A World of War
"Let go! You can't do this! I am the Galaxy Police, and I WILL stop you! Darn it, Mihoshi!"
Cursing and spouting nonsense, Kiyone lashed out at the silent guards that held her. It was no use--they threw her into a cell in the basement of the mansion and left her. She immediately began testing the bars, to no avail. "MIHOSHIIIIIIIII!"
"Why didn't Kiyone and Mihoshi show up for dinner?" Ayeka asked as the group lounged around, waiting for the two to return.
"Reminds me of that time I was building Mecha-Washu," Washu said, "and I missed two days' worth of meals before Tenchi came to get me. I bet they got caught up in their work, too."
"Mihoshi?" Ryoko said. She nearly fell over laughing. "Kiyone I can understand, but Mihoshi? NO WAY!"
At that moment Tenchi entered. "Ryo-Ohki and Sasami just left to go find them. Guys, I'm worried."
Ayeka, Ryoko, and Washu looked at each other, then up at Tenchi. "You're right," Ryoko said, serious once more. "Where were they going? I'll check it out."
"Panoko Mansion," he said. Ryoko teleported instantly. At that moment, Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, and Mihoshi entered.
"Hiya guys! Is all the soup gone? Hey, why are you looking at me like that?" Mihoshi backed up a step. "Guys? Is somethin' wrong?"
"Where's Kiyone?"
"Kiyone? Oh, she went down that one passageway. I came home cuz I got hungry, but I got lost and Ryo-Ohki found me. Why?"
"You IDIOT!" Washu shouted, leaping to her feet. "Kiyone isn't MAGICAL! She can't get herself out of these messes! Who knows what happened! I was researching a few months ago, and no one who enters Panoko alone comes out alive!"
"But she didn't go in alone," Mihoshi said, confused.
Washu sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Why try to explain anything to you? Listen up, everyone else. If Ryoko comes back without Kiyone--" Ryoko suddenly appeared, shaking her head sadly-- "Oooooookay...we have to go find Kiyone, and fast. Panoko is deadly, you guys. There's nothing a genius--or a space pirate, or a princess, or a brainless Galaxy Police agent--can do alone. We're all in this together, right?"
"That's right!" everyone shouted.
"This canNOT be happening," Kiyone muttered through clenched teeth. "This CAN-NOT be happening! Mihoshiiii!" She slumped down against the back of her small prison. Hours had flown by, and no Mihoshi. No anyone, in fact; no guards, no torturers, no NOTHING.
They were trying to break her will, and would have succeeded had Kiyone not been so used to having her will broken by Mihoshi's mishaps. In fact, it was nice not to listen to the blond's aimless chatter. The absence of it reminded Kiyone that her impossibly dumb partner must have gotten safely away.
And that, at least, was something.
"Forget what I said about being in this together," Ayeka whispered. Panoko was, as Sasami said, 'ginormous!' They had no hope of finding Kiyone--or anyone else--in there.
"We are going to see this through," Ryoko growled, hurling another ball of fire at the door. "Dang! Too bad there wasn't a lock inside, or we would be IN there! Oh, wait...here we go!" The door swung open, nearly off its hinges. Ryoko floated in, followed closely by Washu and Tenchi. Ayeka ran after her love, although Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, and Mihoshi hung back, as though truly afraid of the building.
"Sasami!" Washu said softly as the others ran forward, searching frantically. "You and Ryo-Ohki stay here. Guard the door. If anyone goes in or out, send the...the...well...what IS Ryo-Ohki?"
"A cabbit. You didn't know that?" Sasami said. Washu blushed. "I understand. We'll stay out of sight. Good luck with Kiyone!"
Washu nodded. She turned and ran to the others, leaving the cabbit and girl behind.
Kiyone slumped down against her prison wall and buried her face in her hands. She felt so lost. Something yanked on her mind; she FELT her friends enter this place. Sasami and Ryo-Ohki stopped moving. After a second, they disappeared altogether.
"NOT THAT WAY!" the policewoman cried as the larger group turned. They were heading AWAY from the dungeons! And with Mihoshi, they might give up...
"No..."
"Ryo-Ohki?"
