"Fury" He lived in a secluded section of Kyoto. His home was surrounded by thick trees and plant life, a large stone wall surrounding the boundary of his property. There were security cameras as well, but they had been spotted early on. They were not that reckless as to storm into such a place without proper observation. Each of them were dressed in black in order to blend in with the night. The crescent moon above provided little light to guide their path. As a camera panned away, the three of them scaled the wall and dropped to the ground. The trio of women sprinted silently to the wall and pressed their backs to it so that the camera would not be able to spot them as it panned back around. There mission was simple, given to them by a revitalized Mai, no longer held back by her insecurities about not having her power. She began to resemble herself during the trying parts of the Carnival, angry and determined. "I want you to find out everything about the Otome from Miyu's target; how they work, how their powers can be deactivated, and how the Emulator can be taken out. I've had enough of this. Do whatever it takes," Mai had ordered. The platinum haired android led the way, Midori having relinquished power temporarily to allow Miyu to take point. Her cybernetic eyes had night and heat vision. She stood a far greater chance of noticing something in their path. She marched forward, and physically ripped another camera from an opposite wall before it became a problem. The three stood outside an oak door, and the two elder women turned to their younger companion. Midori handed over a small hairclip and Nao immediately lowered herself to one knee and inserted it into the door lock. With a few quick motions, Nao successfully picked the lock, and gently opened it. Miyu scanned the darkened house with her artificial eyes, and detected no life forms in the rooms just ahead of them. They exited the kitchen and crept up the stairs, the two human women with their weapons at the ready. It didn't take Miyu long to find the bedroom in which their target was located. He was a middle-aged and overweight businessman. A not so attractive woman slept next to him. Children were likely in the other rooms. They would have to be quiet. Miyu turned to the others and nodded once. In an instant, both occupants of the bed were dragged to their feet. As the wife let out a small yelp, Nao slammed a hand over her mouth from behind and held her tightly in place, her grip nothing less than iron. The woman struggled and her eyes darted to the side to try and see who her attacker was. It was no use. Midori held the man, though she mentally complained that his girth was a nuisance when it came to wrapping her arms around him to hold him in place. She managed, for the moment. Miyu stood in front of him, acting as interrogator. She knew him well, after all. Her arm transformed into a blade, and she held the tip to his throat. His screamed under Midori's palm, and began to struggle, but Miyu pressed the blade even firmer against his flesh, threatening to break the skin. That quieted him down real fast. He was a higher ranking member of Searrs who had moved to Japan to help oversee the Valkyrie project during the Carnival. Miyu did not doubt for a moment that he was also involved with the Otome project. She had pulled his name from her database of Searrs information because of that. "Kobayashi Norio, if you do not answer my questions within a span of twenty seconds, I will slit your throat," Miyu began. "As a member of the Valkyrie project, you are aware I can monitor human breathing. Any indication of a false answer will also result in your termination. Nod if you understand." His eyes were as wide as saucers, and sweat began to build on his repulsive head, but he nodded after a few moments. His eyes darted to his wife for just a few moments, Nao's hold on her not losing any intensity as the interrogation began. Miyu's gaze did not waver from his face. "How are the Otome able to summon their robes and weapons?" Her voice was monotone, and her digital brain began a countdown of twenty merciless seconds. Midori moved her fingers off his mouth long enough for him to speak. At thirteen seconds into the countdown, he stammered out a truthful response, knowing full well that the Yggdrasil unit was capable of determining lies. "T-they have gem earrings that are powered by an OL Emulator. Each gem stores a different robe and armor combination." Miyu immediately moved into a follow-up question. "They are dependent on the gems for materialization, then? They do not have the HiME blood required to manifest weapons themselves?" He shook his head after Midori once again freed his mouth. "They have the blood, but it wasn't enough to materialize. Only actual HiME can do that. They entirely dependent on the gems." "How do the gems work?" Miyu questioned. With that, he paused. But he knew. Miyu could tell. His pulse and breathing quickened, indicating he was holding back information. As the countdown got to nine, she tightened the blade against his neck, he wife whimpering. That got him to talk. "Okay, stop! The gems contain files modeled after Elements stored on the OL. Some are old HiME