Chapter 4 - Love

Location: Japan, Tokyo. 
Time: AD: 2030 12 February 10:02


	Yuki could not work, could not think, every moment that was awake was filled with worry over her missing 
beloved. The girl had been missing ever since the attack well over a week ago. At first she had been able to bury her 
increasing worry in the clean up that had to follow the results of the attack. She had hoped that they would find the red 
head somehow alive in the ruins, that had once been sector 17/N/12 of the great city. Her hope had even been raised by the 
discovery of a bunch of survivors who had been protected by one of Alex's spells. One of the survivors, a young girl, had 
even been able to tell her that Alex had flown off to draw the entities away. However, as the hours had passed into days, 
and still the girl did not appear, the others began to draw their own conclusions about the young recruits fate. Yuki 
however refused to believe it. She KNEW that Alex, somewhere was alive. She could not sense the condition of the other 
girl, but she was sure that she was alive. She stuck to that desperate hope and continued to push on as she could.
	The others gave her room as they became slowly aware of the true nature of the relationship that had existed 
between the youngest members of the ex-AMP. Even Hidoshi seemed to understand in a strange sort of way. The days 
continued and Yuki pushed herself harder into the training for which she and the others had to undertake. Still no sight of 
Alex came. Yuki was almost at the point of seeking out Katsumi to see if she had any news, when finally it happened. 
News came to them that Alex had been found. The girl had been discovered out in the wilds north of the Kanto plain. 
Those who had found her had taken her to a local village, where she had been in a deadless like state for almost the entire 
time. Only yesterday had the girl finally recovered and been able to make contact.
	When Yuki had heard the news she had been almost light headed with relief and had almost demanded that she 
be allowed to go north immediately. Mana had to calm the young woman down and tell her to wait the few days that it 
would take to get her companion back to Tokyo. Yuki had retired that night with a tension almost unbearable. She had 
almost snapped Mana's head off when she had been hold she would have to wait a few days to see her lover. When she 
had entered her room she had undressed and got into empty bed and simply stared at the dark ceiling.
	She tossed and turned, but could not get any rest. At 1 am she turned on the light and sat up. She picked up the 
TV control and flicked at random through the selection of channels. Five minutes later she gave up in disgust and turned 
off the light. She lay on her back and placed one arm under her head for support as she returned to staring at the blank 
ceiling. The bed suddenly shifted as the weight of a warm body materialised out of nothingness next to her. A scent now 
so familiar to her washed over her senses, as an arm moved slowly up her stomach.
	"ALEX!" Yuki almost yelled out, as she rolled over crushing the other form beneath her and clamped her lips 
onto the other's face. The smaller body wriggled for a moment beneath her before two arms wrapped themselves tightly 
around the other. At that moment Yuki, simply felt complete. Everything she would ever need or want was contained now 
within the circumference of those arms, and she swore that she would never let it go. Alex was hers now; just as Katsumi 
had promised, and nothing, not life, loyalty, friendship or her salvation would ever make her let it go. Her pulled the other 
to her harder and felt the honest truth - Alex was her other self, and she would kill before she ever let that go.
	Alex struggled for a moment beneath the crushing grip of Yuki's arms. She tried to get her breath, as Yuki 
seemed intent on sucking the life out of her with her kiss. She tried to speak, to push the other away slightly, but Yuki just 
seemed to ignore her struggles, so intent was she on the kiss. Finally Alex resorted to the one thing that she knew would 
work. She moved her hand down to Yuki's most private place and pushed with her finger. It worked.
	Yuki suddenly shot straight up, with wide-open eyes. She half moaned and swore as she saw the evil looking 
grim on the other girls face.
	"Mind if I breath..." Alex said with an amused expression at the shock on Yuki's face, and the almost naked 
desire.
	"What..." Yuki's eyes were half-wild as her thigh muscles clamped the other's finger in place.
	Alex winced and took a few deep breaths as she struggled to control the need also building in her. She stared up 
at the other girl straddling her and smiled.
	"Come here." she said in a throaty voice as she wiggled her trapped finger.

	Later, when both sets of needs had been satisfied, Yuki looked at the sleeping form next to her and sighed. She 
felt like she had drunk thirstily at a deep spring, and now was beginning to need to drink again, but somehow she felt that 
the exhausted form beside her would not be willing to comply to that need just yet. Her hand ran over the soft skin and 
pushed the hair back from the sleeping face. Alex made a sleepy sound but other than that did not react. Yuki pulled her 
hand back with regret, oh well...
	She quietly got out of the bed and moved to the other room. She was glad that Mana had moved the two of them 
to a bigger set of living quarters. The other cupboard had been two small for anything. She wrapped the nightgown around 
her and closed the door to the bedroom. She switched on the light to the main room in the suite and turning around almost 
had a heart attack.
	"Hello Yuki," Katsumi said with a smile as she glanced at the semi naked girl. "I see you had a good night."
	"What?" Yuki stammered as she got over the shock of the others presence. "What are you doing here?"
	"Oh," Katsumi sipped from the glass she held in her hand. "I just popped in to see if you were happy with my 
end of the bargain."
	"Bargain..." Yuki muttered.
	"Of course my dear. As I promised, your little friend is now, yours. Is that not what I agreed to help you with?"
	"Well, yes..." Yuki began, "but you did not do anything..."
	"Oh yes I did," Katsumi stated. "Apart from letting you and your friend live, I helped you... shall we say with 
the initial mechanics..."
	"What?"
	"Never mind my dear. I don't think you would understand. But now I have come to ask for your help."
	"Help," Yuki repeated dumbly. "What can I do to help you?"
	"Oh nothing too odorous I assure you," Katsumi said with a smile. "In fact you will problem enjoy it. All I 
simply want you to do is keep your little friend very, very occupied."
	"What do you mean?" Yuki got to her feet. "You had better leave her alone, Katsumi!"
	"My, my," Katsumi smiled. "Is that a threat?"
	Yuki did not answer, but she began to gather her will.
	"So protective, Yuki-chan, you  MUST like her. Don't worry my dear old friend. I mean no harm to your little 
lover, none what so ever. In fact I am most concerned that she stays well and happy."
	"Why?" Yuki began to get nervous. Katsumi was getting too interested in Alex - why?
	Katsumi smiled her secret smile. "She interests me, my dear, that's all."
	"What do you mean Katsumi? I warn you, if you even try to harm her I will kill you!"
	Katsumi raised her eyebrows but said nothing.
	"Yuki?" A sleepy voice said from the door. "Who are you talking to?"
	"Wait!" Yuki leapt to her feet as Alex pulled the door open. Her eyes blinked to adjust to the light. Yuki rushed 
forward and pushed the younger girl back through the door.
	"Whoaaa... Ouch!" Alex tripped and fell to the floor with a semi naked Yuki on top of her. "What did you do 
that..."
	Yuki clamped her mouth down on top of Alex's and with her feet swung the door to the other room shut. Her 
hands ran over Alex's body, and once again she began to drink from the well that sustained her.
	From its hiding place Gar watched the other black haired woman as she slowly finished her drink and then 
vanished. An interesting conversation, Gar thought to itself, very interesting. This Katsumi Liquer drew Gars attention. 
Attractive, chaotic, evil, powerful... All the things that the imp liked in a woman. A shame that she had threatened the 
Mistress, otherwise Gar would have been inclined to almost like her. In consideration of that Gar would make sure that 
when it came time to kill her, Gar would forgo its usual... amusements. In the meantime it would let the sorceress carry out 
what ever she intended. As long as she did not threaten the Mistress, Gar would forestall the woman's death until she was 
at the peak of her victory. Gar always found it far more amusing to kill its prey just at the moment they were about to 
triumph. It was just at that point in time that when Gar took their souls that the resulting torment was just so much more... 
satisfying. Gar giggled in anticipation. It's black ears suddenly shot forward, and its eyes flared with excited anticipation as 
it heard Mistress groan. 
