Those Who Hunt Elves Fan Fiction ❯ Forms of Battle ❯ Chapter 3

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Ritsuko wiped the water from her face, leaning back a bit as she did so. “For so remote a place, this isn't a half-bad bath,” she noted aloud.

“Yeah!” chirped Milliea from beside her. “This is better than most inns we have stayed in. Wonder why it is so nice?”

“The coat of arms on the wall is probably a hint,” Ritsuko replied with a soft giggle. Milliea blinked at her, clearly not following.

“She means, Milliea, that this appears to have once been some noble's estate that has since been turned into an inn,” Rapier supplied.

“Oh,” replied Milliea. “It's nice anyway,” she continued. “I wonder what happened to the original owner?” she wondered aloud.

“Well, I doubt Boss killed him, since this has been an inn for more than a decade, according to the staff,” Gabriella snickered. Ritsuko rolled her eyes.

“Har har har, you're hysterical, Gabs,” she replied drolly. “Still, this is an unusually nice bath for this world,” she noted, resting her arms on the edge of the half-sunken marble tub she and her three elf companions were currently relaxing in. The water was pleasantly warm, though by no means hot - which she was thankful for since the temperature in the southern-most part of the Kingdoms was scorching hot and humid, making for a sticky, sweaty existence while the sun was out, and for a sticky evening full of insects. Fortunately, though the inn they were in lacked screens (as did all the houses in this world), it burned some local plant that smelled pleasant enough to humans, but drive away virtually all of the insects. In particular, the blood-sucking insects hated the smell and would avoid it in any concentration, so keeping a small bough of the flower-like plant smoldering at the edge of the fires in each fireplace effectively kept the worst of the insect life away. What was left was just a nuisance, not a threat.

“Coming from someone I have seen bathing in rivers and washing with sea water from a bucket, that is saying something,” snarked Gabriella. Ritsuko ignored the dig, the arm that was behind Milliea absently tracing the elf woman's shoulder as she stared at the fresco on the ceiling of the room.

“Is everything to your liking, ladies?” asked the attendant, a woman in her early teens by Ritsuko's estimation. She wore a simple dress that came to mid-thigh, leaving her shoulders bare as it tied above her breasts with a simple cord. Her brown hair was up in a loose bun, and a half-apron was tied around her waist. Barefoot and tanned, Ritsuko found herself remembering slaves from her plantation that had looked like that; well, except for having scars on most of them. Ritsuko herself had spent years dressed not unlike that, laboring in the fields and the plantation's various outbuildings.

“It's fine,” Rapier said.

“Do you happen to know the story of this inn?” Ritsuko asked, still unaware that her hand was gently, slowly tracing Milliea's shoulder.

“Yes! Would you like to hear it, my lady?” asked the young woman eagerly. Smothering the sigh that wanted to escape her lips, Ritsuko nodded instead. “The area was once the farm of a nobleman, covering all the land you can see and a bit more. Originally, the town was the manor and outbuildings, but as the farm became more and more prosperous, and more and more people came to live here, the Lord built this estate on the outskirts of his original manor's property, and started to build up a town for the workers and their family. Over the generations, the nobleman's family line began to dwindle, and by the time that the last of them died - may the gods bless him! - there was no one of his line to assume the land and titles. But the Lord had lived a long life, and had prepared for this when his only son died of a sickness more than twenty years ago. In spite of several offers to wed again, he declined them all, saying the pain of losing his family once was enough. He had mentored most of the promising young men over his lifetime, but didn't name any of them as his heir; not even the best friend of his late son!”

The woman obviously thought that was salacious rumor-mongering, but to their group, it meant less than nothing. “His last will declared that his title be buried with him, his lands and holdings to be given over to the town for use in supporting the prosperity of the town, and his wealth was placed in a trust to pay the taxes to the king. We became our own entity within the kingdom because of that! Other than taxes, we owe the crown nothing, and the council he set up to rule has said that the wealth he left will pay the taxes for decades more to come; though they also set aside a certain amount of earnings to keep the last gift of our lord from being exhausted. In memory of his kindness and compassion, we have made his manor into the town's inn, so that he is never forgotten.”

“Sounds like someone our moody friend would have liked to meet,” smiled Rapier, peeking at Ritsuko as she said that. Their attendant frowned, uncertain of what was being said.

“So, this paragon of virtue and compassion own any slaves?” Ritsuko asked casually. She had a very hard time believe that glowing testimony from the girl. Never high in her personal regard, six years of slavery had made nobles somewhere lower than whale shit in her view.

“In the early days, the family owned slaves, but the farm grew so fast that using slave labor would prove to be counter-productive, so the family freed them all and made them stake-holders in the farm, which motivated them to make it successful. The story goes that the Lord of the house would often buy slaves he thought would be valuable and see how they did. He would free them after he had decided if he would keep them or not. If they weren't going to be an asset, he would free them and send them away, but the ones that were useful he would make stake-holders in the farm. I'm descended from one of those freed slaves who were made a stake-holder!” she bragged. “In fact, my family has been involved in the commerce of the town ever since, and now we run this inn in our lord's memory!”

“I see. How fortunate for you,” Ritsuko said, her tone flat and even.

“You run a very nice inn,” Milliea said, one of her hands moving to touch Ritsuko's thigh under the water.

“Thank you! My family and I take great pride in our roles,” beamed the girl.

“So, have you heard about the Rebellion in the Southern Kingdoms?” Gabriella asked. The woman nodded.

“A little, anyway. Those things usually fail, but this one seems to be succeeding,” she shared.

“So they say,” Rapier cut in before Ritsuko could say anything. “I wonder what this Boss would think of this situation, given her obvious issues with slave owners and nobles,” she said to the girl, though her eyes never left Ritsuko.

“I don't know,” the girl mused aloud, a thoughtful expression on her face. “They say she is an amazon sorceress, so who knows what she really thinks of anything, but I think she would glad to hear there are no slaves kept here. I mean, even during the evaluation period, the lord never mistreated slaves like I hear some owners do, so what would she be upset about, you know?”

“If only we did know,” murmured Gabriella. Ritsuko's eyes opened a little to give the red-headed elf a slit-eyed stare.

“I hear the slaves in the Southern Kingdoms were treated more harshly than elsewhere, but it seems so extreme to overthrow nine kingdoms because of that,” the girl began, only to stop as she felt a prickly, ice-cold feeling in her spine. Blinking, she found the human woman with the red hair giving her a look that made her shiver. Unconsciously, she took a step back.

“Ritsuko,” the red-headed elf woman chided, grabbing the human by the shoulders and pulling her back into the tub, hugging her tightly.

“I apologize if I have offended you, my lady,” the girl gave a half-curtsey to Ritsuko, who was trapped in Milliea's tight hug.

“Told you she was moody,” snickered Gabriella, distracting Ritsuko from the younger girl.

“Tell me, does your inn offer grooming services?” Rapier asked as Milliea pressed her hand over Ritsuko's mouth. Experience had taught the elves that Ritsuko could melt granite with her acidic tongue and blistering curses when she was fired up, and they would prefer not to have that experience again if they could help it.

“Yes, my lady!” the girl replied. “We offer hair cutting, shaving, massage, bloodletting and herbal baths for any ailment that may afflict a guest.”

“We'll all take a hair trimming, shaving and massage,” Gabriella said.

“Of course!” the girl practically squealed. “I will get things ready immediately, and we can begin after you have finished your bath,” she said, hurrying from the room.

Ritsuko managed to peel Milliea's hand off her mouth. “I would say you three are PMS'ing, but I know elves don't have menstrual cycles, so why the fucking third degree?” she bit out.

“Can't help it if we just find poking you irresistible,” smiled Gabriella.

“Something about how tightly-wound you are does make it hard to resist,” Rapier agreed. “Sort of like a cat can't resist playing with a ball of yarn.”

“Fucking bunch of long-eared cats,” muttered Ritsuko. Milliea tightened her hug. “Milliea, ease up,” Ritsuko said. She wasn't being crushed or anything - she was more muscular than the slim, willowy elf after all - but it was a tight hug. The red-headed elf eased up a little. “Guess I could use a trim,” she muttered, relaxing a little into Milliea's hug.

“What if the attendant is a man?” smiled Rapier.

“After all that has happened to me, you think that will bother me?” Ritsuko snorted. “But if his hands wander, I might just shoot him,” she added.

“But what if he is a cute, young stud?” grinned Gabriella. “Like the young man on your team with that adorable crush on you?”

“Wouldn't stop me from shooting him,” cautioned Ritsuko.

“Oh, come on! You know what I am saying, Ritsuko!” Gabriella retorted.

“Yes, I do, and maybe I would let him play pony for me, but I might also just kick his nuts off or throw him to you horny sluts. I just don't…never mind,” she sighed, shaking her head.

“How long has it been since you have been with a man by your own choice, Ritsuko?” asked Rapier.

“A long time,” murmured Ritsuko, seeing a smiling young man in her mind's eye. “Shinji…” she breathed. What would you think of what I have become? part of her worried. I doubt he would even want to touch me after all this, and even if he did, I wouldn't want to give him anything; god knows the other girls would not be happy with me! She involuntarily giggled at the thought even as she saw Asuka, Rei and the rest in her mental vision. The giggle turned into a strangled gasp and jerk as a flicking image of a dark, cavernous bridge with a shadowed figure perched high atop the workstations, white-gloved hands clasped before his face sobered her. No! I won't become like him! But a small part of her consciousness whispered back: you already have become like him, `Boss'.

“Ritsuko?” Milliea asked, concern in her voice. Ritsuko splashed her face with water, holding her hands over her face until she could re-assert her self-control.

“I'm fine,” she said, her voice almost perfectly steady. The three elves were not as sure, but didn't know how best to respond, so they let it stand. Shortly after, Ritsuko stood and picked up one of the towels, beginning to dry off. Her companions followed suit. By the time they were wrapping the towels around their hair, the attendant returned, bidding them to follow her. Slipping on the short, thin robes they had been provided, the four did as asked, following the girl to a room down the hall and across from the bathing room.

Entering the room, the four saw that two large, padded tables were positioned in the center of the room and a small table to the side held three glass vases of what was presumably oil, while on the opposite side was a basin of water some towels, a bar of soft soap and several razors of differing length and design, a strap hanging from the corner of the small table.

“Welcome, honored guests,” chanted their attendant as well as three other women in the room. Ritsuko's eyes flickered over the women. One was about her age, and was likely related to the attendant judging by looks and demeanor, while the other two were older, one heavy-set and probably Airi's age, while the other was almost too thin and had a trace of gray in her hair.

“If it would please you, we will start with the hair trimming, then the shaving and finish with the massage,” the heavy-set one said.

“That's fine,” Ritsuko answered.

“Very well. If you would please take a seat on the tables,” directed the leader of the group. Ritsuko and Milliea took one of the tables, side by side, while Gabriella and Rapier took the other. Getting comfortable, they found the staff positioning firm pillows and rolled towels against their backs to make them comfortable as they lay with their heads elevated a little.

“We have never served elves before,” the thin one said, beginning to comb out Rapier's long, black hair with an ivory comb.

“Our hair is no different than a human's,” Rapier replied easily. In the corner of the room was a small brazier, and a small bundle of dried herbs was smoldering at the edge of the low coals, filling the room with a lavender scent that held an undertone of vanilla mixed with cinnamon. The room was warm, and the prevalent humidity made it comfortable without making them sweat. Ritsuko felt the youngest of the group begin to comb out her hair.

“Wow, you have a lot of split ends,” she shared casually as she combed out Ritsuko's long red hair.

“Rough living,” was all Ritsuko said in response.

“But it is still so pretty,” sighed the brunette. “It will be a bit shorter than it is now after all these are cut off,” she warned.

“That's fine,” came the distant response from the elf hunter. The next table over, Gabriella was talking with the woman working on her hair about how she wanted it styled. Minutes later, the four staff were carefully trimming the hair of the four guests. As the only one who wanted anything special done, Gabriella took the longest to finish, but only by a few minutes.

“If you are ready, we can begin shaving,” the attendant said once their hair was trimmed. The four settled in, Ritsuko watching the workers out of the corner of her eye as they touched up the razor blades before working the soap into a thick lather and applying to their bodies. Ritsuko was mildly surprised and pleased that the women seemed to have the same notion of what shaving meant as she did.

“It is nice to see someone who understands what shaving means,” she noted idly as the attendant carefully shaved her. “Where did you learn to shave like this?” she asked.

“The late Lord - may the gods bless him - had a family tradition of shaving like this. They are the only family I have seen that has this tradition - especially for the women,” the one she suspected of being the mother of the two younger ones answered from where she was working on Rapier. “I am guessing you already know that most women in the Kingdoms don't shave their underarms, privates or legs.”

“I had noticed,” allowed Ritsuko.

“From the look of things, you and your three friends follow the late Lord's family in this matter,” the woman said.

“Can't speak for the elves, but I like to be clean and smooth,” Ritsuko replied obliquely.

“I can see that,” the woman replied, still focused on her work on Rapier. Ritsuko maintained her neat triangle of red hair above her sex, the rest smooth and free of hair, as were her armpits and legs. The elf women seemed to not have much if any hair on their legs, very little under their arms and their pubic hair seemed to naturally form a small tuft above their lower lips, which were hairless and smooth. Milliea had virtually no pubic hair, and Gabriella shaved her own completely bare, while Rapier had a small oval of pubic hair. Ritsuko recalled that Celsia had had a lot more pubic hair and had woven a charm or talisman into it; same for Annette. Maybe it is a priestess thing, she idly mused.

Before she knew it, they were smooth, bare and clean, and the women were preparing for the massages. “We have a few different scented oils, if you have a preference,” the attendant explained. She let the four sniff each of the pots, picking what they wanted before the guests rolled over to lay face-down to start the massage. As Ritsuko settled on her stomach, the attendant hesitated as she saw the marks on Ritsuko's back and sides. The scars weren't as bad as many of the slaves had had, but they were there. “Are you a warrior, my lady?” wondered the attendant.

“By some definitions,” Ritsuko replied, unwilling to get into details she would sooner forget. The younger woman began to work on her, hands covered in oil that smelled like a spring meadow full of flowers. It was supposed to be a local flower oil mixed with the massage oil, but Ritsuko didn't really care - it smelled fine to her, and that was all that mattered. Minutes passed before the attendant spoke again. “You have amazing definition while still being so feminine,” sighed the girl in envy.

Ritsuko said little. When the girl reached her feet, she rolled over for the front side. “Wow! Your belly is so amazing!” gushed the girl, making the other three attendants look over at the elf hunter's six-pack of girl-abs. Ritsuko knew the younger girl was not trying to be insulting, but she still worried that she was turning into a muscle-bound freak; even if Airi always told her that she was athletic, not muscular.

“Not sure you would like the cost of them,” Ritsuko managed, settling on her back and relaxing her abs, which allowed the six pack to fade into almost invisibility. Even fully relaxed, the faint traces of her abs could be made out. She wondered if she needed to find milkshakes in this world or just ease up on the hard work. The girl got to work, starting back up from her feet. Ritsuko relaxed into a light doze, mind on other things, only occasionally distracted by the massage. It had caught her off guard when the girl announced the massage was done, and she was yawning before she even got off the table. Making their way back to their room, the elves couldn't leave it alone.

“Well, the masseuse was young and cute,” Gabriella began.

“But Ritsuko didn't shoot her, seduce her or give her to us,” Rapier continued the thought.

“I think she would jump at the chance to sleep with you two if you asked her,” Ritsuko said, yawning behind a hand.

“But she seemed to really like you, Ritsuko,” Milliea noted in her usual cheerful tone. The red-headed human grunted.

“I'm sure she's nice, but I like my current companions; most of the time, anyway,” she added.

“Wow, Ritsuko, I didn't know you felt that way!” trilled Gabriella gleefully. Ritsuko blinked, realizing she hadn't chosen her words with enough care. Deciding she was too relaxed and sleepy to care, she flipped a hand.

“Well, now you know,” she dismissed the entire thing, shedding her robe as she happily slipped into the bed she shared with Milliea.

“You're just going to go to sleep after that declaration of love, Ritsuko? How like a man…!” came the catty remark from the dark elf. Ritsuko weighed her options for a split second.

“Ok,” she said, swiftly jumping back out of bed and grabbing Gabriella's cheeks with her palms before pressing her lips to the dark elf's. Gabriella froze for a moment and before she could react, Ritsuko had broken the kiss, releasing her so she could seize Rapier, who was staring, bug-eyed, at the two. Ritsuko has a wicked gleam in her eye as she locked lips with Rapier as well for a moment before turning toward Milliea. She had intended to tell her they should get some sleep, but she was the one surprised by a kiss ambush, Milliea catching her cheeks with her hands before her lips were on Ritsuko's. The human was momentarily stunned that Milliea of all people would do something like that, and in that time, Milliea's tongue slipped into her mouth briefly before the elf woman released the kiss, a string of saliva linking their lips for a moment.

“And now that we've have our good night kisses, let's get some sleep,” Ritsuko managed, cheeks on fire as she felt a mild tingle in her lips. Without another word, the party got settled and fell asleep, Ritsuko being cuddled by Milliea as she help her pistol in one hand under the sheets. The last thing that went through her mind before sleeping was: what the hell just happened?

“It isn't funny, Airi,” grumbled Ritsuko even as Airi laughed harder.

“I know,” managed Airi a few moments later, wiping her eye with the back of a finger, “but it is the first sign of the old you I have seen since our capture,” she said, breathing a bit hard from laughing so vigorously. “It was the first time you didn't immediately go for your gun, or knife, or yell for Mike to open fire, after all. And you were being…playful with them; something I have personally missed very much from you since our reunion,” Airi sobered a little. “What happened the next morning?” she asked softly, reaching across the small table to touch Ritsuko's cheek.

“Nothing. Business as usual,” Ritsuko replied, sighing a little. Airi hummed softly, studying the younger woman.

“Did you want something to happen, Rit-chan? Maybe for them to acknowledge the kisses? Or maybe to be more affectionate toward you?”

Ritsuko sighed. “I don't know,” she admitted. “But I expected something, and got nothing instead,” she murmured. “Milliea is always the same, yeah, but there should have been some sort of reaction or fall-out from Gabriella and Rapier at least! Shouldn't there?” the last bit came out as a question more than a statement.

“I wish I could say something to reassure you, but with those two, it is hard to say if there should or shouldn't have been any reaction. Even I find it a bit hard to read them sometimes,” admitted the actress turned Chancellor. “Maybe it is an elf thing, or an elf/human dynamic thing, or a girl/girl thing - who knows?” Airi paused to sip from her glass of wine. In front of Ritsuko, a glass of tea sat untouched. “The tea really is good, Rit-chan,” Airi said after her sip. Setting the glass back down, she leaned a little closer to Ritsuko. “Why not go right to the source? It is your strong suite, after all, is it not?” suggested the actress.

“You mean like kiss them again?” wondered Ritsuko.

“Whatever works,” shrugged Airi. “Or you could try just talking to them,” she added a moment later, giving the younger woman a soft smile.

“Talking doesn't seem to be my strong suite lately,” replied Ritsuko through a sigh. “At least, not with them,” she muttered.

“Too busy making passes at them?” needled Airi playfully. An eye-roll was all she got from Ritsuko. “You know, we will be seeing that cute Shinji-looking boy in a few days.”

“And?” came the immediate response, Airi hearing the defensiveness in the red-head's tone.

“He is madly infatuated with you, you know, and he doesn't have the same baggage as certain other males…” she left the rest unsaid.

“No, he has entirely different baggage,” retorted Ritsuko. “Boss can't allow that kind of fraternization with the ranks; especially if he is going to end up dead,” she said.

“Boss is - at best! - an alter-ego to you. You, my dear Ritsuko, are the dominate and primary identity. Remember that. I don't much like Boss, but I am very fond of you, Ritsuko,” she said, once more touching Ritsuko, though this time she took both Ritsuko's hands in her own.

“Thanks, Airi, but if you want me to make a pass at you, you don't have to make such a production out of it,” Ritsuko managed a weak laugh. Airi hummed, gently squeezing Ritsuko's hands. “I…I would, you know,” she added a moment later.

“And I wouldn't deny you, Rit-chan,” Airi replied. “But why do I feel like that is part of the problem?”

“Because I was never like that with girls before,” Ritsuko groaned. “I and still keep having dreams of Shinji that leave me soaked to my thighs, so why…?!” She groaned again, her head dropping a little.

“I think this is a case of emotional trauma expressing itself as neurotic behavior,” Airi said calmly. “You were raped, beaten and abused for years, first by the nobleman, then the plantation owner and his family. That is bound to have traumatized you. I think this is a manifestation of that trauma.”

“The hag was the first one to torture me, and it wasn't just the nobleman and the plantation owner and his sons who abused me. There were female slaves who did similar things,” Ritsuko said quietly.

“What happened to the female slaves who did that?” Airi asked in turn, though she suspected she knew.

“I killed them, got them killed or made it so they were sold to other plantations. Well, a few I beat bloody until they were too scared of me to ever disobey me. When I liberated those plantations, they didn't survive the fighting,” Ritsuko admitted.

“Why them and not the men?” Airi asked, sure of her answer even before she asked the question.

“Because of that damn slave rune,” hissed Ritsuko. “I couldn't fight back against the men, but the other slaves were a different case; and I slept in the same barracks as most of them, too,” her eyes slitted at the memories. Note to self: be careful sleeping in the same room with Ritsuko, Airi made a mental note, though she knew she wouldn't be at risk from the red-head.

“And the male slaves?” wondered Airi.

“The overseers I couldn't fight, but the rank and file I dealt with by one means or another. Most of them just needed to be shown that I was willing to fight back before they got the message,” Ritsuko said softly. Airi mentally pictured Ritsuko's scars and was sure that not all of them were at the hands of her `owner'.

“So, do you see your answer yet?” Airi asked Ritsuko, giving her an encouraging smile. “It isn't that you have become a lesbian or even bisexual - it is that men still register as enemy in your current emotional condition. That will change as you work through the emotional trauma you suffered; promise.”

“When did you get to be such a shrink?” grunted Ritsuko.

“I would hate to think I wasted all that money and time on therapy while I was in Hollywood,” Airi smiled at her companion, getting a giggle from the young woman. “So, you would jump Shinji in a heartbeat if he were here?” she asked, returning the conversation to its previous topic.

“Yes! Well, first I would want a full physical - a proper one, not this witchdoctor nonsense - to make sure I wouldn't give him anything, then I would lock us in a room for a week…or more,” she added, blushing to her breasts.

“Somehow I think his other girlfriends would break down the door before you could even finish the first round,” Airi laughed softly.

“They're free to join, but I won't give him up for at least a month,” Ritsuko nearly sang back. Her expression darkened a little. “Assuming he would want me,” she muttered.

“Rit-chan, my dear, you still have nothing on Misato in that regard, and he was - is - head over heels in love with her. You have nothing to worry about,” insisted the actress. “I doubt you and I together have been with as many men as she has,” the older woman shook her head ruefully. The two were silent for a long moment, thinking of another world, and the people they had gotten close to there; perhaps too close.

“Airi! Ritsuko!” came a voice from the door, preceding Milliea and the Queen by a few moments. Airi wiped her expression clean before turning to smile warmly at her queen.

“So, how did you find the young master?” she asked her puppet. The Queen made a face.

“Not to my liking,” she replied. “He is spoiled, petty, vain and more girly than me!” the queen complained, taking one of the two free seats at the small table in the room. The room was a sun room, with big windows on three sides, allowing the sun to fill the room from sunrise to sunset. The windows that could open were open, allowing cross breezes to circulate the air, keeping the room from being too hot in the mid-summer heat. Milliea settled in the other one. “By the time I was done, I was calling him `princess',” she said, reaching for the tea in front of Ritsuko. “May I, Miss Ritsuko?” she asked. Ritsuko gestured her to go ahead, the queen taking the tea cup and sipping. “Mm, this is good tea,” she noted.

“How are you feeling, Rit-chan?” chirped Milliea, smiling warmly at the elf hunter. Ritsuko gave her a smile and nod.

“Fine, Milliea,” she replied. “Where are Gabs and Rapier?” she wondered.

“Off with Junpei and Colleena's idiot husband,” the Queen answered for the elf. “I had to sit with the simpering little princess of a boy while that idiot in white leather beat up all the men in the honor guard, then took on anyone who wanted to fight him while the prince cheered like some blood-thirsty commoner at an arena match,” complained the queen.

“Did Rapier and Gabriella fight Junpei?” wondered Airi. The Queen shook her head.

“No. Apparently, they want a private, one-on-one fight with him. Something about a rematch or the like,” answered the queen, finishing the tea.

“Martial arts honor and all that,” snorted Ritsuko. “But I did tell them not to let anyone see them fight him - it could cause problems later,” she added.

“Lady Airi, how is the wine?” asked the queen. Airi picked up the open bottle, poured her glass half-full again and set it in front of the Queen.

“Surprisingly good, actually. Remember what I told you about drinking,” she added as the Queen delicately picked up the wine glass, swirling it a little before daintily sniffing it. A careful sip and she nodded.

“Yes, Lady Airi,” she replied. Ritsuko noticed that the Queen acted just like Airi did when at public feasts or banquets. It gave the image of a highly-refined woman of social supremacy - quite fitting for a Queen or Chancellor. “This is a very good vintage for a day wine,” she said in her best regal tone. Ritsuko snickered under her breath.

“Lady Ritsuko, you should try some,” the queen said, unsure if Ritsuko was snickering at her or something else.

“I don't drink alcohol,” Ritsuko replied flatly. “Too dangerous,” she added, glancing at Airi. “Besides, wine wouldn't be my thing anyway,” she grinned.

“Beer, like a certain Major?” sniped back Airi. Ritsuko made a face.

“No. But I was thinking maybe whiskey…” she giggled.

“Oh, my,” smiled Airi, mentally picturing Ritsuko with a bottle of Jack Daniels and a shot glass. For some reason, she could actually picture that. Her imagination showed her Ritsuko throwing the glass at some hapless guy before drinking from the bottle like a pirate drank rum. “No, Rit-chan, don't do that,” she said a moment later. Maybe the Boss persona is more part of her than I thought; or I have come to think of that part of her as more dominate than it should be, Airi mused to herself.

“So, my queen, done man-shopping here?” Ritsuko redirected the conversation.

“Yes, thankfully,” the Queen replied. Her tone was somewhat sour. “Rich sons of merchants, second and third sons of minor nobles, a fop of a prince and not one of them with anything useful to offer my kingdom or me!”

“Careful, your fangs are showing, my queen,” grinned Ritsuko.

“And that is not proper public behavior, either, my dear Queen,” chided Airi from behind the wine glass. “One never knows who might be listening,” she reminded her young queen.

“My apologies, Chancellor Airi,” the Queen dropped back into her public persona smoothly. “We find no merit in the offers of courtship in this region,” she declared with regal disdain. “Shall we be on our way, then, my dear Chancellor?”

“As soon as we collect the idiot and our two problem elves,” Ritsuko muttered.

“We thank Lady Ritsuko for the use of her bodyguard,” Liseria added, smiling at Ritsuko. The red-head glanced at her, then at Milliea.

“She isn't mine, but you are welcome,” replied the woman that the queen still had a crush on. “So, the capital next?” wondered the elf hunter.

“I believe so, though we may take the southern route through the Central Kingdoms,” Airi replied. “It will allow us to gauge how things lie, politically speaking,” she said obliquely. Ritsuko nodded.

“Roger that,” she replied, standing and stretching. She was wearing native clothes, in this case a simple dress that left her shoulders and most of her arms bare, exposed a lot of cleavage but left her covered to her ankles. She didn't mind so much, since she was wearing her comfortable sneakers under the dress, along with her Daisy Dukes. Her sheath knife was strapped to her thigh, and her pistol was hidden by the skirt on her other thigh. Airi reflected that it was very rare for Ritsuko to be unarmed, even when she was forced to wear something that precluded her gun belt. “I'll change and go check on Mike,” she smiled.

Her departure was interrupted by Junpei arriving in the room, Rapier and Gabriella with him; as well as Colleena's husband. “Rit-chan, you're looking domestic,” he grinned at the red-head. Ritsuko gave him the finger. “When did the titty fairy visit you?” he added. Milliea grabbed Ritsuko's hand as it jerked toward the thigh with her gun on it.

“No, Rit-chan!” Milliea insisted.

“Junpei, I will shoot you, you muscle-headed jerk-hole,” growled the girl. Junpei ignored her warning, in spite of the fact she had proven she would shoot him.

“Airi!” he smiled his best smile at his idol. “You missed seeing me kick ass,” he began, entering the room and heading for the table.

“I'm sure you did, Junpei,” smiled Airi, melting what little intelligence the man had left, “but I had things I had to take care of while you played. I am sure I will have another chance to watch you frolic,” she soothed him, the young man never catching on to her patronizing tone nor to the veiled insults in her choice of wording.

“Loser,” muttered Ritsuko. Airi could outright insult and belittle him, and he would love every second of it because he would not be able to tell she wasn't praising him. The white-clad fighter moved toward the table, the Queen watching him with narrowed gaze.

“Hey, squirt, mind if I take that seat?” he asked the Queen.

“Junpei,” warned Ritsuko.

“That is no way to treat the Queen, Junpei,” chided Airi. “If you can't behave yourself, I will have to send you back to Raltaow,” she warned. Junpei understood the `send back' as `send you away from me' - the rest was immaterial.

“Sorry, Airi,” he apologized contritely.

“Come on, idiot, before you crater again,” huffed Ritsuko. “You can help me schlep some stuff to our carriage,” she said, editing herself because the prince was in the room as she grabbed his arm.

“Rit-chan,” began the man.

“Please help Ritsuko, Junpei,” Airi purred. Junpei practically creamed himself.

“Sure, Airi!” he agreed, hurrying out the door before Ritsuko could catch up.

“Boob,” snorted Ritsuko. Milliea rose from the table, hurrying to Ritsuko's side as the two left the room.

“Oh, your highness,” Airi seemed to notice the prince for the first time as he stared at the elves, herself and her Queen, “I believe your wife - princess Colleena - was looking for you earlier. Something about the maids, I believe?” she hinted. The prince twitched.

“I…uh…better go speak to her about…the staffing!” he stumbled over himself. “Please excuse me, your majesty,” he bowed to the queen. “Chancellor,” he bowed again. “Ladies,” he smiled at the elves before dashing out the door.

“Good riddance,” muttered Rapier, the two elves taking the vacant seats at the table. “We moving on soon?” she asked.

“Yes. Tomorrow morning, we make for the capital via the southern route through the Central Kingdoms,” Airi said quietly. None of the group liked to advertise their routes or plans.

“Can't wait,” Gabriella nodded.

“What did you find out?” Airi asked the two directly.

“No sign of him anywhere near here. If he left the Kingdoms, it wasn't through the ports in this kingdom,” stated Rapier.

“Nor does anyone know of that name around here,” Gabriella added.

“So, the Tear Islands next?” asked the Queen.

“You will be returning to Raltaow before then, my queen,” stated Airi. “The Tear Islands are not on the itinerary and our visit will likely prove to be…exciting. We will not be able to take Mike because the ships can't support his mass and if they sink, we lose him for good, so it will be a low-resource visit. We can't guarantee your safety so you will remain here to watch over our interests in the meantime.”

The queen scowled, but said nothing. She was learning quick and well as she spent time around the two women and their elven friends. “Speaking of our interests,” began Gabriella, “I think one of us should slip on down to Raltaow and deal with Huntsman.”

“I agree. He has outlived his usefulness and there is no point keeping him around to throw Ritsuko off balance,” Rapier nodded in agreement.

“I don't want Rit-chan to be the one to kill him,” the Queen said, her tone introspective. “I think it might cause her problems if she does.”

“While I won't necessarily disagree with those points, I did learn something from her today that suggests it might help her if she is the one to end him,” Airi said, pouring herself more wine.

“Really?” blinked Gabriella. Airi nodded.

“She got a bit verbose about her time on the plantation, and I think I understand her emotional state better now,” Airi shared. “But putting that aside,” she said, fixing her gaze on the two elf women, “tell me your thoughts on what happened in that inn.”

“I say, this is somewhat awkward,” the prince said.

“Do you find it so? We do not,” replied Queen Liseria. The two were seated on a marble bench in the garden of the king's palace in the largest of the Central Kingdoms. Not far from her Ritsuko was staring coldly at the prince, Milliea watching the two as well, hands on sword hilts. The two were playing the roles of bodyguard - Milliea filled that role - and chaperone - which was Ritsuko's role this time around. The prince was another third-born son of a king who wanted to court her. Liseria had been inspecting the candidates that made the third round of cuts from the original list, and so far, she had not been impressed. Nor had Airi or Ritsuko.

The prince was three times the age of the Queen, and if that weren't enough, he had a reputation as a rake and scoundrel within the kingdom, given to frequent, messy, public affairs with various women, both commoner and noble. It was said he deliberately sought out married women. From the very moment Ritsuko had seen him, she had hated him. So, she bumped Artemis and Venus from their role, dismissed the normal guard and asked Milliea to partner up with her on the Queen detail. Naturally, Milliea had done so eagerly and they had both stuck to the Queen like glue.

It was readily apparent to all of them that the prince had expected to find a young, inexperienced Queen ripe for the plucking and had planned to sweep her off her feet with his charm and worldly ways. Instead, he had found a Queen that, though young, was mature beyond her years in ways he had not expected. Ritsuko had smirked openly at him as his attempts at smooth charm and seduction had been stone-walled by the Queen. When he had attempted to dismiss the two, they had laughed in his face, Ritsuko being especially rude as she reminded him that they served the Chancellor, not him or even the Queen. The Queen had known full well that Ritsuko was packing her pistol, knife and even had her G36 strapped to her under the court cloak she wore over the dress she had been made to wear by Airi. There was no doubt in her mind that if things went sideways, Ritsuko would leave a pile of corpses behind; and a huge political mess. So, she tried to buffer the situation as well as she could.

With his plan to charm her failed and his attempt at isolating her also a bust, he had tried to worm his way into her graces by lavish praise, many trips to various events and locations he had found success with in the past and the tried and true method of sucking up like a leech. But even this was being foiled by the stares of the Queen's chaperone and body guard. Nothing he had tried had worked with them either. He had even tried having some of his toady's arrange for them to be challenged by the palace guard, but the elf had just smiled, cut up the swords and armor of the guards and then thanked them for the spar. The red-headed human woman had actually broken the nerve of the guard who had tried to force her to leave the two royals alone by just staring into the man's eyes.

Not that the prince couldn't relate, having been on the receiving end of that stare as well. Something in the woman's eyes just unnerved him. It was as if she were some legendary monster just waiting to be unleashed. He had tried having the staff bribe her with everything from money to food to dresses to special invitations to dine at the King's own table, but nothing had swayed her. So, he had been forced to play with a handicap, which was not something he could manage. The Queen had remained distant and coolly aloof no matter what he tried, and he was about to give up and ask his father for help.

