Schwarm - - - "The HiME Star was the source of the Obsidian Lord's influence and power. Without it, he could have never manipulated the Ikusahime into their Carnival. Only with its threat could the dark lord move his princesses around like pawns on a chessboard." -- HiME Database, Carnival terminology. - - - A nine year old Natsuki Kruger ran through the usually quiet keep she called her home, situated in the outermost regions of the Windbloom Kingdom. Today, the fortress was bustling with activity to the point where she felt lost traversing the halls and rooms she had been in countless times. Well wishers, nobles from the capital, nurses, relatives that she had never met before in her life – anyone and everyone was at County Grauwald's keep that day. She didn't particularly like all the commotion. These stupid people kept getting in her way when all she wanted to do was go upstairs and be with her parents. She'd escaped from the servants who had been assigned to tend to her using her exquisite ninja skills. Or what she thought were exquisite ninja skills. The pretty teenager walking by a distracted male butler probably helped her out. Finally, after twenty minutes, she made it to the third floor of the keep, where she could hear pained groaning and screams. One or two people tried to grab at her, but she swiftly ducked out of their way. "Miss Kruger, come back here! You mustn't go inside now!" Well, screw that! She was not going to miss an event she'd been hoping would come for nine whole months! That was almost a year, dammit. All for a comparatively fleeting moment. Darting around tables and taking swift corners around well known areas, she avoided the guards and relatives who were seeking her out. "Miss Kruger, you won't want to see! Trust me! It's gross!" The lame attempts of a young man to halt her progress. She didn't care if it was 'gross.' She wanted to see. A few more turns and she was right at the door of her parent's bedchamber. Countess Saeko sounded as if she was in extreme pain, as if she'd taken some kind of wound in intense combat. Naturally concerned for her mother, Natsuki ran through the guards on call and kicked open the door. There, her mother, laden with sweat, had her dress hiked up to where it most certainly shouldn't have been and was dealing with a particularly painful labor. "Moth--!" Natsuki began to call out, but was plucked up an uncle and taken back out into the hall. He placed her on a bench and pointed right at her face. "Your mother has a lot to deal with right now, so children cannot be present. I want you to wait out here, and we'll call you when she gives birth. Okay?" He sounded calm, but even Natsuki could pick up on an underlying level of stress. "Is everything going to be all right?" She inquired. He managed a smile, though it was clearly forced. "Of course, Natsuki. Everything will be fine." Her uncle then disappeared back into the room, shutting the door and leaving Natsuki to sit alone in the hall while her mother shouted out in pain. For forty-five more minutes, bringing the total time of labor up to three painful hours, Natsuki sat and winced with every wail. Screams were mutated with her mother's sobbing. Demands for more painkillers were unmet, as she was already at her body's limit. Then, finally, the doctors gave in and conducted a Caesarean before Saeko Kruger could perish from blood loss and internal complications. After a few more minutes, more wailing followed, but this was a short and high pitched scream that was clearly not Natsuki's mother. Natsuki bolted upright and tried to shove her way past the barrier again, but was rebuffed. She could proudly hear her father say, "It's a girl!" Natsuki, who had until then been an only child, beamed happily at the news. The young babe's crying stopped almost immediately, and her father and relatives conversed happily while Saeko rested under the effects of anesthesia. After twenty minutes, Natsuki was finally let inside the room, now cleaned up. Her father, the stern but protective count, carried a bundle in his arms. Count Kruger knelt down beside Natsuki, a grin on his face, and displayed the new sister. An infant with bright golden hair stared back for a moment before eyes focused on something else. Natsuki laughed in disbelief. So it had really happened! She finally had a sibling. Way to go, old man! Her father said, "Her name is Alyssa. Do you want to hold her?" Natsuki nodded fiercely. Count Kruger handed over the infant and instructed Natsuki in the proper way to hold her. Once Natsuki was settled, Alyssa resting against her, her father stood back up to continue his conversation with various relatives and noblemen. Sitting down in a chair against the wall, Natsuki happily looked down at her newborn sister and tried her best to get the girl to focus on her. Alyssa was her name. How beautiful! In a few years, she pictured that they would