	"GarGar..." it said as it scrambled with undue haste back to its most favourite point in the new quarters. 
Positioning itself comfortably it looked down. Ahh... Gar let the thoughts of Katsumi Liquer fade from its head, as it 
settled down to watch the nights amusement.

	Somehow Mana was not surprised when Yuki and Alex walked in together the next morning.
	"Alex!" Nami flew at the younger girl. "You're okay!" She wrapped the girl in a warm hug and shower her face 
with fond kisses. For some reason, Yuki felt a surge of anger and almost hate fir Nami pass through her. She moved closer 
to Alex and laid a possessive hand on the girl's arm. She stared hard at Nami who catching a glance at the dark expression 
on Yuki's face backed off.
	Alex is mine! Yuki almost said threateningly to the other girl.
	Kiddy tried to ignore Yuki's reaction to Nami's impressive greeting and smiled warmly at the other girl. 
"Welcome back," she said. "How do you feel?"
	Alex was more than slightly startled by the hostility in Yuki's reaction. She smiled reassuringly at Nami and 
gently touched Yuki's hand as it gripped her arm.
	"I'm fine," she said. "The fight I had with the entities just took far more out of me than I thought possible."
	"What happened?" Mana said. She too had noticed how Yuki had reacted. It did not bode well. She saw that 
Yuki still had a possessive grip on the girls arm, and that she still seemed to warning the others to keep their distance.
	Alex once again patted Yuki's hand and gently smiled to reassure her. Yuki relaxed her expression, but left her 
hand where it was. Alex almost signed but turned her attention back to Mana's question.
	"I destroyed a couple of the entities as they attacked people. It... it was not pretty what they were doing. I saw... I 
saw them..." Alex started to tremble slightly at the memory of what those beasts had done. Yuki felt the trembling and 
gently pulled Alex to her, lending her support as she continued.
	"They were eatting people, Chief! They were pulling them apart, and there was nothing I could do! There were 
too many of them! I tried... I tried to stop them... but..." Alex almost started to cry as she relived the horror of what she had 
seen. Yuki pulled the trembling form into the embrace of her arms and waited until the sobs subsided.
	"Then what happened?" Mana pressed. Yuki shot her a angry look and said, "can't this wait?"
	"No, we need to know what the entities were doing, before the missiles struck. I am sorry Alex, but you need to 
tell me. What happened next? What were the entities doing?"
	"Ok..." Alex said. "They... I mean , I think they were simply trying to amuse themselves. They... they were 
ripping apart people, but... It was for pleasure. I... I destroyed a couple and then when I had the attention of some of them I 
tried to fight them. I tried to use a spell that would help me, but something went wrong. I was trapped in the spell's 
matrix... I don't remember much after that. The next thing I clearly remember is awaking in a small hospital about 2 nights 
ago... That's about it."
	Mana smiled and walked over to the teenager. She ignored Yuki's black stare and tussled the girl's red hair. "I'm 
sorry Alex," she said. "Sorry that you had to see that. We were all horrified by what they did and you did what you could 
to help. No one can ask anymore than that. You should be proud that you were able to save the lives that you did. I am 
proud of you. We all are. Welcome back." She ruffled the hair again and then moved back before Yuki became even more 
aggressive.
	"What happened during that attack?" Alex asked.
	"Hell, that's what." Kiddy muttered from where she was standing.
	"What do you mean?"
	"Our glorious leader decided to blow the crap out of the place, people included."
	"WHAT??"
	"Kiddy, that's enough." Mana decided now was the time to intervene. "We had to stop the entities there and 
then, Kiddy, you know that."
	"Yes, of course we did," Kiddy repeated dully. "As well as anything else..."
	Mana let that one pass. She knew Kiddy would never agree with what had been done. Even she was not wholly 
convinced of the logic that Reece had used to explain his action. When Mana had told Rally about it, her reaction had been 
as shocked as Kiddy. It had however not terribly surprised her. She knew what a cold bastard Reece was. He would gladly 
sacrifice anything if he thought it would help him achieve his ends. It also made her redouble her efforts in trying to find 
away of reversing the situation in which they found themselves.
	Alex caught the undercurrents of the conversation between Mana and Kiddy. She decided now was a good time 
to drop the subject altogether. The room became silent as each of them reflected on the experience of what had happened. 
It was into this silent that Hidoshi walked .
	"So Shadow," he said. "Back are you from your little unauthorised trip."
	"Ahhhh" Alex did not know what to say.
	"Not content with first being late to duty, you were deliberately insolent to me, and then you decide to take it 
into your head to take unauthorised action in the course of battle. Tell me Shadow should I have you shot?"
	"WHAT??" Mana and everyone leap to there feet.
	Alex said nothing, but Yuki could feel her reaction to the words.
	"Well Shadow?" Hidoshi repeated. "ANSWER ME!"
	Alex felt the darkness of her power stir again at the sense of threat. She felt it begin to lap at the barriers of her 
control. Yuki could feel Alex suddenly go stiff in her arms.
	Mana could sense the power building rapidly both in Yuki and Alex. Oh, fuck! She swore silently. Singly both 
of them had the power to rip Hidoshi to pieces before anyone could do anything. Both of them were already reacting to the 
implied threat, and unless Mana did something very quickly, Hidoshi would be...
	"HIDOSHI!" A deadly voice suddenly exploded behind all of them.
	They all spun around and saw the figure of Reece standing in the entrance to the room. At the sight of Reece 
Hidoshi went deadly still, as did everyone else. Alex unconsciously pressed herself back into the shelter of Yuki's arms. 
She grabbed at her power and bought it fully to life, linking completely with every shadow in the room. Her eyes focused 
on Reece and waited to see what he would do. 
	Mana for some reason found that she had also grabbed hold of her own power and was pushing it into combat 
readiness. The menace that Reece seemed to be radiating when he entered the door was almost tangible. She almost had to 
force the power back down, as she noticed how dark the room had become. The shadows on the wall seemed prominent, 
almost alive. 
	If Reece noticed the reactions his presence generated he ignored it. He only focused his attention on the 
trembling Hidoshi.
	"Captain," he said in a quiet voice. "I do not appreciate you threatening Miss Shadow in this way, especially 
after I specifically requested you to remember that these women are not military. Do you remember me telling you that - 
don't you Hidoshi?"
	"Yes Sir"
	"Good, now why don't you apologise to Miss Shadow and the others for your... inappropriate words."
	"Of course." He turned to Yuki and Alex. Yuki did not need her powers to read the fear that the man was putting 
out. He was not just looking fearful of his superior. He was fearful, scared shitless in fact. 
	"Miss Shadow, Miss Saiko - humbly accept my apology, for my earlier words. They were totally inappropriate 
for the situation. I am most heartily sorry."
	"Better, Captain. Now why don't you go and do something more appropriate to your rank than shouting at 
children."
	"Sir." Hidoshi turned and left.
	Reece turned to Alex and smiled. "Accept my apologies as well Miss Shadow. Hidoshi is a good man, but he 
is..."
	Yuki was surprised to feel Alex almost quivering against her. Instinctively she held her companion tighter.
	Reece looked at the two of them and the dead smile came back to his face. "I see..." he said. With that 
observation he turned and left as well. 
	The atmosphere in the room seemed to change as the man left. The dark presence lightened, and the tension 
flowed away. Yuki looked down at Alex. "Are you ok?" she asked, concern at the girls reaction to Reece plain on her face.
	"Yes, I'm fine." Alex's white face looked up at her and she smiled. "Thank you..." she whispered, and she 
squeezed Yuki's hand.