“My Queen, the sun begins to show on your skin,” Ritsuko said, stepping forward and offering the Queen a finely-woven shawl. “I believe you have had enough time in the sun today if you do not wish for your skin to be burned,” she added, giving the prince an icy sneer. One of her hands brushed over the Queen's exposed shoulder, the fingers languidly caressing her shoulder before helping her settle the shawl. “Chancellor Airi is expecting us for dinner as well, and we must prepare.”

“Yes, of course,” the Queen said, standing and turning to the prince. “It seems our time for today is at an end, dear prince,” she smiled a professional smile at him. “Perhaps we will see you at dinner this evening,” she added, starting toward the entrance to the palace, only to stumble slightly. Ritsuko's arms were around her waist in a moment, guiding the Queen to her chest.

“Careful, my Queen,” she said, slanting a look at the prince as she traced a palm from the Queen's hip to her breast as she straightened the younger Queen. Milliea was an arm's length away from them, still smiling. “Perhaps you should rest for the rest of the day. I understand these prolonged meetings with the prince are quite…tiresome,” she said, loud enough for the prince to hear.

“I believe you are right, my dear Ritsuko,” the Queen said, blushing as Ritsuko guided her back into the palace, leaving the prince seething. They were half-way down the hall when Milliea giggled.

“He is cursing loudly in the garden,” she said, her ears twitching. “He seems to really dislike us for some reason, though he focuses mostly on you. I wonder why?” she thought aloud.

“Who knows?” replied Ritsuko innocently. The Queen was still blushing.

“You are doing that deliberately, aren't you, Ritsuko?” she asked.

“Naturally. That creep is one move away from a rapist,” Ritsuko snarled darkly. “I want to slow-roast him over a fire made of his friends and family,” she muttered darkly. The two exchanged looks. One of the things the man had tried was offering the two their pick of his slaves for their leisure. It had taken Airi, Gabs, Rapier and Milliea to save his life. The very fact that there were slaves in the palace made her trigger finger itch, but she had given her word to Airi not to do anything while they were there, but she damn well would shift a team here with specifics orders; or she would come back and do the job herself. Already, she had planted the rumor in the slave and servant circles that Boss had been seen in the area and was looking for more victims.

It was telling that the slaves were owned by a very specific and small group. The royal family held some, but they mostly belonged to the third prince, the crown prince, and their uncle, the Duke of the court. Of that group, over half belonged to the third prince. When judged against the kingdom, the largest farms and ranches had the most slaves, but also the most the number of servants and family members by area, so the population density of slaves was heaviest in the capital. The others could see what Ritsuko was thinking. The Rebellion was likely about to explode on a new front even before the Congress could ratify the armistice. There was a kingdom, a river and a range of low hills separating this kingdom from the nearest border with the Southern Kingdoms, but that was just a matter of planning and shifting a team as far as Ritsuko was concerned.

Reaching the rooms set aside for the party, Ritsuko found Airi quietly talking with Annette via Moonlight Mirror. Gabriella was monitoring the spell, nodding at the three as they entered. The Queen shed the shawl, tossing it to Artemis as Venus moved forward to help her with the fancy gown she had been wearing. Airi finished up and Gabriella canceled the spell.

“So, what brings you back here so early?” smiled Airi.

“Couldn't stomach that jerk any longer without shooting him,” Ritsuko grunted.

“And here I thought you wanted to get me alone to finish what you started this morning,” the Queen smiled sweetly at Ritsuko.

“Oh?” Airi asked, smelling blood in the water.

“Ritsuko has been quite forward with me since breakfast. I thought she was finally ready to seduce me,” the Queen said.

“Please,” grunted Ritsuko, shedding her court cloak.

“You have been touching her a lot since breakfast,” Milliea offered with her normal innocent enthusiasm. Artemis and Venus were whispering to each other behind their hands while Rapier and Gabriella were grinning at her smugly.

“Fine. Instead of that, I will just go clean house,” Ritsuko replied to the unspoken teasing, lifting her G36 to the ready position.

“Calm down, Ritsuko,” Airi said. “I don't hear my dear Queen complaining, so it really isn't our business if you want to seduce her.”

“You are too funny, Airi,” dead-panned Ritsuko.

“You don't want to seduce me? Am I not attractive enough?” the Queen asked, giving the older red-head a watery-eyed look. Ritsuko's own eyes cooled a little.

“That doesn't work on me, kid,” she warned evenly. “Why are you all so damned interested in what I do or don't do?” she asked the room at large, moving to the side board and getting a glass of water.

“It passes the time,” Gabriella replied casually.

“Are you going to seduce me or not, Ritsuko?” asked the Queen.

“Is this your doing, Airi?” asked Ritsuko of her teammate, speaking Japanese.

“No, not that I am aware of,” Airi replied. “But to be fair, Rit-chan dear, you did come on to her,” pointed out the actress.

“The hell I did! I was keeping that sleaze-ball prince off her!” snapped back Ritsuko, heat in her words. Airi met her gaze with a steady one of her own.

“Yes. But you also knew how she viewed you,” reminded the actress. Ritsuko all but slammed the glass back down on the table.

“Ok, let's play,” she said, turning to the queen. Cupping the queen's cheeks, Ritsuko pulled her into a deep kiss. The queen was too stunned to react for the first couple heartbeats, but then began to struggle, though it was not immediately clear if she was trying to break the kiss or grab Ritsuko so she could deepen it. It appeared that the former came out on top as Liseria finally got a grip on Ritsuko's biceps and pushed her back, the stronger, taller red-head allowing her to break the kiss without effort.

“L-l-lady Ritsuko!” gasped the queen, face entirely red.

“I thought you wanted me to seduce you, Liseria,” purred Ritsuko, hands still on the flaming cheeks of the Queen. Her hands slid down, along the queen's neck to cup her breasts through the gown. “You know, I have never taken an actual queen to bed,” she noted, licking her lips, “this could be fun.”

“Lady Ritsuko!” protested Artemis and Venus as one, “This is highly inappropriate!” Ritsuko gave them a dangerous smile over Liseria's head even as she pulled the still-stunned Queen to her in a full-body hug, one of her hands grabbing the Queen's ass.

“I don't hear her complaining,” purred Ritsuko, eyes lidded.

“P-please stop, Ritsuko!” the queen managed. Ritsuko released her immediately, stepping away from her, her expression dropping back into the expression the elves were most familiar with: a closed-off mask of concentration that served as a means to keep everyone at a distance from her. It was what she wore when she was `working in the field', as she called her forays into terror, death and destruction. Glancing at Airi, Ritsuko didn't say a word as she grabbed her court cloak, swirling it over her as she headed for the door.

“Milliea,” Airi said soft, inclining her head toward Ritsuko as she stepped through the door. Milliea dashed after her closest friend, the door closing behind the two. The queen was panting, face still beet red, one hand over her heart.

“I…I didn't know she could be like that,” breathed the monarch, stumbling a little as she dropped into one of the chairs in the room.

“You know less of her than you think, then, my queen,” Airi said quietly. Turning her attention to Artemis and Venus, she pinned them in place with a stare. “As for you two, it would serve you best to avoid confronting Ritsuko so carelessly. Am I making myself clear?”

“But she…!” began Artemis.

“I said, am I making myself clear?” the steel in Airi's voice cut their protests off immediately.

“Yes, Chancellor Airi,” they both bowed meekly to her.

“I have to say, I didn't expect that reaction from her either,” Gabriella noted calmly.

“It is this place and situation that is making her less…stable,” Airi sighed. “We are leaving in the morning, if you have no further interest here, my queen,” Airi said. Liseria shook her head. “Then it is decided,” proclaimed Airi, pouring two glasses of wine before moving over to where Liseria was still blushing in her chair. Handing the young Queen a glass, she sipped her own.

“Would Ritsuko have really forced herself on me?” wondered the queen several sips later.

“What do your instincts say?” Airi asked instead, shooting a sharp look at the elves, warning them to be silent.

“I don't think she would, but then, I never thought she would do something so…” the blush deepened a little as the queen turned her attention to the glass of wine in her hands.

“Stop acting like a child, my queen - it is unbecoming a ruler,” Airi said, though her tone was warm and supportive instead of hard and disciplinary. “You know full well what lies ahead of you, and to act as if you are unprepared for that weakens you and your standing in the eyes of others.”

“Yes, Lady Airi,” the Queen said, straightening. “I didn't think Ritsuko would make such sexual advances on me,” she returned to the original topic.

“Do you think she would rape you?” Airi asked, absently swirling the wine in her wine glass.

“No,” came the answer a moment later.

“Good. Your instincts are correct. Ritsuko would never rape you. Not her, not ever,” Airi confirmed the Queen's instincts were correct. “But she would have taken you to bed and claimed your virginity if you hadn't resisted. This aspect of her is new to me, but I can see how it developed,” Airi thought aloud. She glanced at the queen. “And she would have rocked your world, to use a phrase from our native land,” smiled Airi.

“She has that much experience with women?” wondered Rapier.

“Perhaps, but it is more because I know her personality. She is driven to achieve and she is detail minded. She would not settle for being poor at whatever skill she needs to have, and from what she said earlier, she is not unfamiliar with pleasuring women.” She thought Gabriella's eyebrow twitched but couldn't be sure.

“Lady Ritsuko is like that?” blinked Venus. Airi turned to stare at the two body servants of the Queen, her eyes icy.

“She was a slave for six years on a plantation. Do not be so dense, Venus dear,” her voice was a reprimand. The former slaves looked at the floor, ashamed to have forgotten that. “Ritsuko isn't like that; she is a survivor. We will speak of this no more,” warned Airi. A knock on the door preceded Persephone and Hecate returning from their taskings.

“Lady Airi,” they bowed to their mistress. “My Queen,” they bowed to their ruler.

“Persephone, Hecate, we depart tomorrow morning. Begin the preparations,” Airi ordered. “Artemis and Venus will assist you. Once you have composed yourself, my Queen, you and I will go extend our apologies to the king. Gabriella, Rapier, if you would please go find Millie and Rit-chan, she could probably use some help,” smiled the actress. The two nodded before moving out of the room.

“Ritsuko might need help?” wondered the queen.

“No, Milliea might need help,” Airi said, helping the queen up before critically examining her thoroughly. “Come, we must inform the king we are leaving and will not be accepting his offer for his son to court you.”

“Gladly,” Liseria almost-huffed. Once the two had left the rooms, the body servants - Airi's and the Queen's - immediately began to gossip about the latest turn of events even as they swiftly packed up the group's bags and prepared traveling clothes for their ladies.

As this was happening, Milliea was following Ritsuko silent as a shadow. While she tended to be a chatterbox, Milliea could often sense when to be quiet around Ritsuko. It was an ability Ritsuko greatly appreciated. The two swept out of the palace and into the city, Ritsuko setting a fast pace, but not so fast as to draw unwarranted attention to her. The two aimlessly looped through the city streets, Gabriella and Rapier joining Milliea within a half hour. Eventually, Ritsuko found her way to the building with the tallest tower, then navigated herself to the tower and climbed it. Only three people were hurt in the process, which owned more to Gabriella and Rapier getting to them before Ritsuko. Once up on the tower, Ritsuko found a spot to settle where she could look out over the city in silence. The three elves settled in to wait as well. Night approached, and Ritsuko still didn't move.

“We are leaving here in the morning, Ritsuko,” Rapier said at last.

“Good,” was all she got.

“We understand what you did, Ritsuko,” Gabriella said a few minutes later. “It's fine. The queen isn't damaged, and nothing has changed. We get it, ok?”

“Do you?” was all the red-haired human said to that. Gabriella and Rapier glanced at each other.

“We're sorry, Ritsuko. We shouldn't have pushed you like that,” the dark elf said for the both of them.

“Why do you think I am looking for an apology? And what did you do to push me, exactly?” Ritsuko asked, chin on her crossed arms, which rested on top of her knees. The two oldest elves exchanged looks, wondering what to say to that.

“Rit-chan,” Milliea said, touching the human's shoulder. Ritsuko turned to look at Milliea, only to find herself being kissed by the elf again.

“Mmph!” was all she could manage as Milliea wrapped her up in her arms and held the kiss. It was a good minute before the elf finally released her, easing her head back enough to breathe, drool connecting her lips and Ritsuko's. “Milliea, what are you doing?!” breathed Ritsuko.

“Kissing you,” came the little-child like answer, along with a glowing smile.

“Of course you are,” sighed Ritsuko. Should have known better, she thought to herself wryly. “Why are you kissing me?”

“Don't you like it?” asked the elf.

“That isn't really the point,” began Ritsuko, unsure herself if she liked the kiss or not. On the one hand, Milliea was a girl and her mental age was rather low. But on the other hand, she was a surprisingly good kisser; at least in Ritsuko's estimation.

“I disagree,” Gabriella cut in on the conversation. “I think it is the point.”

“As do I,” Rapier said. Ritsuko turned her head as much as Milliea would allow her to look at the two older elf women.

“Really?” she asked, her tone conveying her disbelief.

“Yes,” Gabriella said, moving over to the human. “And it is probably partially our fault, too,” she said, smirking for a moment before lunging in to kiss her as well. Ritsuko did struggle this time, but not enough to risk hurting her friends. The dark elf broke the kiss several seconds later.

“Gabs,” breathed Ritsuko in exasperation.

“We should have followed up after that night in the inn, but we didn't know how,” Rapier said, slipping in to kiss her as well.

“What we are saying is that your pass at us is new territory for us,” Gabriella said.

“It isn't that we minded it,” Milliea earnestly insisted. “I liked it, at least, and I don't think Rapier and Gabs were upset.”

“Then why…?” began Ritsuko, her voice quiet.

“Well, we said it was new territory for us, right? It is a bit more than that,” Rapier said as Milliea eased Ritsuko down to sit where she had been sitting before.

“Elves and humans not allowed to be together?” guessed Ritsuko.

“By convention, no,” shrugged Gabriella. “But it is not forbidden on our side; or even frowned on. It is you humans who have such problems with inter-species relationships. The Church, in particular, has a thing about `racial purity' that it likes to preach…”

“Fucking morons,” grunted Ritsuko. Her mind finished shifting gears. “If it is a racial purity thing, then humans and elves can cross-breed?” she blinked.

“Yes, though it is rare for such things to happen,” Gabriella said. “All but one or two cases are from a human man and an elf woman. For whatever reason, a male elf and a human woman are virtually guaranteed to be childless,” she shrugged.

“The children of such unions are typically trapped between the two races,” Rapier said. “The lifespan is still over two centuries, but not immortal or near-immortal like a true elf.”

“But we don't have to worry about that with you, since you're a girl,” came ever-cheerful Milliea's observation.

“The part that is unfamiliar with us is that this is both human/elf and girl/girl. None of us have ever had that mix before. In fact, I am pretty sure that I am the only one who can say she has ever been with a woman,” grinned Gabriella. “I bet Milliea is still a virgin by all measures,” she added, smiling at the red-headed elf.

“Yeah! Does that matter?” wondered Milliea.

“Well, it wasn't a serious pass,” Ritsuko said, finding her balance again. “I know you two have both been with Junpei,” she added, giving the two a look they couldn't decipher, “so it isn't like I expect you to suddenly like girls or anything.”

“Maybe our past liaison with Junpei is why we liked your pass at us,” Rapier suggested, though her body language made Ritsuko suspicious of her truthfulness.

“I don't buy it,” she said evenly. “But thanks for the offer. Come on, we have things to do and I don't want to worry Airi,” she said, forcing herself to her feet, overpowering Milliea's attempts to keep her seated. “You don't have to worry about me molesting you or anything, either,” she added.

“Is it ok if we molest you?” Gabriella asked. Ritsuko turned to stare at her for a long moment.

“I doubt you would find it worth it to compromise yourself just for me, Gabs,” she said, her voice low and soft. “You are functionally immortal, so your mistakes will carry a hell of a lot higher price than mine will,” she said before moving past them to the small door. “We need to get back,” she said.

The three elves glanced at each other, wondering if they had mishandled the situation or not before hurrying after Ritsuko. The human went right back to the palace, headed straight to the apartments they had been given, brushed off the attempts of the body servants and the Queen to talk to her and gone into the bedroom she shared with Airi. After a quick report from the elves, Airi had entered the bedroom, finding Ritsuko was just finishing up undressing and checking her weapons.

“Rit-chan,” breathed the actress.

“It's fine, Airi,” said the red-head. “We have a long day tomorrow,” she said, moving to the bed and slipping into it, pistol in hand. Airi nodded before joining her. Ritsuko didn't cuddle up to her as she usually did.

“Ritsuko,” began Airi.

“I understand, Airi. The Queen is safe; so are the elves,” she whispered. Airi moved over to Ritsuko, pulling her into an embrace.

“It is you I am worried about,” Airi said.

“Don't be,” murmured Ritsuko, motionless in her arms. “I'm fine,” she added. Airi frowned in the darkness. This is the last thing I needed, she thought sourly. Guess it is plan E, then, decided the raven-haired actress.

“Queen Liseria of Raltaow, accompanied by Chancellor Airi of Raltaow,” boomed the court page, striking the ceremonial staff on the stone floor. The two flowed into the grand banquet hall, Liseria resting her hand on Airi's hand as the two gave graceful half-curtseys. Behind them came Annette, accompanied by a gowned and make-up encrusted Ritsuko, who was wearing a brittle, tight smile.

“High Priestess of Common Elves Annette, accompanied by Lady Ritsuko of Raltaow,” the page introduced the two. Their curtseys were clean and crisp, but lacked the fluid nature of the Queen's and Airi's. The four moved toward the table that was closest to the raised dais where the kings of the Congress sat. Ritsuko smiled as she saw none of the seats for the Southern Kingdoms were occupied. Settling in their seats, the group waited to be served.

“This is torture,” murmured Ritsuko to Airi.

“Patience, Rit-chan,” Airi murmured back as the first group of nobles came to their table to chat them up. The banquet etiquette for the Congress-hosted banquets was unique to that gathering. Instead of a royal table with guests of honor sitting with the kings, the kings had a dais, with the tables arranged around it, the closer your table to the dais area, the more important you were. And instead of a receiving line, the groups would circulate in small groups, table to table, to chat up the people they were interested in. Later, there would be dancing and the like, but first the food and networking.

In short order, there was food on the table and the group was eating. Ritsuko had tried to order water or tea, but the servants had not listened. Brave of them, given she was armed to the teeth, but Airi prevented her from pushing the point. Instead, she requested a dry white wine for Ritsuko, murmuring that the alcohol was low in that configuration. Ritsuko had muttered curses under her breath, but played the role she had been given. One glass diluted with food shouldn't affect her, given her mass; or so she hoped.

As the group ate, Ritsuko nursed her glass of wine. It seemed to take her forever to finish it, and before she could stop them, a servant had filled it again with an amber-colored wine. Ritsuko didn't plan to drink any more, but toasts were flowing hard and fast, and as a member of the Queen's party, she was expected to drink. Ritsuko faked it, only letting the wine touch her lips and pretending to drink. She had to admit, the wine had a rather nice fruity taste, if not what she wanted to drink. The red-head made that one glass last until the group migrated to the dance hall, where the music troupe was all warmed up and ready. She had tried to slip away, but Airi and the Queen had kept her trapped the entire time.

Having wedged herself into a corner and with her fake smile slipping, she had watched the guests dance on the floor. The formal, stilted, stiff dancing did nothing for her; not that she had ever been a club girl even on her own world. More than one man had risked getting within touching distance of her, seeking a dance with her, but she shot them all down firmly and without mercy. Watching Airi and Liseria work the floor, she could appreciate the opportunity for them, being in the political wing of their loose association, but she was in the fighting section and it chafed her to be forced into this role.

“My lady, may I have this dance?” a voice asked. Ritsuko turned glare at the young man, only to blink as she recognized the Shinji-like member of her insurgent cell. Not far away was the eleven-year old girl, a man more than twice her age chatting her up. Ritsuko's eyes flickered around the room, spotting another of her corp.

“Not if you value your life,” she snarled softly. “Get me the fuck out of here before I open fire,” she breathed softly, extending her arm toward him.

“Of course I would be honored to take in some fresh air with you, my Lady,” he bowed with fluid grace and skill before taking her arm and guiding her toward the balcony. Ritsuko caught Airi glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. Her own eyes slitted a little more as suspicions flared in her mind.

Her young minion led her along the edge of the room and out the doors to the wide veranda which tapered off to the formal gardens. The stars were out and there were other couples out there. The young man confidently led her into the garden, finding an unoccupied marble bench not far from the fountain and guiding her down with courtly decorum before sitting beside her. “Is this better, my lady?” he asked her.

“Yes, I suppose,” Ritsuko returned, looking around. She could see shadowy couples spread out through the garden area. The spot they were in was rather exposed in comparison, which is probably why it was unoccupied. “The fresh air is appreciated, at least,” she added.

“Are you new to court, my lady? I believe I would recognize such a beauty as yourself had she ever been here before,” he said, his tone friendly and warm. Against her will, she felt herself relaxing a little.

“And I am sure such a handsome young man is quite popular with the court ladies,” she replied, a playful tone behind her words. Her young agent smiled easily, making a small gesture.

“I would not say I was unpopular, my lady,” he replied modestly. “Yet none of them have your presence and charm, my lady,” he insisted.

“I am sure,” she almost giggled. “How do you find court here?” she asked. To most, that would sound like idle banter between a young man trying to get into her dress and a young woman considering letting the young man into her dress.

“Most enlightening, my lady,” he replied, leaning a little closer to her. Ritsuko almost pulled away from him, but mentally shrugged and leaned a bit closer to him. It was expected, after all, judging from the activities of the other couples around them. “May I ask you to tell me more of yourself?” he asked her, an arm easing around her shoulders.

“I suppose,” she allowed, mildly confused why she wasn't brushing his arm off her shoulders. Leaning a bit closer to him, she spun some of the back-story of her current identity as a Raltaow minor noble in service to the queen. Almost before she knew it, she felt his lips brush her. A jolt ran through her, making her twitch even as her hand flashed down to her thigh, where her pistol was strapped under her gown. “You are forward,” she panted.

“I cannot help myself when in the presence of such a beauty,” he replied, one of his hands having somehow ended up touching her belly. Ritsuko blinked, fighting herself.

“I believe I will call it a night,” she said, standing. Her agent stood immediately.

“Allow me the honor of escorting you to your room,” he said, a bit louder than necessary. Ritsuko glanced around, spotting a pair of guards discreetly making rounds. Allowing him to take her arm, she nodded.

“Yes, I would appreciate that,” she said as he led her off. Several minutes later, she found herself in the rooms she and the others had been assigned to. Her agent was still holding her arm, one of his around her waist. Ritsuko for her part was feeling hot and she knew her groin was damp with arousal; something that she felt she should have been worried about. Instead, she turned to the young man, who she guessed was in his late teens. “We were seen leaving the party together,” she said.

“Yes, Boss,” he murmured back.

“Which is why it would be suspicious for you to return to the ball without me,” she added, pulling him closer to her.

“I understand, Boss,” he said, swallowing hard.

“Good. Remember that,” she said before kissing him hard and aggressively as she maneuvered him toward the bed. By the time they reached it, she was naked and he was mostly so. Ritsuko didn't waste any time, pushing him back onto the bed and straddling him. She was panting a little, and the look in her eyes froze him in place as she settled herself in position over his hard length. Using one hand to both check that she was wet enough and to spread her lips open, she sank down on him, moaning softly in approval of his size. Bottoming out, she leaned forward until she was nose to nose with him. “You wanted me, so enjoy it,” she husked before kissing him again. When she broke the kiss and straightened up a little, she gave him a hungry look as she tensed her thighs. “Time to take you for a ride,” she panted. The young man could only hold on for dear life and pray he survived this night.

When Ritsuko awoke, she frowned. Partially because of the pain in her head, but more so because she was sore and there was someone who was most certainly not Airi spooned to her, a hard organ prodding her rear giving away the gender of her bedmate. Blinking, she suddenly remembered the night before. Grimacing, she rolled out of the bed, the young man barely reacting. “Stupid, stupid, stupid, Ritsuko,” she muttered furiously even as she felt warm, thick liquid seeping down her thighs. Using a hand, she traced her lower lips, almost praying it was blood, but finding it was what she had expected: a mixture of her fluids and what must have been more than a few loads of semen from her insurgent.

“Damn it,” she hissed, grabbing a bed gown and heading for the door, hoping she wasn't leaving a trail of drops behind her. Throwing the door open she saw Airi sipping tea at the small table in the common room of the suite. Seeing the look on Ritsuko's face, Airi set the tea down.

“I had a bath drawn for you not ten minutes ago,” she said softly, Ritsuko glaring at her before nearly running to the baths. Airi sighed, picking up her tea again. Less than two minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Airi answered it, finding it was the youngest of the insurgents, looking for Ritsuko. The actress considered telling her to come back later, but ultimately chose not to. Sooner or later, this would have to be dealt with. “She just left for a bath,” Airi said. “She was…busy last night,” allowed the older woman. The girl broke out in a wide grin.

“Finally!” she chirped dashing past Airi. Throwing open the nearest door - which happened to be the one that was for her and Airi's bed room, she blinked, seeing the sleeping young man. “Hey! Wake up and tell me how it went, moron!” she yelled, hurrying to the bed and kicking the young man off the bed.

“Hey!” he protested as he floundered on the floor. “What is the big idea, Zarin?” he demanded, jumping to his feet. This left him nude, but neither seemed to care.

“Tell me everything!” commanded the younger girl. “Did you make her cum? Did she enjoy herself? Is she relaxed now?” demanded the girl.

“Well, I guess she was having a good time,” began the young man. “She was incredible,” he added, smiling stupidly.

“I don't give a damn about if you enjoyed it or not,” the girl cut him off. “It only matters that she had a good time,” she huffed.

“You are being a bitch,” he complained, absently adjusting himself.

“And you are being useless as usual,” she huffed, marching out of the room and toward the baths. “I will just ask her directly,” she stated.

The young man yawned behind a hand as he started to look for his clothes. “Not so fast,” Airi said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. “I want to know exactly what happened last night. And I do mean exactly,” she warned him ominously.

By the time he was telling her the part where he fell asleep, the elves were back. “Oh! It was you!” chirped Milliea cheerfully. Gabs and Rapier eyed him up and down.

“Well, he survived and it looks like he was adequate,” snickered Gabriella.

“Maybe not,” sighed Airi. “Get dressed and get out of here. It would be best if you weren't here when she returns,” Airi said to the young man.

“Is there a problem with me being here?” he wondered.

“If you don't mind being killed by her, no,” Airi said. “Hurry now,” she added. The man swiftly dressed.

“Did I make a mistake last night?” he wondered.

“Depends on your definition of mistake,” Airi said. “I will find you later and give you further instructions; assuming she doesn't get to you first,” she added. The young man paled, practically running from the room.

“That was a mean trick to play, Airi,” Rapier smiled.

“Why would you think it was a trick? She was angry this morning; very angry,” Airi said softly. The elves blinked.

“Was he that bad in bed?” Gabriella wondered.

“Not sure,” admitted the actress. The elves glanced at each other.

“I'm going to check on her,” Milliea said, turning for the door. The others wanted to warn her not to, but knew it wouldn't stop her, so they said nothing as she left.

“Did we mess up?” wondered Gabriella to the other two in the room.

“Maybe, but I am hoping this is just the release of the tension; sort of like when you pop a blister,” she hoped aloud. “What were you three doing anyway?” she wondered.

While the two elves were telling Airi about their night's adventure, Milliea reached the baths, barely breaking stride as she opened the door. “Rit-chan?” she called out, spotting some red hair in the steam rising from a large tub. Next to the tub was the youngest of the insurgents, leaning close to the rebel leader. Milliea headed right for them.

“Milliea, not now, please,” Ritsuko said, her voice sounding a little strained. Milliea ignored her, kneeling next to the tub and giving the red-head a thorough visual inspection.

“Are you hurt?” she asked directly.

“No, just feeling like a fucking idiot,” growled Ritsuko.

“He was that bad?” blinked Milliea.

“Boys can't do anything right,” snorted the girl.

“What would you know of guys, little one?” Ritsuko retorted.

“More than enough,” grinned the girl.

“Tell me that older man isn't fucking you,” groaned Ritsuko. The girl shrugged.

“He thinks he is, but I'm fucking him,” she bragged. The red-headed leader of the rebellion slumped in the tub. “Anyway, since Tosil was such a useless lay, it's my turn!” the girl chirped, lunging at Ritsuko and sealing her lips to the red-heads.

Ritsuko got an arm up and used it to snatch the girl off the floor and into the tub, where she held her under water with a hand around her throat. “Rit-chan!” Milliea yelled, grabbing the human's shoulder. Ritsuko pulled the girl back up, the young girl coughing as she was held up by Ritsuko's arm.

“I am not some fucking toy for everyone, do I make myself clear?” purred Ritsuko, her tone dangerous.

“Y-yes, Boss!” the girl managed.

“The next one to treat me like that dies!” she declared, dropping the girl into the bath as she stepped out, angrily grabbing a towel. The young insurgent sat quietly, watching her boss silently as she dried off, still muttering darkly.

“What's wrong, Rit-chan?” Milliea asked. The red-headed human sent her a flat look.

“Were you in on it, Milliea?” she asked directly.

“In on what?” she asked, blinking. Ritsuko accepted that as her answer.

“Doesn't matter. In the end, it was my mistake,” Ritsuko said, letting her head fall forward so she was cupping her face in her hands, arms resting on her knees as she squatted on the floor, towel over her shoulder. “At least it was a safe day,” she muttered, only Milliea hearing her.

A knock came from the door, Hecate opening it a moment later. “Lady Ritsuko, I brought you some clothes,” she said, her tone meek and careful.

“Thanks,” Ritsuko said, standing up, a ghost of a grimace flashing across her face.

“Coffee has been prepared in the rooms, Lady,” Hecate said.

“What I wouldn't give for some aspirin,” Ritsuko said, quickly dressing. “He still in my bed?” she asked.

“Lady Airi sent him away immediately,” Hecate reported.

“I'm sure she did,” grunted Ritsuko. “Well? You going to sit in that tub all day or what?” she directed that comment to the young insurgent. The girl hopped out of the tub, following the three back to the rooms, her soaked dress dripping water all down the hall.

Entering the room, Ritsuko gave the three at the small table a narrow look before turning to the young insurgent. “In my room, strip and find dry clothes,” she ordered.

“Yes!” the girl confirmed, scurrying into the room. Ritsuko absently tossed her hair to help it dry more.

“Airi, we need to talk,” she said to the actress.

“About the young man?” Airi asked calmly.

“We could start there,” Ritsuko allowed. “Or we could start at the beginning: with the wine.”

“Is that what you are upset about? The wine? Or that you woke up with a man in your bed and didn't kill him?” challenged Airi.

“Of course I didn't kill him, he is one of my agents,” snarled Ritsuko through locked teeth.

“I would think that would be perfect for you to relax and start dealing with your emotional trauma involving men,” replied Airi. “Have some coffee and chew on this; it will deal with your hangover,” she added, handing Ritsuko a cup of coffee and a small cube of herbs. Ritsuko looked at her for a moment before tossing the cube into her mouth, chewing it for a moment, then swallowing the remains with a swig of coffee.

“It is not perfect. He has a crush on me, and now he has an attachment to me that will be a problem later. Damn it, I maintain a distance from my agents for a reason and you know it, Airi,” she nearly yelled in frustration.

“So, if it had been some random young man, it wouldn't have upset you?” challenged Gabriella.

“Fuck, no! I would have killed the dick-head if he wasn't one of mine!” denied Ritsuko.

“So you admit that he was the only choice, then,” Airi pointed out calmly. “Anyone else you would have killed, so he was the only one safe to help you relax.”

Ritsuko bared her teeth. “You are slicker than a politician, aren't you, Airi?” she asked tightly before taking another drink of coffee.

“If I have to be, yes,” Airi confirmed, maintaining eye contact with Ritsuko. The red-head was the first to look away.

“We he any good?” asked Rapier from where she was standing, behind and to the side of Ritsuko. Ritsuko glanced at the kickboxer.

“Feel free to give him a try if you are curious,” she replied drolly.

“Human men are usually not worth the drama; which is why I asked you if he was any good,” replied the kickboxer.

“Adequate, I guess,” the younger human replied.

“Did you cum?” grinned Gabriella. The red-headed young woman couldn't quite stop the blush from touching her cheeks.

“Yeah, I did. Do you want a blow by blow accounting, long-ears?” she replied truculently.

“If you want to brag, go for it. Besides, it will tell me how much effort I will need to put in to make you forget all about him,” she purred suggestively. Seeing Ritsuko expression, she grinned lazily. “Oh, I can make you forget he even exists, young human girl,” she lilted.

Ritsuko finished her coffee. “Where is the Queen?” she asked directly.

“She is having breakfast with the chair of the Congress,” replied Airi. “We have just enough time to join them,” she added, standing and picking up a brush while Persephone entered from the other room with a day gown. Ritsuko's fists clenched, but after a moment, she released her fists.

“It is a good thing I trust you, Airi,” she said softly. Airi mentally heaved a sigh of relief.

“And so, as you can see, we are about to reach an armistice with the Rebellion,” the chairman of the Congress of Kings said to Airi, who was sitting in on a session of the Congress. Airi hummed, pretending to study the document. She already knew every last detail in there and the list of requirements from the Rebellion. Beside her, Liseria was giving a very good performance of a bored Queen. “So, shall we discuss resuming normal commerce between our kingdoms and your own?” he asked.

“While that would be a good thing to discuss, I fear that until the armistice is in place and working, the risks remain too high for us. Even as we came here, we witnessed the situation of civic order and security first hand, as well as hearing of the Rebellion's successful seizure of more land in the Central Kingdoms,” Airi said. “This situation is at least as volatile as it was before, if not more so. I am sure you have heard the rumors about their leader being loose in the kingdoms, have you not?” she prodded.

“Yes, we are aware of those rumors, Chancellor Airi,” the chairman conceded. “However, we have all magistrates and guards on the lookout for her or anyone suspicious. The apprehension of criminals and suspected agents of the Rebellion has reached a new high this year,” he countered.

“We heard stories of an attempted execution earlier this spring that went…unexpectedly,” was the reply from the actress. A few of the kings twitched at that.

“Yes, some magic was employed, and we lost a few of the suspects,” the king of that Kingdom replied. “However, my marshal has assured me that only one suspect was not accounted for in the weeks following the incident, and the rest were immediately hung upon capture.”

Liseria leaned over, pretending to whisper to Airi for a long moment before resuming her own seated pose of casual disdain. The Kings waited, but Airi instead crooked a finger, and one of the two attendants of the pair hurried to her side, kneeling as Airi whispered to her for a long moment. The woman stood, curtseyed to the pair and swiftly exited the room. “Getting back to the point,” Airi said, ignoring the curiosity of the Kings, “I see some issues with getting this armistice in place and working; most of all the issue with the Southern Kings. I note that none of the surviving three are present in this congress,” she noted.

“The Rebellion allowed for that in their terms,” the Chairman began.

