El-Hazard is the property of Pioneer/AIC. All original characters are property of dooky. Note- Mari's story about the nuclear bomb is actually true. Cheers to the Super Furry Animals for drawing my attention to it. I think I'll give a special prize to anyone who can spot the Babylon 5 reference... EL-HAZARD: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME The Shape of Things So Far- Alielle discovers the truth about Mycea, and advises Parnasse to do something about it. He ends his relationship with Mycea. Afura steals the prophecy cube from Qawoor and takes it with her to the Holy City. Alielle receives a message, apparently from her mother. Jinnai advances further into Allied territory. Parnasse strikes up a tentative friendship with the mysterious Tenax. Qawoor is possessed again by Arjah, who takes her to Dorusland to meet Sakura. He tells Sakura to use more zero energy, then abandons Qawoor. Alielle goes to meet her mother, but the message is a trap, and she is captured by Jinnai and the Phantom Tribe. Doht gets into a confrontation with Rune after he holds an illegal rally- already angry after Alielle's kidnapping, she hits him. Miz is shocked to hear Doht revealing details of the Heretic Prophecy, and decides Afura has betrayed them. Mycea worms her way back into Parnasse's affections, while Qawoor is rescued by the Purple Lightning, who is, in reality, the entire Ralielle family. Makoto's dreams return, while Afura is threatened with excommunication if she leaves the Holy City. Still without power, Shayla nominates Nanami as her Fire Proxy. Diva dies in the company of Jinnai and Sakura- but to Jinnai's horror, her death puts all of the Bugrom into sleep mode... THE TENTH MONTH: "THE QUEEN IS DEAD... LONG LIVE THE QUEEN" Day 274 IT'S RAINING NEWS Kagsi Vulpix, the Roshtarian Observer's deputy editor and royal correspondent, analyses a fortnight of political surprises. There can be few things more surprising than being punched in the face by a respectable, mild mannered princess. But one man, namely the notorious headline-grabber, bandwagon-jumper and angry-mob-choreographer Jennown Doht, is now able to savour the memory of that unique experience. The confrontation has the gutter tabloids stumped, now completely unable to reconcile their fiercely anti-Opaque and pro-royal mandates. Others, however, have been keener to offer comment on the punch. Celebrated pugilist Masamichi Fujisawa noted that "it was a good punch. She kept her balance well and put her full weight behind it," then adding, "that slimy little rat Doht got what he deserved." Hardly a surprising opinion, since Fujisawa is a fervent supporter of the Opaque cause. Jennown Doht sought to further damage to the image of the Opaques with a bizarre proclamation that they are mentioned in a prophecy as a source of evil. This has provoked shock and confusion from regional priestesses all over Roshtaria and abroad- all of whom claim to have heard nothing about the mysterious prophecy. Roshtaria's chief priestess, Melisse Cartac, pointed out that "the Holy Order has a duty to inform all chief priestesses of developments like this before releasing them to the public." For their part, officials in the Holy City are remaining tight-lipped about the affair. More sobering has been the tragic news of Princess Alielle's kidnapping. Already six months pregnant with her first child, the princess has become a true international celebrity, and her capture has left the nation stunned. Precisely how she fell into Bugrom hands is still unknown, but rumours of Phantom Tribe involvement abound, despite official denials. Whatever the cause, messages of sympathy have flooded in to Princess Fatora, who has not been seen in public since the event. The current state of the Bugrom is also the subject of much speculation. Last week, reports from occupied territory spoke of Bugrom troops literally stopped in their tracks, refusing to move. Whilst in most nations, things seem to have returned to normal, there are still rumours that Styrenia is being single-handedly defended by the Demon God Sakura. All of which has led many Roshtarians to wonder how our nation would be defended, should the Bugrom attack. The Muldoon priesthood is in apparent disarray, with Shayla-Shayla incapacitated, Afura Mann still in the Holy City, and Qawoor Towles' whereabouts unknown. Some are now suggesting that Ifurita and her reclusive twin should be brought out of retirement, while others remain adamant that the deployment of such powerful weapons is a mistake Roshtaria cannot afford to repeat. The debate continues... K.V. "Come on, Groucho. Concentrate." Nahato smiled and shook his head. "This is absolutely pointless." Jinnai looked up irritably. "Shut up. If you don't have anything to contribute, keep your stupid mouth shut!" "Do you realise how pathetic this looks?" Nahato laughed. He could well afford to taunt Jinnai right now. For the first time, Jinnai had no choice but to acknowledge the Phantom Tribe's vital role in this war. Jinnai, for his part, did his best to ignore the arrogant Phantom Tribe boy, and continued to offer encouragement to Groucho. Out of all of the Bugrom, Groucho was the most independent from the hive mind. Thus, he was the least afflicted when Diva's death initiated a sudden shutdown of the Bugrom. With some effort, Jinnai was still able to communicate with him. For one week, Groucho had served as Jinnai's only contact with his deactivated troops. He had hoped that, through Groucho, he might be able to spur them back into action. It hadn't worked. Jinnai was relying on Sakura to maintain their hold on Styrenia, and the Phantom Tribe were taking care of the rest. The new queen was still inside her egg, and there was little for Jinnai to do until she hatched. So he continued his futile coaxing of Groucho. Nahato shrugged, and exited the chamber. The war may not have been going too smoothly for Jinnai, but it was going fantastically well for him. This was precisely the sort of conflict that favoured the Phantom Tribe- minimum combat, maximum control. Finding himself inside the main chamber, Nahato walked up the steps and stood before the vacant throne. "Ah, yes..." he said, sitting down. "Very comfortable." "Don't you want yours?" Mari asked hopefully. Alielle pushed away the squares of honeycomb she had been given as rations. "It's disgusting, I'm sick of the stuff. You're welcome to it." "Hey, great!" Mari replied, taking the food. "Are you sure you don't want it? It's so nice..." "How can you enjoy eating something like that?" Alielle challenged. "It's too sweet. It can't be very nutritious. A pregnant mother needs proper nutrition, don't they realise that?" Mari shook her head. "It's nutritious enough to sustain an army of giant insects, isn't it?" "Yes. Insects!" Alielle shuddered. "I don't even want to THINK about where that stuff might have come from." "I've studied insect biology," Mari said. "I could probably guess." "Keep it to yourself," Alielle sighed. "Anyway... you seem to be in a much better mood than usual today." "Of course I am," Mari responded casually. "It's my birthday." Alielle's eyes widened. "It is? Mari, that's awful. Imagine spending your birthday in a place like this..." "Hey," Mari frowned slightly. "Are you trying to spoil my good mood?" "No, no," Alielle said, once again finding herself questioning Mari's sanity. "You go ahead and enjoy it. I'm afraid I wasn't able to get you a present, though." Mari lay down on the floor of the cell. "Not a problem. I'm content to spend today relaxing..." Something caught Alielle's eye. She gasped. "Mari, look at this!" "What is it?" Mari asked, struggling to sit up. "That egg. I think it's hatching!" "The queen?" Mari looked across at the large egg on the other side of the bars, but could see no evidence of movement. Alielle shook her head decisively. "No. One of the small ones underneath it." "Hey, you're right." Mari saw that one of the lesser eggs had indeed broken, and something was trying to climb out of it. "I thought those eggs weren't going to hatch." "Well, you were wrong. About this one, at least." The pair watched as a tiny, greenish-blue Bugrom staggered free of the egg. It surveyed its surroundings cautiously. "This is weird," Alielle observed. "All of the Bugrom went to sleep as soon as Queen Diva died. But this one seems okay." "It looks kind of confused," Mari said. "Poor thing... without the queen to guide it, I guess it doesn't know what to do." The Bugrom suddenly caught sight of Alielle and Mari. Intrigued, it walked unsteadily over to the cell. "Oh no. Oh no..." Alielle panicked. "It's coming over here!" Mari remained still. It didn't LOOK especially threatening... He insect fit easily through the bars of the cell. It seemed drawn to Alielle, and moved towards her until it was just inches away. "Yymynyr," it said. "Eeew! It's horrible!" Alielle shuffled away in fear. The Bugrom looked slightly perturbed, then patiently followed Alielle to her new location. "Yymynyr," it repeated. Mari smiled. "Hey, princess. I think she likes you!" Alielle frowned. "Yeah, well I