WARNING - This contains strong language and sex scenes.

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Chapter Eight - Children of the Dark

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time: AD 2041, 10th July, 15:07

    Sylia was not exactly happy that a number of her "children"
were associating with both Priss and the... whatever it was that
"Kelly" was but she extremely doubted that she could do anything
about it. If it was just Priss alone that they were seeing then
Sylia would have taken action but how the hell do you take action
against something that could manipulate reality at will. This was
a concept that Sylia had decided the best way to accept was just
to ignore it. She had gotten along for years without knowing that
all the beliefs she had ever made were bogus and she could
continue in that sweet bliss. So anything to do with Kelly, Sam,
Linna or whatever else an insane God threw her way would now just
not exist as far as she was concerned. If her "children" wanted
to see Kelly and Priss then so be it.
    In the meantime she had managed to make some progress on this
group that called themselves "Culture". Assuming that they were
just a simple terrorist group and not another one of those
elements that she now ignored then it appeared that they had no
strictly definable goals. Mina and her group had tracked the arms
dealer to a contact who had then arranged a large purchase of the
same explosive material that had been used on the ambassador's
car. That by itself had been enough to trigger the alarm bells.
Celine had been able to record enough of the details of the
transaction to give Sylia a set of account numbers she could
begin to work with. She had identified the accounts of the arms
dealer and searched for transactions that had occurred anytime
near the date of the bomb blast. To say that she had uncovered a
hell of a lot of them was putting it mildly. This dealer was
extremely active and it had only been by monitoring his accounts
when the transaction Celine had observed was undertaken that
Sylia had been able to narrow the scope down. By further
cross-referencing and hacking Sylia had discovered a set of
accounts that she believed was one of those used to finance
Culture.
    It was during this time that she deeply regretted not having
made a clone that had Nene's true hacker instincts. She had
contacts who she could use but they did not have the background
that she needed for the memory engrams. She needed someone whom
she had trusted, someone who had worked with the other members of
her team in the past - in short she needed Nene. Once Sylia had
gained the account codes and set her systems tracking down any
references to them she had taken some time to seriously consider
what to do about Nene.
    Sylia had early memory engrams of Nene but for some reason
when she had tried to imprint them on a clone they had never
"caught". The memories had simply been rejected. Why? That was
the one question to which she had yet to find a satisfactory
answer. The encoding process worked with the memories of herself,
Priss and Linna but not with Nene's. Everything went fine up to a
point but then the imprinting was simply rejected. The neural
patterns that the nanites tried to lay down in the clone's
developing hippocampus became erratic and then simply
disintegrated into patterns that had no cohesion at all. The
resulting clone was absolutely useless. The best that she had
been able to accomplish was to merge bits of Nene's memories in
with hers as her base personally was more compatible. Her next
plan was to create a hybrid personality construct that she could
use as a test bed for accepting the common elements of those
memories that she fed into it. Theoretically, if she could use
this multi-compatible personality construct then she could load
all the experiences and skills that she could record into a
single clone. If she could do that then she would have the
perfect soldier.
    "Sylia?" a knock came from the entrance to her study. "It's
me, Helia. Can I come in?"
    "Eh? Oh sorry... yes. Come in - please," Sylia stood up and
waited for one of her own "children" to enter.
     "I'm sorry to disturb you Sylia but I really do need with
talk to you," Helia's white face seemed even more pale than usual
and Sylia frowned.
    "Helia? Is something wrong?"
    "I... I don't know. Not for certain..."
    Sylia did not like the sound of that. Helia was one of the
oldest of her children and the one that most of the younger
"girls" looked up to as a role model. They bought things to Helia
that they did not want to bother Sylia with and if Helia was
worried about something then Sylia was doubly so.
    "Why don't you sit down and tell me all about it Helia?"
Sylia led the girl over and sat her down. When they were both
comfortable Sylia looked at the teenager opposite. "So, what has
got you so concerned?"
    Helia looked nervous and uncomfortable but under Sylia's
steady gaze she steeled herself. Slowly she raised a hand and
closed her eyes. "This is..." she said and a moment later a black
ball of swirling darkness erupted from her palm and curled lazily
around her white wrist. The room suddenly became very cold and
Sylia felt an almost unnatural terror bubbling from the depths of
her being. Helia suddenly seemed to become far more than just the
daughter she had created. The girl that sat opposite her was...
worshipful. She was a figure beyond mortal ken. A figure to be
feared, loved, hated... Sylia found her reason slowly begin to
slip away as she began to sink to her knees before the presence
of her...
    "Sylia! Sylia! Stop it!" SLAP!
    The next thing Sylia could remember was that she was on the
floor with a very worried Helia looking down at her. Sylia
blinked and raised a hand to her aching cheek.
    "Ouch! That's quite a back hander you have there my girl."
    "I'm sorry," Helia said helping Sylia up. "But you just..."
    "Lost it?" Sylia finished getting to her feet. "Yes, you
could say that." She collected herself and looked at her
daughter. "That's... quite an... interesting effect."
    "Interesting?!?" Helia looked incredulous for a second and
then started to laugh. Sylia winced at the slightly hysterical
nature of the sound but she did not comment as Helia needed to
let it out. Finally, when the girl had settled down enough to
talk Sylia took a hold on the situation.
    "I suggest we take this one step at a time," Sylia began.
"First off, why don't you tell me exactly what you just did and
when you started to notice this..." she waved her hand about in a
vaguely mystical motion.
    Helia knew that Sylia would sort everything out. Already she
could see the calmness in her mother's eyes, the absolute
certainty that she could make everything all right.  That
absolute certainty of purpose calmed her far more than anything
else could. She had complete and utter trust in her mother.
    "I'm not exactly certain I can put it into words..."
    "Just try," Sylia held the white hand. "Try and describe what
you did, how it felt..."
    "Well..." Helia took a deep breath and slowly tried to
articulate what she, and some other of her sisters, had started
to experience. "...It's almost as if I am a... well... a channel
is the best way I can describe it. I relax and it's like a
barrier within me goes down and I have access to all this raw
power. I direct that power to do something and it usually
happens."
    "What do you mean - usually?" Sylia cut in. "Do you mean that
you only have control over this energy sometimes and not always?"
    "No," Helia shook her head. "It's almost as if this energy
decides that it will let itself be used for a specific purpose.
If it doesn't then..." she trailed off.
    "Almost as if it were sentient..." Sylia thought out loud.
"If this energy has the ability to decide whether or not it is
going to let itself be used then..." She shuddered, this was
getting rather too deep. Perhaps she had made a dreadful mistake
in trying to incorporate Sam's cells into her clones. Too late
now, what was done was done.
    "Sentient..." Helia suddenly started to shake and her face
went even more white than seemed possible as the implications of
what Sylia meant dawned on her. "Sylia... I'm frightened... I
don't want to be someone's... something's... doll. I..."
    "Shh..." Sylia got to her feet and went over to the
frightened girl. "It's all right. You're no one's toy. I won't
let them!" She smiled and touched her daughter's face. "Come on,
cheer up! Or you'll give me a bad name!"
    Helia hiccuped at the thought and a shy smile came to her
face. "But..."
    Sylia looked at the green eyes and said softly, "you and I
will have to go and see that Kelly Duval being."
    "What?!" Helia jumped up startled. "Are you serious?"
    Sylia nodded, "I don't see any alternative. She is the only
one who knows anything about this. We have to see her, like it or
not. Have any of the others come to you with similar...
problems?"
    Helia was breathing hard as she tried to overcome both the
fear and worry she was feeling. "It all started occurring less
than 3 weeks ago. It was almost as if something was triggered.
First Daphline, then Celeline, then Relia... I'm not sure how
many of the others are affected but..."
    Sylia sighed and nodded. "Then we have to see her and we have
to do it soon. How are the others taking it?"
    "Uncertain, frightened," Helia said. "Much the same as me.
They left it to me to talk to you..."
    "All right," Sylia said calmingly. "Here is what we do. You
and I will go and see this Kelly - see if she is willing to help
us. Tell the others that they are not to try or say anything to
the others until we have spoken with her."
    "But we need to find out who else is manifesting these...
talents," Helia looked at Sylia. "Daphline and one other needs to
talk to the..."
    "No," Sylia butted in. "Not until we have found out about
what it is we are dealing with. Not until we have seen Kelly."
Helia looked like she was going to object but then slumped back
into her chair. She was simply out of her depth. Sylia had a plan
- that was all that mattered. Mother would take care of things.
Mother would drive the nasty dreams away just as she always did.

    Sylia was not in the least surprised when Kelly opened the
door and said, "I've been expecting you Sylia, Helia. Why don't
you come in?" Helia looked a bit startled at this greeting but
taking her cue from Sylia did not make any comment and simply
climbed the steps and entered. The first thing that struck her as
surprising was the condition of the caravan - it was a dump. Why
did someone of Kelly's obvious power live in these conditions?
    "Habit I guess," Kelly turned and answered Helia's unasked
question. "And it's actually not that bad a place to live. It's
quite comfortable."
    Helia blinked and then reminded herself of the nature of the
being that she was dealing with. This Kelly might appear to be
human but she...
    "I am about as human as you are Helia," Kelly said with a
look of annoyance on her face. "It's just that in both our cases
we have part of us which isn't."
    "Stop violating my thoughts!" Helia exclaimed putting her
hands to her ears in a childish gesture of defiance. "Leave me
alone!"
    Kelly sighed, - then stop broadcasting them to the world
child -
    - I'm not! - Helia exclaimed. - I'm not like you! -
    - Oh yes you are my dear - Kelly giggled.
    - Leave me alone! - Helia replied. She turned to Sylia. -
Tell her who I am! Tell her I'm human! -
    Sylia just stood looking confused. Helia seemed to be getting
very distressed about something but nothing had been said.
    - Mother! Please! -
    "I would suggest you try speaking," Kelly said sitting down
on the old worn sofa and relaxing. "If you do that then Sylia
might be able to understand you."
    "What are you talking about? I am speaking!" Helia shot back.
"Mother, please tell her."
    "Helia?" Sylia frowned still wondering what the heck was
going on. "What's wrong? What would you like me to tell her?"
    "That I am human of course!" Helia said turning to Sylia. "I
asked you..."
    "No, you didn't," Kelly corrected with an amused grin.
    "I don't..."
    "Helia," Sylia held up a hand. "Please calm down and let
Kelly and I talk."
    "But Sylia..."
    Sylia gave her daughter one of THOSE looks and muttering
darkly Helia fell silent.
    "Children," Kelly commented with a smile. Ignoring the
reaction from Helia Kelly gestured to the available seats and
dragging her red faced child over Sylia sat down.
    "Now," Kelly said switching off the vidcom. "What can I do
for you Miss Stingray?"
    Sylia grimaced. It looked like this Kelly being wanted to
play games - well if that was what it took.
    "Sorry," Kelly apologized with a sheepish look. "Force of
habit. I know why you are here and I know what it is you came to
find out. The problem is I'm not exactly certain how much I can
tell you."
    "What do you mean?" Sylia asked confused. "If you know what
we need to know then why not just tell us." She gave Kelly a hard
stare, "unless you are not willing to tell us. Or you are trying
to play with us..."
    "It's difficult to explain," Kelly frowned knowing she was
beginning to walk on dangerous territory. "I'm not trying to Play
with you but there are certain... restrictions... let us say on
what I am allowed to tell you."
    "Allowed?" Helia butted in. "Allowed by who? I saw what the
hell you were capable of back at the hospital! Who is able to..."
    "Samantha," Sylia suddenly said. "That's who isn't it? She
has some sort of hold on you!"
    Kelly shook her head, "hold is not the right word. I belong
to her Family."
    "Family?" Helia said. "What do you mean?"
    Kelly sighed. She had to explain somethings and if Sam minded
then... tough. "All right, I will explain what I can but if I
suddenly seem to stop then you will know that that is the limit
of what I can tell you. Samantha can be very... petty at times."
    "You mean she knows what you are doing?" Sylia frowned.
    "She is the head of my Family," Kelly said with a shrug as if
that explain everything and Sylia decided it was not worth the
effort of clarification.
    Kelly settled herself back into the sofa. "I can't tell you a
great deal about the history of Samantha because to be honest I
don't really know myself. Her true past is as much of a mystery
to me as it is too most others. Loria probably knows something
but even then I doubt it's everything. What I can tell you is my
story and maybe that will help to clarify at least something. My
name is Kelly Duval. I was born on a world quite different from
this one, although as it came from the same root node as this
world it did share quite a few common elements."
    "Hold on," Sylia interrupted. "You have lost me already. What
do you mean by the term 'root node'? And by the use of the word
'did' do you mean your world is gone?"
    "My world was destroyed in a conflict between two Families,"
Kelly said quietly. "It was Sam who saved me by making me a
member of her own Family."
    Sylia was incredulous. "Destroyed?" she exclaimed. "You mean
your kind can..." her voice faded away. It seemed almost
impossible to comprehend.
    Kelly's mouth tightened and she nodded tersely. "Inter-Family
conflict can result in far more destruction than you can imagine.
The Nobleborn, those who belong to Families, have far more power
than you can comprehend. To them such destruction is simply a
Move on a board. As there are worlds beyond counting who cares if
some of them are lost. You are simply pawns, pieces which are
Moved this way and that. Only the Family matters. If you are not
part of that Family then you are fair game. The stronger Families
prey on the weaker ones and each Noble strives for a greater
position within their own ranks. Your world is lucky, most of the
Nobles have ignored it as completely insignificant."
    Had this come from anyone else Sylia would have called them
completely mad but considering what she had experienced herself
she had little choice but to accept this insane explanation. She
took a moment to mull over what Kelly had said.
    "Then you are saying that these Families fight against each
other and in the process destroy whatever they touch," she shook
her head. "Is that all there is to existence? Just war and chaos?
What about Heaven and Hell? Or Buddha? Do they exist? And how..."
    "Stop Sylia," Kelly held up her hand to halt the endless flow
of questions she could sense coming. "You want to know all the
answers to all the questions you have ever imagined all at once.
I am not here to do that. I said that I would tell you my story -
nothing else."
    Sylia almost ground her teeth in frustration. The woman
across from her had access to knowledge Sylia would have gladly
sold her soul for and that woman was not going to part with any
of it.
    "I would not want your soul Sylia," Kelly said softly. "The
Nobleborn have little use for such blandishments." Sylia paled.
    "But what about me?" Helia exclaimed. "What about me and my
sisters? What does all this Family stuff mean to us? Why are you
telling us about it?"
    "I would have thought that was obvious," Kelly commented
blandly. "You are part of my Family. You were created using cells
that Sylia got from Sam. You also have the Power." She shrugged,
"you and your kind are my sisters whether you like it or not."
    Helia was speechless. She knew she and her kind were not
"fully" human but this...
    Kelly smiled at the girl's reaction. "Cheer up," she said.
"Samantha may have one of the smallest Families in existence but
no one dares to bother us much. She has... a reputation. As a
result we are immortal, unfettered and free. What else do you
want?"
    What could Helia say to that? It was one thing to know that
you were artificial, but then to suddenly be told that you are
also immortal and more alien than you could imagine... In light
of all this information crashing down on her at once without even
having come to the subject of her Power Helia did the only thing
that any "normal" girl would do - she fainted.