weapons, others are new, but you need the proper hormone and genetic information to materialize. The Emulator treats the gem like it's one of the HiME, so..." "So?" Miyu pried. "...So, we had to use... ah..." "Don't make me draw blood, Norio," Miyu warned. "I will not give you another warning." "Only a real HiME can use the Obsidian Lord's wave structure, whether it's the real thing or an Emulator. That means we had to use genetic information from an existing HiME. The gems are made with their genetic data. And, like the real Obsidian Lord, the Emulator needs a 'Crystal Princess' to fuel it, and... so... we have a HiME body bound to the machine. For the gems to have the right hormone levels, we had to make them from someone who'd given birth, and..." It was Nao who replied, her anger making her snap at the realization. Only one of the HiME had not been seen thusfar. "What the hell did you sick bastards do to Sister?!" "Is Sanada Yukariko alive?" Miyu questioned, turning to Nao briefly in order to get her to hush. He found himself scrambling for words. "N-no... well, yes, sort of. She's in suspended animation within the Emulator. She's physically alive, but if disconnected, it's not likely that she will survive outside the core." "What happened to her child?" Miyu was ever patient, unlike her rowdy companions. There was something to be said for having a computerized brain. He shook his head. "I-I don't know. Honestly. It's not something I ever learned. I swear! Please, get out of here!" Midori looked over, as if to ask if he was indeed telling the truth. Miyu nodded, not detecting an anomaly in his physical condition. She then took the information Kuga had discovered into consideration. "Very well. Yukariko then acts as all the Otome's Keys, correct? Is there a way to power down the Emulator without harming Sanada-san?" "The primary power supply is connected to a generator in another room. If you can shut down the connection, everything should be fine. I think. It was something they added after I got ousted from the project," he said. He hoped to god his children wouldn't wake up. "I don't know if the Emulator itself can power itself anymore. I only worked on the gems." "Where is the exact location of the Emulator?" Miyu had almost all she needed to know. "They moved it a long time after I got out of the project. I'm sorry, I don't know which base it's at." Damn. They knew which base it was at, but the complex was huge. It'd take too much time to find it, even if they split up. They needed a building number or something. They'd be mauled if they went straight for it without a plan. Miyu withdrew her blade. "The interrogation is complete. I have all I need to know. We may leave." Midori spoke next, her usually upbeat personality showing heavy signs of hate and malice with the knowledge they had just learned. Midori tightened her grip on the Searrs officer before she dared to let go, her voice low and threatening. She spoke to both parents, looking over to the wife to make sure she understood. "You can call the police if you want. It won't do you any good. I suggest you just go back to sleep and don't make a sound. You wouldn't want your kids to see you like this, would you?" Nao released the wife, who opened her mouth the scream, but it only came out as a sharp intake of breath. The brawler stalked forward, her fists tight. For however aloof the redhead tried to be, when it came to the HiME, the few people she had in her life that mattered, she found herself disturbed and livid. He'd condemned Yukariko to virtual death. He'd killed, essentially, one of her compatriots. And so, with Midori still holding him, Nao swung her arm out and backhanded him roughly in the face, making sure her metal knuckles (blades retracted) hit him right on the forehead. He stifled a scream as a loud 'thunk' from her weapon could be heard making contact with him. The wife looked away, and Nao marched back out into the hall without a word. Midori released him, and she and Miyu retreated as well, heading back out into the night. They were off to Mai's apartment once again, Tate having been briefed on the recent events. Well... now what were they going to do? - - - "Do you hate them, Allison?" A simple enough question, and it warranted a simple enough answer. Onyx, her codename not in use while they were off duty, looked over from her desk to gaze at the blonde who asked it. The Otome had crowded into her room in between missions to pass the time (never mind that she had work to do), and the discussion had shifted from the light hearted to the serious. "No." Eve was fiddling with a conventional shotgun, cleaning it, and added to the discussion after Celeste had asked the question. "They're just the first hurdle we have to cross in order for the Golden Millennium to go into effect. It's not supposed to be easy. But they're nothing more than targets. Remember that." "I try not to let my emotions run away with me," Celeste replied, "though it's frustrating. Yuuki, in particular, proves to be difficult when it comes to my patience. Perhaps I'm just defensive. I don't know." Morgana sighed. They were all so damn businesslike. Sonia seemed to agree, and spoke up. "There's nothing