."

"Were fully documented and signed off by you and your predecessors," Stillwater reminded, motioning to Dewey who produced a large file from the briefcase. "You agreed that secrecy and victory were your priorities. You know what you hired us for."

"The backlash-"

The Governor General of Canada cut the Minister of Public safety off. "What of the backlash?" She smirked. "Which do you think the public will care more about? That some mercenaries tortured a few demons? Or the knowledge that demons actually exist? That is the panic that we have to deal with, and why the Crown has consented to this contract. The queen is rather fond of this country, and would rather it not fall."

"Thank you, Willard International Consulting expresses its desire to continue working with the Crown and the Dominion of Canada," Stillwater said with a slight nod. Publicly, the position of Governor General had become largely that of a figurehead. Appointed at Her Majesty's pleasure, those in the position swore their loyalty to the Crown and were the representative of the Canadian Monarch. As a Commonwealth nation, Canada shared the same Monarchy as the United Kingdom, with the Governor General as the queen's representative in Canada.

Legally, the position has extensive powers, but much like in the United Kingdom the royal powers are rather limited in execution, providing a symbolic chief executive. However, the position does have the power to act as the Crown's final check to express its interests.

"Now see here...." the Minister of Public Safety Started.

"He is correct. In the Crown's opinion this is still the Dominion of Canada." The Governor General held up her hand. "Everyone here knows the special... caveats to the1982 Canada Act. It was not just Quebec that had issues with constitutional sovereignty. You got your independence from British Parliament, and we got certain... assurances."

The Prime Minister sighed. "I doubt the United Kingdom would assert its claim to the 'Dominion' just because of demons."

"Why not? That fits the kind of threat the Crown had in mind in '82."

"There is no need to extort cooperation," the Minister of Public Safety grumbled.

"No, but apparently there is the need to remind you where your responsibilities lie," the Governor General stated. She turned to Stillwater. "That does not mean that we will rubberstamp anything the Company does. It seems to us that the problems with the Assembly of Man are outside of the scope of what you were hired to do."

The Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service cleared his throat. "Highly illegal arms aside, they appeared to have studiously avoided civilian casualties. In fact, they even had a tenuous peace with your organization."

"Until you started hiring demons," the Prime Minister said. "Which lead to this great... distraction."

"What would you have us do? Hand over the demons?" Stillwater chuckled. "What of the fallout from that? Do you seriously suggest sending minorities to be killed by religious bigots? That is quite shortsighted and does not raise confidence in your allies view of your own abilities."

"Who are you to talk? You'll work with demons and torture people to get information." Minister of Public Safety demanded. The information on what exactly WIC did was frustratingly scant; they seemed to feel only the most cursory accountability to any proper oversight.

"And who at this meeting purchased my services? Who at this table just suggested appeasing the enemy, just because they haven't attacked us much. There's realpolitik and then there's cowardice. When possible, the Company attempts coexistence. Not all NH's are unthinking monsters. Many are allies that have just as much at stake as the rest of us."

"How very enlightened," the Governor General pretended to look down at her notes. "And profitable too, I'm sure."

"They are registered. They work and pay their taxes. Yes, their species is a state secret, but they're still people. Or are they? That's the whole issue here isn't it?"

"You did not need to recruit them," the Prime Minister said. "The risks..."

"Yes, working with non-humans always has risk, but as the Governor General stated the benefits outweigh the risk."

"I can see how a group of trained demons is enticing from a military standpoint," the Minister of National Defense Stated. "But what about control?"

Behind his interlaced hands, Stillwater smiled slightly. "That is not a concern."

"And working with the demons has allowed you to get closer to these... magical girls," the Intelligence Director said.

"Your distaste is justified, they are unprofessional, untrained children playing at an adult's game. The demons are quite simple creatures; we know what they'll do. However, teenage girls with phenomenal magical powers..." Stillwater suppressed another smirk. The succubae were also teenage girls with magical powers. More so, Miss Tsukino was far more capable than he wanted this Council to know. Given the things she was up to..., not that the men at this table needed to know that.

The Prime Minister looked at the man quietly sitting across from him. Britain's pressure was sitting to his left wearing a conservative pantsuit. At least the United States, for once, was showing more subtle, if cynical, diplomacy. They simply expressed confidence in the Canadian government's commitment to a long tradition of martial skill, strength in the face of adversity, and close trade relations with their ally to the South.

"And your other meeting today?" the governor general mildly asked.

"The Holy See had information about the cybernetic assassins contracted to kill the leader of those magical girls," Stillwater stated. "They were the ones that helped that group escape a Soviet lab when their program was being shut down. They decided to save those young girls."

The Intelligence Director sighed. It was outlandish and insane, but he knew that totalitarian states loved their outlandish and insane superweapons, especially when competing with the superweapons the West was building. "And I'm sure the Vatican was doing this for purely humanitarian reasons."

"Perhaps, but saving some 'innocents' while hurting the most powerful group of atheists the world has ever seen, how could the Church resist?" Stillwater smiled slightly. "Needless to say, they destroyed the facilities and as many of the records as they could. After that, the assassins rejecting the Church's employment offer was a minor inconvenience."

"Still, this would not be the first time someone has tried to kill this Tsukino girl. There was that hostage crisis in that toy store a couple months back," the prime minister noted. "What kind of enemies does she have?"

"This is a young woman with powers beyond understanding, who is heir to an ancient civilization, the debris, remnants, and enemies of which still linger," Stillwater stated.

"Events from that far in the past? It all sounds like some horrible fantasy."

Stillwater nodded. "Yes it does, but... the truth is that civilizations are grown from the ashes of previous ones, that our world had been ravaged by monsters in the past, and it is up to us to prevent it from happening again."

"We are aware of the importance of all of this," the Prime Minister tersely said, trying not to sound overwhelmed.

"That is why we are making sure there is proper oversight," National Defense added.

"What if..." the Intelligence Director paused, but caught himself. If any bit of this meeting became public, he would be dammed anyway. "What if this Tsukino girl were to become dangerous? She's the heir to that... kingdom I believe you've called it. What if she tries to bring it back?"

"There are contingencies in place," Stillwater replied.

"Quick and unflinching. Your organization's reputation for pragmatic paranoia is justified," the Governor General noted. She smirked a bit, her countrymen tried to hide it, but they all seemed... relieved at the Company man's statement. Being able to pay someone else to get their hands dirty had its conveniences.

"There's also some concern about this... D Program I believe your memo called it," the Minister of National Defense stated eyeing Stillwater.

"Are you suggesting that we take a more belligerent stance with NH's?" Stillwater asked.

"No, it makes sense to only go after those that are a... danger. There's even a form of symmetry in recruiting amenable nonhumans, but the D program. It's odd."

"Is it?" Public Safety snorted. "These are Americans we're dealing with. Sure they claim to be 'International', but even their agents from other countries... act a certain... way. Is that part of the training?"

Stillwater leaned his head down a bit. "We will fight. We will win. If you'd want to call that a trait solely of the United States, then it shows a deep ignorance of your own country's history and courage."

"Enough," the Governor General said holding her hand up. "This is a pointless argument. Though I must confess, who else would think of saving the human race from eldritch monstrosities for money?"