    Mina looked down at her watch - 22:00. She had been here for
over two hours now and there was still no sign of that gorgeous
black waitress she had come back here to see. She decided she
could not wait any more and needed to be a bit more up front
about trying to find her. Mina finished the bland fruit juice
concoction that she had been drinking and stood up. Slowly she
made her way over to the bar and spotting a free space sidled up
to the counter.
    "Excuse me!" she called out trying to get the attention of
one of the serving boomers. However, it was too busy serving
other customers to notice her. "Excuse me!" she tried again but
had no success.
    "I wouldn't bother," a man next to her said. "I've been
trying to get a drink for about 5 minutes now. This place is as
packed as hell tonight."
    "That bad?" Mina sighed as the man nodded. "Great..." she
muttered as she settled down for a wait. Finally, she spotted a
free boomer and waved like crazy.
    "Yes Miss?" the boomer behind the bar came over. "What can I
get for you?"
    Mina leaned closer so that she would not have to yell over
the music and said, "I'm looking for a friend of mine who works
here as a waitress. She's a really good looking black woman whose
name is..."
    "You mean Loria?" the boomer interrupted supplying a name
like she hoped it would.
    "Yeah, that's right."
    "She's in..."
    "Hey woman!" a man behind her yelled. "Are you going to stand
and talk or order a drink? People are waiting!"
    Mina turned her head in annoyance and gave him an evil stare
before returning her attention to the boomer. "She's around? I
haven't see her."
    "She's working the tables tonight," the boomer pointed over
her head indicating an upper level. "She should be coming off at
23:45. Now, what did you want..." it stopped. The girl had
already left.
    Mina headed in the direction that the android had indicated.
It struck her as strange that a nightclub would have something
like a casino in it. She hoped it was not restricted entry or
something daft like that. It was not like she wanted to be
staying here until the early hours just because she had spotted a
good looking face. A small smile erupted on her face and she
shook her head slightly. No, she corrected herself, not a good
looking face but a _real_ good looking face. The question was
however was this Loria interested?
    When Mina finally reached the upper level she realized she
had completely misunderstood what the boomer had meant. The woman
called Loria was indeed working the tables but it was definitely
NOT a casino. Embarrassed as hell Mina walked into the middle of
a more... ah... adult bar. She stood frozen for a moment
uncertain as what to do. The waitresses were completely naked and
serving generally older men and women than those who were raving
away downstairs. A floorshow was going on but most people seemed
to be ignoring it.
    "Oops...." Mina said as she could almost feel her face
turning red. She tried to ignore the interested glances that
several people, both men and women, threw her way and steeling
herself charged towards the bar where Loria was serving drinks.
As she sat down the black woman spotted her and came over.
    "Why hello there again," the woman said smiling warmly as
Mina felt her blood begin to pound through her head. She had been
right. Gods, this woman was not just gorgeous but absolutely
stunningly luscious. Her voluptuous form practically oozed
sexuality and Mina went into complete gar-gar mode.
    "Daa..." Mina managed to say and the woman grinned.
    "I know what you would like," the woman said with a wink that
caused Mina to almost panic.
    "Waa... Daa... Whaa..." was about all she managed to get out.
    "There you go," the woman said putting down a glass full of
some rich smelling blend.
    Mina did not even think as she reached for the glass. Her
wide green eyes were fixed on the incredible sight in front of
her and she did not even notice when her hand closed on empty
air. The woman's rich smile deepened as Mina's hand searched
vainly for the glass.
    "You had better be careful," the woman finally said. "You'll
knock it over at that rate. Here, let me." Her hand took hold of
Mina's and guided it to the glass. Mina promptly tried to take a
drink and managed to miss her mouth completely putting her chin
straight into the thick pink juice. She flushed and the woman
laughed softly before reaching up and taking the glass back.
    "Here," she said and lightly grasped Mina's chin. Gently
wetting a cloth she wiped the excess fluid from the girl's face.
Mina began to feel hot as her sensitive nose detected the close
musky scent of the woman and her eyes locked on those so deep
golden brown orbs.
    "There you go," the woman finally said returning the
wide-eyed stare. "All clean now." She looked critically down at
the white face in her black hands. "Now cutie, would you like to
try that again?" The soft humor in her voice caused Mina to blush
again.
    The next few hours went by in a bit of a swirl for Mina. She
was no innocent. Indeed, she had had a number of casual flings
with people she had felt attracted to and on top of that she also
had a lifetime of memories from Linna's various sexual exploits.
However, she had never felt this level of pure animal lust for
anyone before. She had been attracted to this woman from the
first but that attraction was now pure desire. The term lust at
first sight had taken on a new meaning for her. For the first
time in her life she just wanted to get down and fuck. It was
insane but there it was. Her need was fuelled by the fact that
she could already see everything that the ebony woman had to
offer and the sight of it was simply driving her crazy. It was
almost as if something deep within her recognized something about
the woman - something special. As for the woman herself she just
served the drinks and sometimes came over to refill Mina's glass.
She always had that same amused expression in her burnished gold
eyes as if she was aware of what Mina was feeling and was
enjoying the experience of teasing her.
    "Well," the woman finally said coming over to stand next to
Mina. "That's my shift done for the night." She looked down at
the empty glass in Mina's hand and grinned. "I'm surprised..."
    "I want you!" the words burst from Mina's mouth before she
had even realized she had spoken. It took a few seconds for her
brain to process what it was she had just said and when it had
she felt like dying. What had she just...
    "I thought you would never ask," the woman said with a bright
laugh. "And yes, I would love to. Although," she looked
critically down at herself, "I think I would like to change
first."

    Kelly put down the two cups of freshly ground coffee and sat
down. She looked over at the shaking pale faced girl opposite and
smiled her understanding.
    "I'm sorry," she said gently. "I know it is not what you
wanted to hear but it is the truth. It is what you are."
    For a moment Helia did not answer but then she looked up.
"What about you?" she asked nervously. "How were you able to
accept... this..." her voice quivered.
    Kelly's face suddenly became surprisingly shy. "For love,"
she whispered as the old memories washed over her.
    "Love?"
    Kelly looked over at Sylia's startled face and nodded. "For
love," she repeated emphatically. Her eyes locked onto Sylia's
chestnut brown orbs and Sylia was surprised to see a memory of
almost human warmth shining from them. "I fell in love with Sam.
Oh, I did not know who she was at that time, I was simply on a
touring holiday in London when I met her." Kelly's lips curled
into a warm smile as she remembered the first time she had ever
laid eyes on the girl who would ultimately take her very essence.
The slender redhead had been struggling to load her suitcase onto
the coach when Kelly had on an impulse offered her a hand.
    "Sam and I were on the same package tour. Just a week's
holiday, that's all it was to have been," Kelly sighed. "A week
in which we became friends and slowly much more. Then, on the
last day, I asked her to sleep with me. I wasn't exactly a babe
in the wood at that time but Sam...." Kelly blushed. Even now she
still got hot at that particular memory. "Well... Anyway... when
I awoke the next day she was gone. It was then that I realized I
had somehow gone and truly fallen head over heels for her." Kelly
coughed nervously. "When they say that sex can be a drug...
Yes... Well, I tried to find her but the tour operator said she
had just upped and left  giving no forwarding address. So there I
was, madly in love with a girl I had just met and she had dumped
me without a word." Kelly snorted and shook her head. "Typical
Sam..."
    Yeah right, Sylia thought to herself as she digested what
Kelly was saying. Sometimes sugar was the best lure of all.
    Kelly was too wrapped up in her tale to notice Sylia's
expression. "A year or so passed and my company business took me
to America. You might think it odd but even after a year I was
still hoping against hope that I would somehow run into her. And
then, low and behold, one day out shopping I did. I don't know if
Sam staged it like that, if it was an accident, fate or what, but
after that meeting events happened and we ended up moving in
together." Kelly laughed softly, "the year that followed was
complete bliss. I thought I was in heaven - literally." Her face
lit up as many different warm memories of those divine times
filled her mind. However, just as quickly her expression turned
bitter and a furious anger sparkled in her dark eyes. "It was
just four months after our first anniversary that _everything_
changed."
    Sylia shuddered slightly at the flash of dark hatred that
flickered briefly through Kelly's eyes as the "woman" recalled
that "something".
    "Sam and I were at work when the unimaginable suddenly began
to become impossibly true," Kelly forgot the presence of Sylia
and the child as she was lost in recollection of a past only she
still valued. "At first, we all thought that the news report was
some kind of crazy joke. I mean, how would you react to a live
newsfeed in which Demonic things were shown attacking New York -
simply crazy..." Kelly's voice faded as she remembered the horror
that had been in the panicked reporter's voice as she had cried
hysterically, almost insanely on the screen as the newsfeed went
dead. Kelly and the others had watched uncomprehendingly as the
death of their world had begun.
    "Creatures, Demons, suddenly started appearing all over our
world. They swarmed over our cities in numbers that were
uncountable and in the space of just a few hours our world
literally became a Hell." Kelly tried to control the surge of
hatred that she felt about it even now. The past was the past and
as Sam had once told her, those who had been responsible had long
since covered their tracks well. Coldly she looked back at the
human and pressed on.
    "Their attacks were more horrific than anything you can
possibly imagine. Our weapons, our armies  - we couldn't do a
damned thing against them. In less than two years our bright
civilization was reduced to less than a few thousand survivors.
We were scavenging for food one moment and hiding from the Demons
or gangs the next. It was not a pretty time." Kelly shuddered
slightly as she remembered the roaming bandit gangs, the rape
gangs and worst of all those horrific nightmare creatures of the
Abyss. "Sam and I lived together in that hellish world for over
five years. Each day that went by we saw more and more people
die. Either the Demons got them or the gangs did. We encountered
less and less people as time went on. Near the end it reached a
stage where weeks would go by and all we would see was death,
destruction and Demons. Finally, I could stand it no more..."

        *       *       *       *

Location: Ruins of Denver, America (alt)
Time: AD: 2037 17 March 02:04

    Kelly looked down at the worn and exhausted face of her
little redheaded lover. The girl was asleep and her beautiful
white face was relaxed even despite the fact that it was marred
by the dirt and horror of the last five years. Somehow the two of
them had survived. How, was a question Kelly did not want to ask.
All that mattered was that they HAD survived but for how much
longer? That was the question that horrified Kelly. Edible food
was becoming almost impossible to come across now and the only
survivors that either of them had seen in the last few months
were gangs of once civilised people who had now degenerated until
they were little better than the Demons themselves. Death was
much more preferable to falling victim to those... people. She
had seen what they did to their prisoners... She had been forced
to watch while they had raped and tortured Rei... knowing that
she was next... If not for Sam that time... Kelly shuddered with
horror - at least with the Demons death was quick.
    Sam muttered something in her sleep and rolled over. Her
slender arm draped itself across Kelly's thigh and the young
redhead fidgeted nervously as if she was trying to run away from
some nightmare.
    "It's so Cold Kay," the girl suddenly stated talking to
someone in her dream.
    "Kay?" Kelly frowned at the pain and loneliness that had
sounded in that name. Sam then seemed to go deathly still as the
nature of the nightmare slowly changed into something far worse.
    "Oh Gods..." the redhead said in a tone of voice that was
almost a horrified plea. "Please... Someone... Sophia... Help
me... no... no..." The expression of growing fear on the white
face caused Kelly to gasp and reaching over she pulled her
beloved into her embrace.
    "Hush now, Sammy. Shhh..." Kelly whispered as she held the
frightened girl rocking her back and forth until the nightmare or
whatever it was slowly faded away and Sam descended deeper in
sleep.
    "Kelly..." the girl mumbled one last time in a timbre that
was filled with love before she gently started to snore. "Kel...
zzzz..."
    The sleepy sound caused Kelly to smile. Even here amongst all
this devastation and stench she could still feel the warmth of
the love that she had for her lover. And the thought of Sam
falling victim to those gangs had been one of the main factors
that had pushed her to this desperate decision. The two of them
had struggled against the impossible for over five years but to
Kelly it was now obvious that one day their luck would run out.
One day, one or both of them would sooner or later fall victim to
any of the lethal perils that this nightmare world now had to
offer its children and the thought of that was impossible for
Kelly to bear. So, after much soul searching, she decided that
even if she was eternally damned for it she would spare both of
them that horror.
    She had reached the fateful decision three days ago but it
had taken her this long to finally get together the courage to do
it. She had been trying to put it off but the near fatal
encounter that they had had yesterday with that single gang
member had finally convinced her.
    "Forgive me Sam," Kelly said softly as she reached out
towards the nearly worn out pack by the side of the rubble that
was currently serving as their base camp. Reaching in she drew
out the gun. Its weight was a familiar comfort although given the
amount of times she had used it over the last five years that was
not surprising. She had only three bullets left now. The same
three that she had originally laid aside for this exact purpose.
    She opened the clip and took the three bullets from the small
necklace that she wore around her neck. She looked at them
briefly. One for her, one for Sam and one for Rei. That had been
her original plan but Rei... was gone, so she only put two
bullets into the weapon's breech. She loaded and set the safety
off. Looking down at the still sleeping form of the one she loved
more than life itself she raised a shaking hand and put the gun
only centimetres away from that ever so white face.
    "Forgive me..." she whispered and a single tear ran freely
down her face.
    "Always," Sam's clear emerald eyes opened and looked calmly
at the gun resting only a short distance from her face. She
looked at Kelly and her elfin face smiled. "I will always trust
you my love," she said. "Choose as you will, but know this - I
will _always_ trust you..." saying that the girl slowly closed
her eyes and waited.
    Kelly watched the white face relax, the lips twitching into a
shy smile... She looked once more at the gun in her hand and took
a deep breath. She had made her choice a long time ago and now...
    "I will always love you Sam," she whispered kissing that pale
face one last time. "Now and beyond... I will love you - whatever
the price..."
    The Demon sniffed the essences of the air around it. Apart
from its pack mates the beast could detect nothing of the rich
life essences that had once been so abundant on this world. Now
however it could only detect the lowest level flows of the
bacteria that still survived in abundance. It knew that soon they
would need to migrate onto the next world. The life here was
almost stripped to the bone. There were still a number of
feasting that could be had here but the abundance of the past was
gone
    A single shot rang out and the Demon and its pack mates
raised their heads searching for the source of the sound. Shots
meant humans, life. One Demon hissed having acquired the source
of the sound. It launched itself into the dead air and the others
scrabbled to follow it. Another shot rang out and the pack honed
in on the sound. The blood craze was on them and...

