Born Legends The stars will vanish from the sky. Those far off twinkling lights were consumed by hellfire. Friends vanished within the blaze. It was the end of the world after the world had been saved. Most were afraid. Mai and Kagutsuchi simply felt like children wrapped in a protective womb. The flames energized them. Everything felt alive. She had something to fight for and he had something to destroy. Both felt that surge of adrenaline that came from being so close to the end. Though she did not want to kill anyone, Mai couldn't help but touch her inner aggression and not mind its influence. The powerful flames of atmospheric re-entry impassioned both the Child and its mistress. When they crossed that threshold, they sailed through blue before diving down through a wall of dark gray clouds that covered what should have been most of Japan. They soared over the corpse-like remains of Osaka and headed straight for their final battle arena. From the ice covered city came their former allies. Natsuki, it seemed, was throwing them a party in order to welcome them back to Kyoto. The world will be in uproar, the air quaking with booms and blares and their echoes. Thinking quickly, Ann ordered Yafusa to load and fire a flash cartridge. At Ann's insistence, the Ikusahime shielded their eyes as the shell detonated. The shockwave ripped through the air and kicked them in the stomach. The thundering boom made their ears rang. For the Otome, the bright explosion blinded them. Several of the young women dropped from the sky in order to recover, allowing the Ikusahime to rush by. They had approximately thirty seconds before the average person would recover. Less if they were made of stronger stuff. Those individuals made themselves known in just a few moments. Though their eyesight was still partially blocked out, Chie and Laura Bianchi charged after them at top speed. Rosalie was short distance behind them. Much faster than the Children, they had no trouble catching up with the formation. Laura raced in with her Element and attempted to strike with the added bonus of momentum. Gennai whipped around in mid-air and shot out his flail-like tongue, meeting the Otome. Both were thrown. Gennai skidded along the rooftops but manage to hop up on his powerful legs in order to avoid further catastrophe. Laura was hurled down through a skyscraper, puncturing the outer walls and coming to rest within. She sat up with an aching head, letting the nanomachines handle her ailments. Chie settled for a ranged attack. She opened a portal and slammed her hand into it. Ann was nearly knocked off Yafusa's back after taking the punch to the jaw. The portal closed, and she whipped her body around to face the rear of the formation. There was Chie, hanging back at a safe distance. Ann brought up an arm and fired one of Natsuki's former ice pistols. There! She was on the run. Ann the ordered Yafusa to fire upon her with a chrome cartridge. The massive explosion took off the top of a building and forced Chie to take cover elsewhere. Two Otome temporarily stunned. Rosalie was more successful than either of her peers. She coiled her whip around Mikoto and flung her right off Miroku's sturdy back. Mikoto howled in shock and tried to find some safe way to land, but Mai would not allow her to fall victim to such a risky maneuver. She leapt off of Kagutsuchi and raced down to catch her companion, cradling Mikoto in her arms before either of them could hit the ground. Rosalie was right on top of things. She didn't allow either of them a moment's peace. The blonde Otome shot down and kneed Mai so roughly in the gut that she dropped Mikoto. The smaller girl fell safely onto a building just below. After taking in a breath of air, Mai darted back to give herself some distance. Rosalie raced in again, this time intending to punch her. Armored fist met a shield of flame thanks to Mai's quick reaction time. Rosalie backed up and twirled in the air, sending her whip out with extra momentum. With a crack, it cut through the air. Mai blocked it as well, and then, with an apologetic look, slammed a wave of fire into Rosalie. "Come on, Mikoto!" Mai called, reaching out to grab hold of her friend. They both sailed back up to their Children as Rosalie slammed into the wall of a nearby skyscraper. While they caught back up with the others, the Otome stunned by Yafusa's initial flash cartridge did as well. Carla, ever the powerhouse, raced forward and slammed her mighty spear Element into Maitreya's side. The entire blade sank into his flesh, and she ripped it back out again immediately. The giant Child howled in pain and whipped around to smack the girl with one of his massive clawed hands. She ducked below and came up again, intending to ram her weapon through the Child's jaws. She was forced to halt her attack when Akane's Child, the great cat, swiftly arrived to chase her off. Carla zipped away as the screeching feline swiped out at her with his metal paws. "Harry," Akane pleaded, "give us a little cover." The Child complied and began to fill his powerful 'lungs' with massive amounts of compressed air. When fully charged, he released it all at once. The hurricane force winds stopped the pursuing Otome and shoved them backwards. The effect was nothing that the Otome could not withstand, but it gave the Ikusahime a few precious seconds. To throw the Otome hunters off even further, Kagutsuchi turned around on Mai's command and let loose with a giant ball of fire. It was to be a warning shot only. The other women could and did easily avoid the blast. With Kagutsuchi keeping them at bay, Mai leapt down off his back and soared to Dammerung with the rest of the Ikusahime. Down in front of the entrance was a host of guards who would not likely give up their positions. The Iolites were waiting. They were not at all like the Garderobe Otome. They would defend their home until the last one fell – fanatics who had been brainwashed by decades of strife. While Mai would have had a diplomatic chance with the Garderobe girls if it came down to duels to the death, she did not have that advantage now. Mashiro, ever the efficient HiME, thought the same. She would not shy away from the fight. "Get ready!" The Iolites rushed them the moment Maitreya the Child landed his massive body on the ground. His hulking form bent forward as he hurled his spiked bat towards the blue clad maidens before him. They, being far more agile, darted away like a swarm of insects. The Child's weapon cracked the paved ground below, chunks of ancient stone and concrete flying away from the impact area. Acting quickly, Mashiro leapt up and lashed out with her cyan tinted blade, catching one of the Iolites as she avoided the Child's wrath. Mashiro's Element sliced through her midriff, and the girl was no more. Mai would have been shocked at the violence had she not been facing her own problems. Two Iolites, now airborne, decided that she was the nearest available target. They stormed toward her with weapons ready to strike. Mai put up a strong shield of flame, one ember revolving around the perimeter to maintain the wall, and braced herself as both Otome staves slammed into it. "Mai!" She heard Mikoto yell. Ever the defender, Mikoto leapt up off of her Child and swung with her weapon. The two offenders darted away, but Mai, finally feeling a sense of aggression, slammed a wave of fire into them. They flew off to the side and crashed into the ground, where they struggled to find their footing while the pain from burn wounds threatened to cripple them. Mai gave Akira and Mikoto cover as they stormed through the regathering crowd with their Elements, sparring and hacking away at whomever was closest. It took Ann, however, approximately twenty seconds to determine that she did not like those ice pistols. After firing off a few rounds, only to see them bounce off or barely puncture Iolite armor, she de-materialized both Elements and unslung the conventional naginata that had been resting against her back. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, she figured. The naginata, when coupled with her now enhanced strength, would make her just as dangerous as she was as an Otome. So she theorized. Things were instantly more comfortable. She should have known better than to listen to those strange little HiME! Her body twisted, and the naginata came down upon one of the Iolites. The blade tore through the woman's shoulder. Ann withdrew it a moment later and speared it into the gut of another warrior, all moves stylish and elegant. She blocked an incoming attack from one of the Iolites using the shaft of the weapon. Hurling the girl back with forward momentum, Ann turned her weapon around and sliced through the girl's neck. One more to Valhalla! "Get out of the way!" Came a gruff voice. The Iolites parted like the Red Sea, and there stood the Dammerung Columns who had survived Mashiro and Ann's assault in the tunnels. As they heard Miroku the Child's weapon strike the ground, causing the earth to quake, the Columns approached. They were armed and seeking revenge for their lost sisters. Only two remained – Tigereye and Kyanite. While they intended to assault both Ann and Mashiro, an unexpected third came throw a wrench into their plans. It was Akira, who had been endlessly irritated by Ashura, their former leader. Akira's rapid attack would have pierced the flesh of anyone else, but the Columns were too skilled. They flew back and out of the way, only to dive down again with hostile intention. The Kyanite, who wielded sword gauntlets, slashed out with one of her blades. Akira rolled forward and avoided the strike. Mashiro pounced upon the Otome as the attack concluded, hoping to catch the Kyanite before she could properly recover. Mashiro's obsidian Element cut through the air and sailed toward the woman's neck. The Kyanite, however, brought both her arms together and caught the blade betwixt her own. "It was no surprise that someone as repulsive as you carried the damned HiME genes," the Kyanite growled while they were close together. Mashiro shoved her back, though due to the Otome's strength it was she who ended up moving, and swung her Element horizontally in hopes of hacking off the other woman's head. The Kyanite, Eiko, blocked the attack with the nearer sword gauntlet. Mashiro pivoted to the side as the other gauntlet sailed forward in an attempt to gut her. The queen quickly scurried back and the two began to duel, Mashiro having to use both bladed ends of her Element in order to fend off both of the sword gauntlets at once. Akira attempted to help her, but found that the other Column was not so keen on the idea. The Tigereye hooked her surujin around Akira's neck and drug her backwards until the chain was so tight that Akira could not longer breath. Akira slammed her heel onto the top of the Tigereye's foot, but the usually effective move had no effect thanks to the Otome's armor. One of the Iolites shot forward and kneed Akira in the gut, which winded her so badly that she could no longer flail in an attempt to free herself. That same Iolite was soon cut down by a naginata, and Ann rushed in to help Akira before it was too late. The Tigereye kept turning as Ann tried to make an approach, preventing Ann from getting to her vulnerable back. Ann could not attack directly, as she was likely to pierce Akira in the process. The Tigereye felt confident that Akira would suffocate before Ann could make any real moves, but Ann was known to be rather unconventional at times. As such, her next move was not all that predictable. Ann sprinted towards both of them, weapon down low, and plowed her shoulder right into Akira's chest. Had the situation not been dire, Ann would have laughed at poor Akira's shocked face just before impact. Ann planted her feet as both women fell back. Tigereye toppled over and hit the ground with Akira on top of her, accidentally loosening the surujin Element long enough for the kunoichi to catch a life essential breath of crisp air. Akira, now in a position to help, rolled as hard as she could to the side, forcing the Tigereye to roll with her. Ann turned the naginata downward, and slammed the weapon into the Otome's ribcage. The blade, accelerated by HiME strength, pierced through the armor, maneuvered between two ribs, and sank into a lung. The surujin went limp and Akira scrambled to free herself from the coils. Ann withdrew her procured weapon from the body of the mortally wounded Column and helped Akira to her feet. As Kagutsuchi roared in the distance, Akira managed to give the former Archmeister a respectful nod. "I owe you." "Let's save Mashiro and she can pay us both back instead," Ann suggested. "Better idea," Akira agreed. While Mashiro was not a dilemma as great as Akira had been, it was clear that she was struggling against the more seasoned sword fighter. For however many memories Mashiro had of her former life, most of them involved her fighting with the Inferno Spirals. This Maitreya sword was strange and unusual in comparison, and her swordplay was only slightly above mediocre. She was losing ground, and if the fight went on any further it would no doubt result in her demise. When Mashiro saw Ann approaching, she backpedaled away from the Kyanite as quickly as she could. Out of the three of them, it was Ann who stood the best chance. Ann was all too happy to replace her in the duel. The Kyanite swung out with her weapons, and Ann twisted her body back and down to evade them. Swinging her naginata as she stood back up, she sliced into the armored leg of the Otome. It was not a deep wound. Even a child could have walked that one off, but it was better than nothing. When the Kyanite countered with a sword arm, Ann blocked it with the blunt end of her weapon. Turning it back the proper way, she tried to slice the blade down across the Otome's chest, only to be parried by the other arm. They repeated the same attack several times, each time hoping that the other would grow slower with every swing. When Ann began to feel the first signs of fatigue, she decided that there was one trick she could employ that would catch the Otome off guard. After blocking one of the incoming attacks, Ann slid back and materialized one of the Ice Pistols. Firing at point blank with her other hand holding onto the naginata, she watched as the ice bullet cut through the Otome's armor and punctured her stomach. The Kyanite grunted in pain and placed a covered hand over the wound, leaving her vulnerable. That's when Akira sprinted forward with her dagger, cutting into the woman's neck. The Kyanite fell to the ground, her life force slowly draining out of her throat, and was left to fend for herself. If nanomachines could save either of the women, it would have been a technical miracle. The Kyanite tried to crawl to some kind of safety, too fearful of death to sit still and wait for it. "The Iolites are going to scatter any minute if they have any kind of sense," Mashiro said, her mind moving too quickly to stop and thank the other two. "If not, then the Children will finish them off." "You notice that we're going to have morecompany in a second or two?" Akira pointed her thumb back at the Garderobe Otome, who were closing in after the Children stopped paying undivided attention to them. "I'm afraid I have the diplomatic skills of a bear," Mashiro dryly lamented. Windbloom's exuberant spirit was all but exterminated by Kazahana's domineering mindset. She turned her eyes to a certain redhead. "Mai! Talk your friends out of an attack!" Mai looked back to see the incoming Otome just after hurling an Iolite into the side of the palace with a fireball. She sighed, "Oh, crap..." She flew up to meet the incoming team of Garderobe Otome, who expected some kind of assault. Mai held up her hands to indicate she was not trying to harm them. When they neared, Carla, the eldest, took up the position of leader. She leveled her javelin at Mai and glared down at her. "What are your intentions?" "Not fiery death!" Mai stated. She chuckled nervously. "Look, I know this has all gone crazy, and I know it looks like we're trying to betray all of you. It's not that at all. Natsuki's gone mad. She's sick and under the influence of an entirely different entity. She's tried to kill the queen of Windbloom and has been manipulating all of us into fighting each other." "You're saying my onee-sama is possessed?" Rosalie questioned. "If you think I'm going to stand by and let you kill her..." "That's the last thing we want to do. Natsuki's been my friend for ages. I'm not about to blow her up for no good reason. We're here to stop the source of the problem and stop this chaos before it gets even more out of hand. So I beg you to help us. Please?" "She's lying," Laura Bianchi urged. She tightened her grip on the sword in her hands. "With how Natsuki's been behaving lately, I believe her," Chie said, always the levelheaded one. "Before any of this crap started, you were still trying to fight with the Otome, weren't you?" Laura questioned. "And now we're supposed to believe that you never meant us harm?" Mai laughed nervously again. Oh, that. Despite