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Knights in Peril

This story is part of the 2090 BGC series.

The name Bubblegum Crisis and characters here within are copyright of
Artmic & Youmex and are used without permission. The name Silent
Mobius and associated characters are property of Kia Asamiya and are
used without permission. Other characters and themes within are
copyright of Alexander Gray and are used with permission. This story
and others in this series maybe freely distributed as long as this
header is quoted, the author is referenced, and the contents are not
altered without permission of the author.

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            *       *       *       *

Chapter Three - Needs

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time: AD 2089, 7 May, 12:01

    "Damn this," Helen cursed in frustration as she pushed aside the
paperwork and leaned back in her office chair. She had had enough of
this shit! The job which had once filled her with so much pleasure was
now only a  source of constant frustration and annoyance. Even the
promotion that she had had last month only made her now realize how
empty her life really was. Oh, there was always work enough to fill
her time, but that was all it was - a filler.
    "Damn it all!" she cursed and stood up. What was the matter with
her? Why was she like this? Why now? She stalked over to the window
and looked out onto the people moving on the busy street below. She
pressed her hand up and against the cold glass and took a deep breath.
So meaningless... This whole ruddy life that she was living was so
bloody meaningless. Everyday was the same. She came to work, she
indulged in idle chatter, met clients and then went home again. Day in
and day out, the whole meaningless cycle repeated itself without end.
Her life was ticking her by and she was wasting it on this dribble.
She shook her head as she considered the infinite possibilities that
she had missed, the infinite directions that her life could have
taken. She had had it! It was time to take her life back! Time to move
forward and fulfill the potential that she had, and the fuck with
everything else!
    The sound of knocking and a soft voice calling her name bought her
back from her deep thoughts and she looked up. As she saw the figure
standing at her door her face broke into a smile and her heart leapt.
"Kiyomi..." she whispered.
    The young woman standing at the door smiled mischievously, almost
as if she were aware what her presence did to Helen and walked in. "I
have those papers you requested," she said in a business like voice
that was completely different to the teasing way she walked over to
the desk and placed the documents down on it. She put a hand to her
hip and swiveled into a position that made Helen almost grind her
teeth. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Helen-san?" she
asked, her lips twitching with a small teasing smile.
    Helen grinned. "Well, how about lunch for one thing?"
    Kiyomi gave a soft laugh. "How about we skip straight to desert
instead, eh?" she replied with a fond wink.
    "Don't tempt me," Helen laughed, feeling better already.
    "I'm glad to see that you are smiling again, Helen," Kiyomi said
walking over to her Chosen and holding out her hand. "You seemed so
depressed when you came into the office this morning."
    "Just missing you," Helen admitted truthfully as she took hold of
Kiyomi's hand with her own.
    "Have you thought about what I said then?" Kiyomi asked, tracing
patterns in Helen's hand with her finger. Her eyes were so wide and
anxious that Helen felt herself rapidly getting lost in them.
    "It's a bit of a serious step," she conceded, "but yes, I have. I
have been giving it some very serious thought indeed."
    "And..." Kiyomi asked, her voice hesitant.
    "Yes..." Helen's face burst into a smile and she laughed out loud
pulling the startled woman into a strong embrace. "Oh, yes!" She no
longer cared about her job, her empty life, anything. The only thing
she cared about now was the warm presence nestled up against her. She
had had enough avoiding life. It was time to embrace it, time to
_live_ it.
    Kiyomi returned the embrace as strongly as her Chosen gave it. Oh
Gods, she thought as she lost herself in Helen's warmth, she was _so_
filled. Her old life had been _nothing_ like this... When Sam had
_taken_ her, the old weak self that she had been had been burnt away
and although she had lost her life and soul in the process that which
had been reborn from the ashes was so much more, oh, so much more. And
if she had the choice she would gladly go through the whole process
again!
    "Helen!" a disbelieving voice suddenly called out from the door
making the two would be lovers break apart and turn to face the
indignant faced woman standing just outside the office.
    "What the hell do you think you two are doing?!" the woman
exclaimed, striding in to look incredulously at the sight before her.
    Helen's face paled and then flushed red as she faced one of the
senior partners of the firm. She took a involuntary step back as she
shirked from the older woman's anger. Kiyomi gave her hand a small
grip as if telling her to be strong. Helen swallowed, and finally took
back control of her life.
    "I'm quitting," she said with a bright smile. "That's what I'm
doing."
    "What?!" the woman exclaimed in shock. "You..."
    "Screw you," Helen replied back simply, and taking a firm grip on
Kiyomi's hand walked towards the door. She walked out of the office,
out of the life she had spent so much of her effort over the last ten
years building, out of it all. And she did not look back.

    "Missing?" the voice yelled angrily. "Is that all you idiots can
tell me?! That she is missing?!"
    Nina looked up, and her eyes focused on the man standing with a
young woman by his side as he yelled at the uniformed officer in a
voice that was reserved for speaking to complete idiots.
    "Kenju, please," the young woman said in a pleading voice as she
tried to restrain the furious young man.
    "She has been 'missing' for over a month now, you fool! A month!
And after all this time the only thing you can tell me is that she is
missing! You bloody..."
    "Kenju!" the young woman pulled the man around and promptly
stomped on his foot. "Stop it!"
    "Ouch!" the man exclaimed and turned to face the woman. "What was
that for Sandy?"
    "To keep you from getting yourself arrested, you idiot," Sandra
Kateland berated her boyfriend. She sighed, and raised her hand to
touch her lover's face. "Look, Kenju, I know you are worried about
her, so am I, but exploding at the police isn't going to find Sam any
quicker now is it?"
    Professor Kenju Matsu swore softly and looked sheepishly at
Sandra's steely blue-grey eyes.
    "Well?" Sandra repeated, and her lover turned back to the sergeant
he had been yelling at and bowed formally in apology.
    "I am sorry," he said still doubled over. "Please forgive me."
    The officer flashed a thankful grin at the sensible young woman.
"I understand what you are feeling, sir," he said. "I am only sorry
the news cannot be of any help, but I assure you, we will do
everything that we can to find Miss De'Naime and ensure her safety."
    A sudden gasp of shock made Sandra's head turn sharply to eye-ball
older woman who had just half-risen to her feet at the mention of
Samantha's name. Sandra noticed the pale look on the woman's face and
she put two and two together.
    "Excuse me," she said, leaving Kenju and hurrying over to the
woman. "Please, do not take this the wrong way, but would I be right
in assuming that you know one of my students - Samantha, Samantha
De'Naime?"
    Nina eyes narrowed as she looked hard at the young woman. "Who
are you?" she asked bluntly. Her patience, as well as most of her good
manners, had perished since her daughter had vanished without a trace.
    Sandra flushed at the almost hostile stare on the woman's face,
but she swallowed and pushed on. "My name is Sandra Kateland. I'm a
professor at Omni Academy. About a month ago, one of my students, a 17
year old girl named Samantha De'Naime disappeared, and..."
    "Disappeared?" Nina broke in with a bitter laugh. "Her? Not bloody
likely! That redheaded bitch is always around somewhere!"
    Sandra's eyes widened, and Kenju strode over to join his
girlfriend. "You know her, don't you?" Sandra exclaimed ignoring the
bitter tone in the woman's voice. "Please, do you have any idea where
she might be?"
    Nina looked at the earnest expression on the young woman's face
and her eyes softened. The determined look reminded her of her own
daughter. She took a deep breath and shook her head apologetically.
"I'm sorry, but no. I have no idea where your student might be, Miss
Kateland. And if I were you, I would be glad that she is gone."
    "What?!" Kenju exclaimed, his anger rising again at the casual
dismissal of his student. He took a menacing step towards the woman.
"Who the hell are you to say that? Samantha is only a child!"
    Nina's face hardened, and her eyes grew cold in a way that made
Sandra shiver.
    "You _fool_," she hissed. "You have absolutely no idea of what you
are dealing with do you? Either of you?"
    "What's that supposed to mean?" Kenju hissed right back.
    "My daughter is missing because of that bitch," Nina's fists
clenched at her side angrily as a wave of fury washed over her. "My
dear daughter, who'd never hurt a fly, is missing because of Samantha
De'Naime! And I pray to God that she _rots_ for all the evil that she
has done!"
    Kenju gasped in shock at the loathing and fury in the woman's
voice and he pulled back astonished. This woman _hated_ with so much
passion a girl, who while being insolent, was also one of the gentlest
souls he had ever met.
    Nina stared at the two shocked young people and with a snort of
disgust turned and walked off. There was no point staying at the
police station to see if any progress had been made in the search for
her daughter. She should have known better than to come here in the
first place. What could these fools do to find her child? These police
were merely cannon fodder to the Powers that had entrapped her
daughter. She had been a desperate fool to hope that they could help
her - a desperate fool!
    Sandra could only watch helplessly as the older woman stalked off.
She could not believe the level of bitter hatred that the woman had
shown towards Sam. What the hell was going on here? What could Sam
have possibly done to earn such enmity? She turned, and looked back at
the officer. "Who the devil was that?" she whispered in a hoarse
voice.
    The young man sighed. "Her name is Nina Stingray," he said slowly.
"Her daughter, like Miss De'Naime, is missing."
    "Oh..." Sandra said, turning her head to look back at the departed
figure. "But why does she blame Sam so for her daughter's
disappearance?"
    The young man could only shrug in reply. "I don't know," he
responded. "But she is adamant in her beliefs."
    "She's mad," Kenju said shaking his head as he remembered the
unnatural rage he had seen shining in the woman's eyes. "Sam would
never hurt a fly. She's just a child for God's sake! She..."
    "Kenju!" a voice suddenly called out and both teachers turned
their heads to see the elderly figure of Yui Elessar striding towards
them. She was flanked by two largish looking body guards and another
younger looking man.
    "Thank you for coming, Miss Elessar," Kenju greeted the stern
looking woman with a bow.
    "Piddle-fish," the famous scientist said dismissively. "I only
wish you had the gall to contact me a hell of a lot sooner. Genom and
myself have a very specific interest in the welfare of Miss De'Naime,
and we will do anything to ensure that she is safe."
    Kenju tried to mumble his thanks, but Yui turned instead to the
youngish looking man beside her. "To show you how important she is to
us, someone else who is vital to Genom has also come down to ensure
that Miss De'Naime is found as soon, and as safely as possible. In
fact, he has deliberately cleared his calendar to make sure that she
is found. Allow me to introduce to you my boss, Geoff Quincy, the
Chairman of Genom Incorporated."
    Kenju gasped, and Sandra took a small step backwards in surprise
as the single most powerful man on the planet bowed slightly in their
direction. Sandra took a moment to recover from her shock at the fact
that she was actually looking at the _owner_ of entire nations, the
man, who with a single word, could make or break the world's economy.
    "Ah... Hi..." was the best she could manage.
    The young man smiled and Sandra flushed as somehow she felt as if
she were on a high. "I am very pleased to be able to meet you Miss
Kateland, Mr Matsu - very pleased indeed."
    Kenju tried to say something intelligent but it only came out like
a stuttered mumble. Gods, he thought as he felt weak at the knees.
This man's eyes were incredible!
    Yui smiled knowingly as the two normally intelligent humans were
reduced to mere goggle eyed fools by the very presence of her Master.
Even the vaunted Nobles, for all their Power and age, were little more
than insects to her Lord. She was still uncertain why her Master had
insisted that these two humans would have a role to Play in regaining
Samantha De'Naime, but she knew better than to ask. She knew the prize
that was at stake here and if her Master said that these two would
have an important role in gaining that prize, then so be it.

        *       *       *       *

Location: Haven, Shadowlands
Time: ??