"Mrow?"
"Do you get the feeling we aren't where we were anymore?"
"Miaow!"
"I thought so. Washu! Ayeka! Are you there? Ryo-Ohki, go find them! I'm scared, and I want to go home, but we need a guard..."
"Mrowmrow!" Ryo-Ohki scampered off.
They were heading for a large door when the darkness came. It swirled around them, then took off for the doors.
"Sasami!" everyone yelled. Suddenly Tenchi drew the dagger he had grabbed as they left, missing his sword sorely. He glared at the cloaked man who had appeared before them.
"Who are you?"
"Mahano. You wish to fight?" The demon shot forward, bringing his long broadsword down on Tenchi's dagger.
"Girls, get out of here! Find Kiyone! If--when--I win, I'll go help Sasami!"
Ayeka and Ryoko both opened their mouths in protest, but Washu hurried them along. "Kiyone is probably in more trouble," she reminded them.
"I dunno 'bout that," Mihoshi said worriedly.
The other women shook their heads and went on. They owed their lives to Kiyone; it was she who had killed that monster two weeks before.
Kiyone hugged her knees to her chest. It was cold, and getting colder by the minute. She saw and felt darkness sweep past. Tenchi fought it; the others moved on, still in the wrong direction. Tenchi vanished. His presence had been comforting.
The darkness was back. It wrapped around the blue-haired girl, taking her deeper. She screamed out at her friends, meaningless but one word: "MIHOSHI!"
Then she lost awareness altogether.
"Kiyone!" Mihoshi shouted suddenly. "Kiyone, where are you?"
"What--"
"I heard her! I heard her call my name! She's scared, she's so frightened of whatever has her!"
Washu, Ayeka, and Ryoko looked at each other. Something had Kiyone? The darkness, maybe? It had been ten minutes, and no sign of the missing members of the team.
Ayeka gulped and felt around with the few psychic powers she possessed. "Sasami's gone. Ryo-Ohki and Tenchi too. It was the darkness." She felt further. "Kiyone's in the other direction, but there are six guards. If we each take one and lose, we would never get to her." She reached as deep as she could force herself to go. "There is an alternate route, which would take us past three of the six. That would leave one person to get Kiyone."
Mihoshi sighed. "It better be me, hadn't it? You three have SOME experience--I don't. I can, however, slip past things unnoticed, and pick locks, and aim and shoot, and other things, much as Kiyone thinks I can't. I have a revolver with me."
"Mihoshi it is, then," Washu said, still looking doubtful.
"Sasami!"
The sky-blue-haired girl threw herself into Tenchi's arms. "Oh, Tenchi, I was scared we were alone! Good job, Ryo-Ohki!"
"In a way, we are. That dark thing--it took me. We aren't in Panoko anymore. We have to find our way back."
Sasami began to cry softly. This was not the miracle she had wished for. Tenchi couldn't make everything better.
They were trapped here forever.
"If you TOUCH my Tenchi, or THINK about touching my Tenchi--"
"Nothing makes that girl fight better than Tenchi," Ryoko remarked. A little motivation, and they had left Ayeka calling down curses on the first guard. Now they walked down a passage lined with mirrors.
"OW!"
"Dang it!"
"Stop banging into me!"
"I thought you were a reflection!"
The cries from behind were enough to wake the dead. Ryoko flew back and slapped Washu and Mihoshi. "Shush your mouth, Mihoshi! As for you, Washu, get out in front. I should be last to fight, y'know, since I'm most powerful."
Washu reached with her mind, connected with Ayeka's--a trick she had learned two months before--and felt. There, up ahead lay the guard. "You two get down that passage. He looks sharp. You'll still get into that room; he just won't see you. Then go straight through the next room--it isn't really a guard, I don't know WHAT it is. Mihoshi, your path is clear from there." She ran ahead, not even realizing that somewhere around 'I don't know WHAT it is' Ayeka's presence had vanished...completely.
"You too, Ayeka?" Sasami said glumly as the older female appeared.
"Washu will be next. Then Ryoko. Then, if at all, Mihoshi and Kiyone." The princess sighed. "So this is where you ended up."
"Feel for them," Tenchi suggested.
