A Violent Wind Her head throbbed as another mind tried to take control, and her body burned as fire. Heat shot up her spine and spread through her limbs. It was as if it were a fever brought on by unknown circumstances. She was being torn in two and haphazardly placed back together again with pieces put into different areas. In one instance she wanted to run and scream at the top of her lungs. In another instance, she wanted to embrace what ever was happening to her and cling to as much power as she could. Insecurity and supreme confidence battled for domination. This was a sickness. This was a blessing from above. Her mind teetered back and forth. Memories floated in from the deepest recesses of her mind. She could see the Shinso, of all people, caring for her. When had the Shinso, a long dead Otome warrior, been her servant? No, that wasn't simply the Shinso. That was Himeno Fumi, the previous incarnation of the maiden. She saw Nagi in multiple lights. In one moment he was the noble son of a samurai. In another he was something darker and more sinister. Yellow eyes stared at her while a mouth twisted into a smirk of satisfaction. Her eyes failed to function as crystal closed in around her, tighter and tighter and tighter still... Her chest tightened as that sensation continued to overwhelm her. "Ann-san, I need out of here." The tunnel was suffocating her further as that claustrophobic sensation clamped down. The Annam princess got to her feet but was hesitant to move further. The Zipang honorific merged with traditional Windbloom German had thrown her off. She seemed confused. "Just get out of here? But above ground might be too hostile, and those other two Columns..." "Ima!" Zipang now came more freely than Windbloom German. Ann had to adjust accordingly as Mashiro continued. "I do not feel well. I need air. Right now." The elder woman turned her head to look back up at the hole she had created just a few minutes ago. Walking beside the corpse of one of the fallen Otome, she tried to determine whether it was possible to get out from there or not. She didn't hear any fighting. There were no voices. Perhaps they were truly alone and it was safe above. Deciding that the rubble was stable enough to climb on, Ann hoisted herself up and extended a hand. "If you must." Mashiro broke the Maitreya blade down into photons so that she could climb with both hands. One grabbed onto Ann's and she felt herself lift off the ground thanks to a powerful tug from the other royal. Once there, she used her other hand to grab hold of a concrete block. She attempted to haul her trim body up onto the street, but found that her skills were lacking. She began to slip back down. Ann, noticing this, grabbed Mashiro's rear in an unladylike fashion and prevented her from falling any further. "H-hey! What do you think you're-- whoa!" Mashiro protested. Ann gave her another shove and pushed her up onto the street. Mashiro grabbed the side of the road and lifted herself away from Ann's visiting hand. Mashiro got her feet and turned back around to help the other woman. Holding onto Ann's wrist, she pulled her up and out of the tunnel. Now free of the dusty confined space, they were allowed to breath in the crisp winter air. It would have been nice to see the sun, but like it was most of the time, clouds covered the sky. While Ann determined whether or not the area was truly safe, Mashiro became trapped within her own mind as that Ikusahime heat flared up once more within her body. Kazahana, like a parasite waking up from within, began to plow through Windbloom's memories and claim them as her own. Mashiro found herself thinking in patterns that she normally wouldn't have. Was this the process everyone else had gone through when they left the Otome and became 'HiME'? Was this real, or had she fallen under the same spell as the others? When Kazahana finally gained control, Mashiro became melancholy and instantly appeared to be older than her actual years. She processed everything that had happened and began to try and determine how the Carnival could be stopped, like a mastermind plotting world domination. She was good with plans. She had won her own Carnival and in the succeeding one she had destroyed the cycle completely. Mashiro had not planned for man to interfere, but it was much too late. Something had to be done. Part of her success came from the fact that she had three hundred years to work her magic and execute her plans. In those three hundred years she had become indifferent to the plights faced by the new generation of Ikusahime. While she felt and understood the pain Mai and the others had faced, she had moved them around like pawns on a chessboard, just as the Obsidian Lord had done. She had to be cruel in order to win. Mashiro had ensured that all of them would fall except for one. It was only when that happened that she could launch her final, surprise assault against that damned machine. While Windbloom wailed in protest, Kazahana decided that if she would have to use them all to win the Carnival a third time, she