El-Hazard is the property of Pioneer/AIC. All other characters are owned by dooky. Apparently I also own a square foot of land on some Scottish island, but that's not strictly relevant now, is it? EL-HAZARD: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME The Shape of Things So Far- The outspoken Holy Order advisor Jennown Doht visits the priestesses to check their progress with the prophecy. Shayla does not trust him, and reveals just a fraction of the full text to him. Parnasse discovers to his horror that Mari is a lesbian, while Mycea takes advantage of the situation and seduces him. As a test of her power, Jinnai sends Sakura to attack the priestesses. She defeats Shayla and Afura easily, but is somehow prevented from harming Qawoor, and reaches a bizarre stalemate with Ifurita when neither Demon God can fire. Amiri is the victim of a racist attack and is left with a broken arm. Mari tries to make amends with Fujisawa, but gets angry when he disapproves of her friendship with Alielle and Fatora. The Alpha Priestess dies, and is replaced with Serati, a relative unknown. Relations with Dorusland deteriorate as Fran makes increasingly extreme demands- eventually the country withdraws from the Alliance. Nahato immediately selects the nation as a suitably vulnerable target for Jinnai's first attack. THE SIXTH MONTH: "THE END STARTS TODAY" Day 153 On Earth, they say that behind every great man stands a great woman. In El-Hazard, which is in most cases a reasonably enlightened society, this phrase would no doubt be rejected as hopelessly outmoded and sexist. And it's easy to see why. While on Earth, pre-determined gender roles may persist, this is generally not the case in El-Hazard. Often behind a great woman, there may stand a great man, for example Ifurita and Makoto Mizuhara. In some of the more liberally minded corners of the Alliance, the situation gets even more complicated- a great woman may be backed up by a person of either gender. The most obvious instance of this is Princess Fatora, who has Alielle- a great woman- behind her, as well as frequently in front of her, on top of her, underneath her, and in a great deal of other elaborate positions that would make the researchers for the Kama Sutra blush. Having considered this, there are also cases in El-Hazard where the original saying holds true. Katsuhiko Jinnai, as commander of the Bugrom forces, would never have achieved his position were it not for the approval of Queen Diva. Diva preferred to remain behind the scenes. Nobody from the Alliance had ever actually seen her, whilst everyone agreed they had seen rather too much of Jinnai. Diva's low profile was simply a consequence of what she considered to be the queen's function. Roles in Bugrom society were well defined. It was her job to maintain the Empire, to protect it and replenish it if necessary. There was only ever one queen, and without her the Empire would eventually crumble and die. It was vital, therefore, for Diva to keep herself well protected. Other than that, she did little. She left the complicated business of directing battles up to Jinnai. That was his role, and she thought it best not to interfere. Recently, though, Diva had started to worry about him. The fact that he put up with Sakura's insolence was bad enough- but his relationship with Nahato, the Phantom Tribe leader, was nothing short of unbelievable. It even seemed, at times, as if Jinnai was taking orders from him. "I do not trust him." "Nahato?" Jinnai raised an eyebrow quizzically. "How come?" "The Phantom Tribe traditionally have little regard for the Bugrom," Diva said. "For them to shift their position so suddenly seems strange. Why are they so eager to help us?" "Simple," Jinnai replied. "We share a common goal. The destruction of the Alliance. War makes strange bedfellows, as they say." Diva nodded. "Indeed. But when the war is over... when the Alliance is no more, and all that remains is the Bugrom and the Phantom Tribe... what then? Will the Phantom Tribe really be content to allow us to be the dominant force in El-Hazard?" "In truth," Jinnai said, "I don't really trust Nahato either. Right now, he's valuable, but I don't plan on keeping him here any longer than necessary. I have no intention of conquering El-Hazard just so the Phantom Tribe can take it from me." "Do you really believe we could win in a battle against the Phantom Tribe?" "Nahato admitted they're not as strong as they used to be. They're certainly not strong enough to take on the Alliance, or else they'd be doing it alone." "Yes," Diva sighed. "You're right, Mr Jinnai. Forgive me for questioning you, it's just that... I am concerned about the future of the Empire." Jinnai looked long and hard at Diva. There was something different about her, he was sure. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was. "Ow." "Oh, what now?" Tenax frowned impatiently. "Well, if you must know," Amiri replied, "this plaster cast you made is crooked." She awkwardly held her broken left arm aloft. "It is not!" Tenax insisted. "It's completely flawless, not to mention aesthetically pleasing. Your problem is that you're never satisfied." Amiri continued unabated. "It's digging in! Look! Look at that mark!" "What mark?" Tenax shook her head and smiled. "You might be a great doctor, but you're one lousy patient." Amiri shrugged. "Fair point. Most doctors are. Tenax, I'm curious. Did you ever study physics?" Tenax shuddered. "Physics? Ugh. Just barely. Only the absolute minimum I needed to get by in medicine. Why?" "I was looking over some research." She gestured towards a heap of papers on her desk. "My husband was a physicist. These are some of his notes. I'm trying my best to understand them, but they're way out of my league." "Well, don't look at me," Tenax said. "What are they about, anyway?" "Nothing special," Amiri replied. "But he spent so long working on it, I'd at least like to understand the basics." "You know who I bet would understand it?" the student smiled. "Makoto Mizuhara. He's supposed to be a brilliant physicist." "Yes," Amiri nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose I could pay him a visit when I give the princess her checkup." "Great idea!" Tenax grinned. "I also heard he's really cute. Can