	Mana looked at all of them, and breathed out in relief. If one thing seemed to unite all of them in this room, that 
was the fear towards their new commander. However, two things resulting from what had just happened did more than 
just slightly concern her. The first had been nearly everyone's reaction to Reeces presence. All those with power had gone 
almost immediately to it, at full strength. Why? She thought she herself was far more disciplined than that. However, the 
action had almost been instinctive. The second was that Reece, seemed to be... interested... or concerned about both Yuki 
and Alex in some way. It was totally out of character for the man. Why in hell's name had he jumped to their defence? Yet 
another point to raise with Rally when they met this evening.
	"Well," Mana said. "Lets pick up where we were just now. There are a number of points I want to cover with 
you all before you start today's duties. These are recruitment, training status and combat simulations."
	"Recruitment?" Kiddy asked with a confused expression. "Who are we going to be recruiting?"
	"The answer to that Kiddy, is simple. The entities threaten not just Japan, but the entire world. So far, only our 
country seems to have suffered the majority of Nemesis interests. Possibly, because the link between Nemesis and our 
reality is much closer here than anywhere else in the world. However, even if this is the case, Nemesis activity is 
beginning to spread. Two nights ago the Hong Kong island was subject to a series of attacks. A week ago, London, 
Chicago and Paris suffered large numbers of casualties due to rampaging entities. Nemesis is beginning to spread its 
campaign of activities across the globe. These countries have absolutely no experience of dealing with these creatures, or 
even the capability of doing so."
	"What do you mean?" Nami asked.
	"The West has always been dominated by a materialistic, and technological ideological. Far more than we have 
in the East. This has resulted in the use of what we call Magic as being rather exclusive to this sector of the world. Many 
in the West still regard Magic as being a fantasy, and as such the entities have come as rather a nasty awakening. Already 
the Western governments, via the UN, have demanded that Japan help to provide them with some sort of protection, or at 
least expertise."
	"But how?" Alex asked. "The only expertise available for fighting entities is in this room. We can barely keep 
Tokyo covered, much less the entire world. They're asking the impossible!"
	"Agreed." Mana said. "That point has been argued rather strenuously by both our government and our 
representatives at the UN, but basically the Western powers do not care. They have effectively issued us with an 
ultimatum, and Japan has had to agree."
	"Ahh," Alex began. "Is now the time to point out that I am not Japanese. My Clan don't actually belong to any 
national state."
	Mana shrugged. "At this point in time, I don't think those subtleties actually make any different. Like it or not 
you are one of the major guns in our arsenal. In fact, I think you are now a Japanese national whether you like it or not."
	"Oh," Alex said. "Nice to know I'm that popular."
	Mana grimaced. "To be honest Alex, you don't really want to know how popular you really are."
	"What do you mean?" Yuki asked.
	"Lets just say that there has been lots of argument about where each of you are going..."
	"Going?" Everyone said, leaping to their feet. 
	"What the hell does that mean, Chief?" Kiddy exclaimed.
	Mana held up her hands. "If you will calm down I can tell you..." The others looked at her and then did as she 
bid.
	"Good," Mana began. "Now, as I said, Japan has effectively been forced into helping both the Western 
governments and some of the Eastern countries set in place some kind of defence against entity attacks. As a result of this 
each of you will be going to selected countries to act as consultants in helping get those defences in place. You will 
effectively be military advisors with diplomatic privileges. The host countries will be paying Japan very handsomely for 
your services, and we have been assured that you will each be extremely well looked after and protected."
	"Protected?" Alex looked at Mana. "Why do I sense there is more to that word your saying?"
	Mana cursed silently, sometimes Alex did not know when to shut up. "Some... factions within a few countries 
seem to view the entities as either savours or to be dealt with in other fashions, other than via Magic. Some of them have 
made... threats... against our presence."
	"Death threats?" Alex pressed.
	"Yes." Mana said dryly.
	"Who?"
	Mana shook her head. "The names and organisations who mean nothing to you. You need to concentrate on the 
job you will be there to do. Let the internal security forces deal with the other issues."
	Alex did still not look convinced, but at this point Nami asked a question. "When and where are we going?"
	"Well, the requests have been so numerous we have had to spread ourselves as we can. Nami, you will be 
dealing with the China and ASEAN members. You will be covering perhaps the greatest area, but China has the help of 
the Magister Guild in Hong Kong. Together with them you will co-ordinating a regional defence policy."
	"Oh, joy..." Nami said.
	Mana said nothing at the comment, but continued. "Kiddy, Lebia the two of you will be attached to the 
European Union. Again like Nami you will be responsible for setting up a regional task force. Europe has virtually no 
sources of Magic, so you will basically be having to work with the technology we have devised to stop the entities. You 
will be concentrating on training them in using gravitons, spirit shields and the like."
	Lebia and Kiddy looked at each other but did not make any comment.
	"Alex, Yuki, the two of you will be spending your time in Canada, America and South America. They were the 
ones that raised the most fuss, and so they got the two of you. Like the others you will be trying to help them prepare some 
defence against the entities."
	"This does nor sound like a short job Chief," Lebia commented.
	"No, it isn't. Our government as agreed to loan you to the host countries for a total of minimum of 6 months..."
	"WHAT??" Kiddy burst out. "That's..."
	"What you have been ordered to do." Rally said from the entrance.
	"BOSS!" They all exclaimed as they turned.
	Rally acknowledged the greeting with a smile. "Unfortunately, this is an issue on which we don't actually have a 
choice. We had to lend you to these countries or face West imposed sanctions. They are desperate, they have never 
encountered anything like the entities before, and to be honest - it scares them shitless."
	"I don't image Reece was overly pleased." Kiddy almost laughed.
	"No," Rally said. "The Prime Minister and the Diet had to order a full executive session to get him to obey. He 
has been used to being his own power for so long that... he had to be reminded of certain... things."
	"He did not mention it just now," Yuki said. "In fact, he was almost friendly..."
	"Perhaps that was why..." Nami commented.
	"When do we go?" Alex asked, ignoring the issue of Reece.
	"End of the week," Rally said.
	No one made any comment.
	"Yes..." Rally said. "I know its short notice, but..."
	Still no comment.
	"Look at it as an opportunity..."
	"..."
	"It's an order from the Prime Minister."
	"Well," Yuki commented sarcastically. "Put it like that..."
	"Chief," Alex began. "I need to check this with the Clan Head. I just can't go..."
	"Sorry Alex," Rally looked at her. "This is an issue which goes above your Clan. You are now a Japanese 
national, subject to her laws and the dictates of her government. That was made clear to your Clan when you came here. 
You will go."
	"....." Alex mumbled something under her breath, which Rally decided to ignore.
	"Don't worry," Yuki said. "At least we will be together."
	Alex rolled her eyes. "I hear and obey."

	Dispelling the laws of physics, the week flew past, and before anyone was really ready for it, Yuki and Alex 
were standing at Narita International Airport awaiting the flight that would take them to America. 
	"This is a complete waste of time." Alex said looking out of window of the small private lounge at the departure 
board.
	"Quite complaining," Yuki muttered. "We are getting a first class executive flight to America. They can't help it, 
if fog closes the airport."
	"I'm not complaining, I just think it would be easier if I got us there. It would only take a few seconds."
	"Show off," Yuki said.
	"Its the truth."
	"Yeah I know, but it would not exactly create the right impression would it. Sorry, US government, we don't 
actually need you to take us, as my little friend here can get us there in a few seconds. Alex, get real will you. We are 
going to be living there for the next 6 months or so. Lets take it easy, eh?"
	"Of course, my Lady." Alex smiled.
	"Excuse me, ladies." 
	Yuki and Alex turned, the American officer had returned. He had been introduced as their liaison, or some such 
thing. Major Koji Okuda, age 32, was an officer in the US airforce with a distinguished career. He looked at the two girls 
and smiled.