would. Things were not on her side this time. Her memories were partially buried. She did not have the Elders to help her. The luxury of immortality was not in her possession and time was frantically short. If she was to make a plan, it would have to be thought up in a rush. Things would be sloppy. She would not have the same amount of control, and to a degree, that frightened her. A certain victory did not exist even with three hundred years of strategy. What were the chances of success now? "Mashiro." Ann's voiced lulled her out of her brain. "Have you known you were one them from the start?" "No." "How did it happen?" She asked. Mashiro fixed her eyes directly upon Ann, her stare piercing deep into Ann's soul. She who had been the queen no longer existed in her pure form. The darker Kazahana aspect now reigned. "The Obsidian Lord decides who will become an Ikusahime. All of the current Ikusahime are new incarnations of warriors who once saved the world from evil and then fell to man. Two of them were unable to reprise their roles. Shinso was one. Natsuki was the other. I have been selected to fill Fumi's place, as I too am an incarnation of an even older HiME." "Natsuki's one? Why hasn't she shown any signs? Is she just concealing her power?" "I cannot say for certain. The Obsidian Lord has seldom possessed a woman, much less one who had been an Ikusahime. She may be able to snatch them back from the person who currently has them. She may not be able to claim them at all given her position as the new host. I am investing in the latter scenario," Mashiro explained. While Ann was still certainly confused as to what all this Carnival business was about, she only needed to know the vital pieces of information to find out how to be of assistance to all those involved. "Why are they killing each other? How does it end?" "There is a star that you cannot see. It will soon strike the Earth and destroy life as we know it. That is what the Obsidian Lord uses to manipulate the HiME, along with emotional interference. You'll see everyone act as if they are on edge when it isn't necessarily required. The twelve will fight until only one remains. She will be the world's savior, but will also be imprisoned to serve as the Lord's source of power. Then it will all begin again three hundred years from now." Mashiro then smiled. "As for how it ends this time? Even I cannot see that." Mashiro's sudden loss of youthful energy was mildly frightening. It was as if she was possessed herself. Everyone was just absolutely unpredictable! Motives, behavior, reactions... they were all so random now. "Why don't they just kill Natsuki?" "The OL is an entity who can possess anyone. If she dies, he'll find a new host. I don't know if you can destroy the computer, or Emulator, on which he's stored until the Star is destroyed, but..." She paused mid-sentence as someone caught her eye. "...But I think Nao is going to try." Ann followed her gaze until she saw the former Spinel user in the distance, angrily marching right for Dammerung. When an Orphan drew too close, they watched Nao lash out with her wires. They cut through several beams on an overhang, causing it to collapse onto the creature and crush it into a bloody mess. Ann yelled out, concerned at whatever Nao intended to do, but she was ignored. The former Column was too far away to properly catch up with her. She was moving too fast. Then they spotted a second. Dragging a long obsidian blade behind her, the ever childlike Mikoto ran after her 'team leader,' equally concerned. Mashiro tried to get her attention instead. "Mikoto! Where is she going?" Mikoto came to an abrupt halt, nearly tripping over herself as she did so. "Since Shizuru left for the mountains before we could get her, Nao-san said she was going to go straight for Natsuki instead." "Of all the foolish nonsense..." Mashiro muttered. She began to jog after Mikoto, and Ann could only follow behind with her naginata in hand. Mashiro watched Nao's distant movement. It was erratic and livid. She read into Nao as Kazahana would – as someone who mainly knew her through extensive study instead of face-to-face communication. Yuuki Nao. Confirmed user of Julia Araneae. Expelled from multiple schools due to aggression and fighting. Does not care for teamwork. A lone wolf, much like Kuga. Easily manipulated by using her anger to one's advantage. Was the Lord luring her into a trap, or was this Nao's own doing? They watched as Julia formed out of thin air and switched to her flight mode. Nao hopped onto the Child's back and it took off at full throttle, flying just as fast as an agile Otome. Whatever the reason was, Nao had to be stopped before she became another victim. You could not destroy the Star unless there were enough HiME to break it up, and Mashiro could not perform the same resurrection trick in their current situation. Things were artificial. Any unnecessary risk would potentially ruin their ability to end the new Carnival of Man. Ann was unaware and willing to fight. Mikoto was naïve as ever. This made