don't like her! Go away!" she commanded the small bug. "Wait... what do you mean, 'her'? How do you know it's female?" "Just a guess. It looks like a girl." "Well, I wish it'd go away!" Alielle said uncomfortably. She looked at the bug, still standing in front of her. "Didn't you hear me? I said go away, you icky bug!" Whether or not the bug could actually understand Alielle's words, it seemed to get the message. It backed away, then approached Mari. "Hi there, little bug," Mari said. She cautiously extended an arm, and gently stroked the Bugrom's head. This had an immediate effect. The bug quickly climbed onto her lap. "Yymynyr, yymynyr!" it said again. "You're so cute!" Mari beamed. "I always wanted a pet!" "A pet Bugrom?" Alielle said sceptically. "That's impossible. They're vicious! They're dangerous!" Mari didn't look up. "But this one's so friendly... Do you have a name, little bug? I think I'll call you Lora." "Lora?" Alielle echoed, incredulous. "Punk reference. It's a good name," Mari replied. The bug stared intently at Mari. She stared back. Suddenly, momentarily, she felt an odd sensation. "Yymynyr! Yymynyr! Yymynyr!" the bug said emphatically. "That's strange..." Mari said. "The sounds are still meaningless, but I understand the intention. I think... I know what she's saying." "Then what is she saying?" Alielle asked. Mari smiled at the bug. "How sweet! She thinks I'm her mother." Qawoor carried her plate through to the kitchen. "Thank you so much for your hospitality, Mrs Ralielle." "Oh, don't mention it!" Adena smiled. "The pleasure's all ours, having a chief priestess in our house. Now, would you like something else to eat?" "Well, I've had plenty already, and I don't want to put you to any more trouble..." Adena laughed. "Nonsense! A young girl like you needs building up. Just wait there. I'm sure there's another cake in one of these cupboards..." Qawoor smiled politely. Please, not more food. In the past week, she'd already gained eleven pounds in weight as a result of Adena's persistent overfeeding. Precisely how Alielle had managed to maintain her slender figure under such conditions was a complete mystery. There was a small explosion in the back garden. "Oh, shit!" a male voice cursed. "That's knackered it!" "Guanes!" Adena called angrily to her husband. "Watch your language! There's a priestess present!" "Sorry." Adena's husband was an engineer. Qawoor had seen very little of him, since he spent most of his time outside, tinkering with old vehicles. It wasn't uncommon to witness, explosions, suspicious clouds of black smoke and profuse swearing coming from the back garden. As for Adena and Guanes' multitude of children... Qawoor still hadn't been able to learn their names. This was mostly because she had such difficulty telling them apart. In fact, she could only conclusively tell the males from the females by the colour of their dhars. The presence of a priestess in the house had had a noticeable effect on the Ralielle children- Qawoor had already secured the affections of most of the boys, and at least one of the girls. Serasse appeared in the doorway. He was the only one whose name she could remember, since he had been the one who rescued her. "Oh, Serasse," she nodded. "Lady Qawoor," he smiled. "So, have you figured out how you ended up here yet?" "I'm still not completely sure," she replied. "I just remember being possessed by the demon... he told me we were on a transport. We must have flown very fast to get here so quickly." Qawoor was well aware that Arjah wasn't really a demon- at least, not in the traditional sense. But she still preferred to describe him that way. As a priestess, she knew that a demon was something that could be defeated with the correct knowledge. Arjah probably couldn't be beaten so easily... She sighed. "I wish I could get back to Roshtaria. If the Bugrom attack, they may need my help to hold them back." "That's true," Serasse replied. "But you know, I don't think it's just the Bugrom we have to worry about." "What do you mean?" Qawoor asked. "Come on. I'll show you." Qawoor and Serasse crouched behind the row of bushes. "I think I can hear them coming," Serasse hissed. "Who?" "The Bugrom." He snapped a branch from one of the smaller bushes. "There's a patrol that comes this way at the same time every day." "What are we doing?" Qawoor asked nervously, not wishing to make her fear of insects known. "You'll see. Just stay out of sight." The small deployment of Bugrom became visible as they reached the top of the hill. Qawoor shrank back into the undergrowth as they approached. Serasse gave a cunning smile. "Now... watch this." As the Bugrom passed by, Serasse threw the branch towards them. Qawoor waited for it to hit them and bounce off, but it didn't. "What happened to it?" she whispered. "It just passed through," he replied. "Just like all the other patrols. They're not real Bugrom." Qawoor watched the patrol move away. "Then... what are they?" "Illusions. Phantom Tribe. We first noticed it a few weeks ago. Something like three out of every four patrols weren't real. That was until a week ago... since then, none of them have been real." "It makes sense, I suppose," Qawoor pondered. "Nobody could work out how the Bugrom got so many troops so quickly." Serasse nodded. "Right. We think that the Bugrom are using their real troops to advance, and then use the Phantom Tribe for most of the occupation duties. That frees up more bugs for more attacks." Qawoor sighed. "I understand. And now I know that it's even more important that I get back to Roshtaria." Miz closed the door behind her, and nodded to the room's two other occupants. "Are you girls ready?" Neither of them replied. Shayla stood next to the table, looking despondent. Her clothes, which were green and grey in contrast to the reds and oranges of her usual wardrobe, seemed to reflect her mood. On the other side of the table was Nanami. She felt ridiculous. She was wearing the uniform of a trainee elemental priestess, which Miz had managed to obtain from a colleague in Roshtaria. It was clearly designed more for ceremony than for fashion, incongruously decorated with all three elemental colours- blue for water, green for wind, and red for fire. Most important of all were the booster gems- Nanami had counted at least fifteen- which were sewn into the garment in order to increase the wearer's control over their chosen element. The Lamp of Fire lay on the table between them. "If you're ready," Miz said, "I'll begin the ceremony." This certainly wasn't the first time that Miz had broken the rules, but even for her, this was a drastic action. Princess Rune had given the go-ahead to the installation of Nanami as Fire Proxy, but there was no such approval from the Alpha Priestess- she wasn't even aware that the ceremony was taking place. Just six months ago, this would have been unthinkable, but the increasingly threatening tone of the Holy Order's elite towards both the Muldoon priesthood and Roshtaria in general had convinced Miz to take action. Driven on by the urge to protect the priesthood that she loved, and her suspicion over the Holy Order's apparent abandonment of its political neutrality, she had agreed to participate in something that bordered on the blasphemous... depending upon one's definition of such things. Positioning herself between Shayla and Nanami, she began. "In accordance with ancient ritual, I call upon the spirits of the great elements to help us in our time of need. The Priestess of Fire is stricken. Please grant us the favour of making her power accessible to this acolyte. We call upon the element of fire." "Fire," Shayla continued. "I, Shayla-Shayla of Agata'asti, Chief Priestess of Fire, agree to share my power with this acolyte. I call upon the element of fire." Nanami took over. "Fire. I, Nanami Jinnai of Shinonome, acolyte of the Holy Order, submit myself to the will of the elemental spirits. I call upon the element of fire." The Lamp of Fire began to glow. "Nanami Jinnai, you are hereby recognised as the substitute Priestess of Fire," Miz finished. "I pronounce you... Fire Proxy." Without Nanami, control over the restaurant had passed into the more than accommodating hands of Mycea. Which meant that very little work was being done, by Mycea at least. However, she was clearly a person who enjoyed being in charge. "Tenax! I've got customers here waiting to be served! Come on, come one, come on! Where the hell are you?" "I'm here! I'm here!" Tenax quickly emerged from the kitchen, somehow balancing six trays. Mycea turned back to Parnasse. "Anyway, Parny. My dad says that there's this rumour that the Phantom tribe are all helping the Bugrom, and..." "Yeah, I heard the same rumours," Parnasse sighed. Mycea certainly talked a lot. He was regretting the decision to let her back into his life, and today was a perfect example of why. Oh, her irrational dislike of Opaques was one reason, but there were others. This morning, he'd removed his dhar. Already, several people he was only vaguely acquainted with had commented on it, but so far Mycea had failed to notice. It