not being involved with any of the decisions on Earl, she felt the need to flaunt her previous job title in order to smooth things over. "I'd like to point out as a member of the Zipang royal family that the armistice signed by all the world nations called for a reduction in the number of active Otome. We were trying to destroy the systems behind the Otome, not kill the Otome themselves." "See? The second we let her get back to Garderobe, she'll just try to shut Fumi down. Do you want to let that happen?" Laura asked the others. "I'm with her," Rosalie agreed. "Mai, I know you to be a person of exceptional character," Carla said of her old classmate, "but I'm afraid that given the circumstances, we cannot allow you to continue." "W-wait just a minute, don't you think there might be some way to settle this without a fight?" Chie tried to reason, waving her arm to signal for them to stop. Intending just to subdue and capture Mai, Laura dove for her. Bringing back her free hand to punch the so-called 'tragic Meister,' Laura sped up for maximum damage. Mai began to try and evade, but simply watched as Laura began to sink like a rock. She watched as the robe disengaged, leaving Laura to fall twenty feet to the ground below. Her compatriots followed. All of them let out a gasp of shock as they tumbled towards the ground, only to land confused and vulnerable. Mai simply blinked at the puzzling development. Had the Emulator shut down? "Good timing!" Akane cheered from below, having dispatched her enemies with the help of Harry. Mai released a held breath. "No kidding." "What are you two waiting for?" Mashiro chastised. "If the Emulator's down, now is the perfect chance! Go!" Mashiro was already leading the others into the palace, leaving Akane, Mai and Mikoto to play catch up. Mai flew down and followed behind closely. Mikoto and Akane soon joined her, the Children left outside to maintain order. When they had assembled into one group again, Mashiro and Mai led the way. They had already taken the path down to the Emulator before. It should have been familiar, but it was not. Upon entering Dammerung for the last time, everything felt so different. The lights were off. Only backups lit the way, bathing sections of the dimly lit halls in a soft golden light. Computer terminals were abandoned. Not a soul lingered in the area – no guards, no technicians, no standard Dammerung officers. Everything was still and silent. Several of the computers sparked and crackled, as if they had been overloaded by something. Hologram interfaces flickered and faded in and out. Something very wrong had happened. Did they even have to destroy the Emulator now? Perhaps it had already given out. "Anyone else mildly uncomfortable by the quiet?" Akane asked, her fingers shaking gently. She was expecting brawls and a fight down to the final destination. "The Obsidian Lord has a trap waiting for us," Mashiro assumed. That was the only logical explanation, right? Mai continued to walk down the dark halls, partially illuminating them with her Element for better vision. Everyone had their guard up, and rightly so. There was nothing normal about this. Even as they descended to a lower level, all they met was silence. Surely there were more Iolites than just those they met outside, and they would have likely fought the Ikusahime tooth and nail with conventional weapons. What had Natsuki done? At long last, on the third basement level, they heard a dull thump. Akane nearly jumped out of her skin, even though it had been quiet. Akira was first to respond properly. She followed the noise, having been trained at superior detection. Dagger in hand, she led them down a hall that led to the southern half of the complex. Everything was abandoned, but the noise grew louder. Holding her breath as she rounded a corner, Akira squinted down the hall to see what was ahead. The guides painted on the wall indicated that it was the armory. "What is that?" Mai finally asked. The thumping was not some gargantuan Orphan. It sounded more like... knocking. Now she heard muffled screams. "Prisoners?" Ann guessed. Akira led them on still, until they were face to face with the armory door. It had a small slit of a window in the middle, but was bolted and latched. Even Mai would have had incredible difficulty cutting through the steel door with all of her fire energy. Akira leaned in to peer through the window, but found someone staring back. A face popped up from below and Akira jumped back with a gasp. It was a man – one of the terminal operators. He pounded on the door and mouthed the Japanese words for 'save me!' Another face entered their view as someone shoved the first man out of the way. This one mouthed 'let us out!' When that man departed, the Ikusahime could see into the armory itself. It was full of people, all officers of Dammerung who had gone in seeking weapons in order to defend themselves. But the door was locked and no one could leave. How had this occurred? "Natsuki wouldn't have locked her own troops up," Ann said. Akane shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't want anyone spoiling the grand duel?" Mikoto shoved her arm into Mai's face. "They're standing up, Mai." "What?" "Hairs. They're standing up." "It's okay Mikoto, that just means you're nervous," Mai explained. "Let's just keep moving. It'd be insane to let them out." Mashiro was undeterred by the situation, and trekked through the rest of the hall until she came to another staircase that led further down. The rest followed quickly, not wanting to be left behind. Two more floors came and went without another incident. Then, finally, they thought they were in for some action. They heard shots from an assault rifle to their left. Mai put up a shield just in case, and the group rounded the corner to see if they couldn't stop an enemy from gunning them down. But instead of attacking the Ikusahime, the lone Iolite, robeless, was fighting an Orphan. The slim creature had one appendage wrapped around her leg and was in the process of dragging her off. The pair vanished into a room, where they heard further screams and gunfire. "Let's just... move." The enemy of my enemy was my temporary friend, Mashiro figured. The group continued on, heading closer to the Emulator room, when they encountered another Orphan. This one simply scrambled out of their way, a red Searrs emblem glowing on its scaly forehead. Though puzzled by the behavior, the Ikusahime weren't about to let that little blessing go to waste. One less thing fought was more energy conserved for the bigger fights ahead. When they reached the bottom floor on which the Emulator rested, they noticed that the lights were red instead of gold, like proper backup lights. Mashiro began to wonder. It was only now that Natsuki apparently knew about their presence in Dammerung. Had the cameras been blinded until this floor? Or had Natsuki just not cared to send anyone up to greet the team? "If you th-thought that d-d-d-estroying the Star would ensure yo-your victory, you thought w-wrong," Reito's highly distorted voice boomed over the speakers. Now it took considerable strain to decipher what the Obsidian Lord was saying through the electronic haze. Natsuki stood in the center of the room, just in front of the grand machine, holding the Obsidian Lord's katana in a trembling hand. To her left was Miyu, the flesh of her arms still missing from Nao's claws. The blood drenched, metallic skeleton was all that remained of her upper appendages. To Natsuki's right was Shizuru, who stared back at the group with her characteristic neutral expression. Her Element rested comfortably in her hands. Natsuki tossed a look to the Yggdrasil unit. "Miyu?" Miyu's eyes began to glow, and she leveled her weapon arm at the group. Now free of flesh, every process could be seen. The hand retreated further up into the arm while another cluster of devices descended. The Gatling gun was easy to recognize. When a leg panel opened up, revealing a cluster of grenades, it was clear she meant business. Mai urged the group to break up and flee back into the halls. "Get out of the way!" They turned and ran, splitting into several directions. Miyu, just before firing, bucked and contorted wildly, and her perfectly aligned shots went astray. A grenade hit the upper lip of the door. Bullets sailed but hit only the metal walls as the Ikusahime escape. The Obsidian Lord, hoping to contain his frustrations in front of Shizuru and the rest of the lot, merely allowed Natsuki to sigh angrily. He couldn't let them all know that another battle