“So I was told,” Airi smoothly cut him off. “My concern is that these kings, having already conducted unapproved - and disastrous - operations in the Southern Kingdoms will violate the armistice before the ink even dries. Should they not prove successful beyond even the most optimistic hopes of success, the Rebellion will most likely retaliate against everyone, without quarter or mercy. Your own military leaders fear they lack the resources and abilities to face such an onslaught. And that is to say nothing of what their leader, Boss, will do,” the Chancellor noted. “This issue worries me; and with good cause.”

“What would you suggest we do, then, Chancellor?” asked a Western Kingdoms king.

“I would not presume to meddle in the affairs of a Kingdom other than my own,” prefaced Airi, hearing a nearly-smothered giggle from Liseria, “but the only reasonable path I can see with any chance of success involves bringing the three to heel; permanently, if necessary.” Murmuring broke out as the Kings tried to decipher her meaning. As the whispering grew louder, Liseria leaned over to Airi again, once more pretending to whisper in her ear. Airi nodded, but said nothing.

“Queen Liseria, perhaps you would grace us with your thoughts on this matter?” the Chairman said, trying to bring her into the discussion. Since the two had entered the chamber of the Congress, Queen Liseria had not spoken a word to any of the Kings, always whispering to Airi instead. It grated on several of the kings that the Queen - a woman nominally their equal - refused to speak with them directly. Some of the Kings attributed this to her young age, and most of them attributed it to her being a girl. A few recognized the ploy as a means of exerting passive control on the discussion.

Liseria flicked open the ornate hand fan she had taken to using with her formal court gown, hiding the lower part of her face as she flicked a finger in Airi's direction. “My Queen has put forth the suggestion that imposing abdication of their thrones on the kings would likely serve to both end their threat and to show the intention to honor the armistice and the peace the armistice would grant to the Rebellion. It is a thought worthy of serious discussion, to my mind,” she added.

That suggestion got the attention of every king in the congress; most of them displaying negative reactions. Shouting broke out as well as yelled questions, accusations and declarations of opposition. The Chairman banged his gavel for several moments before the floor quieted. “Queen Liseria, have you any concept of the ramifications of that idea?” he asked, his tone tight.

“She does,” Airi answered even as Liseria narrowed her eyes. “My Queen may be young, but she is well versed in politics, law and governance.” The coolness of her tone carried clearly to the lords, warning that such remarks would be treated as attacks on her personage. “And again, I say that it is an idea worth serious consideration by this body.”

“What of Raltaow? You, who sit in your mountain stronghold, safe and secure, while we are faced with a rebellion that could take our very kingdoms from us dare to suggest we force our brother kings, who have lost their kingdoms to the Rebellion, to renounce their claim to the throne?” a king bellowed, face red. Airi picked out his crest, placing him in the Northern Kingdoms group.

“What thrones have they to abdicate?” Airi asked directly, eyes piercing the king like arrows. “Their kingdoms, as it were, are no more than the chair they sit upon in this hall. For this you would risk peace? For them - who have already cost the Kingdoms more lands with their recklessness - you would endanger your own kingdoms and subjects? If that is your stance, then you are fools,” stated Airi. Behind her, their guards - one for her and one for the Queen - shifted slightly, their cloaks shifting to allow twin sword hilts to peek from the folds of one while another shifted their arms in front of them, their cloak revealing a short object in their hands.

The chamber exploded again, causing a ghost of a smirk to grace the lips of one of the guards. The second reached out to touch their upper arm for a moment. Airi calmly exchanged stares with several kings while Liseria slowly fanned her face with the hand fan, her other hand held in front of her as she ostentatiously examined her nails. Artemis had spent an hour giving her Queen a manicure and pedicure, so the nails were perfect, polished with oils and immaculate. Persephone had done the same for Airi. The actress missed nail polish and modern grooming tools, but the pumice stone, sand blocks and buffing cloths of the Elf World did the job well enough.

“Order!” yelled the chairman, banging his gavel. It took him much longer to quiet the room down this time. No sooner had the floor quieted than a king from the Western Kingdoms stood, claiming the floor.

“My fellow monarchs,” he began, muted booing and some insults rippling around the room, “the facts of this situation will not be changed by denial, anger or seeking to place blame on other parties any more than declaring that the sun is banished from the skies will stop it from setting and rising as it wills. I say to you all that we are best served by addressing the realities we are faced with than by bickering and denying the facts before us. To that ends, I wish to express my view on the idea put forth by Queen Liseria of Raltaow. My view is as follows: better for three kings without kingdoms to abdicate the thrones - thus dissolving the `kingdoms' that no longer exist - than for the Rebellion to continue as it has been, draining our strength, money and military resources while they grow stronger and better prepared. Left as it is now, they will eventually win. I open the floor to intelligent, purposeful discussion,” he said, sitting down even as shouts began around the chamber. A quarter of the way around the central stage of the Congress, the military liaison was staring at the Queen and Chancellor with unbridled hatred. The two women ignored him entirely, trusting to their body guards. One of which was giving him a look in return that made him increasingly uncomfortable.

Several minutes into a heated debate between three factions - the die-hard opposition to any political solution, the moderate faction and the faction that wanted a quick solution - the servant door opened and the Queen's attendant hurried up to the Raltaow pair, kneeling beside Airi before once more whispering to her. Many of the kings failed to notice. Airi nodded, the woman once more standing before curtseying and returning to her original position by the body guards. Airi stood, clapping her hands four times in measured time, cutting through the yelling with surprising ease. “My Kings, it has been a pleasure to visit here with you, but My Queen and I have another engagement we must be off to. I hope you will continue to discuss this situation, and perhaps will have some sort of consensus when next myself or my Queen visits here. I bid you all good day,” she said, giving a regal curtsey in her court gown before offering a hand to her Queen to help her off the low dais their seats had been on. Liseria demurely rested a hand on Airi's as her other hand controlled her court gown so she could safely step off the dais. The two moved toward the doors, their servants and guards falling into step. Moments later, they were gone.

“I give you all the Cowards of Raltaow,” declared a king, gesturing to the departed party.

“And I give you a blustering fool who cannot maintain focus on the threat facing his own kingdom,” came the dry retort from another king. The fight was immediately back on. Barely a half hour later, the door opened again and a messenger ran in, heading right for the Military Liaison. The man handed over a scroll, saluted and ran off. Once more, the kings fell silent as dread began to form in many of their bellies.

“What news?” asked the Chairman.

“Elements of the western guard have pivoted to attack the flanks of the annexed holdings,” the liaison read. “After fierce fighting, they were repulsed with heavy losses.” A few cheers went up from a handful of kings. “My lords, our forces were repulsed with heavy losses,” the liaison said, silencing the weak cheers. “The Rebels maintained position after the retreat, as usual. The general gave orders to rest and refit, thinking the Rebels would do no more. By morning, the lines were overrun. The remnants of the Western guard are falling back before a fierce offense by the Rebellion. The dispatch is signed by a knight lieutenant,” he said, dropping into his seat.

It took the kings about ten seconds to realize what had been said and what it meant. The Western guard was the army that closed off the Rebellion from the mountains that marked the boundary of the Southern Kingdoms to the Languid River. That force of men was commanded by a Field Marshall with three Knight Generals under him. That the dispatch was signed by a Knight Lieutenant - a rank that typically commanded only small units in battle and was not a Staff Rank - meant that either none of the higher ranking officers survived, or they were too scattered to be reached and the Knight Lieutenant had assumed command of enough men to be considered the main force leader. Both interpretations meant the same thing in the end: the Western guard was effectively broken and routed.

“Maps,” called the Chairman, two attendants hurriedly selected large-size maps of the region before hastily pinning them to the wooden section of wall behind the Chairman's seat. Using a charcoal marker, he swiftly made some lines and symbols. Seeing what was being shown, he grimaced a little. “Gentlemen, I fear we have a significant problem on our hands,” he said, gesturing to the map.

“We must commit our reserves to an attack on their opposite flank to force them to pull back!” yelled the king of the kingdom that had just been invaded.

“There are no reserves left,” the liaison said. “We can - at best! - raise a half company of foot soldiers and a few small cavalry groups, but that will take a good two weeks, and they will be formed of mostly Eastern and Northern vassals, so it could be a month before they reach the front, and by then…” he closed his mouth without finishing.

“And by then, the Rebellion will either be entrenched in new positions like they did the last time, or they will have sacked and burned the entire kingdom, adding those slaves to their ranks,” finished the Chairman.

“That's it!” a Central King exclaimed.

“What is it?” wondered the Chairman.

“We arm the slaves and have them fight for us! They are our property, after all, are they not?” he nearly bragged.

“Yes, arm your slaves and order them to attack an army of free slaves so that they may remain your slaves. See how that works out for you,” came the dry remark of a Western King.

“Of course we would reward the survivors,” the king replied petulantly.

“With freedom?” challenged an Eastern King.

“Certainly not,” was the immediate, indignant reply.

“Then you still have nothing to offer that would incite them to fight and die for you. The Rebellion offers freedom; well, that and the chance to kill their former masters. I suspect we all know what offer they would take,” hinted the vocal Western Kingdoms spokesman.

“Speak for yourself! My slaves love me, and would die for me!” claimed a Central Kingdoms king. Low laughter was heard in response to that claim. “They do! They are treated with fairness and given the opportunity to serve my family, and they are grateful for that.”

“Getting back to the point,” the Chairman said, having been studying the map, “there is nothing between them and the capital but a shattered army and some small towns, none of which are prepared for siege. I suggest that we appeal to the Temple of Celsia for intervention yet again.”

“The elves,” came a snort from a King in the northern part of the Central Kingdoms, “the one race totally unaffected by this rebellion. Sure, let them be our mouthpiece yet again.”

“Would you prefer to try your hand, then?” asked the Chairman. “I am sure that an army of free slaves known for hating nobles and killing kings would be the perfect audience for your regal disdain.”

“Indeed. You might even get several boxes of sugar for your efforts; of course, your dismembered body would likely be packed in those same boxes,” pointed out an Eastern King. The malcontent sat back down, having reconsidered his objection.

“What of my kingdom?” asked the king whose kingdom was even now being invaded by the Rebellion. “Will you next compel me to abdicate, as you would the Southern Kingdoms kings?” The congress fell silent, unsure of the answer to that. Meanwhile, in the kingdom in question, the few Allied Military units who had survived the breach were frantically trying to fortify the capital, knowing that they had at most a day or two before they were surrounded and cut off in a city never designed for modern warfare or sieges, populated mostly with civilians, and missing their king, most of the nobility and possessing too few men to man what little defensive works there were as they needed to be manned to be of any effect.

As this was happening, Airi and the Queen were leading their group into the Temple of Celsia to meet with Annette in preparation for their trip to the Tear Islands. Just behind the Queen and Chancellor, one of the body guards was speaking to the other. “How did you know that the Kingdoms would attack?”

“I'm Boss,” came the cheerful answer. “You have to know these kinds of things when you're Boss.”

“Gloating, are we, Rit-chan?” asked Airi smoothly.

“Itching for action, more like,” came the reply.

“I'm just glad you didn't start shooting in there,” the Queen murmured.

“Art of war, Liseria,” murmured Ritsuko, which didn't really tell the Queen anything, but made sense to Airi.

“Rapier told me you broke the candle in half in the Pontiff's study, and that you picked up the pontiff's holy seal,” noted the actress. “Been stealing signets again, have we?” she asked.

“Like a Boss,” giggled Ritsuko. Airi sighed.

“Oh, Rit-chan,” she said softly. The red-headed human just giggled a little louder.

“This had better be important,” growled the grey-haired Captain as he dismounted the horse. He had been called to the front lines about an `urgent matter' that required his personal attention, and he had come, knowing that if something were going wrong, Boss would hold him responsible if he failed to handle it. So, here he was, at the command tent of the unit laying siege to the capital of the kingdom.

“It is,” the leader of the siege unit assured him, ushering him into the tent. Inside the tent, he found three men sitting in chairs under guard.

“What is this about?” he asked gruffly.

“This is our Captain, and he speaks with Boss's authority in this matter. Tell him what you said to us,” ordered the siege unit leader.

“Captain, we are representatives of the people of the capital. We have come to discuss terms of surrender with you,” the oldest of the group said. The Captain blinked.

“We have not yet even finished our siege deployment, and you are already offering surrender?” he asked, suspicious.

“As I said, we speak for the people of the capital. We have all heard of your way of fighting, and what you do to those who resist. We have also heard that your Boss mandates certain behavior toward those who offer surrender. The people of the capital wish to surrender if terms can be reached to spare us all,” the man said.

“Unconditional surrender is the only terms I have to accept,” the Captain grunted. “Are you surrendering unconditionally?” he smiled a thin smile at the group.

“We would like to ask for surrender with three stipulations, if we may,” the man replied, sweating a little.

“I am under no obligation to negotiate with you if you are not surrendering unconditionally, but I will at least hear you out before sending your heads back to the capital in boxes of sugar,” he said coldly.

“W-we ask that the city not be sacked and burned as our first stipulation. We will pay your army a tribute from the city wealth - of which there is not much, I must warn you - but ask that the city not be sacked and burned,” began the man.

“Not much of an incentive to spare you. What else?” the Captain asked.

“We will bind over to you all the nobles in the city, as well as the soldiers of the army currently in the city if you will spare us the massacre your army is known for,” the man continued, wetting his lips nervously. “Naturally, all slaves held by the nobles and the people of the city would be freed immediately,” he added.

“That was a foregone conclusion. The last plea?” he sneered coldly.

“We ask that you do not kill the men and rape the women. We will swear fealty to the Rebellion if you grant these terms of surrender,” the man finished.

“Basically, you offer us nothing while asking us to sacrifice our justice, our revenge and our rightful earnings in plunder,” the Captain said. The three men paled.

“M-my lord! If you accept the three conditions, you would take the city intact without losing a single man! We would swear fealty to the rebellion, giving your kingdom a vassal state! Is that not something?” he nearly wailed.

“Understand this clearly: the Rebellion is no kingdom. We are ruled by consensus of the leaders, and there are laws and rules about who has authority to do what. There is no one leader save Boss, and she leaves us to determine how to handle accomplishing our collective goals. What use of a vassal state do we have? Also, is your king in the city?”

“N-no, my lord,” the man answered. “He is at the Congress.”

“Then your fealty means nothing, as he remains king until we kill him,” the old soldier said flatly. The three men began to tremble.

Falling to the ground, they prostrated themselves. “We beg you! Spare the city! Spare our families!” the three cried.

“Bind these three vermin and take them to the supply tent. I want three boxes filled with sugar by sunset,” the Captain ordered, the Rebellion soldiers doing so with alacrity. The siege unit leader waited until the men were out of the tent before looking at the Captain.

“I was given to understand that Boss forbid raping the women on pain of death and that she encouraged accepting reasonable terms of surrender over needless losses in battle. Have the directives changed?” he wondered.

The Captain chuckled, shaking his head. “No, the directives remain the same. I just wanted those three to sweat it out for a few hours so they would have lots of lurid tales to tell of our army,” he explained. “Rumors and terror born of them are as much weapons for us as our swords, spears and shields. Keep that in mind,” he said, spotting a bucket of water and filling a ladle so he could drink.

“Captain, you have been with Boss for a while, have you not?” asked the siege leader.

“Since shortly after the very first fight,” he confirmed.

“I have heard rumors, but is she as vicious and bloodthirsty as the rumors say?” he wondered. He had never had the opportunity to meet Boss in person.

“She can be,” the Captain said. “I for one will never risk crossing her,” he grunted.

“So she really does forbid raping and pillaging?” he wondered.

“She was a slave herself. What do you think?” he asked. The man frowned. “And yes, kid, she kills men - and some women - if she catches them raping anyone. I have personally seen her throw a man who raped a noblewoman into an oven and slow-bake him. She executed the noblewoman, by the way - something about her having abused slaves in the past. Another time, she caught a man raping a former slave woman who had resisted his advances. She ordered some sugar melted then put him into the pot of melted sugar. When it cooled, she carved the meat off his bones and made two of his friends who had not stopped him eat it as their only food for three days. Another captain told me that she had caught a woman raping a young boy once, and though she didn't kill her, the woman wished she had of,” he said, shivering.

“What did she do?” breathed the junior officer, both scared and curious.

“She had a basket of fresh hot peppers ground into paste, then stuffed every bit of that into the woman's orifices. I hear the woman was begging for death for days before the burning cooled.”

“Gods above,” gasped the man, blinking.

“You have no idea, kid,” the old soldier agreed. “But she is a damn fine leader, she is honorable, and she never shows any favoritism. You can't ask for more than that in a leader. Remember that,” he suggested. “Let's get some food while those three stew in their own terror,” he chuckled, clapping the man on the shoulder.

Just as the sun was setting, the Captain went to where the three men were being held - three boxes half-full of sugar in front them - and ordered the guards to get them on their feet. This prompted begging from the three until he told them to be silent. Once they were quiet, he informed them that Boss had heard of their offer and had come by to order him to accept their terms so that she wouldn't lose more men before her big offensive. He went on to tell them that if they didn't meet all three of their terms by sunrise, the city would be leveled and everyone inside would be killed for lying to the Rebellion. He then sent them on their way with a hearty kick to their asses.

The next morning, as the sun rose above the horizon, the city gates opened and the citizens paraded out a long line of bound figures. The Captain ordered a group forward to check for compliance and tricks. They found that the city had met their conditions. Once the bound figures were in a group in the center of a field, he had a small group of Internal Security workers process the group while he led a group of soldiers into the city on a sweep. He found that the citizens were complying with their terms. Satisfied, he gave the troops orders in front of the three men who were told to tell the other citizens what the orders were.

There would be no sacking and burning, nor killing and raping. The treasury would be emptied, and soldiers could take spare valuables from homes, but not anything the families needed to survive. The church in the center of town next to the palace was looted of all gold, silver and jewels. When the priest - a fat, self-important little toad - had dared to strike at a Rebellion soldier who was removing the gold wash basin by the door, the Captain had ordered the man seized, flogged and then hung from the doorway to the church. Food was allowed for seizure, but not more than half of the total food in any home. The city leaders - such as they were - were to coordinate with the citizens and the Rebellion army to see that each side obeyed the orders. All slaves were automatically freed and nearly all of them joined the rebellion, though more than a few chose to stay with their former owners as servants, rather than slaves. Two days later, the siege unit decamped. Thus, another kingdom fell in less than nine days.

INTERMISSION

In another place, at the same time, a group was meeting in a dim room, far underground. “Is it time?” asked a hooded figure.

“Not yet,” came the reply from another similarly-dressed figure.

“How much longer must we wait?” came the frustrated cry of the first. “It has been seven years so far! Is the elf bitch not yet drained?”

“Unfortunately not, brother,” the second replied. “She is a high priestess, with more magical capacity than we had dared to hope. Also, something is interfering with the draining of her magical powers and life energy. So far, we cannot identify what is causing it, but it is not preventing our success - merely hindering it.”

“This hindrance is beyond intolerable,” carped the first.

“It has taken centuries to get this far, brother. A few more years matter not in the larger scheme of things,” assured the second. The two turned to look at the center of the room, where a blonde elf lay motionless on an ancient stone alter, magical energy wafting off her and being pulled into a dark, mal-formed statue above and behind her.

“Our Lord's birth in our lifetimes,” the two chanted ritualistically before exiting the room.

At the same time, in a different place, another group was hard at work. This group was setting up a large trailer at the edge of a fortified hill. They were, in fact, almost done. All that was left was to power it up, connect the antennas and run a system check. Not too far away, in a basic metal shed, another group was finishing up final checks on a group of drones.

“I can't believe we finally get these over here,” one of the techs was saying to the other.

“We've needed them for a long time, and the Americans finally sent some,” agreed another of the techs. “I just wish they would get the GPS satellites up; or at least radio triangulation. And how are we supposed to control these beyond a couple hundred miles anyway? There are no military com sats up here, and a rocket launch facility is still years away over here.”

“Not our problem,” dismissed the first tech, grinning like a teenage boy getting his first blowjob as he stroked the fuselage of a drone. “Motherfucking MQ-9 Reapers, baby!” Another tech made a face as she groaned.

“You are such an otaku,” she said dismissively. “Stop fondling it and get started on the checks for the Global Hawk,” ordered the woman.

“Yes, sergeant major, ma'am!” the male tech yelled out boot-camp style as he saluted. The second tech made his way over to his unit commander.

“How are they going deploy these things? I saw the command and control trailer being juiced up, but without GPS, mil-sats or even radio tri, how do they plan to use these things?” he asked.

“I have been told that even now, the Recon teams are working with some locals to set up discreet radio tri stations on the nearest peaks, which will give us TOL signals once the stations are calibrated. Supposedly, they are bringing in some mobile missile launchers with special rockets to put gen-6 military GPS satellites into orbit here, to give us coverage for this continent, at least. Within six months, we could have full capability,” the SM shared the scuttlebutt.

“In the meantime?” wondered the tech. “I mean, they rushed these here after the thing with the capital so we could keep an eye on enemy activity in the northeast, but without the right support tech, it is kind of pointless, isn't it? And why did they send two modified Global Hawks? Don't we need weapons-capable drones over here?”

“Rumor says they are going to try to expand the map,” the SM shared, checking her clipboard. “Now, if you have no more questions, go see if the C2 is up yet so we can start on link checks and encryption matching,” ordered the unit commander.

“Yes, sergeant major,” the tech replied before hurrying toward the trailer just inside the wire of the Alnus base.

In the staff headquarters at the center of the Alnus base, a general was meeting with his staff. Several items were on the docket, and they were trying to finish them all that day. “Next item, the renegades. Have you all read the plans the staff has come up with?” asked the general.

“We have,” the group confirmed.

“They are…ambitious,” one offered.

“What I am about to say is in confidence, gentlemen,” the general said. “America has been pressuring the PM to jump in, but so far, we have been stalling them, and they have been content to let us be the point of the spear since we seem to be ironing out the problems for them,” began the general.

“More like we are the scapegoats if this goes sideways,” muttered a Captain.

“Perhaps, but so long as it doesn't go sideways, we remain the ones in charge. China is more of a problem than America right now. The PM has been carefully pitting them against each other to take the pressure off us, but we are running low on time. Perhaps you noticed the last few equipment transfers?” he asked.

The group nodded. “Certain deals have been struck, and we will have full GPS coverage within six months; provided nothing goes wrong, of course. You have seen the drones and other equipment, so you should be able to figure out what our next goal is.”

“We are going to start making a world map, then?” asked a Major eagerly. The general nodded.

“For whatever reason, none of the locals have anything more than partial maps of this continent, and we think there are more continents. Some legends bear this out, but we need to know for sure. If we can find more continents, we can protect our investment here by shunting the Chinese and Americans off to other continents if it becomes necessary,” revealed the general.

“The elections in America were favorable for us, weren't they?” asked a light colonel.

“It would seem so, at least,” was as far as the general would commit. “To the meat of the situation, we will be re-organizing our recon teams once the drones are up, so let's begin to get things ready for the shift now,” directed the general.

“What of Recon 3?” asked the Major.

“Recon 3 will continue its current mission unchanged for the time being. Itami is a crucial figure for us, given his connection to the Queen, the elves, our resident magic genius and the ever-charming demigod,” sighed the general. The others chuckled.

“Rory can be quite energetic, can't she?” one of them replied.

“Yes. Also, I have been given a proposal by lieutenant Yanagida regarding the renegade Zorzal. It is an interesting proposal, and I think we need to consider it,” he said as the staff flipped pages on their clipboards. “The northeast was the former Warrior Bunny kingdom, after all,” he noted. The meeting ran long.

INTERMISSION END

“Explain yourselves,” ordered the Chairman to the three kings who were standing in the center of the congress, dressed in simple clothes and shackled.

“There is nothing to explain,” the spokesman of the group said. “We will not abdicate nor will we sign the armistice. We rule by divine right, and our decisions are final,” stated the king.

“You rule a kingdom that consists of a chair, and you only sit that because you have not been executed,” warned the Chairman. “While you have been thinking over your misdeeds, we have lost another kingdom because someone ordered a gullible general to attack the Rebels; but this time, the Rebellion counter-attacked and now another kingdom is lost,” growled the Chairman.

“Which leaves only crushing the rebellion with military might,” smirked the oldest of the kings.

“This is going nowhere,” said another king from the Eastern Kingdoms. “We don't have the military might to conquer them, so the armistice is our only choice. Let's hang these three, take their signets and be done with it,” he suggested. The three Southern kings blinked, but then slowly smiled as they exchanged looks.

“What do you find so amusing, pray tell?” asked the Chairman. Silently, all three kings held up their right hands, fingers folded until only the ring finger was extended. Ring fingers that were missing their royal signets. “Where did you hide them?” growled the Chairman.

“No idea,” the Southern kings spokesman replied. “We gave them to a hooded figure with orders to hide them where no one would find them. We don't know who the person was, nor what they did with them. Without our signets on the armistice, there will be no peace. So, let's talk about how we restore our kingdoms,” the leader smiled smugly.

Before the Congress could erupt in yelling, the door to the chambers opened and a messenger hurried in, heading for the military liaison. Many of the kings felt their stomachs knot up at the sight. Lately, every time a messenger arrived for the military liaison, it was disastrous news. “Speak,” commanded the Chairman to the liaison, his tone resigned.

“The slaves in the capital of the Fawra kingdom have revolted. The palace is sacked, the city is in chaos, and the Rebellion has crossed the border. By now, they likely hold the capital of Fawra,” the liaison reported, crumpling up the paper.

“I guess we took too long debating the armistice,” a king from the Central kingdoms said.

“Now that you have finally come to your senses, let's set about crushing these rebels,” said the junior-most Southern King. The other kings turned to stare at the three.

“Guards,” called the Chairman, a group immediately rushing forward. “Take these three prisoners to the town square and hang them by the neck until dead. Once they are dead, they are to be burned and the ashes scattered in a cesspool,” ordered the Chairman. The three kings protested and struggled, but the guards dragged them out. As they were leaving, another group was entering the Congress.

“Seems we missed something,” Airi smiled graciously as she gave a shallow bow. Her Queen inclined her head slightly.

“Those three looked like the Southern Kingdoms' last three kings,” noted another guest, standing with Airi and her Queen. “Where have they been all this time?” she asked aloud.

“Indisposed, High Priestess Annette,” the Chairman replied. “I regret to have to ask you this, but events have made it impossible for the Congress to comply with the terms set by the Rebellion. I humbly ask you to intercede with the Rebellion once more on our behalf. We need to discuss the ratification of the armistice once more, as the last three Southern Kings have just been sentenced to death by hanging, and we need to discuss alternative measures to ratify the armistice. Will you help us once more, High Priestess Annette? And perhaps you and your Queen can intercede for us as well, Chancellor Airi?” he asked.

Airi smiled urbanely as her Queen hid her mouth and nose behind her hand fan. Annette, however had a distinctly predatory smile on her lips.

“We can talk about that, I suppose,” she said. Behind her, three body guards stood silently, the two on the outside sneaking long looks at the middle one, who was giggling softly - evilly - to herself.

Ritsuko was brushing her hair after a nice bath when a knock came from the suite's main door. Glancing in the somewhat-poor mirror, she saw Persephone heading for the door to open it. The red-head slipped her pistol into her lap before resuming her brushing. She heard some soft voices, then the door closed again. “Lady Ritsuko, you have a visitor,” Persephone said, bowing to the red-head. Ritsuko stood, pistol in hand, as she set the brush down and turned for the door to the main room of the suite. “Perhaps you would like to dress more appropriately, Lady Ritsuko?” Persephone said carefully.

Looking down at herself, she saw she was wearing a bath gown, which was a thin cotton gown that barely reached her upper thigh and did even less to conceal her body. “Who is it?” she asked Persephone directly. The body servant hesitated.

“My lady,” a voice came from the door. Ritsuko looked up to see her young insurgent there.

“Leave us,” ordered Ritsuko to the body servant. “And close the door,” she added, tossing her head toward a chair. The young man immediately moved to the chair and sat down. Once the door was closed, Ritsuko took a seat across from him, staring at him evenly. “Well?” she asked directly.

“Boss, I came to apologize,” he said, gulping nervously. “I never intended to fail you like I did the other night,” he said.

“How did you fail me, exactly?” she asked him, her fingers absently playing with her pistol. “I got off; more than once, too,” she added, giving him a smirk that made him pale a bit.

“I believe I did not perform sufficiently well, given your reaction in the morning,” he said carefully. Ritsuko snorted.

“That is a separate issue, and you should be careful who you take advice from, kid,” she said. “But since they tricked you into coming here to talk to me, let's go ahead and clear the air,” she said firmly. “Your performance in bed was adequate. My irritation was not focused on you or your performance. However, you should not assume that what happened between us was anything short of a simple night of sex. I feel no differently toward you than I did before, nor should you feel differently toward me if you know what is good for you. I do not love you, and I will still send you to your death without hesitation if it is necessary. Disobey me and I will kill you myself. Are we clear?” she asked crisply.

“Yes, Boss!” he proclaimed earnestly.

“Good. Now get out of my room,” she ordered, standing and moving back to the dresser. Picking up the brush, she sat on the small padded stool. “And send your youngest teammate to me immediately,” she added ominously.

“Yes, Boss!” he confirmed, nearly running from the room. Ritsuko resumed brushing her hair.

“So, that is your choice on handling the issue,” came Airi's voice from behind her. Ritsuko nodded. “Perhaps it is for the best,” Airi allowed, moving behind Ritsuko and taking the brush from her hand.

“Lady Airi, I would be honored to…!” began Persephone as Airi began to brush Ritsuko's hair.

“I am sure, but I am more than capable of doing this. Now, if you would give us some privacy, my dear Persephone?” she hinted. The body servant did as asked, almost pouting as she closed the door behind her.

“The elves can still hear us,” Ritsuko reminded her.

“Let them listen,” smiled Airi before using a hand to tilt Ritsuko's head back and to the side before she pressed a kiss to the younger woman's lips. Ritsuko twitched.

“A-Airi!” she gasped when her lips were released, a blush on her cheeks.

Airi just touched her lips with a fingertip, winking at her. Ritsuko fought back the blush as Airi resumed her brushing of her hair. “So anyway, when are we heading to the Islands?” asked Ritsuko.

“Once we get the ball rolling here with the Rebellion and the Alliance,” Airi answered.

“They have their orders, and we can't let that bastard escape us,” Ritsuko insisted.

“He won't,” Airi promised. “But we need to make sure this falls in place correctly. Also, we need to return Liseria to Raltaow before we head out,” she reminded her red-headed friend.

“Less than two days by air narwhale and it is done,” shrugged Ritsuko.

“Annette will be taking the air narwhale - along with Persephone - to speak to the Captains. I want to ask you to take us back on Mike,” the older woman said.

“Fine,” sighed Ritsuko. “When do we leave?” she asked.

“A day or two more,” Airi assured her. “I have an idea I would like to try, if you don't mind,” added the woman.

“Sure,” Ritsuko agreed.

“Let's set up the new round of negotiations in Raltaow, between that Captain of yours you have such high regard for and that courtier they used before. Isolating them in our domain will allow us to pressure them both if necessary, and give you time to unfold the next three actions.”

“That's fine. We don't want them getting things done too quickly,” mused Ritsuko. “Probably just as good. If we need to, we can drag it out another year, all while slicing kingdom after kingdom out of their Alliance. Yeah, let's do it,” she nodded decisively. “And while they are playing under the Queen's supervision, we can go see a nobleman about a debt,” she nearly seethed.

“There is one other reason I want you to take us back to Raltaow,” admitted Airi. Ritsuko gave her a curious look. “You have a bit of unfinished business there as well,” Airi said, caressing Ritsuko's face. It hit the red-head a moment later.

“Huntsman.”

“I see,” sighed the old courtier. “I had thought I had accomplished my mandate last time I brought an armistice agreement before this body, milords,” he noted. The old man sounded very unenthusiastic about the prospect of once more negotiating with the Rebellion. “What happened to that agreement, exactly?” he wondered.

“Without going into unnecessary details, my good Duke, it is no longer viable. A new agreement must be forged, and this time, insist that the ratification of each individual king is not necessary. You have the word of this Congress, sworn here and now, that the agreement will be honored,” the Chairman said, sounding resigned.

“Forgive an old courtier for speaking so bluntly, my kings,” the Duke said, looking around the chamber at the kings, “but you need to understand one thing without any uncertainty at all: when it comes to dealing with the Rebellion, the word of a king is worth far less than it would otherwise be. In fact, it has been my experience that all the leaders of the Rebellion consider a titled nobleman to be of the same trustworthiness as a criminal. With the recent changes to the makeup of this body, I anticipate a severe, brutal negotiation session to convince them - yet again - to offer an armistice agreement.”

“Actually, the Queen of Raltaow has agreed to host the negotiations in her kingdom and to act as an arbitrator should the need arise,” the Chairman replied, his look a bit sour.

“Queen Liseria the First,” nodded the Duke. “She and her Chancellor have been in negotiations with the Rebellion for some time now. I do not know how neutral she will be if arbitration is required.”

“Indeed, and yet it appears their negotiations went without hitch. Perhaps you can smooth things out with her help; offered or otherwise,” hinted the Chairman. The message was clear: if he could charm the young Queen into helping, fine - if not, manipulate her as best as he could to leverage the deal.

“Understood,” sighed the Duke. “As time is now an issue - the passes could start snowing over in as little as six weeks - I will ask directly if I have the authority to modify the terms offered by this body without consulting with you all first? The Rebellion likes to play an intricate game during negotiations meant to force long revision processes and constant consulting of this body for approval to changing terms. If this is going to become a repeat, I would rather have a counter ready for their tactics.”

The kings looked at each other, uncertain they wanted to give him a blank check. Finally, the Chairman banged his gavel. “You may negotiate with wide latitude in regard to titles, lands, taxes, trade and the fate of the Rebellion members within their kingdoms. However, if they insist on terms that directly impact kingdoms not in their possession, or regarding nobility in these lands, you must communicate with us before granting such concessions. To that ends, we will arrange for a horse team and dispatch rider - uniformed and declared as such to the Raltaowian guard! - to accompany your delegation to the Capital. His job will be to ride hard through the passes to our lands, where a messenger air fish will speed the message to us.”

“Very well,” the Duke said, bowing. “I will be taking only my personal staff with me, and leaving within two days' time,” he said before exiting the room. “Once again, back to the table with the Rebellion,” he sighed as he stepped into his carriage. When he had gotten the word that the Congress wanted to see him, he had been suspicious of problems, so he brought the staff he would need with him. All that was left was to coordinate and make the trip to Raltaow. The old man smiled as he wondered if Raltaow would live up to its reputation as a jewel in the mountains.

Ritsuko pushed open the door to the room Huntsman had been confined to since his capture. The man looked up from where he had been staring out the window. “Ritsuko,” he said, studying her face.

“Huntsman,” she said. Around her hips were her gun belt, pistol and knife. She was wearing her Daisy Dukes and tee shirt, her hair braided down her back and her comfortable sneakers on her feet.

“No elves or the Chancellor with you today?” he asked.

“No,” Ritsuko said, pointing to the chair. Huntsman did as she had silently ordered. The woman herself leaned back against the simple table, arms crossed under her breasts as she stared at him. Huntsman suddenly got a suspicion about the visit.