seemed unfair, somehow. He was expected to notice when she had her hair cut by so much as a millimetre- surely it wasn't too much to ask for her to notice the absence of a blue diamond strategically positioned in the centre of his forehead. "Hey, Parnasse. Where's your dhar?" He looked up. It was Tenax who had noticed. "Oh... yes!" Mycea added. "I was just going to mention that." "Is it an expression of solidarity with the movement opposing the Dorusian government?" Tenax asked. Parnasse shook his head. "I'm not really into politics. It's more for Alielle's sake. She did it before she was captured... it seemed so important to her. I guess if I'm doing it in solidarity with anyone, it's her." "I see," Tenax replied. "I'm... really sorry about what happened to your sister, Parnasse." Parnasse went to respond, but Mycea beat him to it. "Well, Parnasse was devastated after it happened. It's just fortunate that I was around to look after him." Tenax nodded. "It's nice to see the two of you back together. I'm very happy for you." Everybody seemed to express approval of this statement. Paradoxically, however, Mycea didn't believe it, Parnasse didn't agree with it, and Tenax didn't mean it. It was still only mid-afternoon, but Makoto had already burned himself out for the day. He lay back in the chair and drifted off to sleep. The same dream as before. The first few precognitive dreams that he'd had were just that- visions of the future. But the dream haunting him now was different. They were future events- at least, he assumed they were- but they were mixed up. Non-linear. He was standing in Florestica. There were Bugrom everywhere. In the foreground, he could see Ifurita and Afura. "So the Heretic Prophecy... is coming true after all?" Ifurita asked. "I didn't think it was possible." "It's all true. Every word of it," Afura replied. "Except... I still haven't..." Afura was cut off as the scene changed. Now, he and Ifurita were in some sort of tunnel. Ifurita was nervously pointing her staff at... well, something... and then... A blast of energy hit Ifurita in the back. She cried out in pain. Now, he could see Arjah. The face, white on black, then black on white, contorted with laughter. "Do you understand now, Makoto Mizuhara? Do you?" There was another shift in perspective. Still in the strange tunnel, but now the focus was on Ifurita again. "I know what I must do..." she said sadly. "No!" Makoto heard himself say. "I can't let this happen! Not again! We'll find another way!" "I wish there was another way, but there isn't. Please forgive me, Makoto." "But... you could be killed! Please, listen to me!" "That is not a certainty. I don't want to leave you, but I..." Suddenly, he could see Ifurita being engulfed by blackness. The final image was Arjah. Not the usual spectral vision, but the solid, living Jahad Ito Arundel. "All shall be nothing, and nothing shall be all. Now do you understand?" Makoto jumped. He was awake again. As disturbing as the dream was, he was almost used to it by now. This was the sixth time he's experienced it. He didn't know what it meant, although he did know that 'all shall be nothing, and nothing shall be all' was a line from the Heretic Prophecy. He sighed, and went back to his calculations. Day 278 The news was unconfirmed, but it had come from a reliable source. The Ralielle family sat silently in the living room. "Our little girl... captured," Adena sighed. "I don't want to believe it." "There must be something we can do," Guanes said, anger evident in his voice. "We can't just sit here!" Qawoor shook her head. "Mr Ralielle... I know this must be hard, but right now there really isn't anything you can do. We have no idea where Alielle is being held. And even if we did know, this is just a small resistance movement." "Qawoor's right," said Adena. "There's no point going off on some futile crusade with no hope of success." "If only there was a way for me to get back to Roshtaria," Qawoor said. "Perhaps then, I could do something to help." "Hmm..." Guanes pondered. "Is that so?" "It's very impressive," Qawoor remarked. "But... what is it?" "A little pet project of mine," Guanes smiled. "I call it the Bullet." The Bullet was a transport... of sorts. It was smaller, narrower, and had a covered roof with an enclosed cockpit. It was painted in green and brown camouflage colours, and was perhaps the most bizarre looking vehicle Qawoor had ever seen. "I made it from bits and pieces of other transports," he explained enthusiastically. "It has one pilot, and can take up to eight passengers. It's twice as fast as any transport currently available. But the truth is, I don't have any use for it right now. You, on the other hand... you could use this to get back to Roshtaria." "That's very kind of you..." Qawoor said. "But unfortunately, I'm not a qualified pilot." "It doesn't matter. I've designed the controls to be very simple. A child could fly this thing." Qawoor smiled. "Well... if you're sure, Mr Ralielle..." "Please, take it! Just... try not to dent the bodywork, okay?" "Thank you so much," said Qawoor. "And I promise... I promise I'll do everything I can to bring your daughter back." "Okay, that's thirty nine coils," Makoto said. "This should do it." He slotted the coiled wire into the old handheld weapon, and set about connecting it to the power unit. Ifurita watched him intently. "I'm so proud of you, Makoto. Thanks to you, we may have found a way to beat the Phantom Tribe." "Yeah," Makoto sighed. "But I still don't like the idea of designing weapons. I realise there's a war going on, but it still feels wrong." Ifurita nodded. "These things have to be done." "You're right. I just wish it wasn't always me that ended up doing it." He got up and walked over to the window. "Hey, look... it's Amiri. I was wondering where she was." The doctor walked up the path, and stopped in the doorway. Her expression was solemn in the extreme, and she carried a newspaper under one arm. "Good morning, doctor," Ifurita said. "Is something wrong?" "Have you seen the papers?" she asked. Without waiting for a response, she handed Ifurita her copy of the Roshtarian Observer. Ifurita unfolded the newspaper, and she and Makoto read the headline. 'FOUR DEAD IN JAGDHASTICA BOMBING.' "A bomb?" Makoto gasped. "How? What happened?" "Last night, an Opaque home was attacked," Amiri replied. "I think the motive is pretty clear." "Four dead?" Makoto read, aghast. "My God... one of them was only twelve years old. Do they have any idea who did it?" "Of course not," Amiri said. "There must be hundreds... thousands of potential suspects. It's a shame... they were such a nice family." "You mean you knew them?" "Just barely. I knew them before we left the Phantom Tribe." She sat down in a convenient chair, and looked up at the ceiling. "Things were different then. We all had the same dream... that we'd leave the old life of oppression behind, and find something better." She frowned. "Well, it didn't work out that way for them, did it?" "I really wish there was something we could do, doctor," Ifurita said sympathetically. Amiri shook her head. "No, no. I can't let this bother me. I have to carry on. I'll be okay. Now, do you have anything to show me?" "Well, yeah," Makoto said, picking up his creation. "Now that we've calculated the frequency of Phantom Tribe powers, I've come up with a weapon that might be able to reverse their polarity, and disrupt them for a short period of time. Right now, it's just a prototype. I've adapted an old energy pistol... it still needs a little work, but this is basically it." Amiri studied the weapon. "Very good. Yes, excellent. Can you make more?" "Well, that's one of the problems," Makoto sighed. "Yes, in theory, but each one will take a while to construct, plus there's a limited number of parts available." "And we'll have to test it somehow," Ifurita added. "Wow, you go on holiday for six weeks, and the whole world goes to hell." Princess Formyka paced up and down the private audience chamber. "Just what happened?" "It's a tragedy," Rune sighed. "Alielle's gone... Fatora's devastated, as you can imagine." Formyka nodded in acknowledgement. "Is it true what they've been saying? That she won't speak to anyone?" "Yes. This happened once before... when she was young. Princess Formyka, maybe you should talk to her. You are her friend, after all." "That might not be such a good idea," Formyka admitted. "I'm not all that great in this sort of situation. Besides, I think a visit from me is probably one thing Fatora could do without right now." "But somebody has to talk to her," Rune reaffirmed. "Somebody has to bring her back to reality." Formyka paused in consideration of this point. "Maybe, maybe not. Fatora's been through a lot of bad stuff in the past, but she always makes it through in the end. She'll deal with this in her own way. I don't know how, and I don't know if I want to hang around to find out... but believe me, she'll think of something." Doht entered the library, and found Afura engrossed in her work as usual. "I brought you your newspaper," he said. "Roshtarian Observer, isn't