was taking place in cyberspace. "Find them and kill them! Before they hurt Alyssa!" Natsuki roared, making sure to add in the second line in order to keep Shizuru loyal in such dire times. Shizuru was off like a shot, heading down the left end of the hallway. Miyu was next, slower and less graceful as someone fought for control. She went down the right end. Natsuki closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. The Obsidian Lord tried to focus. Miyu needed to be secured for the fight, or things would become all the more difficult. - - - The gods will not be idle. Shizuru, following Mai and Mikoto to the east side of the complex, ran on despite whatever fatigue she had felt from her earlier trials in the mountains. Her bardiche was ready to be whipped up at a moment's notice, as Mai could have easily been lying in wait ahead, hoping to ambush her. She could hear Miroku scraping along the ground ahead, and she followed the noise into the long and narrow engineering tunnels of the lowest level. Wide enough to swing her weapon without worry of it hitting a wall, but too narrow for safety's sake if Mai let a fireball loose. Shizuru would have to dart down another tunnel to avoid it, or face burning her lovely pale skin. After running a short distance down the first engineering tunnel, all of which were like a labyrinth to anyone who had not worked there, she no longer heard Miroku against the ground. They had stopped, then? Shizuru kept her eyes peeled in the dark, trying to detect any kind of movement. Her eyes then quickly darted to the side, locating the entrance to another of the tunnels. There was the road to safety if Mai wanted to try anything here. "Shizuru?" She heard Mai's voice. Ahead and to the right. She had moved to the opposing tunnel. Shizuru did not say anything, not wanting to reveal her own location. "Shizuru, it's really time to stop all this. We don't have any time to waste. You know what you're doing is wrong. Everything will be all right if we just work together from now on. We can stop Natsuki and that will be the end of it." They could kill Natsuki, and that would be the end of it. They could kill Alyssa, and that would be the end of it. She could not let that happen. Family came before acquaintances. Shizuru silently walked down to the end of the hall, just before the corner, and readied her bardiche. One swift hit and Mai would not feel anything. Shizuru held her breath, praying that some god would forgive her and understand, and pivoted around to strike. She brought her bardiche down diagonally – a flash of red steel. A spark flew as metal hit metal. Shizuru's vision cleared and she saw Mikoto there, holding onto her own Element. The bardiche had met Miroku, and Mai stood behind her guardian, shocked and disappointed. The redhead shook her head. "Shizuru, I know that you're devoted to them on your own, but the Obsidian Lord's emotional interference is taking those thoughts to extreme levels. You must find your clear head. If you cannot... then you know what has to happen." All the Aesir will arm themselves. Shizuru turned her gaze from Mai back down to Mikoto. She needed to be rid of the guardian before she fought the Queen, then? So be it. Shizuru kicked the smaller girl back several feet and tried to pierce her abdomen with the tip of her bardiche, quickly lunging forward to do so. Mikoto batted the attack away with her own weapon, tapping it clear of both Mai and herself. Shizuru quickly used the other end of the weapon to bash Mikoto in the shoulder. Both girls broke away from each other until several feet stood between them. Shizuru watched out of the corner of her eye as Mai retreated down another engineering tunnel, but her focus remained primarily on Mikoto. Fighting both at once was going to be a chore... Shizuru tried to use her weapon's longer range to her advantage. She lashed out with it, without fear of Mikoto instantly launching a counterattack. Despite her rapid and graceful moves, Mikoto was able to block every incoming hit with her claymore Element. Shizuru contemplated using the chain, but that was asking for trouble. If it missed, then Mikoto would have a wonderful chance to get even while Shizuru gathered it all back up into a blade. As she parried an incoming attack with her bardiche, she let that thought fester in her mind. If an attack missed... yes! Mikoto used all her force when using that claymore. If she let Mikoto dive at her in Mikoto's regular fashion, she might stand a chance at getting a hit in while the girl recovered! She'd just have to move very quickly. Shizuru retreated several steps, giving Mikoto enough distance to use her powerful swiping attack. She was not the most intelligent warrior. She would likely take the bait. Mikoto was hesitant for a moment, preparing to defend herself for a chain attack. When that did not come, she fell victim to Shizuru's trap. Mikoto began to sprint forward, her blade dragging along the ground. Shizuru stood firm as that swift mass came at her, waiting for just the right moment. One pace, a second. Wait, wait, wait. A third, a fourth, and then...! Mikoto launched her claymore out, slicing diagonally from the floor to the top of the tunnel. Shizuru ducked under it and slid forward until she came to rest behind the other female. Before Mikoto could pivot around, Shizuru hurled her own Element out. The red blade nearly missed, but Shizuru watched as Mikoto's clothing and skin sliced open from the light cut. Blood began to leak from the wound as Mikoto yelled out in pain. It was certainly not life threatening, nor was it enough to inhibit the sword fighter. Shizuru cursed her luck. Then, curiously, Mikoto hit the ground. She lay prone, her hands covering her head. Of all the strange... Shizuru turned her eyes up, and there was Mai. She was flying down the tunnel at high speed, headed right for her. Mai extended her elbow, and before Shizuru could move out of the way, the redheaded woman crashed right into her. Shizuru landed roughly on the ground, feeling as if she'd been hit by a car. Her lungs were absent of air, and she was sure that she was going to suffer from internal bleeding do to the force of the hit. Her abdomen wailed. As Mikoto stood back up, Mai turned back around to face Shizuru. The Kyoto woman was locked between the two of them. Mai hoped that what remained of Shizuru's sanity would force to her surrender. "Put down your Element, Shizuru. That's enough." The brunette took several deep breaths of air, reminding her lungs that they could still function. She let out a shaky breath and considered her options. Surrender and defeat were not in the list. Mikoto hovered in front of her with Miroku. Mai was behind, her guard down but easily put back up. She took another breath, and lashed out with her bardiche as she sat up. A red chain coiled around Mikoto's torso and Shizuru quickly fell onto her back again, that force coupling with a throw. Mikoto sailed back and crashed right into Mai. Shizuru sprang to her feet as the two tried to untangle themselves from each other. The bardiche was back in her hands in moments, but she wasn't going to take both of them on at once. Let them do the chasing now! She sprinted down the tunnel and entered another, and then another. She kept quiet and waited for the two HiME to pursue her. This was more trouble than it was worth! - - - Yggdrasil itself will begin to moan. A robot in attack mode was a formidable thing. Miyu's AI system was knocked out entirely, replaced by the Obsidian Lord's own program. Any hope of persuading Miyu to stand down had gone out the window. Now it was nothing more than a race to break the android down before she killed them all. They were in a large and fairly complex area that was not unlike the lower levels of Garderobe – a place littered with monuments to fallen Otome heroes and a storage area for retired GEMs. The vast but littered hall gave the Ikusahime plenty of cover from Miyu's cannon, but made it difficult to attack. The odds were in their favor, but things were going far from smoothly. Akira slid behind a supercomputer as a stream of bullets poured out towards her. Miyu was walking towards her location as she fired, hoping to drive Akira out from the location or gun her down upon reaching it. When Miyu heard the others trying to make some kind of move off to the side, she transformed her other arm into a grenade launcher and fired off around, forcing them back into cover. The grenade exploded, shattering many panels of ornamental glass, but damaging none of the women. The first