"Johan Willard was driven by revenge, Ma'am."

"But you can't buy bullets with vengeance."

Giving a slight nod, Stillwater allowed himself to smile.

"And you let your own men become demons," the Governor General smirked. "Well I suppose we should count our blessings that your plans are so... mild. Normally, your Yankee-ingenuity creates things even more outlandish than secret agent demons or Soviet cybernetic assassins."

"It's an issue of trust," Stillwater stated.

"Trust?" the Prime Minister asked.

"It is the most valuable commodity we have."

"It keeps your men loyal, your allies allied, your suppliers producing, and your clients paying you. All to enable you to kill the enemy. What a curious combination of morality and marketing," the Governor General noted.

Stillwater gave another slight nod.

"Now, before we were detoured... I believe the Colonel was trying to discuss the training of Joint Task Force 2."

"Indeed, from our evaluations the unit has the bearing and skills to handle the training. Their experience with black operations should help them with their transitioning."

"Agreed," the special forces Colonel stated. "Once you accept a hidden world of secrets and violence, merely adding monsters is trivial."

"Yes, that's why Air Force pilots handle alien contact so well," Stillwater said.

"Aliens?" National Defense asked.

"Prehuman civilizations have dotted earth's history. Even that empire of Miss Tuskino's ancestor was interplanetary. We know nonhumans often come from other planes of existence. Yes, aliens are everywhere."

"Is this relevant?" National Defense asked.

"It's part of dealing with NH beings. They are alien."

"I presume that the JTF 2 training will involve interaction with demons in your employ then?" the Governor General asked.

Stillwater leaned back a hair, his smile almost visible behind his interlaced hands. "That is a fair presumption." Miss Saotome's reaction when he asked if she would agree to train Canadian special forces was amusing, but the succubus was a teacher at heart.

"And the long term? Won't training our forces eliminate your job?" National Defense asked.

"Assuming you no longer needed us to deal with the discretionary issues, we still provide training and supply services."

"Yes, there aren't many others manufacturing the equipment you sell." National Defense knew full well the pricing the Company had on its technology. The stuff that was not overpriced worried him the most. He could at least understand a defense contractor price-gouging.

"The proposed plan is to start with two platoons and have them trained to handle NH incidents. People with combat experience are strongly preferred, but the normal standards of JTF 2 should help ease the training."

"That's a significant fraction of our forces," National Defense blinked.

"The skills they learn are applicable to counter terrorism and hostage rescue," Stillwater stated.

The Minister of National Defense nodded to the Special Forces Commander.

"Right, we'll draft up a list, and make the transfer," the colonel agreed. "I can think of some men that would be suited to for this."

"I've got one caution. Training existing special forces personnel requires the least training and has the highest success rate, but even among those in the black world, non humans are sometimes a bit too much."

"What about the Emergency Response Teams?" Public Safety asked.

"While they are useful in a containment and law-enforcement role, they could be ill-suited for most heavier operations. It was felt that concentrating on JTF 2 first would be better."

"You see a law-enforcement role in all of this?" Public Safety, skeptically asked. "Aren't we dealing with man-eating monsters here?"

"Not all of them are belligerent, many just want to move here and live out their lives," the Governor General gently reminded.

"That... is frustrating. It'd be easier if they were all the enemy," Public Safety sighed; he had enough problems with terrorists hiding out in human immigrant populations. Add in supernatural powers... "What if this becomes public?" he eventually asked.

"What exactly?"

"The whole deal. Demons, monsters. You've had to have done studies on what happens if the public were to know?"

A frown flickered past, Stillwater's face. "That is a weighted question. There would be considerable... fracture. There will be those that want ethical treatment for the NH's in their midst, those that would want total extermination, those that would utterly refuse to acknowledge the existence of NH's, those that are apathetic; they don't care what happens, as long as they, personally, are safe, and finally the fans. Some people would gladly serve anyone, add in supernatural charisma," Stillwater frowned.

National Defense blinked. "People would still refuse to believe in NH's?"

"People are quite stubborn in their ways. Especially, if they never personally see an NH. It'd be all some special effect to them," Stillwater said.

"Your Company's media campaign has ensured that the public at large while being informed of NH's still regards them as... a special effect," the Governor General said.

"But how much of each group?" the Prime Minister asked.

Stillwater gave an exaggerated shrug. "How would the secret get out? The violence there would determine the outrage of the populace."

"Most of these groups have conflicting goals," the Prime Minister looked down at the table.

"That's just the humans. The NH's would split along similar lines, but add in those that would try to take over, both by subtle and overt means."

"And thus the secret stays put and we continue to ride the tiger," the Governor General sighed.

"Humanity is adaptable."

"Enough to compensate if we fail?"

"Humanity constantly fails. We are fragile and weak. Our advantage is that we learn."

"I mean failure of a greater magnitude," the Governor General tersely clarified.

Stillwater looked over his intermeshed fingers. "That is the hope. If we do fail, at the very least we can ensure that theirs is a phyrric victory."

"Spite, a very human emotion." the Governor General smiled thinly.

"Madam General. Willard International Consulting was founded on revenge," Stillwater reminded.

"Is that enough?" the Prime Minister looked up. "Are these preparations enough? You've been bringing in these demons... what do you think?" His lip quivered. "Things have been here before. They will be back again. Who are we to stop them?"

"Who are we?" Stillwater smiled. "We are not the first to live here. We are not the most powerful. We have barely scratched the surface of this world, but it is ours." Stillwater emphasized each word. "Gentlemen, our backs are to the sea. There is no where to run. There never has been."

***************


Nodoka looked up from her work. The sound of light snoring drew her attention and she was unsurprised to find Morgan and Ukyou side-by-side napping on the lab's couch.

She smiled thinly at the sight. The door opening to the lab halted her musing, and broke the succubae's nap. The two girls opened their eyes and alertly watched as Major Saotome's two assistants wheeled in a pair of crates. Right on time...

"You were right, Ma'am. It looks like Gladys released them," Ayanami stated as she opened one of the crates. Nestled in voids in the stiff foam were half a dozen weapons that superficially resembled bulkier Fabrique Nationale P90s, with their compact bull-pup configuration and horizontal magazines.

"I'm a bit surprised the testing went as smoothly as it did." Nodoka noted as she went to her computer and checked the records. The release from WIC Munitions was still there.

"The fixed the problems with the feed ramp?" Aida asked as he opened the other box and started comparing the boxes of ammunition, magazines, spare parts, and other accessories with the bill of materials. He frowned as he started moving the ammunition; in large numbers the weight increase started to really add up. A full magazine would have to weigh around seven and a half kilograms. "I mean with the top magazine the bullets have to rotate ninety degrees before going into the chamber."

"Yes." Nodoka smirked as she pulled out one of the guns, and a small card that was in the bottom of the crate. It was one thing to design a weapon four times the weight of a P90; it was another to hold it. As always, the work was impressive; Nodoka worked the action and after making sure it worked smoothly slipped a bore scope down the barrel. Using the magnified camera in the small probe, she saw that the barrel, while clean, had seen some use. "I'm afraid to ask how many hours Gladys' team billed for this," she said, too pleased at seeing her design physically executed to even pretend to be annoyed.