        *       *       *       *

    "You killed yourself," Sylia said in a calm tone and Kelly
nodded her agreement.
    "And through that choice I became what I am now," she said
looking at Helia. "You have no idea what suffering is child. You
are lucky. You have been born to this, to the Family. That is not
the way it was for those few others that I have previously met -
nor me."
    "Lucky..." Helia spluttered. "You think I am lucky to be this
way!?!" She felt her anger begin to rise. "I..."
    Kelly looked at her and the pain that was in those pool like
eyes was beyond anything that Helia could humanly conceive. It
drew her in, sucking her will and the hot anger that had been
threatening to burst forth. It drained everything and simply left
her feeling disgusted at herself.
    "Yes," Kelly replied softly. "You are lucky. The Nobleborn
who did that to my world are still out there. They are still
Playing the same Games. Worlds are still suffering as mine did.
You are all lucky."
    Sylia looked for a moment at the now silent Helia and then
back at Kelly. "Why did she let it happen? If she's as powerful
as you say then why does she let any of this happen? Surely she
could stop it and get the others to stop as well."
    "Because she is what she is," Kelly said getting up and
moving to stand by the window looking out onto the darkening day
outside. "The Corrupter..."
    "Corrupter?" Sylia frowned. "What is that?"
    "The name the Nobleborn call her," Kelly replied in a dead
tone. "It is what De'Naime means. Darkness, Shadow, Corruption,
Madness. I told you she had a reputation - it is one she has
earned." Her face turned to Sylia and for the first time Sylia
saw the desperate young girl that still lurked in the soul of the
being that faced her. For a moment she saw behind the mask into
the humanity that still lay behind it.
    "Then why..." Sylia's whisper sounded harsh in the darkening
gloom on the room.
    "Stay?" Kelly's face twitched and the mask was back. "The
reason has not changed. I love her. No matter who or what she is
the Sam I fell in love with is still in there. If the price I
have to pay for that love is Samantha then I will pay it... as
will Linna in the end."
    "Linna..." Sylia's eyes widened and she shook her head in
horror. "Oh Gods... Please... not her..."
    "Yes," Kelly replied softly. "The choice will be hers to make
but she will... in the end."

        *       *       *       *

Location: Tokyo, Japan (Alt)
Time: AD 2031, 9th March, 20:56

    "Then what the hell has happened to her?" Katsumi looked
worriedly at Yuki and Roy. "She's been missing for over a week
now..."
    Roy sighed, "I've done all I can do unofficially, short of
putting out an APB. She's just vanished off the face of the earth
and I am out of ideas."
    "Linna does not seem to careless," Yuki said with a tone of
disgust in her voice. "I have tried to ask her what she and Sam
were talking about when Linna exploded but she just told me to
fuck off."
    "What's she doing now?" Katsumi asked.
    Yuki shrugged, "just sitting up there in bed staring at the
vidcom. Gods! I almost feel like punching her one!"
    "Somehow I don't think that decking her would make that much
difference," Roy said with a sigh. "I've seen this sort of thing
before in friends on the force who have had to retire due to
injury. It's almost as if a slow poison gets into their soul and
rips them apart from within. They either succumb to it or fight
it off and if they succumb to it then..." his voice trailed off
as he shook his head.
    "So what are you saying?" Katsumi frowned. "That Linna's
either going to recover or self-destruct and that's it."
    Roy nodded, "when self-hate turns in on itself the result is
never pretty. At the moment, the existing foundations of her life
have been completely shattered. She is confused, hurt and
struggling to accept what she cannot accept. In the process of
this pain she is striking out at those who are closest to her.
She is trying to get them to hate her like she hates herself. If
she cannot find a new foundation on which to rebuild her self
image and purge the hatred then she will self-destruct - believe
me."
    The two women were silent. What could they say? They were not
experts in this field.
    "One problem at a time," Yuki said. "At the moment I am far
more worried about Sam. Roy, are you sure there is nothing more
that you can do?"
    "No, sorry," Roy shook his head. "Technically all I can do
now is file a missing person's report but that means bugger all.
I have pulled in some favours and had her passport listed as well
as a trace put on her accounts but that is the limit. Until she
uses her cards or returns here then I'm afraid that's it. All we
can do now is wait."
    "But there has to be something we can do..." Yuki began but
Roy held up a hand.
    "Sorry Yuki," he said. "I don't like it any more than you do
but that is the nature of the beast we are dealing with. And
there's nothing you or I can do to change that." He tried to
smile, "don't worry. Sam's a big girl, I'm sure she can take care
of herself. It's only really a matter of time." Roy tried to put
some reassurance into his smile. What he did not mention was what
might happen in the meantime. They might find Sam all right but
Tokyo had its dark side as well as its light, so the question was
would they find Sam before the dark side found her first.

    "Get the fuck out of my way or die," the white faced girl
said coldly to the three 19 year old punks blocking her way up
the stairs. "I'm not in the mood to play around with shit heads
like you."
    "What did you say bitch?!" one of the women stepped forward
and raised a fist threateningly. The others gathered behind her
and grinned. Someone with attitude on their turf had to be dealt
with.
    "Asa! Knock it off!" a man yelled up from the base of the
stairs. "She's a paying guest! Not one of your pansies!"
    Asa's eyes narrowed and with a muttered curse pushed the
redheaded gaijin out of her way before heading downstairs. The
others followed suit making sure to bump into the girl as well on
their way down.
    "Another time bitch," one of them hissed as they passed.
    "Screw you s'vart alfar," the redhead said in reply as she
continued up the stairs to the small room she had rented. She
fumbled at the lock for a moment and then with a shove at the
warped door entered her room. Her face wrinkled slightly at the
smell prevalent in the room and she sighed. Moving over to stand
by the small bed she threw down her shopping.
    "Damned punks..." Sam commented sourly as she began to strip
off her clothes that had been soaked by the polluted rain
outside. She chucked the soiled articles down on the floor and
moved over to the cupboard that served as the bathroom. Comforts
like a shower were impossible in this place so she had to make do
with  creative use of the sink. A Noble of her status - reduced
to using a sink...
    Finally, feeling both drier and slightly cleaner Sam returned
to the bedroom and sat gingerly down on the bed tying the
bathrobe around her.
    "What the fuck am I doing here..." Sam grumbled as she
sprawled out on the bed. It had been a week since she had run off
like a little child with Linna's words of hate filling her ears.
A week in which she had stewed in her own juices calling herself
a fool for the way she had overreacted. For some insane reason
she was actually afraid to go back. She did not want Linna to
hate her but the human just did not know what she asked. Oh yes,
Sam could heal her - that was simplicity itself. However, Sam
knew where such an action would lead. She was trapped in her own
Game. If she healed Linna then Samantha would Claim the mortal as
her own. Originally, that had been what both Sam and Samantha had
wanted. The human had been nothing more than a Pawn. A piece that
Samantha could Move towards that ultimate goal - the goal that
occupied everything she did. However, coming to know Linna,
living with her... the path had become blurred. Sam had enjoyed
her time here. She had enjoyed playing the role she had
undertaken and if she was honest with herself - she did not want
to give up that role. She _wanted_ to live the mortal span with
the brunette. She _wanted_ to stay in the warm presence of the
human's love, wanted to bath in it. She _needed_ Linna. She
_needed_ that love. Sam knew that she was being foolish but just
for once she wanted someone to love her simply because she was
_her_ - not because of the Darkness or... Samantha.
    Samantha had the Darkness to love her, but the Darkness was
cold - always so cold. Just for once, just for a little while,
Sam wanted so much to be warm... Just once...
    Sam shivered as she felt the mocking coldness within her
stir. She pulled back the covers of the bed and slipped inside.
Pulling the blankets up around her she tried to get warm. Even
now she missed that comforting presence and if she Claimed Linna
then that comfort would be gone - forever. As it had been with
Kelly so would it be with Linna. The warm passion, the heart of
the person that so drew Sam would be gone  - the Darkness would
see to that. The Council called her the Darkness, the Corrupter,
and they were right. She could not help it. She was Corruption.
She infected whoever and whatever she touched. The poison was
slow and insidious but it did its work completely and thoroughly.
Kelly was already beginning to show the signs of Samantha's...
and Sam's madness and in time it would corrupt everything that
Sam had ever loved about her. The only thing of "Kelly" that
would remain would be what Samantha wanted - not Sam. It was
always the same and Sam could do nothing to stop it, or _her_.
After all, how could she fight herself?
    The fate of Linna was balanced on a double-edged sword. If
Sam tried to save her from herself then the human would be
condemned to a living death. In addition, without the protection
of Samantha's presence Linna would more than likely be Played by
one of Samantha's many opponents. Once a Pawn had been sucked
into the Great Games then they would never be free of them again.
This was the fate on one side of the sword. On the other, Sam
would have to Claim Linna Yamazaki into her Family. When she did
that the warm essence of the brunette that she so needed would
slowly wither and die. In the end Linna would simply become like
the rest of her Clan. It was a thought that made Sam feel...
ashamed.
    "You _stupid_ child," Samantha growled angrily at THAT part
herself. "When will you ever learn - you do not matter."

        *       *       *       *

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time: AD 2041, 13th July, 05:43

    "Wha..." Mina came gradually awake as her nose reacted to the
presence of the freshly baked bread and other very interesting
smelling items that had been placed on the bed next to her.
    "Wakey, wakey, Minny," a throaty voice cooed in her ear.
"I've got to get to work lover and you need to get home."
    "Hmmm...." Mina's face scowled and she stretched. "Don't want
to..." she growled reaching blindly to try and turn off the
light. She was too warm to want to get up - that and too fucken
shagged from last night's activities.
    Loria gave a small smile and watched for a moment while the
young Immortal drifted back to sleep. She shrugged and turned off
the light. If Minny wanted to sleep then that was fine and if she
was honest Loria was feeling a bit knackered as well. It was hard
stuff trying to block out the effects of the Darkness all the
time and this child had not yet learnt to control her Power. Yes,
Loria thought to herself as she retrieved the breakfast tray and
tiptoed quietly out of the room it might be worth teaching her
young Noble lover something about control. Loria did not think
that Sam would mind her taking Minny under her wing. Loria was
after all a non-entity as far as the Games were concerned and she
was very careful to maintain a neutral stance among the ranks of
the younger unaligned Nobles. She might have been one of
Samantha's periodic lovers but she was very careful to ensure
that she did not get sucked into Samantha's world.
    Loria herself was one of the younger Nobles that had been
"born" well after the Rebellion. She was not a true Old One like
Sam or Sophia who had seen the passing of so many Cycles that
they just blurred one into another. No, age wise she was still
virtually a child when compared to those Nobles on the Council.
At most, she could claim only a few dozen Cycles to her name.
However, her Power was a totally different case altogether and it
had been that Power that had first caused her to meet Sam.
    Loria almost smiled at the memory of her own naivety. She,
like all the young Nobles, had but two goals on her mind - Power
and status. In the beginning, Loria had chased after those twin
grails by Challenging and then killing other Nobles. By the
process of Challenging she had been able to both absorb their
knowledge and the Power of her opponents thus adding to her own.
By skill, luck and dark cunning Loria had built her Power until
she had been counted as one of the most strongest of her
generation. And it was then, at the height of her success, that
the problems had begun.
    The Old Ones, the Families, did not like the thought of their
children getting out of line - especially those who were
unaligned to any Clan. So, Loria had found herself in the ignoble
position of having to flee from many different Enforcers who
wanted to Claim her for various different Families. Going into
hiding Loria had taken up various different guises - Goddesses,
Demons, anything that would serve to hide her true nature from
those pursuing her. And she had been successful - very
successful. For over ten Cycles she had kept one step ahead of
both the Families and the Enforcers. At least, she had, until she
had met a certain little redhead.
    "Well," Loria commented to herself with a sigh as she placed
the now empty tray on the washboard. "Better the evil I know than
the evil I don't." Things after all were not that bad. She had
both Power and status; the other Families avoided her like the
plague and technically she was still free.
    "Yip," Loria said as she stuffed the keys of her apartment
into her jeans. "Things could certainly be worst." She took a
look back at the bedroom and smiled. They most certainly could
be.
    Minny was... Loria grinned wickedly as she walked out. Minny
was... incredible.