to come back up after the grenade detonated was Akane, who used her specialized tonfas to launch a gust of air towards Miyu. The robot was slammed into the nearby wall. It did not significantly damage Miyu's sturdy metal chassis, but it was enough to stop her from reaching the kunoichi, who sprang out from her location to find shelter further down the room before the Gatling gun could work its magic once more. Miyu turned towards Akane and let out an groan distorted by electronic warbles. She shifted her cannon arm into her sword and rapidly darted towards Akane with unnatural speed. Akane lifted up a tonfa in time to block the attack, but was thrown from the force of the attack. Help came quickly, as Mashiro slipped out of cover long enough to slam her Maitreya blade into the floor. Like with Miroku, giant obsidian spikes sprang from the ground, threatening to spear Miyu's body as they neared. The android leapt to the side, only to have her shoulder caught by an ice bullet. Ann was a short distance away, but the wound was small enough to be ignored. Ann could wait. Miyu had a much more important target. At least, it was to be considered a more important target based on the influence of the Obsidian Lord program. Miyu stormed forward again, darting out for one single person who was in the process of recovering. There was one person that the Obsidian Lord truly hated. One person who was keeping everything together. One person who the Lord wanted dead at all costs. It was to be punishment for her continued insubordination. Mashiro frantically brought her blade back out of the ground to block Miyu's incoming sword arm. Another slash fell up on her. She used the other end of Maitreya to push it to the side. Her feet instinctively backpedaled when confronted with Miyu's quick onslaught. Another ice bullet hit Miyu in the back, but she paid it no mind. Mashiro blocked another slash. Another and another. Her movements grew slow while Miyu's remained constant. Ann rammed her naginata into Miyu's back, but became stuck within her metal skeleton. Miyu still lurched forward and swung. Mashiro slid out of the way. "B-bleed for m-m-me-e, Queen of Hell," Miyu spoke, her electronic vocal chords beginning to falter. She swung again, and this time her sword arm nicked Mashiro's fatigued shoulder. Blood began to drip from the wound. Now Miyu was as a shark, enticed by the scent of a fresh wound. Miyu brought up her sword again, but felt Akira's Element slice through the meat around her hip. Akane slammed her tonfa into the back of Miyu's knee, making it buckle. As gravity forced her down, Miyu lunged with her weapon. Metal sank into flesh, and an Element dropped. "You h-have failed," Miyu warbled. Mashiro slipped off of Miyu's sword arm and fell back onto the floor, a trail of blood pouring from her stomach and lips. Eyes wide open, she stared blankly at the ceiling as she felt herself sink into darkness – a foul sense of drowning in the sea. She watched as Miyu dropped off to the side, Ann's naginata still impaled within her. Her fingers twitched as she tried to reach for her Element. When her fingertips brushed up against the grip, the entire weapon fell apart into a green mist. Failed. I failed. Failure. The only sense of relief, and at the same time her primary sense of guilt, was that Arika would live on to see another day. With Kazahana in almost complete control, her mind had attached itself to the memory of someone she had dearly loved. The legacy of her first Carnival was a powerful and tragic one. The only person she could not kill in that time was the one person she was now going to take with her to the grave... even though he may well have deserved it due to his actions in the present time. Homura-san... For a fleeting moment, she was taken back to Edo-era Fuuka. The hills were greener. The flowers smelled sweeter. The hustle and bustle of irritating city life was three hundred years away. Everything was simple just before the storm that came. The clearest memory that came to her was in a lush field that Fuuka Academy would later be built upon. She was just a young girl visiting from Nagasaki, lost and alone. In that field she had met the charismatic young son of a local samurai, and she then sat against a tree while he played his wooden flute for her. Her memory became better than photographic. She remembered every note of the soft melody, the scent of the wildflowers, the way his lips curved into a smirk as he tried to impress her with his artistry. When she embraced that memory, the real world faded. And that was the end of Kazahana Mashiro. Akane forgot how to breath as she rushed to cradle the now lifeless Queen of Windbloom. Her breath caught in her throat every time she tried to inhale. Akira loomed over her, unsure of what she could do. To the side, Ann planted her boot against Miyu's quivering back and yanked her naginata free of the android's body. While those who knew Mashiro mourned, Ann decided to finish off the crippled foe. The android did not move, but looked up at her slayer with a neutral expression. Despite having some degree of capability left, she was still. Willing to die, or unwilling to kill. It was as if someone else had taken control of her. A complete shift in attitude. Ann sank her weapon straight in the center of Miyu's torso. Miyu wailed electronically and convulsed, electricity sparking from her body. She gently stilled herself, and her eyes began to focus once more as the Obsidian Lord vacated her. Damaged beyond repair, Miyu's AI system was all but obliterated. One influence accessed what it could in order to force Miyu to take some kind of action. Her lips did not move, as they no longer functioned, but there was noise coming straight from her throat. "Thank all of you... putting your lives... beg you all... lay down your arms... admirable... anyone else hurt on my account." Akane and Akira instantly tense upon hearing those words. The voice was mature and harsh, but it was most clearly Alyssa Searrs. What kind of trick was this? "Natsuki, I... forgive me for my failure. If... had only been a little faster, I could have stopped it. It was my... will carry the guilt. You know... was so glad to find you... always wanted to have family. You and Shizuru... my elder sisters, and... watching over me. ...So stubborn! I hope that... Ikusahime can forgive... I tried to... wanted to save you." Ann took a deep breath and tried to remember what their mission was. Any longer in such a hellhole and they would be just as lost as those who fell before them. With Miyu out of commission, they were potentially free to attack the Emulator and, if necessary, beat back Natsuki herself. If Shizuru were preoccupied with the others, then that would be just enough to successfully complete their tasks. Shaking her naginata free of oil and blood, she put on a poker face for the sake of her shaken companions. "Let's just get things over with." Ann turned and went back into the halls, heading in the direction they had come from. Akane and Akira hesitantly followed after her, ignoring the last line repeated over and over again by Miyu's dilapidated form. It was like she was trying to hard to speak, but had lost the proper ability to do so. All she could do was repeat the same broken loop. "Wanted to save you." Weapons drawn, they knew it was now or never. "...Wanted to save you." - - - A burst of flame shot down another one of the engineering tunnels, and Shizuru then decided it was time for her to quietly slip out of area. She would not fight the way Mai wanted her to. Shizuru would lure her into a more open area and face her directly. She killed Ruby, the first wearer of Mai's former GEM, in such a manner. She could do it again, regardless of how much stronger Mai was compared with her original imitation. Shizuru slipped out of the engineering sector and entered the hallway beyond. It was still too narrow a battleground. She moved on to see if a different room wouldn't suit her better. Time was of the essence – Mikoto would surely be right on her tail, Mai only a short distance behind. Her eyes drifted from left to right and back again as she searched for an open area. It was her ears, however, that proved more effective. There was an electronic wail from another room, and she heard footsteps racing back towards the Emulator. Two more people, it sounded like, followed. Fearing that Miyu had been defeated, Shizuru changed her agenda. She could not have a fight with Mai alone. She had to get back to Natsuki and defend her and Alyssa from the rest of the Ikusahime. Her