"Mrow! Mi miOW!" Ryo-Ohki said angrily, which translated to, "I'm hungry! Give me some carrots!"
Ayeka ignored him and turned to her power. A map had overlaid Panoko; she searched it and saw Washu tumble in out of nowhere. Moving her inner vision, she found Panoko--distorted and ruined.
"I think we're in trouble..."
"That was TOO easy," Ryoko said to Mihoshi as they started down into the cellar. Ryoko had easily beaten the guard--which turned out to be an obstacle course that she fluttered right through. Mihoshi followed, pure luck allowing her through.
Suddenly a stair shifted. The two women stared at each other, then ducked. Even so, Ryoko landed on the other side of the barrier.
"Somethin's wrong, I can't get through!" Ryoko yelled. Mihoshi paled. Kiyone was counting on her now...
~It's all up to me now. I can give up, or I can go on. I must. This isn't easy...~ The floor moved beneath her.
~My partner needs me. The one time she can't help herself, I deserted her. I owe Kiyone my life. We all do. Everyone is counting on me. Not just Kiyone.~ A cracking noise accompanied the earthquake this time.
~I have to do it. I must. If I don't Kiyone will die. This is my chance.~ This time, as the ground split, Mihoshi was ready. In one of her better moves, she flipped away and landed at the bottom of the staircase.
"Mihoshi--" Ryoko's voice was choked. The blond ran up the stairs. "Mihoshi, I can't move my leg, and I think someone is coming..."
Mihoshi gasped. Thinking was not her strong point! Then she remembered Kiyone's words several weeks before: "These bullets can tear through rock. They are expensive, and they are MINE. DO NOT TOUCH THEM."
Needless to say, six of the special bullets rested in the revolver.
Mihoshi raised her gun and fired three bullets. The first two tore through the wall and hit nothing. The third smashed the wall beyond. Another one brought it crashing down.
"Now grab one of the rocks and chip away, I have to get to Kiyone!" She raced back down the stairs.
Kiyone had given up on her friends when she felt someone gently shake her. The darkness had ripped through her mind, tearing through all the good memories. She shook her head. The shaking persisted.
"Please, Kiyone, don't be dead..."
She nearly choked as she realized what the other already knew--she wasn't even breathing anymore. She pressed down on her lungs. ~Inhale, exhale,~ she reminded them. ~C'mon. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...breathe, darn it! Look at me, telling myself to--~
She was jolted out of any thoughts as a rush of air flowed through her lungs. They hadn't remembered how on their own; the rescuer had shown them. Kiyone coughed as her vision cleared.
"Thank you," she heard someone say in a relieved tone. A flash of pale blue eyes, a lock of blond hair...
"Mi...Mihoshi..."
Kiyone felt relief flood her body. She moaned and flew into her partner's arms. "You DO have brains," she whispered. "Oh--I'm so sorry...oh, Mihoshi!"
"Come on, Kiyone. Let's go home."
"Where are the others?"
Ryoko's still angry voice floated to them from somewhere above. "I could use a little bit of help here! And the others are gone--vanished right out of this world."
The Galaxy Police agents looked at each other and ran up the stairs to free Ryoko.
"I believe I told you idiots to get rid of all of them!" she snapped angrily. "There are three left, three miserable little brats! Why must I be the only one of the Cassara with any brains?"
"Because you are our leader," the demon said humbly.
"You think that I do not know this fact?" She stood up and waved her hands. "There. They are all together on Alternya. Now they will meet the wrath of Star, leader of the Cassara!"
"Ryoko! Mihoshi! KIYONE!"
Sasami flew into Kiyone's arms. "Oh, we were so WORRIED, can we go home now?"
"This isn't Earth," Ryoko hissed. "I think--it's Alternya."
"Which is?" Ayeka prompted.
"Alternya is an alternate reality. There is no way to get back to Earth except for the one who brought you here."
"So who brought us here?" Tenchi asked quietly.
Star sighed and kicked a drunk guard out of her way. Of the four creatures following her, she could trust only one. And what if her magic wasn't enough to stop them?