I come?" Makoto entered the living room carrying two bags. "Hi, Ifurita," he called. "I brought some... are you okay?" He quickly put the bags down and hurried over to where Ifurita was sitting. She was perfectly still, and her expression was glazed and distant. "Ifurita?" Makoto prompted. "What's the matter?" "Stand by," she replied suddenly. "What?" Moments later, Ifurita returned from wherever it was she'd been. "Makoto, I didn't mean to alarm you," she said apologetically. "I was performing a self diagnostic routine." "I didn't know you could do that," Makoto replied. "Initially I couldn't. My program forbade me to access most of my essential systems. But since you deactivated the obedience circuit, I've found that I can perform checks on nearly all aspects of my program. With all of the strange things that have been happening to me recently, I thought it might be a good idea." "I've been thinking about that," Makoto said. "Could it be that Qawoor simply has an ability similar to mine? It's not beyond the realms of possibility that she just somehow developed it naturally." "True," Ifurita nodded. "But there is a clear difference between your abilities. You can manipulate a wide variety of ancient artefacts, whilst I've observed that Qawoor only has an effect on one class of relic." "What class?" "Weapons. Every object that's responded to her has either been a weapon, or part of a weapon. Myself, Sakura, the Eye of God's sealing circuit... even your prototype dimensional transporter contained elements from the Eye of God." "That's crazy," Makoto replied. "Why would weapons respond to Qawoor, of all people?" "I'm not sure," Ifurita said. "I'm not much closer to working that out, even after the self diagnostic." "Did you learn anything from it?" "A little," she said. "I replayed my sensor readings from Sakura's attack, because I wanted to know what prevented me from firing on her. Eventually I discovered that Sakura was transmitting a low frequency EM signature that was scrambling my targeting systems." "I had no idea you were sensitive to radio waves." "But I'm not. This is the odd thing. It appears that I was designed to be sensitive to that particular EM signature. Not only that, but I've now discovered that I too emit a similar signature. Presumably, that's why Sakura couldn't attack me." "That's weird," Makoto said with a puzzled expression. "Two Demon Gods, specifically designed so that they can't attack each other. It doesn't make sense." "I know," Ifurita replied. "During the Holy Wars there were frequent battles between Demon gods. I'm afraid I have no adequate explanation." "What about Qawoor? Have you examined your sensor readings from your encounters with her?" "Yes," Ifurita sighed. "But the results were confusing. My reactions to her are routed through a block of programming that I still can't examine." Makoto's brow furrowed. "In theory you should be able to examine all of your systems, now that the obedience circuit isn't there to stop you." "Perhaps," she theorised, "there is a second obedience circuit holding me back." "Could be," Makoto conceded. "A really important system could be guarded by a backup. But, if I deactivated one obedience circuit, I'm pretty sure I can deactivate another." Anybody who has ever wondered how the media works will find the following passage to be of particular interest. It begins with a highly competitive group of newspapers who have an incredibly important story to report, but very little to say about it. The selection of a little-known regional priestess from Perallia to be the next Alpha Priestess was big news indeed. The contest for the next head of the Holy Order had been wide open, but Manserati Serati- for it was she- wasn't even thought to be on the shortlist. All of this was terribly exciting and newsworthy, but there was a problem. Nobody really knew much about Serati, and what little they had managed to find out was hardly gripping. They desperately needed what the business refers to as an 'angle'- which is newspaper code for a self-righteous opinion on the subject in question. Unfortunately, Serati seemed so bland that no one knew what to make of her. Then Serati did something unexpected. She appointed Jennown Doht, newspaper columnist and minor advisor to the Holy Order, as her senior consultant. Doht was understandably very pleased about this, and had nothing but praise for Serati in his column in the Roshtarian Sun. At long last, somebody had expressed an opinion. The newspaper's editorial staff decided to go with it, and the very next day, the Roshtarian Sun came out in support of Serati. The other publications owned by the same media group quickly followed suit. Their competitors considered disagreeing- after all, wasn't that what they were meant to do? But since there was nothing obviously wrong with the new Alpha Priestess, they decided to stick to what was fast becoming the popular view. And so, in a matter of days, every newspaper in the land was full of pro-Serati editorials, as the phrases 'fresh start' and 'safe pair of hands' became practically ubiquitous. Curiously, in all of the excitement very few people noticed the apparent incongruity of an uncontroversial figure like Serati employing the hyper-opinionated Doht as a consultant. Fortunately though, there are always certain people on whom nothing is lost. Miz shook her head angrily, an action which had become something of a habit in recent days. "I can't believe the Alpha Priestess would want anything to do with that despicable little man." "Oh well," Shayla shrugged. "Who are we to question the almighty Alpha Priestess?" "Shayla?" Miz looked at the fire priestess as if she'd just recited all three holy mantras backwards. "I was being sarcastic," Shayla assured her. "Good," Miz replied. "For once, I think your cynicism could be very valuable. This Serati has yet to convince me that she's real Alpha Priestess material, and as for Doht..." "I'm confused," Qawoor said from across the table. "I've never known a man- any man- be given such an important position in the Holy Order." "Historically, it's certainly not unprecedented," Afura replied. "But you're right, it's quite rare. What's more, all of the senior male appointees I can recall were given their