wrong with putting a bit of passion into a mission. Finding yourself angry at them can help motivate you in a fight. I don't hate them, but they're the enemy. I do not like them. I do not like to be around them. They're the cause of all our trouble." Allison paused. That they were. "Just so long as you don't get too carried away with your emotions to the point where you become a threat to yourself and everyone around you." Her gaze, as well as a few others, shifted to Morgana, and she stiffened. She would have apologized, but that might have made her look weak to the others. She was new. They didn't want to hear a rookie mumble out 'I'm sorry' twenty times a day, like she was unable to be anything other than a nuisance. She remained silent. There was nothing more to say on the matter. "I admit that they are frustrating," Allison continued, writing something on a sheet of paper. "Very. But the Emulator gets more operational every day, and our gems are getting more and more functional. They have no powers. It should be no problem." It was her attempt to reassure them. Celeste shrugged, reading a book as she sat on Onyx's desk. "Fair enough." - - - Natsuki was comfortably warm, and woke when the morning light passed through the thin walls of her home. Shizuru had escorted her back to their room, where they both fell almost immediately to sleep, blankets still wrapped around them both. Natsuki was nestled against the other woman, her cheek resting in between Shizuru's neck and chest. She shut her eyes again and tried to ignore the light, but knew full well that she wouldn't be able to go to sleep. Burying her face further into Shizuru's flesh and mane, she hoped to escape it. But could not. Her cellphone ringing did not help matters. She withdrew it from her pocket, still clothed from the night before, and grumbled, "Kuga." "Come to my apartment at noon. We need to have a little meeting." Mai, who's voice harbored a great deal of anger and frustration. Shizuru began to wake and squirm under Natsuki, rolling onto her other side and muttering a swear word accented in Kyoto-ben. Natsuki, worried about Mai's tone of voice, asked, "What's the matter?" "Just get down here." All she heard after that was dial tone. Natsuki turned the device off and returned it to her pocket, sitting up and giving Shizuru a chance to properly move without her weighing the woman down. Seeing that Shizuru was not intent on moving, Natsuki took her by the shoulder and pushed her. An irritated groan followed, and Shizuru waved her arm behind her to swat at Natsuki. "What?" Shizuru complained. "Wake up." The instant reply was, "What time is it?" And, likewise, the counter was an expected, "Time to get up. Now move." "Ara, be sweet to me," Shizuru grumbled. "You're never sweet to me. You're a mean spirited, bitter woman who seeks only to inflict suffering and pain upon those you care most about in the early hours of the morning." "It's ten." "...It is not." With that final statement, Shizuru pulled the blankets over her head like a rebellious child unwilling to wake for school. There she sat for several long minutes while Natsuki stared at the bump that indicated where the woman was located. Well, fine. If that's the way she wanted to play, so be it. Natsuki got out of bed and exited the house, leaving Shizuru in peace. The Kyoto woman fell back into a state of slumber, or at least halfway, by the time the biker returned. From the well. She held a small cup of liquid in her hands, and after flinging off the blankets, she poured it directly on Shizuru, who bolted upright in alarm, covering her head and upper body from the onslaught. That was it. She was forced to surrender, and she did just that. "Ara, fine! I'm awake!" "Good," Natsuki said, "now bathe, change your clothes, and come with me to Mai's." Shizuru was wiping the water off of face, still not entirely awake and certainly not ready to go off on any adventures. "M-Mai? Why are we going to Mai's? I don't want to talk to Mai, I want to sleep – and not with you, at least not anymore. I swear, the Otome better have launched a nuclear warhead to warrant this kind of awakening." "I do not have the details, but I assume the worst," Natsuki explained. She began to head out towards the bath, preparing to take one herself. She turned back around. "By the way, you have drool on your face." "Ara?" Shizuru blinked and attempted to wipe any possible drool (she did not drool!) off the side of her mouth... and then realized that Natsuki had tricked her. She could see a subtle grin on the biker's face as she walked away and outside. She'd fallen for her own trick. "Dammit, woman." - - - If Shizuru was difficult to wake, then Haruka was impossible. The officer was still half asleep when Yukino quite literally dragged her through the door. Akira had no problem waking, and had been up since dawn. Takumi was another story. She'd left him to sleep in during the HiME meeting. The same went for Akane and now-husband Kazuya. The rest slowly but surely piled into Mai's apartment around noon, the redhead and Tate having food prepared for them to offset any large amounts of irritation from being woken up after a long night. The ones who had it the