be a dynamic duo of terror, wreaking havoc in the keep and putting their parents' stress levels through the roof. Yes, a fresh little minion to mold into a proper sidekick. Wonderful! "Such a quiet child," one of the noblemen stated. "Just two little cries after delivery, and then silence. Either an old soul who's done this too many times, or a dispirited youth who couldn't care less about the situation. What think you?" Dispirited? Natsuki stared down at her sister, who looked back with absolutely blank eyes. She hadn't noticed the first time just how... empty those eyes truly were. Like... like her sister had no soul or will to live – a body with no spirit! Then, almost as soon as those wayward thoughts entered Natsuki's mind, Alyssa's eyes shut and the infant's body became incredibly still. No fidgeting. No gentle movement that would have indicated breath. Not anything. Natsuki's eyes darted up in a panic. The adults were not paying attention. With them distracted, Natsuki adjusted her hold so that she might use one arm to gently poke the side of Alyssa's face. She was just paranoid, surely. But there was no permanent harm in waking the child up just to make sure. Again, there was no movement. Natsuki's breath intensified. Another poke, this one harder. Nothing. She was sure, now, that the infant was not breathing. Her flesh became cold, and upon realizing just what had happened, Natsuki let out a horrified scream that could be heard well outside of the keep. Count Kruger spun around immediately, snatching the dead infant away and examining Alyssa himself. She was quickly handed to one of the doctors nearby, who regretfully informed the count that young Alyssa Kruger had not survived her first day. Always known for his furious temper, Count Kruger bellowed at the doctor to leave and never return. His head then snapped around to face Natsuki. "You!" He screamed. "What did you do?!" Natsuki could only cry and shake her head. Nothing, she thought. I did nothing. Unable to stand her blubbering, Count Kruger hissed at her and ordered her to leave the room immediately. She retreated to her own bedchamber, where she slid down in the corner and wept. Had it been her fault? Did she hold Alyssa wrong? She simply did not understand. Neither did the doctors. She had been perfectly healthy physically. It simply looked as if the infant had no will or energy to live in such a body. It remained a mystery from that day on, but it was never spoken of again. Her father forbid it. And although it could not have logically been Natsuki's fault, for those next two years, she could have sworn they looked at her differently. And although she tried not to think about it, and although she ordered Shizuru and those closest to her never to bring it up, she couldn't help but be haunted by those empty and lifeless eyes that had been open for so short a time. A shallow blue. Not vivid, like the sky, but gray and cold like the flesh of a corpse. - - - Natsuki leapt into consciousness, her muscles tense from the visions that lingered in her mind's eye. Panting in fear, as it had been years since she had a dream about that horrible incident, she slowly slid into a sitting position and place her head into her hands. She had been given Ashura's private suite, and it was blissfully secluded from the rest of the base. The last thing she wanted was to let her Otome see her in such a frazzled state. Three deep, calming breaths. It would be fine. It was just a dream. Although she had not been dreaming, she felt like she had a hangover. Her head pounded. Her bare feet coming to rest against the marble below, she stood and stumbled towards the suite's bathroom. Ashura's things had been cleared out, but the Dammerung attendants would have most certainly left aspirin behind in the medicine cabinet. She flung it open and sighed in absolute frustration. Nothing. Just her luck. She sank to her knees and gripped the sides of her skull with her hands, shutting her eyes tightly and trying to will away the effects of the horrible migrane. As the pain intensified, so did her rage. The dream, coupled with the building anger stemming from an unknown source, forced her to lash out. Her arm swung through the air and her fist connected with the wall, leaving a minor dent and a droplet of blood behind. Her lust for sudden violence was not satiated. But perhaps, in a way, that was for the better. There was a knock on the main door. She stood and made her way to it, trying her best to suppress the beast within. Opening the door, she was greeted by Haruka, now in a white uniform, and Arika. The general was the one to speak, of course. "Headmistress, we're ready to move out when you are." "I'll be out in a minute. Have the team assemble outside." She slammed the door in their faces. There had been no further reports from China after the latest Ikusahime attack there, but she was not about to chase