~Nonsense,~ she thought fiercely. ~My magic is fine. Anyway, Diamond will never fail me. I am the leader of the Cassara, after all.~
Her essence, what kept her who she was even through the Cassara's evil, replied, ~Yes. STAR is the leader. But you are not yourself any longer, and Diamond knows it. She--and I--will do anything to get you back. And destroy the Cassara in the process.~
"Kiyone, something is wrong, and if you won't tell us what it is, we will leave you behind!" Washu said in one of her rare angry tones. Kiyone and everyone else stopped short to face the mad scientist, who was extremely mad right now.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kiyone said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, yes, you do! You are limping and you are lagging behind and you have blood on your leg!"
Kiyone blushed and looked at her blood-soaked uniform. "Sounds like you already know what's wrong, and besides, I-AM-FINE."
Washu shook her head angrily and strode onwards. After careful deliberation, they had decided to go to the large chapel area of the Alternya version of Panoko, in hopes that whatever higher being was worshipped there would give them a hand.
"She's right, you know," Ryoko said gently. Kiyone bit her lip. "If you don't let us help you, it's likely you won't make it. We HAVE to battle, so we can get back."
"Not like I have anything to go back to, not with Mihoshi as my partner," Kiyone said grimly.
"She's smart. She saved my life AND yours."
"She was useless in that battle with that thing two weeks ago."
Ryoko sighed. "You saved her life then; she saved your life today. You two are even." The space pirate grinned as a fireball formed in one hand. "If you say one more word about it, I'll blast you and you'll NEVER be able to get promoted."
Kiyone shook her head angrily and hurried on, trying in vain to hide her limp.
Diamond yawned, showing sharp fangs. Star clamped one hand down on her pet's head and held the other three back with the other. "Diamond, SHH! That one woman is with them--" She grinned-- "the one that's almost sane. She beat your brother, let us not forget."
~Oh, yes, and he was a useless creature anyway.~ Diamond glared at her master. ~Star, the Essence is right! Listen to it, would you?! But if you won't, I shall fight at your side. We all will.~
"You have to," the human muttered.
~Well!~ Ruby said angrily. ~You seem to think that you can just wave your hand and POOF, bye-bye Cassara. That isn't true!~
~There's a reason you don't keep a lightning fighter, isn't there?~ Sapphire asked. ~So we can't combine elements and bring the REAL Star back!~
Pain seared through Sapphire and Ruby's bodies. They screamed out in pain. Star clenched her fist, and the ache vanished. "I would suggest you pay more attention to what I want in the future," she said. Flame struck out at Emerald. "Don't you dare say anything, either! I could kill you all if I felt like it!"
~Yes, Master,~ Emerald said humbly.
Sapphire, easily the most rebellious water fighter in Star's army, lashed out at her master. Star grit her teeth and said nothing as her friend's claws tore into her arm. She waved already numb fingers and made Sapphire cry out again.
"Do NOT defy me," the human said grimly, putting a touch of will into her command. Sapphire bowed, shaking and whimpering.
Sasami moved closer to Ayeka as an unearthly shriek filled the air. Tenchi grabbed at his dagger as a fireball appeared in Ryoko's hand. Mihoshi raised her gun when she saw Kiyone raise hers. "Who's there?" Washu called out, feeling defenseless without her inventions.
"Meow," Ryo-Ohki said sadly. Someone was being hurt.
Kiyone's torn leg trembled and threatened to give way altogether. ~Stop it!~ the woman ordered angrily. ~You can't show the others that you're hurting!~
Ayeka narrowed her eyes as another scream ripped the air. "The poor creature," she whispered. "We must help it!"
Kiyone shuddered. Something here felt downright wrong. ~I must be losing blood,~ she realized. ~Oh well. We'll be home s-soon...and then...~
She never finished the thought. Darkness pulled at her, welcoming her. She shivered as her leg quivered. She collapsed, but before anyone noticed and dragged her out of harm's way, a bolt of black lightning shot down and stole her away.
"Kiyone." The voice sounded evil, yet somehow relaxing. Kiyone opened her eyes and instantly saw an almost-identical replica of her monster. It came up to her waist, a white cat-like creature with long ears and tail. Amethyst-colored eyes were slanted in warning. A shimmering white gem glowed on its forehead. Kiyone shuddered as it turned its gaze away from her blue eyes and looked at her torn leg. It muttered a sad note and turned to another thing.