worst were the three – well, two, as Miyu didn't count thanks to her seventy-two hour battery life – who had their mission the night before. Immediately after their arrival, everyone could tell something was seriously wrong. The news hit them hard. Sister Yukariko had been a guide to all of them during their younger years, serving as a counselor and as a mentor. As a human being, not simply as one of the HiME, she did not deserve the kind of treatment she received. No one deserved to be used in such a manner. Each of the surviving warriors reacted in different ways. Nao was ready to snap at anyone who looked at her wrong. Midori was downtrodden, which for her meant quite a bit. Shiho had fallen into somber silence. Then, came the question... "In order to stop Searrs we have to face Yukariko's actual death." Mai was fully stepping back into leader mode. "I know... I know it's going to be hard, but we don't have a lot of options. To stop the Otome, either by killing them or destroying the Emulator, she may have to go with them." "I am not killing Sister," Akane adamantly said. Nao was the first to bite back at that. "Then, what? Do you want Searrs to get away with even more shit? Sacrifices are sometimes necessary. Yukariko would understand perfectly. She's pretty much dead as it is, anyway." "Don't say such things," Yukino replied, never having had much tolerance for morbid thoughts. Natsuki put in her two sense. "I think Nao's right. It's something that is, unfortunately, necessary. Unless any of you know some Mashiro-esque tricks to get us out of this, I'm afraid we have no choice." "But can you live with the guilt?" Shiho asked. She already had enough sins weighing on her conscience. She didn't need to add the murder of a former nun to it, even if she would only be an accomplice. "The path to justice isn't always just," Midori said, her voice in a sullen monotone. Nao nodded. "Exactly. The ends justify the means, and I do not want Searrs to keep running around and treating people like a commodity. If we don't stop the Otome and the project now, who knows how many other HiME will be sacrificed to power their damn fake soldiers. It needs to be stopped now, and if Yukariko or any of us have to die for that cause, then so be it." "How can you be so callous?" Akane questioned. "You of all people should know how difficult it is to let go of someone who's neither dead nor truly aliv—" "Shut up, Akane!" Nerve hit. Natsuki winced. A low blow, indeed. She could see Akane shrinking back and hiding behind a now fully alert Haruka before the redhead could take her anger out physically. This was getting intense. "Calm down, the both of you. Miyu, isn't there another option?" The android, who had been watching the arguments from a detached viewpoint, finally spoke up. "The officer made mention of the primary power supply being a separate piece of equipment. Yukariko may technically live if we can power the Emulator down by destroying that power supply. I do caution, however, that he said Sanada-san cannot live outside the Emulator. Perhaps if we wrestle Searrs science officers into submission, they can revitalize her." Mai, seeing that as an opportunity to make peace, stepped in again. "Then that is what we'll shoot for. Yukino, I want you to get to work on making detailed points of attack on the main complex. We should have one team head for the power supply, another to deal with the Otome and guards, and another to... find the Emulator and possibly destroy it should that method fail. Someone should also deal with destroying their computer network, so they can't access the project files later." "Sounds like a plan to me," Natsuki concurred. Several others nodded in agreement. Natsuki, however, continued on. "The problem is we don't know where the Emulator is, exactly. The Searrs complex is huge and supposedly has a large tunnel network, according to the JSDF satellites and the layout we have from Miyu's database. It'll be suicide to run through the whole thing trying to find the Emulator." Yukino piped up. "Actually, I thought of a plan for that." Heads turned around to face the spectacled girl, each eager to hear. Haruka blinked. "What? When was this? I don't remember you planning anything." "You're simply unobservant, Haruka-chan," Yukino replied, causing the blonde to make a disappointed face. She opened her purse and pulled out a small box containing a small piece of metal that looked quite like a bullet. "It's a simple transmitter. I imagine the Otome would regroup near the Emulator after a fight. I made it so that it could be fired from a .357 caliber weapon. Natsuki, if you can fire this into an Otome, we can follow them back to base. It's a long shot, but better than nothing." The biker took the small device and examined it. "It should fit in the revolvers, yes. Their armor seems to stop most rounds, though. It stopped a shot from my Desert Eagles." "Yes, one of the melee fighters will have to tear open their armor enough to where you can get a piercing shot in," Yukino said. She then shrugged. "Perhaps Mikoto with her claymore, or Midori with her axe. Miyu and her arm blade may stand a chance." Miyu nodded. "I will go. What do you intend to do