"Oh my, these are nice," Ukyou said as she took one of the guns out of Ayanami's hands. "Very sturdy," she said trying to flex the metal frame. The twenty-four pounds or eleven kilograms gave the weapon some heft but did not seem heavy to her. It felt like twice the weight of one of her handguns. Though this weapon was empty and forty of those 17mm shells had to get heavy.

Nodoka absently nodded as she disassembled the weapon at her workbench, comparing the parts to the diagrams on her computer. She pulled out a set of calipers and started making a few notes on the dimensions, especially around the pieces that formed the action.

"One of the requirements was 'If it goes empty, it's gotta bash a guys' head in and still work when I shove more ammo in it.' " Aida quoted as he inspected the over-size bullet boxes. He smiled as he looked over the various types. The ballistics had been very fun to work out on them, but he was going to pay for it when it came time to load the magazines and cart them around.

"Misako helped on this?" Ukyou sighed.

"She is a born infantry-trooper," Morgan noted as she handed one of the guns to Ayanami who was still frowning, and took another for herself.

"Making it robust was helpful given the gas pressure of the 17 by 65 mm WIC custom, and weight isn't as much of an issue. The concern is their ergonomics. How do they fit?" Nodoka asked her granddaughters.

"They're good," Ukyou chuckled a bit. The weapon was built strong and obviously on the heavy side, but it was designed for... smaller hands. "Misako's going to be angry she chose to hang out with Akane and Nabiki," she snickered.

"It'll work," Morgan stated. She preferred her rifle but she had to admit this was an attractive little gun. "How's it perform?" she asked shifting her grip and holding the machined metal weapon to her face. The surface had been treated with antireflective coating which also gave a firmer grip.

"Passable on bench tests, but Gladys didn't have anyone that could use it standing up," Nodoka said, looking up from the carefully spread parts before her.

Morgan chuckled. "And they came when Mom and sis are out," she said, her voice getting more distant.

"Aww... you miss them," Ukyou wrapped an arm around the short sharp shooter.

Morgan gave the blonde a puzzled look. "Of course."

Ukyou smirked. "You don't think Gladys rushed this do you?" she asked looking down at the gun in her hands. She liked her Standard Succubus Pistols, but it was nice to have some tailored options and flexibility for what she could carry.

"Are you saying Head Machinist Coulton would force her workers into over time to push a weapon into production, just because we're fighting some type of Soviet Cyborg?" Nodoka asked.

"Her husband did die fighting the communists in Korea," Ayanami reminded.

"That does explain the note she put in the package. 'Hope this helps you girls stick it to the Reds,' " Nodoka read.

"I killed the first two," Morgan grumbled.

"That's why she thanks you on the other side," Nodoka said handing over the card.

"Aww... she's a sweet lady," Morgan said as she pocketed the card.

"What did it say?"

The diminutive succubus smiled. "Morgan: That was a triumph. I've made a note here: Huge success. Gladys."

"Heh, does that make you feel better?" Ukyou said after thanking Aida and taking a magazine he had just loaded. Sliding it on the top of the gun she nodded as it clicked into place. Making sure to keep the weapon pointed away, she tested the balance. Still good, the heavier weight was especially noticeable when she shouldered it.

"Full mag adds another sixty percent to the weight" Nodoka chuckled as she reassembled the gun on her bench.

"Seven and a half kilograms?" Ayanami blinked after doing the math in her head.

"It is a pretty large bullet," Morgan said with a bare hint of a smirk.

"But yours is still bigger," Ukyou teased as she lowered the bullpup... gun.

Morgan nodded. "Grandma, why do you call this a Heavy Submachine Gun? Isn't that...nonsensical."

"A submachine gun does traditionally refer to a smaller weapon using a pistol cartridge. I suppose a carbine is closer but those are normally shortened assault rifles with the same caliber but with lower muzzle velocity."

"This has a lower velocity," Morgan offered.

Nodoka took the fully reassembled gun and put it back into its crate. "Relatively, it's still an anomaly. 17mm by 65 mm is a custom round. Traditionally, a carbine does have more penetrating power than a submachine gun. The WM 17S is designed for close quarters combat. So, if you want to call it a heavy submachine gun or a –well- also heavy carbine. Either works."

"You just picked a generic name?"

Nodoka shrugged. "I guess you could call it a machine carbine."

"Like a Sten gun?" Morgan shook her head. That was a cheap 9mm submachine gun used by the British in WW2 and Korea. Its official name was "Carbine, Machine, Sten" which came from the confusing early WW2 British habit of calling submachine guns "machine carbines". The Sten was almost a textbook example of a submachine gun. She sighed. "Fine, the term's murky enough."

Ayanami cleared her throat. "Technically, the P90 is a Personal Defense Weapon, which has a form factor similar to a submachine gun but has a round with more penetration, power and accuracy."

"Further blurring the line between SMG and carbine," Nodoka smiled at the line of guns. "Personally I thought that a defense weapon didn't give you girls enough credit."

"You just picked a name for a small rifled gun?" Ukyou smiled.

"Submachine guns do have a history of more unconventional form factors."

"I'm sure we'll come up with a cute nickname for them," Ukyou noted.

"No convenient acronym though," Morgan noted.

"Still their size and configuration lends itself to an affectionate name. They're very compact and pretty cute."

Morgan blinked. "Cute?"

"You practically cuddle with your rifle,"

"That's different." the sharpshooter pouted. "Well..." She sighed and sat on one of the desks. "Fine, it's not."

"You don't need to be embarrassed. It's perfectly normal. Just be glad you're just finding weapons adorable," Ukyou comforted with a hint of a smirk.

"Reassuring, given Misako and 'Sasha'," Morgan grumped.

"There are worse fashions." Ukyou paused. "Like... Akane, and... Nabiki." The blonde succubus looked at the diminutive demon. "Actually, you could pull off Nabiki's look. Maybe not pastels but definitely that style."

"Really?" Morgan dryly asked.

"Your hair is too dark, it would clash with light colors," Nodoka explained. She looked at the gun snuggled in its crate, then to its twins in her granddaughters hands. "Take a full load of magazines and crate up the rest."

"Training Ma'am?" Morgan asked as she pulled on her web-vest and started slipping on some magazines.

"I want to see how easy these are to store and retrieve," Nodoka noted as she adjusted Morgan's gear, to the redhead's embarrassment. "And how do they fit on your belts?"

"Uh... dangling." Ukyou had slipped on the crossed belts that held her handguns and their magazines. "They're a bit long.

"Your mother has been dawdling on getting you proper armor," Nodoka sighed.

Ukyou frowned. "Yes they're stupid, but our uniforms do have superior protection. We've tested that."

"It's a bikini top with ribbons and a miniskirt." Morgan slowly stated. "Your bellybutton shows."

Ukyou sighed. "Yes, magic doesn't have to make sense."

"I can still make it better. Without sacrificing mobility."

"Better armor would be nice," Morgan noted.

Nodoka frowned. "Yes, we don't need to stand by and count on magic. If we can make the uniforms better, we will. Now load up, and bring the rest of the guns."

"To test them all?" Ayanami asked.