    Mina snorted and with a grunt woke up. She blinked as the
bright sunlight streaming in through the window caused her some
slight discomfort while her eyes adjusted. She stretched and with
a yawn sat up.
    "Oh... NO!" she swore out loud as she saw the time - 11:34.
"Sylia's going to kill me!"
    She cursed and throwing back the covers scrambled to her
feet. Her eyes frantically cast around the room as she hunted for
her panties. What the fuck had she done with them? She scrabbled
through her discarded clothing as she tried to find them.
    "Oh, shit - I remember." She knelt down and fished about with
her hand under the bed. Her face dropped as her hand encountered
the rather wet and smelly item. "Crap..." she said as she
recalled the games a drunken Loria and her had played last night.
Slowly she retrieved the soiled article and holding it at a
discrete distance she entered the kitchen. Moving to the basin
she ran the tap and threw the damp cotton sport briefs under the
water. After a moment watching the water soak the material she
turned off the tap and re-entered the bedroom. She would just
have to borrow a pair of Loria's.
    As quickly as she could Mina got changed and after taking a
moment to scribble down a quick apologetic note to Loria she
rushed out of the flat and down to the street below. By now it
was just after 12:00 and Mina knew that Sylia or one of her older
sisters was going to give her a right royal bollocking when she
finally got back home. Not only had she stayed out all night
without calling home, she had also managed to miss a scheduled
briefing - a cardinal sin. This, however, was not the worst thing
Mina was dreading. Sylia was sure to demand to know where Mina
had been for the night and she just knew that one way or the
other she would end up spilling the beans about Loria. Mina had
never learnt the art of lying well under pressure and Sylia had
the horrible knack of always being able to dig out the truth from
whatever Mina said. How the hell was Sylia going to react to
this? Mina cringed slightly at the thought of Sylia looking at
her with that oh so calm look of disappointment. Sylia hardly
ever got angry. Her expression of cold disappointment was more
than enough to make her daughters obey. The problem was if Sylia
told her to stop seeing Loria then Mina... Well... she would...
    "Taxi!" Mina yelled out waving her hand about in an attempt
to signal down an autocab. "Taxi!" She did not know what she
would do if that happened. She... desired Loria more than anyone
she had ever met. The sex was indescribable and Loria... well...
Loria felt _right_. It was almost as if the black woman was
something she had always been seeking and if Sylia told her to
leave Loria then...
    "TAXI!"

    Sylia sat in the private stillness of her office and wondered
what the hell she was going to do now. Helia was still in shock
at what Kelly had told them and was being looked after by some of
her younger sisters. Sylia had caught sight of the worried
expressions on their young faces when they had first seen the
glazed look in Helia's eyes and Sylia was sure that the excuse
she had given them only made the girls even more frightened. The
younger children idolised Helia and the fact that she was now
acting like some sort of walking zombie haunted them.
    "Sam! You little bitch!" Sylia swore under her breath as she
stood up and walked around the study yet again. "You used me like
a toy - didn't you?"
    "She has that habit..." Kelly commented appearing out of
nowhere.
    Sylia's heart stopped for a second as she spun around in
shock at the sudden appearance. "Fuck!" she swore as she fought
to recover her balance. "Don't do that!"
    Kelly flashed the human an apologetic look as she strode into
the middle of the study come mini lab. "Sorry," she said. "I did
not mean to scare the life out of you. I forget sometimes..."
    Sylia took a couple of deep breaths and glared angrily at her
uninvited visitor as the woman sat down. "What do you want?" she
demanded. "Haven't you done enough?"
    "Me?" Kelly's eyebrows rose. "What have I done?"
    Sylia did not bother to answer that. "Why the sudden
appearance?" she hissed.
    "I just thought I might be able to help," Kelly said with a
disarming smile. "From what I can see you have a lot of very
frightened girls trying very hard not to show you what they are
really feeling. I came to help you calm them down."
    "Why?" Sylia demanded harshly. "Why do you care all of a
sudden?"
    "Simple," Kelly replied. "These children are my Family. In
addition to that, leaving them alone in this state is extremely
dangerous."
    "Dangerous?" Sylia's expression grew worried. "What do you
mean?"
    "The Darkness," Kelly said stressing the name. "When It gets
anxious It can be extremely... precarious."
    "Precarious?"
    "Destructive, perhaps would be a better word."
    Sylia did not like the sound of that. "Destructive...
Darkness..."
    Kelly nodded as if she were explaining something to a very
simple child. "The Darkness + anxious = very destructive," she
confirmed.
    "What is the Darkness?" a timid young voice ventured from the
entrance causing Sylia to turn in surprise. The reaction of Kelly
however completely threw both Sylia and the young girl.
    Kelly spun around with a speed that was completely inhuman
and dropped almost instinctively into an attack posture. An
unholy insane blackness flared around her form as she prepared to
attack the Noble who had so completely surprised her.
    "YAAAA!" the girl tripped over herself in panic at the insane
sight in front of her. She screamed and fled.
    Kelly looked at the back of the fleeing girl and felt stupid.
Sheepishly she released her hold on the Power and straightened
up. She was an idiot! If she had actually tried to carry through
with the attack... She shuddered. Attacking Enforcers, even
unknowing ones, was not conducive to a long life. If the girl had
actually reacted then...
    "What the fuck was all that about?!?" Sylia yelled spinning
angrily on the Immortal. "Ginnina is only a child for God's sake!
She meant no harm! Is this your idea of trying to help? Attacking
little children!?"
    Kelly shrunk back slightly from the woman's protective rage
towards her children. She slowly tried to calm herself down. "I'm
sorry," she said after a moment. "That girl took me completely by
surprise and among my kind that can be the opening move for an
attack."
    "Attack?" Sylia hissed incredulously. "How could a child like
that attack you for fuck's sake?"
    "Don't ask," Kelly replied. "You don't want to know."
    Sylia was about to embark on an enraged retort when the
embryonic argument was shattered by the appearance of a number of
armoured suits smashing through the door and into the study.
    "Oh for fuck's sake..." Sylia groaned as her children,
alerted by the reaction of Ginnina to the monster with their
mother, rushed in.
    Kelly looked on slightly bemused as slim but deadly looking
inhuman figures totting various weapons protectively surrounded
Sylia and began to move warily in on Kelly's position. She slowly
raised her arms in what she hoped would be taken as a gesture of
surrender. It was difficult to know what these children might do.
    The polished mirror smooth visors stared at the woman who
Ginnina had claimed was some kind of glowing insane monster and
hesitated. Each of them somehow at an instinctive level almost
felt that they _knew_ this woman. It was almost like the same
unspoken bond that linked all of them together. Somehow this
woman, who had dared attack Mother was... almost a sister.
    "Celeline, Relia," Sylia said trying to project some calm
onto her agitated daughters. "I want you to stay here. Cylina,
Gelline, Karine - why don't you go and look after Ginnina. The
poor child has had rather a nasty fright and I think the younger
children will be frightened as well. Go and assure them that
everything is okay will you?"
    The five suited figures were hesitant for a second and Sylia
smiled. "It's alright girls - I'll be fine." She pitched her
voice slightly in _that_ tone and each of the girls jumped
hurriedly to obey. Eventually only two suited figures were left
and at another impatient gesture from Sylia the slim forms
removed their helmets and pushed their hair away from their
faces.
    Kelly's eyes met the two pairs of intense hostile green eyes
that locked onto hers from artistically attractive pale white
faces. She met the glares and returned them with a faint smile.
The two girls had shoulder length ginger brown hair and looked
almost like mirror images of each other. At a deeper level, Kelly
could feel the Power that was awake and growing steadily within
them. These two were the strongest she had yet met.
    "Hello girls," Kelly said politely as she bowed in accordance
with the custom on this world. "I am very pleased to meet you."
    The two girls did not respond to the greeting. They just
watched cautiously as Sylia sat slowly down. The two sets of
green eyes focused on their Mother and watched until she gestured
for them to join her. Kelly let Sylia have her little show of
power and said nothing while the two Enforcers took their
positions standing behind Sylia.
    "As I was saying earlier Sylia," Kelly continued as if
nothing was untoward. "I am here to try and help set _my_ sisters
at ease. Firstly, by trying to explain something of what is
happening to them and secondly to teach them something about the
use of the Power." She raised her eyes and looked at the girls
one after another. "The Power you have begun to manifest is
extremely dangerous and temperamental. If you do not learn how to
control it then you could very well destroy this planet. In
addition, the Others may well begin to seek you out. The majority
of them fear our Mistress but Samantha's favour is well known to
be fickle and they may feel that they can get away with a
Challenge against you. You must learn to defend..."
    "What are you talking about?" one of the girls, Celeline,
asked in complete confusion.
    "What Power?" the other girl also asked. "What Mistress? I
have absolutely no idea what the hell you are talking about!"
    "Girls..." Sylia softly interrupted. "Listen to her, odd as
it may seem, she is actually here to help."
    "You haven't told them anything yet have you?" Kelly shot
Sylia an annoyed look.
    "Don't you know?" Sylia replied innocently. She had just
confirmed that this Kelly had a weakness. When it came to her
daughters this Kelly was not quite as omnipotent as she might
otherwise appear.
    Kelly caught Sylia's thought and her face darkened. "I am not
here to Play Games human," she hissed. "You don't understand the
importance of what I am saying. My world was destroyed by a
lesser Family than Sam's. Your 'daughters' individually have the
Power to destroy this world a hundred times over. They MUST
learn! And now! I am not doing this for my own amusement!"
    Sylia's face went white as Kelly glared angrily at her and
she remembered just who it was she was trying to bait. She
shifted uncomfortably for a moment and then nodded. "Sorry."
    Kelly told herself to calm down. She was not here to act
stupidly. For one thing, it would not achieve anything and
secondly it was too dangerous. She did not like the way for
example that the two Enforcers were glaring at her. She had to
get on good terms with them for a start but threatening Sylia was
not an intelligent way of achieving that goal.
    "Alright," she began. "Let's start with some of the basics
shall we..."

        *       *       *       *

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time: AD 2031, 17th March, 13:43