“So, my time is upon me,” he said. “I am prepared. Send me to my family, Ritsuko,” he said simply.

“If there is any justice in hell, you will have to claw your way through the countless victims of your weakness,” grunted Ritsuko darkly, though she made no move to pull her knife or gun. Huntsman shrugged, but said nothing. Minutes passed.

“Do you need to call for an executioner?” he asked her.

“As if,” replied Ritsuko. “I do my own killing,” she said, though she still made no move toward her weapons. Huntsman studied her face and body language. “You should know, however, that many people offered to end you for me. Everyone from the Queen to Milliea offered to kill you, but you are my mess and I will clean it up myself.”

“If you expect me to beg for my life or to attack you to make it easier for you, then you will be disappointed,” he warned her.

“While attacking me would make it easier for me, not doing so won't save you; nor would begging for your life,” snorted Ritsuko. “Honestly, I am just trying to build up enough anger to make this quick and clean,” she said honestly. Huntsman blinked, surprised at that.

“After all this, you still cannot hate me enough to kill me in cold blood?” he wondered.

“My blood is plenty cold, and I have killed in cold blood more often than I like to admit, but this isn't about my killing in cold blood or not - it about after you are dead. It seems some people are worried about my emotional state after ending you,” she shared idly, eyes locked on his.

“I am not sure I understand the concern,” he replied. “But if that is the case, I would suggest you do not use the knife,” he carelessly offered. Ritsuko's eyes narrowed a little. “It's very personal to kill with a knife,” Huntsman elaborated. “Something about being that close to the person you are killing makes it truly unforgettable. I remember every person I killed with a knife, which is different from bow or sword.”

“How about everyone you killed by giving them to that piece of shit nobleman to be turned into slaves? Can you remember any of them but me, Airi and maybe a handful of others?” she asked, her tone hard and cold.

“Actually, I can only clearly recall you, Airi and the very first person I captured for my lord,” he admitted. “After that, it all just sort of runs together.”

“The first one and us. Seems poetic that it is the first and the last you remember,” she grimaced. Huntsman shrugged.

“What is my end to be?” he asked her, sounding bored.

“There was quite the discussion about that,” she shared. “Hanging, drawing and quartering, burning alive, staking out in the wilderness for the predators, flaying, roasting in an oven, drowning, being thrown from an air fish at altitude, having melted iron poured down your throat, being impaled on a blunt pole…I admit, I liked a few of the suggestions,” admitted Ritsuko. Huntsman swallowed a bit roughly. “There was talk of taking you deep into the mountains on an air fish, then throwing you off naked to wander the wild until the predators killed you, but the problem with that is that you could theoretically survive such an ordeal. And that is flatly unacceptable for many reasons,” she added firmly.

“I considered selling you to a whore house that served men with…unusual tastes, but again, you might survive or even flourish there,” she laughed darkly at his reaction. “What, never thought you could be raped and treated as a fucking sex toy?” she taunted him, her eyes beginning to burn. “But not even I would do that to someone so lightly,” she admitted, the heat in her gaze cooling a little.

“Tell me, did you ever know your master's name?” asked Ritsuko, her tone curious, but holding an edge behind the casual words.

“Only his rank,” Huntsman admitted. “Something tells me you found him,” he added.

“Something like that. He was Baron Eustece Haliol, a noble family that hailed from the far west, beyond the Tear Island. The Church even named one of the early members a Saint, the fucking idiots,” snarled Ritsuko. Huntsman silently prayed for the Church as he could tell Ritsuko was going to target them hard for that oversight. “We have tracked him to the Tear Islands and will be going after him. But did you know we already visited his estate and left not one stone standing? The wizard and the old hag are dead; as are most of her descendants. The prisoners he held have all been freed long since, and are living off the treasury he couldn't take with him. Everything you served is destroyed, and your `lord' and all his blood will be spilled. Nothing will remain as proof of your life, or the lives of your woman and child. This is your doing, and I wanted you to know that so that when you are hopefully being tortured in hell by the ones you sent there, you will know just what it is you did in the name of sorrow.”

To his credit, the Huntsman didn't react much beyond a bit of shivering in the shoulders as Ritsuko lashed out at him. For some reason, Ritsuko felt a bit better seeing some sort of reaction from him. “Look at me, Huntsman,” she ordered him, her tone harsh. The man opened his eyes fixing his gaze on Ritsuko. The red-headed woman brought her pistol up swiftly and smoothly, double-tapping him in the heart while he stared at her before quickly putting another double-tap into his head. “Enjoy hell,” she said, flexing her jaw a bit to ease the ringing in her ears from the shots.

The door to the room opened, Airi looking in. “It's done,” Ritsuko said to Airi, straightening up and heading for the door. “Have the guards clean up this mess and burn the body,” she said. Airi let her slip past before gesturing to two guards, who double-timed it into the room with a large tarp. Behind them was a maid with a bucket and some rags. “Sorry about the mess,” Ritsuko said to her as she walked past the older woman, who just bowed.

Airi fell into step with her, as did the elves, who had been a bit farther down the hall. “You heard, of course,” Ritsuko said to Milliea, who nodded.

“Are you ok, Rit-chan?” asked the ever-honest Milliea.

“He was right about the knife, you know,” was all the human red-head would say about that.

“I still say he got off easy,” Gabriella said idly.

“It stopped being about him months ago,” Ritsuko said as Airi nodded, reaching over to gently squeeze her younger friend's shoulder. “I think I might feel better, Airi,” she said softly. Airi smiled at her.

“Good. We are to dine with the Queen tonight,” Airi said. Ritsuko groaned.

“And now I don't feel so good,” she replied.

“She will be dining with us in our apartments,” Airi smiled. Ritsuko perked up.

“Well, that I can deal with,” she said. A thought occurred to her. “I found that digital camera, Airi,” she said, glancing over at Airi and giving her a crooked smile.

“I see,” Airi replied. “I suppose tomorrow would be as good a time to see if the new gowns fit as any,” she said.

“And the day after, we are heading for the coast and then off to the Tear Island, right?” prompted Ritsuko.

“Soon,” Airi denied her full agreement, “but there are a few things we need to do here and a couple more in the kingdoms as well so nothing will come undone while we deal with the Tear Islands.”

“More politics,” came the disgruntled retort from Ritsuko. “For that, I am going to have at least three more kingdoms conquered before the armistice can be signed,” she declared. Airi laughed softly.

“Why the rush, Rit-chan?” she asked.

“Because if I can conquer at least three more kingdoms, you can only tie me with political chicanery,” grinned Ritsuko.

“By my count, if the Kingdoms surrendered tomorrow, I would win by two,” she replied.

“Raltaow doesn't count, and this morning I got word that the kingdom we took half of after the first failed Kingdom attack collapsed and offered surrender,” she smiled. “My agents have three other kingdoms lined up, and we might get two more if we are quick enough just by pressuring them by being almost surrounded by us.”

“How do you keep doing things like this, Ritsuko?” wondered Rapier.

Ritsuko giggled a little. “I am just that awesome, Rapier-chan,” grinned the human.

“She uses rumors spread by her insurgents and by people from kingdoms she has conquered to spook the citizens and to put the idea in their heads that surrender protects them from the horrors that supposedly accompany our dear `Boss' on her campaigns,” Airi said. Ritsuko huffed.

“It's no fun if you tell them, Airi,” she complained. Airi laughed softly as they opened the door to the Chancellor's apartments. The Queen - who had been seated on one of the chairs in the anteroom - stood and approached the group.

“It is done?” she asked.

“Yes,” Ritsuko confirmed. The Queen looked at her for a long moment before hugging her. Ritsuko returned the hug. Airi glanced at the body servants hovering not far from the group.

“Persephone, dear, please inform the staff that we are ready for our evening meal,” she directed, the woman bowing and hurrying out the door. “Now, if you two are done, let's change into more comfortable clothes while the staff sets things up,” she directed, the group moving into Airi's bedroom, where some comfortable house gowns were waiting.

“Assassin! There is an assassin!” the cry went up. Guards swiftly began closing off all the key access points as the off-duty guards were roused and hurriedly donned their equipment before rushing to their stations. In the chambers of the king, two guards lay dead, another dying, and the king was binding a wound to his side. A trail of blood led to the window, which was open in the late-summer heat. The remaining guard hovered close to the king's side.

“My liege, are you ok?” asked the commander of the Royal Guard as he entered the room.

“I will live, Earl,” came the clipped reply, “but I assure you I am far from ok. My own chambers, Earl! They dared attack me in my own chambers!” he yelled.

“We will catch the assassin,” promised the Earl.

“I doubt that,” came the acidic reply as the king hissed in pain before donning a robe over his sleeping tunic. “Look beneath my window.” The Earl did so, finding a dark form on the paved walkway below the third story window. “The assassin leapt to their death rather than be taken prisoner,” the king said. He was somewhat impressed, truthfully. Had his guards not heard the window creak, he would have been dead instead of just sporting a cut to his side as he struggled with the dark-clad assassin.

“Guards! To the King's windows, and bring lanterns!” yelled the Earl, four guards swiftly hurrying beneath the window, two with lanterns. One swiftly knelt and touched the assassin's neck.

“He is dead,” called back the guard.

“There may be others! Sweep the entire palace and grounds,” ordered the King. The guards all saluted, two of them hurrying off, leaving one of the lanterns with the guard kneeling over the dead assassin. The guard rolled the body over, gasping as it came to rest on its back.

“It is a woman!” the guard called. The king felt a surge of hope.

“Does she have red hair?” he demanded. His guard brushed back the dark hood covering her head.

“No, my king, she has brown hair,” he called. Ignoring the sticky blood soaking the cloth tied around the lower face of the woman, he unwrapped it, exposing her face. “I have seen her around for the last couple of months. She is a servant,” he called back.

“A servant?” blinked the king. “In my own house, Earl! That sorceress Boss got one of her minions into my very house! Are you not in charge of security?” he bit out.

The guard had pulled out his sheath knife and was cutting the cloak and clothing away from the woman. As he pulled the front of her dress open, he spotted a slave brand with two marks through it. “Sire! She bears a Southern Kingdom slave brand,” he called up.

“So it was Boss's hand,” the Earl said, feeling uneasy. The guard found the woman was tightly clutching something in her hand. Grunting with effort, he managed to free the item, finding it to be a tightly folded parchment.

“My King, she was holding a parchment in her hand,” the guard called out.

“Bring it here at once,” the King ordered the guard, who ran off, leaving the lantern next to the body. Within a couple minutes, the guard was handing the king the parchment even as his personal healer worked on the wound to his side. Unfolding the parchment, he found it had nonsensical words on it - obviously some sort of code - but the seal at the bottom, half destroyed and soaked in blood though it might be, got his attention.

“My lord?” prompted the Early, seeing his reaction.

“It is nothing,” the king said, swiftly securing the small bit of parchment. “Seal the palace gates, set guards at the servants' barracks doors and bring me the priest of the Royal church,” he ordered. Before the Earl could give the orders, though, the king changed his mind. “No, on second thought, say nothing to the priest. Have my carriage ready at dawn. I must speak with…some people,” he said, his lips tightening.

“At once,” the Earl said, offering a shallow bow. Even as he gave the orders, there was a flash of light, followed a split second later with a boom from the palace's store house, which immediately collapsed into flames and debris. Almost immediately, another flash and boom came from the other side of the palace. “We are under attack! All soldiers man their posts on the wall!” yelled the Earl, ushering the king behind him as he backed out of the royal bedroom. “Sire, I fear the situation is too dangerous to make any trips,” began the Earl.

“Bucket team, to the stables!” a yell came from outside the palace proper. “The royal stables are burning!”

“This palace is unsafe,” declared the king. “Bring me my armor and sword, form up my personal guard and make preparations for a charge,” he ordered even as servants hurried to do as he commanded.

“My king?” blinked the Earl.

“I will lead a charge of my personal guard, break through to the city gates and summon the vassal armies back from the Allied Military blockade,” the king said grimly. “Then, we will take this city apart and find all the spies and assassins Boss has put here,” he vowed.

“Please reconsider, my lord,” began the Earl, “once you are outside the walls of the palace, you have no secure flank…”

“This is hardly a secure flank, Earl!” snarled the king. “Boss's hands reach here with seeming ease, do they not?” he asked tightly. “But with my armies returned to me, that will change. By the gods, I will not be run out of my own kingdom; not even by an amazon sorceress she-devil!”

Fifteen minutes later, the king led a charge of his personal guards out of the smoke and flame-filled palace grounds, heading right for the city gates, the curious citizens barely having time to get clear of the frantic charge. In fact, more than a few were knocked aside by the chargers as the king rode hard for the gate. The city Watch, recognizing the king's banner at the head of the column, opened the gates as fast as they could. No sooner had the king and his personal guards thundered through than the city gates were closed again. The civilians were left wondering what was going on; more so when the ranking nobles of the city began to have horses saddled and carriages hitched.

“It was Boss and the Rebellion,” a man said to another. “Look - the palace is in flames, and the king and the nobles are fleeing like rats from a sinking ship. The Rebellion is coming, and they have deserted us to save their own skins,” accused the man.

“But if the Rebellion were coming, why would they attack the palace first?” wondered another.

“Don't you get it? The Rebellion hates nobles and especially kings! Haven't you heard what they did to the Southern Kings? My cousin was a journeyman merchant in the Southern Kingdoms when the Rebellion began, and he personally saw what the leader of the Rebellion did to one of those kings. Even now, he will vomit if he has eaten recently if asked to tell that story! Of course the Rebellion would attempt to kill the nobles before they can flee.”

“But, doesn't that mean we are safe?” wondered a woman.

“Are you that naïve?” scoffed a man. “They will take their anger out on us,” he predicted. “You heard what those refugees from the kingdoms they took said they did! If we can't give them nobles or at least Allied soldiers to kill, they will slaughter us all, sack the city and burn everything to the ground!”

“Well, what can we do?!” bemoaned a corpulent innkeeper. “The king and nobles will have fled before we can stop them. How can we calm their anger?”

“The refugees said they offered terms, and the leader made the army commander accept them. They said that the Rebellion army satisfied themselves with some looting, but no citizen was killed, none of the women were raped, and the town wasn't even looted. Of course, they had soldiers and some nobility to trade, and swore loyalty to the Rebellion as vassals,” he thought aloud.

Before the hour was out, the rumors were thick and growing faster than a flash flood. The Rebellion army - already uncomfortably close before this - was encircling the city even now. The nobles had all run for their lives and left them to die. If they didn't surrender and swear fealty, they would all be killed, raped, and their skins made into raincoats for the Rebellion; and if they were very, very lucky, it would be in that order. The nightmarish `Boss' was coming for their children to offer up in sacrifice for a spell that would sink the entire kingdom into the very pits of hell. No one who offered any resistance would survive, and the Rebellion would hunt down all of their blood to the very last.

By the time dawn broke, the city was in complete turmoil, the nobles who hadn't run for it were faced with a near-riot and tensions were climbing toward an explosion; an explosion that would take only the tiniest spark to ignite. In an empty tavern, two men filled tankards of ale, toasting silently as they remembered the sacrifice of their friend. For the death of one of their own, a kingdom would fall. Both men would have done the job, but she had volunteered, and even in death, she - and they - won. Their Boss left nothing to chance, it would seem. A sudden roaring commotion told them the spark had been struck. Finishing their drinks, they left the tavern, seeing citizens frantically seizing any noble, guard or City Watch they could, tying them up and dragging them toward the main gate.

Outside the largest gate sat a man on a horse, a simple company composed of a half-company of infantry and a half-company of cavalry behind him, and the banner of the Rebellion flying from the banner rider. Seeing the citizens rushing toward them, bound captives tumbling along behind them, the man blinked. “What is this about?” he wondered.

“I think Boss was right on the money again,” his second-in-command said, sounding relieved.

“Well, we better play our part, then,” the man said, drawing a sword. “Prepare charge!” he yelled, mostly for the benefit of the civilians hurrying toward him. “Kill everyone, burn everything and leave nothing!”

“Hold! Good sirs, please hold! We wish to negotiate surrender!” yelled the men at the front of the mob of citizens. “Please, we wish to surrender!” they repeated. The man waved his sword.

“Hold,” he ordered his men. Riding closer with three of his men, he swore as he approached the group. “What do you have to offer us for letting you live?” he demanded, sneering at the group. “I am only obligated to accept unconditional surrender, you know. Any demands and I can kill you all! Boss said so,” he grinned evilly.

“The king and some nobles fled last night, but we have these to give you!” one of the men said, gesturing to the bloodied men who had been dragged there. “Some of them are nobles, and the rest are the city watch and Royal Guards. Isn't that worth something?” he nearly sobbed.

“Not a king, and not even the ranking nobles, from the look of things,” sneered the second-in-command of the Rebellion forces. “Hardly worth anything,” he added darkly.

“We will swear fealty!” promised another. “Spare us, we beg of you!”

“You expect us to accept nothing as our reward for sparing you? Pitiful,” the commander of the unit grunted.

“Take what you will of the city's treasury! The Royal Palace is virtually untouched! There is more wealth in there than in the rest of the city all together! Just spare us and our families and it is yours,” promised one of the citizens.

“If we kill them all, it is ours anyway,” noted the third member of the Rebellion group. “How many of you own slaves,” he asked dangerously.

“N-naturally, all slaves are free,” assured the first of the spokesmen for the civilians. “Spare us, we beg you. We ask for mercy from your leader, the great and mighty Boss, most powerful and beautiful of all women,” the man waxed eloquent in his praise of Boss. The Rebellion members could hardly keep their mirth under control. When he began to promise the town would raise statues of her in her honor, the commander had had enough.

“Enough! What are you by trade, a used carriage salesman?” he wondered, mentally picturing a marble statue of Boss in the town square like the statue of her in the capital of the Liberated Country. Not sure she would spare us if we did, but damn if that isn't a fine tribute to womanhood, he thought to himself.

“Ah, I am actually a poet of some renown,” the man replied, caught between terror and relief. “The terms of surrender are accepted, then?” he asked, sweating like a river.

“I'd rather kill you all, but Boss gave orders about surrenders,” complained the man. “Take these prisoners in hand, sergeant, while I and the lieutenant check the city. If anything at all happens to me or if the prisoners offer the tiniest resistance, kill everyone and everything in this kingdom,” he ordered, getting an enthusiastic salute.

“By your order, Major, and for Boss!” screamed the sergeant.

“For Boss!” yelled the rest of the company in response. The civilians nearly wet themselves. Some of the nobles did wet themselves. This was a nightmare come true for them.

Meanwhile, the king was spurring his horse hard, riding low over the neck of the mount, as arrows flew past him. Only three of his men were left, and one was mortally wounded, holding on to the very last for his liege. The king would have cursed, but couldn't spare the breath. He had hoped to reach the rear staging areas by daybreak, but when he got to where the camps should be, they were over-run by Rebellion forces. Because he had ridden right into the camp, he had to fight his way out. Most of his men didn't make it, and one by one, the ones that had made it out were falling around him, shielding him as best as they could as enemy cavalry pursued them.

“My liege,” the mortally-wounded royal guardsman called hoarsely before tumbling off the horse. The king glanced back.

“The horses, my king,” yelled the closest guard.

“I am aware!” screamed back the king, frustrated, scared and confused. An arrow just barely missed him, slicing the neck of his horse, which screamed. From the blood pumping out of the horse, he knew the animal was finished. Better to die clean than be taken by these monsters, he thought, preparing to wheel and charge the pursing enemy forces.

“Nay, my king! You mustn't!” screamed the same guard. “Take my horse, and I will charge their lines!” he yelled, moving his horse close and swinging one leg over the side. The king nodded, the two swiftly trading horses. “Ride hard, my king, I will hold them as long as I can!” swore the young warrior as he wheeled the dying horse to face the pursuers, sword held high. “For my King!” he screamed, giving a war cry as he charged the lines. Before he had covered even half the distance, he was struck with three arrows, and even as he gallantly tried to swing his sword at the first Rebellion fighter to reach him, the enemy cut him from the saddle like cord wood.

The king and his last royal guard rode like death itself was after them for the nearest town, desperate to get fresh horses and maybe more guards before rushing back to the Congress to beg for help. Even as their horses began to falter, they saw that the pursuit had fallen back. “They have over-stretched their advance, it would seem,” panted the king, slowing his horse to a walk. “We must make the nearest town and swap horses,” he ordered.

“Aye, Sire,” the guardsman said, also panting. Glancing at the young man, he blinked, seeing an arrow in the man's calf.

“You are wounded!” he stated.

“Aye, but I will make it, my liege,” he promised. “I am all that is left of your guard,” he reminded his king.

“That young guard who swapped horses with me,” the king said, his tone quieter, “do you happen to know his name and rank?” he asked the other.

“He was my childhood friend, my King. He was promoted to Knight Light Lieutenant last year after his service on the defense line, and he took his father's place as viscount of the Jauterz family, who have been nobility in this region for generations,” the guard said.

“I promise you, I will remember his bravery and sacrifice,” the King said. “When we reach the next town, have the arrow removed and the wound bound while I get fresh horses. We must ride on to the capital. Can you make it?” he asked.

“I will make it or die trying, my king,” the man swore. The king nodded.

“Stout man,” he approved, looking behind them. Far back he saw the enemy forces walking their horses as well. His lips tightened. “This will be a hard thing,” he murmured.

Ritsuko watched her Captain and the nobleman from the Allied Kingdoms negotiate across the simple table in a council room from across the garden. She was impatiently watching from the anteroom windows of the Chancellor's suite, looking in through the windows of the first-floor room from her third-floor vantage. The young woman was dressed for travel, a simple dress over her shorts, cloak over her shoulders. Her bags were already at the air fish stable, being loaded. Airi was seeing to some last-minute things, and then they were leaving by air narwhale for the coast and the Tear Islands. Mike had to stay here, and she had spent a couple hours that morning making sure he would be a good boy for the body servants and Queen.

The Queen herself was sitting at the head of the table, idly watching the two sides argue. Ritsuko smirked as she remembered her orders to the Captain. The Allied Kingdoms would have to swallow far more than they had before if they wanted to have peace. First and foremost was the agreement that slavery was illegal in all kingdom lands. The courtier kept insisting that it was just impossible to do that, and her Captain - the former plantation owner - was having none of it, her argument being the brutally simple fact that the Rebellion had no slaves and was kicking their asses six ways from Sunday, their economy stronger than the kingdoms.

“Lady Ritsuko?” Hecate asked, bowing to the woman as she turned from the window.

“Yes, Hecate, dear?” Ritsuko asked, imitating Airi. The body servant was somewhat jumpy around her for some reason, and she liked to poke at her from time to time.

“I was asked by Lady Airi to tell you that she will be at the air fish stable in a few minutes, and you should head on over,” the body servant replied. Ritsuko nodded, absently patting herself down to make sure her weapons were in place and ready.

“On my way,” Ritsuko smiled. Hecate licked her lips.

“Um, Lady Ritsuko?” she said, the red-head pausing to give her a questioning look. “Would you…that is, the Queen has asked me if you would agree to help her with a personal project upon your return,” the body servant relayed.

“Did she now?” murmured Ritsuko, turning back to look through the windows again.

“Tell her I will talk to her about it when I return,” she denied a direct answer as she exited the room. Fifteen minutes later, the air narwhale departed Raltaow, carrying Airi, Ritsuko, Annette, Rapier, Gabriella and Milliea, along with some supplies. Ritsuko found she was very eager to be going after the nobleman at last.

The Congress was once more in turmoil. In the last two days, they had received news that four kingdoms had fallen to the Rebellion, putting the nearest border at the southernmost border of the Capital Kingdom - less than a day's ride from the Congress itself. Looking at the map, the Chairman grimaced before banging his gavel. Once the hall was silent, he spoke.

“My fellow kings, I fear the time for debate is past. If they keep up their current pace, the Rebellion will be in possession of this building by the end of the week. For this reason, I have two pieces of business to put before you all for immediate vote. First, I call for a vote here and now in regard to offering terms of surrender for the Allied Kingdoms to the Rebellion. This is a yea or nay vote, no abstentions. Fortunately, we have an odd number of remaining kings, so simple majority will carry the day. Should we offer terms, it would not be unconditional, but keep in mind that the Rebellion is known to be killers of nobility and kings in particular. Consider what surrender might mean if our terms are not accepted. Roll-call vote, I will cast my vote last,” he ordered, smacking his gavel.

Minutes later, the process was over. The Chairman nodded. “By simple majority, let the record show that the motion to surrender has failed by one vote. Next order of business,” he moved right on even as the scribe scribbled furiously. “With the Rebellion being so close to us, I propose moving the Congress to the Western Kingdoms, which is the farthest point from Rebellion-held lands immediately. Roll-call vote, no abstentions, yea or nay. Vote,” he ordered. The vote was only half done when the doors to the chambers were slammed open.

“Well, well! Jackpot,” came an amused voice. All the kings turned to see a young man dressed in simple leather armor emblazoned with the Rebellion banner, holding a writ of safe passage in his hand. Two guards were blocking him as best as they could. “Look at all you fancy kings, gathered here in one spot,” he nearly purred, smiling a disturbing smile. “If Boss weren't busy, she could kill you all with one spell,” he cackled. “Unfortunately, she is busy with another matter and the Captains wanted me to make our terms clear to you before she finishes and turns her attentions to you lot,” he declared, contempt in his voice.

“Let him pass,” the Chairman ordered, the guards doing so, even though the Rebel had a sheathed sword at his side. The former slave strolled into the chamber as if he owned it, looking around with contempt-filled eyes.

“Where is your bow, peasant?” demanded a king.

“I bow to no one but Boss,” he declared. “I salute my Captains and share drinks with my friends, but you are none of those, you fancy-pants fuck,” he retorted. “I am guessing you are the leader of this assembly of dead men,” he smirked at the Chairman. “It's been a long time coming, but the bill is due,” he laughed nastily as he pulled a folded parchment from under his sword belt. Tossing it to the Chairman, he turned to leave. “Let us know what you decide. Time is short for you,” he said.

“Guard! Seize that rebel!” shrilled an Eastern Kingdoms ruler.

“Stand fast, Guards!” countermanded the Chairman. The Rebel fighter had a hand on his sword hilt. “You are not to attack nor seize him so long as he offers no violence in this place,” the Chairman reminded the guards.

“He is a rebel! We can torture valuable information out of him! At the least, we can send his head back, as their Boss is so fond of doing!” argued the king who had called for the breech of diplomatic etiquette. The man laughed loud and long.

“Oh, sure you could kill me,” he agreed. “But I would die happy, taking many of you with me, knowing that if you do kill me, this entire city will be in flames by nightfall,” he laughed. “Should I not give a certain signal within an hour, the army has orders to surround this city, seal it off and kill every last human, burn every last human building and tear what is left down until nothing but a plain of ash and broken stone is left. I would die happily to insure all of you joined me,” he sneered.

“You wouldn't! The elf temple and church seat is in this city!” gasped a Northern Kingdoms king.

“I did say `human', did I not? We have no quarrel with the elves, and Boss has given us orders to insure that they have no quarrel with us. As for the Church, well, I can only say `good riddance',” he replied indifferently.

“The Holy Orders will stop you heretics!” a Central Kingdoms king yelled.

“Only if they are suicidal,” shrugged the man. “Boss has given us our orders, and sparing the Church is not among them.”

“I take it you were a slave in the Southern Kingdoms,” the Western Kingdoms that headed up the peace faction spoke up, his tone calm and easy. “Would you happen to have been from the same plantation as your leader?” he asked.

“I didn't have that honor,” the man replied. “But I was freed by her and joined the Rebellion within a month of the first fight,” he said, pride in his voice. “I fought alongside her, was a team leader for her, rose to the rank of element commander by her order, survived your attempt to assassinate her, was given the privilege of being a Lieutenant under one of the captains, and now, I was selected to deliver this message.”

“Selected?” asked the Western Kingdoms spokesman.

“We were informed of this mission last night, when we got within range of this place,” he said, smiling widely at the group. “The call was made for volunteers, knowing this was likely a suicide mission. Everyone,” he stressed the word, “stepped forward as one; even the cooks, quartermasters and messengers. Yes, I was selected, king, and was honored to be given this task.”

“I see,” the king nodded to himself. “Tell me, then, good lieutenant, what would be the reaction of the Captains and Boss to an offer of negotiated surrender?”

“I don't have the authority to speak for them, but I think they might at least hear you out before killing you. Depends on the kingdom, I think, as the Captains and Boss seem to judge kingdoms on some sort of weighted system I don't pretend to understand. Personally, I would rather see you all dead than surrendered,” he added darkly.

“Would you disobey an order from Boss to see us dead?” asked the king, sounding curious. The man twitched.

“I'm no fool,” he muttered. Once more, the king hummed, one hand stroking his chin.

“Well, thank you for your honesty, Lieutenant,” he said, obviously done asking questions. “Chairman, what does the message say?” he asked the head of their group.

“It…it is an ultimatum, calling on us to surrender unconditionally, immediately, or be destroyed,” the Chairman said, his voice tight with mixed emotions.

“Surely you don't mean to give up now,” chuckled the rebel. “Where is that kingly pride and arrogance when you need it most? Fight us - you know you want to,” he nearly purred. “What would your subjects think of you if you gave up without a fight after so long promising them that we were on the brink of defeat? Who would ever take you seriously again if you surrendered to a bunch of former slaves? Turn tail and run now, and you will be the laughingstocks of every one on this continent. Can your royal pride swallow that humiliation? Fight us for your honor, for your crown and for your miserable lives,” he finished nearly orating to the group.

“We must discuss this matter. Tell your leaders we will have an answer for you by tomorrow morning,” the Chairman said, though his face was red and his fist shaking. The rebel studied him for a long moment before snorting in disgust.

“Fucking cowards, the lot of you,” he declared, stomping toward the door. The guards closed it behind the man.

“Damn them!” hissed the chairman, hitting the wood block with his fist.

“We are off topic,” the Western king spoke up calmly. “We were voting, I believe?” he hinted. The votes were swiftly cast. “Well, with that done, I have business elsewhere,” the king said, standing and exiting the Congress hall, other kings doing the same. Within minutes, the Chairman was the last one in the hall. Finally, he sighed.

“As do I,” he muttered. Turning to the scribe, he told him to finish the transcript, seal the books and then take the records from the last two years to the Temple of Celsia, where he was to pay them gold to store the transcripts for them. When the scribe confirmed his orders, the Chairman exited the Congress, wondering how history would judge them. His kingdom was this city, and he was about to have to leave it if he wanted to live to see tomorrow.

In the city, the rebel soldier meandered through alleys, picking up a cloak and pulling it on. Using the inside of the cloak, he rubbed the Rebellion crest, the crest disappearing from the leather armor. Several turns later, he entered a tavern, mingling in the room until he had made his way to the back, where he slipped into the store room unnoticed. Swiftly stripping off the leather armor, he bundled it in the cloak, slung it over his shoulder like a market sack and headed out the back of the tavern. Ten minutes later, he entered the servant's gate of the Capital's palace. Making his way through the passages, he made his way to a door, glancing around before knocking in a certain rhythm. The door opened and he slipped inside.

“Did they buy it?” asked a voice softly as a candle was uncovered, revealing a young girl in a fancy gown and jewelry. The young man nodded, grinning.

“Hook, line and sinker,” he snickered, stripping off his common clothes and beginning to dress in court finery the girl had with her. “You?” he asked.

“Please!” scoffed the girl, who was no older than twelve. “That idiot is so taken with me he would believe me if I told him I was ten-peckered goat,” she bragged.

“You are a ten-peckered goat,” sniped the young man. The girl sniffed dismissively.

“Says the man-whore of the court,” she sniped back. “I still can't believe you messed up with Boss like you did,” she muttered angrily. “You even cost me my shot at pleasing her, asshole,” she complained, hitting him.

“Stop that, you little strumpet,” he shrugged off the hit. “She had it all figured out before I knew what happened. She's Boss, you know?” he defended himself. “Come on, we have a banquet to attend and rumors to monger,” he smiled, running a comb through his hair.

“You are such a girl,” scoffed the pre-teen. “Now pull up your knickers, tighten your corset and let's go, `brother',” she said, extinguishing the candle before he cracked the door, checking the hall. Moments later, they were walking along, the very picture of minor noble siblings on their way to a highly-anticipated banquet with the other nobles.

“Tear Islands,” announced Annette. Their air narwhale was just below the clouds, cruising along easily. It had been three days non-stop, the group taking turns guiding the air narwhale while Annette saw to feeding it in mid-flight. The trip to the Tear Islands by ship was a solid month in most seasons. If the other continent was four to six months out, then the ocean was sizeable.

“We should make our approach after sundown to reduce attention,” Ritsuko said. Part of the preparations had been to research the Tear Islands as best as they could. The information was not particularly detailed, but it was enough, they felt sure. And, it was all they had.

“I will find a spot to conceal the air fish,” Annette said. “A simple perimeter spell should keep it safe and secure while it rests,” she added.

“Good. We will head into town and find out where the Haliol family like to hide,” Ritsuko nearly purred. “It will be good to stretch my legs a bit,” she added, absently massaging her legs.

Barely an hour past sundown and the group was entering the largest town in the islands. It wasn't hard to find a tavern, and they began to nose around for information. By the time the tavern was closing down, they knew which island the family had once called home. Rather than head right there, though, they got a room for the night because they had heard a rumor of a person arriving from the mainland about six months before and taking up residence in an old estate on the other side of the island. The description matched the nobleman.

Ritsuko was a bit tense and twitchy as they were getting ready to sleep. The group had agreed that it was best to have watches, just in case, and had each picked a two-hour watch. “Something wrong, Ritsuko?” asked Airi as she watched the red-head once more check her guns.

“This doesn't feel right,” muttered Ritsuko.

“How so?” asked Airi. She had been a bit uneasy as well, but couldn't pinpoint why. She hoped Ritsuko could offer her a clue.

“It's too easy, I guess,” sighed her partner. “It took us more than two years to even find out where he lived and now, not two hours after we get here, we have a sighting? Seems too careless for someone so good at covering their tracks,” she worried.

“He probably felt safe and dropped his guard, since he has been here safe and sound for six months or so,” offered Rapier.

“Really? Seems…sloppy of him; and I don't associate him with being sloppy,” Ritsuko disagreed.

“You suspect a trap,” stated Airi. Ritsuko slowly nodded.

“But I don't have a clue what type of trap,” admitted the red-head.

“Our party is pretty strong on all fronts,” Gabriella chimed in. “Annette and I are powerful magic users, Milliea, Rapier and I are top-level fighters, you have your guns and grenades, and Airi can vanish without a trace even while being watched. They aren't going to be able to sleep spell us, and with this room, they can't overwhelm us with numbers, so what are they going to do?” she asked.

“Warn him, perhaps,” Airi murmured.

“We never showed any interest in the story, and I feel our cover story was convincing,” Annette contributed.

“Not much point worrying about it right now,” declared Ritsuko. “Stay sharp on watch, and let's get some sleep,” she ordered, settling down on the wood and twine woven bed she would share with Airi and Milliea. “Milliea, stay in your armor,” she added. “Just in case.”