"That, and Misako, Akane, and Nabiki have been neglecting their training too."

"They've been spending the whole afternoon training at the B facility." Ukyou adjusted the magazines to her belt. "Maybe a vest with some armor would be better. I can't sit with this."

"Ayanami, closet to the left. On the red hanger." Nodoka smiled and patted Ukyou on the head. "We can test how well it goes with your Senshi uniform. As for the other girls? They don't spend enough time on the other weapons. Misako won't always have Sasha."

Ukyou looked at the gun in her hands and allowed an evil little smile to form. "You know, Nariko and Mother hardly ever practice their gunnery. Even less than Nabiki does."

"Yes, we'll need to tell them that," Nodoka said as Ayanami handed a light set of armor. She then helped her assistant fit it to the blonde demon. "How's that feel?"

"Good," Ukyou admitted. It was similar to the succubus armor that Eve and her spawn wore but even more flexible.

"Of course, we don't have enough of these guns, but we'll make do," Nodoka patted the crate and motioned for Ayanami to help her take it out. She then turned to Morgan who was helping Kensuke put more supplies in a rucksack. "And how is your close quarters training going?"

"Good," Morgan coughed. Her last battle had thoroughly illustrated that her body was more than a collection of vastly improved senses, fantastic fine muscle control, and phenomenal mobility.

"Excellent, there's no reason to not push the maximum advantage," Nodoka noted as they left her lab.

***************


Mercury's blue-tinted lips curled into a broad smile as she pushed out the chair opposite her at the small oak table. "You came alone, and no jamming," she idly noted holding up a glass of wine.

"That was part of the deal," the redhead looked at the coifed young woman before her eyes went to the offered chair. She delicately sniffed the air and looked around the crowded bar. All she could detect was Mercury and her Pattern.

"I suppose you could have your spawn and agents hidden, likewise you could easily start up a jammer," Mercury allowed before finishing the last of her drink.

"Nice place," Ranma said turning her head a bit; she could sense almost a... damned field of magic within the fallen Senshi. "No wonder you said dress fancy," she said carefully watching Mercury's expression.

"It doesn't have the intimate ambiance of your bar, but I like it here. Unlike most bars it's quiet," Mercury said looking about the bar and making a slight motion with her raised glass. "You wouldn't expect a few dozen people to keep their voices down."

"It also has a nice patio out front," Ranma allowed watching a waiter walk up with a bottle.

"And a wonderful little garden in the back." She turned to the server "Very nice lighting back there, Jerald."

"Thank you Miss," The server nodded.

"Please leave the bottle, Jerald," Mercury said with a slight wave.

"Fancy place," Ranma noted as the man left.

Mercury laughed. "Not really, mostly yuppies, but they at least have the sense to keep up the ambiance."

"Yes, fancy dress. Though not as nice as a dark satin evening gown with long black gloves," Ranma's eyed appraised the clingy garment.

"I guess the tiara would have been too much; Orion was right." Mercury shook her head, causing her dangling earrings to flutter a bit; her hair held up back in a sculpted bun with fixative stayed perfectly frozen. "You look good, but how can't you? And a nicely tailored leather bodice fits any occasion, and the pants have a certain aggressive beauty to them."

Mercury took a sip and looked up to still see Ranma standing above her. Her eyes went to the open chair and her blue lips smirked. "I hope you're not worried about booby traps. The chair is perfectly safe." She lifted the glass to her nose after a slight swirl. "However, I have set a highly endothermic spell on a deadman trigger. It'll go off if you try to incapacitate or bind or even hurt me."

"That wasn't in your message," Ranma casually noted, her eyes looking at the bar across from her. "Is the Scotch any good here?" she asked as her senses folded out. The damned energy she felt made sense, Mercury had cast a containing spell and... then cast another spell which was halted by the first spell. If the barrier spell were to fail...

"You do know what endothermic means?"

Ranma leaned in. "I touch you and that'll set off a spell that'll freeze everything in this room. I didn't think you'd be willing to kill a bunch of random people," she whispered evenly.

Without looking away from the flickering violet eyes inches away from hers, Mercury reached for her glass. "I didn't say I did. I intend to get through the night without killing anyone." She took a small sip. "However, we'll see how much of a monster you really are. Now please, have a seat. I do recall Jerald mentioned that they have a nice single malt from Islay."

"You're finally putting that brain to good use," Ranma chuckled as she sat down. "You didn't trust my word? I said I wasn't going to give you to Usagi." Ranma gave a mock pout and then waved down a server different from Jerald and ordered a drink.

"There's so many ways you could have defeated me without breaking your word," Mercury stated. "And thank you. I realized what I had to do when I realized just what you thought of me."

Mistress Mercury had expected a lot of reactions from Ranma: something confident and securely, but subtlety, arrogant seemed appropriate enough, maybe a pithy phrase like "Oh really?" or "And that would be?", or even just a raised eye brow. The Mistress did not expect the demoness to bend over, literally holding her sides and start to laugh in a maniacal... no, manic manner.

Other patrons began to stare at the laughing redhead, who continued until a server holding a small glass and an unopened bottle approached the table and cleared her throat.

Ranma rapidly pulled herself up fanning her hair around her head. "Sorry, but my friend said something very... funny," she said after failing to find any more suitable word, while the server unsealed the top, poured her a drink and discreetly left the bottle

Mercury sighed. "I really shouldn't be surprised."

"You're the one that figured out what I think about you."

Idly waving her free hand, Mercury nodded. "Yes, you think I'm a poser, a joke. Someone who tries to be strong, to be 'evil' but just can't get it, but right now that works for me. If I were a real danger you'd risk the lives of all these people. I might be bluffing, you might get me before the spell goes off, you might have simply killed me before the meeting with one of your lovely snipers. If you thought I was a real threat, you'd have treated me like one."

"You're right. This is good," Ranma said taking a small sip. She always made sure to watch her intake, especially tonight.

"I suppose it's enough that I'm alive," Mercury sighed.

"It's best to take what pleasures you can get out of life." Ranma put her glass down. "What was so important that you just had to talk with me?"

"To the point."

"No, that would be if I stood you up and ambushed you on your way out of here. So please, don't waste the slack I'm giving you," Ranma stated sniffing her drink.

Mercury kept herself from glaring; the succubus' eyes were closed as she enjoyed the aroma of her beverage, but that was obviously a test, or a statement of how little Ranma was concerned about her, or was the redhead just innocently enjoying her drink, which in and of itself showed how low of a threat she was in the demon's eyes. Mercury stopped that line of thinking.

That would only drive her spiraling further and further, and she had enough circular thoughts. "It's about Setsuna. I'm worried about her."

"Concern for your main rival to Usagi's ear? Or jealousy?"

Mercury closed her eyes and inhaled. She had to tell someone; someone not a minion; someone who could do something. "I think she's a monster."

"And?" Ranma plainly asked.

"No, I mean how does she smell to you? Is she human now? What about back in DarkStar's time? What did she feel like then?"

Ranma lifted up the cut glass and twisted it slightly, causing light to reflect and scatter off the cut faces.