them all over the vast mainland. She was going to bring them back. She would force them to act, not the other way around. As such, her plan was to lure them to Kyoto by launching a massive attack on the main HiME base there. While the Iolites would hold their positions in the city, preventing the HiME from land grabbing, the elite would strike at their heart. Hopefully, if the Ikusahime were near, it would force them out of hiding. So, perhaps this unexplainable rage would be to her benefit. Perhaps it was a delayed reaction in regards to Shizuru's betrayal. Shizuru... Her thoughts were not quite her own. Shizuru likely never loved you, anyway. May she be damned for her insurrection. The lowest layer of hell is reserved for betrayers, and there she will rot for eternity. Natsuki frozen, resting her arm against a nearby table, balancing herself. No, that wasn't fair. That was so rash and reckless a statement that it didn't suit her calculating nature. So why had she thought it? She felt so... off. So unlike herself. But perhaps that stray thought was right, in a way. Shizuru had betrayed her trust, and that was that. She didn't deserve any respect or the benefit of the doubt. Right? She shook her head clear of those thoughts. There was no time to deal with that. She dressed herself in her traditional clothing and left her new suite behind, heading out into open. There, her team of Garderobe meisters waited patiently. It was time to make some noise in Kyoto. But wouldn't it be so much more efficient to just have the Ikusahime kill each other off, like in the legends? No one yet noticed the new faint red star in the sky. - - - "Load chrome cartridge!" Her cannon materialized and powered up, charging vast amounts of energy within. Gently pulling the trigger, a highly concentrated laser cut through the once silent air with a roar, the force pushing her back against the braces built into her robe. The blast connected with an anti-infantry cannon system in the distance. The HiME device was melted down into nothingness, the rest of the pieces shooting up into the air. Her Element hissed as it fell into its rapid cool down mode, and she was forced to wait roughly five seconds before she could fire again. When she did, a twin of the first gun went up as well. Then a defensive structure. Then, when the HiME were swarming out of their outposts like ants fleeing from a crushed anthill, she trained their guns on them. She forced them to scurry out of harms way. Her gun was not rapid enough to catch them all, however, so she had to order her troops forward. "Move in!" She yelled. Ah, yes, what of the snipers she was warned about on her first day on Earth? "Keep at a low altitude!" She took flight, cannon in hand, and shot forward through the sky, making sure that she did not fly higher than the buildings around her. Haruka, now using Ashura's Quartz GEM, and Ann were at either side. The rest of their task force was slightly behind and below. The Otome divided as a chest-thumping bang went off in the distance. Another defensive cannon in the distant hillside! Natsuki froze midair and lined up a shot. Her Element went off again, slicing through trees and brush until it came in contact with the intended target. Another one up in flames. I simply must get Shizuru and the Ikusahime back in Kyoto. I must! They could not be left to run amok on the mainland. With that thought in mind, she dove down the moment she found one of the HiME Heirs, and Natsuki roughly kicked her across the face. The girl went down to the ground, knocked out from the force of the blow – robe and speed having made it all that much more painful. Instinctively, she formed a robe-powered shield the moment she heard two cracks from a sniper rifle in front of her. A young man from a HiME loyal militia had opened fire on her. Had she not formed the line of defense, the bullets would have easily ripped apart her chest. She slid through the air and out of the way of a third shot, and countered him. Her gun was much, much better than his. A silver cartridge fueled blast tore through his cover and incinerated him along with it. Ann Lu, spotting a second sharpshooter, dove down at breakneck speed to prevent him from pulling the trigger. With one fell swoop of her double ended scythe, he was gutted and on the ground. Seeing a few other soldiers and HiME Heirs near the position, she shot forward and swung her weapon again. Two went down. She blocked a saber attack from a HiME Heir using the shaft of her scythe. Ann countered with a kick and another slice. Natsuki watched as Carla and Akane went down to street level to take out what enemies they could. She was about to do the same, using her secondaries and martial arts skills, but found herself pausing in midair. What was that noise? Straining her ears to listen, she thought that it was coming from underground, of all places. Then, she realized. A