“Ok!” chirped the girl, carefully settling on the bed, Ritsuko's arm around her middle, her pistol in hand while Airi spooned to Ritsuko from behind, one of her arms around Ritsuko's waist. Annette blew out the lamps before settling back with Rapier in the other bed. Gabriella got comfortable in a corner where she could see the windows and the door.

Ritsuko was on watch at a little past two in the morning when she got her answer. Sniffing, she smelled smoke. Silently moving to the window, she carefully worked the angles, looking around. Not seeing any sign of fire outside, she moved toward the door, the smell of smoke growing thicker. Touching the door, she felt heat even as light began to penetrate the thin walls. “Fuckers,” muttered Ritsuko, stepping over to the beds and swiftly waking her friends. “They've fired the inn,” she said, keeping her voice low. “I would bet they are watching the windows,” she added as the room grew thick with heavy smoke. “Through the fire or out the windows?” she asked, locking the stock of her G36 open and tucking it into her shoulder.

“Window,” Airi said a moment later, and Ritsuko smiled. Glancing at Milliea, who smiled back, the two pivoted around to face the windows before immediately diving through the two windows, rolling in mid-air before tumbling as they landed after the eight-foot drop. Ritsuko ended up on her knees in firing position while Milliea flowed to her feet, swords out.

An arrow pinged off Milliea's armor as she shifted to cover her friend. Ritsuko spotted the source and fired a single round from her G36, dropping the shadowy figure where it crouched. Milliea swung a sword, cutting a man running toward them with a stone club in half. Gabriella and Rapier landed fluidly, immediately turning to catch Airi and Annette. Rapier spun into a reverse round-house kick that laid out another attacker as easily as if she were simply breathing. Ritsuko spotted a figure running and fired another shot, hitting them in the back of the head. The results were splattered over the huts nearest to the figure.

Hearing people rousing, the red-headed human stood, letting the G36 rest on its sling. “Grab that one and let's find some privacy,” she said, swiftly slinging the strap of her pack over her head. Gabriella and Milliea grabbed the one Rapier had kicked and the group followed Airi away from the burning inn, Ritsuko covering their six.

A half hour later, the group was watching Ritsuko question the man. It was something some of them had seen her do before with Huntsman and a few other prisoners. She called it `waterboarding', but while they understood the water part, she usually used a chair instead of a board, so the name made little sense to the others. Airi, however, understood the reference. In this case, she was using a broken palm tree as her chair, Rapier and Gabriella helping her.

“She's…harsh,” Annette murmured to Airi as Ritsuko ruthlessly interrogated the man.

“She's frustrated and angry,” Airi murmured back as Ritsuko took a break to beat the man harshly and break a few bones before the cloth went back over his face and he was lowered again before she poured more water over the cloth. “It sucks to be him,” she added calmly.

It took her angry teammate a half hour to break him wide open. Once he cracked, she tore him to pieces, leaving him completely destroyed and sobbing at her feet. “Look at me,” she ordered him, kicking him with her foot. He managed to look up at her. “Do you ever want to see me or any of us ever again in your pathetic life?” she snarled, glaring at him.

“N-no!” he blubbered.

“Are you stupid enough to tell anyone about us ever again?” she demanded.

“I wish I never heard of you!” he curled back up, only to get kicked again.

“Look at me, worm!” thundered Ritsuko, leaning closer to him. He managed to look at her, though he probably couldn't see anything for the blood and tears obscuring his eyes. “If there are any more incidents, I will come back to finish this discussion before talking with your family and friends. Understood?”

“Y-yes!” he assured her.

“I don't believe you,” she stated, kicking him in the chest so he fell on his back. Her foot landed on his chest. “Better kill you and your family now, just to be sure,” she added, drawing her sheath knife ominously.

“I swear!” he squealed, wetting himself.

“You better be,” she growled before hitting him on the forehead with the hilt of her knife, knocking him out. “Well, now we know it was a trap,” she said casually.

“That was somewhat heavy-handed, Rit-chan; like opening a pecan with a sledgehammer,” Airi shook her head.

“This was nothing. Once I have my hands on the fucker, I will show you cracking nuts with a hammer,” promised Ritsuko darkly. “For now, we gotta move. I think we should take the air fish over the ridge, then go in on foot. Don't want to give him a chance to rabbit again,” she said, dropping the magazine from her carbine and replacing it with a fresh, fully-loaded one as she glanced at the others under the light of the stars, which was fading a bit by now.

“Might as well get this done with,” Airi agreed. The group made their way to where the air fish waited.

Dawn found the group in the thick foliage surrounding a simple bungalow on a low bluff overlooking the western shore of the island. There were two small outbuildings and a garden. Ritsuko was using her small binoculars to glass the area. “I don't see him,” she said quietly after five minutes of careful observation.

“It is still early morning, and if you recall, he was never much of a morning person,” Airi noted dryly. Ritsuko snorted.

“I remember. He always started and ended the day balls-deep in one of us,” she snarled. “Fuck if I am going to wait for him to have his morning tea,” she added. As she once more checked all her weapons, the group heard some screaming from the small compound. Ritsuko swiftly brought her binoculars back up. Two men were dragging some young women and one young man out of one of the smaller huts. The women and the young man were all chained and wearing slave collars.

“He's here,” purred Ritsuko, tucking her compact binoculars away and bringing her gun up. “I'm going to go say `hi',” she nearly giggled, her eyes glowing with excitement. The young woman moved forward, steadily, quick and silent, her carbine tucked tight and fire selector on semi-auto. Airi spotted the grenades on the back of her friend's belt and shook her head. Motioning to the others, she moved after the red-head.

In front of the bungalow, the two men were forcing the captives to bow on the grass. Ritsuko cleared the undergrowth and began to drift to the side for a better firing solution. She was almost in position when one of the guards spotted her. Before he could say anything, she shot him in the nuts. As he dropped and screamed, she put a round into the groin of the other man before shifting her sights to the simple porch, where a sleepy-looking man was staring, open-mouthed at the two guards who were writhing on the ground, blood spurting from their groins. Beside him was a woman with a collar on her neck, and another man, this one holding a crop.

“Morning, fuck-head,” Ritsuko called even as she put a round through the knees of the man with the crop, followed by a round through the gut of the man. “Good to see you again,” she giggled before shooting him in the foot. “I know you remember me,” she added, shooting him in the opposite knee. He fell screaming.

“Rit-chan!” came a yell from Gabriella. Ritsuko spun to see men running toward her from the far edge of the property.

“Die,” she snarled, swiftly head-shooting each one of them, shells falling from the action of her carbine like rain. She ceased fire as Milliea and Rapier intercepted the few survivors.

“Behind you,” yelled Airi, Ritsuko spinning around to see a few more close to her. She swept the rifle across them on full-auto, emptying the last few shells before releasing it to dangle from the sling as she jerked her pistol free and emptied the mag into them. Dumping the spent mag, she slapped a fresh one into the pistol then charged her rifle with a fresh mag before safeing it. Walking past the two men who were still screaming and writhing, she shot each in the head with her pistol as she passed. The captives were all cowering.

“It's ok, this is almost over,” she said to the captives, smiling at them as she walked toward the bungalow. The woman with the collar was trying to drag the nobleman inside. “Stop that, you stupid bitch,” snarled Ritsuko, bringing her gun up. The slave dove forward, covering him with her body. The red-head kicked her aside. “You can't save him, and if you piss me off, I'll kill you, too,” she warned, glaring at the woman. The slave collapsed, whimpering. Ritsuko shifted her pistol and put a round into the head of the man with the crop, silencing him as well.

The nobleman was struggling weakly, bleeding profusely. Ritsuko stomped hard on the foot she had shot, making him scream. “Wakey, wakey,” she roared at him. “Can't have you passing out, you fucking pussy,” she added before kicking his destroyed knee as hard as she could. He passed out. “Fucking limp dick,” she nearly panted in rage. Airi stepped up beside her.

“Let's get some tourniquets on him before he bleeds out,” she suggested.

Ritsuko seemed to collect herself a little. “Yeah,” she said, quickly ripping the shirt of the nobleman into strips, which she then braided before tying off each leg above the knees and tightening the straps down until they were about to break.

“Milliea, watch Airi's back. And keep an eye on that bitch over there; she might try to attack you. If she does, kill her,” Ritsuko said, tossing her head toward the sobbing woman who had been trying to drag the nobleman away. “I'm going to do a search and perimeter sweep with the others. Annette, over here,” she called, the magic user approaching with trepidation. “See if you can help them,” she said, indicating the huddled captives on the grass.

A half hour later, the nobleman came around as saltwater was splashed over his face. “Who dares…?!” he began, only to be kicked in his nuts. He screamed and clutched at his balls.

“I dare, you shit. We told you we would come back for you, didn't we? Well, today is the day! Aren't you feeling it?” a voice pierced his pain haze. Managing to focus, he saw the last two people he ever wanted to see; well, unless they were wearing a slave collar and helpless, that is.

“Y…you won't dare kill me,” he managed.

“You of little faith,” purred Ritsuko before kicking him in the nuts again, breaking two of his fingers in the process, as he was still holding his bruised balls with his hands. “We will do so much more than kill you,” she promised.

“I am the only one who can tell you where your elf friend is, and where your male friend is as well,” he managed.

“We recovered Junpei and broke your inept little compulsion spell,” Airi said with a benign smile. “As for Celsia, well, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet,” she shrugged philosophically.

“I can tell you how to find her,” the man managed, wheezing in pain. “A life for a life,” he added.

“The fuck you say,” snarled Ritsuko. Airi held up her hand, stopping the red-head.

“Celsia is worth more than this sack of shit, wouldn't you say, Rit-chan?” she asked.

“No!” came the emphatic reply.

“You would leave a high elf priestess to die?” the man asked, having spotted the elves watching silently.

“Acceptable losses,” Ritsuko shot right back.

“She is being used to resurrect a dark god of the ancient past,” he baited. Annette frowned.

“Which one?” she asked, moving closer.

“The one that nearly ate the world, or so they say in human legends,” the nobleman said. “No idea what it is called in elven.”

“Where is she?” Annette asked.

“Life for a life,” the man insisted.

“Fuck that,” interjected Ritsuko, knife in hand. “Time to start cutting things off this pig,” grinned the woman.

Airi gripped Ritsuko's arm, stopping her. “This is important,” Annette said, leaning over to whisper to Airi for a bit. The whole time Ritsuko was glaring at the nobleman. “Very well, we won't kill you if you tell us where Celsia is,” Airi said a moment later, Annette nodding.

“Swear it,” insisted the man.

“You are in no position…!” screamed Ritsuko, only to have Airi press a fingertip to her lips.

“We swear,” Airi said. Milliea and Rapier stepped up and pulled Ritsuko away from the nobleman, the woman cursing at him and them both.

“There is a temple where the dark one lies in torpor. My sources say it is on the Lost Continent, close to the coast, guarded by a death cult dedicated to resurrecting the dark one,” the nobleman said.

“Bullshit!” yelled Ritsuko, almost breaking free of the two elves. “He's making this shit up,” she accused.

“Not so,” disagreed the nobleman. “I have a talisman with their mark on it. You can check it against the ancient records. The same mark is on the temple face,” he insisted. Gabriella moved into the bungalow, and a few moments later returned with a worn, cracked talisman. The nobleman nodded.

“That's it,” he confirmed.

“He's lying,” insisted Ritsuko. “He'd say anything to save his life,” spat the woman.

“Perhaps, but this is the truth,” the nobleman insisted. Annette studied the talisman.

“I think he is telling the truth,” she said softly, glancing at the others briefly. “I have seen this in the archives at the temple,” she explained. Airi considered that for a long moment.

“Very well,” she said, turning away. “We're done here,” she said. The two elven women released Ritsuko, who sheathed her knife before pulling out her handgun. The nobleman blinked.

“You gave your word!” he shrilled.

“And neither Annette nor I will harm you,” Airi smiled sweetly. “Rit-chan, however…” she shook her head.

“What just happened to you is known on our world as `bad cop, worse cop',” smiled the red-head dangerously. “For six years, I thought about all the ways to make you pay,” she said, moving slowly, steadily toward him. “I thought up ways to make you suffer that would make a sadist puke. I spent days weighing the best way to keep you alive as long as possible to inflict as much suffering on you as I could. When I was being flogged or raped, I turned my thoughts to making you pay. But it's funny,” she shared casually, idly kicking him before squatting to look him in the eyes. “After the rebellion got started, it just didn't matter as much. And when Airi and I linked up again, you ceased to be a priority. By the time I captured Huntsman, I just wanted you dead. You have wasted enough of my time, you see,” she said, smiling at him. “I have a continent to conquer and rid of everyone like you, so I can't waste any more of my time, attention or emotion on you. Say `hi' to Huntsman, the crone and the warlock when you see them in hell,” she said before putting a round in the man's head.

The gunshot echoed and faded. Ritsuko studied the man for a long moment. “Rit-chan?” Airi prompted. The younger woman sighed.

“I'll be fine, Airi. Let's go home and figure out how to save Celsia's scrawny ass,” she said, offering a somewhat-weak smile to her closest friend. It was the work of a few minutes to explain things to the captives, who wanted to return to their homes on the other islands. The slave who had tried to save the nobleman made the mistake of trying to attack Ritsuko, and got her head cut off by Milliea's sword. Their business concluded, Ritsuko fired the buildings before they returned to the air narwhale and headed for Raltaow.

“Chancellor Airi.”

Airi turned to see the negotiator for the Allied Kingdoms approaching her from behind. She turned to smile at the old man. “My dear Duke, what can I do for you?” she asked sweetly. The old courtier stopped and gave her a slick, practiced bow.

“It would appear that something has happened back in the Kingdoms that has affected my ability to contact the Congress of Kings. Perhaps you might know the nature of this circumstance?” the man suggested.

“How could I possibly know what has transpired in the Kingdoms? I have been out in the far parts of the kingdom seeing to some matters that came up while my Queen hosted the negotiations here at the capital,” Airi replied easily.

“I happened to notice a military-grade air narwhale coming and going, my Lady,” he replied just as easily. “And some of the Queen's guests are quite remarkable, as well.”

Airi gave him a cool smile. “What is it you are implying, exactly?” she asked.
“Who my Queen chooses to have guest with us is her business; as is who she allows to be in the palace,” hinted the Chancellor.

“I imply nothing, of course, good Chancellor,” the man was unaffected by her warning. “I simply wish to fulfill my mission and retire to my estate.”

“You hail from the Western Kingdoms, do you not? A coastal one, if memory serves me right,” Airi suggested.

“I have the honor of being a descendent of the founding family of the Gold Sand Kingdom, as it is known by most,” he confirmed. Airi gave him another smile, teasing this time.

“Perhaps you should hurry home, then,” suggested the Chancellor, “while you have a family home to return to.”

The Duke studied the woman intently for a long moment. “Perhaps I should,” he mused. “The negotiations are progressing poorly, and without communication with the Congress, this is nearly moot,” he thought aloud, watching Airi carefully. Airi, of course, gave away nothing.

“Chancellor Airi, Duke,” came a call from the other end of the hallway. Ritsuko's Captain waved at them as she approached, grinning. “I have been looking for you, my dear, sweet Duke,” purred the woman. “I have received news from my fellow Captains that I think will interest you both,” she nearly chirped.

“Indeed?” the Duke replied dryly.

The Captain pulled a folded parchment from her dress's belt, opening it. “Read it for yourself, Lady Airi,” grinned the Captain. Airi took the letter and read it.

“Oh, my!” she reacted theatrically. “My dear Duke, it seems four kingdoms have fallen; one of them the Capital Kingdom. If what is written here is to be believed, two more are teetering on the brink of collapse as well. This is grave news indeed,” she said, handing the paper back to the Captain. The Duke closed his eyes.

“That would explain certain things,” he sighed. “It would appear that further negotiations are pointless, my Lady,” he said to Airi.

“Perhaps,” allowed Airi. “But then again, perhaps not. You do want to retire to your estate, do you not?” Airi hinted playfully. The old courtier frowned slightly at that.

“Would you please extend my apologies to the Queen, but I have some letters to write of a most urgent manner,” he said at last, bowing to the two women. “Captain,” he added before turning away and hurrying down the hall, his attendant following after him.

“Not bad,” Airi murmured to the Captain. The woman inclined her head.

“Do you think he will do as we anticipate?” asked the woman.

“He should,” Airi replied carelessly. “He is a professional diplomat and courtier and an old man, so he is unlikely to let his emotions get the better of him, and he wants to retire, so he has a vested interest in peace.”

“I see. Am I headed back to the Liberated Country?” asked the Captain.

“That is for your boss to decide,” Airi said, gesturing back the way the woman had come from, the two falling into step as they walked together. “Nice gown, by the way,” added Airi.

The Captain blushed a little. “The body servant insisted,” explained the Captain. “I have had gowns before, but nothing like this,” she said, absently swishing the skirt with her hands. “Why now?” she asked the Chancellor.

“Before, you dressed in a simple dress any commoner or even low noble would wear. Doing so…gave a certain impression of you as the representative of the Rebellion during that phase of the negotiations. Now, you need to give a different impression,” Airi said softly. “That, and my Queen must not have played with dolls enough as a child,” she sighed fondly.

“Is that why…?” the Captain stopped abruptly, looking around. Airi quirked an eyebrow at her behavior but said nothing. “The other day, I saw Boss in a…remarkable gown,” the Captain whispered to the Chancellor. Airi giggled softly.

“Yes, it was something, wasn't it?” agreed the actress. “Did it catch you off guard, my dear?” Airi teased the younger woman.

“It was just…very un-Boss like,” the Captain chose her word.

“Again, impressions,” shrugged Airi. The Captain studied her for a long moment.

“I used to think I understood politics and business, but lately, I think I don't know anything,” she said, sounding a bit sour about it. Airi snickered softly.

“You are young yet,” she replied simply.

“I am older than Boss,” pointed out the woman.

“Rit-chan…Boss,” Airi corrected herself, “was always older than her years, but more so since that incident. Judging her by age alone would be a grave mistake.”

“Don't I know it!” agreed the Captain. “I sometimes wonder…well, it doesn't matter,” she waved her hand dismissively.

“Wonder what?” a voice asked, making the two flinch. Ritsuko was leaning against the wall just past the corner decoration. Both women had missed seeing her there.

“N-nothing, Boss,” the woman said. Ritsuko stood away from the wall, smoothing the gown she was wearing with her hands as she did. The Captain eyed her boss and had to admit someone had good tastes.

“We need to talk, Airi,” Ritsuko said, her voice a little tense.

“You look gorgeous, Rit-chan,” Airi smiled back. Ritsuko's eye twitched.

“I look ridiculous in this damn thing,” she almost snarled. “Look at my shoulders and arms! I look like Queen Kong,” she muttered. Airi was the only one who got that remark, and it made her laugh.

“Then eat more and exercise less,” Airi suggested. Ritsuko gave her a look that would scorch most to the bone, but had no effect on Airi.

“Liseria and you need a reality check,” muttered Ritsuko. “And we have that other issue we need to be focusing on, now that things are gaining momentum with the Rebellion. Nice work, by the way, Captain,” Boss said off-handedly.

“Thank you, Boss!” the woman replied. “What are my orders?” she asked.

“For now? Spend time with the Queen to distract her from me, enjoy the hot springs, festivals and feasting; fucking, too, if you find a guy you fancy,” Ritsuko said easily. “The duke will probably have some business with you if he doesn't run for it,” she added cynically.

“Rit-chan,” chided Airi.

“Is there anything you need to attend to back in the Liberated Country?” asked Ritsuko, ignoring the soft rebuke from Airi.

“I think my Lieutenants can handle it, but I don't want to be away for too long,” the Captain said.

“Ritsuko!” a voice came from the connecting hall. Ritsuko's lips peeled back in a silent snarl. “Miss Airi!” the voice continued, a white-leather-clad man running up like a puppy dog. “Wow, that is a gorgeous gown, Miss Airi!” he praised her. Airi gave him a warm smile.

“Thank you, Junpei,” she said.

“Idiot,” muttered Ritsuko. The man glanced at her before snickering.

“Damn, Ritsuko, that thing makes you look like a frustrated body-builder prostitute,” he said, clearly amused. A resounding smack! was heard, the man blinking, stunned as he touched his cheek. Airi absently shook her hand a time or two.

“Apologize to Ritsuko, Junpei,” ordered Airi flatly. “Now,” she added ominously.

“I don't want any apology from Lord Idiot,” snarled Ritsuko, one hand behind her back. “I just want to shoot him again,” she hissed.

“Geez, must be that time of the month,” Junpei grunted. “So I was thinking we could go check out the sights together, Miss Airi…” he began.

“Junpei, I will not go anywhere with you until you learn to behave yourself,” stated Airi. The man blinked. “Behaving that way toward Rit-chan is inexcusable, and I find it annoying. I know you behave in a juvenile way and I know you do care about Ritsuko in your own bro-mance way, but it is time to grow up, Junpei.”

The man blinked at Airi's words. Ritsuko snorted. “I think you used too many big words, Airi,” she said before marching off down the hall. “I'm going to burn this damn thing and then go for a walk,” she said over her shoulder. Airi sighed to herself.

“Excuse me, please,” she said to the Captain before hurrying after the red-head, who was almost visibly steaming with anger.

“Miss Airi must be having a bad day,” Junpei decided, making the Captain wonder if he understood even the most basic thing about women. Looking him over, though, she found herself growing a bit warm. He certainly isn't hard to look at, even if he doesn't seem to have a brain, the woman thought, swallowing a little roughly. “So, um, who are you?” he asked her.

“I am a member of the leadership of the Rebellion,” the woman answered. He frowned.

“That thing that Ritsuko is doing?” he wondered. She nodded, making a mental note that he was dumber than she thought, but didn't seem to be too hard to deal with.

“Yes, that thing that Boss is doing,” she allowed. “And you are…?” she asked leadingly.

“I'm Junpei, number one fan of Miss Airi!” he bragged. “Also the Grand Champion of the Arena Games, Wizard of Leg Techniques, total bad-ass and all around awesome guy!” he struck a pose that - while the childishness of it made her want to giggle - raised her temp quite a bit as it displayed an impressive physique.

“Um, ok,” she managed, blushing a little. “Would you perhaps want to take a walk with me?” she asked him. Oh, gods above, I am acting like a love-struck little girl! part of her screamed in horror. The horny woman part of her ignored that. Junpei looked her up and down before shrugging.

“Sure. Know any good curry restaurants?” he asked, the two moving down the hall. Meanwhile, the duke was writing letters in his room, several potential outcomes going through his head.

“Logistically, this is going to be tough,” said Ritsuko, leaning back and rubbing her face with her hands. “The distances and skill groups necessary mean it will also take a while. But if we wait too long, Celsia really will be dead,” she thought aloud before groaning. The group was currently ensconced in the Chancellor's rooms, working on a plan to get to the lost continent.

“Um, if something does happen to Celsia, you know it wouldn't be your fault, right?” Milliea said, reaching out to rub Ritsuko's shoulder.

“I know that, Milliea,” Ritsuko said, giving the elf a smile. “But I am not in the habit of abandoning my friends and we sort of need her to get home,” she pointed out.

“Annette can cast the Seren Sarat if necessary,” Gabriella said. “Celsia did sort of blow it the last three times she tried it, you know?”

“What if there is a spell fragment on Celsia or on an elf on the Lost Continent?” Airi asked neutrally before sipping some wine. The group - except for Ritsuko - paused at that question, considering the problem from that angle. Ritsuko had long since considered that possibility.

The group consisted of Airi, Ritsuko, Annette, Milliea, Rapier, Gabriella and the Queen, who had sort of forced her way into the group. Junpei was deliberately shut out of the planning sessions, as he had nothing to offer the group since he only skill was fighting and none of them felt like coddling his impaired intelligence. On the table in the middle of the seats the group occupied was maps and notes and glasses of wine, water and some small snacks. In the corner of the room, Hecate and Venus were doing some minor tasks, softly murmuring to each other. Persephone and Artemis were running errands and tending to the requests of the group.

“Ok, so let's talk our way through this again,” Ritsuko said, sitting forward as she put her glass of water back on the table. “First, we need a gate portal established somewhere on this continent, then we need to send an advance force to the lost continent to establish a transit gate from the gate portal here to the destination to allow us to bring the rest of us through and even Mike if necessary, right?”

The group nodded. “So, first, we need to know what is necessary for the gate portal. From what Annette has said, we need some land, some rocks and a butt-load of spell craft. Annette, can you do the spell work alone, or do you need help? If so, how much help?” asked Ritsuko.

“I could do it, but it would take a lot of time and run me dangerously low on magical strength. I would suggest using the Bishops to do the main lifting, since they can perform the spells and they need to earn their keep,” Annette replied, getting smiles and snickers from the group. “I could probably pull up a few other temple staff to help, if necessary,” she added.

“Not unless we have no other choice,” Ritsuko interjected firmly, Airi nodding.

“The fewer who know, the better,” Airi said, the rest slowly nodding after some thought on the matter.

“Ok, so moving on, we have the magical staffing worked out, now what do we need in terms of land, stone and work?” Ritsuko said, reviewing some hand-written notes on one of her notebooks.

“The gate itself only needs about the same foot print as this room,” Annette said, looking over some strange notes she had made, claiming they were `calculations'. “Because you want to be able to move Mike through it, the stone arch will need to be wide and high enough to accommodate his body, and there should be some room for error, as the magic doesn't always precisely fill the frame.”

“That's a fairly large arch,” Rapier noted.

“I will order the stone masons to build it however you want it,” Liseria spoke up, eager to be involved.

“While I appreciate that offer, there are a few details that come before that, my Queen,” Airi replied, smiling at the Queen. “For instance, do we really want to the gate to lead here? Remember, we know there will be resistance,” she reminded the group.

“Yes, there is that. But let's finish the checklist in sequence, shall we?” Ritsuko said, another quick note being jotted down in her book. “How much land should we allow for the gate site? Is an acre enough?” she asked.

“What is an acre?” wondered Liseria. Ritsuko sighed softly.

“Never mind. How much land, Annette?” she asked.

“For safety sake, I would make it at least one hundred and fifty paces square, with the gate arch in the center, and the focus pattern spread out around it,” the resident magic expert said. Ritsuko made some notes.

“I'm guessing that it should be more or less flat and somewhat dry?” she asked, remembering the casting circles she had seen so far.

“Flat is easier, though too dry is a problem for dust,” Annette replied.

“We aren't advertising what we are doing, so away from population centers is best, I think,” Airi noted.

“Which makes Raltaow a bit problematic,” Gabriella noted. “It pretty much consists of one big valley,” she pointed out.

“There are remote alpine pastures we can use, and if necessary, I can appropriate some lands,” Liseria chimed in again.

“You have to consider your subjects, Liseria,” Ritsuko said. “For all we know, we could be withdrawing under fire from a magic-using death cult, and that could prove to be disastrous. What if they have a bone dragon, or are necromancers or something? You are the Queen, and you have a duty to your subjects,” admonished the red-head. Liseria lifted her chin a little.

“I also have a duty to my Chancellor and my friends,” she countered. “Besides, this is the only truly safe place you have for this undertaking, it is your center of operations, and - in the very worst case - we can bottle up the problem here, rather than allowing the crisis to spread, as it would in the other Kingdoms. This is the best choice,” she insisted.

Airi laughed softly. “I have taught you well, my Queen,” she said, raising her wine glass in toast.

“You taught her something, anyway,” Ritsuko sighed. “We will come back to this,” she added, moving on. “So once the gate portal is done, we have to get a party to the lost continent, but the party needs to have the right skills to make the transit gate. What is involved in that, Annette? More stonework?”

“Actually, a transit gate is much simpler and easier to make than a gate portal,” the high priestess replied. “With the correct spell runes to target it and link it, you can actually get away with a simple arch and some involved yet basic spell craft. I have seen examples that used two trees tied together as the framework for the arch. I think any competent caster - human or elf - could do the job on that end.”

“Gabs, can you cast the spell?” asked Ritsuko directly.

“Sure,” came the cocky reply, along with an easy smile. “I am a dark elf, after all,” she added, grinning at Annette, who just rolled her eyes.

“What are you thinking, Ritsuko?” asked Airi.

“Minimum party size and skill set,” Ritsuko replied, making a couple more notes. “We need a caster and backup, all party members should be fighters, and we need at least three, but not more than five, is my take on this,” she said to the group at large. “I'm thinking that the advance party should be me, Gabs, Milliea and Annette. And yes, I know Annette is not a fighter like the rest of us, but she is a better magic fighter than Gabs. She and Gabs will back up each other in magic, Milliea and Gabs will back up each other in melee combat, Gabs and I will back each other up with ranged combat, and we all back each other up for the labor and teamwork items. Thoughts?” she asked.

“I feel uneasy sending you that far into trouble, Rit-chan,” Airi said softly.

“There isn't much choice, Airi,” the younger woman replied, meeting Airi's gaze.

“Why not sub in Junpei?” suggested Annette.

“No,” came the near-unanimous response.

“Lord Idiot Junpei is useless for this mission, as it requires the ability to think and plan,” Ritsuko stated, her tone acidic.

“While he might be a better melee fighter than either Rapier or I, he is not nearly as smart, plus he can only do fighting,” Gabriella added.

“Junpei is far too impulsive and childish to be trusted to an operation of this sort,” Airi agree. Annette and Rapier nodded.

“I could go…” began the Queen.

“No,” Airi and Ritsuko said in perfect unison. The Queen nearly pouted, but didn't argue.

“I think that is a fairly balanced group for the advance party,” Airi allowed. “But who is going to be in charge?” she asked.

“She is,” said Gabs, Annette and Milliea in unison, pointing to Ritsuko.

“Damn right I am,” was all the red-head had to say to that, though Airi detected a trace of an indecipherable emotion in her eyes. “So, that completes the technical side of the list. Let's talk transportation,” continued the Rebellion leader.

“What's there to talk about? Air fish can't reach the lost continent, so it is air fish to the Tear Islands, then several months on a creaking ship while hoping we hit the other continent,” Gabriella said.

“Yes, that is the part that worries me,” Airi cut in smoothly. “It is the riskiest part of the plan. Just a small sample of my concerns include whether or not we can find a ship and crew at the Tear Island who have both the skill and the backbone to take you all to the Lost Continent, rather or not the ships here can even withstand such a journey and what happens if they fail in the middle of the ocean.”

“If the ship goes down in the middle of the journey, we all drown,” Ritsuko said quietly. “I'm a good swimmer, but not that good, and I doubt any of the so-called `life boats' I have seen would last more than a couple days before sinking themselves.”

“Unacceptable,” Airi stated flatly, the Queen nodding.

“I admit I don't disagree, but what is it you think you mean by `unacceptable', Airi?” Ritsuko responded.

“Losing you - or any of our friends - is unacceptable,” Airi replied firmly. “We will find another way.”

“Like what? Air fish simply can't span the distance, and there are no magical shortcuts short of a pure-luck random chance connection. I don't mind you disagreeing, but give me a better solution or don't say anything, Airi.” Ritsuko sighed.

“Maybe I have an idea,” Milliea spoke up. They all turned their attention to the swordswoman, knowing she wasn't the brightest, but was sometimes one of the most insightful. “Couldn't we do like we do with Mike?” she asked.

“You're going to have to explain that a bit more, Mi-chan,” smiled Ritsuko fondly. She and Milliea had gotten closer over the time they had been working together, and Ritsuko didn't always realize she would sometimes use affectionate pet names with the red-headed elf.

“Well, couldn't you find a way to have an air fish on the boat with you as cargo or something, and if things go south, you could use the air fish to get off the boat. If you are half-way there and the air fish has a long range, wouldn't that make it possible to either come back or to reach the lost continent? I mean, if you made it to the lost continent, you could make the gate, right?” explained the armored elf.

The group considered that for a long few moments. “It couldn't be a big air fish,” mused Annette.

“And it would need long range,” Ritsuko mused.

“How would we set it up to be cargo, but still be able to be used by us in a hurry?” wondered Gabriella.

“And how do you stop the crew from stealing it or using it themselves in an emergency,” added Rapier.

“If it only needs to hold four people, couldn't it be optimized for that weight load?” the queen asked. Ritsuko was busy writing in her notebook.

“How much do you all weigh?” she asked, glancing at the members of the proposed advance teams. None of them were very eager to give their weights, but after a little prodding, they did. Airi smiled.

“As expected,” she said, glancing at Ritsuko, who nodded even while doing math.

“Elves are lighter than humans by mass,” she murmured to herself, mind busy. “Four days water, a bag of jerky, maybe some rope as a harness? No, it has to be leather to keep from chafing the fish,” she was thinking aloud, making more notes and doing more math. “If I just take my G36 and a basic combat load, then maybe…that's a bit tight,” she considered. “Better lighten it a bit. I'll take my G36, combat load of ammo, my pistol and three mags, the small knife, and one change of clothes,” she muttered, more scratching done on her notebook page. The others waited.

“The numbers aren't great, but tell me if any air fish types match these weight-for-range calculations,” she said, showing Annette her figures.

“A tarpon or a tuna would work,” Annette began. Ritsuko frowned.

“They would have to fit in a cargo hold of a ship…or would they?” she interrupted herself, smiling a little. Turning the page, she sketched a rough ship, then some lines on the deck. “That might work,” she smiled. She showed the others a sketch.

“You would have to re-ballast the ship, but yes, I think that might work,” Airi smiled at her younger partner.

“Like Mike and that shark,” grinned Ritsuko. “So, how do we keep it fresh and ready to go?” she asked the group at large.

“Stasis spell, at least to keep it ready. Probably cover it with canvas to protect it from the elements,” Annette said.

“Would that also keep it from being stolen or used by anyone but us?” wondered Gabriella.

“We could rune key it,” Annette suggested. “Make it so the stasis spell wouldn't break unless all four of you keyed it, maybe?”

“You need to make it so any one of us can unlock it,” Ritsuko said quietly. “There is no guarantee that all four of us would make it to the fish in an emergency serious enough to make it necessary,” she reminded them.

“Um, yes, I guess there is that,” Annette replied, blushing a little.

“Will a stasis spell keep the fish fresh and ready?” pressed Airi.

“Yes,” Annette replied confidently. “They are often used to preserve food, you know. With an air fish, it will be like it is asleep until it is unlocked, so it will be rested and ready.”

“My question is how you will find a ship the size you need in the Tear Island,” the Queen spoke up, determined to be part of the conversation. “I may be from a land-locked kingdom, but I doubt ships of that size are so common as be reliably found in port at the far end of the civilized world.”

“An astute question,” Airi praised her Queen. “I don't recall seeing any ships of that size in the Tear Islands when we were there. Mostly, they were smaller fishing vessels. Ritsuko?” she asked.

The younger woman shook her head. “Me, either,” confirmed the red-head. “In fact, I haven't seen many ships here of that size except for the ones I burned on the yards at the beginning of the Rebellion.”

“Do you suppose they have almost completed replacement ships that size?” wondered Milliea innocently. Ritsuko suddenly began to smile her dangerous smile.