it? Honestly, I don't know why you insist on reading such liberal nonsense." Afura took the newspaper from him. "For your information, it's independent. It doesn't come down on either side of the debate. It just presents the facts. Not like that vindictive scandal sheet you write for." He shook his head in exasperation. "The press has a duty to reflect the mood of the public at large." "Really?" Afura responded. "I thought its duty was to inform. My mistake." She glanced at the front page. "What's... this?" "What?" Afura scanned across the main article. "Four dead? I don't believe it..." She glanced up at Doht. "You must be very proud." "Excuse me?" he said uncomfortably. "It looks like all that rhetoric of yours is finally paying off. This IS what you wanted, isn't it?" Doht looked shocked. "That is a ridiculous accusation! I... strongly disapprove of this sort of action." "Well, I'm sure those four dead people would be grateful to hear you say that. Let me ask you a question, Doht. If you really disapprove of this, then why have you been spurring people on for so long? What WERE you trying to achieve?" "My intention was to influence the thinking of the Roshtarian government," he said defensively. Afura continued. "And at no point did it occur to you that this might happen? That out of all those thousands of people that you were whipping up into a frenzy, a few might take matters into their own hands?" Doht began to pace. "There are sometimes people who take things too far. I don't condone that." "Yes, but that's not the point. The point is that you went ahead and got people angry, knowing that this could happen as a result." "Oh, what are you saying? That I don't have the right to free speech? That I can never open my mouth for fear of inadvertently inspiring some madman to commit murder?" For the first time in the conversation, Afura raised her voice. "You're a representative of the Holy Order. When you speak, you speak for all of us. These people did what they did in the name of the Holy Order, don't you see that? In the name of all of us, including me. Now, you may be happy to live with something like that on your conscience, but I am not. We are a religious order. We do NOT advocate killing." "Of course we don't," Doht sighed. "Good. Then has the Alpha Priestess issued a condemnation of this bombing?" "A... condemnation? Well, I don't really think that's necessary. Everybody knows the Holy Order disapproves of such acts..." "Apparently not. Apparently the perpetrators were unaware of that." She stood up. "Perhaps I should talk to the Alpha Priestess." Doht blocked her route. "I'm afraid the Alpha Priestess is..." "Busy?" Afura guessed. "Tell me, am I ever going to get to see her?" Shayla sat on the bench and observed Nanami, who was in the midst of a startling pyrotechnic display. "No. That's not it. Higher than that. You're not controlling it right. No. No. You need to..." Nanami frowned, and the flames around her died away. "Just what is your problem, Shayla? I've only been doing this for a few days, and I think I'm doing pretty well!" Shayla looked up casually. "You do, do you? Well, you're not. Sorry." "Hey! Am I or am I not making fire, Shayla?" "So you made a few flames. Big deal. The Lamp can practically do that by itself. The point is that you have to be able to control the fire." "I can!" Nanami insisted. Shayla shook her head. "No, you can't. I should know." "Why are you being so mean to me?" Nanami complained. "Ever since I've started training, all you've done is criticise. I'm sick of it! You're just bitter because you lost all your power!" Nanami expected Shayla to hit back in fury, but she didn't. She just chuckled to herself. "What?" "Hmm? Oh, nothing, nothing... Okay, if you think you've got control, let's see you make a fireball." Nanami smiled in acceptance of the challenge. "Okay! One fireball coming up!" She walked back to the centre of the lawn and composed herself. Once again, she let the flames rise up around her in a cylindrical formation. Now, for the fireball. This should be easy enough... She extended an arm towards the fire. Actually, this was quite hot... "Ahhh, shit!" she cried. "My sleeve's on fire! Help!" Help came almost immediately, in the form of a bucket of water thrown by Shayla. The flames quickly died away, and Nanami stood, looking most undignified, in a small puddle. "I thought that might come in handy," Shayla commented, glancing at the now empty bucket. Nanami sighed heavily. "I don't get it. I always thought a fire priestess was immune to fire. I mean... I've never seen you get burnt." Shayla sat back down on the bench. "Of course we're not immune to fire. We're not fireproof. We just learn how to manipulate the fire so that it never actually touches us. That's why control is so vital with this element." "But I still don't understand," Nanami protested. "I've seen you get pissed off and start shooting fire at random. It doesn't look very controlled. It looks like chaos." "Look, I'll explain." Shayla gestured for Nanami to sit down next to her. She did. "The spirits of each element have their own... personalities, almost. Water is calm and placid. Wind is... pretty strange, actually. But fire... fire is angry. If you want to control the fire spirits, you have to understand that anger." "So you're saying that I should be more angry? Wouldn't that give me less control?" Shayla shook her head. "No... you see, anger puts you at one with the spirits. It they approve of your anger, if they can understand it, then they'll respect you." "Now I see," Nanami replied. "I have to think about stuff that makes me angry, right?" "Yeah," Shayla said. "When a priestess gets more experienced, the spirits co-operate automatically. But for beginners, making yourself angry is a good technique." Nanami frowned slightly. "Hmm... is this why you've been so mean to me these past few days? Were you TRYING to make me angry?" Shayla just smiled. "Never mind that. Have you come up with something that makes you angry?" "Yep," Nanami nodded. "My brother... the big freak! Nothing gets me angry like..." "That might not be such a good choice," Shayla warned. "Let me put it this way... if you could get to your brother right now, what would you do?" "I'd probably kill him," Nanami shrugged. "That's not the purest motive in the world, is it?" Shayla challenged. "I know you have your reasons... I'd most likely do the same... but the fire spirits might not approve, especially considering they're so new to you. Sure, they're angry, but they're not barbaric." "So what should I think about?" "Anger that... that you can do something positive about," Shayla advised. "A just reason to be angry." Nanami looked thoughtful. She got up and walked back to her position on the lawn. The flames rose around her much more quickly this time. They grew higher and wider. Suddenly, multiple fireballs shot outwards in all directions. Finally, Nanami launched herself up through the column of fire, and soared over Shayla's head. "That's an advanced manoeuvre..." Shayla said to herself. "I wonder how she's planning to..." Nanami landed unceremoniously in a row of bushes. "That was amazing!" Shayla exclaimed. "The spirits must have taken a liking to you. Just what DID you think about?" Nanami staggered to her feet. "Just... someone. Someone I feel indebted to, somehow..." Mari cradled her pet Bugrom, holding it protectively to her chest. "You're my sweet little Lora-chan, aren't you? Aren't you? Would you like some more food, Lora-chan?" Alielle frowned in disapproval. "Mari, that's OUR food you're feeding it!" "You don't even like the food. Anyway, she needs feeding. She's always so hungry! Aren't you, girl?" "Ymyysyyr," Lora responded. Mari laughed. "Isn't that cute?" She turned to Alielle. "Hey, wanna hold her?" "Eeew!" Alielle recoiled. "No way!" "Aww..." Mari said in disappointment. "Why don't you like my Lora- chan?" "Isn't it obvious? She's... it's a Bugrom." "So?" Mari challenged. "She's totally harmless. The Bugrom are only dangerous because they're part of the hive mind. They do what the queen says. But Lora-chan doesn't have a queen. I think people in El-Hazard are so accustomed to being afraid of the Bugrom, they're blind to how... fascinating they can be. When I look at Lora-chan, I see a cute little animal. You probably think I'm insane, but that's what I see." "Actually..." Alielle pondered, "I don't think you're insane. It's funny, but I always used to think the Eye of God was beautiful. I still do. But there aren't many people who'd agree with me." "That reminds me of a story I heard once," Mari replied, setting Lora down on the ground. "Fifty years ago, Japan was at war with some other nations on Earth. It ended pretty badly for the Japanese. Two cities were hit with nuclear bombs... Earth's equivalent of the Eye of God, I suppose. When a nuclear bomb explodes, it creates a huge, mushroom-shaped cloud. They're the universal symbol for destruction on Earth. Anyway, there was a farmer outside the city when one of the bombs dropped. He saw the cloud, and he didn't know what it was. At