Sylia was finishing with suiting up in her armor as Priss and Nene began pulling the rockets and firecrackers out of the boxes they'd unloaded from the wagon. As they began aiming them to fly over the treetops and toward the temple, Nene looked over to Sylia as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "Sylia, she's been in there over four hours now." The blond began. "When are we supposed to launch these things?" "When we get the signal." Sylia answered, tying her hair back so she could get her helmet on. "Signal? What signal is that?" "We don't know yet." Priss answered, as she pulled a particularly large rocket out of one of the boxes. Nene looked from Priss to Sylia and back again. "We... We don't know what the signal is? Then how are we going to know it when it comes? And how do we know she hasn't been discovered or..." KA-THOOM! All three of the young women turned to see what just happened. They all watched as a large black cloud ascended from the direction of the temple. Priss turned to Sylia and raised an eyebrow. "'Subtlety and stealth,' huh?" she asked sarcastically. "Holy... Nene, Priss, fire the rockets now! Hurry!" ------ Linna opened the hall door, and watched as the crowd of confused monks and nuns ran alongside the yakuza as they all tried to figure out what was going on. She quickly grabbed the Emperor's hand as she led the way through the madness, her sword held out before her. One of the guards looked over to the building to see the Emperor, a nun wielding a sword, and three dead guards. "Halt! Stop right there, you..." his voice was drowned out by the explosion overhead, followed by a second and a third. Then a few rockets landed inside the temple before going off in a dazzling display of sound and color. Linna used the diversion to pull the Emperor closer toward the exit. "I say, what in the world..." "It's okay, Your Highness. It's merely a distraction being set up by my friends." "Oh yes the other... now what are you called again, fight..." "Knight, Sire; Knight Sabers." "Quick, there she is!" someone yelled, as the yakuza began coming together between Linna and the exit. As explosions and rockets continued to fly through the air, Linna let go of the Emperor's hand in order to better handle her sword. "Your Highness, follow me!" she yelled as she charged straight at the nearest gangster, cutting him down with relative ease. Meiji looked around at the panic stricken crowd and the pandemonium around him, and rolled his eyes. "Like I have any choice." he muttered, as he ran after her. One of the yakuza, who was about to cut down Linna from behind, became sidetracked by a monk getting in his way. "Look out." he shouted, as he knocked him out with the hilt of his sword. A nun, seeing this, and finally figuring out what was happening, now intentionally placed herself in the way between a member of the yakuza and Linna and the Emperor. Others began to follow suit. Linna and the Emperor now looked on in horror as the yakuza began cutting and hacking at the temple clergy in an effort to get to them. "No, please!" Linna cried, "Don't do this, please!" "Run. Take the Emperor out quickly." One older monk said, just before being gutted by a yakuza with rotted teeth. As those going to sacrifice themselves for Linna and Emperor Meiji began chanting once again for mercy in the afterlife, Irene Chang came out of the temple. She knew that Linna had told her to stay in the temple no matter what, but between the explosions she heard outside and the chanting that had just begun curiosity was getting the better of her. ------ Nigel Kirkland was standing by the stove, sipping some sake when he heard Henderson come in the room behind him. "How long have they been gone, Nigel?" "About two and a half weeks, maybe three." "I see... Young master Mackie's able to get around pretty well now. He's beginning to ask questions." "What kind of questions?" "Oh, you know; what happened that night, where's his sister, what's he doing here, what happened to Miss Romanova? The boy isn't stupid. I can't keep switching topics and evading the questions forever." "I know, Henderson, I know. Damn, I wish I knew how much we should tell him." "How about you start with why you feel I should be kept in the dark in the first place." Nigel and Henderson both turned around to see a very irritated Mackie glaring at both of them. Henderson looked down as Nigel and Mackie locked eyes. "Well, I'm waiting." Nigel looked at Henderson, then back to Mackie as he let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, kid. We'll tell