flute. Some members of the Twelve still had their Children and powers, didn't they? Shizuru had left them behind to guard the city. How very smart of her. And how very fortunate for Natsuki. Any Ikusahime taken hostage would be perfect bait for the rest of the lot. It was quite obvious that the Mistress of Yatagarasu was trying to lure them into the subway systems. There was an exposed tunnel about four hundred meters to her right. But, Natsuki thought, if you knew it was a trap... all the more prepared you were to fight through it. "Ann. With me. We're going into the subway. The rest of you, stay up here," Natsuki ordered. For however much Natsuki legitimately did not like Ann Lu, and she did not like her at all, the headmistress was not blind to her fighting ability. That was why, more than anyone else, Natsuki was most willing to have her as a teammate. When Ann joined her again, the pair dove down into the exposed subway and into darkness. There, the melancholy flute solo continue in a louder volume. The playing became more furious and frantic. Then, they saw her. The young Mistress of Yatagarasu, staring back at them with those Nagi-like deceptive eyes that showed more age and history than the youthful body would have indicated. A smirk invaded the girl's face, and the platinum haired devil vanished back into the darkness. When Ann and Natsuki cautiously advanced, two gunshots were heard. Shields went up. Ice shards slammed into Natsuki's defensive field, and she nearly hissed at the attack. The Mistress of Yafusa, as well! She'd dealt with this bitch on her first day on Earth. This time Natsuki hoped to finish her off. She tossed her artillery into the air. "Eject secondaries!" She caught the twin rapid fire pistols and raced forward with Ann. One voice stopped them. "Yafusa! Fire flash cartridge!" A shell sailed by Natsuki's head and exploded several meters behind. The entire tunnel was lit up, and there stood Azumi and Yafusa. Yes, this was definitely familiar! Yafusa howled and lunged. Natsuki slid far to the edge of the subway tunnel to avoid the charge. The wolf then went after Ann, more aggressively. The stand-in Archmeister was able to avoid his attack and keep him at bay. Natsuki, on the other hand, fired concentrated bursts of laser at her rival. Azumi rolled out of the way and fired back with those tiny ice pistols, sending shards right towards the Headmistress. Natsuki blocked them with a shield and rushed. She snapped a kick in the direction of Azumi's face, but it was avoided. The Ikusahime countered with more shots from her guns, which Natsuki evaded at high speed. Azumi disappeared behind a row of columns on an old boarding ramp. Natsuki waited until Azumi poked her head out to fire, to obsessed with the hunt to deal with Ann or Yafusa. Then, when she saw her target, Natsuki fired wildly, cutting into the stone column as Azumi went back behind cover. When Natsuki paused, Azumi turned to the other side of the structure and fired back, narrowly missing the young leader of Garderobe. An old fashioned gun duel. Azumi came out from behind cover again, and both held up their weapons and fired. Both girls weaved to the side, avoiding the shots. Natsuki blocked an incoming second shot, the ice shard shattering against the shield. Natsuki returned fire with her twin guns, but Azumi was skilled at naturally evading. She went behind cover yet again, and Natsuki found herself searing away much of the ancient architecture in an effort to hit any exposed part of the girl's body. Having enough of this hide and go seek nonsense, Natsuki raced forward with her robe and skidded to a halt behind where Azumi was hiding. The headmistress threw a punch, which was blocked by the other female. She then attempted a knee and connected. Azumi doubled over, given Natsuki enough time to send another knee into her jaw. The Ikusahime fell backward, mouth bleeding. In a last ditch effort to strike out, she fired an ice pistol. It connected, Natsuki not having enough time to react at that range, and a shard sliced into her shoulder. Natsuki grunted in pain and then kicked the gun out of her hand. Seeing her try the same with the second pistol, Natsuki slammed her foot down on the girl's wrist. Trapping her in place with that action, Natsuki knelt and picked up the silver weapon. Holding the lightweight pistol out towards her foe, she momentarily marveled at how light it was. A pleasant feeling, indeed. But business was at hand. "I want to know where Viola and her allies are," she demanded coolly. "Mars." Natsuki gritted her teeth. She did not have time for smartasses. She had enough of that at Garderobe. She opened her mouth to question again, but noticed Azumi's eyes darting off to the side. What was she looking at? The headmistress turned her head and leapt back, seeing a blade sail right towards her head. The glaive hit the ground with a light