that moment, he said it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He had no idea that it posed a threat to him. He just automatically looked for the beauty. I've always found that story to be... beautiful, in a strange way." "You think?" Alielle said. "I found it a little disturbing." "Yeah, a lot of people say that. It must be how I tell it." "But I do see your point," Alielle conceded. "I suppose, viewed from the right angle, anything can be beautiful." She looked down at Lora. "Even a Bugrom." "Yymnyysy!" Lora said, running happily up to Alielle. "Eeek!" Alielle cried, jumping back. Mari smiled. "I told you she likes you." "This is driving me crazy!" Jinnai raged. He looked at the stationary Groucho. "What's wrong with you? Get up and move, you idiot!" "Gnslr..." Groucho responded weakly. "How am I supposed to run an invasion when my army refuses to move?" he continued. "It could be worse," Nahato commented. "Have you considered the possibility that the new queen may not hatch at all?" Jinnai glared at him. "Aw, lay off! I've got enough to worry about right now just trying to communicated with this moron!" In illustration of his point, he punched Groucho in the chest. To his surprise, Groucho stood up in response. "Wha... what did I do?" Jinnai asked, confused. Nahato glanced around. "They're all waking up." Sure enough, Bugrom who had not moved in over a week suddenly regained consciousness and stood to attention. "Yes! Yes!" Jinnai called triumphantly. "It's about time!" "Mklgrg hsnwc," said Groucho. "You're hungry? Is that all you have to say for yourself?" Nahato stood up. "If the Bugrom are active again... that means the new queen must be hatching." "You're right," Jinnai said. "Come on!" He, Nahato and Groucho hurried out of the chamber. "She's hatching! She's hatching!" Jinnai ran up to the egg, followed by his two companions. Alielle and Mari looked up. Quickly, Mari hid Lora behind them. "Hey!" Alielle called to Jinnai. "Move out of the way! We can't see!" "Shut up!" Jinnai replied. He watched with growing anticipation as cracks formed along the surface of the egg. He found himself remembering what Diva had said before she died... 'I know that you will find a way, Mr Jinnai. You always have. Regardless of how this may have started, you have truly earned your position as leader of the Bugrom.' There was something about that statement that still bothered him. He just didn't know what it was. Just how was he supposed to educate this new queen anyway? He didn't have so much as a fraction of Diva's knowledge. The egg split. The two halves fell away, and the new queen was visible at last. She was not what Jinnai had been expecting. In human terms, she looked to be about five or six years old. She seemed to be aware of her situation, as she irritably tried to shake off the yellow amniotic fluid that covered her body. But most remarkable were her features. She looked astonishingly similar to Diva. Her hair, although limp and matted from her time inside the egg, was clearly the same colour. She looked just like a younger version of the old queen. And then she spoke. "I am Diva," she said. "I'm queen." "D... Diva?" Jinnai echoed. He wasn't sure what was more surprising- the fact that the newborn queen already had the power of speech, or the fact that she thought her name was Diva. "Diva's dead," Jinnai said, as sensitively as he could. The queen looked at him quizzically. "We are all Diva." She stepped down from the pile of smaller eggs. Jinnai didn't dare take his eyes off her, for fear of missing what she might do next. "Hello, Mr Jinnai," the queen said casually. "I look forward to working with you." "Um... thanks," Jinnai replied. How did she know his name? She noticed Nahato. "Oh," she sighed. "You again." Then she saw Groucho. "Ah!" she smiled. "One of my Bugrom!" She ran over to him, and latched onto one of his legs. "I love all of my Bugrom very, very much!" she said happily. "Klmnsktr rvxdj?" Grouch whispered to Jinnai. "Don't look at me," Jinnai replied. "She's YOUR queen." In the cell, Alielle looked to Mari. "Do you understand any of this?" "No," Mari admitted. "Me neither." Fujisawa was awakened by a loud thud from outside. "Masamichi?" Miz said drowsily. "What was that?" "I'll go and check," he sighed. He swung his legs out of the bed, and made his way to the window. "Is someone down there?" he called. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw a strange vehicle next to the house. The pilot emerged from the cockpit. "Sorry, Mr Fujisawa!" Qawoor called. "I think I dented your wall!" Day 287 "Make them stop! It hurts! Make them stop!" Jinnai regarded the new queen with a panicked expression. One minute, she had been fine... the next, she was convulsing on the floor, apparently in a great deal of pain. "Make who stop? What's wrong with you?" he urged. "Them! They're hurting my Bugrom! They're hurting them and I don't like it!" she cried. Nahato stepped forward. "Your troops are engaged in fighting along the border of Gunan. She must be picking up on that..." Jinnai looked at the queen, then back to Nahato. "Damn it... get onto your people. Cloak my troops and have them withdraw for now." He clutched his head, and walked away from the scene. Sakura joined him. "What's wrong with Chibi-Diva?" "Chibi-Diva?" Jinnai echoed. Sakura smiled proudly. "It's my name for her. Like that Chibi-Usa kid in Sailor Moon." Jinnai shook his head. "Sailor Moon? You're worse than Kurai... Anyway, she's freaking out because we're under attack in Gunan. It's the hive mind. She feels what the Bugrom feel." "But Diva never freaked out like that." "It must be to do with her age. A young queen might be more sensitive to the Bugrom's feelings... or maybe she just can't cope with them yet. I don't know." "Katsuhiko," Sakura asked, "how come she knows so much stuff? Didn't Diva say you'd have to educate her?" Jinnai nodded. "Yeah, but she seems to have all of Diva's memories." "Then why did Diva make such a big deal about you educating her if she already knows everything?" Jinnai shrugged. "I guess we'll never know." The blue-green messenger bug flew through the maze of tunnels and chambers towards its target. "Lora-chan!" Mari called, as her pet approached the cell. "Wow, you've really got the hang of flying now. What have you got there?" Lora stepped into the cell, and placed a rolled up sheet of paper on the ground. Mari picked it up and studied it. "What is it?" Alielle asked. "I think it's a map," Mari replied. "Yeah... it shows the position of the hive. Where did you get this, Lora-chan?" "Yyymynyyr," Lora said. Mari nodded. "I see." She smiled at Lora. "Now, girl... would you like to do me and Alielle a little favour?" "What? You think I'm being paranoid, is that it?" "Of course not, hon," Fujisawa replied. "I just think you should give Afura a chance. We don't know for certain that she's against us..." "Well, just how else could Doht have got his hands on the Heretic Prophecy?" Miz challenged. "And why hasn't she come back to help us? Qawoor agrees with me... don't you, Qawoor?" The young priestess looked up nervously. "Well... to be honest, I..." She was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Can I help you?" Miz asked automatically as she opened the door. Then she noticed just how many visitors there were. Around two dozen priestesses stood around their door. In front was a familiar figure. "Melisse?" Miz asked. "Hello, Miz," the priestess replied. This was none other than Melisse Cartac, daughter of the previous Alpha Priestess, and Roshtaria's Chief Priestess. "What are you doing here?" "We represent the Roshtarian branch of the Holy Order," Cartac replied. "We're unhappy with how the Holy Order's been treating Roshtaria recently. As a respected ex-Chief Priestess of Muldoon and seminary council member, we've come to ask for your backing, Miz." Blue. Red. Black. Red. Yellow. Black. Yellow. Blue. Yellow... And so it continued. Three casually reviewed the data. The secret of her existence... she and Yuba had discovered it many years ago, buried inside her subconscious mind. Of course, back then there was nothing they could do with it. The information had been of sentimental value only. But maybe, just maybe, that was no longer the case. "Are you alright?" Ifurita asked. Three sighed. "Yes. Just thinking." Ifurita sat next to her on the grass. "Anything I can help you with?" "I was considering the nature of my existence... following Yuba's death. I no longer have a direction. What is my purpose, Ifurita?" Ifurita paused. "I can't tell you that. Everyone faces this question, and we all have to determine the answer for ourselves." Three nodded. "It's easy for humans. They know their time is limited, so they set goals for themselves. But I could live forever. And I'm beginning to suspect that I have no purpose." "I'm sure that isn't true," Ifurita replied. "You just need some time to decide on the direction you want your life to take." "But I don't have any skills. All I can do is destroy. Maybe they're right. Maybe I should just join the war against the Bugrom." "Are