to lure the Otome out?" With that, Midori finally broke into a smile. "Cause a ruckus." Mai sighed. "I think the sensei has a plan of her own, now." - - - Having all of them go out in full force threatened to result in all Otome being deployed. They just wanted one or two to tango with. As such, only a small group was sent out to 'cause a ruckus.' They were back at the Searrs facility they were at during their last fight. Much of the forest outside the building was smoldering, the flames from Ruby's assault having been put out not long ago, leaving nothing behind. The HiME, however, strolled right on in. Most of the base had been abandoned, but a few bought off soldiers and Searrs agents remained to clean things up. An armored vehicle or two was around to carry vital items back to the main base. Natsuki, Haruka, Miyu and Midori sat and watched one of the APCs explode in a plume of fire. A homemade bomb had been tossed beneath, and the potent device tore through the armor and ripped the vehicle open. In the absence of their Children, explosives seemed to be a worthy substitute. At once, soldiers and agents began to scatter and fall into defensive formations, using buildings as cover. The HiME, however, were ducked low and remained out of harm's way... for now. Harm's way was kind of them objective this time. Mai had drove them. She sat in a nondescript, rented SUV off the main road outside the complex, watching the fight from a safe distance. "Where did you learn to make those?" Haruka asked, glaring at the teacher. That was breaching several laws. As a police lieutenant, she had a right to know. Midori smiled back cheerfully. "I learned it from the great It's-a-Secret Institute of Higher Education and Explosives." Haruka grumbled something vulgar as Midori stood up, axe in hand, and raced out across the complex to duel with anyone brave enough to try. Miyu followed behind, her arm shifting into a blade while both Haruka and Natsuki provided cover fire. The biker pulled back the hammer and let a bullet fly into a soldier scrambling for his weapon, and with another rapid shot, she shot another man's rifle from his hands. The transmitter bullet was strapped to the bandolier portion of her holster belt, waiting to go into use once the Otome showed up. Midori and Miyu pried weapons out of soldier's hands and tore through agents as if they were nothing. In Miyu's case, she switched modes and pumped grenade rounds into vehicles and buildings, while Midori tossed one more homemade pipe bomb at an APC and let it go up in flames. It didn't take long, perhaps only twenty minutes, before Searrs support in the form of Otome showed up to play. It was Onyx, Topaz and the turbulent Ruby, and they did not look happy. They ran up from the opposite side of the base, dropped off by their own armored car which likely contained the 'router' needed to materialize so far from the main Emulator. Onyx was at the forefront of their group, marching towards the HiME with her pole-axe already in hand. The HiME balked at her presence for just a short moment, giving her time to spit out the very frustration her teammates had been talking about earlier. "What is the point of this?" Onyx demanded. She held out her arms to the wounded, dead and disarmed. "What could you possibly be after here? You've already had your way with this facility, damn it. I am getting sick of you putting my teammates at risk for whatever twisted delusions you have. You act like miserable and despicable vandals." Topaz already had her chain mace materialized. "I think they're calling us out, actually." "We have email addresses and phone numbers." Onyx hissed. She pointed again to the injured soldiers and agents. "This is uncalled for! There is no rhyme nor reason for such chaos." Miyu stepped forward, ready to charge. "We did not come here for a discussion." The android was off in a flash, her body racing towards Onyx at top speed. Already suited up, Onyx dodged out of the way, blocking the weapon with her own. She leapt back and allowed Topaz to cover her for a moment. The chain mace swung out, forcing Miyu to dodge as Onyx pulled a device from her robe. Haruka opened fire on Ruby simply to prevent her from swarming the platinum haired warrior as well. Ruby naturally flew out of harms way and deflected all other bullets with a fire shield. Onyx slammed a button on the small, almost detonator-like device she was in possession of. In an instant, the HiME assault paused. Miyu flung her head back and her eyes suddenly began to glow red, data code visible racing against her irises. She screamed, and it started out as the scream of a flesh and blood being, but descended into an electronic wail as her limbs returned to normal and began to convulse. The woman dropped to the ground, immobile, almost looking as if she were catatonic. The HiME around her paused in shock. What in the hell? Onyx walked forward, dropping the device casually. "We were informed by a respectable source that the Yggdrasil unit was actively helping the HiME. As such, our good Doctor gave us a handy little program to resolve the issue." The Otome kicked the side of Miyu's face gently, only strong enough to move her onto her stomach and