    With a bored expression on his face, Gabriel looked out from his
palace onto the glittering perfection of Haven and gave a sound that
almost sounded like a sigh.
    "Gabriel?" a petulant voice called out from behind him. "Why did
you just leave me like that? You know I don't like it when..."
    "Leave me, Altenna," Gabriel said with a dismissive gesture. "You
are beginning to bore me."
    "What?" the young Noble exclaimed in surprise. "What did you just
say?"
    A look of annoyance crossed his face and Gabriel repeated. "Go."
    "But... My Lord..." Altenna spluttered.
    Gabriel exerted a wisp of his Power and the female vanished. He
did not destroy her, he merely returned her to the Family that had
originally sent her to him. What they did to her did not interest him
at all. In fact, very little interested him these days. The joy that
he had taken from his existence had faded long ago, and now there only
remained the boredom that came with infinite Power. Even the thrill of
battle, of the Challenge, had long since vanished as his own strength
had reached a level where no Challenger remained who could take him
on.
    Well, no, that was not strictly true. There were several against
which even his vaunted Power would fail. His proud long banished elder
brother for one, HIM for another, and of course... her.
    "Samanaimethea..." he whispered, as here, in the most private of
his sanctuaries he let his hidden pain show. "Oh, Samanaimethea..." he
repeated as he turned and walked back into the shadowed darkness of
his palace. It had only been long after the Rebellion had come and
gone that he had finally been able to rid himself of the last of the
effects of HIS Power that had for so long blinded Gabriel to the truth
of the events of that fateful day that changed everything in Haven. At
first, he had refused to believe what it was he remembered, but as the
lingering presence of HIS Power had slowly faded and the hold that it
had on his mind had passed, Gabriel had come at last to realize the
truth - the real truth.
    "Oh, Sammy..." he whispered. "I loved you so much, and yet in the
end it wasn't enough, was it? I even failed to recognize the truth of
my own weaknesses, didn't I?" He sat down heavily on the marble bench
and let his mind wander over the recent events that were now focusing
around this latest incarnation of Samanaimethea. She had been active,
very active indeed. It seemed that she had finally stopped her
wandering activities that had been the main focus of her life for the
last uncountable Ages, and was now focusing her attention on regaining
the power and prestige that she had once held during the time of the
Rebellion. Only this time, she was being a lot more forceful in how
she was doing it.
    The way she had finished off that simpleton Michael had been a
perfect example. The redhead had butchered his younger brother with a
ruthless efficiency that now had all the Council quivering in the palm
of her hand. Even the Noble Families of Haven were beginning to feed
the cold wind of change that blew metaphorically through the
Shadowlands. They might not fully understand it yet, but they sensed
it all the same. Change was coming - Gabriel knew it was. Just what
that change would be he did not yet know, but two things were certain.
The change would bring a devastation the like that had not been seen
since the time of the Rebellion, and secondly, and perhaps most
importantly, Samanaimethea, just like before, would be the key to it
all.
    "And this time, my dearest Sammy," the Steward of Haven swore in a
faint whisper, "I will not be the one to fail you..."

        *       *       *       *

Location: ??
Time: Day 945

    "It was sunny today. Big whoopee, it is always sunny, sunny,
sunny, bunny in sunny, funny bunny in sunny. Went looking for people
today - zippo. I'm the only one left. The only one left to enjoy the
sun.
    Sun.
    Fun.
    Only one left."

    Priss reread the diary entry and laughed at her brilliant play on
words. "Funny bunny," she whispered. "What a great title for a song,
don't you think so, Linna?" She turned to look at her old friend and
waited for her answer. A moment later, Priss laughed and nodded in
agreement. "Couldn't have said it better myself. I'll make a note of
it and incorporate it into my next song." And with that being said,
Priss turned her attention back to the diary and started to scribble
once more.

    "Linna made an excellent suggestion about the next song I should
write for my next star appearance at Hades. So, I'm going to write a
song for her and dedicate it to the lack of bunnies that are in Tokyo.
As well as the..."

    Priss looked up and turned to face Linna. "Sorry?" she asked her
old friend. "What was that?"
    Linna looked annoyed that Priss had not heard her the first time,
so she just sat there and sulked.
    "Oh, for Heaven's sake, Linna, you don't have to be like that,"
Priss said to the pouting figure, but still got no response. So she
stood up and walked over to the brunette. Putting her hands on her
hips, she looked down at the now silent figure. "Come on, Linna. I'm
sorry, okay? Speak to me."
    Still the figure said nothing and Priss began to get annoyed.
"Linna, either you speak to me, or I swear I will never speak to you
again, do you hear me?"
    Silence.
    "DAMN YOU!" Priss screamed and hit Linna in the mouth sending her
head sailing across the room to hit the wall before falling to the
ground. Priss giggled, "That taught you." Still giggling, she walked
over and picking it up, bought it to her lips and kissed it.
    "Ahhh..." she said pulling back. "You liked that, didn't you?"
    Linna agreed and Priss started to hum as she took Linna's head in
her arms and started to dance around the floor of the room. She had
just completed her third sweep of the floor when she abruptly stopped.
    "WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?!" she screamed, throwing the manikin's
head away from her and clutching at her head. "WHAT THE FUCK AND I
DOING?!" She looked around her incredulously at the manikins that were
scattered loosely about the room. Clutching at herself, she tried
desperately to recall what it was she had just been doing, but her
mind was a complete blank. The last thing she could remembered was...
    "I CAN'T REMEMBER!" Priss screamed out. "I CAN'T REMEMBER!" She
clutched at her head again and started to giggle. It did not exactly
matter if she yelled or screamed now did it? It was not like there was
anyone around to complain.
    "Heeeheehehehe..." Priss giggled and striding over to the door she
opened it. Taking a deep breath of the warm summer air, she grabbed
her coat and decided that she would go for a nice quiet walk along the
peaceful streets of Tokyo. She might even drop into one of the small
cafés in the city center and have a drink. For some reason food and
drink had never been a problem. They appeared where ever she went, so
she did not need to bother with money much these days. She did however
like to pay sometimes - it was only right after all, and Priss was a
good girl.
    "Oh, silly me," she said just before she walked out. "Linna? Do
you want to come as well?"
    Linna happily agreed and walking over to grab Linna's head, Priss
stepped out to enjoy yet another day of Linna's company.

        *       *       *       *

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time: AD 2041, 13th December, 19:13

    "Hey, Priss," Kelly pulled the door open and let Mayline in.
"Mayline's here!"
    "Right..." a faint voice rumbled from within the inner sanctum of
the caravan and Kelly turned to smile at the nervous looking girl.
    "She'll just be a moment," Kelly said warmly. "Can I get you
a drink while you're waiting?"
    Mayline fidgeted and Kelly flashed the poor girl a wink. "Don't
worry, Mayline," she said quietly. "You'll be fine. Priss is an
experienced woman, just remember to take things nice and slow, that's
all. Don't try to force it."
    "What... What do you mean?" Mayline squawked in a strangled voice
as her face went bright red.
    "Me? Nothing," Kelly smiled brightly. "Nothing at all."
    "Hiya, Mayline," Priss greeted her young friend as she walked into
the room. "What do you think?" she asked as she did a twirl in her new
body hugging leathers. "Am I hot or what?"
    Mayline's eyes opened wide, and she nodded dumbly.
    Priss laughed and clapped her friend on the back. "Come on," she
said with a smile as she threw a helmet at the girl. "We'd better get
going or we'll miss the concert."
    "What time will you be back?" Kelly popped her head out from the
kitchen and gave Priss a pointed stare.
    "Late," Priss replied, bringing out her keys. "The concert itself
is supposed to finish sometime in the early hours and then me and old
Mayline here are going partying. So, don't bother waiting up for me."
    "I wasn't intending to," Kelly said. "I just don't want to be
woken up again in the early hours because you've lost your keys
again."
    "Oh, shut up," Priss said holding up her keys. "See, I've got them
right here."
    "Good," Kelly smiled. "Just make sure you hang onto them this
time."
    "Bleee," Priss pulled a face and headed for the door in a huff.
    "Look after her, Mayline," Kelly told the young girl. "Don't
let her get too drunk..."
    "Mayline!" Priss ordered from the door. "Let's get going! Mother
hen here is beginning to get on my nerves."
    Mayline gave Kelly a quick nod of her head and turned to leave.
    - Mayline - Kelly sent. - Seriously, look after her. Remember what
I told you about our kind. Be wary, always -
    - Priss is very special to me, Kelly - Mayline sent back a bit
annoyed. - Of course, I will look after her -
    "Then have fun, ladies," Kelly waved, returning to the kitchen.
She heard the door slam shut and grinned. Mayline had fallen for
Priss's rather unique charm in quite a big way, and Priss, even if she
did not recognize it yet was beginning to "like" Mayline rather a lot
too. The two of them were starting to spend more and more time
together and Kelly wondered how long it would be before the two of
them...
    "You have a dirty mind, Kelly," Loria commented with a grin as she
and Mina suddenly appeared out of thin air and collapsed into the old
sofa bed.
    "Me?" Kelly snorted and turned to look at the two young women
settling into each other's arms. "Hark the herald angel sing, Loria."
    "Mina is my Chosen," Loria corrected leaning back against the
aforementioned soft form.
    "We have every right to," Mina finished, nuzzling Loria's soft
hair with a giggle.
    "Oh, stop that," Kelly said grumpily as she came over and plonked
herself down on the seat opposite.
    Loria raised an eyebrow. "Missing Sam, are we?" she said with a
knowing smile.
    Kelly pulled a face that gave Loria all the answers she needed.
    "She's been rather active recently," Loria commented making Kelly
focus on her immediately.
    "Where?" Kelly said leaning forward.
    "Wiping Sera's Domain off the map," Loria replied with a shrug.
"Quite viciously too from what I hear."
    Kelly frowned, "I thought Sera made it a point to keep out of the
Great Games."
    Loria bought Mina's hand to her mouth and started to lick the
girl's fingers. "She did. But it seems old Sammy was annoyed at her
anyway. It happens." She shrugged.
    "Do you know where she is know?" Kelly asked trying to keep her
voice casual.
    Loria smiled, "And you call me bad."
    Kelly flushed, "Just tell me, Loria. It's been a while now and
I..."
    "Want a piece of Sammy's body?" Loria finished with a wide grin.
"Sorry, I can't help. All I know is that she seems to be amusing
herself terrorizing some of the Great Families of the Council."
    "What do you mean?" Kelly said slightly confused. "She hasn't
bothered with the Council much for Ages."
    "Well, she is now," Loria replied moving her attention onto Mina's
pale arms. "I think their attempt to destroy her pissed Samantha off
slightly. She's probably just letting off a bit of steam."
    "You don't sound too concerned," Kelly frowned.
    "Is Mother likely to be in any danger?" Mina spoke up raising her
head to stare into Loria's eyes.
    Loria sniggered and gave Mina's cute worried face a quick kiss.
"Don't worry about Samantha," she said reassuringly. "A very, very
long time ago the Council was a much larger entity than it is now, and
took a much more active role in the affairs of the MultiVerse.
Samantha herself was also much more active in the Games that she
Played and..."
    "She's always Played the Great Games," Kelly snorted. "So what?"
    "Kelly," Loria shot the young woman opposite a glance. "If you let
me finish, I will tell you. The Samantha you know now is almost
nothing like the Samantha I first knew. She is _much_ more restrained
these days than from when I first met her." Loria's face grew
thoughtful, "Indeed, she is quite the recluse now. I wonder why she
changed so..."
    "Get on with it, Loria," Kelly interrupted.
    Loria muttered something under her breath about the impatience of
children and returned to her story. "Each member of the Council used
to rule a Domain, a Domain in which they were the Ultimate Power. The
more Powerful members would Challenge each other for the rights to
rule over more than one Domain..."
    "What's changed?" Kelly laughed. "The Families still squabble
over..."
    "Kelly," Loria said pointedly. "Either you shut up and let me
finish my story, or I'm going to get annoyed - understand?"
    Kelly shut up.
    "So," Loria continued. "As with most active forces in existence,
the time came when Samantha's... amusements, and the interests of the
Council crossed." Loria shook her head at the memory, "And as was
usual in those days Samantha... overreacted - big time..."