Mercury silently stared as amber colored light played off of Ranma's pale features. The murmuring from the other patrons seemed to grow louder and Mercury found herself concentrating on all the conditions she had placed on the Spell. The idea was straightforward enough, the question was if she had thought of enough contingencies.

"I suppose... I suppose it's a question of age," Ranma slowly lowered her glass to the polished table. "Setsuna's been around a long time. Maybe as long as my grandmother. In that case, is my nose really worth anything?"

"Yes, BlackSky was from that time too." Mercury's shoulders lowered. She had studied the records from that era. They had no clues about Pluto. "I thought so. I was hoping that you'd have something more... solid. I'd actually prefer it if her mask had slipped... just a bit." She looked into her glass. "I don't suppose you ever saw anything like that did you?"

"No, most was when Murdock was messing with her, when she would start to drink," Ranma said, pointedly.

Mercury rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"At least you've managed to upset her. Like that stunt you pulled when they broke into your lair," Ranma charitably offered.

"That's no good. That just means she knows I know! Or at least that I'm getting close."

Ranma's gaze returned to the wine bottle with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't patronize me, I'm not being paranoid. We live in a world full of baroque intrigue and dreadfully strange things."

"It wasn't your ramblings I was noting."

Mercury sighed and pushed her glass next to her bottle. "I know it sounds insane. Setsuna has been Serenity's right hand from the beginning. If there was something wrong with her then..."

"It's a good thing your loyalties and ethics have been corrupted into serving the queen's daughter then."

Mercury tried to parse that statement. "You're saying that if I was serving Queen Serenity I wouldn't dare question Setsuna?"

"You know the relationship those two had." Ranma took another sip.

"Yes, the Queen's right hand." Mercury refilled her glass. "That's what has me twisting in knots. If it's all true then... Setsuna... she's been planning this for a very long time."


"Why not blame her for the Fall?" Ranma's sarcasm fell when she saw Mercury's expression. "You're not seriously thinking?"

"That she worked with Beryl?" Mercury gave a bitter laugh. "If I'm right, she could have been the one to introduce Beryl to Metalia, but I doubt that. Such an activity would have been too risky. All she had to do was let the Beryl's movement fester and the opportunity would present itself, and how could such treason fester right under Serenity's nose? "

Ranma gave Mercury a long gaze. When the blue-haired girl was about to speak the redhead raised her hand to stop her. Finally, after thinking it over a few times Ranma spoke. "Are you suggesting that Setsuna let her Queen's empire be destroyed so she could get Usagi in the present, what... without Serenity around?"

"Her powers make the Fall an... unusual occurrence."

"Just because you know a storm is coming, doesn't mean you can stop it."

Mercury brightened slightly. "I didn't expect fatalism from someone like you."

"There's a difference between fatalism and pragmatism. From what I know of Serenity, she would have planned for the Fall. Contingencies would have been in place. That's why we're both sitting at this table now."

"And who would she entrust with an important, no, the most important task?"

Ranma shook her head. "You really have it bad for Setsuna. You jealous of her too?"

Mercury looked down at her wine. "She stole my plan."

Ranma glared. "Last week, I met the head of the oldest active Intelligence Agency in the world, met with the heads of this government, and here I am listening to a teenage girl whine about someone stealing her 'secret evil plans'."

"We can't all have the patronage of elite organizations."

Ranma smiled slightly. She had not accompanied Stillwater to that second meeting, Mercury was either playing along, or, more likely, ignorant of Ranma's exact activities. "Anyway... your plan centered around inventing a fake enemy to push the Senshi into accepting your training; which you would then use to slowly turn to your way of thinking." The redhead chuckled. "You're right. Setsuna did steal your idea."

"And I'm the fake villain," Mercury sighed.

"To be fair, you were the one that started wearing the evil costume."

Mercury simply raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, but you have a point. Their priorities are screwed up. At least this group of Soviet assassins should get them in gear." Ranma stated.

"Usagi does collect enemies. Huh, so you're saying I'm a distraction?"

Ranma shook her head and emptied her glass. "No, regaining lost team members should be a priority. It consolidates strength, reduces confusion, and shows your girls that you care about what happens to them. Usagi was right to recover Minako and try to take you out."

"Yes, it could have ended that night." Mercury's hand clamped down on the edge of the table.

"And now this Setsuna stuff... there's no way you'd turn yourself in is there? Not even to pretend?"

Mercury hesitated. "Aside from Usagi proving harder to fool... no. I can't get close to Setsuna."

"What is it that you think is wrong with her, other than being a devious plotter. Isn't that part of being the guardian to those time gate things?"

"The Space-Time Door is a prop." Mercury chuckled. "That's the truth. It's a big, ornate, impressive... prop. It was built so Serenity's egg-heads could have something to study. It gave off all the right readings, but that's all it was. An artifact to justify the power Serenity had acquired.

"It's really quite brilliant. The Door was the highest of Secrets, Second only to the Silver Crystal. This kept the researchers studying the doors from talking with anyone not on the project. Information was controlled, collaboration was contained, their results were guided to the proper conclusion."

"That Serenity had found or invented some magical artifact that gave her time powers?"

"And her mages had affirmed that it was safe, accurate, and secure. The rabble ate it as a source of pride and reassurance in their Queen's power."

"And Serenity's military gains a decisive intelligence edge. No wonder Unification seemed inevitable." Ranma gave a slight nod and allowed herself a second, small, drink.

"You see my problem?"

Ranma shrugged. "Not really."

Mercury narrowed her eyes. "I just told you the greatest secret in the Silver Millennium. The Door is a lie."

"So? Serenity and Setsuna kept how it really worked a secret. Seems like a good idea."

Mercury stared. This... this person had outplayed her at ever turn, and yet... "Don't you see? If the Door wasn't the source of the power..."

Ranma nodded. "That's pretty clever. People wouldn't question a giant magic key if you used it as a weapon and guarded a giant magical door. It makes sense, Serenity didn't have a magical throne, she had her crystal."

"She didn't start out with the crystal, she made it around he time she had Usagi." Mercury's hand reached out for her glass. She hesitated and looked at Ranma. It could be that simple. It would have made the research facility on the moon an even better fake. They were studying a powerful artifact, it just was not the one they thought it was.

"What's wrong now?"

"Do you have any idea how hard this is for me?"

Ranma looked over her glass and gave a slight frown.

Bristling at the demoness, Mercury composed herself. "I know what you want, I know what your goal is."

Ranma's frown instantly shifted into a playful grin.

"I told you; I figured out what you thought of me. I also figured out what you wanted. All the things a brood mother could want, what were you missing?"

Ranma tilted her head a fraction of an inch to the side.

"Being coy now? Setsuna's not the only one taking advantage of mean-old Mistress Mercury. The princess is looking for someone strong, confident, but also loving and just."

"And yet... you're having this meeting warning me about Setsuna. So what's so bad about Puu that you'd rather me get my talons into your princess?"

Mercury folded her hands in front of her on the table. "I know what you'll do to Usagi. Setsuna... it doesn't add up. She doesn't need to be this... "

"Over intricate plots? Stupid schemes and destinies?" Ranma shrugged. "Seems like a problem you girls have."