roll her to the side, allowing Onyx to continue forward without anything in her path. The grip on her pole-axe became frighteningly tight, and she lashed out in an instant, aiming right for Haruka. The blonde woman flung herself back and was pleased to see that the weapon was met by a similar one. Midori blocked the assault and struggled against what could arguably have been her "VR HiME" counterpart. Axe hit axe in a flurry of blows while everyone else scrambled to support. Haruka turned her attention back to Topaz, firing twice and then dodging a wide horizontal attack from the chain mace. Natsuki had given up with her revolver for now, and attempted to do nothing less than pistol whip Ruby. The attack failed as Ruby ducked out of harms way and flew into the air, Elements spinning around her limbs. After reaching a height of one hundred feet she stopped and ignited her weapons, the glow noticeable from the parked vehicle waiting for the HiME. Mai's jaw dropped after actually seeing her Elements in use with someone else. So, it was true after all. Losing sight of the woman after she dodged a shot from Natsuki's gun, Mai stepped out of the vehicle and walked a few paces towards the battle. Was this what she looked like during the Carnival? That erratic mass of anger, hate, and flame? It was... frightening. It was even more disturbing to see someone else wield powers she once held sacred and had once used for good. Her movement did not go unnoticed. From her vantage point, Ruby saw the stunned redhead, and her eyes instantly snapped open while her lips curled into a snarl. Her overdose of Otome nanomachines fueled an unnatural burst of adrenaline. There... there was the woman she was compared to so incessantly. "Tokiha!" Mai tensed, staring up at Ruby, nervous despite her sizable distance from the group. The sound of Ruby's voice harbored a great degree of rage and... perhaps pain? It was not the calling out of a simple enemy. This was true anger. Haruka and Topaz paused in their fight to watch, just in case Ruby snapped again. Midori and Onyx, however, did not let up for a moment. Midori had a mission, after all – to leave a gap in her armor. But the fire adept seemed content on showing them all up yet again. "You're Tokiha? God, I hear about the great Queen of Heaven every day for the last five years, and this is what I find? The mistress of Kagutsuchi looks like nothing more than a pencil pushing, weak little woman." Mai clenched her jaw. She hadn't the power to fight, but most certainly did not approve of such comments. She was not weak. Not anymore. Queen of Heaven? What was that about? "I keep hearing I'm nothing more than an overpowered failure, and you can't even fight on your own. Absolutely pathetic. It's proof that the HiME are helpless women. I'll show you just how superior the Otome are," Ruby hissed. When it looked like she was about to break for Mai, both Haruka and Natsuki opened fire to stop her. It seemed to work. Ruby dove down near the ground and formed another shield of fire to stop any stray bullets. As a response, Ruby flung a fireball towards them both, and the gunners leapt to the side and out of the way. "You all right, Kuga?" Haruka questioned after getting back to her feet. Natsuki nodded – the only response that was necessary. Midori's axe was locked against Onyx's, and she desperately pushed and shoved to get her off. The teacher kicked out and caught the Otome's knee. It wasn't effective in actually pushing her away, but it threw her off enough to where Midori could swing her weapon back and lash out. Onyx blocked two successive attacks, and leapt out of the way of a third. She gritted her teeth. This woman... was good. Onyx attempted to swipe Midori's legs out from under her, but the teacher leapt over the shaft of the pole-axe before it could hit. And as Onyx recovered from her attempted hit, the teacher bashed her in the side of the head with the bottom of her weapon. Onyx grunted and then screamed as Midori's weapon came down blade first on her robe. The weapon came down so swift, and Midori's blade had been sharpened so much, that a small gap of perhaps two inches across was formed from the impact. The force she had used to land her decisive strike caused her to fall forward, and both she an Onyx crashed to the ground. Haruka moved in to cover Midori while she got up, and she shouted out to Natsuki. "Delinquent! Now!" Already on top of things, Natsuki ripped the transmitter from her bandolier and loaded it into her empty revolver. Spinning the chamber, she locked it into place and pulled back the hammer, lowering herself to one knee and bracing her firing arm against the opposing one for support. She wasn't a sharpshooter, and with the gap so small... She steadied herself, ignoring both Topaz and Ruby brawling with the others. She fixed her eyes on the pale flesh of Onyx's exposed leg, and lined her gun up gently. She only had one shot... She squeezed the trigger with the utmost care and sensitivity, and felt the gun kick back after the bullet was released. She slowly opened her eyes, afraid that she had missed. Instead, she was greeted with the sight of Onyx clutching onto her leg, stifling a scream. She