        *       *       *       *

Location: ??
Time: ??

    "Still playing your games are you, Lady Mischief?" an amused voice
said from behind her.
    Samantha frowned, and turned to face a very old "friend".
    "This is not one of your Domains, Lord AO. I may do here as I
wish," she answered in an annoyed tone.
    "Oh, I'm not disputing your rights, Lady," the inhumanly perfect
figure held up a hand. "I'm merely making an observation. For one of
your _age_, I'm simply surprised by the constant amusement you seem
to get out of these little Games of yours, that's all."
    Samantha disliked the stress on the word age, but let it pass.
Even though the Epoch that had given birth to AO and passed many
Cycles ago, he still liked to stress the point of the age gap between
them.
    "When you reach my _age_, Lord AO, you will find that there is
little else to amuse oneself with."
    "You could always take up a Domain, Lady. The Council would be
MORE than happy to accept you."
    Samantha made a dismissive gesture. "I don't think the others
would appreciate my, ah, unique style of approach to that. I prefer to
remain an independent thanks all the same."
    "That may be fine for me, my Lady, but others on the Council do
not share my views. They see your rather unique style of... umm...
governance as a threat to the stability that we have tried so long to
maintain. Some of your, ah, impulsive decisions have caused
consequences that the Council have had to expend great effort in
correcting. In short Lady, many on the Council have come to regard you
not an as independent, but as a threat that must be curbed."
    "Do they?" Samantha said in a dangerous tone that made AO wince.
"Tell me, _old_ friend, is this just a social call, or..."
    "Lady," he said in a placating tone. "Only I and those of us who
fought by your side during the Rebellion know what you are truly
capable of doing, but you are only one. The Council are very many, and
nearly all of them are too young to have ever seen your true self.
All they know about you is your unstable nature and the few tales
that we tell to them of you. In short, Lady..."
    "In short, AO, they don't fear me anymore," Samantha finished for
him. "I have been quiet too long, and because of this, I am now just
an old nanny which needs to be controlled."
    "No, Lady! Of course not!" AO quickly broke in. He did not like
they way this was going. "The Council still respect your independence
and fear you, of course they do! They simply think that you need to
be... more moderate in some of your actions, that's all."
    "Moderate?" Samantha repeated with a humorless smile. "What do
they think I have been doing all this time? One of the reasons that I
play these little Games, AO, is that it keeps me _moderate_.
Otherwise, my attention would become involved in other larger Games
and I do not think that the Council would appreciate that."
    "And we appreciate that, my Lady, please we really do..."
    "We?" Samantha questioned him. "And just how many are we?"
    AO tried a different prong of attack. "Lady, you and I have known
each other for a very long time haven't we?"
    Samantha nodded her head in acceptance of that.
    "And I have never asked anything of you before have I? Never taken
advantage of our friendship?"
    Again Samantha had to concede that. She respected AO, truly
respected him in fact.
    "Then please, let me ask something of you now. Respect the
Council's wishes in this. I would TRULY hate to think what would
happen if you and the Council went to war over this. The results...
well, they would be unimaginable. We don't want a repeat of what
originally led to the Council being formed now do we. I... could not
face THAT..."
    Samantha paused as she recalled _those_ events. Her usually stoic
face flickered as several unknowable emotions passed across it.
"No..." she said quietly. "Not even I want to see those events
repeated..."
    AO, aware that she was beginning to give ground continued. "Then
please, please accept the Council's request. For my sake as well as
for the sake of avoiding a war neither of us wants."
    Samantha disliked, extremely, being backed into a corner, but AO
had a point. She took a deep breath. "Speak then."
    AO sighed with relief, the first hurdle was over. Now he had to
tackle the second one.
    "The Council humbly requests 3 things of you. The..."
    "Three things?" Samantha remarked cooly. "My, they are being
pushy..."
    "The first," AO tried to ignore the tone and continued. "Is that
you adhere to the policies and tenements of the Council..."
    "Interesting request..."
    "The second request is that you, ah, swear to the oath of the
Council..."
    "Fascinating. They want me to obey them - like a trained pet. Do
go on, AO..."
    If AO was truly like the figure he had chosen to wear, he would
be sweating heavily at this point.
    "Thirdly, that you... that you... withdraw from becoming involved
in affairs which the Council... deem to be.. umm.. too vital for
individual actions. Those are all, my Lady. If you accept these terms
then the Council will be more than happy to..."
    "No."
    AO stopped, and his shoulders slumped. He knew that tone.
    "I'm sorry, AO," Samantha looked at him. "I have been my own
master for far too long to start bowing to a pack of children now.
Especially a pack of children who think that they know better than me
the consequences of my own actions. For the sake of our friendship, I
will respect the Council's judgment in those affairs where I think it
is appropriate. I won't however bow to their authority. How _dare_
they think to tell ME what I can and cannot do!? I admit, I may act...
impulsively at times... but NOTHING I have ever done will cause the
damage that they think it will. I'm sorry, but they will have to be
happy with that."
    "I fear that they will not be, Lady," AO said quietly. "They view
you as a force out of control, a force to which they think they must
apply some control."
    "Then they are welcome to try," Samantha said simply. "But I warn
you, any action taken against me, WILL be met. If I have to _re-
educate_ the Council in their approach to me then, believe me, I will.
I sincerely hope that it does not come to that but..."
    "Lady..." AO tried one final time to plead his case, but Samantha
was not having any of it.
    "What do they want me to do, AO?" Samantha broke in coldly. "I
have deliberately kept my attention to places outside of the Council's
Domains. I have generally tried to keep out of the Council's way, but
still this is not enough for them. Why do they fear my Games so much,
AO? What is it that worries them? Take for example this current Game,
what is it that they fear? Explain it to me, AO."
    "Ah.. This 'Game' as you call it is being played on territory
which will soon fall into the Domain of Lord Helm. He has plans of his
own for this place, plans which... conflict with what you are
doing..."
    "So," Samantha folded her arms. "Lord Helm, wishes to expand his
Domain and I got here first. Well, he is welcome to Challenge me for
its ownership if he wants. I may not be a member of the Council, but I
have always loved a good Challenge..." she grinned mischievously and
her eyes glittered with a mad joy.
    "Lord Helm," AO said carefully, aware that he was on dangerous
ground. "Would never dream of Challenging you, Lady. He..."
    "Is too scared?" Samantha asked with an impish look on her face.
    "No, of course not," AO finished. "Lord Helm is quite content to
wait for you to move on. But as he has pointed out, your actions will
take quite some time to reverse. Time which the Council does not have.
Lord Helm is not the one Challenging you, Lady..."
    "So, I'm too much of an inconvenience to the Council's own plans,
am I? Too much of an unstable element? I think I understand perfectly
now, Lord AO."
    AO bowed his head in defeat. Once she had made up her mind nothing
would change it, not even him. He turned and began to leave when she
stopped him.
    "I did not give you leave to go, AO. I have a message for the
Council, a message I wish you to deliver. Tell me, Lord, you are still
Second Speaker, aren't?" Her voice was cold and her eyes were
glittering in a way that AO had never seen.
    "Yes, Lady. You know..."
    Samantha's eyes grew dark, and then slowly black. It is often said
that the eyes are the mirrors to the soul, and what AO saw reflected
in those dark depths drove him to his knees. He tried desperately to
summon his Power, to shield himself from the UTTER nothingness
reaching out for him, but to no avail. Images of the Cycles of their
friendship passed through his mind. He could not comprehend...
    "Good..." Samantha whispered with a slight smile on her pale face
as the tittering Darkness playfully AO caressed. "Then you will be
perfect."
    AO did not even have time to ask why as her minions struck.
    Samantha watched dispassionately as the Darkness feasted on the
ancient being. Her thoughts were elsewhere and a savage grin crossed
her face as she decided the best way of _reminding_ the Council just
WHO she was. All out war was a messy and inconvenient option and
besides, there were some members that she still quite liked. Yet, at
the same time, she had to show them just how DISPLEASED she was. So...
    Her essence reached out and CALLED to children she had not
summoned in... time had no meaning for the concept of how long. They
slumbered in the ancient debris and ruins of many passed Cycles.
Creatures, whose lust for the WARMTH of the LIVING MultiVerse could
never, ever, be filled. Creatures, who reawakened with great joy at
the summoning of their beloved Mistress and Mother.
    **IS IT FINALLY TIME??** They voicelessly asked her, as their
hunger gnawed at the center of their beings.
    She did not even bother answering, but simply showed them the
bright LIVING Domains of those who had DARED to question her
intentions.
    **FEED** was the simple instruction she sent them.
    Samantha looked on dispassionately as her minions finally finished
with what once had been Lord AO. She almost felt regret that their
long friendship had had to end in this way, but at least she had
spared him the fate of his peers. She smiled, he was her friend after
all. Perhaps, when she had, ah, "educated" some of the more Powerful
members of the Council she would spend some time mourning for him. It
was after all one of the things that people were supposed to do for
their friends...
    Wasn't it?

        *       *       *       *

    "Ouch," was the only comment that Mina could think of saying.
    "She regretted it afterwards of course," Loria said with a small
sigh. "But that did not exactly help the countless worlds who were
consumed by her little temper tantrum."
    "Temper tantrum..." was all Kelly could think of saying.
    Loria shrugged, "That's what it was," she replied. "As I said, Sam
is much more quiet these days, or perhaps, even mature is a better
word."
    "Mature?" Kelly queried in disbelief.
    "Mature," Loria repeated. "Believe me, Kelly, I'm not kidding. I
have known her for far longer than you have and yes, she is maturing."
    "You make her sound like some kind of little child," Mina said in
a surprised voice. "But how can that be when she is many times older
than the MultiVerse itself, that's stupid."
    "Perhaps, it is," Loria replied. "I don't know for certain. All
I'm saying is that during the time I have known her she has, for lack
of a better word - matured."
    Kelly stood up, "I don't suppose it really matters," she said,
walking over to the kitchen for a refill of orange juice. "Sam is what
she is, and somehow, I doubt that that will ever truly change."
    "Don't bet on it, Kelly," Loria said, looking over at the young
woman. "Nothing is constant forever, not even Samantha."
    "That sounds almost ominous," Mina remarked standing up and moving
over to join Kelly in the kitchen. "Are you trying to be prophetic or
something..."
    "No," Loria replied with a slight shake of her head. "Just the
voice of experience."
    "Fine, fine," Kelly handed Mina two glasses of juice and poured
another for herself. "But for now, how about we drop the heavy stuff
and decide what the three of us are going to do so tonight. I for one
do not feel like sitting around here talking all night about the why's
or wherefore's of things that none of us have a hope of understanding.
I much prefer to do something a little more constructive."
    "Like?" Mina queried, passing a glass of juice over to Loria.
    Kelly shrugged, "I'm open to suggestions."
    Loria took a sip and pulling Mina closer to her leaned back. "We
could go partying someplace interesting, I suppose..."
    "Hades?" Mina suggested, resting her head on Loria's ample chest.
    "No," Loria answered with a small sigh of pleasure as she kissed
Mina's soft hair. "I was thinking of a place much further afield
than Hades."
    "Oh?"
    "Yes, it's an interesting little bar I once came across exploring
a very out of the way reality, a placed called 'Abcb'..."