“I think I should ask someone that,” purred the Rebel leader. “And I think I know just who to ask, too,” she giggled softly.

“So, we know the plan, and I think you have a shopping list for us, Ritsuko?” Airi said, Ritsuko nodding.

“We still need to decide where the gate portal will be built, but yes,” the woman said.

“You know this is the only safe place to build it,” the Queen jumped back in. “I know it is not the ideal place, but it is the only safe place,” she shored up her argument. Airi and Ritsuko were silent, looking at each other. After nearly a minute of silence, Ritsuko sighed, looking away. Airi turned to the Queen.

“You win this round, my queen,” was all she said. The Queen smiled.

“Thank you for allowing me the victory, Chancellor Airi,” she head-bowed gracefully. Further talk was interrupted by a knock on the door, Persephone opening it shortly after to reveal a guard.

“Apologies, my Queen,” the man bowed to his monarch, “but the representative of the Allied Kingdoms has requested to speak with you, Chancellor Airi and the Rebellion representative on an urgent matter.”

“I see,” Airi rose from her chair, draining the last bit of wine from her glass. “My Queen? Is this a good time?” she asked formally.

“It is acceptable,” the Queen said, rising and placing a hand on Airi's extended hand, the Chancellor guiding her out of the room as the members of the Royal Guard escorted them.

“Break-time it is, then,” Ritsuko said, standing and stretching. “I will go find my underling, Persephone,” she said to the body servant, who bowed to her.

“As you wish, Lady Ritsuko,” the servant replied. Milliea flowed to her feet like a cat and followed Ritsuko as they went searching for their missing Captain. Checking her rooms revealed them to be empty, so Ritsuko began to systematically search the wing. Stopping by Junpei's room - she and Airi both flatly refused to share the Chancellor's suite with him - she peeked in, finding that she was interrupting something.

“Boss!” gasped the captain, practically jumping off Junpei's bed, where she had been on all fours, cheek against the bed, ass in the air and Junpei vigorously thrusting away into her.

“Hey!” protested the fighter, turning to see who had interrupted him. Seeing Ritsuko staring at him, he grinned. “Ritsuko, what's up?” he asked, not bothering to cover himself. “We're kind of busy here,” he added, reaching for the Captain again, who glanced back at him, her face scarlet, as she avoided the grab.

“She has work to do,” Ritsuko said flatly, scowling at Junpei's glistening erection. “And put that away before I shoot you there, idiot,” she added before turning her attention to the Captain. “Get dressed; you have an urgent meeting with the Queen, Chancellor Airi and the Duke, and you are holding them up,” directed the red-head.

“At once, Boss,” the woman said, grabbing the gown she had been wearing and struggling into it. Ritsuko stepped over and helped her, Junpei sitting back on his bed, the sheet casually draped over his lap.

“Did anyone ever tell you that you're a cockblock, Ritsuko?” he asked her.

“Not anyone who said that and lived, brain-donor,” bit back Ritsuko. “Besides, it didn't look like your dick was blocked to me,” she sniped. Junpei laughed easily.

“Why Ritsuko, are you falling for me?” he asked her, sounding amused.

“Junpei, I would rather be raped by that nobleman again than fall for you,” she replied sweetly, giving him a sickenly-sweet smile before finishing up the lacing on the gown her Captain had on. “Try not to stain the gown,” she murmured to the Captain. “I know getting those kinds of stains back out of cloth is not easy.”

“My apologies, Boss,” the woman began.

“Just keep yourself tight down there, you are already late. Go,” ordered the Boss, her minion doing so immediately. Ritsuko and Milliea turned for the door themselves.

“Man, what am I supposed to do now?” Junpei asked himself aloud, frowning at his lap. “Don't suppose you want to play around a bit, Milliea?” he asked the elf.

“Junpei,” came a velvet warning from Ritsuko, who sent him a look he could literally feel. “If you ever touch my Milliea, I will kill you,” she promised, her arm going around the elf's waist as she guided her though the door. “Kill you horribly,” she whispered before slamming the door shut. “Jackass,” she spat, marching down the hall.

The two ended up several minutes later in a secluded corner of the Queen's garden, sitting on a marble bench as the sun began to slip behind the mountains surrounding the Kingdom. “I'm sorry, Milliea,” Ritsuko said, breaking the silence.

“Sorry for what, Rit-chan?” chirped Milliea.

“For repeatedly putting you in a position where you had to kill for me. I know you don't like killing, and I keep getting you into situations where you end up killing; usually for me. And for that, I am sorry,” Ritsuko said softly.

“I don't like killing, but I know sometimes killing is necessary,” Milliea replied. “Ever since that first time, I have understood that taking up this armor and the swords meant killing sometimes. I have killed a lot of people over the years, Ritsuko, but I don't regret killing any of them, because there was no other choice. You don't need to apologize for what has happened. As long as I am by your side, I won't let anyone hurt you again, Ritsuko,” she promised.

Ritsuko stared at Milliea. “T-thank you, Milliea,” she replied, unsure what she should say to that. Milliea smiled warmly at her.

“You're welcome!” the young elf burbled cheerfully. Ritsuko only hesitated a moment before pulling Milliea to her in a tight, full-body hug. Blinking in surprise, but not bothered, Milliea got her arms around Ritsuko, smiling as she pressed her lips to Ritsuko's for a long moment. The two remained like that for many minutes before slowly releasing the hug.

“Let's check on the others and get something to eat, Milliea,” Ritsuko suggested, tracing her fingers along Milliea's cheek before turning for the palace.

“Ok!” was the sunny response.

Entering the palace, the two spotted the Captain moving toward the hall that led to the Chancellor's suite. “Looking for someone?” Ritsuko called, giving her a half-wave. The Captain hurried to her, bowing when she got close enough.

“Boss,” she breathed. “I…I wanted to apologize if I overstepped my bounds with your companion,” she began. Ritsuko frowned.

“Companion? Bounds?” She didn't do anything with Airi or the Queen, did she? wondered the red-headed human.

“With…Junpei,” the woman finished, blushing a little. “I hadn't considered that he might be your…companion,” admitted the woman.

Ritsuko snorted. “He is nothing of any sort to me in the way you mean it, trust me!” she emphatically declared.

“You and he…he isn't your…boy toy?” blinked the Captain.

“I meant every word I said earlier, you know,” came the dry response. “Still, I admit he isn't hard to look at, so if you want to make him your sex toy, you not only have my permission, but my encouragement as well,” snickered Ritsuko. “I told you earlier, you can relax, feast and fuck if you found a guy you liked, and I think you did. It doesn't bother me; in fact, you are doing me a favor by occupying his time,” she smirked.

“Thank the gods,” breathed the Captain.

“Still no winners, though,” Ritsuko added.

“Damn,” muttered the Captain. “Um, do you think Chancellor Airi would be offended by…our activities?” she worried.

“I give you my personal word that Airi won't care, either - and will likely be thankful to you as well,” snorted Ritsuko. Her captain sighed in relief, straitening up. “Go on, pick up where you left off,” her Boss pre-empted her request, flipping her hand in dismissal. Her captain hurried off toward Junpei's room.

“Well, the meeting seems to be over, so let's go find Airi and Liseria, get some food and hear what they had to say,” suggested Ritsuko, smiling at her elf friend, who beamed back at her, nodding.

The Congress of Kings was meeting in the conference room in the palace of the King of the Green Hills, which was the northwestern-most kingdom on the continent. It was one of the smaller kingdoms by population, but the largest producer of lumber and seafood. Nearly all the kingdom's subjects were either lumberjacks or fishermen. Outside, rain fell from a lead-gray sky. The kingdom also averaged the highest rainfall of any kingdom.

Looking around the assembly, the Chairman sighed, noting that they had lost almost half their members thanks to the Rebellion and their shocking success. Currently, the kings that remained were divided into two main camps: those who bitterly swore vengeance on the Rebellion, and those who had had enough. “Order,” he called, hammering the table with the hilt of his decorative dagger. “Damn you all, order! We are not some pack of uncivilized animals. Let us comport ourselves as befitting our birthright,” he almost sighed.

“Or at least let us die as kings, isn't that what you mean?!” came the shrill accusation of a king whose kingdom was suddenly on the front lines of the Rebellion. Instead of stay and hope the Rebellion wouldn't sack his town, he had fled to the Green Hills kingdom after sternly ordering what guards and constables remained in his cities to fight to the very last man. That morning, he had gotten word that his own capital had sent emissaries to the Rebellion to ask terms of surrender rather than fight to the end, as ordered. The Rebellion had reportedly been less than enthusiastic about accepting surrender, and negotiations were believed to be on-going.

“The facts of this war are plain to see,” the Western Kingdoms spokesman said patiently. “For all intents and purposes, we have lost this war, gentlemen. The best use of our time and attention would be to determine how we handle the inevitable transition to Rebellion rule.”

“What does it matter? We all know what the Rebellion does to royals and nobles,” snorted another Central Kingdoms ruler, who was deep in his cups.

“Actually, I received a note from my Duke, who is still in Raltaow, that has some interesting news and some intriguing proposals,” the king shared. “Did you know that the Rebellion has not, in fact, killed every royal and noble they have captured? To be sure, they put the majority of them to the sword, but that seems more a political move than a measure of revenge, given who they executed and how. My Duke is seeking my permission to start negotiations regarding terms of surrender that could well leave the majority of us alive; perhaps even still leading our kingdoms. I am inclined to give him my leave to do so. Anyone else care to join?” he asked the room calmly.

“We should be fortifying our positions along the Tumultuous River, the Clay Hills and the foothills of the Highhold Mountains! With those natural defensive works, we can stop them from taking the Western Kingdoms, at least. And once we have rebuilt our strength, we can strike back, reclaiming our lands!” insisted a ruler from the Northern Kingdoms.

“Do you have any idea how large a force it would take to make a defensive line from Raltaow's border, along the divide between the Central Kingdoms and the Western Kingdoms, then along the border between the Central Kingdoms and the Northern Kingdoms?” asked the head of the peace faction. “And what of the southern-most Eastern Kingdoms, who even now are falling to the Rebellion? Will you simply cut them off and abandon them?”

“Sacrifices must be made,” grunted the first. “We will press every citizen into service, seize all lands and foods in the name of the crown, and hold the line!” he emphasized.

“There is not a line to be held,” stated the other. “The line that we manned with full strength didn't even last a full year before they simply rolled over it. Granted, that was mostly due to errors in the military command and rogue actions by certain rulers, but the fact remains we could not maintain that border, and it was one fifth the size of the one you propose. And one more question, if you would be so kind: how are we to rebuild our strength when all that strength is being exerted just to survive? It is illogical and flatly ridiculous to even consider that a valid option.”

“We force the Holy Orders to buy us time. We can demand that the Pontiff send his Holy Orders against the head of the Rebellion, which should force those slaves to withdraw into the Southern Kingdoms again. We might even be able to force them to be defensive,” suggested another Central Kingdoms king.

“I think it patently obvious that the Pontiff will not commit his Holy Orders for whatever reason, given that he forbade them from leaving their Chapterhouses even when the Capital fell to the Rebellion,” the Chairman reminded them. Many of them suspected that the night-time visit of Boss to the Pontiff's very bedroom had scared the head of the Church so badly that he wouldn't act against the Rebellion.

The fact that the Rebellion had not attacked the Chapterhouses suggested some nefarious deal had been struck between the Church and the Rebellion. The Pontiff had not set foot outside the Holy Seat since the Rebellion had taken the Capital, and the Holy Orders had remained in their Chapterhouses. All messages between the Pontiff and the Orders were carried by simple monks. It was telling that though the Churches remained open, the Rebellion had seriously curtailed their power and was watching the clergy like hawks.

“Gentlemen, it is my intent to explore terms of surrender with the Rebellion rather than destroy my kingdom in a meaningless gesture of defiance,” the Western Kingdoms spokesman said, rising. “If any of you wish to join me, I will pass your names to the Duke, so he can negotiate for your kingdoms as well. His tone suggested that the Raltaowian Queen has made some deal with the Rebellion already, and if that is the case, it is proof that the Rebellion leadership, at least, understands the realities of politics and governance. After all, peace and stability depend on a firm governmental structure, do they not?” he asked.

“We cannot trust a bunch of slaves to…!” began one of the kingdom-less kings hotly.

“While it is a moot point, not all the Rebellion leaders are former slaves,” noted the Western Kingdoms spokesman. “One is, in fact, a minor noble of the Southern Kingdoms, another is a former Allied Kingdoms soldier from a family with a long lineage of professional soldiers, and our intelligence indicated that many in key positions are either former businessmen or former administrators of the Southern Kingdoms.”

“What of their leader, Boss?” demanded another king, his eyes a bit wild as he furiously gestured, sloshing wine all over the table and himself. “She is a former slave! A killer! She uses black magic and eats the flesh of her slain foes! There can be no reasoning with her!”

“Then I can only say that it is fortunate that we are dealing with the Captains she has set up to run the Rebellion while she is out eating her enemies and haunting your nightmares,” came the dry response from the head of the peace faction.

“Don't you fear her?! Admit it! You fear her, too!” demanded the king, half-rising.

“No, not particularly,” the king shrugged, heading for the door. “I can't stop her if she comes for my head, so I find being afraid of what she might do to be a waste of my time. I would much rather use that time and energy to figure out a way to keep her from coming for my head,” he said as he opened the doors to the conference room. “Anyone else joining me?” he asked.

After a moment, several of the kings - all but one of the Western Kingdoms rulers, in fact - rose and followed after the head of their faction. A couple Northern Kingdoms kings joined the procession. Looking at the remaining kings, the Chairman formally banged the table. “In light of the situation and the facts of our condition, I hereby dissolve the Congress of Kings,” he said before turning for the door. “Whatever you do, I wish you luck,” he said to the remaining kings. “You will need it.”

“This is the spot I had in mind,” Liseria said to Ritsuko and Airi. The three had taken Mike for a ride, the Queen directing them through a narrow valley into a smaller valley, surrounded by steep, bare-rock cliffs over two hundred feet high. The blind valley was away from other occupied lands, and the opening to the valley could be fortified if necessary, or be leveled and turned into a road with equal ease.

“It has potential,” allowed Ritsuko, eyeballing the distances and configuration of the secluded valley. Airi considered it for a long moment as well.

“There is a small training ground for the army just down the valley that could be converted to a full base without much effort or cost, and the main road runs right past here, so supplies and reinforcements could move easily from or to here,” the Queen continued her pitch to her Chancellor and the woman she admired so deeply.

“Worst-case scenario, Mike could toss some shells into that cliff face and bury this entire area in rock,” Ritsuko noted, examining the walls. “If we build the main portal over there, we can build relay gates there, there and here without sacrificing complete control of the situation. It wouldn't take much to set up a shelter for Mike down here, just in case,” Ritsuko nodded to herself.

“Relay gates?” wondered Airi. Ritsuko nodded.

“I was thinking about that issue we discussed a couple weeks ago, and then something Annette said to me yesterday got me thinking,” she said, without explaining anything.

“What are you thinking, Rit-chan?” asked Airi directly.

“Well, let's say that we get Celsia back without having to blow the gate on the Lost Continent,” began Ritsuko. “So, we have a portal and a client gate under our control, but it is on a Lost Continent, so the usefulness is pretty low. We will be investing a lot in the portal gate, so why waste it? We know we need to figure out a better economic solution for this continent once we control it, and Raltaow is our base, so why not set up some client gates in some of the biggest cities, with corresponding hubs here? I asked Annette, and she said that the portal gate could act as a point-to-point hub, or as a relay hub, which would give us a means of moving materials and goods between regions much faster and more efficiently. Granted, there would be a major investment of magic to set up, but we could tax the use of the gates, and make revenue off the trade to keep the infrastructure updated and cover other costs. If a merchant could move ten wagons of raw sugar from a plantation cooperative in the Liberated Country to the Capital in a matter of minutes, he would do it, even if he had to pay a toll because the costs would still be cheaper than going overland and he wouldn't need guards, or camping gear or food for the animals and men, plus his spoilage loss would be practically zero, so his profit would be greater.”

Liseria was staring at Ritsuko, her mouth open a little. Airi smirked softly, seeing this. “Surprised, my Queen, that Ritsuko would understand economics, business and logistics even though she is the feared Boss of the rebellion? You shouldn't be; such skills are necessary for anyone who is in a leadership position. Why do you think the Rebellion has been so wildly successful instead of collapsing like all the ones before it?” asked her Chancellor.

“It's just that she is known for her military leadership, and she seems uninterested in the mundane side of ruling…” Liseria sputtered.

“Administrative tasks are not my favorite, but I do know how important they are,” Ritsuko said. “History is as great a teacher of what doesn't work as what does work, after all,” she snickered to herself.

“See, my Queen? She isn't just another sexy bimbo,” Airi teased Ritsuko through her Queen. Ritsuko rolled her eyes.

“Getting back to what we were talking about, I think having the choke-point here would be for the best. This way, we can shut down connections and change the mode as necessary to maintain control. What do you think, Airi?” asked Ritsuko.

“Worth talking about it at least,” mused the Chancellor, considering Ritsuko's idea.

“So, we agree, then?” smiled Liseria, looking back and forth between her two companions.

“Yes, I suppose we do,” Airi said after a moment, Ritsuko nodding.

“I will order the work to begin immediately. Hopefully, we can finish it before first snow,” she said.

“Shorten the work by having the stone masons use blocks from that Church up the road,” Ritsuko said, a faint frown on her lips. “Quicker to fit the already-cut stones into the configuration we need than to quarry new stones, and the Church isn't contributing anything as it is now.”

“A good idea, Ritsuko,” Liseria nodded. “That should shorten the building time considerably. I will ask Annette to lay out the specifics with the royal stone masons as quickly as she can, and pull extra men off other projects if necessary,” she announced.

“Be sure to pick carefully which projects you pull workers from, my Queen,” reminded Airi. “Some of those projects are more important than the speed with which the arch can be crafted.”
“I know,” confirmed the young queen. Ritsuko was looking around the steep mountains surrounding the entire kingdom, a blank look on her face. Airi knew that look.

“Rit-chan,” she said, touching Ritsuko's arm. The red-head blinked, focusing back on Airi. “Anything you want to talk about?” she asked the red-head. Ritsuko shook her head.

“No, just thinking; remembering,” she murmured. Airi understood, and just gave her a sympathetic nod and a brief caress of her cheek. “So, ready to head back and get to it?” she asked the other two, who nodded. “Mike! Back home,” she ordered, the tank rumbling to life and pirouetting in place before retracing his tread tracks to the tank house she had built him not too far from the capital.

When they were back in the palace, Ritsuko went looking for her Captain, finding her in a meeting with the Duke from the Allied Kingdoms. Milliea had been tapped to be her guard, and was standing behind the Captain, her usual sunny smile on her face. Ritsuko - playing at the role of a palace guest of the Queen's - excused herself after whispering to Milliea for a moment.

Barely ten minutes later, the Captain presented herself to her Boss in the Chancellor's suite. Airi and the Queen were changing into their `work' clothes as the Queen and Chancellor, while Ritsuko had discarded her utilitarian dress, leaving her in her shorts and tee shirt. “What is the Duke saying?” Ritsuko got right to the point.

“He is trying to negotiate the independent conditional surrender of several of the Kingdoms. It would seem the Alliance has collapsed, and it is every kingdom for itself,” the Captain reported.

“Airi, you might want to know it happened faster than we anticipated,” called out Ritsuko. Moments later, the Chancellor appeared, still fastening her court gown, Persephone working on the corset strings even as Airi walked into the room. Just behind her, the Queen was impatiently waiting for Artemis to finish closing her own court gown.

“So they have collapsed already?” Airi asked, standing still as Persephone swiftly settled and adjusted the intricate gown on her. “Perhaps they are not as stupid as they seemed,” she smirked.

“It's probably the father of Colleena's husband,” predicted Ritsuko. “He always did seem more a businessman than a king,” she thought aloud.

“So you have won, then?” asked the Queen, moving into the room even though her court gown was barely fastened. Venus hurried to help Artemis with the task of getting the Queen dressed properly. Persephone tugged on Airi's gown straightening the lines of the corset in the front before swiftly adjusting the neckline of the gown and Airi's breasts as they filled the half-cups of the dress. Satisfied, the body servant swiftly swung the ceremonial sash of office around Airi's waist, tying it off neatly behind her even as Hecate offered her the ceremonial short sword that went with it. Airi tucked the fancy knife in her sash with the practiced ease of a professional before gesturing the body servants back, the two bowing to her. Artemis and Venus were still working on the Queen's gown.

“We have not won yet, though we are very close to winning,” Airi said in response to the Queen's question. “Until we have all of them under our control, we have not won. If they are negotiating, they have realized the truth of their situation, which should reduce the bloodshed. Ritsuko, are you going to pull your teams back; or at least order them to reduce activities?” asked Airi, her tone indicating that there was more to the question than the others in the room understood.

“I hadn't planned to, but I suppose I can shift the teams out of the kingdoms that are trying to negotiate with us,” allowed the Boss of the Revolution. Her expression hardened a bit. “But I might just target the hold-outs harder,” she warned.

Airi slowly nodded. “I will leave the terrorism to you, then,” was all she said. Ritsuko nodding.

“That is for the best,” the red-head said, looking Airi in the eyes. The others in the room wondered what they were saying with that look that the others couldn't understand. “Give me the kingdoms asking for terms,” she directed that to her Captain, who swiftly named them off from memory, Ritsuko making some quick notes before unfolding a map that had been tucked into a notebook of hers. Studying it, she smiled a little. “Yeah, that will work,” she muttered, folding up the map again.

“My orders, Boss?” asked the Captain crisply, recognizing the switch in personas in the red-headed woman.

“Pretend to resist any conditions they offer, but make it obvious that you personally would talk if you weren't under orders from me to only accept unconditional surrender of the kingdoms. He will probably keep trying if he thinks there is a weakness there to exploit. I will make arrangements for certain ideas to be put in the heads of the kings wanting to negotiate surrender, so once they offer to surrender so long as we don't destroy their cities, kill their citizens and execute their nobility, say that you have to get my permission, and then don't interact to him for at least five days; and I mean no interaction,” warned Boss ominously. “He should be writing letters like crazy during that time, so if you just avoid him, it will be enough. Oh, when you do meet with him to announce you have gotten my permission to accept those terms, you will be sporting some injuries. Sorry, but it has to be that way,” Ritsuko said, her tone blithely unconcerned. The Captain gulped nervously.

“Ritsuko,” breathed Liseria, concern in her voice.

“This isn't your business, Liseria,” warned Ritsuko. “But it isn't anything that will leave a mark or be any worse than things she has already endured in the fight. There are reasons, but you have to take my word for it,” Ritsuko said.

“I could fake the injuries,” Airi offered.

“If you had your full kit, maybe - but you don't,” replied Ritsuko. “Also, the Duke was a former soldier, so he would be likely to spot a fake injury if anyone could. It won't be bad, and I can promise you it is necessary,” she repeated. Airi sighed.

“I know it is,” admitted the Chancellor, “but that doesn't mean we have to like it,” she qualified.

“You think I find some pleasure in hurting one of my best Captains? Do you think I do this for fun?” came the tense reply from Ritsuko.

“I know you don't,” Airi countered calmly, yet firmly. “But I also know you sometimes let your perfectionist nature get the better of you, and the result of that happening in this case would hurt you more than you could hurt your Captain,” Airi said, having switched to Japanese. Ritsuko closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again.

“I know, but it is that or more bloodshed,” was all she said before switching back to the common language. “I will be heading into the Kingdoms tomorrow at dawn with the air narwhale,” she announced, standing. “Now, I think you two have things to do?” she hinted to the Chancellor and the Queen before heading into the shared bedroom to get ready for the trip into the Kingdoms. Airi guided her Queen out of the room and toward the throne room where they would have the Duke present himself.

“Why is Ritsuko planning to hurt her Captain before accepting the terms?” wondered Liseria, not seeing the point.

“Because there needs to be a concept in the minds of the kings who want to negotiate surrender that Boss and the Rebellion leadership are not a single entity. Boss must always remain a lone identity; a spectral threat that no one can control or predict. In the peace that will follow, Boss will be the stick that beats all who dare to oppose the new order, while the Captains must been seen as reasonable, predictable leaders who they can relate to. By having her Captain show up after allegedly challenging Boss's directives in order to secure the peace with injuries, it will create the correct mindset for the kings to accept the Captains as equals; it will also further vilify Boss and make her a common threat. Without that, the kings and some of the population will always seek to blame the Captains for Boss's rather harsh actions, which will only lead to further conflict, death and hardship for everyone.”
“Ritsuko would go that far…?” breathed the queen.

“You still do not grasp who Ritsuko has become,” Airi murmured softly. “She created the identity of Boss so that she could keep the dying down. Long before she fired the first shot, she had considered this potential outcome. I think she poured all her hate, fear, pain and darkness into the character everyone knows as Boss so she could do what had to be done without losing all she had ever been. Additionally, it gave her an out if she needed to break it off for whatever reason,” explained the Chancellor.

Liseria was quiet for a long moment. “She would be a better queen than me,” whispered the younger woman. Airi hummed.

“Perhaps, but then again, perhaps not,” she said placidly. “She has her own issues and weaknesses. That doesn't make her better or worse than you - simply different. Keep that in mind. And Liseria? She is not interested in taking your crown; or any other crown,” Airi reminded her Queen. The young queen considered those words as they entered the throne room.

“I would see the negotiator for the Kingdoms at once,” she commanded regally as she seated herself on her throne, Airi settling behind and to the right of her Queen.

“There she is,” announced the shipwright proudly, gesturing to the just-finished war ship. “The newest, fastest, best-armed ship ever built!” he bragged. The King looked the ship over as it floated serenely, moored in the bay just outside the ship yards.

“Pity it took too long to finish,” the monarch said. The shipwright's smile dimmed a bit.

“That still does not detract from the facts, milord,” he said carefully. “The crew should be arriving in the next couple of days to begin familiarization training on her. The Admiral assures me that the crew is all hand-picked master sailors and the captain is the best in the navy of any kingdom.”

“I am sure they are,” the king said. “Have them train with the ship, but do not arm it until I say so,” he said, turning toward his carriage. The shipwright wondered what was up with the luke-warm reaction to the ship finally being done. It hadn't been his fault that the ship and shipyards had burned to the ground almost two years before, destroying the partially-built ship meant for the blockage of the Southern Kingdoms and delaying any new work for many months.

Dismissing the reaction of the king, he turned back to look at the gently-bobbing ship with a father's pride and a sailor's lustful eye, drinking in the lines of the ship and the fine rigging and construction. Absently adjusting himself, he sighed before turning back to the shipyard, where several large tree trunks were already in the process of being turned into a keel for the sister ship to the one he had just finished. It would be at least a year before the ship now being started took her first swim, but the shipwright didn't care.

In his carriage, the king was considering the letter he had received just the evening before by air fish from the Duke negotiating the surrender of the kingdoms that had decided that was the best path. It hinted that they may yet be able to emerge virtually untouched if the Captain could find a way to convince the shadowy `Boss' to accept a surrender with terms. The Captain had been extremely reluctant to even consider such a thing until the Duke had sweetened the pot many, many times. He had expressed hope that in their next meeting, she would be convinced to speak to Boss about the matter.

The concessions the Duke had been forced to offer to get this far were nothing to sneeze at, and yet, he had - so far! - managed to keep their kingdoms intact, with terms that protected their cities, citizens and even the royalty and nobility from the legendary wrath of Boss and her fanatic followers. Rumors had reached them of what happened to cities or groups that didn't surrender or who ignored the terms of a negotiated surrender. There were also stories from the freshly-captured cities where Rebellion officers had managed to talk Boss into accepting surrenders other than unconditional, though some of them conflicted in the details. Apparently little changed for the citizens of the cities taken by the Rebellion that had had the sense to surrender.

The king considered his depleted treasury and general unrest of the citizens of his own kingdom and wondered if the surrender would come soon enough. Reaching the palace, he headed for his private study, intent on looking for ways to keep going until they could reach a settlement with the Rebellion. His Chamberlain approached him, the gait of the man indicating he had urgent news. Praying it wasn't bad news, the king stopped and waited for the older man to approach. “My King,” the man bowed to him.

“Speak, Chamberlain,” sighed the king. “It has been a long day already,” he added sourly.

“I have just confirmed the truth of a new rumor,” the chamberlain said. The king reined in his irritation, knowing the Chamberlain wasn't the type to waste his time with gossip, and there must be a point to the remark. “The rumor first spread two weeks ago,” elaborated the Chamberlain. “It said the Rebellion was buying certain things - in some cases seizing them - from the citizens of the lands they had conquered. Two things they have been most keen on are air fish and deep-water ships,” he said softly. “I got confirmation from a reputable source this morning that the rumor is true,” he said quietly.

The king tossed his head toward his study the two entering the room and closing the door behind themselves. “Your source is trustworthy?” pressed the king.

“Yes, my liege,” confirmed the Chamberlain. “A young minor nobleman who witnessed a transaction in the Capital before making his way here to what distant family he has left. I also heard from his younger sister that the elves in the Temple of Celsia were talking about the Rebellion buying ships. As you know, the elves have been neutral in this, and have no reason to lie; certainly not when they think they are alone in a temple of theirs,” he explained.

“And the price?” the king pressed, daring to hope a little.

“Market value, give or take a little,” the Chamberlain smiled, knowing his king's concerns. The king sat in his chair, fingers absently tugging at his neatly-trimmed beard for several moments before leaning forward and shifting through some papers on his desk, finally picking one up and reading it over.

“Perhaps there is a way,” the king mused aloud. Taking a fresh piece of parchment, he swiftly wrote out a letter, affixed his seal then sealed the letter with his royal seal before handing it to the Chamberlain. “Take this to the nearest air fish owner and on my authority order them to fly it directly to the relay station at the entrance to Raltaow immediately. They are to relay my orders for a rider to take it over the passes immediately, no matter the condition of the passes. It must be in the hands of our negotiator as soon as humanly possible. Understood?” he asked. The Chamberlain bowed.

“Yes, at once, my king,” he confirmed before hurrying off. The king took another parchment and swiftly wrote out another note before pulling on a rope that rang a bell outside the room. A moment later, a page stuck his head into the room.

“Sire?”

“This message is to be taken to the Royal stables and given to the head of the Message Service. He will know what to do with it,” the king said, the young boy taking the message and running off. Sitting back, the king could only hope this long-shot paid off.

“How were your teams?” Airi asked as Ritsuko settled into a chair, sighing softly.

“Couldn't find the lone wolf, my Northern team is gone and the Western team is missing their male member. I have one partial team and the Nobility team left,” she reported.

“I see,” murmured Airi. “Perhaps they will turn up after the peace,” she suggested.

“Possible, but unlikely. Insurgency is a deadly role, and very few survive,” Ritsuko replied, her tone indifferent, but Airi knew better.

“How were your lover and that spunky little one?” she asked, smiling at Ritsuko's twitch.

“Fine. The girl has proven to be quite…forward,” she added, her tone sour.

“Forward? More like she views you as her personal goddess,” snickered Airi.

“Laugh it up,” came the tired reply from Ritsuko. “Had a new thought about the project,” she changed the topic. “How about we launch on the air fish once we can see the Lost Continent and have the ships turn back immediately for the Tear Islands? That way, no one will know where we landed and there is less chance of being spotted,” she shared.

“Tempting, but I think the ships will have to land; at least long enough to replenish water and food. It will be a very long journey, you know,” reminded Airi. Ritsuko frowned.

“True,” she allowed. “But we could still split up before that to obscure the landing point,” she insisted.

“And if you run right into a situation where you need to fall back? What then?” Airi asked. Ritsuko forced herself to consider that.

“Air fish are faster than a ship. We can find them and reach them before they can get out of range in that scenario,” she said after a moment of weighing the options.

“Ritsuko, I trust you to make the best choice you can as team leader, so whatever you decide to do, I will trust you are making the right call,” Airi replied. “You don't need to keep second-guessing yourself,” she added, offering Ritsuko her glass of wine. For a long moment, Ritsuko hesitated before taking the glass and sipping a little before handing the glass back, making a face but saying nothing.

“The locals all say the snows will come early and heavy this year,” Airi noted, looking out the window at the colors already blooming across the trees at the base of the harsh mountains that ringed the kingdom.

“It's still late summer in the kingdoms, but the chill is definitely there,” Ritsuko replied. Airi sipped some wine.

“Your Captain told the Duke she was going to talk with you three days ago,” she shared. Ritsuko glanced at Airi.

“And if I wasn't back by then?” she asked.

“Junpei offered,” Airi shared. Ritsuko scowled.

“No way in hell,” she said sharply. “That oaf would really hurt her. Rapier or Gabriella would be the better choice,” she said.

“I will have one of them do it, then,” Airi said. Ritsuko stood.

“No, Airi - I do my own dirty work,” she said, heading for the door she had come in just minutes before.

“You plan to do it now?” blinked Airi. Ritsuko nodded.

“The wounds must not be fresh, or he will draw certain conclusions,” Ritsuko said. “She still shacked up with the idiot asshole?” asked the red-head.

“She seems to have tired of him,” Airi replied, a small smile on her face.

“Took her long enough,” Ritsuko did smile. “Be back in a bit,” she said, exiting the room. Swinging by the kitchen, she got what she needed before finding her Captain in her assigned rooms. Seeing her leader enter her room, the woman paled a bit.

“You're back, Boss,” she managed. Ritsuko nodded.

“Let's just get this over with,” she said, setting the items she had gathered aside. Her Captain licked her lips nervously. “Relax, this is for show, so I will go as easy as possible on you,” promised Ritsuko. The woman nodded jerkily.

Twenty minutes later, the woman was wincing as she gingerly explored the bruises Ritsuko had left on her face. Ritsuko was busy showing her exactly how to mimic the other injuries. She also explained in very great detail what had supposedly happened to her and how she should act. “Once he is gone, I will have one of the elves heal you up,” promised Ritsuko. “Now, show me how you should be moving and acting after having your ass kicked by Boss for daring to question her,” she gave a weak smile to the woman, who slowly stood from the chair and began to practice the right movement and mannerisms. When Ritsuko was finally satisfied, most people would have been convinced the woman had been severely beaten by an angry ex-slave Amazon warrior sorceress who went into battle naked save for a half-cape of her victim's skins.

The next day, the Captain got coaching from Airi herself, as well as more practice. When she did give her song and dance for the Duke, the man had paled when he saw her swollen, bruised face and what looked to be serious wounds to her arms and legs, the bandages spotted with drying blood and the woman moving like some of her bones were broken. He had nearly fainted with relief when she informed him that Boss had agreed, but only because the other Captains had come to her aid. Otherwise, she said, giving him a narrow look, she would be dead at Boss's feet for daring to come between Boss and what she planned to destroy. The bruising on her face and the bloody bandages spoke volumes to the man of what must have happened.