spark, and Natsuki instantly recognized the face of the attacker. "Tomoe Marguerite," Natsuki grumbled. "Shizuru is taking back former students to fight for her, is she?" "Only the ones she fucked." A dirty little chuckle. Natsuki contorted her face into a snarl. The glaive sailed out again, and Natsuki managed to duck out of the way. Tomoe was a little faster than she would have been unaided. Natsuki focused in and saw a Diadem on her arm. Ah, so that was it. She had Heir blood in her and was given aid from the HiME devices. Wonderful. Natsuki attempted a roundhouse kick, but it missed. Tomoe shoved her leg away with the shaft of her weapon. Recovering, Natsuki fell back into a fighting stance, ready to materialize her guns at any necessary moment. She heard Azumi scramble to her feet behind. Two against one, at least with Ann stuck with Yafusa. Tomoe attempted to spear her, but Natsuki curved to the side and grabbed the weapon. Tomoe, temporarily stuck there, took the opportunity to taunt the veteran Otome. "You know, Headmistress, I see why you like her. She did taste quite good." That did it. Natsuki ripped the weapon out of Tomoe's grip and sent a powerful backhand right into her face. Unfortunately, she could not finish the little whelp off. Because there was Azumi. Ice shards again sailed through the air, and Natsuki ducked out of the way. At least, Ann raced up to join her, Yafusa temporarily stunned. The scythe cut through the air and out toward's Azumi's neck. The Ikusahime ducked back and then flipped to give herself some distance. Ann attacked again, and the girl jumped over it using her naturally enhanced muscles. "You damned whore," Tomoe spat, wiping blood from her nose. Despite her anger, she still found the desire to torment her. Perhaps to spread the love. "So uncaring. No wonder she said you weren't any good in bed." Tomoe then rolled out the way of a concentrated beam of energy supplied by one of Natsuki's secondaries. Whether Tomoe was suicidal or not was a matter of debate. Perhaps she hoped to get Natsuki so rattled that she messed up. The glaive was recovered and Tomoe rushed in to attack. She fell short, however, when a scream from further down the tunnel. - - - In the depths of Dammerung's main base, the Emulator became aware. All doors leading into the Emulator room were sealed off and locked by the computer systems, which suddenly seemed to have a mind of their very own. The ancient device prevented any Dammerung electronics expert from hacking into the system and opening the doors externally. Everything was locked down. The Emulator itself was in total control, having gone rogue. Or, rather, a much older program had taken over. A massive golden symbol that both Searrs and the latter day Schwarz had used as their own appeared on the ground before the Emulator. Had anyone been allowed inside the room, they would have read the following on the machine's display: EM-02 SFTGM Orphan Materialization Start - - - Tomoe, Natsuki and all those involved turned to see several HiME Heirs run right by them without so much as a second look. Something far worse must have been back there. Leucosia was last, her little legs carrying her as quickly as they could. She waved to Tomoe and Azumi. "I can't use Yatagarasu in here! He's too big! Run!" "What is it?" Azumi yelled. "Orphans!" Natsuki and Ann looked to each other for a moment while Tomoe stood in confusion. The green haired warrior was quickly taken away by Azumi, who didn't care to stick around. Like any good Otome, however, both Ann and Natsuki held their ground to see what all the fuss was about. Natsuki leveled not her secondaries, but her primary Element, down the tunnel. If it could cause the Ikusahime to run, she needed as much firepower as possible, right? Emerging from the depths was a horde of beasts. These were not the metal Slaves they had been used to. These were flesh and blood monsters with fangs that were very real. Natsuki fired and blasted them back to hell, the force of the blast moving her back a few inches. Ann held her weapon at the ready, but logically suggested to leave. "Perhaps it would be easier to deal with these things in not so confined quarters." "Agreed." Both turned and shot out of the subway at full speed as more of these 'Orphans' spawned below. Carla and Rosalie both approached. The latter spoke. "What's going on? Why are the HiME all retreating?" "Monsters just came up from the underground," Natsuki state. "They aren't Slaves. They're different in composition. They're made of meat and blood, not wires and metal. I haven't seen anything like this before." "Did they appear like Slaves, or are they living creatures?" Haruka asked from above. "I saw symbols. I believe they are similar to Slaves," Ann said. The first emerged from the tunnel. Haruka blinked and then went with her gut reaction. Charge! The blonde woman hacked open one of