them easy to use. Mashiro took charge. "We must run after her and stop Nao before she can do something she will regret. She must not be allowed to fight against Natsuki or the Emulator," Mashiro commanded. "Mikoto, where are the others?" "Shiho-san went up to the mountains, and the kaichou followed. I've only been able to find Nao, but she won't listen to me. Akira-kun and Azumi-san were separated during the chase. Mai's faction... I don't know what happened to them," Mikoto said with a frown. "We'll worry about that later, then." How could she pull her pieces back together in order to form a unified front against that renegade program? "Let's just get Nao. We'll have to break the Otome lines to do it. Mikoto, can you summon Miroku as a Child?" "I think so." Both women materialized their respective swords and slammed them into the ground. Black spikes rose and rose further into the air until hulking shoulders sprang from the street. Ann grabbed onto one, using it as a handle as both Children showed themselves. Miroku and Maitreya as Children closely resembled one another. Low centers of gravity, each holding a massive steel bat laden with spikes. Mikoto's was a dull earth tone while Mashiro's was the color of blood. Both took flight, and Ann desperately clung to any surface in order to keep from falling off. The Children raced after Julia, powerful rather than fast. They would be a bit behind. As the flew, Mashiro continued her meticulous planning and brainstorming. The Obsidian Lord was now nothing more than a renegade computer program. It was a human construction gone mad. There were only two HiME who could have properly dealt with that – Alyssa and Yukino. They were coincidentally out of the Carnival. How easy would it have been for a skilled hacker to deal with this kind of situation? It was a skill that was sorely missing from what was left of the HiME arsenal. - - - Kagutsuchi's great wings let her glide down to where she had seen the faint green beacon. Had Mai been too late? She could not let herself believe that. The sound of a crying Child and the green sparks... they had been figments of her overactive and troubled imagination. The biting wind had simply interfered with Mai's usually hawk-like vision. Yet, when she completed her dive down towards the ground and allowed her Child to gently soar over the former battlefield, it was clear that Yatagarasu was no more. But where...? Where was Shiho? Where was... Shizuru? A purple kimono would surely stand out amongst the winter landscape. It was snow and dead trees. Color did not fit in. Her eyes continued to scan the area, and she could see Kagutsuchi's neck twist as he too looked for the missing murderer and victim. Kagutsuchi stiffened and Mai followed the dragon's gaze skyward. There was a Child! Mai narrowed her vision as she watched it approach. Was it Kiyohime? No. Wrong color. It was red. As it drew closer, it was easily recognized as Gakutenou. Had Midori seen the sparks as well? As Kagutsuchi was all too willing to fight against anything and everything during a Carnival, Mai had to gently pet his back in order to calm him down. "Easy there, boy. That one's helping us. Gakutenou is not going to do anything," Mai cooed. Instead of screeching and tearing after the incoming Child, Kagutsuchi obeyed and gently flapped his wings in order to gradually gain altitude and meet Gakutenou halfway. The Children both slowed to a near stop, with Gakutenou hovering and Kagutsuchi flapping his fiery wings to stay in place temporarily. Midori was the first to shout of the distance between them. "You all right?" "Yeah. Have you seen either Shiho or Shizuru?" Midori nodded, and her words made Mai somewhat anxious. "Saw Shizuru, but only for a minute. Was heading northeast. Didn't see Shiho, but saw Yatagarasu take off from the steep side of the mountain. Maybe she was controlling him from up there!" Mai looked to the mountain and to the northeast. What to do? Who was the priority? Shizuru needed to be stopped, but Shiho could definitely not be left alone on a mountainside in her current zombie-like state. Midori seemed to have the solution in the face of Mai's slight indecisiveness. "I'll go pin Shizuru down while you take Shiho back to the HiME base. You come back and help me out if she won't listen to reason!" "E-eh..." Mai again found herself locked in internal debate. Was that wise? Would Midori hold her own in a fight against Shizuru, should it come to that? But Shiho needed care, otherwise she too would surely die. "Fine! I'll be back as quick as I can!" Regardless of whether it was the best course of action or not, Kagutsuchi took Mai up towards the mountain while Midori was left to take Gakutenou back down towards the ground. Where in the world was Shizuru Viola? Midori kept her eyes fixed on the woods. Shizuru was good at outdoor survival. She remembered it from Aswad's clashes with the Otome and Viola. She would likely find cover and wait until the 'search party' had gone. Or perhaps she would head for the ruins of Kusatsu and hide there? That