    Leia gasped in pain and fell to the ground as the punk
punched her hard in the stomach. She whimpered and saw stars as
the air was forced out of her lungs.
    "I said give me your money bitch!" the woman hissed angrily
grabbing hold of Leia's hair and twisting it so that she was
forced to look at the punk's ugly face.
    "Do her Asa!" one of the other women Leia could not see
laughed aloud. "Give her a new smile!"
    "Well?" the woman called Asa said producing a very evil
looking flick knife and lovingly stroked Leia's panicking face
with it. "Do you remember where your money is now pretty? Or do I
have to..."
    Leia sobbed with fear and pain as she felt the blade cut
deeply into her face. Her eyes blurred with the pain as she felt
the warm salty blood flow down her face.
    "Do her!" one of the other women laughed again. "Do h...
YAAAA!!!"
    Crunch!
    "Play time..."
    Rip.
    Leia was suddenly thrown to the ground and her head smacked
into the pavement.
    "YAAA!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!! NOO!!! YAA..."
    Giggle.
    Leia's head was spinning and she felt herself fading in and
out of consciousness.
    "STAY BACK!!! PLEASE!!!!! OH GOD!!! HORUS... NOOO!!! NOO..."
    "Pretty pretty... Asa want to play now?"
    "NONONONO!!! YAAA..."
    Snap.
    Giggle.
    Silence.
    Leia heard a voice calling her name from a long way away. She
groaned and tried to raise her head.
    "Leia! Leia!"
    The effort of the movement was almost enough to cause her to
black out and she slumped back to the ground.
    "Leia..."
    Two hands gently held her and a faint scent of sweet spice,
cinnamon and ginger filled her nose.
    "Leia..." the soft voice called again and it had a quality of
command that could not be denied.
    Leia gasped and slowly she opened her eyes and looked
straight into a very white face and two emerald green eyes that
looked down at her in concern.
    "Sam..." Leia whispered as she recognised the missing girl.
"You..."
    The beautiful face burst into life with an enchanting smile.
"You're all right! Thank goodness!"
    "Sam!" Leia tried to sit up and cried out in pain as her head
started spinning wildly.
    "Shhh..." the girl said stroking Leia's hair as if she were a
frightened child. "Everything is all right now. You're safe."
    "Sam, we have to get out of here!" Leia tried to get through
to the redhead. "The punks..."
    The girl giggled and shook her head slightly. "Don't worry
about them," she said smirking innately. "They aren't going to be
harming you again pretty one. They're currently... entertaining
some friends of mine."
    "But..."
    "It's all right Leia," the girl smiled down at the woman and
a hungry look came into her dark green eyes.
    Leia felt a bitter coldness begin to flow from the girl's
hand and the pain in her head slowly faded. "Sammm..." Leia
sighed with pleasure as she began to feel herself fading away
into a frozen void.
    "NO! Stop it!" Sam suddenly cried out and stood up sharply.
"I won't do it Samantha! Not again!"
    "Sam?" Leia blinked. The pain had gone from her head and so
had the coldness. But what was up with her friend? "Sam, what is
the matter?"
    The girl looked at her and then smiling ruefully shook her
head. "Nothing Leia, I'm fine. I'm..."
    "Where have you been Sam?" Leia struggled to her feet and
reached over to pull the girl to her. "Roy, Katsumi, Yuki... We
have all been worried out of our minds about you! What are you
doing out here girl?" She looked down at the smaller teenager and
smiled ruffling the red hair. "Come on, you don't belong in this
place. You have a home and a family that misses you. Linna's not
the only one who loves you you know. Katsumi, Yuki, Aru, me, we
have all been worried sick. Roy and Keiji have had half the
police force... Oh Sam!" Leia grabbed the girl and gave her a
hug. "You silly thing. Why did you have to run off like that?
Linna did not mean it..." her voice trailed off as the relief
that she felt overcame her.
    "My home..."
    Leia heard the girl whisper almost to herself.
    "Family..."
    The girl's voice was so faint that Leia was not even sure she
had heard what Sam had said, but the desperate longing in the
girl's tone was frightening. It was so frightening that Leia was
not even sure if she had just imagined it. What the hell had Sam
been through that made her so desperately want to belong and yet
so afraid of trying? Leia almost hoped that she had imagined the
tone. She could not comprehend what it was that would make anyone
that wretched.
    "Sam... What..."
    The girl pulled away and the mask descended back into place.
"You're right - I acted like a silly little school girl. I did
not think, did not think at all..." Sam sighed and looked up at
Leia. "I'm sorry. I just heard what she said... and..."
    Leia put her finger up to Sam's mouth. "Don't," she said.
"Don't try and apologise for something that is not your fault.
Just come back home with me - okay?"
    Sam's mask slipped slightly and her eyes closed. "I can't..."
she whispered. "I can't..."
    Leia's face fell. "Sam... What... What is the matter?"
    "Linna," Sam turned away. "I can't do it Leia. I can't help
her but she won't understand. I love her too much!"
    "I... Sam..." Leia did not know what Sam was talking about
but something in the girl's tone indicated that this was the
issue that had driven her away. "What is it Sam? What is it that
is hurting you so much? You don't need to be alone. You have
friends, family. You don't have to keep pushing people away. Tell
me, maybe I can help you to understand what..."
    "Understand?" the girl's cold mocking voice suddenly bought
Leia up short. "What would vermin like _you_ understand about
me?"
    Leia gasped in shock and fell back crying out in fear. The
face that was looking at her was completely inhuman. Its
perfection and beauty was beyond human comprehension - as was the
cold contempt and insane rage that burned in the... black...
eyes. Leia whimpered as she felt the sheer... _unholy_ insanity
of this THING'S presence pushing down on her mind. This...
THING... was...
    "Daadada..." Leia tried to gasp out as her sanity teetered on
the edge of the abyss.
    The thing that had been Sam smiled down cruelly at her and a
malicious expression settled on its face. "Shall I show you
vermin? Shall I help you to understand?" the thing giggled and
the black insane eyes locked on Leia's.
    "YAAAAA!!!!!"
    The insane horror filled scream of the woman reverberated
around the alley as Samantha showed the human just for an
instance something of what she had experienced. The scream
filling the alleyway grew and the soul wrenching horror in the
sound seemed almost impossible for a human throat to produce. The
sound went on and on until abruptly it died away into insane
animal noises.
    Samantha looked down at the shell of the soul raped human and
giggled happily. "Do you understand now pretty? Or shall I..."
    "NO!!" Sam screamed in horror and flung herself down
protectively on the grunting thing that had once been human.
"STOP IT!!" Sam cried out as she held the insane mortal in her
arms. "Samantha! Please! She was just trying to help me! Why...
why..." Sam pulled the remains of the human to her and
desperately tried to heal her.
    Samantha made a sound of revulsion and left. The weakness of
her green-eyed companion disgusted her at times such as now. The
birth of the Darkness that had started with the destruction of
the PrimeVerse still could not purge herself fully of that
annoying little shard the Corrupter labelled Sam. Usually the
Corrupter did not care about the presence of her lesser "sister".
Most of the time many of the traits that the two of them shared
were common, however, ever since Samantha had killed Kay Sam had
been getting more and more pushy. It had been Sam's weakness that
had led to... THAT... INCIDENT... and Samantha had used the
insanity that had followed to twist that weakness into strength.
She WOULD NOT let Sam's weakness stop her from her vengeance - or
from the objective that had led to her having to kill Kay in the
first place.
    Sam ignored the blast of disgust that Samantha sent at her
and slowly tried to repair the damage that Samantha had so
brutally wrought. She did not understand Samantha sometimes. Why
attack Leia? The human was no threat to anyone. It had not even
been for amusement. Sam knew that even Samantha dreaded THOSE
memories. So why?
    "Sam..." Leia coughed and recognised the distinctive spicy
scent of her friend. "What... What just happened..."
    "Shhh," the figure holding her said and Leia opened her eyes.
    Sam's worried face was looking straight back at her and Leia
tried to smile at the concern she saw reflected in the green
eyes.
    "What happened?" she repeated.
    Sam gave a small smile and hugged Leia to her. "I'm sorry..."
she whispered.
    "Hey..." Leia returned the embrace. "What's the matter?
Shh... I'm fine..."
    "Leia," the girl replied and then slowly helped the woman to
her feet. "I think you had better go. I won't let her hurt you
again."
    Leia frowned, "Sam... I don't understand... But you can't
just go..."
    "I have to," Sam replied softly. "She's becoming too strong."
    "No," Leia replied and grabbed her friend's hand. "I'm sorry
Sam, but I can't let you do that. I can't let you leave the
Family again."
    Sam's eyes narrowed at the choice of words but she said
nothing.

    "Sam!" Yuki threw her arms around her young redheaded friend.
"Oh Gods Sam! Where the Hell have you been?"
    "Horus Sam!" Katsumi exclaimed and pulling the girl away from
Yuki gave her a tight embrace. "Don't you EVER do anything like
that again!" Tears fell from her eyes as she buried her face in
Sam's red hair and wept. The spicy scent of the girl filled
Katsumi's senses and she tightened her grip.
    There were a set of sharp raps at the door and Yuki excused
herself to go and see who it was.
    Katsumi inhaled Sam's sweet scent once more and felt her
heart begin to beat faster. "Oh Sam..." she whispered as she
nuzzled the girl's neck and stroked her hands down the girl's
back. Sam stiffened as she felt the nature of the embrace begin
to change. She tried to push Katsumi away but the woman simply
tightened her arms.
    "Sam!" Roy's voice called out as he and Keiji entered. "Where
the hell have you been girl?" He stopped  - dead.
    Katsumi released Sam rather quickly as she heard the voice of
her husband and turned to greet him. "Sam's back," she said with
a smile as she walked over to him. "Leia found her down in sector
KR1298, near Heaven's Door. Or perhaps I should say Sam found
Leia... Roy?" she frowned. "What's wrong?"
    Roy did not answer but simply looked at his wife.
"Nothing..." he finally managed to say. "Nothing's wrong." He
looked past Katsumi at the redhead standing opposite. The girl
simply stared back at him, her face a mask.
    "This is cause to celebrate!" Yuki exclaimed as she
re-entered the room. "Aru and Linna will be back from the
hospital in..." Yuki stopped. Sam and Roy were simply glaring at
each other across the room.
    "Roy..." Yuki began.
    "When's Linna coming back?" Sam broke the look at Roy and
turned to Yuki.
    Yuki blinked and then focused her attention on Sam. "With the
traffic at this time of day it will probably be a good hour or
so. I can ring..."
    Sam shook her head. "No," she said bluntly. "I don't want
Linna to know that I am back. I don't know if I can face her as
of..."
    "Sam!" Leia exclaimed. "You can't mean that!"
    Sam looked down. "She hates me," the girl said softly. "I
can't give her what she wants and she hates me for it. I don't
know if I can stand..."
    "Sam," Yuki said gently coming over to stand by the girl.
"Linna doesn't hate you. She hates what she is, hates what the
world has done to her, hates everything, but deep down she still
needs you - don't give up on her kiddo." She put a hand on the
girl's shoulder and gave her a pat.
    "She hates you because you are the thing that reminds her
most of what she has lost," Roy said still slightly uncertain of
what he thought he had seen. He continued, "I have seen this
reaction in others before. Linna is still trying to come to terms
with what has happened to her. In her mind she knows what she has
lost but she cannot accept it. She cannot overcome that shock and
move onto let the real healing and acceptance start. Every day
she sees you and it reminds her, day in and day out. That is why
she hates you the most. She knows that she will never again be
able to share what you once had and..."
    "No," Sam cut him off with a curt shake of her head. "You're
wrong. Linna hates me because she thinks that she can get it all
back but she doesn't understand that _everything_ has a price."
    Roy's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
    Sam's eyes met his and Roy was trapped by them. He could
neither move or think. Those green depths...
    "Everything has a price Robert DeVice," the girl said in a
cold voice. "Even love."
    Roy suppressed a shiver at the unnatural timbre of that
voice. It was... inhuman.
    "Sam?"
    Sam turned to look at Yuki and she smiled apologetically.
"I'm sorry Yuki, but I'm not ready to face her - not yet."
    Roy swayed slightly at his sudden freedom from the girl's
eyes. He caught himself before the others noticed anything was
wrong. His legs trembled slightly and he was sweating. Roy took a
few deep breaths to calm himself down. Christ! What in Horus's
name had just happened!? What had the redhead just done to him?
    "...and what will you do Sam?" Yuki was in the middle of
trying to convince the stubborn redhead that running away was not
going to solve anything. "Go away and never come back simply
because you cannot stand the heat?"
    "No!" Sam earnestly replied. "Of course not! But Linna needs
space..."
    "Like Hell she does!" Yuki countered harshly. "What she needs
is someone who can knock some sense into her!"
    "Am I that..."
    "Yes! You bloody well are!" Yuki exclaimed grabbing Sam's
shoulders. "I won't have the Godmother of my son walking the back
streets of Tokyo simply because she is too bloody mule headed to
see what is best for her!" Yuki looked down crossly at Sam's
white face. "You are staying Samantha De'Naime - end of
argument."
    Sam looked up into the earnest face of the mortal and felt
the fierce warmth of the love behind those words. She felt the
fire of Life wash over her and slowly she lowered her head in
defeat. Of all the races she had ever met, saved or destroyed
these humans were the ones who burnt the brightest. They might be
insignificant in the scope of the current Cycle but Sam would
always remember them - they LIVED.
    A small smile passed over Yuki's face as she sensed the
redhead give in - outstubborned by one who loved her. "Good,"
Yuki stated as she embraced her friend and then gently pushed the
teenager towards the stairs. "Now, go and get some rest. I'll let
you know when Linna is back."
    "Yuki..."
    "Go."
    Sam sighed and did as she was told. She was going to have to
face Linna sometime. It was either that or leave her lover to the
whims of the Games. No matter how much Sam might fight it, she
was what she was. Pawn or Player - the choice would have to be
Linna's to make.

        *       *       *       *

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time: AD 2089, 14 March, 10:06


    Kelly was bored. She got up and walked over to stand by her
office window and looked out onto the shinning city below. Her
case had been presented and now she was just waiting for the
verdict to be announced. It should have been an exciting time for
her. A major account that if won would shoot her personal profile
up far beyond any other lawyer at her firm. Kelly should have
been on the edge of her seat with nerves but that was difficult
to do when you already knew what the results would be, and so -
Kelly was bored.
    "Ah, Kelly you're still here."
    Kelly turned back from the window and her face brightened.
"Oh, Mr. Reynolds - good morning. How are you?"
    "Fine, fine," the old man replied as he came in and shut the
door to the office behind him. "I'm sorry for interrupting you
but I was wondering if I could have a quick word."
    "Of course," Kelly pulled back her chair and sat down at her
desk. "What can I do for you?"
    "Are you aware of the brokerage house - Shimoto Incorp?"
    Kelly nodded, "I've heard of them. Aren't they supposed to be
a very specialized firm dealing with large private out of system
investors."
    "Luna and Belt dealers mostly," the old man confirmed. "In
fact they are probably one of the most successful quoted firms in
the LunaCorp. Index."
    Kelly nodded and waited for the punch line.
     "Well Kelly," the old man leaned forward. "Over the last few
weeks I and the other partners have been in close negotiation
with them about taking over the bulk of their legal business on
Luna and the outer colonies. Late yesterday I was able to clinch
the deal, and believe me Kelly when I say we are talking about a
_great_ deal of business."
    Kelly smiled and sat back in her chair. "That's good news.
Good news indeed."
    "It is indeed," James Reynolds confirmed. "In more ways than
one."
    Kelly cocked her head. "How so?"
    James smiled, "we need someone who will be able to deal
exclusively with the Luna business end of Shimoto Inc. The level
of business will be such that we are going to have to open a new
office on Luna just to deal with it. In short, the firm will be
expanding in a very big way. In the Luna branch alone we estimate
that we are going to have to take on at least ten new lawyers
just to deal with the basics - and it will be growing. Kelly, I
am giving you the job of managing that growth as well as a full
partnership in the firm. You are the best that we have and I want
you to be at the front pushing us forward. Congratulations." He
rose and offered his hand. "Welcome to the Family."
    Kelly blinked. This news was a complete surprise to her. She
had not taken any effort over the last few weeks to use the Power
to scan the timelines in any great deal and as a result she was
actually genuinely shocked.
    "Kelly?" James asked looking slightly concerned that his good
news might not have been taken as that.
    "Sorry," Kelly said recovering quickly. "It's just that this
is rather something of a large surprise for me. I..." Her mind
was whirling and she silently cursed herself for not taking more
notice of what the hell was going on around her. She placed a
smile on her face and reached forward to take the offered hand.
"I don't know what to say."
    "Yes would be a good start," James said with a smile as he
returned the handshake. "This will be the best thing that you can
do Kelly - believe me."
    "Thanks," Kelly was furiously thinking about what this would
mean. She opened herself to the future and thrust her mind
crudely down the paths of Time.
    "The position will of course bring you a substantial pay rise
as well as a substantial commission as a partner," the old man
pushed on. "In addition, Celene City is a fabulous place with
everything anyone could ever want..."
    "Celene City?" Kelly queried and then realized. "You want me
to move to Celene City?"
    "Yes, of course," James replied. His initial suspicion had
been right - this news was not being received as well as he had
hoped. "Is that a problem?"
    "Well," Kelly smiled apologetically. "My cousin might not be
too overjoyed at the news - that's all."
    "Oh," James considered for a moment. "She's the one who goes
to Omniu isn't she?"
    Kelly nodded.
    "I see your problem," James sighed. "I'm sorry - I did not
intend this news to..."
    "No, no," Kelly broke in. "I'm really glad - it's just that
it has rather a large impact on things."
    James shrugged slightly, "life is change," he said. "An
opportunity like this comes along only once in a lifetime Kelly
and you _really_ do deserve it. However, I know that it will
cause a big change - changes that you were not anticipating.
Would you like sometime to think about it? To talk to your cousin
for example?"
    Kelly nodded, "definitely. As you say, it is a big change."