	"I have been informed that there is a window to leave in the next 30 minutes or so. Your luggage has already 
been loaded aboard, so if you would like to follow me we can depart."
	"Finally..." Alex muttered.
	Yuki shot her a warning glance, then she smiled at Koji. "Thank you."
	They followed the Major out of the lounge and down a long series of passages to board the airforce atmospheric 
flyer that would take them to Washington. The interior of the craft was much better than Yuki had hoped. It was spacious, 
and boosted a luxury that said executive. Alex sat down in the nearest available seat and opened the electronic shutter to 
look outside. She pulled a face, and closed it again. The day was uncharacteristically cold and miserable for the time of 
year, and the fog obscured anything of interest.
	"You either of you like a drink, or anything to eat?" Koji asked the two of them as he said down.
	"No, thanks. All I want to do it get some sleep..." Alex said as she closed her eyes.
	Yuki sighed at looked at her companion, it was going to be one of those days. "Yes, I'd really appreciate some 
breakfast..."
	"Of course, anything in particular?"
	"As long as its food, I don't care."
	"Okay," Koji said with a smile. "Not a problem."
	Alex let her mind wonder off as she tried to get some sleep. She wondered how Jamie was doing with her new 
student. She had managed to talk to her old teacher 2 days ago to tell her the news about the trip to America. Jamie had 
spent a good deal of the time describing the trouble she was having with her latest recruit, Lum Cheng. The girl was, 
according to Jamie, very strong but ill disciplined. Jamie had had to take the girl back to the basics and start from scratch. 
Alex almost felt sorry for this Lum. After over 10 years of apprenticeship to her Sensei, she knew what an exacting 
taskmaster Jamie was. The thought bought a smile to her face.
	Yuki watched Alex's face smile for no reason, and fought down the urge that flashed through her mind. Control, 
she told herself. There would be enough time to indulge in that sort of thing later. She ripped her eyes of Alex's body and 
turned back to examine the inside of the plane. It was something that she was beginning to have to tell herself more and 
more. Lately, she seemed to be thinking of very little else, but the next time the two of them could...
	"Here you go." Yuki jumped as Koji put the tray next to her.
	"Oh," he noticed he had startled her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
	"No," Yuki flashed him a smile. "That's okay. I was just think about something that's all." She looked at the 
meal in front of her and trying to ignore Alex, began to eat.
	"We will be taking off in 20 minutes, so you don't need to hurry."
	"Oh... okay."
	"You don't mind if we talk while you eat, do you?"
	Yuki, attacking a bowl of soba shook her head. "Go ahead," she said.
	"What exactly are these entities? I've seen the reports, but I must admit I find them difficult to believe."
	"What do you know about them?"
	"Well, they're described as being something like a combination between a western demon and an Oni that my 
grand parents talk me about when I was young. Are they really capable of destroying entire city blocks? And if so, how 
are just you gir... Ahh individuals able to fight them..."
	"Girls doing a mans job you mean?" Yuki asked with a smile.
	"Ahhh..." Koji looked embarrassed. "Well, yes I suppose you could put it like that."
	"Don't worry Major, it isn't the first time someone has said that, and I doubt it will be the last. The answer is that 
the reports are true. Entities, or Lucifer Hawks are demons. They come from a world called Nemesis. It is a reality that is 
closely linked to ours. They each have powers that depend on the type of entity they are. So far we have 3 main categories, 
low, mid and high level. Fortunately, we have never had to fight a high level entity yet. We know they exist, but they seem 
to be content with staying in the background. Low category entities are basically canon fodder. They can be destroyed by 
the majority of common types of weapon, as they have no great range of defensive or attack ability. No, the ones that are 
the problem are the mid level, or category 2 types. They have power, intelligence and a sadistic trait."
	"Power?" Koji exclaimed. "You mean like magic and such?"
	"Exactly," Yuki said. "They are capable of things you would find difficult to believe. Destroying a city block 
would not be difficult for them."
	"How in God's name do you fight such creatures..."
	"You fight fire with fire." Ales suddenly interrupted. "Power with power. Magic with Magic."
	"What? You mean you can..."
	"Oh yes," Alex said with a smile. "That is why we are here."  
	"Oh," was all Koji said.
	An uncomfortable silence followed.
	"Are both of you able to..." Koji made a vague gesture.
	"Destroy a city block? If necessary I suppose we both could, yes. Personally I have never felt the need. What 
about you Yuki?" 
	Yuki was unhappy with where this conversation was going. Alex knew the man was uncomfortable with the 
subject, but seemed to be taking a perverse delight in discussing it.
	"Go back to sleep Alex. It's going to be a long trip, a difficult day tomorrow and..."
	"And a long night?" Alex said with a smile that spoke volumes.
	Yuki coloured and coughed as the soba went down the wrong way.
	Alex sniggered and deliberately rolled in the seat so that the casual one piece she wore pulled tight against her 
waist.
	Yuki pounded her chest to both recover from the soba and to get her mind away from what it so desperately 
wanted to do. Control, she told herself tightly.
	Koji looked confused. He was sure that he had just missed something, but he could not image what it was.

	The flight itself was uneventful, but for Yuki is was not easy. Alex had dropped off to sleep soon after take off, 
still in the position she had taken to tease Yuki. Yuki had to keep her eyes and her hands from taking up the offer that Alex 
seemed to be offering. The word "Control" almost became like a chant. She tried to distract herself by talking in-depth 
with Koji about everything she knew of the entities and her experiences over the years with them. She kept well clear on a 
number of topics, Rally's true nature, Katsumi, and the fact that the entities had numbers of human agents helping them. 
These subjects she was not about to reveal to anyone who did not already know about them.
	In exchange Koji talked about what the two girls would be expected to do while they were in the US and the 
sort of role they would have. The US military had formed a new elite squad that the girls would be expected to train in 
how to handle entities. Somehow they had even managed to recruit a number of low powered Adepts who would be 
helping. The mission of this unit was to fight the number of entity incidents that had begun to increase throughout the US 
continent. It appeared that the lack of serious resistance was attracting more and more entities into that part of the world. 
While the scope of the attacks was nothing like had happened in Tokyo, it was increasing.
	It was in the middle of one of these discussions that the pilot announced they would be landing in about 20 
minutes at Washington airport. The sound of the announcement caused Alex to suddenly jerk awake and look around.
	"Where are we?" She asked with a yawn as she stretched her legs out.
	"We are just approaching Washington airport, and should land in about 15 minutes or so." Koji commented.
	"Oh, good." Alex twisted herself straight in the chair, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
	Control! Yuki was telling herself very hard as she clenched her fists.
	"I couldn't have some water could I please Major?" Alex asked. "I need something to wake me up."
	"Sorry, we are on final approach, but you can grab something at the hotel. Its only a short distance from the 
airport."
	"Hotel?" Alex said. "Oh, that's right its night here isn't it."
	"21:35, to be precise."
	"Perhaps I should not have slept," Alex commented. "I will be awake all night."
	You bet you will be!! Yuki thought to herself.
	"When will we actually be going to work?" Alex asked.
	"Well, tomorrow I take you to the secure apartments that will be your home for the time you are in Washington. 
You will need a day of so to adjust to the time zone here. So, your first official meeting with the president has been 
scheduled for Tuesday morning, 3 days from now."
	"The president herself?" Alex raised her eyebrows. "I didn't realise we were that important."
	"Well..." Koji began. "The entities have become something of a hot political topic at the moment. The president 
needs to be seen to be doing something about it."
	Alex smiled, "I understand."
	"Please assume landing position, ladies and gentlemen." The pilots voice announced over the com. "We are now 
descending into Washington airport. The local time is 21:36, and the outside temperature is a cool 65 degrees farinheight. 
It is currently raining quite heavily, so appropriate care is advised. Thank you."
	"Brilliant," Alex said as she figured her light causal clothes. "I'm going to get soaked."