too was likely. Midori followed a path that led towards that city. "Really..." Midori complained, "I'm going to start charging these girls additional fees for their Sentai membership every time they try and break up the team. What troublesome teenagers." She gained just enough altitude to give herself a wider view. Come on, kaichou-sama, you've got to be around here somewhere, she thought. No one, not even Shizuru, could clear that much distance in such a short amount of time. Kiyohime was no where to be found and would stick out like a... a big purple flying octopus. No sense in finding a simile for that one. It worked well enough on its own. She turned her head around to briefly look at Mai's distant form. Ah, it seemed like Kagutsuchi was slowing near a point on the mountain. They must have found Shiho. Good. At least Mai would be moving quick, then, should Midori need her assistance later. Feeling remotely safe at that thought, she continued to scan the woods, ordering Gakutenou to go slower so that she could get an even better view. Oh, for a world class GPS satellite. That would make everything easier. She neared a flat clearing and saw a flash of purple and red. Ah! Shizu--! Midori's joy turned to surprise as a red chain wrapped around one of Gakutenou's forward limbs. The Child, now caught in Shizuru's 'net,' promptly headed nose first towards the ground. Midori flew forward and landed unceremoniously as Gakutenou came to a sudden halt. She climbed to her feet and turned back around, only to find Gakutenou sticking out of the ground, his javelin like nose having impaled itself into the soil. It would have been funny if he wasn't completely and utterly vulnerable in that situation. Midori raced forward and summoned her Element as Shizuru drew close, hoping to pierce Gakutenou's softer belly. She flung her labrys like a boomerang, and it sailed through the air with a light hiss. It hit Shizuru's bardiche and dropped to the ground, only to rematerialize in Midori's hand a second later. When Shizuru looked up to face her, that's when Midori got her. A distraction. Gakutenou pried himself free in that moment and wheeled himself away like a hotrod. An angry hotrod. Shizuru did not look happy at Midori's interruption. "Sorry, Fujino-san, but you've got to deal with me before you get to stab Gakutenou full of holes," Midori declared. She pointed her Element at the murderous Ikusahime. "Midori Sugiura, HiME of the Violent Wind, at your service." Shizuru's neutral expression did not waver, but her eyes darkened. This would not do. This would not do at all. - - - When Mashiro's newfound team arrived at Dammerung, they could see a plume of dust and debris stemming from a hole recently made in the building. The Otome were scattered but quickly formed up again to deal with the new threat. Maitreya and Miroku accelerated and rammed through their defenses, knocking several Otome to the ground and forcing the rest to rapidly evade. The Ikusahime and Ann then jumped off, running into the puncture that could have only been left by Julia. The behemoth Children they left behind temporarily fought off the Otome before vanishing, their mistresses not willing to lose them to the expert Slave killers. Mikoto had stormed in once before and Ann knew her way well enough. They led Mashiro back down, striking through anyone who dared to get in the way. Stairwell after stairwell was descended as they followed the sounds of crashes and dull hits. Nao was making straight for the Emulator room and not taking one step back. They caught her just before the Emulator room itself. It was a long, vast hall that Mashiro noted was perfect for an ambush. She did not like it one little bit. It was Mikoto who slammed into Nao and grabbed hold of her like a judo champion. Nao struggled, screaming in fury. "You damn brat, let me go! I'm almost there!" "You can't!" Mashiro warned. "Don't you understand that if...?" "Don't lecture me, queen!" Nao hissed. "I'm not buying into the 'what-ifs!' I'm just going to end this here and now before they can kill any more of us! Shizuru left, but they're right here! We can do it!" "Miyu is in there!" Ann warned. "So what?!" Nao finally broke free of Mikoto's hold, using a counter move she had learned at some point from a different style of fighting. With Mikoto on the ground, she leapt forward and made her way to the doors that sealed the Emulator off from the world. Three of the eleven lights were lit and the doors remained locked no matter how desperately she shoved on them. She tried the controls, but was denied access. "Do any of you know how to hack into any of this shit? Dammit, if Yukino were here...!" Nao nearly gasped as the doors opened seemingly from her yelling alone. Was the power of bitching that effective? No. They opened just enough to let one slender person through. And Nao was met with eye that glowed bright red before fading to their 'natural' color. Miyu. She was going to defend Alyssa to the digital death, wasn't she? Nao backed up and bared her claws, more than ready to destroy