"The key..." Mercury laughed. "Oh yes, why not? Setsuna is the key! And Guardian of the Gate. Past, present, future, all are one in the Gate. She knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. She knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread." Her morbid grin died when she saw Ranma's thoughtful expression.

"What? I'm finally no longer a joke?" Mercury glared.

"Akumi, do you actually know why we're here? Why all of us are up here, instead of some other city? Why you girls aren't in Tokyo?"

Mercury looked down. "Yes, things are getting... thin. Setsuna knew it, Orion knew it, I... figured it out, but Usagi wouldn't see. That's why I had to do this! The Senshi wouldn't handle it. Usagi would try to use her crystal... and we'd all die mad and screaming, at best. She got complacent. Every other campaign ended with the same magic rock."

"You can't expect the same tools and moves to keep working." Ranma frowned.

"Oh? I thought you were this perfect warrior?"

"No, I'm good. We're good because we keep training. We keep learning new things, and improving. My mother was real harsh last week when I got back," Ranma said, remembering how she almost cried at her mother's dressing down. It had been just the two of them, but she managed to just whimper a bit with her head in her mother's lap.

Mercury raised an eyebrow "Really? What did she have to criticize you about?"

Ranma shrugged. She could tell Mercury part of the story "I got complacent. I assumed that our magical armor was 'good enough'."

"That's what I was trying to do."

"No, you were trying to make better Senshi. My mother is trying to better equip us. Key difference."

"It's still better than the Princess' plans." Mercury sighed. "I know what I've done, I know what I've become. I had to do this because no one else would. They were too shocked, complacent and reactionary; weepy drippy little girls," she spat the last few words out. "I'm not as good as you, but at least I'm trying."

"I thought you're this way because you were seduced by a brainy lesbian honey pot?" Ranma remarked taking a sip of her Scotch. "But now you realize that the one person you had thought would understand... the one that knew what it took to be a real queen..."

"And it looks like Setsuna understands too well."

"It's possible we're on the same side, that she's just making Usagi into a proper queen... but... not if my theory is right. Setsuna's been at this for a long time... longer than your grandmother."

Ranma motioned for Mercury to continue.

"It's too much... this would have had to have started before Serenity had a daughter, before you, before Unification, before there was even a proper Empire. This is a plan that shows a patience and a level of detail that would be impossible... too many things would change. Too much could go wrong."

Ranma suppressed rolling her eyes. She almost took pity on the girl, and decided to push a bit more. "Unless you happened to be an immortal guardian of some type of Space-Time thing."

"Sarcasm aside, you're right."

"Why tell me? Do you really expect me to help you?" Ranma flexed her fingers.

"I expect your self interest to take what I have to say into consideration."

Ranma looked the other woman over as she formulated her statement.. "Oh? Well you presume to know not just what I think of you, but also what I want, no... need." She slowly leaned in her teeth revealed in a wide grin. "Why don't you just give up to me? Have you considered that scenario?"

Eyes twinkling, Ranma leaned back and sipped her Scotch. "You have the mind, you have the will, just imagine what you could become with my help. Imagine what the Princess could become with our help. Together, we could undercut any influence of Setsuna's..."

Mercury knew enough to keep eye contact. "And what would this... offer cost me?"

"Everything."

"How generous," Mercury glared.

The demon leaned closer. "How badly do you want to save Usagi? How much do you fear Setsuna? It's easy to wear dark clothes, turn evil, transform your teammates into puppets, but trusting, submitting to someone else. That's hard. Is your pride worth it?"

"You assume that you can stop Setsuna and that your... demonic interest will save the Princess," Mercury stated, hoping that Ranma's offer did not have the... potential it seemed to at first glance.

Still showing her teeth, Ranma idly rolled her glass in her hand. "From what you've said, who else could stop Setsuna? You don't have full confidence in your own ability, or else you wouldn't be buying me surprisingly acceptable Scotch. No at the very least, you called me here as insurance. You said it yourself, you'd rather I get Usagi, than Setsuna. So why not help it along?" she asked her voice nearly coming out in a purr.

Once again Mercury checked the status of the Spell.

"You want a strong Princess. One that will adapt to this new war. We can make her adapt. You know what she thinks of me."

"And you get exactly what you want. Even have a prodigal 'daughter' to bring back to Usagi. You have a ready excuse for why I'd be a demon, and of course I'd fully corroborate your story." Mercury scoffed. "There are certain advantages to your species. You'd then use this assassin threat to bring Usagi in even closer, but with me and the others 'back in' her only threats would be external. There wouldn't be a rush; you could take your time, slowly bending her to your way of thinking."

"Going to accuse me of stealing your ideas too?" Ranma chuckled.

"No, that fits your own plans. Not going to mention that I could still have Orion, or that I could be even closer to her than I am now?"

"Why would I mention the obvious?"

"Do you actually expect me to agree with this?" Mercury wanted to ask if Ranma was being serious or of this was a test, but the firstly it was counterproductive, and secondly... she was not sure which answer would be worse.

Ranma sighed. "Again, it's all a question of how badly you want to protect Usagi. You were able to turn Minako into something inhuman, would you be willing to do the same for yourself?"

Mercury looked down. "Are these Combat Cyborgs... are they really that much of a threat?"

Ranma shrugged. "They're military trained and have spent years as professional assassins. Someone spent a lot of money to hire them. Morgan killed two but..." She lifted her hand up.

"Yes, your sniper," Mercury frowned. "Usagi hasn't moved. It's been a week since that meeting, what has she done?"

"Usagi and Setsuna have been training. They a pretty good defense they have setup, but-" Ranma sighed. "- I offered to have them stay on base, or have some of us help guard them."

"She's stubborn," Mercury chuckled. "Though at least someone finally shocked her out of complacently."

"Every time I ride over there, Setsuna's the one taking charge." Ranma paused. "Huh, you might be onto something. I don't see her asleep, much. She's been the big push there."

"Of course, it's what I would have done," Mercury frowned. A crisis was the best time to slip in your own agenda; people were looking for solutions, for action, and it was the perfect time to bypass the normal means.

"No wonder you two dislike each other," Ranma laughed.

"This is the real deal? These cyborgs are not pushovers like the Assembly or Alexia?" Mercury asked.

"I'm not sure those are pushovers. Though you'd underestimate the likes of Alexia at your peril."

"I've fought plenty of evil seductresses who converted people into their minions.

"Before you became one yourself?" Ranma raised a hand to stop Mercury's protests. "Alexia... even she knew about indirect attack, monster that she was."

"Turning all those people?"

"Not exactly," Ranma frowned. "Swears work differently for demons. Alexia's a maternissima."

"Meaning?"

"Worst-mother." Ranma said. "Like calling you, subhuman. Wait. it's an adjective. I used it wrong." Ranma frowned. Demonic was proving to be easier than English. Unlike English, it had rules and followed them, but it was yet another language to learn.

"Here's how it's used. Maternissima Alexia exposuit Filias," Ranma hissed.

Mercury blinked.

"The very worst-mother Alexia let her daughters die out in the Wilderness because she was not willing to care for them," Ranma explained with venom.

"That's a compact verb," Mercury noted.