Once she had finished reviewing the terms, she ordered him to hurry before the passes closed to get the kings signets on the agreements, as a Rebellion team was heading for their kingdoms even now. Standing stiffly and with seeming pain, the woman informed him she would be leaving as soon as she could travel again, her having been called back to the capital of the Liberated Country in disgrace by Boss's order. He asked if he could do anything to help her, and she had nearly sneered at him. “Next time, just surrender unconditionally,” she had said before limping out of the room. He had shaken himself free of his shock before hurrying to get ready to ride over the passes and back to the kings who needed to affix their signets. It had been made clear to him that any king whose signet was not on that document would be treated as an enemy. Nothing more needed to be said about the results.

In the Captain's room, Ritsuko and Annette waited, along with Airi and the Queen. When she entered the room, the Queen gulped, seeing her face. Ritsuko gestured to Annette, who healed the darkened bruises and swelling, the woman's face returning to usual in minutes. Straightening, the woman removed the bandages with the chicken livers in them. “I think he bought it,” she reported.

“He did. All of it,” assured Ritsuko, who had been watching from a vantage point in another wing. “You should have seen him haul ass out of there. Well done,” she praised the woman. The Queen was looking at the woman with a question in her eyes.

“My Queen, I have suffered far worse injuries in the fight. Boss went as easy as she could on me. And it was only for a couple days,” she added, smiling easily.

“Take a few days here to relax, then you are back to work with the others. Brief them on what they need to know, but don't get chatty,” Ritsuko ordered, her mind marking off one box and moving to the next on her list.

“Will you be stopping by?” asked the Captain. Ritsuko sent her a look that made her gulp nervously.

“You never know when or where I might turn up,” was all she said before the others followed her out. She sighed in relief. I need a couple days to recover after this, she thought to herself, dropping down to rest on her bed. Boss is hard-core…!

“Almost ready?”

Ritsuko nodded, not needing to look to know that it was Airi speaking to her. Before the younger woman, two disassembled rifles were laid out. “Just making a last-minute change to my kit,” she said.

“Oh?” Airi asked. Ritsuko nodded.

“I'm taking the flat-top M4 instead of my G36,” she said, pausing to sip some water.

“I am sure you have your reasons,” Airi said.

“Yep,” confirmed the red-head. “I think my G36 barrel is close to being shot out from the use it has been getting, but the main reason is that I need a gun that can do light machinegun work if necessary, and that rules out the G36,” she explained, stretching.

“Aren't they both full-auto?” Airi asked curiously.

“Yes, but the G36 is lighter, and one of the areas they saved weight on was the barrel thickness,” explained the girl. “A result of that is that in sustained, heavy fire the gun tends to jam or fail. The M4 has a thicker barrel, which makes it a bit heavier, but can handle the thermal load better if it comes to that,” she said, reassembling the G36 as she spoke. Setting it aside, she reassembled the M4, pausing once the last pin was back in place to run a fingertip over the bisected fig leaf laser-etched into the receiver. “And the M4 has an ACOG on it,” she added, cycling the bolt and checking the function of the rifle's fire select group before slapping a thirty-round mag in place and looping the sling across her chest so the gun lay against her back, muzzle down.

“I will walk you to the air fish,” Airi said, her hands cupping Ritsuko's cheeks for a moment before the two turned for the door to the apartments in the Raltaow palace that had come to be as close to home as they had had in a long time. As they walked, the two struggled to find something to talk about. “The surrender of the kingdoms that negotiated was finalized two days ago. Your people are already at work getting the kingdoms inspected and bringing them up to speed on the changes,” Airi said. Ritsuko nodded.

“The last holdout nations are burning,” continued the Chancellor. “Your doing, I am sure,” she added.

“I told my last team to bring them to the table or burn them to the ground,” Ritsuko said without any inflection. “No restrictions,” she added.

“As I thought,” sighed Airi. “I have asked that the kings that negotiated their surrender make a concerted effort to convince the holdouts to surrender before there is nothing left to surrender, but I fear a few of the kingdoms have rulers who are too ignorant to do the right thing,” she worried.

“Royals are prime targets for my team,” Ritsuko said. “If they are not in our possession upon my return, I will deal with them personally,” she said, her voice grim. Airi had no illusions about what that statement meant. If the kingdoms were not surrendered by the time Ritsuko finished the client gate, she would go to those kingdoms herself and kill every leader, noble and royal who had failed to surrender until the kingdom did surrender or there was no one left to oppose her. Airi hoped her diplomatic approach and the pressure of knowing they were outnumbered, cut off and surrounded would bring them to their senses before it passed the point of no return, because rebuilding a nation was involved and took a lot of time they didn't need to be wasting.

The two reached the doors to the Queen's garden, finding the Queen herself to be waiting for them. Seeing the Queen in a warm dress and wearing a wool traveling cloak, Ritsuko sighed. “You are not coming, Liseria,” she said before the queen could say anything.

“I know that,” the younger woman replied. “But I am seeing you off,” she added, joining the two as they moved into the garden. It was mid-autumn in the Kingdoms, but snow was falling in the high kingdom of Raltaow. This was the third snow shower that week, and though it wasn't yet sticking to the paving stones in the garden, it was building up on the plants in the garden. The three women's breath steamed in the cold air as they approached the air narwhale, where three elves and a tall man waited.

“Ugh, Junpei came to see us off,” muttered Ritsuko.

“Now, now,” murmured Airi, smiling a little.

“Miss Airi! Ritsuko,” he said, smiling at Airi and smirking at the red-head.

“Lord Idiot,” came the dry reply from Ritsuko. “No dewy-eyed chambermaids waiting for you or did you get lost trying to find the latrine?” she added abrasively.

“You know I only have eyes for Miss Airi, Ritsuko,” he replied in what he probably thought was a suave, smooth manner. Ritsuko felt her trigger finger twitch in annoyance.

“So you say, but your dick seems to be for anything with a skirt; or anything that can act girly, at least,” she ripped back. “What was that one guy's name again, Airi?” she asked evilly.

“Hey! He was dressed up like a girl and acted like one…!” began Junpei.

“I hear his dick was bigger than yours,” sneered Ritsuko. Junpei growled.

“I…!” he began.

“Junpei, let it be,” Airi said, her voice cutting him off like a sword-stroke. “Ritsuko wouldn't keep riding you about it if you would stop being such an ass to her,” she reminded him. “Besides, it isn't like either of us care who you take to your bed,” she added. To Junpei, all he heard was that Airi was fine with him sampling the local flavors. Relieved he wasn't losing his shot with the actress, he forgot to argue his point with Ritsuko.

“By the way, Junpei,” Ritsuko said, leaning closer to the fighter and locking eyes with him, “if I come back and find you have so much as breathed on Liseria, I will kill you,” she said, smiling a little even as he felt something cold prod his gut. Looking down, he found Ritsuko was poking him with her pistol. “You hear what I am saying, idiot?” she asked, tucking the pistol back into its holster under her cloak. “Touch her and die,” she repeated as she turned away from him.

“I am sure Junpei wouldn't do that, Rit-chan,” Airi spoke up even as the man drew breath to say something to the youngest of their group, “because if he did, I would be…unhappy with him,” she added, the expression on his face almost laughably chagrined. The elves swiftly boarded the air narwhale, but Ritsuko paused, turning back to Airi and the Queen.

“Remember your promise, Airi,” she said, stepping into the woman and hugging her tightly. “No matter what,” she reminded the woman.

“It won't come to that,” Airi murmured back, touching her lips to Ritsuko's neck for a moment. “I won't let it,” she added, though there was little she could do once they were on their way.

Releasing the actress, Ritsuko stepped back before finding herself being hugged tight by the Queen. “We look forward to your return, Lady Ritsuko,” the Queen said. Ritsuko hugged her back, feeling the Queen give her a subtle kiss on the cheek.

“I was thinking of making a Terminator reference about being back, but we're burning daylight; such as it is,” Ritsuko said, her voice tight as she eased the Queen back and into Airi's waiting arms. Turning back to the air narwhale, Ritsuko swung up onto the air fish. “See you all in a few months,” she said. “I don't want that gate portal to be late being finished, either,” she added as the air narwhale rose into the lead-grey sky.

“It will be done before you even reach the Tear Islands,” promised Airi. The air fish climbed, vanishing into the low clouds as the snow fell harder. Sighing softly, Airi guided the queen back into the palace.

The group was bound for a specific spot in a surrendered Western Kingdom, where an air tarpon was waiting. A Rebellion agent - hand-picked by Ritsuko - would return the air narwhale to Raltaow while they headed to the Tear Islands, where their brand-new ship would be arriving at about the same time in a pre-selected cove on a smaller island. They would stow the air tarpon on deck, provision the ship and set sail as fast as possible.

Two days later, Ritsuko was introducing herself to the captain of the ship. The captain - a highly-experienced Kingdom navy man with quite the reputation for skill and daring - had been told their guest was in command of the ship's movements and orders, much like a commodore or admiral, while he was responsible for making the ship go where she said and getting it there in one piece. Ritsuko bore a bogus letter of commission as a Raltaowian officer, with the rank of Knight First General of the Queen's personal guard. The elves were simply introduced as her staff and team.

It had been a little tense when the two met up. Ritsuko was obviously not going to be under anyone's command, and the Captain was dead set that on this ship, he was captain and no one else was. The fact that Ritsuko was a woman - as were all the elves - made him a bit uneasy, since he obviously had some reservations about women on ships and elves mingling with humans, but it hadn't taken long for the two to come to a professional understanding. Ritsuko wasn't going to try to run the ship, and he wouldn't try to order her around and would go where she told him to go. Ritsuko's obvious air of command and professional manner had counted for much.

With that established, the sailors had been introduced to the guests, been given some specific orders about the air tarpon strapped to the deck, and then Ritsuko had said they were to weigh anchor and set sail as soon as the captain deemed the ship ready. The captain had asked where they were bound for, and Ritsuko had told him she would speak with him privately about that. Giving some quick orders to store the provisions, check the ship for sea and to sail on the evening tide, the Captain guided her to his cabin. Ritsuko had handed him what notes and information they had on the route to the Lost Continent and told him they were bound there.

Seeing his expression, she had given him a cool smile and told him that she hoped his reputation for skill and daring was not mere words. She had also challenged him to exceed her expectations; while not telling him what those expectations were. He had nodded crisply and said that if anyone could put her on the Lost Continent, it was him, this crew and this ship - the most advanced ship ever made, crewed by the cream of the crop of the Allied Kingdoms navy sailors and captained by the best captain in the history of the Kingdoms. Ritsuko had laughed softly and said she looked forward to seeing him deliver on that boasting.

With that, he had told her she and her staff would be in the Admiral's cabin, below his own, which was under the quarterdeck. Leading the women there, he had excused himself to his duties, telling them to ask the crew for anything else they might need. Looking around the cabin - which had the rear-most wall made of heavy-framed, thick glass overlooking the ocean behind the ship - they found four hammocks lined up on the table that was bolted to the floor. In a corner of the room was a latched cover that revealed the room's latrine, which was a simple opening in the wood work that hung over the water to the side of the tiller. Ritsuko was glad to have a private latrine; the crew used the two latrines up by the bow sprit, sailing ships usually keeping the smelliest stuff as far forward as possible. Ritsuko wouldn't have hesitated to use those, but she was glad to have a private one in her quarters all the same.

By the time the anchor was raised and the sails set, the women had settled into the cabin for the expected three or four month journey across the oceans of this world. Starting that very night, Ritsuko used her magnetic compass to keep a rough charting of their course, taking bearings every few hours during the day and a couple times at night. She taught the others how to do it and record the results in a small diary. By the end of the first week, they were taking bearings every hour, rotating turns. When the Captain found out what they were doing, he had been amazed and once Ritsuko had explained the theory behind magnetic navigation, he had begged her to teach him not only how to take a heading, but to interpret the results.

As the third week ended, all the ship's officers had been taught how to maintain the navigation log, and the log had added another column, reflecting a crude knot speed. Before this, navigation was by means of the stars, but with the new cross-staff method that was of limited use. With a magnetic compass added, as well as the math to do the complete calculations, their ship was the best equipped for navigating; even without a map. The Captain was much occupied with creating a basic map during their journey. Doubtlessly, that map would be his road to fame and riches if successful. Ritsuko allowed him his hobby.

She herself spent much of her time top-side, fishing, taking in the sun, teaching assorted bits of skills to people as she came across the opportunity, and mostly just keeping herself busy. The elves joined her in this activity, though not without a few hiccups. Gabriella's skimpy outfit caused some issues with the crew, but after a bit of discussion, the matter ceased being an issue. As the weather got hotter and the days longer, Ritsuko reverted to her skimpier clothes, as did the rest. By now, though, the sailors knew not to mess with them.

Twice they spent a few days becalmed, and three times they got blown by storms, but the captain and crew proved to be worth their salt, keeping the ship intact and not losing their way, thanks to the compass and the log, which got them back on a course on their original heading; or an adjusted course based on the captain's gut and guessing. The weeks turned to months.

As the fourth month began, they spotted a bit of land low on the horizon. Ritsuko decided to stretch her legs as it were and used the air tarpon to scout the land. It proved to be some rocky land barely above the surface of the water. From the look of it, it was volcanic. Ritsuko took the air tarpon up to just under the cloud cover and used her binoculars to check the horizon. She thought she saw a faint line further to the north, and returned to the ship to report that. The ship adjusted course. Three days later, Ritsuko took the air tarpon up again, and this time, she was sure it was land; and a lot of it.

Two days later, the ship was carefully sailing a few miles off the coast, looking for a cove or bay or inlet. It was another day before they found a small bay and the ship carefully anchored in the bay. Ritsuko and the captain worked out their plan. The ship would begin re-provisioning as best as they could while Ritsuko and her group looked for signs this was the Lost Continent. If they didn't find anything here, they would work their way along the coast, looking for some proof this was the right place. The few descriptions of the Lost Continent matched what they were seeing in terms of geology, flora and fauna, but there wasn't a town or settlement to speak of. From the air, they saw a large, rolling expanse of grasslands with some woods scattered here and there in the distance. Mountains hemmed the north, and appeared to make a far border as well, though those mountains were lower, softer and more broken.

Aware of the dangers, Ritsuko worked out a linger timetable for the ship and protocol to follow - including double watches and avoiding being close to shore and running unnecessary lights at night. After two days of scouting by air tarpon, they spotted what looked like ruins. The scouting party loaded up and went to check it out.

The place was, in fact, ruins. It looked like a half-built town, with a partial wall that had been burned long ago and left to be worn down by weather and time. Sitting about twenty miles inland from the sea, it was obviously not a seasonal fishing village, nor was it a farm. From what marks they found, it hadn't burned by accident, either. Digging around a little, Ritsuko had found a human skull with spear hole in it, and a femur with knife marks. The group decided it was likely what was left of one of the settlements. They had found the Lost Continent, it would seem.

Now the decision was what to do about the ship: keep it near as an emergency plan or send it back, so there would be a record of what happened. After discussing it for a while, the decision was made to craft a small-scale terminal gate - one big enough for a person to walk through - in the nearest wooded area. If it worked right, they would send the ship back and begin recon for a spot to make the big gate. Making a little gate would mean Gabriella could recover her magic power within a week, so they could use that time to find the spot for the big gate.

The next day, the group scouted the wooded area, finding two trees of the right size and placement before clearing a small circle near it and lashing the tops together. Once the limbs that filled the newly-formed arch were cut away, Gabriella cast the spell to link that gate with the gate portal in Raltaow. The spell was relatively short, but Gabriella had to feed power into the arch for a good half hour before it opened. Aside from a shimmering distortion in the arch, there was no sign the spell had worked. The group waited for an hour and a half to make sure the gate was stable and correctly powered before Milliea carefully stepped through it. As she crossed the threshold, she simply vanished. Ritsuko held her breath until Milliea returned several seconds later with a snowball in her hands.

“It works!” she chirped, offering the snowball to Ritsuko, who took it from her and immediately threw it through the gate, the snowball vanishing in mid-flight.

“So it does,” Ritsuko confirmed. “Are the guards at their stations?” she asked. Milliea nodded.

“They were waiting for me when I came through, and told me they had sent word to the Palace while I was making the snowball. It is coming down pretty heavy over there,” she added, brushing some damp flakes off her armor and hair.

“Ok,” Ritsuko said, grabbing her small notebook out of her pack and quickly writing out a message. “Be right back,” she said, stepping through the gate. Sure enough, dry, heavy snow was falling in Raltaow, and two guards in winter gear were waiting for her on the other side, hand on sword hilts.

“Lady Ritsuko,” they bowed their heads.

“Yeah,” she confirmed, feeling the chill. “This is a message for Chancellor Airi. Be sure she gets it. We are going to lock the gate on the other side while we scout. Be sure to tell High Priestess Annette. Understood?” she asked. The two nodded. “Good,” she said, turning back and stepping through the stone arch in Raltaow, emerging back at the site they had made on the Lost Continent. Her three friends were waiting.

Brushing some snow off her own hair and cloak, she gestured to Gabriella. “Put it in lock mode,” she ordered, the dark elf casting a spell, making the gate stop shimmering. Now, it looked no different than any other two trees that had been made into an arch. “The glyphs will unlock it?” pressed Ritsuko. The four bore spell glyphs cast on them by Annette that allowed them to unlock the stasis spell on the air tarpon and Gabriella had had the idea to link the gate to those glyphs; just in case.

“It will,” confirmed Gabriella.

“How are you feeling?” Ritsuko asked directly, moving in front of the dark elf and eyeing her critically. “Tired?”

“Magically, a little tired,” admitted the dark elf. “Physically, I am good to go. It will probably take me four or five days to regain the magic energy I spent,” she predicted.

“Ok,” nodded the human. “Let's go back to the ship, get our stuff and send the captain back,” she said, the four loading up on the air tarpon and making their way back to the ship. Ritsuko made a basic map as they flew. When they reached the ship, Ritsuko informed the captain he was to return to the Tear Islands. She was leaving him one of her magnetic compasses. He asked her if he could map the coast for a few days each direction. She gave him permission to do as he thought best, but she expected to see him and the ship back at the Tear Islands when she was done. He saluted her. Fifteen minutes later, the four scouts left the ship on the air tarpon, the ship putting back out to sea.

“Chancellor Airi, so good of you to come,” the King greeted the Chancellor of Raltaow. Airi gave an abbreviated curtsey in return.

“I was told it is urgent?” hinted the woman. The king offered her a bland smile.

“Well, yes, it could be categorized that way,” he said, offering her his arm. Airi hesitated for a moment before laying her hand on the offered arm, the king escorting her to his council room.

“I am not in the habit of risking a trip out of Raltaow for anything less than an emergency,” warned Airi. “My Queen suggested I ignore the request, in fact,” added the woman. “I pray you have not wasted our time.”

The king opened the doors to the council room, and Airi spotted three men at the table, all of who rose to greet her and the King. Airi recognized them as three of the hold-out kings, and her expression cooled. Seeing this, the three kings exchanged glances. “Chancellor Airi,” the one closest to her began. “We are honored you have made the trip here to meet us.”

“What business would you have with me?” Airi got right to the point.

“We wish to negotiate surrender terms with the Rebellion,” began the king.

“Again, what business have you with me? Neither I nor my queen are members of the Rebellion and we maintain a neutral stance in this conflict,” Airi cut him off. A lesser actress wouldn't have been able to pull of the total conviction she projected in her country's neutrality.

“But you can get word to the Captains that we want to negotiate surrender,” pointed out the king.

“And you cannot? The Rebellion is at your very doorstep, and yet you - through subterfuge and trickery! - ask me to meet you just so you can have me intercede? Gentlemen, I think you misunderstand the relationship between yourselves, Raltaow and the Rebellion,” she said, her tone coolly disdainful.

“You must understand…” began a king.

“I do understand; and I dislike the implications of this meeting,” warned Airi, her tone going flat and hard.

“Please, let us remain calm and civil,” the hosting king asked. Airi sent him a look that promised they would speak of this later.

“The fact of the matter is that we can't negotiate with the Rebellion directly,” admitted one of the kings.

“And why is that?” pressed Airi. The king looked away from her. “I see,” Airi said, standing. “This is a waste of my time, then,” she stated, turning for the door.

“Please wait!” another king said. “There was an…incident with the Rebellion,” he admitted. “A group of low-ranking nobles and some officers in our army requested a meeting with the Rebellion commander to discuss surrender, but instead attacked the ranking officers of the Rebellion. They killed the four highest-ranked officers in the Rebellion command and injured several more before being killed or captured. The Rebellion took things…badly,” the King shivered.

Airi laughed without any mirth. “You don't say,” she mocked him. “Under flag of truce, your men attacked the Rebellion and they didn't laugh it off? Shocking!”

“That was a month ago. Since then, we have been receiving a body part a day from them, packed in bags of charcoal. Their troops have killed everyone - soldier or civilian - who has approached their lines, and they have cut us off from all supplies. Winter is approaching, and our people are starving. Please, you must intercede with the Rebellion!” the king nearly begged.

“My kingdom is besieged from within,” another king said. “Since being surrounded by the Rebellion, there has not been a single day that a noble or royal has not been killed. I have lost all of my family, and my court is down to three nobles! The citizens are starving and rioting nearly daily, the military is about to revolt due to the losses they are taking from Rebellion raids and we lose more land every day! If this continues, no one will survive,” he insisted.

“And you?” Airi asked the last of the kings.

“Negotiating for peace is what is best for my kingdom,” he said, not meeting her eyes.

“One more lie from you, and I am leaving,” warned Airi sternly.

“His political enemies overthrew him last week,” the hosting king said, ignoring the indignant look from the king. “They are trying to make peace with the Rebellion, but the Rebellion is not receptive because the kings won't offer unconditional surrender.”

“And you think, after all that, that the Rebellion is interested in any terms but unconditional surrender?” Airi asked the three. “You were given the chance to negotiate surrender when the other kings did. You chose not to. Now, you think you have the right to negotiate with the Rebellion after such a horrible breech of etiquette and military protocol? I wonder about your sanity,” she said, acid on her tongue. “You should count yourself lucky that Boss has not stopped by to personally erase you all from the face of the earth,” she continued scathingly. “Not only am I unsure I could convince them, I am unsure I wish to!”

The kings couldn't meet her gaze, hot and poisonous as it was. Airi bid her time before speaking again. “I will speak frankly with you gentlemen - and I use the term loosely! Your only hope of living to see peace in your lands is to offer immediate, unconditional surrender and throw yourself on the mercy of the Captains of the Rebellion. If their Boss hears of this before you can get acceptance of your surrender from a Captain, there will be nothing left of any of you, your people or your kingdoms. I wonder if you have heard what happened to the Captain who accepted the surrender of the kings earlier this year? She went to get Boss's approval for the terms of the surrender - which was just one step short of unconditional! - and was beaten severely for daring to challenge Boss's directives. I don't know if that Captain will live to see spring,” she added ominously. “What do you think such a monster would do to you after what you have tried to do?”

“But…!” began a king, Airi immediately raising her hand to cut him off.

“But nothing. I do not know if any Captain will dare to risk her wrath again after the last time, but you best pray someone in the Rebellion will accept your unconditional, complete, immediate surrender before Boss hears of your mistakes,” she warned them ominously.

“You will intercede for us, then?” asked one of the three, hope in his voice even as his face had turned pale and become bathed in sweat as Airi spoke.

“For you all? No. For your poor subjects who will suffer for your stupidity, I will try. But I warn you: there is no way for me to know if it will work or if it will make it in time. Oh, and gentlemen?” she added, her expression disdainful, “do not expect this to be pleasant; for any of us.” With that, Airi turned and marched out of the room, leaving the three kings and the host king feeling too weak to move.

“Do…do you think she can save us?” one asked another.

“I don't know,” admitted the one who had been asked, “but I find myself wondering if being saved will be any better than being lost.” The king drained his wine and poured more.

“The elves refused to get involved. Is it because of what the Chancellor told us about the Captain who fell into disfavor with their Boss?” wondered another.

“If it is true,” the third said, staring into the fire in the fireplace.

“It is true. The duke who negotiated for us confirmed the captain - a woman, no less - was nearly killed after meeting with their Boss. She said she would have died had not the other Captains come to her aid. I fear this Boss of theirs has become a monster to us all,” the host king interjected.

“But the Captains can be reasoned with, can they not?” pressed the first of the kings seeking help.

“They can; if they can remain un-killed by their leader,” snorted the host. “I have no illusions about their daring to step out of line after what this Boss did to that poor woman for just asking her to accept terms on a surrender.”

The discussion was interrupted by a servant knocking on the door to inform them that Chancellor Airi had departed on an air fish. The kings almost had a stroke, but the host monarch assured them that Chancellor Airi had given her word to try, and she would. If that meant she had to leave immediately, then that was what had to happen. For the next hour, the three kings speculated on how Airi might pull off this miracle. Airi was smiling as she headed for the nearest Rebellion position. She had a message to be delivered to the Captains immediately. “And then there were three less,” she said aloud, laughing nastily. Damn, Ritsuko wasn't kidding about her showing no mercy to the hold-outs, the actress thought, shaking her head.

Snuggling deeper into her heavy wool and fur over-cloak, she got comfortable for the ride. As usual, her thoughts soon turned to Ritsuko and her three Elven companions. Please be safe, Rit-chan, she silently prayed. She knew a small man-sized gate was up and running, but until Ritsuko was back safe, she couldn't help but worry about her, half a world away in a hostile situation. Then again, she reflected, of the two of them, Ritsuko was definitely the best choice for that role.

Ritsuko hunkered down, compact binoculars to her eyes as she surveyed the camp some distance away from where she was crafted into the thick, untamed grasslands. Behind her, hidden by a low roll in the land, the air tarpon and her three friends waited. They had been scouting the area late, and spotted a few fires in the darkness. Ritsuko had brought the air fish in low and slow, some distance away, and they had been watching ever since. Next to her, the M4 waited, round chambered, safety on.

Several hundred meters away was what looked like a Roman Legion encampment, if a small one. She had counted about sixty troops, all in armor and clothing that reminded her of a mix of Greek and Roman. The breastplates and square shields were definitely Roman, but the way they wore their robes was more Greek than anything else. Dismissing the anthropology from her mind, she concentrated on the more pressing issues.

“How's it look, Boss?” asked Gabriella, smiling lazily at her unit commander. Ritsuko rolled her eyes.

“Nothing special,” she replied. “Sixty or so Roman Legionnaires in an encampment in the middle of nowhere, doing nothing that I can identify except occupying that spot. Any sort of idea?” she asked the oldest of the elves with her. Gabriella accepted the offered binoculars and scanned the camp herself.

“Nope,” she said a moment later. “Never seen that kind of armor, nor are they doing anything I recognize either,” she handed the binoculars back. “What do you want to do?” she asked.

Ritsuko had been weighing her options as she watched them. There were variables that she didn't like in her tactical planning problem. For example, was their language different from the ones she knew and spoke? Were they the ones that had destroyed the last few settlement attempts? How close were other units like theirs? Were they at the picket line of a massive army? Would it cause an uproar if she eliminated this group? Was it worth the ammo and risk or was this just something to be avoided?

Ritsuko didn't get where she was by being indecisive. But she also didn't live as long as she had by being reckless and rash. Recon was needed, and night would fall in a few hours. Carefully crawling back into the shallow draw, she traded off with Milliea, since she had taught the elf how to do target observation long ago. Taking a piece of jerky, she chewed on it as she considered plans and backup plans and backup backup plans. Rapier and Gabriella waited patiently. “So,” Ritsuko said after nearly twenty minutes, “tonight, they should set pickets outside their main perimeter. These should be fairly easy marks for us if we are careful. What we want to do involves three phases,” she said, nodding to herself as she spoke.

“First, we need to crawl close enough to see if we can understand their language. If we can't, we will move to phase three. If we can, we move to phase two. Phase two is we grab one of the pickets - hopefully without anyone noticing. We get them away from the others and ask them some questions. Depending on the answer, we either approach the camp at dawn, or we box out and leave it be. Phase three is contingent on what we learn, but if they are hostile, dangerous or have knowledge we need, we eliminate the camp.”

“Eliminate? Like you usually do?” pressed Rapier.

“That is an option, but given we don't know how close friends of their might be, I was thinking we would try to keep it quiet. Could you sleep spell them, Gabs?” she asked the elf.

“Pretty simple, if they aren't warded against it,” shrugged Gabs.

“All of them? At once?” pressed Ritsuko. Gabriella nodded.

“No problem, Boss,” she smiled cockily.

“Then if we need to eliminate the camp, you put them to sleep and we cut their throats,” stated Ritsuko. “Questions?”

The next afternoon, the four were weighing their options after an enlightening talk with their captive. Fortunately for them, the differences in dialect were minimal at best and mostly expressed in slang and an accent. Unfortunately, it seemed they had landed in a failed coup or a civil war or something similar. The soldier they had grabbed hadn't known much, but he knew they were an exiled king and his loyal soldiers. Fuzzy on details, it nevertheless told them what they needed to know. At Milliea's insistence, Gabs had wiped the soldier's mind and they had left him to wake without remembering how he had left his post, the four slipping away on their air tarpon before the sun began to brighten the sky.

“I think we need to set up the gate and bring Mike through; maybe Annette as well,” Ritsuko said. “This continent seems a bit more dangerous than we thought; and not just because of the humans,” she snorted. The man had talked of winged dragons and something that scared him deeply that he called an `ancient fire dragon' that some group who liked green supposedly had killed.

“Mike isn't very stealthy nor is he very fast, compared to an air fish,” noted Gabriella.

“He is much tougher and better armed, and we will still have the air fish if we need it. I was thinking of having a two-element unit, in fact,” revealed the red-headed human. “It would improve our range and our flexibility. Are you recovered enough to cast the spell?” she asked Gabriella.

“Sure, but where should we cast it? We don't want the gate to be too far from where Celsia is, but we don't know where that is,” pointed out the dark elf.

“I have thought about that, and if we have the air fish and Mike, I don't think it would be too hard to make up the distance. How about a few kilometers southwest of here if we can find a nice private spot?”

“Sure,” Gabs shrugged. So, the group turned to scouting a spot for the gate that could fit Mike. It took them another day to find a spot they all agreed would be good for their purposes. It was a wooded area that covered the area around a granite protrusion that rose several hundred feet into the air, but was cracked, jagged and having several blind canyons that hid the ends from view. After scouting a few, Ritsuko found one that she felt was idea for Mike to get into and out of, and had the right size trees. The group made the arch out of two of the trees and felled the rest to clear a circle around the arch by nightfall. Gabriella cast the spell before more or less collapsing. The group set watches and waited for morning to test the gate.

By the next evening, Mike was through the gate as well as Junpei, Annette and Airi. The Queen managed to talk her way into visiting the Lost Continent. Dressed in a military field dress, she had stabbed her sword into the ground and proclaimed that in her name, the Lost Continent now belonged to Raltaow. Ritsuko had snickered as Airi smiled tolerantly. Liseria had a meal with them before Airi shooed her back through the gate, reminding her of her duty and the risks the group was taking, the Queen carrying the navigation notebook and the notes Ritsuko had made about the land with her. With the gate in secure mode, the group caught each other up. Ritsuko's eyes glittered dangerously when she heard about the kingdoms having killed some of her field officers, and Airi prayed the kings had the sense to surrender before Ritsuko got back to the Kingdoms.

The next day, the group remained in place, wanting to formulate a better plan and let Gabriella recover a bit more. Ritsuko spent part of that time making a rather crude but functional shelter for Mike and the air fish out of the felled trees, Milliea happily helping her. Annette began trying a few ideas she had hit upon to locate Celsia magically. Rapier and Airi took the air fish up and made a large circle around the temporary base, using binoculars to scan several miles in all directions. As evening approached, the group settled in for their second night, with plans to head out in the morning. Checking on Mike before going to sleep, Ritsuko habitually checked the radios, powering them up and running a channel check. Called away to help Airi, she wasn't in Mike when a voice came over the radio, calling in a status report.

“Meow?” Mike wondered.

“What is this about?” asked the general, sighing as the sergeant in charge of the communication gear saluted.

“Sir, we have detected unauthorized radio chatter on our comm channels,” the man reported. Hazama was all business on hearing that.

“Unauthorized? What unit?” he asked. The Sergeant wetted his lips.

“Um, well, we don't know, exactly,” he admitted. “Recon III was just finishing their check-in, and had signed off when we…heard a cat meow over the channel. We immediately tried to get audio confirmation, but couldn't re-establish contact,” he explained.

“Could Recon III have had a pet cat with them?” asked the General. Goodness knew it would be far from the craziest thing Itami and his crew had done.

“We actually considered that,” the comm operator said, sweat-dropping. “We pinged the active radios, and that is where it gets weird.”

“How so?”

“We got back a radio set MAC that isn't registered,” the man said.

“Impossible,” the general said. “There are no radio sets in the Special Zone but ours. Did you confirm location of our sets?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” the man confirmed. “Every last one of them is confirmed. This one is not on the list,” he insisted. “I went ahead and phoned Battalion on the other side, and ran the number. It isn't in our systems; anywhere,” he stressed.

The general frowned. “How is that possible? Someone on this world - which lacks even the most rudimentary industrial technology - has a JSDF-capable radio that can connect to our radio data network? I don't buy it,” he declared.

“Um, sir, as you know, the MAC ID contains maker and model information,” the comm man continued his `weird shit going on' report. “I recognize the maker and model. It is the same base unit as the chips in our Type 74 radios. I took the liberty of asking JSDF Technical Command to run the number through the manufacturer database. They haven't gotten back with me yet, but if it isn't in their manufacturing logs…”

“Then we have a security breach,” the general said. “Is it possible to fake this MAC thing?” he asked.

“Theoretically, yes,” the man said, “but to do so with a radio unit configuration would require knowledge of the way our system is configured. I would bet it isn't spoofed,” the man predicted.

“I see,” he hummed.

“Was the channel encrypted?” he asked.

“Per your first orders, none of our unit communication is encrypted, due to the different equipment standards we are using here and the fact that the locals have no technological resources. Do you want us to order encryption activated?” he asked. The general frowned.

“We are using code words and speaking Japanese, are we not?” he asked. The man nodded.

“Do not activate encryption, but I want you to keep an eye out for this MAC. See if you can find a location or any other information on it. Let's see what we can learn by fishing a little,” he decided. The man saluted and left, leaving the General to consider possible scenarios.

“Lord Itami?”

Lieutenant Itami turned to look at Yao. The leather-wearing dark elf was watching him as he nearly pouted. “Yes, Yao?” he asked.

“Are you ok, Lord Itami?” she asked, offering him a field ration pack. Taking it, he began to eat morosely.

“I'm fine, Yao,” he assured her. “Just missing another doujinshi event,” he muttered. Of course her elven ears heard him perfectly.

“My apologies, Lord Itami,” she said. “I would be honored to escort you to Japan when this mission is done,” she offered eagerly. For various reasons, his personal entourage had a powerful attraction to Japan. Looking behind him, he saw that Tuka was sitting with Rory and Lelie, both eating their meals as they rested against the side of the scout vehicle. Not far from them were Kurokawa and Kurata, their medic treating a minor wound Kurata had sustained earlier while camouflaging the IFV. Kuribayashi was finishing up the concealment of the IFV with help from Delilah, the Warrior Bunny who had been assigned as a guide and scout for this mission. Further out on picket duty were Tomita and Kuwabara.