    Sam was fed up. The maths professor was droning on like a
broken record and while the rest of the students in the class
were hanging on his every word she was bored silly.
    "Miss De'Naime?" the professor suddenly said when he noticed
the large yawn on Sam's face. "Am I boring you?"
    Sam nodded, "yes you are actually."
    Silence met her statement.
    The professor sighed. This girl was one of the brightest
students he had ever had but she was also one of the most
insolent. When she could be bothered her mind was like a razor
cutting instantly to the problem and whatever its solution, but
when she had no interest...
    "Perhaps you would like to tell me what the matter is this
time?" he walked over to the desk where she sat.
    Sam shrugged, "it's just so obvious what the answer is. I
don't see the point in going through all this garbage to get to
it."
    "We do this 'garbage' because it is the only way to prove
that the theorem is correct," the professor began testily but
then stopped. "But you already know that don't you..."
    "Your theorem is wrong," Sam replied simply. "Why it is
necessary to go through a whole set of stages to prove that it is
wrong seems to be a complete waste of my time."
    Kenju's mouth tightened as the other four students suddenly
caught on to what Sam was saying. That was another lesson down
the drain. "Thank you for enlightening all of us to that point,"
he said sourly. "Perhaps you would also like to enlighten us to
the actual correct solution."
    "It isn't possible," Sam replied. "The formula you are trying
to use has no hope of trying to capture the variance you are
postulating. Cluster and factor analysis simply will not cope
with the data set you are using."
    "Miss De'Naime," Kenju stopped her. "I don't agree. The
correlations between the data sets are..."
    "But they're measuring totally different things!" Sam
exclaimed. "How can you use correlation on data sets which are
completely different representations of different effects!"
    "Different effects? How can you..."
    The two girls and two boys looked at each other with glazed
expressions on their faces as the argument went slowly down into
more and more tortured details of internal and nominal data
types, theoretical validity and so on. Whatever it was the two
opponents argued back and forth was obviously fascinating stuff
but...
    "...and I don't see how you can say that..." Sam was pointing
out when a bell signaled the end of the lesson. Surprised Kenju
looked up and saw the time. Gods! The two of them had been
arguing for over 50 minutes!
    "Ah... Well," he struggled to get his thoughts together.
"We'll have to pick up on these themes identified by Miss
De'Naime later. Remember that you all have to hand in your
assignments at the end of next week. So don't leave it too late
this time."
    The various students got to their feet and began to pack up
for lunch. Kenju grabbed a sheet of paper and called out. "Miss
De'Naime - could I see you please."
    Sam turned away from her chat with one of the other girls and
walked over to Kenju. "Yes professor?" she asked politely.
    "This," Kenju passed the sheet of paper over to the girl,
"work will not do."
    Sam looked down at the half a sheet of text and frowned. "Why
not?" she asked confused. "It answered the question you set."
    Kenju sighed, "answering the question is not the point. You
are missing the method, the working out, the theorem you used. I
don't just want half a side of scrawl for your answer Miss
De'Naime. Look, I've told you before that just providing an
answer to a question is not sufficient at this level I need to
know why you chose that answer and..."
    "I chose it because it is right," Sam butted in. "You asked
the question - that is the answer. I don't see a problem."
    "Method, data and procedure," Kenju intoned. "Without those
the answer is no good. Now, please, just try it my way all
right?"
    Sam pouted and took back the sheet of paper. Mortals! They
had to be so picky!
    Kenju watched as the redhead rejoined the girl she had been
talking to and sighed. And I asked for her, he thought woefully
as he almost dreaded what the girl was going to hand in next.
Shaking his head he began to pack as the bane of his life and the
new student went hand in hand out to lunch laughing about
something the redhead had said.

    "Let me guess," Professor Sandra Kateland said as she saw the
suffering look on her boyfriend's face as she sat down next to
him in the cafeteria. "Your dazzling young prodigy has been doing
it again yes?"
    "Something like that," Kenju replied.
    "And what was it this time?" Sandra asked with a slight
smile.
    "Yesterday she gave me her mid term assignment. You know, the
question regarding Corun's Dilemma..."
    "And? What did Little Miss Genius do with it - solve it?"
    "Aha ha ha," Kenju replied dryly. "No, she just gave me half
a side of condensed formalized proof as to why it couldn't be
solved."
    Sandra whistled and looked sympathetically at her man.
"Ouch!"
    "Yes," Kenju agreed. "And then today I spent over 50 minutes
locked into a debate on why theoretical proofing based on
component sampling and non-hierarchical cluster analysis was
valid. Gods! What fun that was!"
    Sandra could not help but laugh. "Well, you asked for her
remember. I did warn you she was a handful."
    Kenju rolled his eyes, "don't remind me. Sandy, that girl is
a full time project. She has a potential that is almost
frightening and at the moment it is only being wasted."
    "That's why she's here," Sandra replied. "That's why Genom
has the scholarship scheme in place - so that individuals like
her get a chance to develop their potential."
    "No," Kenju shook his head. "She cannot do that here. She
needs full time attention believe me, anything else is a waste of
time. I mean, the other students in my class are suffering
because of her. I cannot teach them and her at the same time. It
is not fair for either of them."
    "So?" Sandra said. "There's nothing much better that we can
offer her is there."
    "But there is," Kenju finished his coffee. "I'm going to
speak with the Dean about it. She knows Dr. Yui Elessar..."
    "What?" Sandra looked startled. "GRDD's head of research?
That Yui Elessar?"
    "Yes, that one," Kenju confirmed. "If I can get GRDD
interested in our little problem child then she will be set for
life. Genom truly value genius, and if I am not very much
mistaken Samantha De'Naime is one of those and very much more."

    Helen popped another couple of aspirin in her mouth and
rubbed her eyes. Over the last week or so she had not exactly
been feeling wonderful. It was almost as if she had lost
something.
    "Fuck..." she swore softly and threw down her pen grimacing
at the ever present dull pain.
    "Helen?" a voice asked hesitantly from the door. "Are you all
right?""
    "What?" Helen looked up. "Oh... Kiyomi..."
    The young woman smiled and came in. "I hope you don't mind me
interrupting but I was just passing by when I saw you grimacing
as if in pain. Are you okay?"
    Helen shook her head. "No, I'm not. I have had this same
fucken headache for over a week now and it's driving me mad."
    "Oh," Kiyomi came over to stand by her. "What kind of
headache? Have you been to the doctor?"
    "No," Helen confessed rubbing her eyes again. "I just haven't
had the time. I've been far too busy sorting out the arrangements
for the outsourcing of our Luna legal operations to a specialist
firm here in the city. I've just been too damned busy to do
anything else. But shit..." Her face curled up in pain.
    "Here," Kiyomi said and gently began to massage Helen's
shoulders. "Hell Helen! You're as tense as anything. Try to
relax. Relax..."
    Helen began to feel a soothing coldness pass over her
headache like a cooling balm and slowly she began to feel more
relaxed. Kiyomi's hands worked their gentle magic on both her
back and neck as for the first time in several days Helen began
to feel more like her old self.
    "Gods... Kiyomi," Helen sighed with pleasure. "That sure hits
the spot.... Ahh..."
    Kiyomi did not say anything but simply continued to massage
the one she had chosen for her companion. The Mistress might not
want this mortal but that which had been Kiyomi had different
tastes.
    "Helen, can I interru..."
    Helen and Kiyomi looked up at the receptionist who had so
rudely walked in.
    "Kalin," Helen said. "What can I do for you?"
    The man pursed his lips for a moment slightly embarrassed and
then he continued. "A Miss Duval from Lewits and Associates is
here to see you."
    Helen groaned. She had forgotten that she had a meeting with
the new lawyers today. "All right, thanks Kalin. Would you show
her in please."
    Kalin nodded and left.
    "Back to work I'm afraid," Helen said in a tone of slight
disappointment as the magical hands stopped their massage and
pulled away.
    "Say..." Kiyomi began. "Are you free tonight? Would you like
to go out or something? You really look like you could use a
break."
    "Asking me on a date Kiyomi?" Helen smiled in amusement as
her headache had finally gone.
    "No! Of course not..." Kiyomi began but when she saw the
twinkle of amusement in the mortal's eyes she stopped. "All
right," she said bluntly. "I am."
    "Ha!" Helen laughed. "I'm the boss. I can't..."
    "Ahem!"
    Kiyomi and Helen turned at the sound and three pairs of
mouths hit the floor.
    "YOU!" three voices exclaimed at once in shock.

    "Tadaimaa!" Kelly exclaimed as she closed the door behind
her. She reached down and picked up the mail from the small tray
where Sam always so carelessly dumped it.
    "Sam? You around?" she called out as she entered the main
living room.
    "In my room," came the muffled reply.
    Kelly finished giving the printed email a quick scan and then
chucked it onto the table. What a day! Putting her brief case
down she hung up her jacket and walked into her lover's room.
    "Hiya!" she said brightly. "Doing your home work?"
    Sam was laid out on her stomach with piles of papers and open
books scattered haphazardly around her on the floor. She glanced
up and sighed. "Yeah, one of my maths lecturers wants me to
rewrite my assignment. So I'm trying to get it done for the end
of the week."
    "You? Rewrite?" Kelly's face twitched into a smile as she
picked her way slowly over to Sam's bed and sat down. "I thought
you never got anything wrong."
    "Yeah, me," Sam replied as she turned back to writing. "And
no, the problem wasn't my answer. It was the fact that these
simpletons need everything nicely laid out so that they can see
it is the right answer." The redhead muttered something that
Kelly did not catch and started scrawling.
    Kelly smiled and sitting back watched the girl. It was almost
moments like these that reminded her of the life that they had
led before the... change. The slender form stretched out on the
floor in her body hugging causal gray slacks looked... Yum... A
mischievous look came to her face and she got to her feet.
    Sam tapped her pen against her teeth. How far back should she
take the proof? Corun's Dilemma was a mathematical bastard of a
paradox, even for this world. The human who devised it must have
been a devotee of Cthulu. Order and Chaos balanced delicately on
one variable pairing! And the real problem was that she knew how
the solution could be worked out. It just required another
dimension of variables to be...
    Something hot, moist and ticklish suddenly pressed itself
down on her left leg. Thoughts of higher dimensional algebra
suddenly scattered into a million pieces as a heavy form pressed
itself down on her.
    "Sammy," Kelly cooed into her ear giving it a lick. "Baby
wants to play... mmm..."
    Sam giggled and dropped her pen. She had her priorities after
all.

    A number of hours later Sam sighed with relief and rolling
onto her back sat up. Done, she thought as she closed her
notebook. Let Professor Kenju choke of that working out. She
glanced around at the mess surrounding her and got slowly to her
feet. For a moment she stretched and then with a careless gesture
sent the books back to their proper places in Time from which she
had "borrowed" them.
    She glanced over at her bedside clock and groaned, 00:43. Oh
well, bye bye to going out tonight. She sighed and picking up her
glass headed towards the kitchen. Now that her mind was off its
one-track path she realized she was bloody starving!
    Kelly looked up from the dull holovid she was watching and
saw that Sam was back in the land of the living. She yawned and
looked down at the time - it was late. Well, she thought to
herself this was as good a time as any. She got up and walked the
short route into Sam's domain.
    The redhead was bent over passing a critical eye over the
contents of the fridge. Kelly parked her bum up against the oven
and waited for Sam to say something.
    "I know," Sam muttered from within the depths of the fridge.
"I did warn you that you might be putting in too much effort at
that place. The promotion is only a logical consequence."
    "It's a big change going to Luna," Kelly replied carefully.
    "Hardly," Sam commented dismissively finally retrieving
something she could do things with. "It's only a three day
shuttle trip."
    "You mean you don't mind?" Kelly said perking up.
    "If it makes you happy Kelly - do it," Sam said shrugging as
she laid out her tools of battle. "Just don't expect me to come
by every weekend. You know how much I hate travelling by
shuttle." She turned to the sink and filling up a pot with water
put it on to boil.
    Kelly was stunned for a moment. "What do you mean every
weekend? You'll be with me all..." She suddenly realized what the
redhead meant. "Sam! What the hell are you saying?! You have to
come with me!"
    Sam winced at the volume of the voice and frowned slightly.
"Sorry, but I have my own plans down here. I just can't drop
everything for you and... Hey!"
    Kelly grabbed the girl by the shoulders and spun her around.
"What are you Playing at Samantha?" she hissed. "I want you with
me I..." Her voice was suddenly replaced by choking sounds as the
redhead's hand shot out and grabbed her by the throat. Slowly
Kelly was lifted off the ground and her eyes bulged as the air
supply was cut off to her suddenly mortal lungs.
    "Don't order me around child," the redhead said softly as she
stared coldly up at the choking woman. "You exist for me Consort,
not the other way around."
    "Sammman... Pl.... Mer... cy..." Kelly managed to croak out
as a grinning Samantha slowly crushed her windpipe.
    The girl watched faintly amused for a moment as her Consort
clawed vainly at the air and then with a giggle let her go. Kelly
fell to the ground in an indignant heap gasping air into her
lungs.
    "As I said," the redhead continued turning back to her
cooking as if nothing had happened. "Don't expect me to drop by
every weekend."