    "Orange juice?" Priss asked Mayline again in surprise. "Are you
really sure that is what you want?"
    "Yip," Mayline confirmed with a nod as her finger tapped the table
in time with the loud music filling the club. "That's what I want."
    Priss shook her head in despair and then shrugged, "Fine, I'll go
and get us some 'orange juice' then." And with that, she turned and
walked off still muttering under her breath.
    Mayline smiled in amusement. Priss could be so funny at times with
somethings - drink for example. The singer always seemed to need to
have a "stiff" drink with plenty of alcohol in it. Why, Mayline did
not know. She had tried the stuff that Priss swilled down her throat,
and to be honest, it was like pig piss. Mayline had tried one and then
gone straight back to her orange juice. And that was all she was ever
going to...
    "Hiya, I ain't seen you around here before," a voice said,
interrupting her thoughts.
    Mayline looked up, "Sorry?" she said with a polite smile. "What
was that you just said?"
    The two young men looked down at her and one of them pulled up a
chair. "I said I haven't seen you around here before. Is this your
first time?"
    "In this club, yes," Mayline answered politely. "But please, I
would appreciate it if you didn't sit there. My friend will be
back in a moment. She's just gone to get us some drinks."
    "Oh, sure no problem," the young man got to his feet. "Just being
friendly, that's all."
    Mayline smiled again and gently willed the two mortals to bugger
off which they kindly did. A few minutes later Priss reappeared with
two large frosted glasses of fruit juice and handing one over to
Mayline, sat down.
    "Thanks," Mayline said as she took a sip. Ahhh... Perfect... The
sweet, ice cold fluid went down her throat in a way that sent tingles
throughout her mouth and she smiled.
    "How can you stand this stuff?" Priss said, holding the glass up
to her mouth and taking a cautious sniff.
    Mayline laughed, "Come on, Priss. Try and be a little adventurous
once in a while."
    "Yeah, sure," Priss commented and took a small sip. She pulled a
slight face and put it down. "Well, what did you think of that group
tonight? They were great, weren't they?"
    Mayline looked at the enthused expression on Priss's face and
swallowed. "Do you want my honest opinion?" she asked cautiously.
    Priss's expression fell slightly. "You didn't like them?" she said
surprised.
    "Well, that's one way of putting it," Mayline replied with an
apologetic smile. "I guess I'm just not into that kind of music."
    "Oh," Priss looked slightly hurt. "I'm sorry, I thought you would
like them, that's why I booked the tickets."
    "Hey, don't look like that, Priss," Mayline said automatically
reaching over to take Priss's hand. "It's not your fault."
    Priss looked up and her eyes seemed strangely vulnerable somehow,
"But I really wanted for you to enjoy tonight," she said. "You're my
friend, and I don't have very many of those left - especially not good
ones."
    "Priss," Mayline was slightly surprised at how much her comment
had affected Priss. This was not like the woman at all. She gave
Priss's hand a grip and flashed the human a warm smile. "I _did_ enjoy
tonight. I always enjoy your company, otherwise I wouldn't have come
in the first place - all right?"
    Priss went a very un-Priss like red and Mayline laughed gently
letting go of Priss's hand and leaning back in her seat. "You look
like a tomato," she said to the furiously blushing woman.
    "Ah, leave me alone," Priss said going an even deeper red and
bought her hands up to her hot face.
    "You know," Mayline continued enjoying herself immensely, "You
look really cute when you blush, Priss. You should try it more often."
    "..." Priss garbled out as Mayline's eyes twinkled brightly in
amusement as she teased her friend mercilessly.
    "So," Mayline continued after taking another sip of orange. "You
said you wanted to do some serious partying tonight, where shall we
go?"
    Priss grabbed her glass of orange juice and took a couple of loud
slurps. By the time she had put the glass back down she had managed to
recover something of her composure. "Mayline," she said. "How would
you like a punch in the nose?"
    Mayline smiled, "Why, I didn't know you were into that kind of
kinky stuff, Priss-chan..."
    "Oh, just shut up," Priss growled, going slightly red again.
    "If you say so, Prissy," Mayline said with an innocent smile on
her face.
    Priss rolled her eyes and gave up. Trying to get the last word
with Mayline was like trying to get Kelly to talk about her past.
"Well, where do you want to go?"
    Mayline shrugged, "You know this town better than I do, old girl.
What do you suggest?"
    "How adventurous do you feel?" Priss asked with a sly smile coming
to her face. Payback is a bitch.
    Mayline grinned back giving her friend a wink, "Lead on, Prissy-
chan. Do your worst..."

        *       *       *       *

Location: Tokyo, Japan (alt)
Time: 23:24, 1987

    "Bye!" Mina waved to the two youngsters in the closing café and
ran after Loria and Kelly. Wrapping her arms around Loria, she
giggled. "That was fun! I could really get used to all this world
jumping."
    "Mmmm..." Loria answered giving the giggling bundle of love in her
arms a deep kiss.
    "Oh, please..." Kelly groaned as the two Chosen started to get
lost in each other's presence. "It's beginning to get embarrassing."
    "Jealous," Loria said with a grin as the giggling form of her
Chosen pulled back slightly to let the larger woman speak.
    Kelly pulled a face but said nothing. The problem was that Loria
was right. Kelly was jealous. Sam had been gone for months now and
Kelly was missing her like Hell. She _needed_ her little redheaded
lover and the girl's absence was like a constant hole in her life that
she could not fix. She knew that Sam was out there somewhere amusing
herself with that brunette mortal Linna and that was slowly driving
her nuts. Sam was _hers_, not some stupid mortal's - and yet it was
Linna who was receiving all her beloved's attentions. Kelly was
jealous, yes!
    Loria saw the expression that quickly passed over Kelly's face and
sighed. Poor Kelly, she thought to herself. The young Noble was having
to cope with what every one of Sam's Consorts had to deal with - the
whimsical nature of the one they loved. Loria knew that pain herself.
Once, long ago, she too had suffered from the "Sam fixation", and even
now after so long - plus the fact that she had her own Chosen - Sam
was still _very_ special to her.
    - She really loves Mother, doesn't she? - Mina sent over a private
link to her Chosen.
    - Unfortunately, yes - Loria sent back. - Sam tends to have that
affect on mortals. And those she Claims are usually hopelessly lost
cases -
    - Like my other Mother, Linna? - Mina sent back, looking up into
her Chosen's golden brown eyes. - Do you think Mother has Claimed her
too? -
    Loria blinked, and drew her Chosen closer. - By now? Yes, it would
not surprise me. Linna is as bad as Kelly and I suspect she would jump
at the chance to be part of Sam's real life -
    - Until Mother grows bored and moves on again... - Mina sighed
sadly and looked over at Kelly. - That's horrible! -
    - That's Sam - Loria commented back matter of factly. - She's been
that way for all the time I have know her -
    - But it's horrible! - Mina exclaimed. - How can Mother do things
like that? Doesn't she really care about those who love her? -
    - Of course she does - Loria sent back feeling that she had to
defend her old lover. - But Sam is, well, like a child and puts
herself first, always. And... she has had some nasty experiences in
the past... -
    "Are you two finished?" Kelly asked out loud. "I for one would
like to go to a party."
    Loria broke the link to Mina and smiled. "Of course, I..." She
suddenly halted and a look of astonishment passed over her face. This
look was rapidly followed by a look of horror and fear. She threw Mina
away from her and spun around to stare at the other side of the road.
She crouched down into a defensive position and a gray aura began to
emerge from her body.
    Mina was shocked at the sudden rough treatment but following
Loria's action, she and Kelly summoned their own Powers and added them
to Loria's. The two of them had absolutely no idea what the threat was
that Loria had reacted so brutally to, but they just stood ready to
give what assistance that they could.
    A few tense moments passed and nothing happened, then a faint
whistling started from across the street and a shadowed figure started
to cross over towards them.
    "..." Loria cursed viciously under her breath. She almost did not
believe what her senses where telling her. It was _impossible_ that
this... Noble... was here... Impossible! Running would do no good, and
neither would any attempt at combat. This Noble was beyond her almost
to the extent that Samantha was beyond her. She took a couple of deep
breaths and tried to calm herself as she waited to see what one of the
very first born of the Nobles would do.
    The well dressed young man halted just a few meters away from the
group of anxious Nobles and stood looking at them. His crisp blue eyes
carefully scanned the three and a look of cruel amusement passed over
his face as he saw their reaction to his presence.
    "Good evening," he said pleasantly with a slight bow of his head.
"It is a perfect night tonight - isn't it? So cool and clear. It makes
one feel so alive, don't you think so ladies?"
    Loria swallowed and stood up straighter, "We are under Samantha's
protection," she said brusquely. "We are members of her Family..."
    "Of course, of course," the young looking man said with a languid
smile. "I would not have expected anything less from Lady Samantha."
    Loria's mouth tightened and her eyes narrowed as a bead of sweat
dripped down her face. "What do you wish of us, Lord?" she asked
politely. To anger this one would not be wise - Samantha or no
Samantha.
    "Ah, what indeed," the young man commented back, taking a few
steps forward. "A very interesting question."
    "And one to which I would like an answer as well," Mina suddenly
said, pushing past Loria with a cold expression on her face.
    "Ah, Lady Samantha," the young man said with a slight bow. "I am
honored."
    "No," Mina replied with a slightly deeper bow. "It is I who am
honored, my Lord."
    Kelly's eyes widened and her heart began to beat faster as her
beloved manifested her presence through Mina. "Sam..." Kelly whispered
taking a small step forward.
    "And my dear Loria's question still stands, my Lord," Samantha
said through Mina's body. "What is the reason for your visit? I did
not think my amusements with those of the Council would arouse the
interest of one such as yourself."
    "Michael," the young man stated simply.
    "Ah," Samantha replied with a knowing look. "My Game."
    "Yes, your Game," the young man said. "It is too soon, my Lady.
Your Game interferes with plans of my own. And with all due respect to
you, Lady Samantha, I believe that you may have been slightly, um,
hasty in the one you have recruited. A child like Michael lacks the
subtly that a Game of this nature requires. He will..."
    "Subtly is not something I desire," Samantha interrupted the young
man. "In fact, a lack of subtly is exactly what is needed here. And
for this, Michael is perfect."
    The young man raised his eyebrows in interest, "How so?"
    "Because my goals are not the same as yours, my Lord," Samantha
replied cryptically. "They never have been."
    "Now that is not strictly true, my Lady," the young man replied.
"Our paths might indeed be different, but the destination is still the
same."
    "No," Samantha said shaking Mina's head. "It isn't, I am not
interested in Power or ruling others, my goals are quite different."
    The young man frowned, "Like?"
    Samantha simply smiled but did not reply.
    "Then I suppose you would not be interested in an alliance between
our Families," the young man said regrettably.
    "Sorry," Samantha said with a winning smile. "While the paths that
we take may appear similar, the end result I assure you will be quite
different."
    The young man shrugged, "Then at least let us agree to be neutral.
As you say, our goals may differ, but the paths we take are very
similar in nature. And I for one would hate to have to come into
conflict with you, my Lady."
    Samantha giggled, "I am a friend to everyone, my Lord. You of
all people should know that."
    "Yes, of course," the young man replied, his face unreadable. "I
of all people should know that."
    "Well," Samantha said rubbing her hands together and blowing on
them. "Now that that is sorted out do you think we could get into the
warmth. It's bloody cold out here!"
    The young man smiled and bowed slightly once more, "Of course, my
Lady. I understand perfectly, and I will bid you goodnight."
    Samantha nodded her head casually in return, "Goodnight, my Lord."
And with that comment the young man turned and walked back across the
street vanishing into the darkness of the night.
    "..." Loria gave a great sigh of relief and turned to look at
Mina. "Samantha... Thank you, I could kiss you!"
    "Sam!" Kelly said rushing forward excitedly to try and throw her
arms around her beloved. "Oh Sam! I've missed you so much!"
    "She's gone, Kelly," Mina said avoiding the other woman's grasping
hands. She looked up at Loria and shuddered as if from the cold.
"Gods... That was... not fun..."
    "Minny..." Loria whispered and took the still shaking girl into
her arms. "I'm sorry that that had to happen. Samantha is not a
pleasant entity to act as a channel for. Just be bloody glad that was
all it came to..."
    "Just who the devil was that anyway?" Mina said trying to throw
off the sick feeling that Samantha's presence had left in her.
    "Precisely, my dear," Loria said with a scowl.
    "Eh?" Mina asked confused. "What do you mean?"
    Loria shook her head, "Forget it, love. There are somethings that
you are better off not knowing. Just be glad that Samantha decided to
intervene for us or things might have turned out very nasty indeed."
    "I..."
    "Shush," Loria raised her finger and gently put it against Mina's
mouth.
    "Sam..." a slightly spaced Kelly said in a whisper and Loria
almost winced at the longing that she could hear in her friend's
voice. Kelly _really_ had a terminal case of "Sam fixation" all right.
    "Kel," Loria said holding out her hand to her old friend and old
part time lover. "Are you okay?"
    Kelly forced a smile onto her face. "Of course I am," she replied.
"Just tired, that's all."
    "Really?" Loria gently pushed her friend in an effort to get the
girl to say what was wrong. "And I thought you just said that you
wanted to go partying."
    "I've changed my mind," Kelly replied brusquely. "I don't really
feel like it now somehow..."
    "Kelly," Mina said holding out her hand to gently pat the other's
arm. "You are not alone you know. Loria, me, Priss, Mayline - we all
care deeply for..."
    Kelly pulled her arm away sharply and spun around. "I don't want
your sympathy," she said harshly. "I don't want it, and I don't need
it. Just let me be."
    Mina's face grew pained at the lonely tone behind Kelly's harsh
words, but she said nothing. She just pulled back slightly and gave
Kelly the room that the girl so obviously needed. "I'm sorry," she
mumbled.
    - Oh, leave her alone for the moment, Min - Loria sent privately
to her Chosen. - She's hurting, and I think she's rapidly reaching the
point where she'll take it out on anyone -
    Mina chewed her lip and gave one last look in Kelly's direction.
"Shall we go home then?" she said out loud. Loria gave her Chosen a
grateful smile and waited to see what Kelly would do. A few awkward
moments of silence passed, but finally Kelly turned back to face them.
    "Sorry," she said with a rueful look on her face. "I didn't
mean to snap at you quite like that, Mina. It's just..." her voice
died away.
    Mina smiled and stepping forward gave Kelly a quick hug. "Don't
worry about it," she whispered. "I understand." She looked over at
Loria. - Can you take us back home, love? -
    Loria nodded and flashing a quick look back across the street
where the young man had earlier disappeared, did as Mina had
requested.