you sure about that?" Ifurita asked. "If you did, you'd immediately have Sakura sent after you. She's so powerful... and you're relatively inexperienced. She could kill you." Three looked frustrated. "Yes, but I must do SOMETHING..." Both Demon Gods looked up at the sound of a male scream. "Makoto!" Ifurita gasped. Ifurita and Three entered the house to find Makoto standing on the table, with Ura wrapped around him. "Makoto, whatever's wrong?" Ifurita urged. "Down there!" he said nervously, pointing to the corner of the room. "A Bugrom!" Ifurita noticed the small bug. "Oh... I see. It's not very big." "Yeah, well," Makoto said, embarrassed. "It took me by surprise." The bug walked up to Ifurita, and held out a folded piece of paper. "I think it has a message for us," she said. She carefully took the note and unfolded it. "It's addressed to you, Makoto." She handed it to Makoto. "It's from... Mari!" he said, amazed. "Let's see... Dear Makoto. This is my pet Bugrom, Lora-chan. I sent her to you because I knew you wouldn't harm her, seeing as you're such a wuss..." He looked up with a hurt expression. "Oh, I'm sure she means it in a nice way," Ifurita reassured. "Now, what else does she say?" Makoto continued to read. "Princess Alielle is being held here with me. She's fine. We're in the main hive. Queen Diva is dead, but there is now a new queen. Jinnai is working with the Phantom Tribe. I'm running low on lipstick. On the back of this letter is a map showing the location of the Bugrom hive." He turned the letter over. "This map does look authentic." "It may be a trap," Three warned. "The princesses were fooled in a similar way." Makoto nodded. "Yeah, but if Jinnai was trying to trick us, why would he send a Bugrom to deliver the message?" Ifurita looked at the letter. "There's more writing at the bottom. What's that?" Makoto squinted at the text. "Good question. Looks like English... but I'm afraid I don't know how to read English..." "We should tell the princesses immediately," Ifurita said decisively. "Okay," Makoto replied. He looked down at Ura, who was staring warily at Lora. "Um... you can get down now, Ura." Fatora lay, motionless, on the bed. For the first week, she'd shouted. She'd yelled and screamed and threatened and pleaded, desperate to persuade the military to do something, anything, to find Alielle. It didn't work, because there was nothing the military COULD do. She still shouted, because it was the only way she could cope with the situation. Then after a week, she no longer had the energy to shout. For the second week, she'd cried. She'd cried and cried to the extent that everyone in the palace began to worry for her sanity. She simply couldn't stop, because her brain was locked into a darkly masochistic cycle, constantly forcing her to acknowledge how she could have prevented Alielle's capture. Then after another week, she no longer had the energy to cry. For the third week, she'd stared. And that was what she was doing now. She stared at the ceiling and remembered. She saw Alielle as she'd appeared on that very first night. The quiet, mysterious servant in charge of the wine, who'd kept looking at her in a strange way. They hardly said a word to each other that night. She saw Alielle again, seated next to her in the palace gardens underneath a moonlit sky. They'd both been so nervous of how the other might react... "Alielle," she'd said. "Forgive me for trusting my instincts, but..." And then they'd kissed. And so it began. She saw Alielle lying next to her. She had been the one who had helped her recover after her experience with the Phantom Tribe. She'd tolerated the nightmares and sleepless nights without a word of complaint. "I'll help you, Fatora," she remembered her saying. "I promise I'll help you until you're better." She saw Alielle on the last night of Damach, when the lights had appeared in Roshtaria. "I'm glad I spent my first Damach with you, Fatora," she'd said, as the white, green and pink lights flickered behind her. She saw Alielle running towards her on the rooftop in Cretaria. "Lady Fatora! I missed you so much!" At that moment, Alielle had become quite emotional- although a few seconds later, both of them had been pursuing the prospect of a threesome with Shayla... She saw Alielle standing over her in the clinic. "I took the baby, Fatora. It's better this way." There and then, their greatest adventure together had begun. Her own initial trepidation about becoming a mother had led her to prepare meticulously for the birth of her daughter. But now... Now that dream lay in ruins. She heard somebody enter the room. They tried this sometimes. They'd talk to her and try to encourage her to talk back... They meant well, but she couldn't respond. It was still too painful... "Fatora..." It was Rune's voice. She turned to face the wall. "Fatora, we have news of Alielle." Fatora sat bolt upright. "It's definitely from Mari," Nanami said as she studied the note. "The English confirms it. I know that my brother can't read English. I seriously doubt Sakura can. Bur Mari definitely knows at least some English. She's the only one who could have written this." "You can read English too," Makoto observed. "She must have realised that, and added the English so that you could authenticate it. What does it say, anyway?" Nanami looked furtive. It was a question she'd rather not answer. "Um... nothing much... hey, what's with Ura?" Ura stood a few feet away from Lora, growling. Lora refused to be provoked, however, and just stared back at Ura with the same blank expression. Makoto smiled. "Ura doesn't seem to trust Mari's Bugrom..." "It's okay, Ura," Ifurita said. "It's friendly." Ura was far from convinced. "Nyaaah! It Bugrom, bad!" "Well," Nanami considered, "it does seem a little weird having a Bugrom in here with us..." "I like it," said Ifurita, "It's such a sweet-natured little thing." Makoto stood up. "Anyway, at least now we know that Alielle and Mari are okay. The question is, can we do anything to help them?" "I'm not sure about that," Ifurita sighed. "They're being held in the very heart of Bugrom territory. A rescue mission does still seem a little unfeasible..." "Ha!" a voice said. "What sort of attitude is THAT?" Fatora marched into the room, She still looked thin and drained, but this new development had given her a fresh burst of energy. "Princess..." Ifurita started. "You look a little... um... ill." "Yeah? Well, at least I'm not sixteen thousand years old." "It's good to see you again, princess," Makoto remarked. "We were all really worried about you." Fatora nodded nonchalantly. "I should think so too. But I'm okay now. My mind is completely focused on the task ahead of me." "And exactly what task is that?" Makoto enquired. "Simple," Fatora said with a bizarre grin on her face. "I am going to devise a brilliant and foolproof plan to rescue my Alielle." "I'm tired," Cerev complained. "Do we have to go back to the clinic now?" "Just wait until you're a doctor, kid," Tenax smiled. "You'll be tired all day, every day!" Amiri looked down at her son as the trio headed along the street. "I'm sorry, Cerev. But I left my keys there." She looked back to Tenax. "There's no reason for you to come along, though. And shouldn't you be revising for your exams?" "Aw, I know all that stuff," Tenax replied. "I don't need to revise as much as other people. I have a good memory." "Is that so?" Amiri said sceptically. "Okay, then. Describe the effects of... oh, let's see... Minacha's syndrome." "Minacha's? But that's really rare!" Tenax complained. "How can you expect me to know the details of something like that?" Amiri smiled. "A good doctor should be able to diagnose any condition, no matter how obscure." "Okay. I know this. Minacha's syndrome manifests itself as a chronic lack of energy. It's thought to be due to dysfunction of the muscle cells..." "Mitochondria," Cerev corrected. "Mitochondria. I meant to say mitochondria," Tenax insisted. "There are... two forms? Inherited and late onset. The first is more common. There is no known cure, and all treatments are experimental." "Hmm. Not bad," Amiri conceded. "Not bad? How many people know stuff like that?" "I did," Cerev said. Tenax snarled. "Well, you're... weird. Come on! Ask me another!" "In a minute," Amiri sighed as they stepped outside the clinic. "I just need to... That's odd." "What?" Tenax asked. Amiri frowned. "I don't remember leaving that door open..." Her expression changed suddenly to one of deadly seriousness. "Get back." Tenax looked confused. "Why?" "I just have a bad feeling. Get back, both of you. Now." "Okay..." Tenax moved away from the building, taking Cerev with her. Amiri stayed where she was. "I definitely closed that door. Somebody must have..." The windows of the clinic suddenly exploded outwards, as the sound of the blast echoed through the street. Tenax instinctively shielded Cerev, then looked up to locate Amiri. Amiri saw the events in slow motion. Somehow, she had known that this was about to happen, and yet she made no attempt to get away. She simply let out a resigned little sigh as the force