	What a shame... Yuki thought to herself with a wide grin.
	"It's only a short distance to the car, you'll be okay." Koji said with a smile.
	"I hope so, Major." Alex said looking at the grin on Yuki's face.
 	The plane suddenly jerked as the wheels hit the ground, and with a whine the engines reversed to slow the craft 
down. When the plane finally cam to a halt, the passengers unstrapped themselves and stood up. Alex stretched briefly to 
returned life to her limbs, and waited for Koji to open the flight door. She caught a glimpse outside.
	"Great," she said. The pilot had not been lying. It was doing more than just raining, it was bloody pouring it 
down.
	Yuki looked out the door and back at Alex. 
	"You're going to be soaked," she said with an almost gleeful expression on her face.
	Alex looked at her and then stuck out her tongue.
	Koji once again was sure that there was more to this conversation than he was getting, but he did not comment. 
He could see the car at the bottom of the stairs and a short distance from the plane.
	"It will be a quick dash I am afraid Ladies."
	"That's fine with me," Yuki said as she pulled her jacket around her. "Lead the way..."
	Alex did not comment but just stared hard at Yuki.
	"Okay, here we go." Koji dashed out into the rain.
	"After you, Alex dearest."
	"Oh shut up, Yuki."

	The car ride to the hotel was over 15 minutes of sheer pleasure for Yuki. The rain had literally plastered Alex's 
clothes to her in a way that left very little for the imagination. Koji, being an accomplished diplomat, carefully kept his 
eyes averted, but Yuki did no such thing. Alex just sat in her seat trying to be dignified with water dripping down her, and 
Yuki looking at her as if she was meat on display in front of a hungry dog. The trip proceeded in silent until to Yuki's 
extreme annoyance they arrived at the hotel.
	"Here we are," Koji said as he prepared to get out.
	"Ah, Major..." Alex said in a careful voice. "Do you think you could get me something... you know..."
	Koji took a close look at her as she went red. "Ah, yes. Of course..." He took off his wet uniform overcoat. "Try 
this."
	The girl flashed him a grin as she wrapped the top around her now semi transparent clothing. Yuki found it 
difficult not to laugh at Alex's predicament, but climbed out of the car after Koji. She looked back at Alex.. 	"Well," 
she said. "You coming..."
	Alex swore at her and then carefully got out. She wrapped the uniform top closely around her as the enter the 
hotel. Inside the lobby was fairly empty much to Alex's relief. She glanced this way and that as she followed the Major 
and Yuki up to the check in desk.
	Koji pulled some papers from his wallet and received two keys from the clerk. He signed a paper and then lead 
the two girls to one of the lifts.
	"Your bags have already been delivered to your rooms. You have two separate suites, Miss Saiko is booked into 
room 1520 and Miss Shadow is booked into the adjoining room 1521. Both rooms are on the 15th floor which has been 
sealed off from the rest of the building, for security purposes. This lift is the only way of accessing that floor, so shall we 
go up."
	Outside the doors to their rooms Koji made one final comment. "After you go in guards will be posted outside, 
so if either of you need anything, simply open the door. The separating door to the rooms can be opened from within, if 
you want. Room service is available and anything that you order will be checked before it is bought in. I will be by at 
about 11:00 tomorrow to pick you up. So I hope you have a good night and I will see you tomorrow."
	"Oh we will," Yuki said with a smile.
	Alex took her key and opened the door. She took the uniform off and handed it back to Koji, before quickly 
slipping in and closing the door. Once she had locked the door her switched on the lights and immediately headed for the 
bathroom. She took a quick moment to look over the suite as she hunted for the bathroom and her luggage. Suite was a 
good name. It had 4 separate rooms, consisting of a luxury bedroom, a marble bathroom with spa, a spacious main room 
and what appeared to be a game room, or something like it. Once Alex had located the bathroom her pulled off her soaked 
clothes and started to dry herself off with a towel. When she was nearly done, she heard the voice of Yuki call out.
	"Hey Alex, where are you?"
	"Here, in the bathroom," she said as she wrapped the towel around her.
	"Oh, there you are." Yuki walked into the room. She took a brief moment to look around. "Not bad," she said.
	"It's better than that Yuki," Alex commented.
	"Indeed." Yuki looked at Alex for a moment, and then exerted her power. Alex's towel dropped to the ground.
	"Yuki..." Alex said.
	"Shhh," Yuki said and concentrated again. Behind them the spa suddenly kicked into life. Yuki reached down to 
her own clothes and quickly discarded them. She pointed at the spa. 
	"In, now," she ordered.
	Alex looked at the towel. "I just got dry..."
	"In!" Yuki repeated.
	"Yes Master," Alex said with a grin and marched over to the spa. Slowly she lowered herself into the hot water. 
The bubbles caressed her skin in a delightfully naughty way, as Yuki slid into the water after her. Yuki pulled Alex back 
against her and slowly began to massage her shoulders. Alex let out a sigh of pleasure as Yuki's hands relaxed the tension 
and stiffness out of her. She closed her eyes and let herself fall back against Yuki. Yuki wrapper her legs around Alex's 
waist and pulled her against her chest. She let her Alex's head rest against her shoulder and hung her arms around her 
lover's neck. She closed her eyes and lay back simply enjoying just the close presence of Alex and the soothing affect of 
the bubbling water. For the moment, that was all she wanted, or needed.
	"Alex..." Yuki said as she nuzzled Alex's hair.
	"Hmm..." Alex said, feeling very warm very relaxed.
	"Alex... do you... do you love me..."
	"Silly..." Alex looked her and smiled, "of course I do..."
	"Good."
	Alex pushed her head against Yuki's neck. "Forever..." she said.
	Silence.
	"Alex," Yuki asked again after a while.
	"Hmmm..." Alex said sleepily.
	"You won't ever leave me? Will you?"
	"...No... no..."
	"Alex..."
	"...mmm..."
	"Marry me..."
	"zzzz..."
	"Alex?"
	"..."
	Yuki looked down at the girl on her shoulder. Her eyes were closed and she her face was completely relaxed. 
Yuki sighed, she had just popped the most important question in her life, and the damn girl had fallen asleep! Yuki smiled, 
she shifted her weight slightly to make her more comfortable and then just lay back, holding the sleeping form to her. For 
now, this was enough.

	Alex awoke with a start, as a sharp claw played along her stomach. Gar... she half thought to herself as she tried 
to get her mind to work. The claw passed over her navel and passed down to her groin where it started to play with her 
moist lips. Alex sat straight up.
	"Gar!" She yelled as her eyes came face to face with what was touching her. It was not Gar.
	Alex's mind was unable to accept what it saw standing over her. She could only take in bits as pieces of the form 
which was touching her. The scream almost froze in her mouth, in her mind as the nightmare looked down at her. The 
claws playful dug in and the face moved down towards her. Once how, from somewhere the scream emerged. It was a 
mindless, shriek of insane terror. A shriek that immediately caused the light to come on and Alex to see for the first time 
the true face of what looked down at her.
	Alex awoke with a bolt of terror and cold sweat, the scream almost on her lips.
	"Lights! Lights!" she commanded.
	Obediently the lights in the room flared to life, relieving a totally empty room. 
	"Christ! Shit!" Alex swore as she breathed heavily, the terror of the nightmare beginning to fade. A hand 
suddenly caressed her command, and Alex nearly screamed. Yuki blinked in the sudden light.
	"Alex..." She opened her eyes and saw the form on her lover shaking with barely suppressed terror, and covered 
with sweat. She sat up.
	"Alex? Are you okay?" She reached out to touch the girl's face.
	Alex breathed heavily for a few moments before she managed to get a grip on herself.
	"No, I'm not. Christ! What a nightmare!" She pulled back the sheets on the bed and shakily got to her feet.