that damned android once and for all. She only ever got in the way. When Miyu exited the room, the doors slammed shut once again. The lights flickered and dimmed, and everything became silent. Ann's eyes tilted up. All the security cameras were pointed straight at the group. All eyes were on them. Everyone refocused on Miyu once more as the android extended her arm blade. The others soon fell into combat stances as well. Ann tried to get the android to stand down. "Miyu. We don't mean you any harm. We're just trying to get Nao out of here." Miyu did not move and did not speak. There was a great hesitation before she turned her gaze to Mashiro, letting her eyes glow once more. When she did speak, her voice wavered between pitches and stammered. It sounded more like Natsuki than Miyu. "The Y-y-y – The Yggdrasil unit b-b-belongs to me, traitor. I t-t-told you that if you came here again, I would kill you." Of course. Now that the Obsidian Lord was a program on a human computer instead of locked in the confines of an alien machine, it could no doubt infect anything. Perhaps Miyu had tried to get Alyssa out and the Lord had taken control of her directly to prevent that from happening. While Ann stiffened in what looked like fear, Miyu's eyes fixed onto the other combatants. When her gaze fell upon Mashiro, Miyu let out a shriek that nearly ripped their eardrums in half. "What are y-you doing here, Queen of-- Queen of Hell?!" She howled in multiple pitches. Miyu and Natsuki's voices were swapped at will. "A-a-always the rebel, s-s-see-ee-king to cause me irritation. I will not suffer your involvement in the Carnival any l-longer, you insolent brat." When Miyu finally moved, it was a charge. She cut down with her sword arm, aimed straight at Mashiro. The teenage queen swung her own Element up to meet it. Blades slammed against each other and Mashiro rapidly backed up to give herself more room. Miyu seemed to be single minded about eliminating Mashiro, and ignored the other threats. The next time Miyu tried to attack, she found her arm wrapped up in Nao's wires. The android tried to shake them off as Mashiro scurried further away. Infuriated by Nao's involvement, Miyu swung her arm and hurled the attached Nao into the wall. The wires were retracted as Nao tried to stand up and ease her dizzy head. - - - Shizuru whipped her chain through the air, hoping to slicing into Midori. The quick thinking redhead dropped almost prone to the ground in order to avoid it, and popped back up like the diligent warrior she was. As Shizuru retracted the chain, Midori closed in, though she felt a mild pain in her head. She swung her labrys, only to have it parried by Shizuru's bardiche. It would have been an exhilarating fight if it was not to the death. Midori had seldom fought anyone who used a similar weapon. Labrys and bardiche smacked into each other time and time again as their owners swung them to and fro, desperately trying to get a hit on either body. Shizuru retreated to chain range, but Midori cut her off. She hurled her Element like a boomerang once again, which was a powerful enough strike to cut through thick stone, as proven by her successful assault on a now long dead stone golem back in 'the good ole days.' Shizuru balked at her own attack and rolled out of the way. Midori recalled her weapon and, as they were now a great distance apart, called in Gakutenou. "Gakutenou! Spiral Dash!" She shouted. The Child in the distance revved and then screamed in at blinding speed. The javelin nose sought to impale Shizuru through the abdomen, just as it had done with Fia Grosse three years before. But Gakutenou could only attack in a straight line with that kind of speed. Shizuru sprinted to the side and narrowly missed the speeding chariot as it rocketed passed. It skidded to a halt and awaited Midori's next command, but the HiME wanted to do things herself. Midori closed in again and swung her weapon, which Shizuru blocked with the shaft of her own. Shizuru shoved the other female back, but Midori came at her with a kick instead of a blade. Fujino's prior back ground in martial arts began to kick in and she slid a few inches to the side, and redirected Midori's own energy with her hand, causing the redhead to fall to the ground. She quickly sprang up, however, to protect herself from a downward strike from the bardiche. Midori kept looking to the south, which indicated that Mai was likely to come back. Shizuru had seen Kagutsuchi leave. There was to be another fighter, then? That just meant that Midori would have to be finished quickly. Shizuru sent a flurry of strikes out against the other woman, but Midori was naturally faster. She had always made such a show out of her Element, but it was not all for entertainment. All the incoming hits were blocked by that expertly used labrys. There was an Aswad glare in Midori's eyes, letting the anger and hostility that was not found in Sugiura rise to the surface. Midori al-Aswad was a much more vicious fighter. Was that even intentional, or had the younger persona taken over as a survival instinct? "Shizuru, just stand down and nothing will have to happen. We need to fight as one, you fool," Midori stated, but Shizuru could not obey. Not with what she had at stake. She flung her chain out, but Midori leapt over the low attack. Midori kicked again after landing and closing, but Shizuru could not block it in time. She caught herself before falling, managing to stumble back instead of toppling over. Midori came at her with a rapid series of labrys combinations – a violent wind of steel. The bardiche was up and bouncing back and forth as Shizuru attempted to block all the incoming hits. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, pause. Eight, nine, ten... Clash after clash. Midori was fast! She nearly lost control of her Element in the midst of all that, and she swung the shaft up to aid her, catching the next series of strike. She was backing up and losing dominance. Could it be that Midori was better at personal combat than she was? Her usual ranged melee advantage was non-existent now, as Midori's weapon was similar in length. She didn't want to summon Kiyohime, but it might have ended up a necessity. On the twenty-sixth strike within Midori's flurry of attacks, Shizuru lost her footing when met with a dead tree root. She fell onto her back and Midori turned her labrys up as if she was going to deliver a final death blow, Aswad clearly in control against Sugiura's wishes. When it came to combat, only one had the killer instinct, and the heat of combat had let all that emerge. Midori's grip on the axe tightened. - - - Ann's hands were locked against the Emulator doors as she tried in vain to pull them open as Miyu battled with the others. She was nowhere near fast enough with her robe to act as anything but a meatshield, and she was not necessarily anxious to play up that part. If she could open the doors, however, she could go deactivate that Emulator and give the others a chance to enter if she could not successfully make it all the way. Her eyes darted back to the battle, in which Mashiro remained the main target. For all intents and purposes, Mashiro was doing quite well. She had allowed herself to be defeated by Mikoto in the last Carnival, because she needed Fumi to be defeated so that Mai could be the last. Now that was no longer part of her 'plan.' Mashiro fought like any other HiME. And she did it all without hesitation. She swung Maitreya in various directions at various angles, trying to catch Miyu unexpectedly. Thanks to Mikoto's assistance, Miyu sported two very large scars in her exterior flesh. The robotic parts underneath were easily visible on her leg, where the attacks had landed. Nao again tried to be of assistance by wrapping her wires around Miyu's leg. The android hit the ground and Mashiro nearly severed her head with Maitreya. The arm blade came up to stop it and Miyu stood up once more. She grabbed hold of the wires with her other hand and gave them a tug, snapping them free of her leg. It caused the superficial flesh surrounding the limb to tear and bleed, but Miyu did not care. The wires still in her hand, she gave them another pull. As Nao's gauntlets were still connected, she was taken forward and met with Miyu herself. Nao disconnected the wires and threw a punch, but the only person it hurt was Nao. Metal skeletons were bad for hand to hand combat. Miyu shifted her other arm to the Gatling gun mode and fired at both Mikoto and Mashiro, forcing them to duck or flee before they could attack. Miyu's standard hand grabbed hold of Nao by the jaw. The redhead was lifted off the ground entirely, and she grabbed at Miyu's arm to try and get down. The air was being squeezed out of her throat and lungs. "Y-y-you are becoming a nuisance, and I th-think your run for first place has ended. Goodbye, Y-y-yuu-yuuki." Nao's eyes widened as Miyu's grip became more intense, using every once of her cybernetic strength to close her fist around Nao's neck. Suffocation was forgotten as the spine threatened to break. Nao's body twitched and flailed as she struggled to get down, but Miyu would not allow it. Mashiro rushed in and let loose with a vertical chop after a pause in the gun. The blade slammed down onto Miyu's arms, fitting between the tight space between Nao's face and Miyu's torso. She attempted to sever the limb, and had she performed the attack on any mere human, it would have worked. Maitreya sliced into the flesh but stopped at the metal skeleton. Miyu slammed her gun arm down on the queen and knocked her over as her grip on Nao continued to tighten. Nao's red nails were digging into Miyu's soft flesh after Mashiro's attack failed. Blood poured from the tissue damage, and soon enough Miyu's forearms were shredded down to the point where only the metal remained. Her hold on Nao did not loosen, even as the Ikusahime attempted to snare any vital part of her equipment with those Elemental nails. Mikoto stood up after ducking from gunfire to help, heaving her heavy Element up to try and chop as Mashiro had. Maybe just one more swing. Miyu