This one was a blue cat with a mermaid's tail instead of its own and its back legs. Large black eyes looked out from under deep blue fur. The indigo gem on its tail flickered, then glowed. Kiyone looked away. When she turned back, it shook its head and looked at another one.
This was all red. It wasn't a cat, but a dog with a cat's lashing tail. The red jewel on it had stationed itself on the right forepaw. Dark scarlet eyes looked the human over, then saddened.
The last one walked forward and sat at her feet. She noted then that she was tied to a wall in what looked a lot like Washu's lab. This one was green and had an emerald at the tip of a tail. There were three tails in all, more like vines. Deep blue eyes glanced up at her. She caught and held this one's gaze.
Whether she somehow sensed that it could help her or whether she simply wanted to see its eyes, no one ever knew. Its eyes lit up, and it rubbed up against her leg. She instantly felt her skin grow back together. It squealed in pleasure.
"Truly, I should have been terrified if ONE of them hadn't been able to do it," the evil voice whispered. "Though I thought it would be my Sapphire..."
Kiyone stared in shock at the girl that appeared before her, hands on hips. She was no more than fifteen, obviously, and wearing a uniform with a dark black sign imprinted on the chest. Her hair swept to her waist, a rich blue color. She grinned. "Little Kiyone. First class officer of the Galaxy Police. Not anymore, dove."
"Who are you?" Kiyone asked. She got a nasty surprise when her captor held up her own gun and fired an experimental shot.
"Hmm. Good gun, misfit. I am Star, the leader of the Cassara, an evil organization that intends to take over the galaxy. And YOU will not stop me."
Kiyone was blunt. "You're a child."
Star's rich black eyes snapped. "Never call me a child," she hissed. She fired at Sapphire, who shrieked with rage and pain. "I'm still paying her back for what she did to me." Kiyone saw then bandages wrapped loosely around Star's arm. A wave of what Mihoshi called duty's calling swept over Kiyone.
"I could get those bandages on right for you," she said. Biting her lip, she added, "I owe you for what..."
"Emerald."
"Emerald did for me."
Star's eyes narrowed. "I refuse to place any trust in my captives. What? Oh, Ruby, don't be such an idiot. Of course we can't trust her. She probably has more weapons. Yes, Diamond, I KNOW that the darkness tried to defeat her and take her weapons. It failed, didn't it? And you--" She glared at Sapphire-- "NEVER interrupt your master." Lightning lanced from her pointed finger at the blue creature. Then the girl disappeared, taking Ruby with her.
"Finally!" Sapphire said. "I thought she'd never leave."
"You can talk?!" Kiyone gasped.
"Yeah. We speak mind-to-mind with Star. She doesn't know we can communicate with other humans."
Kiyone saw the pain flickering in Sapphire's eyes. "Let me down, I can probably help you out."
"Star never lets us free captives," Emerald said doubtfully.
Diamond snarled. "Forget her! She is not my faithful mage-child of a master! I vowed to be loyal to her, but now I vow to be loyal to Kiyone as well."
Mihoshi buried her face in her hands. Kiyone was gone, and there were some sort of enchantments around Ayeka. She couldn't find their way, or find Kiyone.
Tenchi shivered. "Something isn't right about this place."
"I can't go through ANY of the walls!" Ryoko said angrily, rubbing her nose.
Washu sighed, then stiffened as a scream reached their ears. They looked at each other, then ran into the large room just ahead.
"I see my ruse worked," Star said calmly as they gathered. A wave of her hand locked the doors behind them.
"MEOW!" Ryo-Ohki shrieked. That translated to, "We're in trouble now!"
Kiyone felt pain tear at her already tenuous hold on reality. She screamed once, then again. Emerald cursed as what felt like a whip ripped the woman's leg up once again. Before he could do anything, Star snatched her prisoner from that room.
Diamond swore angrily. She, Sapphire, and Emerald ran from the room, knowing exactly where they were headed.