position because they were clearly far better than any other candidate. That's not the case this time." Shayla groaned. "Well, it's sure as hell going to make our job more difficult. Sooner or later, we'll have to give him the prophecy. Then what?" Nanami walked up to the table. "Everything okay here?" Shayla, Afura and Miz nodded solemnly. Qawoor smiled gleefully. "Hi, Miss Nanami!" she called, oblivious to the predominant mood. "Can I get you anything else?" Nanami asked. "Yes, yes," Miz nodded. "We'll have four more coffees, please." "Great!" Nanami smiled. "Mycea, there's..." She looked around for her assistant, finally locating her at one of the far tables. "Aw, Mycea..." Nanami headed over to the table, where Mycea and Parnasse were staring dreamily into each other's eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be working?" "I am," Mycea replied without breaking off her stare. "I'm just... making conversation." "You haven't said very much." "Hey, get off her case!" Parnasse said, displaying an unexpected and frankly comical defensive streak. "Okay, okay," Nanami sighed. "Far be it from me to disrupt the path of true love." She paused, than added- "While you're staring at him, do you think you could at least get him to buy something?" "Shouldn't it be visible by now?" Alielle asked as she sat up. "You've only been pregnant for two and a half months," Amiri sighed in response. "Don't worry. It'll be visible soon enough." "So? What's the verdict?" Fatora asked expectantly. "She's fine, absolutely fine!" Amiri said, exasperated. "Honestly, I've never known two parents get so jumpy over a perfectly normal pregnancy." "It's not completely normal," Tenax offered from across the room. "Physiologically, it's just like any other. Oh, and I think we can withdraw the medication now." "But I like it..." Alielle said, disappointed. Fatora nodded. "Yeah. Wouldn't it be better to keep it up for a little longer, just to be safe?" "No." Princess Rune, accompanied by her guardian cat, ventured into the room. "Oh, excuse me. I'm not interrupting, am I?" "Not at all, princess," Amiri replied. "I'm pretty much finished here." "It's a pleasure to meet you again, doctor," Rune smiled. "Although I don't believe I've met your colleague before." For a second, Amiri wondered who Rune was talking about. "Oh... you mean Tenax. She's a student of mine. Very talented, but I prefer not to let her handle things alone. She's easily distracted, you see..." "I'm not!" Tenax insisted. "I'm always very professional and... hey, a kitty!" She approached Rune's cat. "Hello, kitty. What's your name?" Rune leaned over to her sister and sister-in-law. "Fatora, Alielle, later on we need to discuss the Dorusian situation." "How's it looking?" Fatora asked quietly. "Not promising, I'm afraid," she sighed. "It's taking all we've got just to maintain the most basic diplomatic ties." "Maybe I should talk to them," Alielle suggested. "After all, I'm still a citizen of Dorusland. They might listen to me." "That's a good idea, Alielle," Rune nodded in approval. "Anyway, we can talk about this later." Fatora looked over to Amiri. "Was there something else?" "Yes," the doctor replied. "I'm looking for Makoto Mizuhara. Do you know where he lives?" "Not far from here," Fatora replied. "I'm warning you, though. If you're planning on developing a pathetic crush on him, there's a queue half a mile long." "I have no intention of doing that," Amiri assured. "Although Tenax is considering it." "Well, I can take you there," Alielle offered. "She's not well, is she?" Amiri said as Alielle led her along the path, with Tenax trailing behind. "You mean Princess Rune?" Alielle sighed. "I know. She still hasn't really recovered from the attack. I'm sure she would recover properly, if she'd only agree to take it easy..." "Being a politician must be tough right now," Amiri commented. "Rune just doesn't know when to stop," Alielle continued. "She insists on handling everything personally." "Maybe," Amiri suggested, "you and Fatora should take over some of her duties. Just temporarily, until her condition improves." "I'll mention it to Fatora. But it won't be easy persuading Rune to delegate." They stopped in front of a small house. "This is it," Alielle announced. Alielle, Amiri and Tenax leaned cautiously through the doorway and surveyed the strange scene inside. Makoto and Ifurita were sitting opposite each other, holding hands and locked in some sort of mutual trance. "What are they doing?" Tenax whispered. Alielle shrugged. "Maybe it's how they have sex." "That's disgusting," Amiri frowned. "Hey, they've got to do it somehow. I never did find out how." Amiri walked cautiously up to the pair. "They're both displaying symptoms of catatonia. Wouldn't you agree, Tenax?" Tenax, by this time, had her mind on more important matters. "Look!" she said, spotting Ura asleep nearby. "Another kitty!" Makoto and Ifurita snapped abruptly out of their trance. "Well," Makoto said, "that was a waste of time. I couldn't even get close..." "Oh," Ifurita said, noticing Alielle, Amiri and Tenax. "We weren't expecting visitors." "I just came to see Mr Mizuhara," Amiri explained. "I've come across some calculations which I think may interest you." She reached into her bag and produced a bundle of notes the size of a reasonably exhaustive encyclopaedia. Makoto took hold of them. "This has got to be... several years' worth of research," he said, puzzled. "Oh, I should think so," Amiri replied. "If you could look through it at your leisure and give me your opinion, I'd be very grateful." "Um... okay..." Makoto said. Amiri hurried back to the door. "I really should be getting back to my patients now. Do contact me if you find something interesting." Before Makoto had the chance to respond, Amiri had left, with Alielle and Tenax in tow. Ifurita glanced at the calculations. "What are they about?" "I... don't know," Makoto replied, confused. "I didn't get the chance to ask." King Fran stood upon the hastily erected stage in the centre of Dorusland's capital city, Cosine. He looked apprehensively at the distinctly unimpressed crowd. This was all part of a campaign to drum up national pride in the wake of the country's withdrawal from the Alliance, but sadly there