	Yuki sat up and got out of bed. She walked over to the shaking girl and embraced her. Alex held her for a 
moment and gradually the horror of the nightmare subsided.
	"Alex? What happened?" Yuki asked gently kissing the still heavily breathing form.
	"A fucken nightmare!" Alex swore. "Christ! It scared the fucken crap out of me!"
	"What kind of nightmare..." Yuki held her protectively.
	Alex slowly began to relax. "Nothing... I can't really remember the details... There was just this... this... thing... 
and a feeling of insane horror... That's all I remember..."
	Yuki held her a moment longer and then said, "how do you feel how?"
	"Like shit warmed up?" she flashed a smile. "Don't worry I'll be fine."
	"Okay... Yuki said uncertainly. She let Alex go and looked at the time on the digital desktop. It only read 
:01:10. 
	"Well, if you're sure you are okay Alex, I'm going back to sleep..."
	"I'll be fine, Yuki. Thanks."
	"Okay," she smiled. "Good night." She closed her eyes within moments was breathing deeper as sleep took her.
	Alex looked at Yuki for a moment, then she picked up more of the hotel provided night-gowns. Wrapping it 
around her she crossed the room and switched off the light. She left the bedroom and entered the main living room. She 
walked over to stand by the main window and looked out onto Washington's night sky. She shivered and wrapped her 
arms around her as the looked out on the city lights below.
	That dream had disturbed her far more than she had let on to Yuki. It had been far too realistic to be just a 
simple nightmare. She could almost still feel... it's... claws from where it had touched her. The sense of panic and 
horror... she shuddered and laid her head against the cold glass in an effort to control herself. She was sure that it had been 
a sending of some kind. Someone, or something had deliberately sent that image to her. Who, or why, she had no idea, but 
somehow she did not think that it had been a friend.
	The art was called dreamcasting. It was the power to place a certain construct into the unconscious mind of 
another person who you knew very well. If the target of it spell had no specific protections in place, then they would see, 
feel and experience exactly what you wanted them to. Taken to the extreme, the art could be fatal for the person receiving 
the dream. The sender was untraceable, and the spells required were very simple.  The reason was it was so unused was 
that the spells required to block a dreamingcast were also extremely easy. The only reason why Alex had not had such a 
defence up, was that the art was unused; or so she thought. It was a mistake that she corrected right now for both herself 
and Yuki. 
	With the protection in place Alex felt slightly better, but she was still worried about who had been responsible 
for such a sending. The simple act of opening herself up to her power and letting it flow through her mind, helped her to 
centre herself. She looked out on the city night life and smiled. A thought came to mind, one that was probably not a very 
good idea, but somehow at that moment, she didn't give a damn.
	She re-entered the bedroom and sat down on the bed, looking down at Yuki. The girl was still out like a light, 
but Alex shook her slightly.
	"Hey, Yuki."
	"Wh..." Yuki moaned. Alex shook her again, and Yuki suddenly sat up.
	"What! Where!" She saw Alex sitting next to her and rubbed her eyes. "What's wrong? Bad dreams still?"
	"No," Alex said with a grin. "I'm going out, how would you like to come with me?"
	"Out?" Yuki whipped her tired brain into shape. Alex was doing it again, acting completely without a thought. 
She sat up.
	"Alex," she began patiently. "We are on a diplomatic mission on behalf of the Japanese government, we cannot 
just skip out into town like a couple of tourists. For crying out girl, keep a sense of proportion."
	"Who's going to know?" Alex said with a mischievous look. "We can be out of here in a few minutes, down 
town for a couple of hours, and then come back. No problems at all!"
	"No," Yuki grabbed Alex's hand. "Look, you may be hyperactive, but I for one am tired. It's a stupid idea, so 
come on back to bed." She smiled coyly, "if you want something to keep you occupied..."
	Alex stopped pouting and smiled. "You know on second thoughts..." Giggling, she took Yuki up on her offer.

	The next morning at 9:30 Koji arrived at the hotel to pick up his two guests. He was accompanied by a couple of 
special agents from the FBI and a member of the Senate committee responsible for this issue. He had been in 
communication with his superiors last night, and had been informed the president was demanding to see the two girls 
today. There had been another attack yesterday in New York, and as a result everyone wanted action now. These entities 
seemed to be totally invulnerable to all but the heaviest of weapons. The attack yesterday had one single entity managing 
to ransack a large city block, with the military being able to do absolutely nothing about it. The state governors, Senate 
and Congress were all screaming for action, and the only hope that the president could offer them, was these two Japanese 
teenagers.
	Koji turned to the Senator and said, "sir, I would suggest you remain here. Miss Saiko and Miss Shadow, are not 
yet aware of the change in plans and there may be a delay as a result. I will try and ensure that it is minimal, but you might 
like to have some coffee here while you wait."
	"I understand Major," the Senator commented with a rue smile. "The president had a similar affect on my plans 
today. Call me when you are ready."
	"Thank you sir, I will.".
	He gestured for the Federal agents to follow him as he went to deliver the bad news.

	Alex was in the middle of breakfast when she was interrupted by a series of knocks on the door.
	"Shit," she said as she was still just wearing just the panties and tee shirt she had slept in. She rushed into the 
bedroom and grabbing a dressing gown ran back over to the door. She pulled it open a crack and looked at whoever was 
outside.
	"Yes?" She peered out.
	"Oh," Koji looked at the half-dressed girl. "I'm so sorry to disturb you Miss Shadow, especially at an 
inconvenient time. However, there has been a change in plans we need to discuss. May I come in."
	Alex gave him a black look. "Wait here for a moment," she said and slammed the door closed. 
	"Spell time..." she said to herself. 
	A minute or so later the door opened, and Alex let Koji in. He did not say anything, but Alex could see him 
wondering where the uniform and freshly washed appearance came from. 
	Let him suffer... Alex thought to herself, as Koji and 3 other suited men entered the room.
	"Well Major," Alex said. "What is it that brings you calling so early?"
	"I am afraid matters have moved on much faster than we had planned for. The president is under pressure from 
all sides, and has called for an emergency meeting in about 2 hours time. Nearly everyone who is involved will be there, 
including the press."
	"The press?" Alex said. "Look, no one said we were going to be a public spectacle."
	"The president needs to be shown doing something, and this is the easiest way. Don't worry, it will only be a 
short press conference in which the president will introduce you, and have a brief answer and question session. You will 
not be expected to discuss what is being done."
	"Now - wait a minute!" Alex stood up. "I have absolutely no intention of standing up infront of an audience and 
being crucified! I am here to fight entities, not be a scapegoat."
	"It's not like that," Koji tried to say.
	"NO!" Alex said. "That's final!"
	"Oh?" Koji said. "Perhaps Miss Saiko?"
	Alex grinned evilly. "Unless everyone is able to speak Japanese then I don't think Yuki will either. Look, neither 
of us where too thrilled about being ordered out here on short notice, but we are here. Point us at the entities and we can 
help, but we are not here to do politicking."
	"Okay, okay... I get the message," Koji said. "The president will not be pleased but she'll have to do something 
else. I assume you are willing to at least be introduced in a press conference?"
	"As long as we don't have to put ourselves on display, then okay."
	"Fine, that will just have to do," Koji said.
	"Is there any agenda to this meeting, or anything that we some be aware of," Alex said. "It's not like either of use 
have any experience doing this sort of thing..."
	"I am afraid I don't know the specifics of what will be discussed. All I know is that the purpose is to discuss 
what if anything we can do about these attacks. You will probably be asked about what entities are, what they are capable 
of, and how do we stop them. Beyond that I can only really guess. Agent Crowler here may know more..."
	One of the agents suddenly heard his name mentioned and looked up at the two. As Koji and Alex had been 
speaking in Japanese he had no idea what the conversation was about.