feet carried her swiftly down the hall, and she saw Miyu's crippled form left in one of the other sectors. She paused only to check on her status, but found herself grounded by something far more frightening. "Wanted to save you," she heard Miyu say, but it was not Miyu's voice. That was clearly Alyssa Searrs. Shizuu tensed immediately. She widened her eyes when Miyu looked up at her and reached out with one badly damaged arm. The other clamped down into the ground, pulling the android closer to Shizuru. The voice became stronger and more definite. It was Alyssa who shouted at her, playing back one single part, one single word, of an ancient recording. "Shizuru!" Alyssa had taken control of Miyu's broken body? The hairs on the back of Shizuru's neck began to rise. The others must have gotten into the room. Alyssa was crying out for salvation. She wouldn't let them kill her! Shizuru sprinted forward and headed back towards the Emulator room, with both Mikoto and Mai close behind her. All the while, the Obsidian Lord taunted the aggressors. "I have k-killed her now. You are leaderless. You have no direction. W-without that woman and her grand plan, y-you can never win. You are pathetic. S-still so blind to everything. Lay down your w-weapons and give yourself to death." - - - Ann Lu was the first to make it there, unafraid of whatever lay ahead. The doors left open, she burst through them and immediately checked the corners on either side to make sure Natsuki would not leap out from the shadows. The room was barren. Had the former headmistress gone off to fight with Mai? Whether or not she was lurking about, Ann was given a clear view of Alyssa trapped with the Emulator. With one good shot, she could end everything. She held out a hand and watched as a circle of icy blue formed below. From it came Yafusa in all his twisted glory. Even before Ann commanded it, he leveled his single cannon towards the Emulator, knowing full well that it would result in his own destruction. "Yafusa! Load silver cart--!" And Fenrir will run free. The great beast howled and moaned, falling onto his side before he could load the cannon. He rolled onto his feet once more, now facing Ann instead of Alyssa. He seemed to grow in size, his body convulsing until he had grown taller than the princess. Duran roared and charged her, swiping out with his massive metal paws. She backed up to avoid the attack, finding herself in the doorway that led out to the rest of the building. Duran lowered his head and began to growl. She couldn't kill her own Child, could she? Why was he acting this way? He belonged to Ann now! As she weighed her few options, she noticed a slight gleam of light bouncing off of Duran's metal chassis. Quickly realizing what exactly that was, Ann spun around just in time to block the incoming swipe of a certain katana before it sliced her head clean off. There was the scowling face of its owner. "I won't let you kill her," Natsuki said. Her voice was no longer the dark hiss it was. Was this the true Natsuki? "Do you hear me? I won't let you kill her!" Natsuki stepped back and swung out with her weapon, and it was again blocked by Ann's naginata. Ann turned her head away just briefly to look at the metal wolf behind her. Duran's bigger form now opened his jaws and began to howl. The noise was so great that it nearly blew out her eardrums. When it looked as if Duran was going to charge her again, leaving her with nowhere to run, a savior came in the form of the young Akane. Harry leapt out from thin air and dove into the side of Duran, tackling him to the ground. Duran got back to his feet and lashed out at the gargantuan tiger, who swatted back. The two tumbled and rolled through the Emulator room, trying to rip each other to shreds. Natsuki went on the offensive while the Children were distracted. She rushed forward and swung out with her newfound Element, Ann managing to block all the incoming attacks. Akane soon rushed into the room itself once the doorway was clear, but Natsuki was none to keen with any further interference from the young woman. From within her headmistress' coat, she withdrew a single black Desert Eagle. With a squeeze of the trigger, a bullet flew from the gun and into Akane's left knee. The joint was all but liquefied by the powerful shot, and Akane dropped to the ground in agonizing pain, screaming at the top of her lungs. The gun was holstered once more as Natsuki turned her attention back to Ann. Gripping the katana in both hands, she stormed forward and slashed out diagonally. Ann parried the strike and tried to smack Natsuki with the other end of the weapon, only to watch as the Crystal Otome leapt out of the way. Natsuki tried for another slice, this one aimed at Ann's legs. The blade of the naginata caught it and came up again immediately. Natsuki went back to defense, blocking the counterattack. Ann attempted to pierce her with a lunging attack, but Natsuki merely sidestepped and came down with her own weapon. The beautiful princess stopped it using the shaft of her spear and tried to pierce her again from that angle, aiming right for Natsuki's face. The headmistress ducked. Anger built up within her. Natsuki's lips twisted into a snarl as their duel continued – both quick, both precise, and neither willing to back down. Blows became lightening fast, metal scraping against metal in less than a second. Natsuki bent her body back to avoid a strike, only to curve back around with one of her own. For every attack one had, the other had a defense. Natsuki angrily brought her full strength down upon the shaft of the naginata, which Ann had brought up to halt the strike. "I always hated you. Always hated how attached she was to you!" Somewhere behind, Harry shrieked as Duran's fangs clamped down on his shoulder. The tiger was not yet out, slamming into the wolf to push him back. The beast then sank its metal claws cut into Duran's side. Both were howling, though Natsuki's voice remained the more dominant sound. "Hated that she was so in love with you! Hated that you were always better than everyone!" Every scream was accompanied by a heavy handed strike from the katana, all barely blocked by the nimble princess. "Hated that you broke her god damned heart! Hated everything about you!" Natsuki used only one hand to swing her weapon, which Ann predictably blocked. Using her other hand, Natsuki ducked forward and slammed her fist into Ann's stomach. The unexpected attack threw Ann off balance, and though she tried to back away in order to recover, Natsuki stayed right with her. Ann blocked the next two strikes, just barely, and managed to land a successful counterattack. Her naginata sank into Natsuki's left arm. Regardless of the pain, Natsuki brought her other hand forward. The tip of the Obsidian Lord's katana pierced the princess' stomach so deep that Natsuki felt her blade reach the spine. It was a stab that any Garderobe instructor would have been proud of – it tore into several vital organs that the nanomachines could never hope to repair before death claimed the victim. Ann's throat locked up and she sank to the floor. Natsuki knelt beside her as Shizuru and Akira both ran into the room. Akira immediately ran to Akane's side to check on her companion, but Shizuru was frozen in her tracks at the sight of her former mentor defeated by her lover. Moisture collected around red eyes and gently dropped down onto pale cheeks. Her hands trembled, barely able to hang onto her Element as Duran began to break into chunks of green sparks. Shizuru's heart, somewhere deep inside, held a beat in anticipation. Perhaps it was fear, and perhaps it was hope. It was no doubt a confusing mixture of both. Was she going to vanish along with Duran? Natsuki kept her eyes on Shizuru for several moments before smirking. She lowered her face to Ann and whispered, "There is one gift from all this - that you will die knowing that she does not cherish you any longer." As Ann felt herself joining Mashiro on the journey to their next lives, it seemed to be the truth. Shizuru's Element did not fade away with Ann. She saw Shizuru's beautiful face, and she was clearly in agony. Even though she was no longer the most important person in Shizuru's life, Ann was simply happy that her protege still cared enough to mourn her. Had it been any other time, Ann would have been upset by Shizuru's tears. Now they felt strangely welcomed. She tried to smile at her disciple, but could not. Instead, she closed her eyes and let herself vanish in a whirl of green, mentally apologizing to her father