    Priss gave a snort and with a jerk woke up. For a moment, she was
slightly confused and disorientated as to where she was, but as she
blinked her eyes several times things slowly began to come back to
her.
    "Priss..." a warm figure stretched out next to her muttered in a
sleepy voice. "No more..."
    "YA!" Priss's eyes sprang wide open and with a squawk, she bolted
straight up throwing the sleeping form lying half on top of her to
the floor with a loud thump.
    "Oww..." a voice moaned in pain as Priss stared incredulously at
the naked figure sprawled out on the floor.
    "Ma..." Priss tried to get her mouth working as the figure rolled
over and stared up at her with large reproachful eyes. "May...
Mayline..."
    "Oww... That hurt, Priss," the teenager complained, rubbing her
nose. "Why..."
    "Mayline?!" Priss spluttered again as she scrambled to pull the
bed sheets up to cover herself. "What the hell are you... Oh fuck..."
Her voice suddenly faded as the full memories of the night's drunken
activities returned to her, along with the fact that it was slightly
too late to worry about her modesty. "Oh fuck..." she repeated again
as no other words seemed to come to mind quite at that moment. "What
have I done..."
    At Priss's words, Mayline's face went white and her eyes widened,
and Priss watched amazed at the impact that her careless words had on
the white faced girl. Priss felt her heart bump and before she knew
what she was doing, she had dropped the sheet she had been clutching
to herself and was rushing over to wrap her arms around the pale girl.
    "Oh, Mayline..." she whispered as she pulled the girl into her
embrace. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." The warm softness of the other
girl in her arms felt strange, and Priss tried to process what the
hell she had just done. It seemed... impossible, and yet the evidence
was right here in her arms. What... what was going on?
    "Cho..." Mayline whispered something that Priss could barely hear,
and the girl's arms strengthened their shared embrace.
    "No... May..." Priss tried to say as the girl pulled her closer.
"Don't I..." The rest of her words were lost as the girl's tongue was
forced into her mouth. "Mmmggg..." Priss's eyes went into goggle mode
and she tried once more to push the slim girl away, but met with
absolutely no success. Mayline had her in a grip that was like death.
Priss felt the hold that Mayline had her in shift slightly, and with a
small grunt, the slender girl stood up, the larger woman held easily
in her embrace.
    "Mayline... What..." Priss managed to get out when the girl in
question looked down at her with an expression on her face that made
the voice die in Priss's throat.
    "Chosen," the empty black eyes of the girl staring down at her
made Priss's throat go dry with fear, and the hungry expression on the
girl's face almost made the singer want to scream.
    "Chosen," Mayline repeated as she felt a burning hunger and need
the like of which she had never imagined possible begin to totally
consume her mind. A need and hunger that was focused on the warm
living figure that she now held so tightly in her arms. A fresh surge
of hunger rushed through her as the terrified eyes of the human stared
up at her. She smiled, "Chosen..." she whispered and her hunger
consumed everything.

    Kelly heard a faint scream echo throughout the caravan and with an
annoyed sigh, rolled over in her bed. "Children," she muttered as she
felt a faint surge in the Power, and the connection she had with her
creation suddenly went dead. "Heh, sure took them long enough." She
closed her eyes and pulled her latest creation closer to her. In
response, the figure - who looked surprisingly like someone Kelly knew
_very_ well - gave a moan of pleasure and snuggled even closer.
    "Oh, Sam..." Kelly whispered as she let her arms begin to roam
over her temporary substitute. "I _need_ you so much..."
    "And I you," the redheaded figure replied returning the other
woman's passionate kiss. "And I you..."

        *       *       *       *

Location: Some city
Time: Some time

    Samantha sighed with boredom. The still steaming remains of the
last Noble Enforcer she had "Challenged" was lying along side the
other three who had just attacked her. She looked down at them and
frowned as she tried to identify which Family had originally sent
them. They did not look familiar to her, but that could mean anything.
She leaned down and had a closer look, but her "lesson" had left very
little that could be of any help so she gave up. She straightened, and
had a look around at this place that the now dead Nobles had fled to
before she had finished them off. She was standing in a small, wet
dark alleyway, which from the smell of it had not been cleared for a
very long time. She smirked, it was a fitting place for these fools -
in the gutter with the rest of the trash.
    She stepped lightly over the now rapidly decaying remains and
headed for the alley's small entrance. She peeked out and a faint look
of disgust passed over her face. It would have to be raining, she
thought to herself, conjuring up some more appropriate clothing before
walking out into the street. Around her she could hear the usual
sounds of city life and choosing a direction at random, Samantha
headed off at a brisk stroll. She did not exactly need to go anywhere
in a hurry and she quite enjoyed indulging her sense of curiosity at
times. It was one of the few characteristics that she shared with her
"sister".
    The street she had been following came to a junction and Samantha
noted with interest the rowdy music pumping out of a well-lit club
just across the street from where she was standing. A popular place by
the looks of it. She extended her senses, and "tasted" the nature of
this world to which she had come. Her face slowly bloomed into a
genuine expression of joy. This world was a "wilder"! A world that had
no analogs or copies, but was quite unique unto itself. Places such as
these were usually the prototypes for worlds that would be coming in
either the next Cycle or much later on in the current Cycle. She
always found these rare places to be fascinating simply because they
were new, filled with things she had not seen before and that was very
rare these days.
    Her smile widened slightly as her mind went back to memories of
other wilder worlds that she had previously seen. They had been fairly
common once, when she had been younger and roaming the ShadowLands,
before the time when... Her smile abruptly faded and she brutally
suppressed the direction that her mind was taking. The past was the
past. She had survived, and she would continue to...
    "Hey, are you all right?" a worried voice said from behind her
    Samantha jerked her head up in surprise, slightly mad at herself
for letting someone come this close to her unnoticed. She looked over
at the person who had spoken and something happened that had not
happened to her in ages - she gave a genuine yelp of astonishment and
stumbled backwards in shock.
    And she was not the only one.
    "Bloody hell!" one of the two girls exclaimed looking at her in
utter disbelief.
    "What the Devil..." one of the two well-dressed boys accompanying
the girls said, stepping forward. "It's impossible..." He turned and
stared back at the girls and then back at her all the time shaking his
head in disbelief at what he was seeing.
    Samantha recovered herself and her initial surprise immediately
gave way to suspicion. This had to be some kind of put up job, it was
just too obvious to be anything else! Standing in front of her with
two mutual expressions of disbelief on their faces, were exact, or
nearly exact, copies of herself.
    Maybe those Enforcers who had attacked her had done exactly what
they were supposed to do in bringing her here. But this was so
transparent! Why would...
    "Who... who are you?" one of the redheads spluttered stepping
forward to look at her in amazement. "You look just like me!"
    "No shit," Samantha said and the other girl flushed at the tone of
her voice.
    "Hey!" one of the young men said stepping forward to put an arm on
the girl's shoulder. "There's no need to talk like that."
    Samantha pulled a sour face and then bowed mockingly, "Forgive me,
oh great and noble lord. I live for your command."
    One of the two girls giggled and looked over at the other girl.
"She even sounds like you, sis."
    "Oh, put a sock in it, Sam," the girl said flashing her sister an
annoyed look.
    The girl called Sam gave a mischievous giggle, "Yes, Samantha,
anything you say."
    Samantha almost laughed out loud. This was ridiculous! Some Player
had to be pulling her leg! She wondered if this was another "offering"
from the Player she had been trying to get a response out of. This
kind of stupidity was just like something that idiot would pull.
    "So," the other girl called Samantha turned and looked at her with
two intense green eyes. "What is your name?"
    Samantha smiled, she was actually enjoying this. "Samantha
De'Naime," she said introducing herself. "The Corrupter, at your
service."
    The two girls shot each other a look. "Samantha?" one of them said
startled.
    "The Corrupter?" the other asked.
    "That's what some people call me," Samantha confirmed with a nod.
    "Is that supposed to be some form of gang name or something?" one
of the young men said.
    "A title," Samantha replied.
    "But this is just _so_ incredible!" Sam exclaimed excitedly coming
forward. "I mean, you look _exactly_ like us! Have the same name!
Everything!"
    "Yes," Samantha replied with a rueful smile. "Surprising isn't
it?"
    "So, where do you come from?" the human called Samantha asked. "I
mean, do you live around here?"
    "Are your parents part of the Arnmiel Clan too?" Sam put in.
    "Girls, girls," one of the young men came forward holding up his
hand to get their attention. "I'm sure this is all very interesting,
but do you think we can continue this conversation inside. It's
slightly wet out here if you hadn't noticed."
    Samantha looked up, "Good idea," she said. "I would be interested
in seeing where this situation leads, wacky as it is."
    Sam grinned, "You know, you sound a bit like me. I think we..."
Her voice died away as the strange girl shot her a look of such anger
that she almost jumped backwards in shock.
    "I am _nothing_ like you!" the redhead hissed. "Nothing!"
    "I..." the human girl swallowed. "Sorry..."
    Samantha controlled her anger and looked once more at the nervous
girl. After a moment of awkward silence, Samantha put a lopsided grin
on her face and with a sweeping bow, apologized. "I'm sorry. Rain
always makes me a little snappy. I just don't like getting wet. Tell
you what, let's cross over and get into some shelter, then if you
want, I can buy you a couple of drinks and you can tell me all about
yourselves. It's not often I come across two exact copies of myself."
    Sam shot her twin sister a questioning look, but the girl just
shrugged. "Okay," Sam replied, smiling at the odd girl. "Why not?
It'll be a bit of a laugh."
    At this, the girl who called herself 'The Corrupter' giggled in a
way that bought a twinkle to Sam's eyes, and seeing this, the lopsided
grin on the "Corrupter's" face grew and she extended her hand in a
friendly way. "Come on then, Sam - if I may call you that - I'll race
you."
    The boy standing behind Sam took a step forward and leaning down,
whispered, "Hey, Sam, are you sure about this? I thought we were all
going..." His voice faded as he noticed that his date was taking
absolutely no notice of him at all. He placed his hand on her shoulder
and gave the girl a faint shake. "Hey! Jazz to Sam, Jazz calling Sam -
come in..."
    "Ow, that hurts!" Sam complained, pulling away from the boy's
grasp and giving him a filthy look.
    "What?" Jazz said, surprised. Sam however did not answer, she was
just staring intently at the strange girl.
    Samantha turned to say something to her twin and was stunned when
the girl just abandoned Jazz and walked over to stand next to the
other girl. The stranger smiled, and taking Sam's hand in her own the
two of them started to dash across the street towards the lighted club
opposite.
    "What the heck..." Jazz began and then started to madly after
them.
    Samantha looked up at Simon and shrugged, "Don't ask me," she said
to the unspoken comment in his eye. "Let's just follow them. Mum would
kill me if I left Sam alone."
    "After you, my dear," Simon smiled and taking the redhead's hand
in his own the two of them ran off in pursuit.