Sasami didn't know whether to be glad or horrified when Kiyone appeared. The older woman trembled, then collapsed. With a snap of Star's fingers, she floated into the air and hung there. A fresh cut adorned her cheek, and her leg seemed to be bleeding as though newly cut.
"Kiyone!" Tenchi shouted. He brandished the dagger. "You let her go!"
Kiyone glanced up at him, blue eyes filled with pain. "Don't!" she pleaded. "Don't make Ruby--"
As if on cue, the dog leaped out of nowhere and tackled Ryoko, who screamed once and threw him off. Kiyone's eyes teared up as Ruby landed on her back, eyes shining with a red fire. "Stop it!" she screamed, throwing all her will into the short command.
Ruby sat up and looked to Kiyone.
Star cursed. "Ruby! I command you to flame this ignorant pirate!"
The dog shivered and whirled, flames shooting from his mouth. "RUBY!" Kiyone screamed out. She was rewarded with a lash of fire on her back.
"Shut your mouth!" Star commanded, dark eyes gleaming. "That is, unless you LIKE the pain. Do you like it? Diamond, NO!"
Diamond growled. ~Stop it, Star! The Cassara isn't worth the pain of these people!~
Star forced her will deep onto Diamond. Kiyone struggled to throw off the whip-like feeling and call Diamond to HER.
It didn't work.
Ayeka cried out in pain as Diamond's claws tore into her back. Ruby's flames grazed Ryoko's side. Emerald appeared and lashed Washu with three tails at once. When Sapphire appeared and prepared to strike Sasami with her fins, Kiyone had definitely had ENOUGH.
"STOP IT!"
She was rewarded with a blast of lightning energy and all four looking up at her. She breathed a sigh of relief that turned into a shriek as more lightning tore into her body.
"Kiyone!" Mihoshi cried. Tenchi grabbed her arms and held her back as Star electrocuted her partner again and again. By the time she decided Kiyone had had enough, the elder looked as though she had been through a furnace--several times.
Diamond growled and leapt at her master. Star flung the cat off with her good arm. Emerald and Sapphire attacked at the same time, but also failed. Ruby, however, slashed at Star's already injured arm. The girl bit back a scream.
Meanwhile, her enemies were joined in a tight circle, muttering and casting occasional glances at Star and Kiyone. Finally, they broke apart, setting themselves in strategic positions.
By this time, Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald were back in Star's control. This time around, however, Tenchi's gang had a plan.
Emerald leaped at Sasami. Ryoko was there, and fired at the creature. Sapphire also failed against Tenchi as Ayeka brought up a force field. The mer-cat smashed into it and fell back, colliding with Emerald. They collapsed and lay still.
Ruby also failed, though Ryo-Ohki was so much smaller. Washu kicked the dog away and then watched, satisfied, as Ryoko called down her fire.
Kiyone looked from her other friends to Mihoshi...and promptly gasped. The bubblehead had drawn her revolver and had it pointed at Diamond.
Without thinking, Kiyone drew her extra pistol. Everyone looked up as she cried, "Don't you DARE hurt her, Mihoshi!"
For all of one second, the pistol was aimed point-blank at Mihoshi's chest.
The blond woman slowly pried her fingers away from her gun, which fell to the floor. Kiyone was shaking; what was she doing? She slipped the pistol back into her pocket, eyes locked with Mihoshi.
Mihoshi knew what a good shot Kiyone was. She also knew that the other never hesitated in a battle, and that she had been looking at death. What the girl couldn't understand was why, why Kiyone would think about doing something so terrible.
Suddenly action exploded in the room. Tenchi ran away from Ayeka as Sapphire got to her feet. Dagger in hand, he dashed toward Star. Mihoshi picked up her gun and leveled it with Star. In fact, each and every human in the room had something aimed at the leader of the Cassara.