you everything. You'd better sit down though; this is going to take a while. ------ "Linna?" "Irene, no! Get back in the temple!" "Wha... What's going on?" she asked in shock as she saw the monks and nuns of the temple being cut down. One of the gangsters now noticed the novice. "You!" he shouted, "You were the one the bitch over there was with earlier!" "Irene!" Linna cried out as the yakuza plunged his dagger into the young woman's chest. Irene's head snapped back as her eyes bulged, her entire body in a spasm from the pain. She then fell limply forward against her attacker, her chin resting on his shoulder as she coughed up blood. The killer removed his knife, and she fell in a dead heap upon the stone tiled courtyard. "Irene..." Linna whispered. "Yamazaki-san, we need to go now." Meiji pointed out. Linna didn't pay attention, though. She was frozen to the spot, watching the friend she'd made only a short while ago bleed to death on the ground. "Yamazaki-san!" Meiji said with a bit more authority. "Linna!" a familiar voice now called over the explosions and chanting, finally breaking through the darkness that seemed to have surrounded her. "Linna-chan, where are you?" "Priss-chan?" Linna called out, as she grabbed the Emperor's hand once again and started for the temple entrance. "Priss, I'm here! Help the clergy!" A barrage of arrows began to rain down on the yakuza attacking the clergy, as Priss and Sylia now charged in. The gangsters had no choice but to turn their attention away from the monks and nuns in their way, and towards the Knight Sabers. Sylia was the first to reach Linna and Meiji. "Where's the Emperor?" Sylia asked as she cut down a particularly fat thug. "He's here with me." She said. Sylia quickly bowed to the man Linna had with her, then turned back to the former geisha as Priss now came up to them. "And the gun?" "Destroyed." Linna answered. "What?" "It was blown up in the explosion and covered in the rubble of the bell tower." "I never told you to do that!" Priss looked over to Sylia now, "You said the gun had to be destroyed, you... Oh now I get it." "Priss..." "You weren't going to destroy it at all, were you? You were going to save it as some sort of fucking family heirloom!" "Sensei?" Linna asked, checking to make sure the Emperor was still with her, "Sensei, is this... Is this true?" Sylia was about to respond when Nene called over. "Uh, guys," Nene broke in as she sent an arrow through one of the yakuza's head, "Less talk, more fight, okay?" Priss looked over to Nene, letting loose with another barrage of three arrows at a time, then back to Sylia. "We're not done with this." she said angrily before turning back to the fight at hand. Sylia watched her run off, and then turned her attention back to Linna and Meiji. "Linna, get the emperor out of here. We'll take care of this." "But..." "Now!" Sylia ordered, before turning away herself to join Priss and Nene. Linna saw an opening between her and the exit. She grabbed the Emperor and ran for it. ---A Short Time Later--- "Galatia." An o-niwaban looking at the Knight Saber's camp through a telescope called out. Almost immediately the betsushikime was next to him. "Yes?" "There's movement again in the camp." "Give me that." She ordered, as she took the telescope away from the ninja and looked through it. "What do you see?" the leader of the hunting party asked. "A Buddhist nun covered in blood carrying a sword, and a man following her." "A nun with a sword? Are you sure?" Galatia gave the hunting pack's leader a stern look that immediately silenced him. She then looked back in the telescope. "Listen to me very carefully. We wait until the other three show up, and we move out on my signal. The other three are yours; the nun, the one we watched dress in the blue armor, and the blond in the pink armor. Do whatever you want to them. The one we saw earlier putting on the silver armor though is mine. You can have her head, but not until I'm done with her." The tone she now used when talking about the silver Knight Saber actually sent a chill down the backs of her listeners. "Sister," she whispered, "It's been too long." ------ Now safely back in camp, Linna let go of the Emperor's hand as she sank to her knees. As the adrenalin in her body slowly dissipated, she began to shake as she looked at her bloody robes and hands, the fireworks and explosions still ringing in her ears. She fought back the tears struggling for release when she felt a hand on her back. Looking over, she saw Meiji, a look of concern in his face. "Yamazaki-san, are you