    - It is done, Master - the young looking woman standing in a
recessed doorway facing onto the street said. -The bait is taken-
    - ... -
    - Thank you, Master - the woman sent back. - I am sure she will
appreciate your gift most fondly -
    - ... - was the reply and Darshi smiled.
    - We shall see, Master - she commented, watching as her one time
Mistress entered the club again. - We shall see... -

        *       *       *       *

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time: AD 2089, 12th May, 09:15

    "Where is she!?" Linna demanded of Helia. "It's been over three
days since she went missing! I want to know!"
    Helia sighed, "And as I keep telling you, Linna, she is safe.
Mother, just wants some time to herself, that's all."
    "Is it me?" Linna said, taking a step towards the girl. "Is she
still angry with me?"
    "No, of course not," Helia replied. "She's, well, just being
Samanaimethea - what more do you want me to say? I can't make her come
back here."
    "She is still mad at me," Linna stated and her face looked
miserable. "I just know it."
    "Linna, stop taking everything so personally," Helia stated with a
shake of her head. "Samanaimethea is just under a lot of pressure
right now, you know that. Ever since she took up leadership of the
Council, things have been balancing on a knife edge. The Lords of the
Great Holding are only waiting for her to show any weakness that they
can exploit, there have been rumors that the Nobles of Haven are
starting to gather, and that is to name only a few. Linna, this is not
just about you and Samanaimethea. There are things happening outside
of the boundaries of this little world that frankly, scare the shit
out of me. Can you imagine what would happen if HE thought that
Samanaimethea was..."
    "HE, HE, HE!" Linna spun around angrily, turning her back on the
young Enforcer. "I don't give a damn about some ancient God, Helia.
All I care about is _my_ Sammy. Whoever this HE is, HE can wait
until... Hey!"
    Helia grabbed Linna by the shoulders and spun her around. "It was
HE who bloody raped Mother in the first place, Linna! It was HE who
drove her insane! Wake up, Consort! This is not some child's game,
some TV show written for your own amusement - this is fuckin' real!
Can you imagine what the hell will happen if HE decided to come after
Mother?! There'll be a fuckin' war, Linna! Not just a simple
Challenge, but a _fucking_ WAR!" Helia almost shouted the last word,
and her face was sheet white in a combination of rage and fear. She
_had_ to get Linna to understand what was at stake!
    "And it won't be a war that just destroys this world, Linna. It
will be a war that destroys EVERYTHING! Because that is what
Samanaimethea will do, Linna, before she let's anything like that
happen to her again..." Helia was breathing heavily and her hands
dropped away from the brunette's shoulders. "Mother loves you, Linna.
She loves all of us, but she is what she is, and I do not know if that
love would be enough to save anyone..." Helia's voice faded away as
the look on Linna's face made her almost shiver with fear.
    "HE..." Linna whispered in a voice that was like a pronouncement
of doom. "HE..."
    Helia jumped back with a squeak as the deadly frozen aura of the
Darkness suddenly erupted into savage life around Linna's slender
form.
    "It was HE..." Linna hissed in a tone that literally dripped
hatred. "HIM who _dared_... _My_ Sammy..."
    "Linna..." Helia said hesitantly. "What..."
    "HIM!" Linna screamed as her Power exploded into a surging mass of
black flame.
    "Linna!" Helia exclaimed, worried now. "Control yourself!" Her
plea got no response as Linna was completely lost in her own rage.
Helia took a deep breath, and then, using her Power as an Enforcer
blocked Linna's access to the Power. It took her a great deal of
effort, but finally she was able to sever Linna off from the Darkness.
"Linna! Stop it! You have to control yourself. You cannot just let the
Power rage out of control like that! It..."
    "Samanaimethea!" Linna howled and abruptly she vanished, leaving
Helia staring dumbly at the place where the brunette had just stood.
    "What the..." Helia said, completely surprised that Linna had been
able to sweep aside her block so easily. Her eyes narrowed and she
tried a quick tracing to see if she could track down where Linna had
gone. She was not overly surprised when she came up with the answer -
Priss's old caravan. That weather beaten old museum piece seemed to
hold a special meaning for both Linna and Samanaimethea. In fact, she
was surprised that Linna had not gone there earlier.
    "Sister," a soft voice called to her and made her turn around.
    "Darline," Helia acknowledged the presence of her younger sister
with a slight frown. Darline had a big smile on her face and was
dragging another giggling blonde girl behind her. The two of them
looked like they did not have a care in the world, which was not how
Helia herself felt like at that moment.
    Darline and the other giggling girl came to a stop, and the
young Enforcer turned proudly to her older sister. "Sis," she said
with a big grin. "I want you to meet, Alexi, my Chosen."
    Helia felt a brief stab of jealousy flash through her mind, but
forcing it aside, she and let a warm smile come to her mouth. "Oh,
Darline - congratulations! Congratulations!" She opened her arms and
gave her young sister a tender embrace. "Congratulations, I'm so happy
for you!"
    Alexi looked nervously on as the two girls hugged each other
fondly. She felt slightly odd, vulnerable even and her hand
automatically reached out to try and catch Darline's attention. She
was not even aware that she had done it until Darline turned and
smiled at her.
    "Oh, Chosen, I'm sorry," Darline apologized, pulling her Chosen
protectively to her. "I did not mean to ignore you."
    "I..." Alexi tried to say, but the smile on Darline's face turned
her mind to mush and the best she could manage was a weak grunt. She
could not believe that this was happening to her! In the space of less
than a few weeks, her life had completely been turned upside down. She
had been thrown from her quiet sane life as an ADP cadet, into an
impossible nightmare of insane proportions! And what was more, she was
actually happy that it had happened! Happy! In the last few weeks, her
goals in life had been simplified down to just one thing - serving the
redheaded Goddess. That was all that mattered Even the kind hearted
girl who was now helping her, Darline, was just a way of serving that
first need, well, almost.
    Darline saw the effect that she was having on her Chosen, and her
mind was swamped with a rush of warm sensations and desires. She had
never expected a Choosing to be like this! Now she understood how
Mayline felt about _her_ Priss, and why her sister was so protective
of the mortal. In short, your Chosen made you complete. Your Chosen
was the other part of your being. It was a source of great strength
and of great vulnerability. With Alexi by her side, Darline felt that
she could take on anything, and yet, at the same time, inversely the
thought of anything happening to the blonde girl made Darline go weak
at the knees. No wonder some of her other sisters looked upon anyone
who took up the Bond of being Chosen as mad. How many Nobles would
open themselves up to such beauty and weakness at the same time?
    "Welcome to the Family, Alexi," Helia said holding out her hands
in welcome to the nervous looking girl. The blonde stared back at her
as if unsure what to do and Helia smiled in understanding. "It's all
right, Alexi-chan, I'm not going to eat you."
    Alexi flushed, "Of course not," she said. "But Darline told me
about how some of you feel about, well, my kind."
    Helia laughed, "You mean mortals? Don't worry about that, Alexi-
chan. When you accepted Darline's Bond, you sort of stopped being
human anyway..."
    "Sorry?" Alexi spluttered with wide eyes.
    "By accepting Darline's Bond you Joined with her. You have
literally become _part_ of her, and she part of you. In short, Alexi,
you now belong to the Family - like it or not."
    "Oh..." Alexi said in a stunned voice.
    "Hey, don't let it worry you, Alexi," Darline said brightly
dismissing the subject. "Think of all the fun we can have together if
you aren't going to age and die." Darline's face became happy and her
eye's blackened. "You're an Immortal now, my dearest Alexi-chan. And
what's more, you're mine - forever. That's great, isn't it?"
    Her only answer was a small thump as Alexi hit the floor.