and her country. They were going to lose their king, but Ann knew that her eldest sister would live up to the task of ruling Annam. When Ann and Duran had vanished, Natsuki stood back up on slightly shaky feat, the loss of adrenaline and hate draining her of some energy. She took several deep breaths to regain control. The Obsidian Lord had released her, just a bit, as her heightened emotions were beginning to prove useful. He was no doubt amused by it all. Natsuki found herself in some kind of daze, but leveled her katana at Shizuru, her face moving into a haunting smile. "You were not her favorite either," she said to Shizuru. "It's good that you don't waste your most sacred emotions on the likes of her. She was never kind to you." "Natsuki..." Shizuru's voice was part disbelief and part rage. Ann had not been her favorite, but she had still damn well loved and respected her. For the first time in a long while, Shizuru's viewpoint temporarily extended beyond her immediate family to those they were punishing. "The pain will go away. There was no other choice; she was going to kill my onee-chan," Natsuki said groggily. Her eyes then turned to Akira, the only able bodied one left. She withdrew her Desert Eagle again. "Your presence will not be tolerated either. If you try to hurt her..." Akira took her attention away from Akane, who continue to writhe in pain, and she began to try and formulate some plan to destroy the Emulator given the ongoings. Duran was gone. Shizuru was disoriented. Natsuki had a gun trained on her, but Akira had avoided them before. She was much faster than Natsuki. If she acted fast, she could disarm Natsuki and blow up the Emulator, sparing the headmistress. It had to be done. Akira raced forward as fast as her well trained legs could carry her. Natsuki fried her weapon, but missed as Akira darted to the side. Again she fired, and again Akira darted to the side. The distance was closed in no time. She knocked the gun from Natsuki's hand, and it slid down the room until it came to rest against the bottom of the Emulator core. Natsuki herself fell to the ground from the force of Akira's next hand-to-hand strike. "Genn-!" she began to call, but her breath left her as a red coil tightened around her chest. Akira found herself sailing through the air, heading straight for the wall. She hit with such a force that she blacked out. Her body hit the ground with a thud and Shizuru recalled her chain. Disgusted or not, she could not let Alyssa perish! There was a moment of silence that followed, and both Shizuru and Natsuki looked up at each other, judging and guessing. Natsuki, falling victim to the Obsidian Lord as he intervened, pointed to the doorway. "They're almost here." Mai. Shizuru turned around slowly, and as Natsuki had warned, both Mai and her guardian soon came through the doors. The redhead looked as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown on her as she saw what had happened. Akane was down, Akira was down, Ann was gone, Mashiro was gone. It was just down to the four of them to finish things. At the injustices that had occurred, Mai let her blood boil a little more. Revenge became all the more tempting. "Mai HiME," the Obsidian Lord addressed via Natsuki, "you've made it to the end once more, if a bit late to the festivities. I've already dispatched one former Carnival victor. You have failed. Try to die gracefully and honorably. Save yourself the struggle of flailing about like a trout out of water as you cling to a fleeting life." "I still have my honor intact," Mai countered. "You... Kuga-san, are a different story. I think killing you might be more merciful than letting you live with the guilt for the rest of your life. The same for you, Fujino-san. When the Obsidian Lord is gone, and when his emotional amplification is no more, guilt is all you'll have left. Far more extreme than anything you felt after the real Carnival." "We are not the ones trying to murder a helpless child!" Natsuki bellowed. "Mikoto," Mai whispered. The younger woman held up Miroku and slammed it back into the ground. Spikes shot up from the floor in the direction of Shizuru and Natsuki. Both women veered off to the side, and in that same moment, Mai raced forward in the air, building up a swirling mass of fire to be launched into the Emulator. A line wrapped around her ankle, however, and it snapped tight in a fraction of a second. Her forward momentum was halted and she dropped to the ground. Shizuru had caught her with the chain! As Shizuru charged toward her, Mikoto held Natsuki back using her massive black claymore. The two exchanged sword attacks, sparks flying from the contact. Seeing that Mikoto was stronger than Ann, at least in terms of physicality, the Obsidian Lord hacked back into the Emulator and accessed a vital program. The Ice Silver Crystal robe formed around Natuski's body, giving her heightened speed and strength, even beyond what the HiME were capable of now. She began to gain ground, chopping out towards Mikoto, who was left to defend herself against an onslaught. When Shizuru drew close to Mai, the redhead shot back up into the air and blocked an incoming whip attack with her shield. She returned fire with a ball of flame, which Shizuru evaded. Mai again blocked a whip attack with her shield, and all those that succeeded it. Even while aggressive, Mai could not match Shizuru's raw hostility. Then, when Shizuru prepared to hurl her blade up like a Spartan, the lights went out. The last thing Mai wanted to be was a beacon, so she disengaged her Elements and dropped to the ground, moving about to avoid Shizuru's detection in the blackness. The only soft glow came from the Emulator itself. In the distance, they heard the sound of a weapon being dropped. Next, Natsuki. She grunted in pain and placed her hands against her head, feeling like something vital had gone. They turned as a screech came from the Emulator itself. There they saw the crippled body of Miyu Greer, her sword arm plunged through the side of the machine. Shizuru nearly screamed at the thought of Alyssa dying, but nothing made sense. Why would Miyu, of all things, do that to Alyssa? Then, they saw. The sword was plunged through the controls, and the Emulator doors slowly began to open, a cascade of water pouring from the open core. - - - "Miyu, you heard the woman. Present your weapons to them." Her loyal android darted forward and lashed out with her sword arm, and the fight began. It all happened so quickly. Onyx and Crystal were formidable opponents, and Alyssa was simply not fast enough to keep up. Crystal punched her hard in the face, and down Alyssa went. She brought up her sister's Desert Eagle and fired until her wrist began to sting. All shots dodged. It was then she saw a flash of light. The Crystal Otome was using a new weapon! That weapon was quickly turned on Alyssa herself. A second flash of light, this one violent and painful. She looked down, and her stomach was missing. The Crystal stared back at her, a smug grin on her face. The Desert Eagle fell to her feet. - - - For all her planning, Alyssa Searrs had not anticipated one thing. There had been no data on it. She could not have foreseen the error. That error was that the moment she disconnected her brain from the Emulator, that her biological and digital memories would no longer match up. With the digital interface no longer operable, she reverted back to the last memory her body had. For Alyssa Searrs, she was placed back at the exact moment when the former Ice Silver Crystal had shot her in the gut. Her vision hazy and her mind unable to register that she was no longer a simple twenty one year old warrior, she merely saw that flash of light and assumed she had been fired upon by the Otome who had been hunting her that fateful night. A Desert Eagle below, Alyssa grabbed it and leveled it at the partially fuzzy object that resembled the Ice Silver Crystal. She squeezed the trigger. The shot was a bit wild, but miraculously made it. The bullet slammed into her neck and the Otome went down. Alyssa grinned drunkenly. Miyu! Did you see that wondrous shot?! Two metal clanks and the echo of her own gunshot served to restore Alyssa's proper senses. Her eyes cleared. Things were much darker now. Where had the street lamps gone? Her eyes squinted. They weren't even outside anymore! What on Earth had happened? She turned her gaze down, and there was Miyu. No longer was she the glorious Yggdrasil unit. Now she was nothing more than a barely functioning piece of scrap metal. Had Onyx damaged her? Alyssa