	"Agent Crowler," Koji switched to English. "Let me introduce to you Lt. Alexandra Shadow, of the Japanese 
Special Forces."
	Alex raised her eyebrows, when had she become a lieutenant? 
	"Pleased... met it...  Shadow Alexandra," Crowler attempted in very crude Japanese.
	Alex winced at the attempted and held out her hand to the man. "It's ok," she said. "I can speak perfect English."
	"Ah," Crowler said in relief. "Then I am pleased you Miss Shadow." He held out his hand which Alex shook. 
"Now, how can I help?"
	"Well," Alex started. "We were talking about what this meeting with the president this morning is actually going 
to be about. Major..."
	"Call me Koji, please."
	"...Koji, was telling me something about what the meeting might involve, but he said you generally know more 
about what is happened."
	"Ah, yes," Crowler said. "I'm afraid I don't know that much as the meeting was only called at very short notice, 
but I do know that all the top brass - both from military and civil authorities will be there. I believe it will also include the 
Senate committee and the senior cabinet."
	"Hold on," Alex butted in. "How many people are going to be there?"
	"Well, the final number has not been confirmed, but I think it is planned to be well over 40 people altogether."
	"40?" Alex's voice was incredulous. "Oh boy... and what are we supposed to be doing here?"
	"I'm not sure. Answering questions I believe."
	"Oh... fun..." Alex looked at Koji. "Since Yuki can't speak English I suppose I will be doing all the talking."
	"I can interpret for her, if need be."
	"Oh," Alex said with a grimace. "When Yuki finds out I think she will want me to do talking. She's not exactly 
into that sort of thing."
	"You don't need to worry about it," Crowler tried to reassure her. "No one expects you to have all the answers. 
All you need to do is just to help clarify, with your own experiences what entities are and what we can do to stop them."
	Alex shuddered, remembering the scenes she had witnessed only a week or so go. "I don't think you want to 
hear about all my experiences," she said. "Lately they have not been... pleasant..."
	"What do you mean?" Crowler asked before he caught the sick look on the girl's face.
	Alex looked away and took a moment before she answered. "The last major entity incident I witnessed... was 
not... pleasant. You must understand, they are demons - chaotic and evil. For them, pain and suffering is a means to itself. 
Two weeks ago, entities attacked a major shopping and business district in Tokyo. The entities..." she closed her eyes as 
she remembered. "The entities were ripping apart and eating anyone they caught... I was the only one able to help... it 
was... ugly. Sorry, I don't think I want to talk about that..."
	The four men looked at her with expressions of both disbelieve and horror. 
	"How?" Koji began, then his voice faded.
	"Yes..." Alex said. "Now you are beginning to understand the type of things we are up against. I have only been 
involved with this for less than 2 months. Yuki has been dealing with it for almost 2 years. Ever since Katsumi... Ever 
since the beginning of this year, the viciousness of the attacks have increased beyond anything either she, or the others 
have experienced."
	"Why?" Another of the agents asked.
	"We... we don't really know," Alex lied. Rally had been quite specific about not telling anyone about Katsumi's 
treachery, or of its affect.
	"But you must suspect something..."
	Alex shifted uncomfortably, she had never been a good liar. The entrance of Yuki into the room saved her from 
any further embarrassment.
	"Hey,  sexy look at..." Yuki begun and then suddenly noticed all the others in the room. She stood dead, and 
looked at them, and then looked down at the new sexy black lingerie she was going to tease Alex with.
	"YYYAAAAHHHH!!!!!" She screamed out blue murder and rushed for her apartment.
	Her scream echoed throughout the room, and bought immediate reaction from the guards outside. 5 guards 
rushed in weapons at the ready. Two of them hit Yuki full on, knock the poor girl over. One of the guards instinctively 
tried to catch hold of her as she fell.
	RIP! Alex closed her eyes at the sound, while the guard looked dumbfoundedly at the black silky thing he held 
in his hand. Yuki looked at what he held and herself. Her mouth opened wide...
	"YYYYAAAAHHHH!!!!!!"

	Koji tried not to grimace as he very slowly lowered himself into the car. His ribs felt like they had been punched 
black and blue, and he doubted that his face looked much better. At least, he told himself, he had no broken bones. The 
same could not be said of Crowler and the two other guards who had fallen victim to Yuki's psionic panic attack. If he had 
not seen it he would not have believed it, but now he could understand something of the power that these two girls had at 
their disposal.
	Alex sat next to a very quiet Yuki, and decided it would be better not to say anything about what had just 
happened. She did not think that the still fuming girl would appreciate the numerous comments, that were just on the tip of 
her tongue. Personally, Alex had been very impressed with the... ah... restrained nature of Yuki's reaction. Only two 
people had been seriously injured when her power went on the rampage, and only the main room of the hotel suite had 
been trashed. Alex hated to think what would have happened if it had been Kiddy...
	Alex shot a glance at Yuki and winced. The girl still looked like she wanted to rip something apart. The black 
cloud of wounded pride that loomed on her face threatened to exploded into a lightning storm at any provocation. Alex did 
not think that was something that would be appreciated in the meeting that they were just heading for. She had a feeling 
that both of them were going to be questioned very aggressively and in Yuki's present mood, Alex did not like to think 
what the result of that might be. She had to do something to calm Yuki down, at least to a level where speaking to her 
would not get you thrown against a wall. 
	Yuki sat completely still, as her mind replayed in infinite detail, the fact that over 9 complete strangers had just 
ogled her body. She fact that one of those strangers was just sitting opposite, did not help her put that fact from her mind. 
What made this even worst was that the extremely expensive and extremely naughty lacy that she had been intending to 
tense Alex with, was now completely destroyed. She felt her rage begin to build again and...
	Two hands suddenly grabbed her face and pulled it around. A pair of wet, warm and silky lips impacted onto 
hers and sucked, very hard. For a moment, Yuki was utterly confused, but then she began to melt into those lips, and her 
rage vanished like morning mist. Koji's eyes popped out as he suddenly put two and two together, and a lot of things 
suddenly became much clearer. Why, for example, Yuki had been wearing such a lacy attire in the first place. His face 
coloured, and he looked politely away, trying to ignore what the two were doing.
	Yuki was just beginning to get started when Alex suddenly broke the kiss and pulled back.
	"Wha..." Yuki said trying to get her hormones under control.
	Alex's emerald eyes looked at hers, and she smiled. "Are you feeling better now?"
	Yuki took a deep breath, and told her now active libido to calm down. Her rage had just been replaced by 
another, almost as equally intense emotion. An emotion that focused exclusively on the smaller form next to her.
	"Alex..." she said as she pulled the girl back towards her.
	"Ah, Yuki..." Alex said, going bright red. "I don't think this is really the time or the place, for that sort of 
thing..."
	Yuki's face fell as she suddenly realised what Alex meant. Her eyes flickered over to Koji, who was still trying 
his best to not be there, and she sighed.
	"Damn it girl. Why do you have to make promises you can't fulfil..." Reluctantly, she led her hands fall and then 
said. "You are going to be very busy tonight, very busy."
	Alex rolled her eyes but did not say anything.
	Koji decided he did not want to know where this conversation was heading, so he looked down at the manicured 
gardens and parks that the car flew over on its way to the White House. Thanks to the traffic control priority that the car 
had, they should arrive with luck at the White House in less than 20 minutes. They had a preliminary meeting with the 
presidential staff about 20 minutes after they arrived, so the schedule was tight. 
	"Koji?"
	"Eh, what?" He looked up startled at the mention of his name.
	"Oh," Alex said. "You doing something?"
	"No," he relied. "Sorry, go ahead."
	"I was just saying that this is our first time in Washington. It's a very different city from Tokyo. It's so... 
manicured."
	"Oh," Koji asked. "How so?"