the purple skinned beasts using her new falcata sword. She was uncomfortable with it, but it got the job done. Ashura's GEM would take getting used to. "Definitely blood!" Haruka confirmed. Another approached, and she was forced to dodge and incoming strike. Teeth lashed out at her body as if she were a food item. Another swipe of the falcata took it down. "More down that street!" Shiho warned, pointing in the opposite direction. "Ack! More there too!" "It's a damned swarm!" Haruka yelled. Natsuki's artillery cut off any other comments as she tried to sear as many as she could. When the blast subsided, the blonde was still talking. "It's absurd!" And, without warning, their robes began to flicker. They rapidly dove down to avoid falling all together, and dropped completely when their robes vanished from view. Oh, absolutely fucking perfect timing. Natsuki, who had a single sidearm with eight shots, grouped everyone together and gave the order to head for safety. Upper levels of buildings seemed to be the ticket. They sprinted down the street without power. The small amount of juice left in their GEM provided radio communication. "Emulator is offline and unaccessible! It has cut us off! It's sentient!" A panicked technician shouted. "It's materializing these things. The core ran out of energy and passed out from the force!" "Try to get back online if you can," Natsuki said. "Break into the department using any force required to do so." "Garderobe has just called in!" Another officer from Dammerung said. "Same situation there! 'Your Emulator has sealed itself off! Both Emulators say they need eleven keys to open!" Dammit! What the hell was going on? Natsuki led the group through an alley and onward down the street, heading to a building that looked fairly sturdy. On the way, she could see Heirs fleeing the area, not paying much attention to them. Upon seeing the Otome uniforms, however, they all began to shout. But at least it was not attacking. It was angry and almost violent called – a curse more than anything else. "You did this!" They screamed. "It's your fault! You started it over! This only happened when you showed up! Harbingers!" "They haven't been here for over a thousand years! You did it!" They ran on, however, leaving the Otome to ponder the insane words. Natsuki, never the less, led her soldiers inside an empty building, where they hoped to wait things out long enough for the robes to come back online. Garderobe was facing the same swarms? Dammit, was Shinso offline too? She had to find some way to get in contact with them. She'd need to head back to base. But that was miles away. First things first. This was a plague, Natsuki thought. Monsters roamed the streets, and HiME Heirs were stuck fighting. Yatagarasu rained down attacks from the sky. The other great Children of the Ikusahime were out in full force. Yafusa blasted them down with silver and chrome cartridges. Ice pistols and bows fired projectiles out at the roaming monsters. Every available Ikusahime, and even that bitch Tomoe, fought against the beasts. After ten minutes, Natsuki's robe came back online. The rest soon followed. "Emulator came back online automatically," came the word. Well, Natsuki thought, if nothing else... this would surely get the attention of her enemies and bring them back. In fact, that was perfect, wasn't it? She didn't have to lift a finger. Akane tapped her on the shoulder. "Headmistress? What are our orders?" "Return to Dammerung," she said. Everyone looked baffled. Haruka, in particular, looked downright offended. "What?!" "We need to get in touch with Garderobe!" Natsuki explained impatiently. "I'm not helping the HiME fend off these things. Your objective is to get back to Dammerung and defend it. Don't let any of these things in the perimeter of the base. Understood?" "Y-yes..." Akane muttered. "Good. Let's go." All took to the high sky – the snipers were otherwise occupied. Racing across Kyoto, they returned to the former Imperial Palace and took up defensive positions. The swarms hadn't yet reached that area of the city, but who knew how long it would be before the monsters tried to take over the whole place. Natsuki and Ann headed back inside, demanding status updates and information. The Emulator was still sealed off and not responding to any efforts to break in. The doors were resistant to explosive charges. Nothing like this had been expected or anticipated. They didn't know how to break into their own facility. Natsuki growled at that. How stupid! They paused at video feeds from around the city. HiME Heirs and the Ikusahime were fighting against the things tooth and nail – perhaps even harder than they had been fighting the Otome. Gennai and St. Vlas were attacking any creature in the area. The Mistresses of Yafusa and Tomoe were attacking the monsters directly. Dozens of battles were taking place at once. It was genuinely awesome