was sure that she could fix Miyu if she had enough time, despite how horrible she looked. Her stomach began to sink. She felt ill. Her lungs weren't breathing right. All at once, her body began to feel as if it was degenerating. Her grip loosened on the Eagle and it fell to the ground, her muscles too fatigued to maintain the hold. Alyssa wanted to throw up. She wanted to go to sleep. Things became incredibly dizzy. She sank to one knee and realized that she was naked and had several wires hooked into her body, all those nerves now howling in irritation. Her hair was wet. Nothing was right. Those sky blue eyes turned up and she saw that she was not in the company of an Otome hunting party. She screamed, regardless, until her voice became ragged. Shizuru and Akane were there, back from the dead. What madness had she fallen into to see these things?! Akira was there but dead or unconscious. Her dearest sister... with a devastating wound to the neck. Wound to the... That's when her mind recalled what had only been briefly circulated through her actual body, as opposed to a processing core. Rebelling against the domineering Obsidian Lord program and hacking into the system using her digital mind. Shutting down the Otome system to disconnect Laura and her cohorts so that the Ikusahime could enter without trouble. Locking the Iolites into the armory so that there would be no resistance. Using Orphans to kill the guards who were left in the halls. Using Miyu's body to speak to Shizuru and then to break open the Emulator core. Everything came back. She slowly put her shaky hands to her head and let out a gentle wail. "Ah, Gott...!" Alyssa could only watch as Shizuru threw herself upon Natsuki, her bardiche now resting on the floor. Shizuru clung to the raven haired woman desperately, letting out painful sobs. Red eyes flashed between Alyssa and Natsuki, stunned and traumatized by everything that was happening. To a degree, Shizuru did not seem fully aware as to what had happened in those quick moments. Natsuki fell and now Shizuru saw the ghost of Natsuki's sister rising forth from the Emulator core after Miyu had 'killed' her. Shizuru ran her hand down one of Natsuki's porcelain cheeks. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't fast enough to stop her. I didn't see... it was so dark." Alyssa watched in horror as they left her a second time. They both broke down to the photon level and vanished right before her eyes. Her golden eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, despite her horror. It was the scientist in her. If she had disconnected herself, then the Obsidian Lord should have been powerless. The Carnival should have stopped. Had she, in her haste for freedom, failed to see something? Alyssa turned her head until she saw behind her. There, her spine was still locked into the power cables. He was still drawing energy from her. She reached a hand back to pull one out, but it shocked her, deliberately overloaded by the Lord's hostile program. Another noise caught her attention. The Emulator Room doors had sealed shut and locked by his will. Now Mai and Mikoto were trapped in there to fight to the death! Alyssa's body was going to be too weak to hack through a terminal. Her only choice to bust Mai and Mikoto out was to plug her brain back in and do it from the virtual realm. "I can't free myself," Alyssa said in a timid and raspy voice, "he won't let me go. I tried to disconnect myself to stop things before they got this far, but he wouldn't let me." "You were trying to help us the whole time?" Mai asked. Alyssa sighed. "Yes. I just didn't want anything to happen to them at the same time. He is a strong program. I only just now won back control of most systems. I hoped to break free of the Emulator, even if it meant death, to unplug him. I just moved too quickly. I missed steps. I've made an awful mess of things yet again. Last time I was too slow, now I am too fast." "I can try to get you out of there," Mai offered, trying her best to be sensitive. "Will you let me try?" "I'm going to plug myself back in. I can get those doors open if I do. Get outside to Kagutsuchi and have him blow Dammerung sky high. If you all leave, there's no one else worth saving," Alyssa ordered. "You'll get rid of everything in one fell swoop. The Emulator, the Obsidian Lord, and all of the vital Otome technology that Searrs left behind. All the other posts around the world have second class equipment. You can dismantle it all later. He's made a mistake in linking all the Emulators together. He did it when the Star went up, so he could maintain global materialization. If you destroy this one, they'll all go. You'll be able to end the story." "What if the Lord manages to take control of you?" "He won't. I'm too stubborn," Alyssa dryly quipped. With that, she reached back and found the hanging cord that had fallen out of the back of her skull the moment she had tried to step out of the machine. Putting herself back within the belly of the core, she inserted the plug into her brain and went back into that cold and dark realm that was cyberspace. She was immediately assaulted by the Lord's influence, but she beat him back, finding back doors and shortcuts that he was not clever enough to take. The doors slowly slid open, and Mai wasted no time in getting out of the room. She carried Akane and Mikoto grabbed Akira, and off they went. The doors shut quickly, and rather than let the Obsidian Lord take back complete control, Alyssa shook her head free of the cerebral link once more, letting her body hang from the core interior, her mind free from harm. Only her body was left as his power source. She waited for Mai to reach ground level again, and when she heard Kagutsuchi's mighty roar, she knew that things could finally end. That was the second time that damned dragon ended her. - - - The Ikusahime were dropped in the hills by their Children. There, the surviving HiME Heirs raced in to give them medical attention. Only Mai and Kagutsuchi had taken a different path. They were a great distance in the air, hovering just about the old palace that Dammerung was situated in. Everyone was naturally fleeing from the area as Kagutsuchi charged up his most powerful breath attack. Mai shut her eyes, unable to watch, unable to properly forgive herself for it all. "Go, Kagutsuchi." His jaws widened and he released all the stored energy. A column of fire left his mouth and plummeted down, hitting Dammerung at maximum force. The top of the building went up, the next level, the next. His breath burrowed all the way down to the bottom level due to his charging time. The Emulator burned, and Dammerung was no more. All the lights in the city blinked out of existence. Then Surt will fling fire in every direction. The world will become a place of raging flame. The worlds will burn and the gods will die. Men and women will die. All the creatures, monsters and giants will die. The sun will be dark and there will be no stars in the sky. The Earth shall end. His breath rippled out from the initial blast site, taking out several buildings and any stragglers left behind. The heart of Kyoto had been cut out and the city would now die. All the Emulators linked with the old Kansai machine, all those on Earth and the one in Garderobe, ceased to function once the central source of power had been destroyed. That was the end of the Otome era. There would never again be a Meister, nor would there be another Ikusahime. All that would remain were humans seeking a new dawn that would not be plagued with the sins of the past. And leading them all towards peace and prosperity was the mortal woman who had won both the Last Carnival and the Carnival of Man. Mai Kisaki. - - - The Earth will rise again, fair and green. The eagle will fly over cataracts, swoop into thunder, and catch fish. There will be gods who survive the end. They will sit down in the sunlight and talk. Turn by turn, they will call up memories. They will talk over many things that happened. Many courts will rise once more – some good, some evil. The humans who survived the flames will have children. Their children will have children. There will be life and a new life, life everywhere on Earth. That was the end. This is the beginning. - - - AN2: The Ragnarok myth lines all stem from the Crossley-Holland version of the tale in "The Norse Myths." Some lines ended up slightly edited. Anyway, now that the citation has been made, off to the epilogue you go. It's happy. And sappy, too, probably.
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