	"Well, Tokyo to begin with is far bigger, and is far more functional. All I can see from here is just parks and 
pretty buildings. Everything seems so controlled..."
	"Well, I suppose you could say that. Washington is almost exclusively devoted to the Federal government these 
days. As such, it has really more of a display, rather than a functional purpose. Of course, it has not been subject to the 
same disasters that Tokyo has."
	Alex grinned ruefully, "ain't that the truth..."
	"Look down there," Koji said pointing to a large modern stone and glass building. "That is the last building that 
was allowed to be built, and that was over 10 years ago. The controls on what can be done, and what can't is so tight that 
no one bothers these days. New parks, and monuments open every year, but actual useful buildings - no way."
	The three of them spent the rest of the flight learning about the history of the city, and how the modern US 
government worked. Alex did not find the discussion of much interest and simply watched the city as it passed by. She 
closed her eyes and tried to relax her nerves. In less than 1 hour and a 30 minutes she would be standing in front of 
roughly 50 people and trying to answer a barrage of questions. It was not something that she was looking forward too.
	-Why do you protect these fools, Lady?- 
	Alex's eyes shot open and she sat up.
	-Your place is ruling these mortals, not serving them.-
	"What!?!" Alex exclaimed.
	Yuki and Koji suddenly looked at Alex. 
	"What's up Alex?" Yuki asked.
	"Didn't you hear that, Yuki?" Alex looked confused. "Someone was..."
	-Cast off your chains, Lady. Join us-
	-Join us, Lady... You belong to us...-
	"No..." Alex clamped her hands to her head.
	-Join us... Join us-
	"Go away! Leave me alone!"
	-Join us... Join us-
	-JOIN US.-
	"NO!" Alex screamed as the voice ripped through her mind.
	"ALEX!" Yuki yelled, grabbing at her partner as she collapsed to the floor screaming. "ALEX!"
	The screaming suddenly stopped and Alex went limp.
	Yuki went cold at the silence, "Alex?" She shook the limp form. "Alex! ALEX!!"

	Alex was floating in a see of darkness. She could feel nothing, see nothing, except the blackness.
	-You have come, Lady. Welcome.-
	-What? Where am I? Who are you?- 
	-Hahaha... One question at a time, my dear.-
	A figure suddenly appeared near Alex. He was clothed in a dark robe, and had long flowing grey hair. He 
smiled at Alex and reached out to touch her hair. Alex tried to brush the hand away, but she found she could not moved, 
could not even flinch
	-My name Lady, is Maximillian Ganossa... I believe you are familiar with me, yes?-
	Alex went cold at the name. This was the man who had originally served, and then betrayed his Master - Gigelf 
Liquer. This was the man who had seduced Katsumi over to the side of Nemesis, the man who wanted to rule it all.
	-What do you want?-
	-Very simple, my Lady, I want you...-
	-Dream on- Alex commented dryly.
	-We shall see...- Ganossa commented with a laugh. -Katsumi once thought like you. She once cared for these 
pathetic humans, but I helped her to see the true. I helped her to embrace her true destiny, and now I will help you. The 
Truth is painful, but you must...-
	-FUCK OFF!- Alex desperately tried to reach her power, but it was simply not there.
	-Good, hate me...- Ganossa said with a smile. -Love, compassion, they mean nothing... Only in hate is there 
power.-
	-Look- Ganossa said, and suddenly a picture of Yuki holding Alex's limp form appeared. Alex could see that 
Yuki was yelling something, her expression almost desperate.
	-This is the weakness of Love. This is the weakness of humanity. Look closely child, and learn...-
	--Hate, love, anger, fear, compassion...-- A soft voice suddenly whispered in Alex's mind.
	-This is what...-
	--Strength, weakness... they are all one, child. They are all one...-- 
	The soft voice echoed through Alex's mind, drowning out everything that was being said by Ganossa. It seemed 
to carry an almost infinite age, and sadness with it. Alex was sure she had heard that voice...
	-...you must release...-
	--If you deny one child, then you deny all. Wholeness.--
	Ganossa held his hands out, building up to some sort of crescendo, but Alex was no longer paying him any 
attention.
	--You are loved child, embrace it. No matter what, embrace it--
	Alex was suddenly filled with a feeling of power, which was beyond her comprehension to understand. That 
power gently guided her to the blackness that was blocking her abilities.
	--Wholeness-- The voice said as Alex could suddenly see and understand the nature of the spell that Ganossa 
had used to trap her in this place. She could almost have laughed, it was so simple. The construct simply forced her to 
deny her own power. The stronger her belief, the greater the wall.
	--Wholeness. Truth. Illusion. Betrayal. Memories .Pain. Love..-- 
	Alex felt that the voice was telling her something of immense importance. -I don't understand...-
	-Humanity is weakness- Ganossa commented at the girl's question. -Let go of your Love, your weakness and 
embrace the hate.-
	Alex could feel that Ganossa was focusing his power on the image of Yuki. Somehow she knew that...
	-GO TO HELL!- She yelled as she ripped at the barrier of self-delusion that separated her from all that she was. 
The power flooded through her mind, through her soul - the power that made her whole. Screaming her denial of Ganossa, 
her body suddenly blazed with a white aura that made the man scream with pain and try to shield his eyes.
	-FUCKEN DIE!!!- She screamed as her power blasted at the cowering form. The blackness shattered with an 
explosion of energy that made Alex cry out herself.
	"Alex!" 
	A hot, wet face was suddenly pressing against hers, and Alex could hear Yuki's sobs of relief.
	"Alex! Alex! You're alive!" Yuki hugged the suddenly gasping girl to her. She laughed and cried at the same 
time, as her heart was overrun with emotion.
	"Yuki?" Alex tried to say, as she opened her eyes.
	"Alex!" Yuki latched her lips on to Alex, and simply cried.
	Koji did not know what was happening but ordered the driver to continue to the hospital as fast as possible. The 
fit or whatever it was that the girl had had was passed, but...
	Yuki broke off the kiss and looked down at the person that meant everything to her. Alex looked back up at her 
and attempted a weak smile.
	"Marry me!" Yuki suddenly blurted out.
	What?
	"Marry me - Alex..."
	Alex took a moment to comprehend what it was that Yuki was saying. Marry? but how? such a thing... was 
it possible...
	A tear from Yuki's eyes suddenly hit her on the face, and Alex looked up at the quivering girl above her. She 
looked at those glorious tear filled eyes... Wholeness... 
	**You are loved child, embrace it. No matter what, embrace it** She remembered those strange words, 
**Truth... Pain... Love... **
	"Yuki?" she said, and in that one word she put all that she was.
	Yuki heard the word, and what it meant. She felt lightheaded. She was home at last, now she was whole.

	Ganossa swore in pain as the construct that he had used to entrap the girl was destroyed. He felt a trickle of 
something running down his face, and was slightly surprised to see he was bleeding.
	"Well, well, well..." he said to himself. "A very interesting girl indeed..."
	He smiled, this one would be a challenge...

	The figure smiled, and for almost a moment a tear threatened to roll down the unchanging face. The figure 
touched her eyes in surprise. Perhaps, she was becoming too involved in this story. Already she had interfered twice, 
twisting her original intention beyond what she had planned. Why? Why did these two remind her so much of?
	The figure knew the answer; she was sentimental that was why. She had changed the story because she had 
needed to. In these two figures, she saw a replaying of her own past. A past, no matter how hard she tried she could never 
forget. Why could she not forget it? She had lived for countless Cycles since that time, so why could she not accept what 
had happened and move on. She needed to face it, she had to accept it and let it go. Possibly, that was why she had 
originally been drawn here by that human scream - to face her past and move on. She had spoken of choices to the child 
called Alex, now she herself had one to make. She looked back at the two children... Perhaps, before she could make it, 
she needed to experience the warmth of love one more; experience it, while she still could...