of the explosion reached her, sending her backwards towards the opposite side of the street. "NO!" Cerev screamed. Tenax ran over to the spot where Amiri had landed. To her surprise and relief, Amiri got to he feet almost immediately. She was bruised and bleeding, but that was clearly the least of her concerns. "Are you okay?" Tenax gasped. Amiri responded with an unfamiliar expression. She gestured towards the burning building. "Look at it. Gone. Destroyed! All our hard work, all our equipment..." Tenax was disturbed by Amiri's uncharacteristic fury. "It's okay. Just calm down..." "No!" Amiri roared. "Look!" She pointed again to the clinic. "Take a good, long look. This is what the people here really want! That bomb was meant for us, Tenax!" She pulled Cerev towards her, and caught sight of the gathering crowd of concerned onlookers. "Get away from us! All of you!" She demanded. "Get away!" She guided her son through the crowd, still shouting at anyone who dared look in her direction. Only Tenax remained, and at that moment, the enormity of what had just happened hit her. There was only one person left to turn to. "Oh, God... I can't believe I yelled at those people," Amiri sighed. "They were only worried..." "It's a natural reaction," Fujisawa reassured. "You've just been through a very traumatic experience," Miz added. "You've every right to be angry." Amiri shook her head. "No. I should be grateful that nobody was really hurt." She looked across the Fujisawas' living room at her son, who sat in silence, expressionless. He hadn't said a word since they'd arrived. "I'm sure everything'll be okay soon," Fujisawa said. "The clinic was insured, right?" "Yes, of course," Amiri replied. "But it really doesn't make that much difference. A lot of the equipment is irreplaceable. A lot of it came from the Phantom Tribe." "This is just an awful situation," Miz said. "And I can't help feeling that the Holy Order is partly responsible. For years we've denounced violence, against all people. But there seem to be some who are practically condoning this sort of thing." "Do you really think that?" Amiri asked. Miz nodded. "Today I spoke to the Chief Priestess of Roshtaria. She agrees with me. The Holy Order could have taken steps to prevent these disturbances, but they didn't. Something has to be done." Tenax sat with her head rested on the table, and cried softly. "What are we going to do?" she said between sobs. "Everything we've worked for is gone... Do people really hate us that much?" Parnasse watched her awkwardly. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know how. God, he was useless at this sort of thing. "I'm sorry," he said at last. "I... I can't believe anyone would do something like that." "I can't take it anymore," Tenax continued. "I've tried so hard to ignore it... the way people look at me. All this time I've pretended I'm just a normal girl. But I'm not! People want to kill me and I don't know why! Why doesn't anyone care?" Parnasse moved tentatively closer. "People do care, Tenax. It only takes one nutcase to plant a bomb." She shook her head insistently. "Just you watch. Everyone will just carry on like nothing's happened." She put her head in her hands and went back to crying. She was surprised to feel Parnasse's arms around her. She looked up. "I care, Tenax," he said quietly. "You're my friend. What happens to you is important to me. And I don't like seeing you like this." Tenax turned, and embraced him. "Oh... Parnasse. Thank you, thank you..." "It'll all be okay," he whispered. "Just give it a day or two. It'll all seem better then." Neither of them heard Mycea enter the restaurant. "Okay, less than half an hour until we open up. I'd better..." Mycea stopped dead in her tracks, and let out the sort of scream usually reserved for serious injury. "What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Parnasse looked at her irritably. "Give it a rest, Mycea. Can't you see she's upset?" "SHE'S upset? How do you think I feel? I've just walked in here to find my boyfriend in the arms of an evil blue bitch waitress spy slut from Hell!" Parnasse stood up. "That's enough. She's been through a lot today, and I won't stand here and let you insult her." "Can't you see what she's doing?" Mycea replied. "She's drawing you into her evil web of espionage. She's only looking for information about the royal house and stuff. You don't know these people like I do." "No, you don't know them at all!" Parnasse replied angrily. "Her clinic's been blown up! She has every right to be upset!" "Oh, the clinic? Yeah, I heard about that..." She fixed Tenax with a cold stare. "You bastards got what you deserved." Tenax was too stunned to offer much of a response. "W... what?" "You heard. You people have no right to be in our country anyway. Maybe now you'll learn your lesson!" "But... we're refugees!" Tenax protested. Mycea snorted. "I don't care what you're calling yourselves today. You crawled out of your caves and came here and started taking over... You won't be happy until you've destroyed this country! There's a prophecy that says so. My dad taught me about it." "That's not true"!" Tenax insisted. "We don't want to destroy anything. We just want to live peacefully here!" "Well, you're not welcome!" Mycea replied. "I'm only sorry you weren't in that building when it blew!" "How... dare you!" Tenax growled. Without warning, she vaulted over the table and lurched at Mycea. "No! Tenax, don't do it!" Parnasse warned, but he was too late. Tenax landed a punch on Mycea's jaw. "You think it's funny, do you?" she cried. "Well, let's see if you find this funny!" Mycea fell to the floor. Tenax was ready to hit her again, but Parnasse managed to restrain her. "Come on, Tenax. Don't waste your energy." "You... you've got a nerve hitting me!" Mycea said, clutching her face. "You won't get away with this, you little slut!" She got to her feet and marched out of the restaurant. Parnasse looked at Tenax. "Listen, I..." "I... I'm sorry!" She burst into tears again, and ran into the back room. "So, Ifurita, Ifurita. Do I take it you're both on board?" The twin Ifuritas stood before Fatora. The first nodded. "Yes. Alielle is a friend, after all. I vowed to protect the people I care about, and I'll keep that promise." Three remained expressionless. "If Ifurita believes it is acceptable, then I agree." "Good." Fatora turned to the other visitor. "And you?" "Yes, of course," Qawoor replied. "I promised Alielle's family that I'd help to find her. But... might I ask what you're planning, princess?" Fatora smiled. "Heheh... I'm working on it..." Mycea strolled back into the restaurant, accompanied by a police officer. "Where is she?" Parnasse stood up to confront her. "What the hell are you doing, Mycea?" "She assaulted me. That's against the law. I'm having her arrested." "Sir," the officer said to Parnasse, "If she's here, we would like to talk to her." "Oh. Well, she's..." The officer squinted. "Have I seen you somewhere before, sir?" Parnasse sighed. "I'm Princess Alielle's younger brother." "Oh my... I didn't realise. It's an honour to meet you, sir..." "Never mind this!" Mycea interrupted. "Where is she, the blue bitch?" The door to the back room opened, and Tenax stepped out, her face stained with tears. "Yes?" "Miss... Tenax, is it?" the policeman started. "This woman claims you assaulted her in an unprovoked attack. Is this true?" Parnasse looked at Tenax's expression. Oh God, she was going to confess. She really was that honest. "Actually, officer," Parnasse cut in, "I was here. That's not how it happened. In fact it was Mycea who threw the first punch. Tenax was only defending herself." Mycea gasped. "Parnasse... what are you THINKING?" The officer scratched his head. "Well, now... is this the case?" "I'll stake my... reputation on it," Parnasse replied. "No! No! He's making it up!" Mycea protested. "Don't listen to him!" The officer frowned down at her. Obviously, he was taking Parnasse's word above hers. "So, you attacked her? And now, it seems, you're intent on wasting police time?" "Officer, I think it would be best to let this matter drop," Parnasse said quietly. "These are difficult times for all of us." The policeman nodded. "You're quite right, sir. And I'm sorry to have bothered you, miss." He looked to Mycea. "And you... should consider yourself lucky that I'm not pursuing this further." He left the restaurant. Mycea's anger was evident from the fact that she couldn't stop shaking. "How could you, Parnasse? How could you humiliate me like that? You're my boyfriend! You're supposed to protect me!" "I'm not your boyfriend," Parnasse replied sternly. "We broke up over a month ago. Oh, you were more than happy to take advantage of me after my sister was kidnapped. Well, if I didn't make it clear before, I'm making it clear now. I don't ever want to see you again!" Mycea turned and ran from the building. Parnasse looked over at Tenax, who was staring out of the window. "Why did you lie to protect me?" she asked. "Because you deserve to be protected," Parnasse replied. "You were justified in what you did. I'd probably have done the same." She smiled weakly. "Thank you. I don't think I've ever had a friend like you, Parnasse." He walked up to her. "You know, Tenax, I... well, the thing is that... for a while now I... um... you know that time that we... damn it, why can't I say this?" Tenax took his hand. "You mean it isn't just me? I... I do like you, Parnasse. I like you a lot. I did think about asking you, but..." She looked to the floor. "What? What is it?" Parnasse urged. "I don't think it's right for me to put you through it. If you and I were together, you'd be subjected to all the hate that I have to live with. Maybe worse." "But I don't care about that," Parnasse said. "It'd be worth it. Besides, it makes sense that people from our two cultures will start hooking up eventually. Somebody has to be first." Tenax beamed back at him. "You mean you'll... Oh, I'm so happy!" She leaned forward and kissed him. Parnasse went limp. The same phrase kept repeating in his mind. 