was little national pride evident. While the Roshtarians loved their monarchy with a dedication that bordered on the ridiculous, even the most patriotic of Dorusians had a hard time pretending they were proud of Fran. In the months since Alielle had been made a princess, Fran's popularity had dropped even lower. Princess Alielle was, the Dorusians liked to think, a sort of surrogate monarch. She was, at least, Dorusian by birth; and a beautiful princess whose escapades graced the newspapers on a daily basis was infinitely preferable to a bad-tempered old bastard who'd gambled away half of the national budget. "People of Dorusland," he began. "Much has been said about the decision to withdraw our proud nation from the Alliance. Many of you question the wisdom of such an action. Let me assure you that we have taken the best option. It was no longer sensible to remain in the Alliance while Roshtaria and Styrenia carelessly opened their borders to potential Phantom Tribe sympathisers. No, now that we stand alone, we are safer than we have ever been!" The crowd suddenly went wild. Fran smiled to himself. That had been surprisingly easy. He waited for the crowd to calm down before he continued. They didn't. And why were some of them running? Come to think of it, it had got very dark all of a sudden. Fran looked up and saw a Bugrom troop transport hovering above his head. "Oh, shit!" he cursed. "Why do things like this keep happening to me?" An amplified voice boomed out from the transport. "Greetings! This is Katsuhiko Jinnai speaking! In a few short moments, we'll begin the invasion of your country. Prepare to sit back and watch a true master of warfare at work! And now, I'm proud to introduce this evening's headline act... Miss Sakura Tamaro!" Fran became aware of a woman flying just in front of the transport. "Hello Dorusland!" she called triumphantly. "Are you ready?" Afura walked into her guest room in the palace, and knew almost immediately that something was wrong. Through the darkness, she thought she could make out a figure. "Is that you, Fatora?" she ventured. "I've warned you about this before." The figure didn't move. "If you don't come out this minute, I'm going to break bones. Important ones." The figure stood up. To Afura's surprise, it was taller than Fatora. It walked slowly towards her, a shaft of light from the window catching its face. Afura gasped. "Doht?" "Priestess Mann," he replied calmly. "Please, forgive the intrusion." "What the hell are you doing in my bedroom? Don't you know I could have you arrested?" Doht tried to look apologetic. "If there was another way, I assure you..." "What do you want?" "Priestess, I have a dilemma. I would appreciate your guidance." "Okay..." Afura said, sceptical as ever. "Go ahead." "Well, some people I know did something terribly wrong, and technically it's my duty to report them. But I suspect they did it for their own well meaning, if misguided reasons." "Hmm..." Afura pondered. "Could you elaborate at all?" Doht's expression changed to one of extreme confidence. "Certainly. 'The inert Shadows will make a formidable enemy.' Sound familiar?" Afura couldn't answer. She just stared. Doht continued. "You were ordered to divulge everything you had learnt about the Heretic Prophecy. Unfortunately, you made the foolish decision to withhold information." "What? How did you..." "How did I find out? Simple. When all of you left Mizuhara's house to fight the Demon God, I conducted a little search of the premises. I suspected you might have been hiding something... and my instincts were correct." Afura was shocked. "You searched a private residence without permission? That's illegal!" Doht's tone suddenly became aggressive. "You disobeyed a direct command from the Holy Order. You are in no position to lecture me. Now tell me, what made you do it?" "You want to know? Fine! It had nothing to do with the Holy order. It was you. We didn't trust you with the information. We thought your politics might cloud your judgement." "My politics are my own business!" he snapped. "I don't allow them to interfere with my work. Did you really think you could keep this from me forever?" Afura sighed. "We wanted to translate the whole thing first. To be sure of the context..." "And if it still didn't meet with your approval?" Doht challenged. "Unbelievable." He shook his head solemnly. "I don't know what's become of the Muldoon priesthood." "I beg your pardon?" "I remember back when it still had some dignity," he reminisced. "Priestess Mishtal. When she was ordained, that was the beginning of the end. I always maintained she was too unpredictable, too self absorbed..." "How dare you!" Afura objected angrily. Doht continued. "Little did I expect that there was worse to come. Today's priesthood is a joke! Whatever possessed Priestess Shayla to join the Holy Order, I'll never know. She's more suited to the armed forces! And Priestess Towles... is naive, foolish, and far too weak to lead the priesthood. This latest incident only proves their inadequacy. By rights, I should have them both reported and stripped of their titles." "Well? Who's stopping you?" "As much as I disapprove of their actions, I'm not the sort to derive pleasure from the misfortune of others. I'll be prepared to overlook this impropriety, on one condition. I want the Heretic Prophecy fully translated, and I want it soon. Trust me, Priestess Mann. This prophecy is far, far more important than it appears to be." "Meaning what?" "I'll explain further when I have the translation," Doht said, heading for the door. "And I wouldn't mention this meeting to your colleagues if I were you. The consequences could be... embarrassing." "Wait," Afura called. "You were prepared to insult my friends, but what about me? Aren't you brave enough to insult me to my face?" Doht smiled. "On the contrary, I think you're a fine priestess. I only hope the stupidity of your companions doesn't get you dragged down with them." Doht strode out of the room, and Afura was alone. The original intention had been to have a drunken night in, but Alielle was pregnant and Fatora didn't drink anyway, so the only person actually drinking was Mari. Her experience with alcohol was, however, quite limited. "That Fujisawa," she