Kiyone didn't know WHAT she was doing as she mentally called out to Star. ~Star! Ayeka does force fields; her weakness is Tenchi. Same with Ryoko! As for Tenchi, he's powerless without a weapon. Mihoshi is a bubblebrain, believe me; just unarm her. Washu is a genius; get a field of magic around her or something to that effect! Sasami has nothing, but Ryo-Ohki can turn into a battleship or a monster at will.~
~Thank you,~ Star responded, sounding surprised. Kiyone winced as the younger female called out to her minions. ~Diamond, Sapphire, attack! Ruby, Emerald--reinforcements, and hurry! As for you, Opaladra, assume battle position defense, now!~
Opaladra appeared to be the shield that instantly flickered into place around Star. Kiyone gritted her teeth as Diamond and Sapphire simultaneously leapt at Ryo-Ohki. Something shimmered behind Ruby and Emerald as they silently shouted in another language. A jolt of terror ran through Kiyone as dozens of animal-like monsters erupted from the hole. She aimed and fired at the first; it fell. She smiled grimly. Another beast met the same fate.
The pistol clattered to the ground. Kiyone screamed as Star angrily slammed fire at her. ~And just when I thought you were on my side, too!~
Ruby was down, hit in the side by Mihoshi's revolver. Emerald fell to Ryoko. Tenchi and a battered-looking Ryo-Ohki converged on Sapphire. The others took on the monsters. Diamond looked confused. Who was her master?
"HALT!"
Everyone stopped fighting at Star's command. A smile twisted her face. "Diamond, take all but Dikoshii's group back to headquarters. I have a plan now." All but seven creatures vanished. Kiyone bit her lip; these were the same species as Diamond.
"So, you pathetic humans thought you could stop me." Star idly waved her good hand at Kiyone, who cried out as an invisible whip lashed her back. Diamond jumped forward and sank her teeth into the detective's arm. Sapphire struggled up and clawed at Kiyone as Emerald whipped the woman with her tail. Ruby idly shot flames from where she lay. "See that? That will happen every time you try to defeat me. Surrender now!"
"Not until you promise to give Kiyone back." Mihoshi had a fresh cut on her cheek. Her hair was in disarray.
"Yeah! We fight together or not at all!" Sasami cried. Her left arm hung at her side, useless.
"Kiyone is our friend, and we would fight to the death for her," Tenchi called. He balanced on one leg, the other ankle sprained.
"Exactly, Tenchi," Ryoko added. Blood spread across her side.
Ayeka smiled. "For once, the two of us agree." She was on her knees, weakened by Star's attempts to break her shields.
"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki agreed, scratched up from head to toe.
Washu nodded through a split lip and a black eye.
Star waved a hand at Kiyone, who dropped to the floor and instantly collapsed. Suddenly Diamond shook her head in amazement. Her master was STAR. Not this person, who threw her evil will into every word she spoke; not Kiyone, who, though kind and understanding, was no more than a friend. And no matter what, Diamond was going to get her master back.
~Kiyone, will you help me?~ she asked.
~In what?~
~I aim to get my REAL master back from this evil, but I need help.~
~Of course, if it will save my friends.~
~Don't rush into this! You have to understand--if Star finds out what we're doing, she will kill us! And just going near the Essence is grounds for death! We might save Star, but lose ourselves in the process.~
~I don't care.~
Diamond sighed. She reached into Kiyone, taking the girl with her as she plunged into a ball of copper fire. The Essence immediately felt them coming, and reached out to help. Then the ever-so-familiar darkness swirled around Kiyone, drawing her away...
The cat growled. Her gem glowed; the darkness disintegrated. "Now comes the hard part," she said to Kiyone. "Star knows we are here. Look, we have to get rid of the darkness before the Essence will go free. Any ideas?"
Kiyone shrugged. Suddenly an idea flashed through her mind. "Diamond, hold back. When the darkness comes to grab me, get rid of it completely. It won't be expecting us that way."
"But my jewel can't tell between good and evil! You might die!"
"I don't care anymore! If I go back Star will kill me anyway! We came this far. Let's finish what we set out to do."
The woman threw herself toward the Essence. Almost instantly, a wave of darkness slammed her head-over-heels. White-hot fire shot through her body. She screamed once; then everything went blissfully black as Diamond shot a desperate blast at the darkness. Star's essence sprang free, rushing out to its body. Kiyone crumpled into a heap, not feeling it when Diamond took her back.
TO BE CONTINUED...