wasn't able to for long. Her voice echoed through the area as she let out an almost blood curdling yell of pain, blood pouring from the open wound. Onyx began to retreat, barely able to move. Topaz immediately stopped her assault against Midori and Haruka to assist, Ruby giving them cover. "I'm fine!" Onyx demanded as Topaz manhandled her back towards the APC in retreat. "Get back over there and deal with them." "Or not," Topaz countered. Leaving her leader as a sitting duck was not an option. So with one of Onyx's arms around her neck, she rapidly retreated to the APC and began to load her teammate in. Ruby was behind, summoning up a wall of fire to keep the HiME at bay. While she truly wished to go after Tokiha to see if she could fight at all, she knew full well that Onyx's safety came first. And so, against Onyx's actual orders, Topaz took over and issued a retreat in order to tend to her wounds, cursing that they did not send out all five Columns to deal with this. A string of flame whipped out across the battlefield, the HiME ducking and leaping out of the way. Haruka winced as she felt a sting on her arm, and looked down to see a light burn wound. She'd been too slow, but it was all right. It was only a minor wound. Ruby, all at once, banished her deadly fires and retreated into the APC as well. It raced off, and the HiME did not pursue. Onyx looked back and out the window, feeling uneasy. That was... too odd an encounter. She turned her gaze to her leg, but could not fix her eyes on it for long before she had to turn away. Looking at it made the pain worse, and she had not yet mastered ignoring physical injuries. In time. Midori fell to Miyu's side, and examined her. The android was entirely immobile. Her eyes were 'dead' in the sense that they looked offline. She turned back to Haruka and Natsuki. "Virus or something?" Both shrugged. Natsuki offered an answer. "Alyssa is supposed to be good with gadgets. Maybe she knows how to fix her. Either that, or Yukino." "That'll have to do," Midori agreed. "Haruka, help me carry her back to the car." "Let the delinquent do the manual labor. I'll go tell Mai to warm up the truck." Haruka pivoted around, leaving Natsuki to holster her weapons and bend to pick up the platinum haired warrior. Midori shook her head. Of course, pretty princess, no peasant work for you! The teacher and the biker did the job of carrying the android back towards the SUV that Mai was climbing back into. She was heavier than she looked. - - - Natsuki's bike came to a stop just outside Miyu's home, and she left it running while she headed up to get the golden haired youth inside. Mai had dispatched her to fetch the girl after returning to her apartment. The biker hopped up the steps and rapidly knocked on the door. Damn broken robots. This could only have happened to them. Without even wasting time removing her helmet, Natsuki opened the door before Alyssa could even get there, seeing the girl walk down the stairs. Alyssa paused, not expecting Natsuki, but didn't have much time before the biker stated what the problem was. "Miyu was damaged and infected by some kind of virus. She's offline. She's at Mai's apartment. I'll take you over there. Do you think you can fix her?" Natsuki inquired. Alyssa's gazed instantly hardened. "Miyu...?" "I'm sorry," Natsuki said, not knowing what else to say. "Her body's fine. It's just that we can't get her back online." The blonde closed her icy blue eyes for a moment, fearing what happened to the one person who truly was like an elder sister or a mother, and then headed back upstairs. "I have to get some things. Wait here. I'll be right back." It didn't take long for Alyssa to return with a bag of hastily thrown together gadgets and memory cards. Natsuki led her back out to the bike, noting the girl's distressed expression. She felt herself torn. Should she hug her? Tell her everything was okay? Alyssa, however, seemed to be much like Natsuki when it came to important things. She got on the back seat without missing a beat, leaving Natsuki to climb on. The biker sat herself down on the main seat and prepared to leave, but remembered one thing. She slid off her own helmet and gave it to Alyssa, who fastened it to her head. "Hang on." A ten minute silent ride later, Miyu was sitting upright, though still offline, with her back opened up to reveal a host of electronic thingamajigs that only the technical people seemed to understand. Alyssa had, apparently, kept a great deal of Miyu's data backed up on various discs and memory cards. The problem lay in doing away with what looked liked fried circuitry and some important software gone corrupt from whatever Onyx had activated. Alyssa was a bit vexed, but talking while she worked to keep her mind occupied. Yukino was at her side, helping in whatever way she could. Shizuru came in from MHI's fairly new Kyoto complex with a few more electronic thingamajigs that no one but them seemed to be impressed by. Shizuru handed over the small box to Alyssa and said, "They aren't your exact specifications, as Searrs uses its own equipment, but should work in a pinch. How are things progressing?" Alyssa looked up, took the box, and got back to work immediately