slurred. "He's okay, I suppose..." "Huh?" Fatora responded. "Just half an hour ago you said you hated him." Mari blinked. "Did I? Oh, well, in that case maybe I do. Sort of. It's not his fault. He's from Earth. Everyone on Earth sucked. The only people I didn't hate were musicians I'd never met, and cartoon characters." "You mean like Hotaru?" Alielle asked. "Yes! Exactly like Hotaru!" Mari grinned. "I love Hotaru. We have so much in common, her and me. She looks just like me, you know. Except for the hair. And we both heal people! Isn't that the coolest coincidence? And nobody liked her. Well, apart from that little pink thing..." Fatora leaned over to Alielle. "Do you know what she's talking about?" "Hey!" Mari said. "I just thought. The two of you are kind of like Haruka and Michiru. Except you don't keep dying all the time. You'd look great in the outfits, though." "Fatora! Alielle!" a voice called from outside the room. "What is it, Rune?" Fatora called back. "Are you... busy?" "We've got our clothes on if that's what you mean." Rune quickly entered the room. "Hi, Princess Rune!" Mari smiled, then passed out. Turning to Fatora and Alielle, Rune displayed a concerned expression. "Terrible news. It seems the Bugrom have attacked Dorusland." Fatora drew Alielle closer to her. "Is this a one-off attack, or something more serious?" "It's too early to tell at this stage," Rune replied. "The details are still coming in, but I've called an emergency meeting of the defence council." "We'll join you," Alielle said immediately. Day 168 Two weeks. It had been two weeks since the Bugrom's devastating attack on Cosine. They had fought with such relentless ferocity that Fran had expected the whole nation of Dorusland to fall overnight. But suddenly, inexplicably, the Bugrom had switched tactics. They were still advancing, but it was a slow, methodical advance, which, according to his generals, was quite atypical of Bugrom warfare. He had to take their word for it, of course. He'd been away on holiday during the last war, and rather wished he was on holiday now. He sat uncomfortably in the war room of his new headquarters- a castle in the far north of the country, as far away from the Bugrom advance as possible. But despite the fact that the Bugrom now occupied more than a third of Dorusland's total area, his generals were still optimistic. "As soon as the fourth and sixth armies are aligned across the Inner Valley, we'll be in a position to start driving the Bugrom back into their own territory." Fran just nodded at the general. He understood very little of what was going on. "We've received a message from Roshtaria," another one said. "Princess Fatora is once again offering military assistance. Shall I decline?" "Wait, let me think about this," Fran replied. Initially he had been dead set against asking for outside assistance- he no longer trusted the Alliance. But now, things were getting scary... "Maybe we should consider their offer," he suggested. "But your majesty, you said previously that..." "I know, I know. But... well... it couldn't hurt, could it?" The general frowned slightly. "Well, your majesty, reintegrating Allied troops with our own forces could take days... plus, we're confident that we can defeat the Bugrom without outside help." "You're... sure about that?" Fran asked feebly. "Very well. Decline." The general nodded and walked away. Fran shuddered. He didn't really share their confidence. He felt decidedly unsafe. Fran wondered whatever had happened to the guardian cat that he'd owned briefly a few years ago. The last time he'd seen it, it was going away to 'contemplate its place in the universe.' Psychologically unstable or not, he wouldn't have minded its company right now. "Why is everything taking so long?" Jinnai snarled. "Two weeks and we still haven't conquered one lousy country! What the hell's wrong?" Nahato smiled. "Come now, Mr Jinnai. You'll burst a blood vessel." "You shut up, kid! I'm sick of you and your smart-ass comments!" Refusing to be provoked, Nahato continued. "I've already explained that you're significantly weaker than you were during your previous campaign. Your troops are fewer in number, and Sakura still isn't capable of the large scale destruction that was Ifurita's hallmark." Jinnai looked to Diva, then back to Nahato. "That's true. But we could still advance more quickly than our current pace." "This war is going to take a while," Nahato explained. "It's important to crush any potential source of rebellion in your occupied lands before moving on. Besides, if you were to go streaking through Dorusland at full speed, the Alliance might panic and launch the Eye of God early. And it would be a terrible shame if they fired it before we've had the chance to neutralise it..." He turned to Diva. "Don't you agree?" Diva said nothing, and walked out. "Damn, Jinnai sighed. "What's got into her?" He shook his head in despair. "Anyway, what's this plan you've worked out for the Eye of God?" "A plan elegant in its simplicity," Nahato replied. "It will all be complete in a few days from now." Fatora paced around the war room, shouting instructions to generals and directing the movement of pieces on the giant map of the Alliance below her. There was no mistaking who was in charge today. "Get me that report on Bugrom troop numbers. Today, dammit! Forward my recommendations to Stidiland and Gunan! Contact our tactical advisor, tell him I want a meeting as soon as possible. Somebody get that cat off the big map!" Fatora approached Alielle, who was studying the map carefully. "I'm not sure what to make of this, Alielle. It's unlike any Bugrom advance I've ever seen." Alielle nodded and looked back to the map. In particular she was looking at an area in the north western corner of Dorusland, where her hometown was located. In the last war, the Bugrom had bypassed it completely in their race to reach Roshtaria. This time, it looked as if it wouldn't be so fortunate. Rune entered the room and appeared puzzled. "Fatora? What's going on?" "Oh, this?" Fatora gestured towards the scenes of activity behind her. "I'm co-ordinating our new defensive strategy." "I didn't know..." "Well, we didn't want to bother you," Fatora replied. "That's... very considerate," rune