"It's where exposure comes from," Ranma explained. "According to the language book, the Romans had a slightly different meaning, but it's still a way to get rid of unwanted children. For succubae it's sending their spawn into battle as cannon fodder, for the Romans it was leaving the kid outside somewhere to –well- die from exposure."

"That's horrid," Mercury flatly stated.

"To the Romans it wasn't necessarily a bad thing –cruel bastards they were-, but a brood mother has such power over her spawn that broodlings are only undesirable if the mother screwed up.

"Alexia would stunt her spawn's development to keep them easier to control, and then she'd send them out to be slaughtered. She literally is the worse insult our kind can come up with," Ranma shivered.

"Is this common?" Mercury was intrigued that some things could still disturb the demon.

"No self respecting brood mother would do it. Some of the less reputable Houses do it, but... it's ghastly. It's a kind of mental violation that's... it's like turning your own children into ghouls. Alexia was impatient. She could have groomed her spawn and let them grow. Then she would have had a skilled, loving army."

Mercury raised an eyebrow. Ranma's own family expansion was left unsaid.

Ranma took a sip. "And the Assembly? They had pretty good intelligence gathering and could use it to setup a rather good ambush.

"What they couldn't do was finish the job. They had me blown apart, should have had their 'elite' sweep in and finish me off. Instead, they got greedy, figured they could give WIC a black eye too. Gave me time to reform."

"You beat them at every turn."

"My spawn, the Company, and myself beat them," Ranma stressed. "And that wasn't without cost. Training helps too."

"That's what I was trying to tell them," Mercury sighed.

"We'll see. A good fight will test Usagi and you."

"Like that cult in the toy store?" Once again, Mercury reached out for her glass.

Ranma nodded.
"We never did figure out exactly how those Path of the Will losers got that book, how they figured out the Princess was up here." Mercury took a pull from her glass and studied the crimson fluid. "I'm guessing you don't know who hired these cyborgs either."

"Going to blame Setsuna?"

"She'd blame Murdock."

"And how is he doing?"

"Absent," Mercury smirked. "I don't think his bosses like him very much either."

"Ah, he is working for someone?" Ranma raised an eyebrow.

"Someone that's his own boss wouldn't be so afraid of failure."

"Ah, he's failed?"

Mercury curled her gloved-fingers and looked at the silken fist. "Let's be honest, I know I'm just a backup plan." She frowned. "No I'm the booby-prize of a backup plan, and that plan went to hell when Minako figured out my charade. So, what does Murdock have left?"

"A jilted demoness with a growing brood and an... unconventional team of evil Pattern Silvers?" Ranma allowed.

"Being generous?"

"Well, you don't cackle insanely, but you do have an ice skirt..."

"Lovely," Mercury frowned "There's plenty of threats to Usagi."

"Yourself included," Ranma reminded.

Mercury gave a dismissive hand-wave. "I'm not a critical one. I'm just an emotional threat to her."

"Now, now," Ranma reached out to pat Mercury's hand. Chuckling, she slowly withdrew her hand. The barrier had only trembled at bit. "Emotional damage is the best way to deal with her. Physical damage just gets her mad."

Her hand twitching nervously, Mercury pulled it off the table. "You're giving me villain advice?"

"You kept your nerve." Ranma lifted her glass and paused to enjoy the aroma. Without taking a sip, she put it down and stared at Mercury. "First thing, don't think of yourself as a villain."

"I am trying to save her," Mercury glared.

"Big deal," Ranma shrugged. "You're still treating it as a game. One where you play the dark Mistress and where Usagi plays the goody-goody princess. You know how that ends."

"You're all in leather, like some kind of biker babe."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "There's a reason motorcyclists like boots and leather."

Mercury sighed. "It's okay for you to have fun costumes but not me?"

"Huh? I didn't mention clothes. Wear whatever you want. It's how you see yourself that counts. People that think they're evil are either pathetic posers or pathetic posers with some power. No one who's really nasty thinks 'I'm being evil right now'. Monsters are just monsters."

"In other words: be evil but don't gloat about it?"

The redhead gave a warm smile. "Just be yourself."

Mercury repressed a sigh and reached for her glass. "Any other words of wisdom?"

"Don't act like a magical girl, even an evil magical girl. Usagi is better at the magical girl game than you are. If you play by her terms, in the fight she understands it won't matter how clever your plans are. The turned evil magical girl going up against the chosen team leader can only end one way."

"And the price for this advice?"

"If you're less of a mess, then you'll be less of a problem to me." Ranma shrugged. "You won't be driven to do something... rash."

"This Setsuna thing's driven me to seek out your help."

"As long as you don't do anything stupid," Ranma eyed the coifed evening-dress clad girl. "Or 'evil'. Nothing that would make you cackle maniacally."

"What's wrong with that? You did it when you first sat down." Mercury glared.

"We're starting with baby steps here. A small satisfied smile on a job well done is a good start."

"I suppose a modicum of dignity is more fitting my style," Mercury allowed.

"That's the idea. Don't pigeon-hole yourself. So, you dress darkly and were turned into a lesbian and perform unethical experiments on your teammates, that doesn't mean the rest of you has to be a joke."

"Glad, you have that much confidence in me."

"What have you done? You beat the Senshi a couple times, they beat you once, you turned Minako, and you helped me fight the Assembly."

"I'm getting to the bottom of Setsuna's secrets."

"Sounds like a paranoid mess."

Mercury raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, that doesn't mean it's not true. This is Setsuna, but do you think you have a chance against her?"

"You know... you're a real jerk," Mercury stated.

"That's what I like about you," Ranma chuckled.

"I'm perceptive?"

"You're not family, you're not Company, you're not a friend, you're not even a diplomat or some other bigwig." Ranma smiled. "I don't have to be nice or polite to you. It's very refreshing."

Mercury sighed. "Well, you are one of the few people I deal with that's not a servant or a lover."

"Or a golden golem thing," Ranma smirked as she stood up. "You know how to contact me.

"You're just leaving?"

Ranma picked up the bottle of Scotch and studied the label. "Unless you've got something important to say." She leaned over the table. "Sure you're not interested in my offer?"

Pulling back and standing up, Mercury maintained her composure. "As... elegant as your proposal is. I must decline it." She smiled thinly at the bottle the demon held. "Keep the Scotch."

"Thanks. So, gonna gamble big then," Ranma shook her head and started to walk out of the bar. "Well, you're betting I'll stop Setsuna if you can't." The redhead smiled thinly when she smelled Mercury following her out.

Once out in the rich night air, Ranma turned around and watched Mercury stand by the doorway. The succubus could just barely hear the engine of a small UAV. A few other patrons walked in and out of the bar some making their way to the tables put out front. "Getting cocky. I could have one of my girls watching you."

"You could have taken me out in the bar," Mercury shrugged. "There's still enough people around. Just remember what I warned out about, please."

"I will," Ranma promised, as she made a note to follow up the Company's future investigation and surveillance of the bar. She then turned and walked to her waiting ride.

Despite herself Mercury laughed. The redhead was right. Dressed as she did, she looked completely natural walking up to a large violet, black and chrome motorcycle. She stuffed the bottle in a saddlebag and smoothed her hair back before putting on a full-face black helmet.