alright?" She couldn't bring herself to speak. She simply nodded. The Emperor kept his hand on her back as he knelt down beside her. "You did a marvelous job back there. You saved my life, and for that I am grateful. Thank you." Linna managed to smile weakly as she looked at the Emperor. "You're welcome, Your Majesty." she managed to finally get out. She then looked away from him towards the forest and in the direction of the temple. The other three were still in there. Sylia and Nene were in danger, she knew, but all she could think about was Priss. She now knew what her lover must've been going through while she was in the temple. As she saw the dark clouds continue to rise from the temple, she began to feel guilty in regards to not worrying in the same degree for the others' safety as for her beloved's. Finally, from out of the woods and into the clearing, the other three wearily tred. As they got closer, she was able to pick up on the conversation. "Guys, calm down." "Nene, stay out of this. Sylia, did you or did you not tell us that gun had to be destroyed?" "Yes I did, and..." "Well, did you mean it or not? Because if you were just playing another one of your stupid games..." "Of course I meant it! But don't you see, what if they dig beneath the rubble and uncover what's left of the bloody thing? We'd be right back where we started from." Nene, who had been listening to Sylia and Priss argue the whole way home, ran up to Linna who was still sitting on the ground. "Hey Linna, you okay." she asked with concern in her voice. She then remembered she was in the presence of the Japanese Emperor and quickly bowed to him. Priss and Sylia watched. "We let this go with the Emperor here." Sylia said. "Fine. But it isn't over with." Priss answered. She then looked over to the geisha, badly shaken in her bloodied robes. She ignored protocol before the Emperor as she took her helmet off, sat down next to Linna and put her arm around her. Linna leaned into Priss' side as she finally released the pent up emotions she had within her and began to weep. Sylia and Nene looked on silently before turning their attention back to their honored guest. Sylia took her helmet off, as Nene followed suit. "We weren't properly introduced in the temple. My name's Sylia Stingray, and this is Nene Romanova. "An honor to meet both of you young ladies. I do wish it were under better circumstances." As Meiji and the others began to converse, Priss began to stroke Linna's cheek. She looked up at her, and sighed heavily. "All those nuns and monks... oh, God. Oh, Irene." "Irene?" Priss asked, surprised by the sudden sensation of jealousy that she felt. "A friend I'd made while in the temple." she answered. She then looked down at herself, and laughed bitterly. "It's funny; I once was shocked by you when I saw the scars on your body. Now look at me. I'm covered in blood, and I'm bald." Priss looked at her for a second or two, before tilting Linna's head downward and kissing her atop her shaved head. "I didn't fall in love with your hair, Linna-chan. I fell in love with you. Don't ever forget that, beloved." Linna smiled again, and began to relax, when she saw movement along the tree line. "Oh shit." she whispered. Getting up out of Priss' embrace, she unsheathed her sword quickly as she took up a fighting stance. "Sensei, it's the o-niwaban." "What?" Nene shrieked. "Shit!" Priss growled, once again forgetting protocol in front of the emperor. Sylia and the others watched silently as the seven remaining ninjas of the hunting party began to slowly filter out of the forest. The four women instinctively surrounded the Emperor as they prepared for the upcoming battle. The Emperor began to worry, as he felt the tension in the air rising. He regained his composure though as he saw the figure now coming out of the woods. "Good news, Sylia-san." he said, "It looks like your fifth Knight Saber is here." "Fifth Knight Saber?" Sylia asked. She looked in the direction the Emperor was indicating, and allowed a gasp to escape as she caught sight of the woman coming toward them. The tight black corset she wore left very little to the imagination. She reached up with one hand behind her, undoing the bun her hair was in and allowing the dark black locks to cascade down her back and shoulders. In her other hand, she held an unusually long katana still within its saya (scabbard). "Hello, sister." Galatia said in a voice devoid of any warmth. Her black lips twisted into a malicious smile. ---To Be Continued---
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