said. "But you don't really have the experience in these matters..." "I've never had the opportunity," Fatora smiled. "Come on, don't you trust your little sister to run the country for five minutes? I've played war games. I know what I'm doing." Londs strode over to the three princesses. "Majesties, we have received a response from King Fran." "He's accepted our help?" Alielle asked hopefully. "No, I'm afraid not," Londs sighed. "What?" Fatora responded in disbelief. "The moron! What the hell is he thinking? He's gonna be crushed, can't he see that?" "If he doesn't want our help, there's little we can do," Rune reasoned. "No," Fatora insisted. "I won't accept it. There has to be a solution!" "I came as soon as I could," Miz said as she entered Makoto's living room. "You have the full translation now?" "Yes," Qawoor sighed. "Do I assume from everyone's faces that it's not good news?" Afura nodded. "Correct." Miz sat down opposite Shayla, Afura, Qawoor and Makoto. "Well, you might as well put me out of my misery. Let's hear it." Qawoor began to read from the sheet in front of her. "Bear witness to the shape of things to come. When the time of the Holy Apocalypse is past, the Shadow Nation will become two, and the inert Shadows will make a formidable enemy. Though the land be strong, rebuilt after wars ravages, it will fall. All shall be nothing, and nothing shall be all. Before the end, there will be three signs. Two travellers will visit the land. The fatherless child will be born. And the demon ally will fall upon the touch of death. Then the land will be silent." Miz looked thoughtful. "Yes, I see. It does sound quite depressing. On balance, I think I prefer the untranslated version." "We're assuming that the two travellers it mentions are Mari and Sakura," said Shayla. Miz nodded in approval. "And the fatherless child... that must be a reference to Fatora and Alielle's baby. What was the other one? The demon ally..." "Ifurita," Makoto said, distraught. "Oh, my..." Miz replied. "Does she know?" "Of course," Ifurita walked into the room, looking rather more upbeat than most people do when a prophecy has just foretold their demise. "You seem to be taking it quite well," Miz said cautiously. Ifurita smiled. "It doesn't bother me, because I don't believe in prophecies." She paused. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend your religious beliefs." "No, don't apologise," Qawoor said. "So what now?" "I suppose... we should inform the Holy Order," Afura said, her last encounter with Doht still fresh in her mind. "Maybe we shouldn't be in such a hurry," Miz advised. "The new Alpha Priestess may seem harmless enough, but she's already appointed an extremist as her closest advisor. I suggest we play for time until we know a little more about her." "That concludes this month's agenda. Does anyone have anything to add?" Fujisawa stood up. He didn't usually attend governors' meetings, preferring to avoid the petty business of school politics altogether. "Ah, Mr Fujisawa," the chairman acknowledged. "Please, do go ahead." "Thanks," Fujisawa said. "I wanted to raise the subject of bullying in this school." "Oh?" A particularly elderly governor raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that this school had a bullying problem." "I'm talking about a boy in the intake year, Cerev. He's been repeatedly harassed by older boys, and..." The chairman cut in abruptly. "Mr Fujisawa, an individual case like this is hardly a matter for the board of governors." "This is a large scale problem," Fujisawa stated. "A lot of pupils are involved with this bullying." "This Cerev... he's the Opaque boy, isn't he?" the ancient governor asked. "Mr Fujisawa, what do you expect? Boys will be boys, after all." Another teacher stood up. "Mr Chairman, I've taught this boy, and I'm not sure the problem has anything to do with race. He doesn't make much effort to mix with the other pupils." "Well, there's your problem," the chairman said. Fujisawa was shocked to realise that the last time he'd heard that argument, it had been him that was using it. "Wait, wait!" he insisted. "This is wrong. Since when is it acceptable to blame the victim?" "I think this matter would be best discussed at a more appropriate time," the chairman said hurriedly. "Meeting adjourned." People began to filter out of the hall. The chairman approached Fujisawa. "Please don't take this the wrong way, Mr Fujisawa, but I think you should drop this matter." "What?" "The decision to admit Cerev to this school was not a popular one. Many of the governors are still opposed to it. If you really want to help this boy, you'll do everything you can not to draw attention to him." Makoto sat next to Ifurita in bed. He still couldn't take his mind off the prophecy. "You really don't think it's going to come true?" "Of course I don't," Ifurita replied. "It was written thousands of years ago. What evidence is there that it could come true?" "The Holy Apocalypse came true," Makoto sighed. "And a lot of this prophecy seems to fit what's going on right now..." "The Holy Apocalypse was only interpreted as having come true in hindsight. Its meaning was altered to fit the events. Prophecies are too vague, Makoto. If whoever wrote this prophecy wanted to foretell my death, why didn't they just mention me by name?" Makoto nodded feebly. "I know. It doesn't make sense. But I'm... just so afraid of losing you again." "Oh, Makoto," she smiled. "The future is unpredictable. Any one of us could die tomorrow. But that's not important. I've lived for thousands of years, and I've learnt that one's lifespan is infinitely less important than the quality of one's life. If I had had to choose between ten thousand years of nothing, and the six months I've spent with you, I know which one I'd pick." Makoto said nothing. He just rested his head on Ifurita's shoulder. "You've already done so much for me," Ifurita said. "Please don't worry on my account." Day 180 "Seventy-six percent of Dorusland is now occupied," Fatora sighed as she and Rune surveyed the map. "I don't get it. Fran still won't accept help. I know he doesn't like us... well, me, mostly... but isn't he taking this grudge too far?" "This must be difficult for Alielle," Rune observed. "Watching as