Slipping on a pair of gloves, Ranma turned and chuckled to herself. Seemingly unaware, Mercury was a few strides closer to her. Ranma flipped up her visor. "It's a VRSC Night Rod, Harley Davidson."

Mercury rubbed her chin. "It fits you," she said trying not to let on that she could not tell the difference between a Harley and Honda.

"That's what Bob said, I thought it was a bit big... at first." Ranma said as she ran a hand down one of the handlebars.

"Why'd you get it?"

Ranma swung a leg over the bike. "My sister got it for me," she said as she eased into the saddle and turned the ignition. The engine turned over and she nearly purred to match the motor's rumbling. Flipping her visor down, she gave a wave to Mercury before darting into traffic.

Mercury watched the bike race away and sighed. One had to take one's allies as they came.


***************


"The demon's back," Shest noted as she recorded the time and approach route.

"About every other day," Arisha noted looking over the shorter woman's shoulder.

"Not a standard time. The other mercenaries keep a pretty good rotation of coverage," Shest shrugged. "But it's not protective. We could easily get in."

"Of course," Arisha chuckled walking over to an end table and inspected a box of chocolates Sem had indulged in. "But how easily could we get out?"

"Is that why Galina's been holding us back?"

"There are safer places to put our little Zaika. Clearly, she knows who we are."

"They wanted us to know." Shest frowned. The Papists were fair warriors, but even more clever spies. To her, that was more repellant than their antiquated... theology. There was more than a bit of State Security hiding behind the broad smiles of the priests that had taken them, those years ago.

Arisha sliced open a confection and frowned, nougat. "They assumed we would be watching the Papal Nuncio; so they turned the meeting into a statement."

Wearing a robe Vosem had stepped out of the suite's shower, "They know what we are. They even have our bodies, and this is their slothful reaction?" The short-haired cyborg grumbled, as she walked to her suitcase.

"You spent the day at the airport. Did you see any increased activity?" Arisha blandly asked.

"No, but what does that matter?" Vosem grumbled as she slipped out of the robe and slipped onto a bodysuit. "There are crates, there are men. You don't need to read my report. Just a calculator."

"Oh?"

"If I were them, I'd always ship a full load, even with boxes full of sand. And extra boxes with sand, they're rich."

"And when more capacity is required, they can bring it in without changing the volume," Arisha noted as she tried another chocolate. "You do know why the crates are likely to be pointless right?"

Vosem gave a measured look. "They have vehicles. Transports and helicopters come and go. Much could be moved in those. Their base needs provisions. There are plenty of ways to hide something. You can ask Galina when she gets back with the others. I'm sure she'll have a nice list of vehicles and crates too."

She straightened out her grey and red garment. "Of course much can be said about their troops. A female soldier could be human, or something else."

Arisha nodded. "They are a species designed for infiltration."

"They are also confident. Both the demons and their mercenary masters. So, they could take things the easy way."

"But so far they have not?"

Shest frowned. "So, why have they sat on their hands?"

"You assume that since you don't see it, that they're not moving against us?" Vosem harshly asked. "They wiped out a team without a sweat. Before they were told what we were. Svetlana and Ivanova underestimated them."

"You see a greater challenge?"

Vosem chuckled. "We know how the Company works. WIC is in the 'business' of fighting the unknown, of killing monsters. They seem to be rather good at it."

Arisha savored the candy. "Are you saying you were spotted, then?"

"If I was, they were clever enough to not let on." Vosem paused. "If so, I had to have escaped their tail."

"Because we're happily chatting and enjoying Sem's generosity?" Arisha handed the box over to Vosem.

"Yes, there's no reason for them to let us live. We're a threat to their little Princess."

"If they wanted Zaika dead, we would be out of luck." Shest nodded.

"Then why are they doing such a shoddy job of protecting her?" Arisha icily asked.

"It's either better protection than we think or the Princess is grossly overconfident," Vosem sated chewing on a caramel.

Shest considered Arisha's words earlier. "Or it's a trap."

Arisha smirked. "Relations do seem...strained between these magical girls and the Company. They seem more than willing to use WIC's resources when they need some backup or a nice place to shower but..."

"Like the Soviet?" Vosem whimsically asked. "Oh yes, all members were equal, after all class was what counted not nationality, but there were the more important nations."

"That's what happens when the Politburo is staffed with counter-revolutionary hacks more concerned with race and personal power than the true strides of humanity." Arisha frowned and slowly closed her mouth. "History aside, are these girls deluded? The older one, Meiou seems to be quite the realist."

"Not enough to force them to try to get us or even adopt a decent defensive position," Shest noted. "It's like they're obligingly waiting for us to make the first move."

"Their internal rift could be a factor."

"The rogue girl has maintained a low profile. Since the night when we attacked after the girls attacked her, she has done nothing. You would think we would be the bigger threat, at least after the meeting with the priest," Shest said.

"So, what have they been doing this last week?"

"Training, planning, building their defenses, and... going to school," Arisha sighed. "It's mocking how unserious this seems."

"And yet WIC poses enough of a risk to keep us from sweeping them away?" Vosem asked as she pulled out another chocolate.

Shest got up. "They're not treating us as a joke. They know exactly what we are." She reached out and snatched an orange crème. "They're using the situation. They know we can get to Zaika, but that..."

"That's a fitting trap. As long as they're more concerned about killing us than saving the Princess," Vosem noted.

"Perhaps they don't think she needs saving?" Arisha chuckled.

"Letting her die? That depends on what value she has to them," Shest asked.

"Or they don't think we'll kill her," Vosem smirked. "They know more about the Princess than we do."

"In the past, she has proven rather... resilient," Shest allowed.

"Against whom?" Arisha put the box of chocolates down. "You've seen how she is. She's led around by Meiou. She refuses help. She's stubborn, overconfident, and naive."

"It's like she expects the universe to accommodate her," Vosem snidely said.

Arisha critically looked over the other woman. "Then our course is clear. We are the best suited to show little Zaika what the universe is... unkind to foolish dreams."

End Chapter


Author's Notes:

I'd like to thank my pre-readers. They read through my most egregious mistakes so you don't have to. DGC, J St C Patrick, Terra, Pale Wolf, Wray, Kevin Hammel, Ikarus, Jerry Starfire, and Mike Koos.

An extra thanks goes to J St C Patrick. Go onto the fanart page of the Fukufics site and you'll find an opening sequence for The Return that he made. It's really something else.

Thanks to Stratagemini for the "Demonic" names for the various features and terms. His advice and his extensive knowledge of Latin was an integral part of doing this, especially in finding real Latin words and adapting them to the definitions, tenses, and other terms to make up the Demonic variant.

Revision Notes: Well, that's Betrayed Consequences. Thanks to everyone who read and commented. We're starting to see Ranma (and Eve and Usagi and so on...) grow into this situation. Though a lot of this (especially with the combat cyborgs) is setting the stage for the third part "Raising Trouble".

And with that, and the Battle of Ottawa, we'll have caught up to Blood Debts. And from there the new stuff. Such as Dame BlackStone centered short stories like: "Our Sister, the Idiot" "Dreamland", and "Family Business". That last one is also part of showing more of the succubus homeplane in general and Silvana in specific. Something that will also be a major part of the post Blood Debts main story)