    Linna looked at Celeline, and Celeline looked at Linna.
    "I'm here to see Samanaimethea," Linna said with a hard look on
her face. "I must speak with her, now. Go and get her."
    Celeline puffed up, "I'm not your slave, Consort. I..."
    "I _am_ Consort!" Linna exclaimed angrily. "I _demand_ that you
bring her to me NOW!"
    "Go fuc..."
    "I am here, Linna," a perfect voice said gently just from beyond
the room and Linna's heart started to pound.
    "Samanaimethea!" she exclaimed, pushing past Celeline to run into
the living room from where the voice had originated. "Sammy!"
    Samanaimethea was kneeling on the floor dressed in casual slacks
that only served to emphasize the young woman's figure in a way that
made Linna stop and stare. The long blood red hair slipping down the
girl's neck to pool on the floor around the Noble's feet made Linna's
fingers itch with desire, but she forced her emotions to the back on
her mind and put a warm smile on her face.
    "Sammy..."
    "Hello, Linna," Samanaimethea replied with a tired expression on
her face, and Linna's smile faded as she rushed over to kneel down
beside her beloved.
    "Sammy? What's up? Are you okay? You look unwell..."
    Samanaimethea shook her head, "It is all right, love, I am just
tired that is all."
    Linna raised her hand and used it to cup Samanaimethea's chin.
"Tell me the truth, Sammy. What's really the matter with you?"
    Samanaimethea closed her eyes and a wane smile came to her lips.
"Oh, Linna. Why do you always assume the worst of me..."
    Linna raised the inhumanly perfect face and gave it a soft kiss.
"Because I know you, Sammy," she said. "I am Bonded to you."
    Samanaimethea sighed and opened her deep green eyes to stare into
Linna's. A shy smile crept onto her face and she lay down so that her
head rested in Linna's lap. "I am sorry, Linna," she said. "I am sorry
about before. You did not deserve what I did to you. You... must
forgive me, I... get... emotional about..."
    "Hush, now, Sammy," Linna said running her fingers calmingly
through the perfect hair. "Tell me what is wrong. Come on, tell me..."
"Linna," Celeline said as she walked in. "Why..." She stopped, and at
the sight of Samanaimethea resting her head in Linna's lap, her face
hardened. "Why are you here, Linna?" she said coldly. "Haven't you
already caused Mother enough pain?"
    "Celeline..." Samanaimethea said opening her eyes and smiling up
at the young Enforcer who had Chosen her. "Everything is fine, Linna
is my mate. She does not know my past, so it is understandable that
she will..."
    "Then she is unfit to be your Consort, Sammy!" Celeline exclaimed
angrily. "She is..."
    Linna snarled, and pushing Samanaimethea off her knee like a sack
of potatoes, shot to her feet. "Are you Challenging me, Celeline?" she
hissed as her eyes went black.
    "Gladly!" Celeline replied back in a cold voice. "I will..." She
suddenly froze and Linna tensed as she wondered if this was an opening
to Celeline's Challenge.
    "You two are idiots," Samanaimethea said rubbing her nose from
where it had been knocked against the floor. "And if I hear another
word from either one of you about Challenges, then I will get angry.
We have more than enough troubles to worry about without the two of
you acting like spoiled brats." She slowly got to her feet and walked
over to stand by Linna. Putting her hands to her hips, she stared
intensely at both the young women one after another.
    "Linna, Celeline, we are all part of the same Family, and I expect
you to start behaving like it. The time of Challenges between the ones
I love for a stupid title is over. I am not Samantha. I lost Amilee
because of that insanity and I will not lose anyone else -
understood?" Samanaimethea looked at Celeline, "Cel?"
    "Yes, Mother," Celeline said automatically looking at Linna with
narrowed eyes. "I understand."
    Samanaimethea smiled and took Celeline's hand in her own. Linna
made noise like a strangled cat and Samanaimethea quickly reached out
and took Linna's hand in her other. She then gave the brunette a
pleading stare.
    "Linna?"
    Linna mumbled something under her breath and Samanaimethea
flushed.
    "I heard that, Linna," she said giving the brunette's hand a tight
squeeze. "Come on, love, do not be angry with me. I just want..."
    "You are _mine_, Samanaimethea," Linna suddenly said pulling her
hand free. "And I _will_ not share you! If this... hussy wants to
Chall... YAAA!!" Her voice suddenly broke off as she started to scream
in pain. "YAAA!!" Waves of such intense agony filled her that Linna
fell to the ground, writhing about as the screams were literally
torn from her body. She was burning! She WAS _BURNING_!!!
    "YAAA!!!"
    Samanaimethea watched dispassionately as the young brunette
writhed about at her feet shrieking in agony. "I warned you, love,"
she said in a quiet voice. "I will not lose anyone else I love to
Family squabbles. You are my Consort - full stop. I love you, but I
will not have my will crossed."
    Celeline watched as Linna spasmed in agony and a small smirk came
to her face, but she said nothing. Mother had already made the point
for her.
    Linna continued to scream as if she were being gutted alive. The
agony was almost too much for her to bear. It felt like every nerve in
her body was slowly being roasted over a white-hot flame and the agony
of it was so intense that she wanted to die. However, all she was able
to do was simply scream as the flames roasted her slowly from within.
She prayed for death, to sink into the numbing blackness of
nothingness - but it was impossible. The pain just carried on and on
and no matter what she did to try and escape it. the pain was always
there to welcome her back.
    Samanaimethea watched Linna for almost a minute before she made a
careless gesture, and Linna nearly orgasmed as the pain suddenly
vanished. Kneeling down beside Linna, Samanaimethea wiped the tears
away from the brunette's face. "You will be good now, will you not,
love? I would so much hate to really have to get angry with you..."
She smiled, and her wide innocent eyes stared deep into Linna's and
leaning down, she gave the woman's forehead a soft kiss.
    Linna shuddered as desire suddenly flooded her mind. The intensity
of the pain ending had almost been pleasurable and the fragrant smell
of the redhead's long hair cascading against her face made Linna
almost breathless.
    "Come on, Linna," Samanaimethea said with a knowing smile. "You
are my Consort, you should regard Celeline and the others as our
children. You said you wanted some..."
    "Samanaimethea," Linna said in a hoarse voice and made a grabbing
motion for the redhead, but the young woman giggled and jumped back
out of her reach.
    "Now, now, Linna Yamazaki, behave yourself," Samanaimethea said
with a look of mischief on her face. "There is plenty of time for that
later."
    "No," Linna stated scrambling to her feet and moving towards the
giggling young woman. "Now."
    Celeline moved quickly to position herself between the amorous
Linna and her giggling Chosen. "You never said why you came here,
Linna," she said trying to turn the two lovers onto a different
subject. "Was it something to do with the Council meeting that is due
later today?"
    At the mention of the Council, Samanaimethea's look of jollity
vanished like mist in front of the sun. "Oh, do not remind me about
them, Cel. I have had more than enough of those idiots for a
lifetime."
    Celeline smiled in sympathy, "Well, you wanted to be ruler,
Mother."
    Samanaimethea shot her a black look and then sighed. "Not out of
choice, I assure you," she said turning around to slump down into the
old sofa bed. "I just do not fancy the alternatives."
    Linna, sensing that Samanaimethea was no longer going to be so
easily convinced to play, grumbled and sunk down onto the sofa too.
"What are you going to do, Sammy?" she said throwing Celeline a cold
look. "The Council are getting as jittery as cats near water. They are
expecting action and yet are afraid of the action that they think you
are going to take. I've listened to the last few Council meetings, but
frankly everything that's been said mostly goes over my head."
    "You have heard of HIM, I assume," Celeline said quietly and
winced as both Samanaimethea and Linna reacted to her words.
    "Yes..." Linna hissed in a voice that would have curled water. "I
have..." She stopped abruptly, looking over at Samanaimethea.
    Celeline frowned, but then noticed that the temperature in the
room had begun to get perceptibly colder and the nature of the shadows
had changed, becoming darker, richer... She swallowed, and her breath
caught as she began to sense faint movement in the deepest parts of
the rapidly darkening room. "Sammy..." she said, her voice trembling
as she glanced over at her Chosen. "Sammy!"
    Samanaimethea was staring out at nothing and her white face seemed
to be even more white than usual. The room began to get even colder
and twittering sounds began to echo in the darkening gloom. Celeline
began to get afraid. These... _things_ were true manifestations of the
Corruptor's Darkness, and they only ever heeded the word of their
Mistress. Unholy wretches filled with infinite Hunger - if they ever
slipped the leash of Samanaimethea's control then...
    Hurriedly, Celeline crossed over to the statue like figure of
Samanaimethea and knelt down beside her. Celeline was frankly slightly
shocked by Samanaimethea's reaction to just the mention of HIS name.
Normally, the Immortal was much better at hiding, or at least,
controlling her reactions, but obviously the tensions of the last few
days had taken much more out of the redhead than Celeline had
originally guessed.
    - Chosen? - she sent gently. - Samanaimethea? -
    Samanaimethea took a deep breath and a timid smile came to her
face. "Sorry," she said looking into Celeline's worried eyes. "I...
Sorry."
    Celeline smiled and resisted the urge to kiss the white face. If
Linna had not been here then she might have, but the brunette's
annoying presence complicated things.
    "Sammy..." Linna said in a hesitant voice. "I came over here
because, well, Helia told me about... what HE did to..."
    Samanaimethea looked up abruptly and her eyes widened as her
tiredness began to strip away her control. Her dreams of that...
incident had been slowly getting worst over the last few weeks, and it
was becoming increasingly difficult to suppress them. That, and the...
difficulty she was having with her Power were making things...
problematic.
    Celeline saw the painful expression cross her Chosen's face and
she spun around grabbing Linna angrily. "You _stupid_ bitch!" she
hissed. "Why the hell did you have to come over here? Mother was fine
until _you_ and your _big_ mouth showed up! Did your brains get fucked
the day you became a member of this Family or have you always been
this _stupid_?!"
    "Leave me alone!" Linna exclaimed angrily pushing Celeline away.
"Samanaimethea is..."
    "ENOUGH!" a voice suddenly yelled out and three pairs of eyes
turned to focus on a furious looking black woman and the young girl
standing next to her who had just shouted. Behind them yet another
young girl was standing, and her eyes were nervously sweeping the
room.
    "Stop it! Celeline! Linna!" Mina exclaimed angrily as she crossed
over from Loria and sat down next to Samanaimethea. She smiled,
"Hello, Mother," she said in a concerned tone. "How have you been
sleeping lately? You aren't looking too peachy, you know."
    Samanaimethea took a deep breath and her eyes closed. "I... I do
not really know, Mina. I have just been getting more and more tired
recently. And when I try and sleep... I dream... of... of..." she
shuddered and fell silent.
    "Of what, Mother?" Sylvie pushed passed Loria and flashing a
disgusted look over at Linna and Celeline joined Mina. "What do you
dream of?"
    "Hello, Sylvie," Samanaimethea said giving her bright daughter a
forced smile. "How are you doing? It has..."
    "Please answer me, Mother," Sylvie said with an earnest look on
her face. "What do you dream of?"
    Samanaimethea looked into Sylvie's clear eyes and slowly shook her
head, "No... no, my daughter. You do not want to know - ever. Trust me
in this..."
    Sylvie put her hand under the redhead's chin and gently pulled it
up, "Mother, please - it may be important."
    Samanaimethea frowned, "Why, Sylvie-chan?"
    "Before I answer that, Mother, I need to tell you that I and a few
of the others have been studying the nature of that which is called
'The Darkness' for quite a while, and we have reached a few
conclusions that... concern us. Mother, you are connected to the
Darkness in ways that I can't even begin to imagine, but how much
about it do you actually know? Really?" Sylvie looked into
Samanaimethea's questioning green eyes and smiled. "Please, Mother,
it's important."
    Samanaimethea sighed and met Sylvie's earnest gaze. "Not much,"
she said apologetically. "I think it was born as a result of my
desperation when I was trying to escape from the death of the
PrimeVerse. I, er, did quite a few rash things and one of those was to
deliberately infect myself with the Powers that were consuming the
remains of the PrimeVerse." Samanaimethea flushed and looked down,
"I... well..."
    "You mean you deliberately infected yourself with Leviathan's
Power," Sylvie replied in a matter of fact voice.
    Samanaimethea shook her head, "Not exactly. It was... different...
worst. What I took into myself was..." Samanaimethea tried to find the
words to describe it. "Entropy, a Hunger... I... I cannot really
explain it. All I know was that from the very first time I touched it,
I knew I had made a very bad mistake."
    "But that was not all was it?" Sylvie said quietly.
    Samanaimethea gave the chestnut haired girl a searching look.
"No," she replied after a long pause. "Something else happened - to
both it and me."
    "Creation," Sylvie stated and Samanaimethea shuddered.
    "You cannot even begin to imagine it," Samanaimethea whispered in
a small voice. "Kay and I became part of EVERYTHING... It only lasted
for a moment but..." Her voice died away as she was swamped by both
the vague memories that she still had of that time, and by the much
stronger emotions that the mention of Kay's name bought back to her.
"Oh, Kay..."
    Linna frowned. Kay? Who was this Kay? And why did Samanaimethea
say that name with such feeling?
    "But what about the Darkness, Mother," Sylvie pressed. "What of
it?"
    The vague look on Samanaimethea's face persisted and Sylvie had to
gently repeat her question once more before Samanaimethea acknowledged
it.
    "It is part of me and yet not," Samanaimethea began to try and
explain something that the truth be told, she was not sure she ever
could. "It is like a... cold ball of sick Hunger, a Hunger that lives