her homeland is slowly conquered." Fatora began to pace. "I've tried everything, sis. I even tried to contact her family I thought I could arrange to get them brought to Roshtaria. But there's a communications blackout, plus they've closed their borders. It's as if Fran wants the country to be conquered." Rune shook her head. "If only there was something we could do to stop the advance." "Well, there is one option..." Fatora hesitated. "I'm not keen on using the Eye of God again, but we could unseal it... that might just put the Bugrom off." "That's right," Rune replied. "The Bugrom have good reason to fear the Eye. We should consult with the priestesses straight away." Shayla, Afura and Qawoor walked along the path leading to the Stairway to the Sky. It seemed strange, Afura thought, that the Eye of God had remained sealed and untouched for thousands of years; and now here they were, preparing to unseal it for the second time in five years. "I wish we didn't have to do this," Qawoor said morosely. "Relax, it's not like they're actually going to use it," Shayla replied. "You heard Princess Rune. It's just a deterrent." Afura sighed. "I don't think it's going to work." "Why not?" Shayla asked. "The Bugrom know that the Alliance have the Eye of God. Just unsealing it won't change a thing. It's a threat sealed or unsealed. But for some reason, that doesn't seem to bother the Bugrom." Shayla frowned. "What are you saying, Afura?" "It seems to me that the Bugrom aren't afraid of the Eye anymore. The fact that they're advancing at all suggests they've developed some way to defend themselves against it." "But how could there possibly be any defence against the Eye?" Qawoor asked. "Yeah," Shayla nodded. "You've seen it in action. Now, do you really think the Bugrom are smart enough to create a defence strategy against the world's most powerful weapon?" The three priestesses stepped inside the base of the Stairway, and positioned themselves in the centre of the circular pattern that covered the floor. The small pillars around them glowed with a brilliant white light, and the floor began to rise up beneath them, elevating them up through the Stairway's internal structure. Amongst the crowd of people around the base of the Stairway, Parnasse stood, staring solemnly at the great structure. "What's the matter?" Mycea chimed. "Come on, Parny. Why don't you cheer up?" This annoyed Parnasse, since he felt he was perfectly entitled to be depressed. But at the same time, he knew Mycea was only trying to lift his spirits, so he did his best not to take it out on her. "I really hope this works," he said quietly. "Somebody has to stop the Bugrom. I don't want my country to be taken over." "I'm sure everything will work out," Mycea offered, trying to sound reassuring. "Parnasse?" a voice called from behind. "Oh, hi, Alielle," Parnasse nodded. "This is Mycea, by the way." "Oh yes, your girlfriend," Alielle said, looking Mycea up and down. "Listen, Alielle!" Parnasse hissed to his sister. "Things are going really well between me and Mycea right now, so I don't want you messing everything up with your... weirdness, okay?" "What weirdness? I can't imagine what you might be talking about." "Just stay away from her! Don't even think about trying anything." "I'm not," Alielle shrugged. "I don't find her that attractive, to be honest." Parnasse backed off. "Well, in that case, I... hey! What do you MEAN, you don't find her attractive? How DARE you!" The platform emerged into the light, and the princesses found themselves at the summit of the Stairway. Silently, each walked to their designated area. The three control units rose, in an oddly organic fashion, from the floor beneath them. Shayla, Afura and Qawoor placed their hands on the smooth black units, and began to synchronise the Eye's descent. The crowds below watched with trepidation as the Eye of God moved slowly nearer. Makoto, Ifurita and Nanami stood near the back. At the front, Fatora, Alielle and Rune observed carefully. Miz, holding on to Mika, stood with Fujisawa nearby. Parnasse and Mycea, Londs and Schtalubaugh- they all watched. Mari didn't watch. She'd intended to but something had distracted her. Next to her on the grass was a small bush, the flowers of which appeared to be completely black. As everyone else watched the Ultimate Weapon as it bore down upon them, Mari studied the flowers intensely. They were like... roses. But black. She'd never seen anything like them before. Suddenly, it got dark. Mari looked up, and casually registered that the Eye was eclipsing the sun. The lack of light was making it much more difficult to discern the exact colour of the flowers. Were they really black, or just a very dark shade of something else? Then it began to rain. Lightning, thunder. Apparently, this was all part of the unsealing process. It was all very distracting. A flash of light, and suddenly it was all over. Everything was as it had been, except that there was now a huge spherical weapon of mass destruction hovering above the city. Mari went back to looking at the flowers. Shayla and Qawoor walked away from their control units. The process was tiring, although neither would actually admit to being tired. Afura remained where she was. After a few moments, she looked back at the others. "Something's wrong," she said. "What do you mean?" Qawoor asked. "The control units. Now that we've finished, they should have retracted back into the floor. I distinctly remember that happening last time." Shayla shrugged. "You sure? I really can't remember..." "Shh!" Afura interrupted. "Do you hear that noise?" Qawoor nodded. "I think so. Is it a sort of high-pitched whine?" "Yes," Afura replied. "I'm not sure what it is, but I don't like it." "Hey," Shayla sighed. "Don't be so jumpy. It's probably just the wind." Afura frowned. "I think I know what wind sounds like." Shayla folded her arms. "I was only trying to help. No need to be such a..." Suddenly, all three of them heard a noise like a clap of thunder, followed by a pronounced shift in the floor. Just managing to keep her footing, Qawoor called out- "What was that?" Shayla ran to the edge and looked down. "Shit! There's been an explosion, just a few metres below us." "How?" Qawoor asked. "Sister