turned away from the attack and applied full pressure. Nao's muted whimpering fell completely silent as her neck was crushed all together, spinal cord and tissue and bone mingling within Miyu's robotic grip. Miyu released the body and watched as Nao's lifeless form crashed onto the ground with a sickening thud. Blood pooled around her, leaking from now the pencil thin piece of flesh that once separated her head and shoulders. Her body soon erupted in green mist. Mashiro watched as it vanished into the Emulator doors. She watched, ignoring Mikoto's scream of fear, as the fourth light illuminated. Then, to her surprise, a fifth light began to glow. She raised her eyebrow. ...Two? "I do love it when two of them are linked together," Natsuki said from behind them, having entered as Nao met her untimely death. "Especially when the other doesn't realize that she is a valued person. What a tragedy." - - - Shizuru watched Midori as her body seized up without warning. What was to be a death blow became a failed attack, as the labrys was dropped by weakened hands. Midori's speed became a thing of the past. Everything seemed like it was in slow motion. After the labrys became embedded in the ground, it vanished in a plume of green. Midori sank to her knees as she felt her heart stop. Her hands desperately clutched her chest in pain. How...? Gakutenou had not been defeated. She had not even been wounded. How could...? Midori looked up with sad but knowing eyes. It hadn't been her fault. Someone else had fallen. Someone who saw Midori as a beloved person. None of them did. How could that have been? As her feet faded into a green cloud that was taken by the exceptionally strong breeze, she slowly realized. The little ingrate had not been so ungrateful after all. Midori smirked at that. After the Carnival, the younger woman had hit hard times. She'd been living on the streets. Midori would have been a dreadful teacher to not try and do something for her former pupil and Sentai ally. One little offer for Nao to stay with her had been met with immediate resistance. "I don’t want to stay with you, you’re a creepy old lecher who pretends to be a teenager." To which the response had been, no, she pretended to be twenty-one at that point. Through ups and down Nao had come to stay with Midori and was raised under her care. From teaching Nao's classes at Kyoto University (the day she was voted most popular teacher after bringing a whip to school to serve as a discipline method) to having Nao sing her the Zyuranger theme on her traumatic thirtieth birthday (the day the sexy died), the pair had grown to be family. Well, in Midori's eyes, they had been family. She never thought Nao would have thought the same way. But she had said her goodbyes to Yuuki Shika after the coma proved to be irreversable. And she had taken her new mother on Earl for granted. Nao Zhang had been a strange creature. She cared for few people, and even then it had not been enough to make them a Key. Not even Nina, who had, to a degree, softened her. With the resurrection of their memories, Nao had one last thing to hold on to – that lovable lunatic who had tried to protect her and set her back on the right path after years of uncertainty. Midori was simply saddened that, through it all, her heart had always favored another, much older friend. She was happy in her death, as she somehow felt content now, knowing of Nao's attachment. Midori could only hope that both Nao and Youko could forgive her – the first for not being the subject of Midori's ultimate affection, and the second for being that ultimate affection. Neither situation was pleasant to be in. Death seemed to run with both, after all. "Fujino," Midori choked out as the green spread to her thighs and ran up past her hips. When Shizuru sat up and acknowledged her, Midori gave her a slight smile. "Red ranger always beats the renegade ranger. I so would have won." With that, Midori was finally broken down completely, her atoms snapping and forming photons, all of which were soon consumed by the Emulator. The fifth light out of eleven. Two had fallen in one unpredictable attack by a non-HiME. - - - Mashiro leveled her blade at Natsuki, but the possessed headmistress only chuckled dryly. "Oh, yes, I remember that face. Always so eager to have your revenge after you learned that all of Nagi's advances and affections were false. What a pity that was. To have killed all your friends for his sake, only to realize he was nothing more than a puppet." "It's okay," Mashiro replied. "I've learned that he's intolerable regardless of who's controlling his brain." "Are you becoming the opposing mastermind, now? Going to move all the pieces around to see if you can't beat me at the game of chess?" Natsuki inquired, her katana resting in one hand. "I don't see why you bother. You've lost your moral right to act the hero. You care about these girls as much as I do. Not at all. We both see them as tools." Mikoto finally snapped and lunged forward, swinging her blade out in a wide arc. To her surprise, the image