        *       *       *       *

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time: AD 2089, 21 March, 02:46

    Linna groaned with pleasure and arched her back as the
redhead's agile fingers worked perverted magic against her flesh.
"Sam! Yes!" she moaned as she felt herself building towards a
climax. "Do it! Sam!"
    The fingers went dead and Linna crashed and burnt as she
suddenly realized what she had just said. "Oh, Raina… love I'm so
sorry. I..." she felt horrible as she saw the shocked and hurt
expression on her young lover's face. She tried to reach out but
the girl flinched and climbed out of bed.
    "Raina..." Linna tried again. "Please… I didn't mean..."
    "How could you!" Raina burst out. "You said that you loved
me! How could you!" She turned sharply and grabbing her clothes
ran for the door.
    "Fuck! Raina! Please!" Linna tried to scramble out of bed but
the redhead moved like lightning and by the time Linna had
reached the door of the bedroom a large slamming sound told her
it was too late.
    "FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" Linna swore harshly. Now she had done it!
And everything had been going SO well! "Shit!"
    Linna opened the door and glanced hesitantly into the hotel
hall beyond. Yip, the girl had gone. Linna opened herself to the
Power and did a quick search. Nothing, the redhead had simply
vanished. Linna frowned in confusion and tried again. Nothing, it
was almost as if the redhead no longer existed.
    "Oh fuck..." Linna swore. She was confused. She should have
been able to detect the presence of the human easily but nothing.
Linna chewed her lip, it could be that she was using the Power
wrongly, or...
    "Fuck that!" Linna dismissed the oddity. She had to figure
out how she was going to repair what her big mouth had just
wrought. The events of the last two weeks had taken Linna
completely by surprise. When Raina had turned up at her door
demanding to know who the hell she was and why the hell she had
killed Mackie, Sylia and the others what had happened had been
totally out of the blue. Linna was not even certain how it
happened, or who had seduced who but by the end of the second
hour the two girls had been locked in the throes of passion and
by the end of the night Linna had been in Heaven.
    Ever since that day Linna and Raina had spent as much time as
they possibly could together. Linna reveled in the warmth of the
love that the human felt for her. It was just... so filling. The
girl just gave so much of herself and Linna felt so complete, so
right. At last, after so long, she had someone who really loved
her. It made her giddy in a way she had not felt since... Sam,
no, Samantha had abandoned her.
    "And now I've gone and completely fucked it up..." Linna
cursed. Why the hell had she called out Sam's name? The girl she
had once loved so much was dead buried beneath whom... what she
REALLY was.
    Linna pushed the dark thoughts of the past to the back of her
mind where she tried to keep all her feelings towards THAT one
and returned to the issue at hand. What was, was; she had to face
up to the future not the past. She had to find Raina but the
problem was how? The girl had never given Linna an address and
for some reason the Power was useless. She knew that Raina lived
in the US and she also knew that Raina and her mother had come to
Japan to bury Nene. However, at that point the trail went dead -
except for Nina.
    "Nina," Linna whispered as she remembered the baby that Nene
had first so proudly showed her, Priss and... Sam so long ago.
Who would have thought that that baby would now be grown up and
have a grown child of her own? It only proved to Linna the fool
she had been and the way Samantha had Played her. She had had a
choice once...

>>

    "You have to accept it Linna," Sam pushed on. "Or there can
be no us. If you walk away now while you are still young enough
then... You can still build yourself a life, have a family. You
can still find someone to love that you can grow old and die
with. The only thing I can offer you is a life of pain that will
get worst as the years roll on." Sam smiled a bittersweet
expression on her face. "Go Linna, be free, be happy. Keep the
memories of us that you have and go and build new ones. I will
always love you but the choice must be yours. As will the
consequences of that choice." Sam slowly let go of Linna's hand
and stood up. She looked down and wiped her eyes. "Be free..."
she whispered one last time. "Don't follow my path - make your
own." Without a further word the girl turned and left.
    Linna could only sit stunned as Sam left the cafe. Her
thoughts were whirling and then abruptly clarified. The choice
that Sam had spoken of was here and now. If she just sat here
then in less than 20 seconds Sam would be gone and Linna knew
that this time it would be forever.
    Five seconds...
    As Sam had said all she could offer Linna was a life of pain.
One that would get more burdensome as the years passed.
    Ten seconds...
    She could still find someone, have a family, a daughter like
Nina...
    Fifteen seconds...
    All she had to do was...
    "SAM!!" Linna screamed and bolted for the door.

<<

    ...A choice that Sam had tried to warn her about but one that
Linna had taken anyway. Linna's eyes filled with tears at the
memory of that cafe and the distant world on which it had once
stood. All gone now. All...
    "Nina," she repeated and headed for the bathroom. This time
she would get it right. And this time, no one would Play her for
a fool.

        *       *       *       *

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time: AD 2089, 25 March, 10:41

    Kelly picked up her tickets and looked across sourly at the
redhead opposite the barrier who was waving happily at her. She
knew that she had absolutely no way of proving it but she was
sure that Samantha had "done something" to make this happen.
    - I'm hurt - Samantha's amused voice flickered through her
mind. - Why is it you always think the worst of me? -
    - Experience - Kelly sent back and her comment was met by
indulgent giggling.
    - I'll pop by next weekend - Sam sent and then more softly -
I'll miss you... -
    Kelly flushed at the overtones behind that comment and she
smiled. - I'll miss you too lover. Take care of yourself Sam -
    - Don't worry Kelly - Samantha replied. - I will -
    "You ready Kelly?" a youngish looking man came over to stand
by her.
    "Yeah, just about," Kelly replied. "Just saying goodbye to
Sam."
    "Your cousin?" Samuel Reece asked following Kelly's look back
towards the redhead standing at the barrier. His eyes widened
slightly and he smiled, well, leered.
    "Yeah."
    "I remember old Reynolds saying that she was a real looker,"
Reece commented unaware of the dangerous look that Kelly threw at
him. "He was right. Boy! I bet she has boyfriends coming out of
her ears."
    "Not exactly," Kelly replied turning away. "Come on, the
shuttle is showing a boarding light."
    Reece shot another appreciative glance at the redhead and
then turned to follow Kelly towards the monorail for the Luna
shuttles.
    Sam stopped waving and then sighed. So much for that. She
turned and walked back towards the exit. She would miss Kelly but
this was for the best. Kelly would be safe - that was the main
thing. Things… things were going to be getting rather… nasty in
the coming weeks - if her future sense was right.
    - I'll look after her Sam - a voice said quietly in her mind.
- Don't worry about that -
    - You'd better Reina - Sam replied.
    - Yes Mother - the soft voice said in a devoted tone. - I
love her too you know... -
    - Children! - Sam huffed and then cut the contact as a smile
flickered across her face. Had any other of her children been as
presumptive enough to attempt to seduce her Consort Sam would
have gleefully subjected them to the full treatment of her ire
and then let her pets have what was left to Play with. Reina and
the others however had a special place in her affection so Sam
let them get away with far more. If Reina and Kelly hit it off
then... fine.
    - We love you too Mother - Celine's voice whispered.
    - Yes - more voices said and Sam smiled.
    "Children," she said to herself as she left the terminal and
entered the bright sunny day outside. She looked about for a
moment to see if she could spot an available taxicab to take her
back home. She hated taking the underground - especially when it
seem to be so full of roaming hands - chikan.
    "Well, well, well," Sam whispered to herself with a giggle as
she saw the white limo driving slowly up to where she was
standing. "That's convenient timing."
    The limo pulled slowly to a stop along side her and one of
the windows rolled down. An elderly woman looked out at her. Sam
cocked her head slightly and returned the woman's appraising
stare - green eyes met blue.
    "What is the square root of 7.236428249?" the woman asked
suddenly.
    "2.690061012," Sam replied.
    "And the square root of that?"
    "1.6401405"
    "What is the log of 659.222568?"
    "2.819031862. What is the cube root of that?" Sam shot back.
    "1.412645950. What is..."
    "Wrong," Sam butted in with a smile. "It's 1.412645948. I did
not ask for the figure to be rounded."
    The woman was silent and her eyes narrowed then she smiled
back. "No," she conceded. "You didn't did you Miss De'Naime. It
seems that the record about your insolence is true after all."
    "Yip, I'm sure it is," Sam confirmed. "Now, would you mind
telling me what you want? I don't really have time to play 20
guesses I'm afraid and I still have to get back to school."
    "You are a sour insolent little girl aren't you," the woman
said with a frown.
    "And your paper on gravatonic wave theories had so many holes
in it that I'm surprised it didn't sink," Sam laughed. "A drunken
child could have come up with a better proof than you did."
    "What?!" the woman went red and thrust the door of the limo
open. "How dare you..."
    "The gravatonic constant can be expressed as a distortion
effect," Sam recited mockingly. "Load of crap. Waves are in flux
all the time - how can you possibly build a theory on that as a
basis?"
    "The assumption is perfectly valid!" the woman exclaimed.
"Corum's Theory of particle harmonics..."
    "Was based on a totally different assumption! Harmonics are
not distortions! You cannot use..."
    The argument raged on for about ten minutes until a traffic
officer threatened to give the limo a ticket unless it moved on.
Carrying on the argument Sam slid into the limo next to the woman
and the conversation returned to more mundane topics.
    "So," Yui Elessar said as she looked across at the redhead.
"You know who I am."
    Sam nodded, "it's a bit difficult not to recognize Yui
Elessar. You are rather renown and not just as the head of GRDD."
    "A means to an end only," Yui said lightly dismissing one of
the most powerful jobs that a scientist could possibly get.
"Genom get a return on their investment and I get the money and
scope I need for research. Both of us profit from the
association."
    "And returning to my original question - what do you want of
me?"
    "Straight to the point aren't we Miss De'Naime?" Yui
commented in an annoyed tone.
    "It saves time," Sam replied briskly. "And by the way, where
are we going to?"
    "The Tower," Yui replied. "There are a number of people who
want to have a small chat with you."
    "Oh," Sam's eyebrows raised cautiously. "What about?"
    "An offer that might be of interest to you."

    Linna waited nervously in the hotel lobby and wondered if she
had done the right thing in coming here and trying to see Nina.
It had been well over thirty years since Nina and Linna had last
met and the circumstances of that meeting had not exactly been
congenial. How would Nina react to her presence now?
    She had used the Power to do some very quick research on
Nina. The woman was frantic with worry over her daughter. She had
tried the police but they had been no help whatsoever. As far as
they were concerned another missing person in a city as big as
Tokyo was a mere drop in an ocean. The only one who had listened
to her oddly enough had been... Samantha. Linna did not like the
sound of that. She knew that Samantha would have most certainly
known that Raina had been with her and yet the conniving redhead
had told Nina that she knew absolutely nothing of Raina's where
abouts. What was Samantha Playing at now?
    - That's for me to know my pretty - a voice giggled in her
mind. - And for you to find out... -
    Linna froze, and then anger flooded through her mind. - What
have you done with her Samantha? Are you so jealous that... -
    - Jealous? Me? - Samantha's voice sounded amused. - Why
should I be jealous of you child? -
    - Damn you Samantha! - Linna sent back furiously - I should
have thrown you out on that very first night! -
    - Linna, please... don't say that - Sam's voice replied. -
Don't you love me anymore? -
    Linna felt her heart tighten at the sound of that oh so
familiar voice. - Sam? - she hesitantly sent with disbelief. - Is
that you? - She could not accept it. Samantha had consumed all
that which had been Sam. How had her lover survived? Or was this
just another sick trick of the Corrupter?
    - Of course it's me, silly - Sam warmly sent and Linna felt
her heart beat faster. That _was_ Sam! Linna knew it!
    - Sam! Love, it has been so long... - Linna began joyfully.
    - Not long enough - Samantha commented.
    Linna's joy shattered and her anger flared up again. - Damn
it Samantha! Let Sam go! Let me speak with her!! Please! You won!
Please! -
    Mocking laughter  was her only reply.
    - Samantha! Please!! - Linna begged helplessly.
    Silence.
    "Fuck!!" Linna swore with bitter anger as a feeling of heart
wrenching loneliness flooded through her. "You bitch!!"
    "What did you call me?!" an angry voice exclaimed and Linna
focused back onto the reality around her.
    "I said what the hell did you call me?" the angry woman
repeated.
    "Nina..." Linna whispered as she recognized the oldish
looking woman standing in front of her.
    Nina's angry face faltered for a moment and then her eyes
widened as she finally recognized the familiar figure standing in
front of her. "Linna... Linna Yamazaki..." Her mother's final
insane tape message came to her mind and a dark horror began to
build up inside her.
    Linna was uncertain what to do next. Nina knew roughly what
Linna had done so long ago. The human had been right there
when...
    "Hello mother," a soft voice made them both turn suddenly.
Nina's heart jumped with a wild hope and Linna's emotions did a
similar flip.
    "Oh..." Nina's face collapsed when she saw that it was not
her daughter but a young slender green-eyed brunette.
    "Mina..." Linna gasped as she recognized the white faced
girl... no, Enforcer.
    Mina smiled and ignoring Nina completely she embraced the
startled Noble. "I've missed you mother."
    "Mina..." Linna was still trying to recover from her shock.
"What... what are you..."
    "Sam asked me to keep you safe," Mina replied as she released
the brunette and stepped back.
    "Sam..." Linna said stupidly.
    Mina nodded, "she's worried about you."
    "Worried? About me?"
    "Of course she is," Mina replied with a soft laugh. "She does
love you silly, so why should she not..."
    "But Samantha..."
    "Is not our mother," the Enforcer's voice overrode Linna's.
"Sam is. We have our loyalties."
    "But Sam is Samantha!" Linna exclaimed. "Or at least part of
her... or... Samantha is part of Sam... or..."
    "You still do not understand do you mother?" Mina said
softly. "After all the two of you have been through together you
still refuse to see."
    "See what?" Linna frowned and her face grew anxious. "Mina -
please! Where is MY Sam?"
    Mina smiled, "she's where..."
    "Look!" Nina broke in. "What the hell is going on here
Yamazaki?! Who the hell is this? And where is MY daughter?"
    Linna shot an enraged look at the mortal and for a moment her
hands twitched with an unholy desire.
    Mina gently patted her mother on the arm. "Settle down," she
said.
    "No!" Linna snarled as her blue eyes darkened and her fingers
curled into claws as a predatory rage began to overcome her mind.
    "I said settle down," the Enforcer said and Linna felt all
the rage drain from her. "You are uncontrolled mother," Mina said
calmly. "You must learn to control yourself Linna. If you don't
then..." she shrugged and left it hanging. She let go of Linna's
arm and slowly turned to Nina and smiled.
    "You are the daughter of Nene and Mackie Stingray aren't
you?" Mina asked.
    "And who the devil are you?" Nina frowned.
    "Just one of many," Mina said with a grin. "You may remember
me as one of your grandmother's creations..."
    Nina's face grew white. "But you... you were..."
    "Destroyed?" Mina queried. "No, Sylia failed in her grand
plan. Our Mother made sure that we were able to survive the
Council's attack." The attractive pale face twisted into a
brutally savage expression of dark joy, "and Samantha's...
demonstration of her... displeasure on five of the Great Holding
afterwards reminded the Council of, shall we say, some of the
realities of life."
    Nina backed away at the unholy expression of pleasure that
twisted the girl's attractive face. This was a true daughter
of....
    "Sam," Mina finished for her. "We are hers, and hers alone."
    Linna closed her eyes in joy at the news. "Then she was able
to pull it off," she whispered. "She really managed to survive."
    "Enough of her," Mina confirmed. "Enough to ensure that
Samantha remains manageable - for now at least."
    "But why?" Linna exclaimed. "Why didn't she tell me? Why
didn't she come back?"
    "I said she survived," Mina repeated in a quiet voice. "I did
not say she triumphed. Samantha is held in check but that is all.
To her you are only a Pawn Linna and as I said, it was Sam who
asked me to look after you. If light of things that are happening
she thinks you need protection from..."
    "I must go to her!" Linna exclaimed feeling almost drunk with
emotion as she summoned her Power. She ignored what Mina was
trying to say and prepared to Travel. Sam... After all this
time... Sam was alive!
    "No!" Mina said sharply grabbing Linna's hand and smothering
her Power. "It's too soon for that! Kelly Duval is currently
Consort - not you. You must wait until you are ready to Challenge
her for that position! You know how the Family operates Linna. If
you try a Challenge now you will fail and be destroyed. If you
really love Sam then you must learn to be patient. Your time will
come, but until it does you must simply watch and wait."
    Linna tried to free her arm and break away. "I _can't_ do..."
    "You will," the girl said softly in a Power laden voice.
"Until Kelly Duval is defeated in Challenge and you are ready to
take her place you _will_ wait. You will..."