Afura?" Afura's expression remained unchanged. "Sabotage," she said. "Somebody's trying to put the Stairway out of commission." Another explosion was heard just below them. "Point taken," Shayla called. Now what do we do?" "We get off this thing before it blows us up with it," Afura replied. "Both of you, grab onto me." From the ground, it was obvious that all was not well. Although the apex of the Stairway was too high up to be seen clearly, a number of tiny explosions could just be made out at the tip. Consternation began to spread through the crowd, and some people started to run for cover. With Shayla already on her back, Afura looked across to Qawoor, who was stood nervously at the far end of the shaking structure. "Qawoor!" Afura called. "Come on, we have to go!" "I'm coming!" Qawoor called back. She walked unsteadily towards her comrades. An explosion ripped through the floor between them. Qawoor fell backwards over the side, while the force sent Shayla and Afura in the opposite direction. Shayla kept hold of Afura, who managed to stabilise their descent, but neither could see Qawoor. Qawoor was falling. She knew it, but somehow this was all such a shock that she couldn't do anything about it. Under different circumstances, she would have used her elemental powers to save herself. But, consumed and paralysed by fear, all she could do was drop. It suddenly occurred to her that she was no longer falling. Somebody, also airborne, had caught her. She looked over her shoulder to see Ifurita. "Ifurita," she gasped. "Thank you." Ifurita did not respond. She carefully deposited Qawoor on the ground and immediately flew back up towards the Stairway. Qawoor stumbled, disorientated, through the crowd, until she saw Shayla and Afura. "Qawoor!" Afura called out in relief. "Thank goodness. We were worried you might not have survived the fall." "Ifurita... saved me..." Qawoor panted, exhausted. Shayla and Afura looked at each other in confusion. "Are you sure?" Shayla said. "I thought Ifurita was down here the whole time." Qawoor caught sight of Ifurita, standing with Makoto in the crowd. "There she is!" Qawoor exclaimed, running towards her saviour. "Miss Ifurita, thank you!" "What do you mean, Qawoor?" Ifurita asked, puzzled. "You rescued me... didn't you?" Makoto shook his head. "Ifurita was here with me." "But..." Qawoor started, "who caught me? I'm certain it was Ifurita." "We'll see to that later," Afura said. "Right now, the top of the Stairway is still exploding. We'll need your water powers to..." "Hey," Shayla interrupted. "The explosions have stopped." A figure landed in front of them. A figure identical to Ifurita. "I have extinguished the flames," she said. "But the equipment on the Stairway has been severely damaged." Ifurita looked in surprise at the newcomer. "Who are you?" "My name is Ifurita," she said. "Beta type, production number three. You are the first Ifurita, am I correct?" "Yes," Ifurita said. "Makoto mentioned there were... copies." "Copy is not the correct word. Not exactly. We are not completely identical. There are some fundamental modifications to my programming..." "Excuse me," Makoto interjected, "but are you the same Ifurita we met at the shrine a few years ago?" She nodded. "I detected the presence of an unusual Demon God. Not Ifurita, but a different class entirely. I came to investigate. It seems my arrival was fortuitously timed." "Unusual Demon God..." Makoto mused. "You must mean Sakura." "What is her classification?" the new Ifurita asked. "Classification? Um... didn't she say something about Absolute Zero?" Makoto recalled. The second Ifurita gasped. "Absolute Zero Class? It exists?" "Yes, the Bugrom have it," Afura replied. "Why?" "The Absolute Zero Class is no ordinary Demon God. It is extremely dangerous on a quite unique level. You are all in grave danger." Jinnai and Diva stood on a balcony suspended high above the hive's base level. Below them, a seemingly infinite number of Bugrom went about their business with an unbreakable unity of purpose. "Diva, are you depressed or something?" Jinnai probed. "Because you're acting strange." "I am simply concerned for the future of the Empire," she insisted. "Well, you needn't worry," Jinnai replied. "Dorusland is almost ours. Sakura's encountered no opposition. And the Phantom Tribe should be taking care of the Eye of God." "Yes, the Phantom Tribe," Diva sighed. "Mr Jinnai, you are the superior military tactician. I trust your judgement above that of all others, including myself. But I do not like having the Phantom Tribe here. It feels wrong." Groucho ran over to the pair, excited. "Kmrxsrhq plgnt!" he exclaimed. "Gbdrn xtrlv!" Jinnai's eyes widened. "Really? Incredible! So they can't use the Eye of God now?" "Rmnmkb," Groucho affirmed. "Amazing," Jinnai smiled. "It's so simple. The Alliance need the Stairway to control the Eye. So all we had to do was take out the Stairway. I knew we could count on the Phantom Tribe!" Diva nodded to Groucho. "You are dismissed." As Groucho left, Diva smiled at Jinnai for he first time in weeks. "It seems our future is secure," she said. "Without the Eye of God, the Bugrom are unstoppable." "I'm glad you agree," Jinnai said. "Now that I am confident of the Empire's future," Diva began, "I have an announcement. When my last batch of eggs failed to develop, I became suspicious... it now seems my suspicions were correct." "Suspicions about what?" Jinnai asked. For a moment, Diva seemed surprised that Jinnai didn't understand. So she made it clearer. "I have reached the end of my life cycle. I am dying, Mr Jinnai." Jinnai stared back at her. The polite thing would be to respond, but he didn't know how. How does one respond to something like that? TO BE CONTINUED "The End Starts Today" featured- Makoto Mizuhara, Afura Mann, Doctor Amiri, Ifurita, Princess Fatora, Qawoor Towles, Princess Alielle, Princess Rune Venus, Katsuhiko Jinnai, Shayla-Shayla, Jennown Doht, Miz Fujisawa, Queen Diva, Tenax, Nanami Jinnai, Ifurita Version Three, Parnasse Ralielle, King Fran, Mari Kurai, Masamichi Fujisawa, Nahato, Mycea, Londs, Groucho and Sakura Tamaro. dooky 5th October 2001 Proofreading by the magnificent Firebird... isn't that nice?
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