of a great eye appeared before Natsuki. When Miroku hit, Mikoto found herself sailing back after being hit with astounding pressure from an invisible force. Like it could control Kagutsuchi before the Star was gone, it could also control Elements that were turned against it. The Obsidian Lord was invulnerable until the Star was destroyed. The theory had been correct, and Nao had simply thrown her life away. "Now, now," Natsuki said, channeling Reito's old personality. "You mustn't do that, Mikoto. After all, I am still your ani-ue, despite the new body. You would not want to carry the weight of killing someone who protected you in the most dire of situations." Ann finally let go of the doors and took up the naginata, not knowing what to expect. If that thing could control Elements and beings it once created, how would standard weapons fare? Natsuki noticed the change in attitude and stared right at the princess. Mashiro remembered. Reito had to fight Tate, who did not have an Element. Her gaze told Ann everything. Attack, attack, attack! And she did. She tried to cut Natsuki's leg out from underneath with the blade of the naginata. The katana was unsheathed and blade clashed. Natsuki stared back with a variety of dark emotions. When the naginata came back a second time, a minor exchange began. It ended quickly, after the sixth failed hit, when Natsuki lurched forward and grabbed hold of Ann's fist. Ann felt herself falling into Nao's position, and hoped to god that Natsuki hadn't somehow made herself into a bone crushing cyborg. "You seem so eager to fight me and I am so eager to see you dead," Natsuki hissed. The rest of her tirade was spoken by Miyu, who now shared the Obsidian Lord's conscious. "Y-y-you could at least serve some purpose instead of walking around here l-like a useless pile of flesh. You're only good at seducing women a-a-and ordering others around, at present. It would be-e-e highly enjoyable to see you ripped apart by your former allies as the Carnival winds down." "What are--?" Ann's question was silenced as Natsuki, quite to her surprise, sealed her mouth with her own. While she tried to figure out why that was happening, as Natsuki hated Ann with every fiber of her being, another and more severe sense of invasion started to take place. Ann felt ice and heat, and not the pleasant kind, spread from Natsuki's lips. It swarmed Ann's own mouth, crept into her jaw, ran down her neck and pooled in her chest. Cold and hot. Fire and ice. Icicles formed on her bottom lip and lower jaw and a bright red mark appeared on her lower back, like receiving a brand. Mashiro watched with both interest and horror. It was a direct transfer of power instead of selecting someone who had once been a HiME. Was Ann even an Heir? No, Mashiro did not sense that. Ann's entire genetic code was undergoing an irreversible change, and the princess' eyes began to roll back into her head as she lost her bearings. Ann went limp, her skin laden with ice crystals, and Natsuki let her fall to the ground. The headmistress was smirking. Now Ann was properly condemned to death. She would never find a way to survive until the end. Her deal with Shizuru was still intact, to boot. Natsuki never cut Ann down. Not one strike. Ice shards dug into Ann's hands and arms and she twitched as her body tried to accept the massive amount of power that had just been handed to her. Mashiro felt this was too far. They had to leave before anything else could possibly happen. She needed to find the others and destroy the Star. Act as the other mastermind. That was the only way to beat the Obsidian Lord – at his own game. "Mikoto, here!" As Mikoto scrambled to her side, Mashiro grabbed Ann and hauled her up. The queen snarled at her long time nemesis. "If I ever find the planet where you were originally built, I'm going to exterminate everyone there for my own amusement." Natsuki said nothing, but the Dammerung speakers placed above the conventional exit came to life. The Lord had infected everything. Absolutely everything. "T-t-touchy, aren't we, Queen of Hell?" Spikes came up from the floor and Maitreya the Child carried all three of the survivors out of the room, bursting through the ceiling and forming a gaping hole that led all the way outside. If only Nao would have listened to reason, this could have all been avoided! Mashiro's thoughts then turned to Ann, who had curled into a fetal position on the back of Maitreya. She whispered for help and convulsed as the searing pain stemming from her HiME mark swarmed her again. Poor child, Mashiro thought. She did not even deserve the same fate. She was too kind. Natsuki clicked her tongue as they rocketed away. "I do not know if I appreciate all these new skylights." - - - AN: For those of you who have read Kisaki exclusively, the Midori-Nao bond will seem odd. While I try not to strongly connect this to the older stories, that's something featured in the Kyoto Hunt and in the Calm. As is the Alyssa-Shizuru-Natsuki family connection.
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