after examining them, typing onto panels and using a few tools to pry open busted parts. She looked like a little blonde Natsuki working on a motorcycle. "I think they'll be all right. Thank you, Shizuru-sama. How did you get them away from work with no problems?" "Ara, I stole them." Shizuru's words were blunt, but honest. Natsuki sighed at her girlfriend's actions as Alyssa looked back up in mild surprise. Shizuru shrugged. "You don't have to address me as Shizuru-sama, either. No suffix is needed." "Very well," Alyssa replied, and set back to work. Shizuru looked over her shoulder, monitoring the progress with Yukino, both elder women surprised by her skills and keeping watch should she need aid. Not that it looked like it at this point. Shizuru gazed at the electronics and, summoning up what experience in the technical field she had, asked, "Have you been locked out of her operating system, then? And even the BIOS isn't cooperating?" "Pretty much," Alyssa replied. "Seems to have been the work of Dr. Smith. He was on the Yggdrasil team. I guess it makes sense for that corrupt fool to be involved with the Otome." Natsuki looked down. Did she know of her own parentage? A private discussion. Best not to bring it up there. "Smith? You think he's in charge of it all?" "Maybe. Shizuru, will you hand me that?" Alyssa asked, looked at a tool next to her. The Kyoto woman obliged and handed it over, the pair seemingly teaming up to deal with Miyu's little software breakdown. Yukino was busy trying to hack through whatever Smith had installed. But it was taking time. The code was unlike anything she'd seen. "How long until you think Miyu will be fixed?" Midori asked. Yukino shook her head. "Too difficult to say. Could be hours, could be days. I wouldn't expect to have her for your final showdown." Alyssa seemed to agree, nodding along. Mai sighed. They didn't have that long. The Emulator could be moved by then. "Were you able to track down the Otome after Natsuki implanted the transmitter?" "They seemed to stick to three main areas. I have them marked down," Yukino replied, handing over a map of the facility. "If you want to start the endgame, now would be the time to do it. We won't get more exact than that." Mai nodded. "Well... it's a shame Miyu won't be here to help us, but I think it'll be better to push forward rather than wait for a repair that could take days. We should break into teams and plan to assault the facility tomorrow night. Does that sound good to all of you?" A series of nods. Even from Akane, who was still greatly disturbed by the prospect of being responsible for Sister's true death. Mai, once again comfortable in a leader mode and Natsuki letting her take the unofficial rank, looked to each of them and continued her unplanned briefing of what might have been a suicide mission. "We've got a couple objectives to complete. The main power supply needs to be destroyed. Someone needs to secure the real Emulator in case we have to demolish it, which means you need to be calm enough to handle... the guilt involved with that. The computer networks and data need to be destroyed. Some of us will have to keep the Otome and their fellow soldiers at bay. If Smith is involved, he needs to be dealt with. Who wants to do what?" Mai asked. One by one, they picked a task. Even Haruka was going along, far too involved now to 'let the other nitwits try and deal with things.' Their real jobs be damned, they each prepared themselves for a final push against Searrs. Midori would get the main power supply. Shizuru and Natsuki would deal with the Emulator, only those two having the will to perform the most heinous of attacks. Nao would deal with the wanton destruction of the computer system, Yukino agreeing to remotely hack in and delete key files. Smith would be 'dealt with' by either Midori or Natsuki. Everyone else was on Otome duty. "And..." Mai began, "since the Emulator tends to overload if it has to deal with too many people using it at once... I suggest that we try and materialize our own weapons and Children. I don't know if it will work, but if we can overload the system, the Otome will be defenseless – more than us, I'm willing to bet." "Right!" Midori cheered. "Then we can really show them just how much HiMEs are superior. Have to take them off their high horses." "Well," Natsuki said, "time for this thing to end." All ten HiMEs in the room nodded in agreement. It was about damned time. - - - Next Episode: The finale. The HiME storm the Searrs facility, and the Otome are out in full force to try and stop them. Can anyone tap into the Emulator and materialize their Elements, or will the Otome remain the sole users of the artificial system? The Otome on one side, the HiME on the other, but only one group will claim victory – the potential sacrifice of Sister always an imminent threat. Note: Epilogue will follow, and possibly a just-for-fun appendix mimicking a Searrs report on the older Carnivals and stuff. Yukariko being the Shinso was alluded to in earlier chapters with the Emulator's 'booting up' like in Otome, with the phrase 'connected to S.Y.' Those being her initials, of course.
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