'Thank you, thank you...' Day 291 Four days had passed since the bombing. In a show of support, Princess Rune had invited all concerned parties to a royal consultation. "I'm happy to report that the condition of Fatora has improved greatly, but due to other pressing duties, she could not attend this meeting." In reality, these pressing duties were something of a mystery, although they seemed to involve a lot of secretive plotting. Still, it was preferable to her previous condition, so Rune had decided not to bother her. "Standing in for Fatora is our honoured guest, Formyka, First Princess of Styrenia. Formyka waved. "Hi." Rune looked first to Amiri. "Doctor, what is the state of your clinic?" "Some of the equipment is salvageable," Amiri replied. "We're hoping to have a limited service running by the end of the week." Her expression changed to one of mild embarrassment. "On... um, another note, my student Tenax has requested that you submit a plea for leniency to the Roshtarian Board of Medical Examinations and Qualifications, on the grounds that her first year notes were destroyed in the explosion." Tenax smiled shyly from her position next to Parnasse at the back of the room. Rune tried to disguise her amusement. "Of course. I'll see to that as soon as possible. Now, Mrs Fujisawa, I believe you have something to say." "Yes," Miz replied. "I've been speaking with the Roshtarian Chief Priestess, and we're in agreement that the Holy Order's stance towards Roshtaria is unacceptable. And just yesterday, three regional priestesses complained that they were threatened with excommunication when they voiced objections. As wrong as it seems, we'd like to request that the government recognises the Roshtarian Holy Order as a semi-autonomous entity, until we're able to improve relations with the Holy City." Rune nodded. "I understand. This matter will be dealt with. If I may ask, how is the Fire Proxy faring?" "Nanami? Oh, she seems to have picked up the basics. Plus, we now have Qawoor to help defend Roshtaria." "Excellent," Rune said. "Is there anything else?" "Um... yes," Makoto said, raising his hand. "We've developed a weapon which may be able to disrupt Phantom Tribe powers. Obviously, we haven't been able to test it, but..." "I'm confident that it should be effective," Amiri interrupted. "Good work, both of you," Rune replied. "Princess Formyka, would you like to add anything?" Formyka looked up. "Huh? Oh yeah. I'd like to offer my congratulations to Parnasse and that student kid. Nice to see you're finally getting some, Parnasse. Tenax giggled. Parnasse put his head in his hands. "What do you mean, exactly?" Rune asked discreetly. "Didn't you know? Those two are... oh, what's a polite term for screwing?" Rune blushed. "Oh... are you sure? How did you know?" "Heh," Formyka smiled. "I have a sixth sense for the romantic side of things. Plus, she keeps touching his ass." "If Parnasse and Tenax are really a couple," Rune said, "Then this is wonderful news!" Formyka shrugged. "Well, I suppose I can't end up with all the beautiful people." An idea formed in her head. She smirked. "Hey... you don't suppose they'd agree to participating in..." "Leave them be," Rune warned. "Aw, it was only a suggestion." "Black flowers? Are you sure?" "Yeah," Mari nodded. "Haven't you ever seen them before?" "No, I don't think so," Alielle mused. "Where did you see them again?" "They were growing near that shrine next to the Stairway to the Sky. They were so beautiful, I just wondered..." She trailed off, and acquired a distant expression. Alielle prodded her. "What? Are you okay?" "Fine, yeah... I just feel something... I can feel Lora-chan! She's back!" A few moments later, Lora flew into the chamber, through the bars of the cell and into Mari's arms. "Yymyysyyr!" the bug said happily. "Wow," Alielle remarked. "How did you know she was coming?" Mari shrugged. "I don't know. It's as if I have some sort of bond with her. Maybe that's why I'm able to understand her." She smiled at her pet. "Did you deliver the message, Lora-chan?" "Yymny!" "And did they figure out it was really from me?" "Yymny!" "And do you think that Makoto's a wuss?" "Yymny!" Mari hugged Lora. "That's my girl!" "I'm a very busy man," Jinnai scowled. "I don't appreciate being inconvenienced like this!" "You'll listen to what I have to say!" Fran demanded. Sakura tapped her Power Key Unit menacingly. "Now, now. Let's be polite to Mr Jinnai." "I... I mean, I HOPE you'll listen to what I have to say..." Jinnai sighed. "Go on. Make it snappy." "There are rumours that the Phantom tribe is operating in this country. As part of your forces!" "Ha!" Jinnai said dismissively. "Have you been listening to that Purple Lightning and his idiotic propaganda?" "Everyone's saying it, Mr Jinnai," Fran said sternly. "Over the past few years, I have taken every conceivable measure to keep the Phantom tribe out of my country. Bugrom, I don't like, but at least I can see them. So I want you to tell me, Mr Jinnai. Are they here?" A figure blurred into view in front of him. "I'm afraid so," the figure said. Jinnai stepped back. "Nahato? What are you doing here?" "Oh my God, no!" Fran cried. "You ARE here!" "We're everywhere," Nahato laughed. "If you want to stop us, you're several months too late. We've been here from the beginning. Remember those generals of yours? The ones who mysteriously disappeared?" "Why didn't you tell me about this, Jinnai?" Fran panicked. "I thought we had an agreement!" Nahato shook his head. "Please. It was my idea to restore you as king. I thought you might prove useful in pacifying the Dorusian populace. I was wrong. Your usefulness is at an end." "What? You think you can just kill me?" Nahato walked away. "Don't kid yourself that you're important enough for us to kill. Come on, Mr Jinnai." Fran stared in disbelief as Jinnai, Sakura and Nahato left. The Phantom Tribe really were everywhere. They could be watching him right now. There was only one course of action he could take. Flee. Parnasse and Tenax lay, squashed up, in the single bed in Tenax's apartment. Parnasse found himself staring at the skylight. "Isn't it a little unusual to have a window right above your bed?" he asked. "Probably," she replied. "I put the bed underneath it so that I'd always be able to see the sky." He frowned. "Doesn't that mean that people can see inside?" "Only if they're flying directly overhead," she smiled. "Who's likely to do that?" "Lots of people. Wind priestesses, Demon Gods..." They laughed. Tenax pulled Parnasse closer to her. "I still can't believe we're together. I never thought you'd look twice at me. I didn't imagine that you could ever be attracted to someone... like me." "I am, I am," Parnasse reassured. Tenax was still depressed after the bombing, and he was doing his best to prevent her from getting too despondent. "I can't believe how lucky I've been to end up with a girl as cute as you. And I have to admit, you looked pretty cool when you were kicking Mycea's ass." She smiled back at him. "Okay, you've twisted my arm. I AM cute, aren't I?" "That's more like it," Parnasse replied. Tenax looked through the skylight at the night sky. "I used to think a lot about having a Roshtarian boyfriend. It seemed nice... but there was so much to worry about. How people would react..." She looked back at him. "Your family aren't going to mind, are they?" "Don't worry," Parnasse sighed. "I have a very broad-minded family..." TO BE CONTINUED "The Queen is Dead... Long Live the Queen" featured- Makoto Mizuhara, Mari Kurai, Princess Alielle, Tenax, Parnasse Ralielle, Ifurita, Katsuhiko Jinnai, Doctor Amiri, Qawoor Towles, Nanami Jinnai, Mycea, Shayla-Shayla, Princess Rune Venus, Miz Fujisawa, Afura Mann, Nahato, Lora-chan, Jennown Doht, Serasse Ralielle, Princess Formyka, Guanes Ralielle, Queen Chibi-Diva, Princess Fatora, Ifurita Version Three, King Fran, Sakura Tamaro, Adena Ralielle, Masamichi Fujisawa, Cerev, Groucho, Arjah and Ura. dooky 6th February 2002 Proofreading courtesy of the magnificent Firebird... she is Diva, she is queen.
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