within me and yet within itself. It has always served me, and well,
loved me I suppose in Its own odd way. I cannot really explain it,
Sylvie. It just is, and is something that I have always had..."
    "It's a sickness, Mother," Sylvie said quietly interrupting the
struggling redhead. "An alien corruption that is slowly consuming
EVERYTHING."
    "Samantha once told me that it was a manifestation of a paradox,"
Loria suddenly spoke up. "She said that the Darkness was a
manifestation of the paradox that was part of her nature."
    "Paradox?" Mina asked confused.
    "The paradox between the forces of Entropy that had been
destroying the PrimeVerse and the Chaos of Creation. She..."
    "Was lying," Sylvie finished for the black woman. "It is something
completely different, something..." Then she hesitated, uncertain if
now was really the right time to discuss what she and her sisters had
been investigating for so long. Or indeed if Mother would be even
ready to accept what it was that they had discovered.
    "What, Sylvie?" Loria said, prompting the girl to continue. "Don't
just stop."
    "Well..." Sylvie took a deep breath and bit the bullet. "What we
call 'The Darkness' is, I believe, something that..." She flushed and
looked at Samanaimethea as if embarrassed.
    "What?" Samanaimethea asked.
    "Mother, have you ever... well..." Sylvie grew more agitated and
Samanaimethea frowned.
    "Has Samanaimethea ever what?" Linna asked annoyed at Sylvie's
prevarication.
    Sylvie swallowed, "Had children..." she said in a faint voice.
    Samanaimethea's eyes widened and her face went completely white as
she suddenly understood what Sylvie was trying to say. "No... It...
Impossible..."
    Linna was lost, and from some of the expressions on the other
faces in the room, she was not the only one.
    "NO!" Samanaimethea suddenly shouted hysterically, scrambling to
her feet. "IMPOSSIBLE!!"
    "Sammy!" Linna exclaimed rushing over to grab the panicking woman.
    "NO! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!"
    "Mother!" Sylvie shouted but got no response. So, bitting her lip,
she struck the redhead across the face. "Mother, please! You have to
face it! Please!"
    "NO! NO! NO!" Samanaimethea shrieked and this time it was Linna
who struck the redhead - hard. Samanaimethea fell to the ground
breathing heavily as she looked up at Linna with glazed eyes. Linna
swallowed, and then knelt down next to her lover. Taking the woman's
well developed form in her arms, she hugged it.
    "Shh..."
    "What the hell is going on here, Sylvie?" Loria turned on the pale
faced teenager. "What is it you are trying to say?"
    "Yes," Celeline put in as well. "What the heck did you mean? Just
what is the Darkness?"
    Sylvie looked down at the still shaking young woman held tight in
Linna's embrace and sighed as she shook her head. "Samanaimethea's
first Spawning," she said in a small voice. "Her children, in the
literal sense of the word."
    Loria blinked. She did not believe it. "Impossible..."
    Sylvie turned to look at the black Immortal. "Samanaimethea and
Kay were mated," she said in little more than a whisper. "In normal
circumstances from what little I know of Mother's species, both were
too young to reproduce, but in the insanity during the destruction of
the PrimeVerse..." She shook her head, "I can't be certain, but it
explains so much..."
    "Like what?" Loria asked incredulously, still trying to accept
what the young Enforcer had said. "I just can't believe that something
like the Darkness is..."
    "Samanaimethea's children?" Sylvie finished. "Why not? Think about
it. Mother herself told Reina how she took the Darkness of the dying
PrimeVerse into herself so that she could use its Power to escape.
Now, what if that Darkness had been part of Leviathan..."
    "That's sick!" Loria exclaimed in disgust. "You can't be saying
that Samanaimethea and Leviathan..."
    "Mated," Sylvie finished, her face like a statue. "Not
intentionally, no. But in the chaos that was happening when the
PrimeVerse died the impossible happened. Samanaimethea, I believe,
just intended to draw on what she perceived as being a Power source,
but instead drew on something that was the essence of Leviathan. She
drew that essence deep down into herself, and in the madness that
followed Spawn..."
    "NO!" Samanaimethea screamed and pushing Linna away bolted to her
feet. "YOU ARE LYING!" she shrieked looking at Sylvie with mad eyes.
"LYING!" The Darkness flared in her eyes as it reacted to her rage,
and _things_ suddenly started to twitter in the gathering gloom that
abruptly manifested itself in the room.
    "YOU ARE LYING, SYLVIE!" Samanaimethea shrieked again as her eyes
turned purest black. "LYING!"
    Sylvie's face whitened in terror as she looked wildly about her.
"No..." she moaned in fear and turned her desperate eyes to stare up
at the furious redhead. She held out her hands imploringly, "Mother...
PLEASE! NO!"
    Samanaimethea's perfect face was savage with fury and a black aura
shimmered around her form. "Liar..." she hissed. "Lair..."
    "NO!! MOTHER!! MERCY!!" Sylvie screamed incoherently as the
Darkness slowly, teasingly, began to advance on her position. She
could sense their Hunger for her, for everything, and she screamed.
    Linna could only look on horrified as Samanaimethea stared to
giggle in a way that reminded her purely of Samantha. Her mind skipped
back with terror to remember Katsumi and what a furious Samantha had
done to that woman. She remembered the soul numbing pain when she had
tried to interfere then and had been consumed by that same Darkness...
She gibbered in terror as the memory overcame her mind and curling up
into a small ball, tried to block out that nightmarish sound. She
could not go through that again! Not EVER!
    Celeline could not believe what was happening. It was impossible!
Her Chosen was... NO! She could not allow this to happen! She would
not let her Chosen succumb to her madness - not again! Celeline had
sworn her life to protect Samanaimethea and she would, even if it was
to protect Samanaimethea from herself!
    "Chosen..." she said in a faint voice taking a small step forward.
    "MOTHER! PLEASE!" Sylvie begged, and Celeline, closing her eyes,
committed herself - no matter what the cost. Opening herself fully to
the Bond she had tried to suppress for so long, she initiated a full
Choosing Bond with her beloved.
    "CHOSEN!" she screamed and jumped at Samanaimethea. She hit the
giggling redhead full on and damning herself to whatever would happen,
kissed the pale lips full on, giving everything that she was to her
Chosen. Her Bonding was like a small leaf caught up in a hurricane and
she felt everything that she was being sucked into the Void that was
Samanaimethea. She felt a frozen numbness flow rapidly throughout her
body as the redhead consumed everything about her, but... but...
    She did not die.
    Samanaimethea felt a faint warmth, a very faint warmth, explode in
her mind and a flavor, almost like strawberry, flooded her mouth. The
Darkness was screaming at her to use it, to pull the warmth of the one
who had dared insult her into the endless Void deep within her. She,
they, were so cold and so hungry that the sweet warmth of that little
being was absolutely nothing, but still...
    "Chosen..."
    The sweet flavor of strawberries filled her mouth once again as
something warm and soft passed her lips. The Darkness screamed at her
to ignore it, but she was much too entranced by the warm sweetness in
her mouth. She ignored the shrieking madness and concentrated instead
on that soft warmth. It seemed to offer something that was exciting...
wonderful, so she accepted it and lost herself in the warmth of its
sweet promise.
    Celeline was _whole_. At last, after so long she felt so... whole!
Her Chosen and her were One and her emptiness was filled. She wept
with the joy that was burning through her and pulled her Chosen to
her as she lost herself in _her_ Chosen's warmth.
    Sylvie abruptly realized that the twittering sickness which had
been on the verge of consuming everything that she was had gone, and
she almost soiled herself at the relief that was flooding through her.
She started to laugh and cry at the same time, simply glad to be
alive. It was that same laughing that caused Linna to unwrap her hands
hesitantly from her face and look up at what was happening.
    The first thing that she saw was Celeline and Samanaimethea. They
were wrapped up in each other's arms and kissing with a passion
that was unmistakable. Linna's eyes widened slightly and then as her
brain fully registered what she was seeing, they bulged. A wave
of black fury and jealousy raged through her as Celeline was daring to
touch that which was hers and hers alone.
    "CELELINE!" Linna shrieked with rage and letting loose a roar that
would have done a battle boomer proud, grabbed the hussy who _dared_
to try and steal _her_ property and threw her across the room. She
held up her hands and black lightning flashed from her hands to strike
the bitch who had _dared_ Challenge her.
    Celeline screamed in agony as the ShadowFlame tore into her body
and she desperately tried to shield herself while healing the
wound. It was an effort that took almost everything that she had - the
Power that was streaming out of Linna's hands was terrifying.
    "Linna! Stop it!" Loria screamed and finally bought her Power to
bare on the shrieking brunette. Linna was strong, but her Power was
that of a child and Loria was far more than a child. The black Noble
was easily able to cut the brunette off from her Power and forced the
mad woman to stand still while Mina ran over and helped the still
scorched figure of Celeline shakily to her feet.
    Loria went over and gently helped the still shaky form of Sylvie
to her feet as well. "This whole thing is completely insane," she said
as she used her Power to try and calm the still freaked out Enforcer.
"And it's all your fault, Sylvie. Why don't you think before doing
something like that? You know how... ah... delicate Sam can be about
some topics. You were stupid to try and..."
    "I had to!" Sylvie said unrepentantly. "There is so much about
this that is important - to us, to Mother, to Linna and to the
Council. Don't any of you see? Mother is the key to Leviathan's
freedom! It _NEEDS_ her to create the Spawn It must have to free It
from Its pri..."
    "Shut up!" Loria commanded sharply, pulling Sylvie to look down at
the shaking form of Samanaimethea. "Do you want her to crack
completely?"
    Sylvie whimpered slightly and pulled back shaking her head
emphatically. "I..."
    "Chosen," Celeline whispered and ran over to embrace the trembling
redhead. "Don't worry, I'm here. I'll protect you."
    Linna shook with both fury and the need to go and comfort her
beloved, but she was still frozen to the spot. She forced her head to
turn and look at Loria. "Release me... Please..." she begged. "I must
go to her, comfort her..." Loria sneered and Linna swore. "Damn it,
Loria! Samanaimethea is _mine_, I love her! PLEASE!"
    "Loria, let her go," Mina said softly coming over to stand by her
Chosen. "Linna and Mother are Joined, Mother needs her."
    Loria frowned and looked at Mina with a questioning expression.
    "Please," the girl repeated, giving the luscious looking woman a
smile. "They need each other."
    Loria sighed and then nodded. "Watch yourself, Linna," she warned
releasing the woman.
    Linna did not even bother to reply, she just hurried over towards
the hugging forms of Celeline and _her_ Samanaimethea. Rage pulsed
through her body, and for a moment she wanted to grab Celeline by the
throat and rip her head off, but that would have to wait until she
could get at the young Enforcer alone. Now however, she had much more
important concerns to worry about. Kneeling down on the ground, she
ignored the presence of young Celeline completely and pulled
Samanaimethea into her own arms. For a moment, Celeline resisted but
then she seemed to change her mind and pulling back, she allowed Linna
to take charge.
    "Linna..." Samanaimethea whispered as she clung to the taller form
of her mate, "I am scared..."
    Linna said nothing, but just held onto her beloved as the young
woman shook in her arms.
    "My Power..." Samanaimethea suddenly said in a whisper. "It is
growing, Linna, and I do not know how much more I can stand. It hurts
me so much..."
    Linna kissed the young woman's redhead. Sammy felt so good in her
arms, so warm. Linna would never let her go, ever. Sammy was hers...
hers...
    "If it continues, Linna, I will lose control over it,"
Samanaimethea whispered as she tightened her embrace, trying to draw
strength from the brunette. "And if that happens..."
    Linna softly kissed her lover on the lips and silenced whatever it
was the young woman had been trying to say. It had been so long since
they had last held each other like this and Linna wanted to renew the
experience. The presence of the others be damned, Linna knew what must
come first.
    Celeline tensed as Linna held her Chosen in a close embrace and
kissed her. She wanted to be the one who held Samanaimethea, but she
knew that at this moment the redhead needed the presence of Linna more
than her. This realization hurt but she loved Samanaimethea with
everything that she was, so if the little redhead needed Linna at this
particular point in time, then Celeline would gladly stand aside. She
might be jealous, but she lived for Samanaimethea, not the other way
around. She had waited in the wings for most of her short life, she
could continue to do so. What was important was that she and her
Chosen were now Bonded, and for Celeline, that was enough. Love was
about sharing, not owning. If Linna wanted the title of Consort then
she was welcome to it. Samanaimethea loved Linna, but she also loved
Celeline, and that was all that the young Enforcer had ever desired.
    - I love you, Chosen - she sent down the link to her beloved. -
And that is enough -
    - Chosen... - came back the faint response and Celeline sighed
with joy, it was more than enough.
    Sylvie looked over at the dreamy smile on her young sister's face
and frowned. This did not bode well. There was far more about the
Darkness that she had to tell Mother, but now... now she was afraid.
Afraid of what might happen if she did, and afraid of what would
happen if she did not. Time was growing shorter, for all of them.
Samanaimethea was already maturing at a frightening pace and the time
of her second Spawning was not far off and that was something which
scared Sylvie silly. She had to talk to Helia. She was the oldest of
all of them, she would know what to do - she just had to.
    If Mother Spawned again... then Heaven help them all...

        *       *       *       *

(to be continued...)