in the original sense of that word. "Estimated number of these 'Orphans?'" Natsuki asked an officer. "Three thousand." Ann whistled. Natsuki continued her interrogation. "Have you ever heard the term Orphan before? Is it an Earth exclusive monster?" "Never heard the term before in my life, ma'am," he said. "Those HiME seem to know something, though. Maybe it's a historical thing they have in their database. Theirs differs from ours a bit, so I've heard. It's older." A sigh. Natsuki got back to her original task. "Get me Sara Gallagher at Garderobe." A few communication officers went to work trying to establish contact, though they complained of a great deal of interference. Sara's voice eventually came over the lines. "Natsuki?" "Sara, what's going on?" "Shinso-sama has completely sealed off the Mausoleum on her own accord," Sara began to explain. "We can't get in no matter what we try. Irina's here hacking, I tried the key, but it was rejected, and Maria can't think of any other options. Other than maybe blasting the doors in, if we even could." "Have you noticed any Slave-like creatures in the area?" Natsuki asked. "Any reports of such things?" "No, why?" "Something weird is going on here. This Emulator spawned some... flesh and bone Slaves called Orphans. A lot of them. Perhaps Fumi doesn't have the same capacity, but keep your eyes peeled for any signs of Slave or Orphan activity around Windbloom and Garderobe. If Shinso-sama is effected by the same virus, or whatever the hell, both might have the same symptoms." "I understand. How unusual." "Apart from that, simply try to get into the Mausoleum any way you can. You have my authority to blow up some of the structure if necessary, as it is a national security, if not international, threat. Get Shinso-sama back to normal as soon as you possibly can," Natsuki ordered. "Will do, Headmistress. I'll report in if we have any further strange activity. The Guiding Star vanishing was weird enough as it is." "The Guiding Star is gone?" Ann asked. "Witnesses said it turned red and then vanished." "Red?" Natsuki looked back to Ann. "It did that when the TGMS was activated, didn't it?" "I have no idea what happened to it. Aries' observatory has been scanning like mad, but it's still no where to be found." At that, Natsuki paused. Overcome with curiosity, she panned one of the video feeds up until it faced the sky. She directed to the pale rising moon, and there she saw it. A faint red light. The Guiding Star. Most unusual, indeed. "I see it. It's here, for some reason. It was a device, not an actual star. Perhaps it has some sort of travel capabilities. It was no doubt built from Earth materials, and the original colonists... so..." Ann squinted at the display of the ordinary moon. "There's a star there? I do not see it." Natsuki pointed quite clearly at what appeared to be a bright red star. How could Ann miss it? For someone so skilled and legendary, she wasn't terribly observant, was she? "Right there." "That's space." "I don't see anything either," an officer added. Several more chimed in with a similar response. "Are you people nuts? Right there." She slammed her finger onto it again. She wasn't going insane, was she. It was clear as any other major star in the sky, if not more so. She couldn't have been imagining it. They just looked at her as if she were mad. Gritting her teeth, she tried to ignore the embarrassing and odd sensations. "Whatever. Sara, keep me posted. Out." "Yes, Headmistress." "Miss Kruger?" Someone else called. Now what? "We have reports of multiple Children flying in from the west. People on the ground say they are your rebel soldiers." Shizuru. Well, Natsuki had been right. If nothing else, the Orphans would lure the Ikusahime back to Kyoto to inspect the chaos. And now, Natsuki could take them all back and set them straight. She would just have to beat some sense into those brainwashed fools. She watched as Ann tensed up. Ah, she did not want to fight Shizuru again, did she? No, Ann liked Shizuru far too much, and always had. Thus the source of Natsuki's hatred. Natsuki had not been Shizuru's first love. And, according to Tomoe, not the last, either. Perhaps the beating would have to be a bit more than what was necessary when Natsuki met Shizuru again. She just could not help but feel overcome with that same rage as she had felt earlier. Was this jealousy? Or was this something foreign? It did not feel right, whatever it was. It felt like someone was being fed off of her bitterness and rage. But that was a silly notion, was it not? No, she was just stressed. That was why she was on edge. She looked back at the feeds, and saw Shizuru leading the pack of Ikusahime flying in from China. Shizuru. You'll learn not to be so rebellious, even if I must force you into submission. You know you can't really fight me, my HiME.
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