        *       *       *       *

********************************************
** VERY ROUGH EXCERTS FROM CHAPTER NINE...**
********************************************

Chapter Nine - A New Beginning

Location: Earth orbit
Time: AD 2089, 26 March, 00:41

    "Achoo!"
The sneeze of Reece alongside her on the shuttle caused Kelly to
jerk awake. She glanced in an annoyed fashion at the human who
was snoring loudly beside her and tried to reposition herself. It
was tricky - even in first class seating was cramped.
    "Sorry," Kelly apologized as her foot knocked the smartly
dressed strikingly attractive middle aged man sitting next to
her. "Never enough seat room on these things."
    The man smiled, "no, I have never liked Travelling by these
clumsy vehicles either."
    Kelly grinned back, "and we have three days of this pleasure
to look forward to - I can hardly wait."
    "Well, at least the company will be pleasant enough," the man
replied. "And, if I may be so bold to say, very attractive to the
eye as well."
    "Why thank you, noble sir," Kelly said with a pleased look at
the compliment.
    "It is the truth," the man replied holding out his hand.
"Daniel Gabeson - pleased to meet you."
    Kelly took the hand, "Kelly Duval."
    "Travelling to Luna Miss Duval?"
    "Call me Kelly please," Kelly replied. "And yes, I going to
Celene City actually on company business."
    "That must be nice for you Kelly," Daniel Gabeson replied.
"From what I hear of Celene it is the cultural heartland of Luna.
A most fascinating place or so I am told."
    "Oh," Kelly answered. "And where are you going Mr. Gabeson?"
    "Daniel," Daniel replied. "I have Family business to deal
with on Luna - Tranquility City to be exact. Although, I will be
Travelling to and from Celene every now and then."
    "Is that so?" Kelly said with interest. "Perhaps we will run
into each other some time."
    Daniel smiled, "count on it. Now, if you will excuse me for
being rude but I must get some sleep. I am exhausted."
    "Oh sorry, of course," Kelly replied. "It is early morning
after all."
    "May be you can tell me more about yourself in the morning,"
Daniel said as he made himself comfortable. "This is going to be
a long three days."
    "I'd be happy too," Kelly replied and slowly settled down to
sleep herself.
    The pale faced reddish-brown eyed stewardess gave the man his
requested coffee and politely turned down his offer before
returning back to the small kitchen. Reina frowned slightly as
she carefully watched the Enforcer from Gabriel's Family settle
down for sleep. She was worried. She very much doubted that the
Enforcer had engaged in idol chatter with Kelly for no reason at
all. Especially, not when he had taken so much trouble to conceal
his Noble status. Just what was Gabriel up to?
    Bound by the terms of the Truce Reina could not take any
action against this Enforcer unless he himself initiated it by
calling Challenge - the Rules of the True were quite specific
about that. If he had been assigned to simply watch one of the
Corrupter's Family, she could do nothing to stop him. She did not
even know if he was aware of her presence. She really had no idea
of his Power level.
    Reina licked for lips and for a delightful moment imagined
what pleasure she would have if he did. Gabriel was one of His
highest-ranking Advisors and Reina would have the greatest
enjoyment in slowly roasting one of his children in the frozen
flame of the Darkness. A shiver of almost sexual pleasure rushed
through her as she held the image long in her mind. Yes... the
smell of the Enforcer's flesh rotting....
    "Would you like to kill him child?"
    "What?" Reina came out of her fantasy with a shock. "What was
that?"
    "I asked if you would like to kill him little Darkling?"
    Reina spun around and looked at the steward calling the Power
to her. "Who are you?" she hissed.
    "A friend," the steward replied with an easy smile. "And you
do not need to demonstrate who you are child you will alert your
prey."
    Reina kept a hold on the Power and carefully examined the...
human? Yes... human.
    "I really mean you no harm child," the human replied lifting
his hands. "My Master has absolutely no hostile intentions
towards either you or your Family. In fact, I am here to help."
    "And just who might your Master be?" Reina hissed her eyes
black voids.
    "Just someone who wishes dearest Samantha to be happy - that
is all my child," the man replied. "And if the death of one of
Gabriel's fools brings you pleasure then my Master will gladly
oblige."
    "Of course he will," Reina sniggered. "And what price will
that 'favor' have?"
    "Price? Nothing - only the pleasure of seeing you smile..."
    "I don't think so," Reina said in a voice that was subtly
different from the one she had been speaking with before. Reina
felt slightly faint as suddenly she and the other man were caught
out of time, shifted into another subtly different dimension by
Samantha.
    "Ah," the man smiled brightly. "Samantha, you honor me..."
    "A long way since the place we last talked," Reina said in
Samantha's voice.
    "Yes," the man looked sorry. "I apologize for my selection at
the time. The toilet was an... inappropriate place to greet you."
    "And your most... childish prank with the woman?"
    "I thought you found her attractive Samantha," the man
replied. "Your indulgences with mortals is well known. I was
merely offering her as a present to you. I did not mean to offend
you. I would never offend such a lovely lady such as yourself..."
    "Then perhaps you would do me the honor of telling me your
name," Samantha said playfully toying with a fork. "I do _so_
much want to meet the one who _honored_ me with such a _nice_
gift."
    The man smiled and shook his head. "Alas, my beloved Samantha
I cannot - at least not yet."
    Samantha smiled coyly, "please..." she said and fluttered her
eyes.
    "Oh dearest," the man shook his head again. "I fear that I
cannot but..."
    "Why not?" Samantha smiled widened in a gleefully malevolent
smile. "Afraid to?"
    The man laughed softly and he seemed to be considering
something.
    "Pretty, pretty please," Samantha said trying to look as
sickenly sweet as she could. "With sugar..."
    "Ahhh... Samantha..." a look of demanted need crossed the
man's face. "Perhaps..."
    Samantha's cloyingly sweet expression faltered as she saw the
man's expression. "Don't..."
    "Leviathan," the man suddenly said with a step forward. "Call
me Leviathan, my precious one."
    Samantha went completely numb as her mind slowly processed
that name - impossible!
    "Quite possible," the man said with another step forward. "I
assure you."
    Samantha's face whitened for a moment as an unknowable
emotion crossed her borrowed face and then slowly she giggled
madly. Control, she must exercise control. She was a Power also.
    "So," she continued a little more sure of herself. "What do
you wish of insignificant little old me?"
     The man smiled and something even older and more unnatural
than the look in Reina's eyes flickered there. "Want? You already
know what I want _pretty_ one..."
    A look of utter revulsion came to Reina's face and she took a
step back in shock.
    "I have been lonely for such a long time Samantha," the man
continued. "Ever since your kind threw me out of the PrimeVerse I
have watched you, my little one. I have watched as you grew up,
developed, fell in love and became one of the most powerful of
your generation. I watched you as you so cunningly escaped from
my vengeance on the PrimeVerse with your lover, and how you took
the Power of my minions into yourself as part of the bargain. I
saw how you enjoyed yourself when you killed your weakling lover
and that feeble excuse for a creature - Erith. I watched with
great enjoyment as that foolish one who calls himself HE raped
you, and..."
    A passenger in her own body Reina felt Samantha's bloodrage
at the words turn into something far colder and far more deadly.
Samantha closed a barrier of sheer hatred around the memories
that the man thing was trying to invoke. She would not give
anyone the satisfaction of seeing her break - not again She
deliberately ignored what the thing was saying and turned her
attention to the name he/It had given - Leviathan.
    The name stirred only faint memories deep from Samantha's
past. Leviathan... A force of Unlife, Anti-creation that had been
thrown out of the PrimeVerse by the combined might of the
greatest of Samantha's kind. Doomed to a trap labyrinth known
only as the Black Nexus. It was a myth that had been forgotten
Cycles before the destruction of the PrimeVerse. Leviathan.
    Samantha gently probed at the being before her. A Power as
alien and as ancient as her own flickered like a fitful aura
around it. Strong, but not what Samantha had expected. She had
barely been self-aware when Leviathan had been vanquished but she
remembered enough the Power of its minions. This was a pathetic
echo of what had been. The Black Nexus was powered by the
Unliving energy of its prisoner - energy that was only minutely
reflected in the aura before her. Her eyes narrowed and Reina
felt that her Mistress had come to a decision.
    "...attempted Bonding to  you..." the man continued.
    "Is that so?" Samantha interrupted in a mildly pleasant tone
as she still played with the fork. "You found it... enjoyable did
you?"
    "Yes..." the man hissed in delight. "Most enjoyable..."
    "How pleasant for you," Samantha watched with a crooked smile
as the fork danced in the light. "And tell me how do you enjoy
the Black Nexus? Is it as fun a prison as I have heard?"
    The man's eyes narrowed as a rabid look of rage and hunger
came to his face.
    Samantha smiled slowly at the point she had scored. "Yes..."
she hissed. "I know of the Nexus and the Seal that was placed on
it." She cocked her head as the twirling fork, "the hunger you
must be feeling by now must be... intoxicating..."
    "A hunger you will do MORE than satisfy pretty little
Samantha..." the man thing whispered back.
    "Sticks and stones..." Samantha giggled as she felt her icy
control finally began to slip. Fear, rage, hatred, and maddness
began to contaminate her control. Her giggling steadily grew more
pronounced and then suddenly in a savage motion she drove the
fork she was playing with deep into the man's left eye.
    "YAAAA!!!" the human screamed as the blood gushed from his
ruined socket.
    "Ops," Samantha said giggling maniacally. "My hand must have
slipped..."
    "What... what do you... think..."
    "That achieves?" Samantha still chuckled in sick amusement.
"Nothing. It just makes me feel better that's all." She smiled
with an impudent grin and a living Dark aura began to lick around
her form.
    The man ripped the fork out of his eye and threw it to the
ground. He straightened and slowly reached up and pulled out the
ruined eye. He looked at it for a moment and then popped it in
his mouth. "Really Samantha," he said in a disapproving tone. "I
expected better of you than such a childish prank."
    Samantha shrugged and grinned, "hey! I'm an impulsive type of
girl..."
    The man swallowed and smiled as all damage to his face
vanished.
    "Well, fascinating as this conversion is I'm afraid that I
really do have more important things to attend too," Samantha
said dismissively. "My hair really needs a wash for example..."
    The man grinned at the comment, "still Playing Samantha...
Oh, I do enjoy you SO much..."
    "Not really," Samantha commented with an evil grin. "It's
just, that if I remember correctly the Nexus uses your Power to
maintain the Seal. Which means of course that your vaunted Power
of U