The presence of Delilah had a few of them a bit on edge. She had been a maid for the Clan Formal who had been their friend, but then she had tried to assassinate a kidnapped Japanese woman named Noriko, revealing herself to be a spy. During the incident, she had nearly crippled a lieutenant while being shot herself. As it was revealed it was a plot by heir apparent Zorzal to frame Clan Formal, she had been cleared of charges, but the group was still a little hesitant about her. Her demeanor showed she was sorry for what she had done, but fact that she had attacked and nearly killed two Japanese was hard to shake. More so since she was in her native outfit, the scars from the bullets fresh and weapons strapped all over her. Her skin and fur were painted in what they suspected was a Warrior Bunny style.

Just then, the radio in the recon Military truck chimed softly. Itami frowned. It was an unscheduled traffic signal, and that was never good. Moving to the Military truck, he keyed the channel. “Recon three, send traffic, over,” he said.

“Recon three, home plate. Stand by for traffic from Highseat, over,” the voice of the comm operator came over the radio.

“Recon three, roger, standing by for traffic, over,” he confirmed. A moment later, a new voice came over the radio.

“Recon three, this is Highseat actual. How read, over,” Itami blinked. It was General Hazama on the horn.

“Signal five by, Recon three actual, over,” he replied.

“Recon three, possible unknown in vicinity. Implement traffic protocol Charlie two, repeat traffic protocol Charlie two. Confirm, over,” he said.

“Recon three, traffic protocol Charlie two, confirmed, over,” he said, frowning. Several of the group had picked up on his mood and gathered close. Itami closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the change in protocol. Oddly enough, Charlie two just swapped to codenames, but didn't engage any encryption protocols.

“Recon three, additional tasking relevant to unknown in AO,” the general continued, “Radio watch to be kept, Charlie two protocols strictly followed. If rogue signal encountered, attempt triangulation, but do not - repeat: do not - attempt intercept. Recon only unless engaged. Confirm, over,” ordered the general.

“Recon three, confirm additional tasking, Highseat, over,” he confirmed the additional mission. “Be advised, unit under-equipped for large-type threat, over,” he reminded the general. The Fire Dragon had been too much for all but their heaviest weapon system, and though he had packed extra anti-tank rockets, he was keenly aware that there might be bigger, meaner things on the loose out here in the boonies. “Request resup plan implementation, over.”

“Be advised, Recon three, unknown not confirmed hostile at this time. Resup plan unchanged, but air strike reserved if necessary, over,” was all he got from the general.

“Recon three actual, request clarification on air strike, over,” Itami said, frowning.

“Air strike package reserved, call sign Low Blow for ground, call sign Lightening Flash for air. Two by Phantoms, over,” the comms operator interjected.

“Be advised, Recon three, time to target from call fifteen minutes, over,” the general added.

“Expedite available, over?” wondered Itami.

“Danger close expedite available, not recommended, over,” came the response. “Home Plate, over and out.” The radio went silent.

“Sir?” wondered Kurata. Itami sighed.

“We have additional tasking to find an unknown radio source out here, and have been given air support priority, ground or air,” he sighed. “This sucks,” he muttered. “Radio watch, passive,” he ordered, sliding out of the seat of the Military truck. “Delilah, any idea where we are right now?” he asked, opening up a newly-made map. It had been formed from UAV recon flights. The Warrior Bunny came over, looked at the map, then tapped a spot.

“Right there, Itami,” she said, absolutely certain.

“And where are we heading?” she asked. Delilah traced a short route.

“East north east, to where the old capital was. Your machines saw them there last, and it would make sense for Tyuule to head there,” stated the Warrior Bunny. “It was also where that traitor surrendered to Zorzal,” she nearly growled. “I would bet my ears he is going to make that his camp,” she predicted.

“Uh huh,” Itami said, eyeing her. “What is there for them?” he wondered. “I recall hearing Mamina say the Warrior Bunnies were mostly nomadic tribes in this area, before Zorzal,” he recalled.

“The old capital was where the lands intersected for the tribes,” Delilah explained. “There aren't a lot of buildings there, but it is well-situated and where we had our yearly fighting exhibitions and feasts,” she said, her tone going softer at the end.

“Martial arts matches and feasting? Sounds fun,” Kuribayashi piped up.

“Depends,” shrugged Delilah. “Rival clans put their warriors in the ring to fight to the death, and the defeated were the feast,” she said, slanting a look at the shorter Japanese woman. “We were cannibals,” she clarified, smiling dangerously at the busty soldier girl. “Also quite horny, too - the meetings were full of feasting, fighting and fucking,” she nearly purred as Kuribayashi turned red and began to look uncomfortable.

While this was going on, Itami was studying the map, wondering what a radio signal was doing all the way out here in the hell-and-gone ass-end of the Special Zone.

Ritsuko frowned as she watched the rain pelt down on the grasslands around them. She had her JSDF-issue camo poncho on, and was sitting in Mike's turret hatch, the poncho spread out to make a rain tent, keeping the interior dry. Inside the tank, Airi was seated in the gunner position, and Annette was in the driver seat, hatch closed. Not far away, the air tarpon was resting, indifferent to the rain. Beside Mike, under a larger tank tarp lean-to, Junpei and the others were fixing a meal for the group.

“Still nothing?” Airi asked Annette, who sighed.

“I am getting a reaction, but it isn't clear enough to get a beacon response. Celsia is somewhere to the west of us; or, she should be,” backtracked Annette. It was Airi's turn to sigh.

“Cheer up, Airi; it could be snowing,” Ritsuko said without looking down at her.

“True,” was all the actress said.

“Hey, girls, come and get it! My famous Junpei Rice Curry Substitute is ready!” came the voice of the lone male in their group.

“Not sure that makes me hungry,” Ritsuko muttered. Airi reached over and up, patting her thigh.

“Still, you aren't eating enough, so let's have some food. Maybe the rain will be over by the time we are done,” she hoped. Ritsuko easily climbed up and out, holding the poncho so it served as an umbrella while Airi climbed out and let the hatch close before they climbed off the hull and ducked under the lean-to where the food was. Annette joined them a moment later. Inside Mike, the radio sets scanned through the channels before finding an active one.

“Recon three, Home Plate,” the radio crackled to life. Lelei blinked, picking up the mic.

“Recon three, clean copy, send traffic, over,” she said.

“Recon three, priority traffic for Recon three actual,” the comms operator replied.

“Hold one,” Lelei said before opening the Military truck's door. A minor spell kept the rain off her as she hurried the short distance to the rain shelter the group had crafted while they waited out the rain. A small fire was cooking food for the group. Seeing their resident mage slip under the edge of the shelter, the group smiled at her.

“Right on time, Lelei, food's ready,” smiled Itami.

“Radio for you, priority traffic,” she reported in her usual manner, making Itami groan.

“I will hold your food for you,” smiled Rory sweetly. Itami knew exactly what that smile meant.

“Thanks, but how about you hold my plate, Yao?” he said, almost thrusting the tin plate at the dark elf.

“Of course, Lord Itami,” Yao smiled. Itami's shoulders slumped a little, but he didn't protest, instead hurrying to the Military truck.

“Recon three actual, Home Plate, send priority traffic, over,” he said into the mic.

“Recon Three, unknown device triangulated. Approximately ninety miles your November Echo. Can you recon, over,” Home Plate asked. Itami did a bit of quick math as he looked at the map.

“Home Plate, designated point outside quick response envelope. Time to recon position estimated six hours. Is target stationary, over,” he asked.

“Unknown, Recon three, will advise. Stand by for Highseat, over,” the comms officer added. Itami waited. A few minutes later, the general was on the line again.

“Recon three, Highseat actual,” he identified himself. “Weather conditions at coordinates expected to clear soon, will vector in a drone. Remain on mission, but be prepared for emergency orders, over.”

“Roger that, Highseat,” Itami confirmed. “Recon three, over and out,” he said, ending the call. Returning to the hut, he found all the food was gone, the girls smiling happily. Kurata handed him a MRE meal pouch.

“I tried to stop them,” he said.

“Sure you did,” sighed Itami before morosely eating his MRE as the girls talked about how much they had liked their hot field meal.

“Yeah! This is what I'm talking about!” Junpei yelled, standing on top of Mike's hull just behind the turret as the tank roared across the grasslands, mud spraying from the track covers. Ritsuko was in the driver's position and Airi was riding in the commander's position. Annette was trying to concentrate in the gunner's seat on the magical charm in her lap. The other elves were riding the air tarpon, which was a few miles away, scouting. “Hey, Miss Airi, hand me that radio mic,” he said politely. Airi smothered a sigh before handing him the radio mike.

It wasn't the first time he had done this, and it wasn't like there was anyone listening anyway, so what harm was there? Airi heard irritated muttering from Ritsuko's position. Junpei meanwhile had gotten the mic situated in his hand and was acting his mental age. “Oh, panda-dog, this is animal services calling. Where are you, panda-dog? If you don't come out soon, we're going to skin you and make a rug out of your bony ass,” he said into the mic, greatly amusing himself.

“Junpei,” Airi chided him, shaking her head.

“What?” he asked, sounding puzzled. “Hey, Spot, where are you? Did you get turned into a were-panda again?” he taunted. In the driver's station, Ritsuko heard Rapier's voice in her headphones. She had tuned the auxiliary radio to the same frequency as the radio unit she had given to the air fish crew for just this reason. Unfortunately, because of Junpei's yelling, she was having a hard time getting a good copy on the radio traffic.

“Damn it, you brainless twit, shut up!” she yelled, reaching back and flicking the main radio unit off. “Say again, Rapier, Lord Idiot was orating,” she growled into the boom mic by her lips.

“We've got some sort of large-scale camp up ahead,” Rapier said. “It looks like more of those soldiers we talked to earlier, but there is a tent in the middle that looks a lot like what a leader would have. What are your thoughts?” she asked the mission commander.

“Return to our position and let's ease up on them,” Ritsuko said, slowing Mike a bit. Minutes later, the air fish eased down next to Mike, and the group began to hash out a plan.

“What have we learned?” asked Hazama as the section heads listened in. The comm chief glanced at his notes.

“We know the chip was not in the manufacturer's log. We know the radio the chip is in works on all our frequencies. We know it is deep in the wild northeastern corner that used to be the Warrior Bunny lands. We know Recon Three is the closest unit. And just a little while ago, we got a transmission from them. It was short, the unknown party was speaking an accented version of the local language. Here is a recording of the transmission,” he said, touching the play button on his tablet.

“Is that code?” wondered the colonel in charge of base security.

“It isn't safe to assume anything,” warned Hazama.

“That second voice was a woman; and an irritated one, too,” noted the head of the air mobile forces. “We could chopper on up there and have a look,” he suggested.

“Denied,” Hazama said simply. The conference phone on the desk in the meeting room chimed, and Hazama answered it.

“Sir, drone footage coming up now. You need to see this,” his drone chief said.

“Route the footage to the display in the conference room,” Hazama said, swiftly reading off the address on the flat-panel. Barely a minute later, they were looking at drone footage as it flew over a grassy plane. A few seconds later, it swept over an area, showing what seemed to be a very large tarpon hovering over the grass near some trees. A couple figures were seen standing close together under the trees, apparently looking at something. The footage swung around, making another pass. The group looked closer, seeing what looked like a shape under the trees.

“We switched to infrared, and this is what we got,” the tech in the drone command unit said, the phone still on speaker. The image changed, and they saw a thermal image of the area. The fish was cooler than the humans, but warmer than the grass. But there was a large, familiar shape amongst the trees.

“That is a tank,” stated Hazama.

“It is a Type 74 main battle tank,” corrected the head of the ground forces. “And every last one of ours is accounted for,” he added, his tone troubled. “We have nothing in the area.”

“Sir, I recommend scrambling Low Blow,” said the colonel in charge of the air group. “We can take that entire area out before they know we're there,” he promised.

“Denied,” Hazama said, his tone distracted. “What if they aren't enemies? Or worse yet, what if they are Japanese forces that have been pulled in by another gate? Remember, we still know very little about the gate and how it works, so who is to say that it is the only one here? Did you consider that?” he prompted. The air chief said nothing, looking contrite.

“Sir, the drone found the enemy forces,” the drone chief said over the phone. “Recon Three will be within eyes-on range by tomorrow evening.”

“And the unknown group?” Hazama asked.

“They are within strike distance now, if they have a tank,” the ground forces chief said. “Any ideas about that over-grown fish?” he wondered aloud.

“No, but I suspect we will find out,” sighed the General.

“We don't have the firepower to waste on unnecessary fights, much as I would like to eradicate these assholes,” Ritsuko said, unhappily. She had spent the night and most of the morning watching the large enemy encampment through her binoculars and her rifle scope. What she had seen had riled her up. It was obvious that the group of Roman Legion-like soldiers were slavers; or at least, they kept slaves, which made them slavers in her eyes. She had gotten a look at what she assumed was the leader and a rabbit-looking woman who pulled his strings. “Our mission here - this time! - is to find and rescue Celsia, not cleanse this place of them and those like them,” she added, her tone dark and heavy. “We stay on mission,” she ordered, meeting their eyes.

“When you come back to kill them, do not come back alone,” Airi said quietly, meeting Ritsuko's eyes. “I mean that, Ritsuko - do not try to do this alone.”

“I hear you, Airi,” was all Ritsuko would say.

Junpei frowned. “Why would she come back here to kill them? She said we weren't going to fight them,” he pointed out. All the women around him either rolled their eyes, sighed or snickered.

“You haven't got a clue about women,” Annette shook her head. Junpei snorted.

“Hey, I know plenty about women! Ask anyone!” he bristled.

“It's true - he's a massive man-whore,” grunted Ritsuko. “Back to the point,” she warned them all. “I think we need to grab one of these cheese-dicks and encourage them to share with us what we need to know. Last time, we snatched a low-ranking one. This time, I think we should aim a bit higher,” she smiled a sharp-toothed smile. Junpei burst out laughing.

“You said `snatched',” he chortled.

“Yes, Junpei, I said a word that a teenage boy would get worked up over. Would you like me to say another?” Ritsuko verbally stabbed him. “You are such a fucking immature asshole,” she growled. If he had been within reach of her, she would have tried to swat him, but Airi was on one side, Milliea on the other, and they wouldn't let her; not that she had much chance, given his reflexes and speed.

“What is the plan?” Gabriella asked.

“Same basic template as last time, but with two of you here, I think we can safely penetrate deeper into the ranks,” Ritsuko said, using a stick to make a crude diagram of the camp from memory. “The ones I think we want are in the center. Obviously, if we can grab the head dick-hole, all the better. If not, one of the sycophants that orbit him will have to do.”

For the next half hour, the group worked on the plan until they were all more or less satisfied with it. Ritsuko, Milliea and Rapier would be the tip of the spear, with Gabriella and Annette handling spell work and backup from the air fish. Airi was in charge of Mike with Junpei as her bodyguard and her role was to bring down the Hammer of Boss on the enemy if things went sideways. It had been a bit tricky to get the tank in the right firing position, but with some unique spells from Annette, the tank was silenced and situated without mishap.

Two hours past midnight, the air tarpon rose into the overcast, moonless night, Gabriella and Annette aboard, both casting a sleep spell that flowed through the camp from one side, penetrating deeper into the camp. Rising from the grass where they had been hiding, Ritsuko and her element worked forward silently, past sleeping guards with wraith-like skill. Deeper and deeper they penetrated, looking for the right opportunity. Ritsuko really wanted to get her hands on the important-looking asshat in the crown she had seen ordering the people around.

As they were nearing the center of the camp - and Ritsuko could almost taste the leader's capture - the tent flap of the large tent that was their target was thrown open, the rabbit-eared woman emerging, looking around and fully alert. Ritsuko and her two sank down low among the tents. Is the bunny bitch immune to magic or is it something else? wondered the red-head. She was decked out head to toe in basic black, all exposed skin painted with flat black paint made from ground charcoal, a little bit of vegetable grease and some ash from the camp fire. Her night vision glasses were on, while her two elven companions could dilate their pupils enough to see like cats in the dark.

“Is something wrong?” wondered a guard close to the tent.

“Yes,” came the icy reply from the rabbit woman. “I can feel it,” she hissed. “King Zorzal is in danger. Where are the guards? Why aren't they at their posts?” she demanded, heading straight toward Ritsuko and her group.

Fuck it, Ritsuko mentally shrugged, pulling a frag grenade off her belt, tugging the pin and lofting it toward the woman.

“Did you…?” began the woman, only to be interrupted by the grenade going off. The guard who had been following her kept her from being killed by the shrapnel, but Ritsuko was already tossing a second and third, aiming deeper and wider. Her third grenade was a white phosphorous grenade tossed over the big tent, and it went off with a beautiful white flash and shower of burning phosphorous, immediately igniting the tent and everything around it. Ritsuko surged forward, M4 up and ready, Milliea and Rapier right beside her.

To her surprise, the bunny woman leapt at her, almost reaching her before being intercepted by Rapier. The two engaged in a fierce fight, which surprised Ritsuko because she knew Rapier was a highly-skilled combatant. “An elf,” hissed the rabbit woman even as Rapier managed to kick her in the face.

“What of it,” muttered Ritsuko as the woman crashed backward into a tent.

“Lord Zorzal!” came a cry from several men rushing toward the tent. Ritsuko swept the M4 toward them and lit them up. To her surprise, the other soldiers screamed in terror and ran from her. That's odd, she thought fleetingly even as Milliea sliced them a door in the tent side away from the flames, the two ducking in as Rapier kept watch on the exit.

Inside the tent, she found the man she had seen fumbling in the smoke and half-light of the fire from the incendiary grenade. Ritsuko brought the rifle up as he had managed to find a sword. “Hey, over here,” she called, the man turning to look at her. To her surprise, he gasped, falling back, hands up in a defensive posture.

“Tyuule! Where are you? The Men in Green have come!” he called out. His reaction puzzled Ritsuko, but she didn't have time. Stepping forward swiftly, she kicked him in the head with her steel-toed combat boots, knocking him unconscious before she used a bit of wire to secure his arms.

“Get ready,” she called out, heaving the man into a fireman's carry. “Moving, Rapier,” she said as they went back out the way they had come, finding their rear-guard fighting off a few soldiers. One-handed, she got her M4 in firing position. “Duck,” she ordered, the elf dropping as she used a few short bursts to kill the men without stopping. “Rapier, grab the grenade on my left side, pull the pin and throw it as hard as you can back toward the soldiers, then cover your ears,” growled Ritsuko. “You too, Milliea,” she added. Rapier did as asked as Milliea sliced the arms off a soldier who appeared around a tent, sword in hand. His screaming was drowned out as the concussion grenade went off behind them. Ritsuko ran as fast as she could out of the perimeter. Looking up, she saw the air tarpon swinging in low; and she smiled grimly.

By the time that Tyuule regained consciousness, her puppet was gone, the camp was in disorder and half-burned, and she was enjoying a face that was severely swollen, her nose broken and two of her front teeth knocked out. She suspected that her facial bones were probably fractured, judging from the pain. Pushing that back, she rallied the troops and organized search parties, sure that the enemy couldn't have gone that far. After all, she hadn't seen or heard one of their iron carriages. Within a half-hour of sunrise, columns of soldiers led by the wolf-skin-wearing political officers were streaming out of the camp. Tyuule herself was too busy treating her injuries to go with them, but she planned to go as soon as she could see properly and handle the pain.

While she was trying to get her puppet back, said puppet was strung up naked and upside down, enjoying a light chat with a very angry red-head. If not for the black-haired woman who kept restraining her, he would have been in multiple pieces by now. Unfortunately, he had little to offer her besides wild tales of some group of wizards calling themselves the Jayesf D'eff. Ritsuko filed away the reaction of the man to her rifle for later, and began to grill him in earnest about the symbol of the cult, the layout and political situation on that continent and details about where larger human cities were. If it weren't for Airi, the grilling would have been literal, given his lack of respect and ranting of making her his slave. Several times, Airi had been forced to have Junpei restrain the youngest of the humans so she wouldn't kill their information source before they got something useful from him.

Zorzal wished he was facing the one called Itami and his big-chested attack woman again instead of this she-demon that reeked of bloodlust and death.

“What did you say?” asked Itami. Rory gave him a crazed smile as she fondled her battle axe with one hand, the other practically between her legs.

“I said, I smell blood and death,” she almost cooed, color on her cheeks. “So many souls…!” moaned the demigoddess. Itami sighed, looking in the direction he had thought he had heard gunshots and explosions from.

“Why me?” he muttered before straightening his shoulders. “Mount up,” he ordered. The group swiftly did so; even Rory. “Let's just go see what happened,” he ordered, the command Military truck rushing forward, the IFV following in combat staggering. “I want the fifty up, get an anti-tank rocket ready and everyone else, make sure your gun is locked and loaded,” he ordered, racking the bolt on his own Type 64 rifle. Sighing again, he keyed the radio.

“Home Plate, this is Recon Three, repeat: Home Plate, this is Recon Three, over,” he radioed.

A moment later, the base responded. “Recon three, Home Plate. Send traffic, over.”

“Recon three launching quick-strike recon on target. Suspected action by unknown faction. Break. Requesting Low Blow be prepped and held weapons tight launch ready, over,” he reported.

“Roger, Recon Three, scramble initiated. Call when you need it, over,” the comms officer said. The Military truck crested a low ridge and nearly ran over a column of enemy troops.

“Shit!” he yelled, throwing his rifle to his shoulder. “Engage! Engage!” he yelled, opening up on the small group. Immediately rifle reports came from the two-vehicle column. Half the column - mounted on horses - turned and rode like hell for the camp. “Do not let them escape!” Itami yelled, firing the last few rounds from his magazine, seeing one of them drop. The thud of the Browning M2 rattled the vehicle, but the riders found a seam of land, almost completely vanishing from sight. Itami grabbed the radio.

“Recon Three, scramble Low Blow, repeat: scramble Low Blow! Enemy contact, grid three seven one Victor, cross grid Echo nine nine zero. Expedite, expedite, expedite!”

“Copy expedite, Recon Three,” came a new voice. “Cavalry is on the way, see you in seven minutes,” promised the voice. Back at Alnus hill, two fully-loaded Phantoms lit their burners as they rushed down the runway, swiftly climbing with their burners still engaged. Going supersonic, they lined up and rushed toward the recon team.

“Stay supersonic until we are right on top of them, then go subsonic just as we hit weapons free,” ordered the flight leader, his tone bored. “This is probably going to be danger-close, so make sure you are on the right line, roger that?” he asked his wingman.

“Roger that, lead,” confirmed the wingman. “Only Itami, eh?” he laughed.

“Yes, only Itami,” the leader laughed back.

“I can't tell if he is unlucky or super lucky,” the wingman said, still chuckling.

“Guess time will tell. Concentrate on your job; there might be another dragon looking to melt you again,” the lead pilot radioed his wingman.

Meanwhile, Itami was weighing his choices. If he went after the escaping riders, he was likely to run into more trouble than he was equipped to deal with. On the other hand, if he didn't go after them, they would bring trouble back with them. Just as he opened his mouth to order them to pursue, he heard the distinctive crack of a high-power rifle, one after the other, the riders tumbling off their horses; sometimes without heads. “Who's doing the shooting?” he demanded. His team all denied shooting. The rifle fire kept up, horses tumbling to the ground.

“Even the horses? Someone isn't leaving a trail,” Yao muttered, searching for the source. Itami assessed the situation swiftly.

“Pull back,” he ordered his unit. “Low Blow will cover us if necessary, but we are getting the hell out of here before…” the radio hissed.

“Recon Three, identify your unit and nationality,” ordered a hard, cold voice. Itami recognized it was a woman's voice. “Why are you speaking Japanese?” demanded the voice over the radio.

“Fuck me,” was all Kurata could think of to say.

“Recon Three, disregard request and withdraw,” came general Hazama's voice. “Attention unidentified unit, this is General Hazama, Japanese Self Defense Force. We have an airstrike homing in on you right now. Stand down and identify yourself or we will fire on you, over.”

“Do you have curry? Real curry?!” came an excited male voice before the sounds of a struggle came over the radio, followed a moment later by a gunshot before the line went silent. A few moments later, the radio cut in again, catching part of an exchange.

“…and if that asshole touches my radios again, I will fucking kill him, Airi! Make sure Lord Idiot understands!” roared the woman's voice. “Get off me, Milliea,” the voice purred a moment later. “Hazama, was it?” the woman went on as if something hadn't just happened on her end. “You can call me Nodachi 6 for now,” she said. “I have spotted the contrails of your air strike; they will miss,” she nearly purred. “Your air force against mine, if you like? Anyway, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I could ask you the same thing, Nodachi 6,” he radioed back calmly. “Why don't we talk about this face-to-face? You sound like you are Japanese, after all,” he enticed.

“Maybe later,” came the guarded reply. “I repeat: what are you doing here? How did you get here? Is there a way back to Japan?”

“We control the gate on this end, yes,” the general said after a moment of thought. “Come and talk with us about it,” he invited.

“I'm not that gullible, general,” the woman came back, her voice cynical. “Nor am I that easy,” she said, her tone dark. “But, I might be willing to trade with you, see if you are on the level or not,” she suggested.

“Trade?” the general asked.

“I have in my possession a huge asshole calling himself Zorzal; or what is left of him, more accurately,” she almost snickered. “I have eyes on a Military truck and an IFV. Order the unit to haul ass due east until sunset, then wait for me to contact them. Oh, and if you are lying or try to lay a trap, it won't end well for that unit,” she warned before the channel went down. General Hazama weighed his choices before keying up Recon Three.

“Recon Three, Highseat actual, over,” he called.

“Recon Three. Copy all previous traffic, over,” Itami replied, his voice a bit tight.

“Proceed with meet, maximum caution. Low Blow will RTB, repeat, Low Blow RTB. Drone vectoring in for observation and close air support, over.”

“Roger that, Highseat,” Itami radioed back. “I will initiate contact with unknown using native support. Request permission to send remaining unit to fallback position, over,” he asked.

“Negative, Recon Three. Vehicle support only means of egress if the meeting goes south. Unknown party possesses Type 74 tank, copy?”

“Roger that, over and out,” Itami replied, shaking his head in disbelief even as he turned off the radio. “Due east, move out,” he directed the column. Rory was giggling as she licked her lips. “What now?” he asked her.

“I can smell the death on them,” Rory purred. “This will be fun!”

“Why the elaborate precautions? We can go home, you two!” complained Junpei.

“Can we? I'm not so sure,” Ritsuko grunted, watching as the column of two moved through the grassland.

“The General dude said they controlled a gate, so what's the problem?” argued the white-leather-clad male.

“For starters, it might not be our Japan, or have you forgotten NERV?” Airi asked, her attention on Ritsuko. “And then there is the likelihood that we will be interred or confined, given where we are, what we have and how this has unfolded. We also have no idea how or why the JSDF is here.”

“Who cares? We can go home! Where there is real rice curry…” he trailed off, drooling as he daydreamed of curry.

“Any idea on contacting them?” Airi asked Ritsuko.

“Not yet, but we have time and position,” grunted the red-head. “If they have jet fighters, they probably have drones, too. We will need to be careful,” she noted. “Also, correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't that one in the passenger seat of the Military truck have elf ears?”

Airi focused Ritsuko's spare binoculars on the Military truck. “I believe you are correct, Ritsuko. Your eyesight is second to none,” she praised the girl.

“I wonder if they have a medic?” breathed Ritsuko, her expression tight. Airi reached out and touched her shoulder reassuringly. “We will shadow them until dawn, see what we are dealing with,” decided the red-head. “If it looks ok, I will make contact with them right at dawn, see if they are legit or not.”

“I think I am the better choice for that, actually,” Airi replied. Ritsuko turned to give her a look.

“You are the Chancellor - we can't risk you. In fact, I think I want you to go to the small gate and return to Raltaow; just in case,” she added.

“The Queen will follow your lead, should the worst happen,” Airi argued. “There are other reasons, too. You are the best shot, so you need to give me sniper cover. I tend to get into fewer fights than you of late, as well. Also, if I go, I can see if they recognize me, or my name, which will tell us a lot about whether or not this is `our' Japan or not. And finally, you are the best bet to spring me if I end up their prisoner,” she concluded her argument. Seeing Rit-chan's face, she knew she had won. “I am glad we understand each other, Rit-chan,” Airi laughed softly, leaning over to kiss her younger teammate.

“I hate when you argue with me,” mumbled Ritsuko.

“I only do it because I care about you,” murmured Airi in her ear. “We have a deal, too, remember?” Ritsuko didn't answer verbally, but a touch on her side answered for Rit-chan. The group watched the convoy as they stopped and set up camp and watches. It was somewhat odd for Ritsuko to face an opponent with the same technological edge as her, but she was decidedly meaner and had more dirty tricks under her belt. Besides, in firepower, she was the winner thanks to Mike.

The next morning, before the sun had risen more than a third of the way, Airi strolled into the camp, finding that her approach - though not intentionally stealthy - had been spotted and she was in a three-sided crossfire. Seeing one of the people pointing a weapon at her was a blonde elf with a modern compound bow, she made a mental note to data mine about that. Another was a goth loli in a fancy gown, holding a huge battle axe and giggling, a demented look in her eye she had seen a time or two in Rit-chan's eyes. The last was a young girl holding an ornate staff.

“An elf, a magic user and some sort of homicidal goth loli,” she said casually, unconsciously posing herself a little. “Interesting welcoming party, but don't you think it's time to speak to me directly, young man?” she smiled, having spotted the man they had decided was the leader of the group hanging back and watching carefully. The man stepped forward.

“You aren't Nodachi Six,” he said simply.

“Correct,” smiled Airi. “Nodachi Six is watching you through her rifle scope right now, and is probably itching to shoot you if you even look like you might try something, so let's be civil, please - for her sake. I am Komiyama Airi, and you are?” she asked, watching for any reaction. There was none. He could just be a guy who isn't into films and theater, she considered.

“Lieutenant Itami Yoji, JSDF,” he answered her. She saw he had a rifle hanging from a sling over his load bearing vest. “Rory, stop that,” he added, glancing at the goth loli, who had been edging closer to Airi.

“Yes, please don't crowd me; Nodachi is a bit trigger happy of late,” she warned.

“You should know you can't kill me,” laughed the goth loli.

“I wouldn't bet against my friend, if I were you,” was all Airi said, her smile actually making Rory frown. Turning her attention back to the young man, she sized him up. “Tell me, do you follow movies or the stage in Japan?” she asked.

“Not exactly,” the young officer replied.

“Lord Itami is a follower of the fine arts,” snickered a female soldier, earning her a dirty look from the leader.

“Don't you badmouth my waifu, Kuribayashi!” another soldier called out immediately.

“Shut it, fan-boy before I kick your ass,” the woman scoffed. Airi found herself picturing Junpei for some reason.

“Anyway,” she cut in smoothly, “do any of you follow movies or the stage?” she asked, returning the conversation to the previous topic.

“Nishina, sir,” one of the soldiers said to his commander.

“Of all the times for him to be detached,” Itami asked.

“You have a radio,” Airi said. “And it need not be him. Radio base and ask if anyone is familiar with my name.”

“Why does it matter?” asked the busty soldier-girl.

“Because it does,” was all Airi said, her smile distant and cool. Itami keyed his radio and spoke in it for a long moment. After nearly three minutes, he gave Airi a curious look.

“No one has heard of you. How is your name written?” he asked.

“Doesn't matter,” Airi said, waving an arm without looking. “To the point of the matter, then,” she moved on. “We have in our possession one raging asshole calling himself Zorzal. We are given to understand you have some issue with him?” hinted Airi.

“You could say that,” Itami allowed. “Why do you have him?” he asked, curious.

“We came here looking for a friend, and needed information. He and his band of idiots happened to be the first ones we ran into, and…well, let's just say, not many of us are overly friendly with people such as him,” Airi said, her expression sour. “Would you happen to have some tea? Or even coffee?” she asked. Itami waved a hand, and a few minutes later, a cup was offered to her by a long-haired woman in combat gear. Airi spotted the medical corps mark on her uniform.

“Ah, you have a medic in your group. Excellent,” she smiled, sipping her cup of coffee.

“Is a member of your party hurt?” asked the woman, all business.

“Kurokawa,” squawked the other woman. “We don't know anything about these people…!”

“You know as much about us as we know about you, little girl,” Airi cut in firmly. “And I don't know that it necessarily counts as an injury, but we would appreciate what help you could give a couple of us,” she said, locking eyes with Kurokawa. “How skilled are you? Honestly,” she cautioned.

“I have my nursing license and have completed nearly all of the military medical care courses,” Kurokawa replied. “I also help with a clinic we run in the capital of the Empire. I am the closest thing to a doctor you will find out here,” she smiled easily.

“A candy striper would be more of a doctor than the ones here,” Airi snickered.

“How long have you been here?” Itami asked. Airi sipped from her cup.

“Seems like an eternity,” she said without answering anything. Before the conversation could go on, there was a commotion in the trees from where Airi had come from, and a moment later, a leather-clad dark elf and a dark elf wearing a fur bikini landed in a tangle. Airi threw her arms up in a signal. “Gabriella! No!” she yelled. The goth loli burst out laughing as she drew her battle axe back.

“Stand down!” yelled Itami even as a rifle shot sounded, the goth loli's body jerking as the thirty-caliber round punched right through her heart, burying itself in the Military truck behind her. The loli coughed up blood, dropping to the ground.

“Stop it, Rit-chan!” yelled Airi even as the mage behind her began incanting. Airi threw herself between the mage and Ritsuko's position, knowing that it was `go' for the red-head and she wouldn't leave anyone standing who went after her friend. Lightening arched from the sky, hitting the mage girl, who flickered with magical energy even as she stumbled.

“Lelei, stop!” Itami ordered even as the blonde elf released an arrow aimed at Airi's chest. Airi silently cursed the reckless actions of the JSDF. The arrow pinged off armor, Milliea straightening up, swords crossed. Itami lashed out with a kick, knocking the rifle of the busty woman soldier aside, her burst going wide.

“Stop this right now!” Itami and Airi yelled in unison.

“Stand down! That is an order, soldiers!” thundered Itami.

“Cease fire, Rit-chan, and the rest of you, stop it!” hissed Airi.

“They attacked you, Airi,” Milliea said. “Ritsuko wouldn't like it if you got hurt; and everyone else would pay for it,” she added softly. Airi nodded.

“I know, but we need to stop this. Gabriella, stop it,” she added, seeing that Gabriella had managed to get on top of the other dark elf and was punching her in the head. Gabriella stopped, Rapier slipping up behind the busty woman, who still had her rifle half-pointed at Airi. “That means you, too, Rapier,” Airi added. “What next, Junpei starting a fight over curry?” she muttered, shaking her head.

“If you want to play,” a voice said, sounding wet and a little choked. Airi snapped her head over to see the goth loli standing up, blood dripping from the chest of her dress. “I'm game,” she smiled a bloody smile.

“Stop it, Rory,” Itami said.

“A heart shot might not have killed you, but I don't want to put ideas in Rit-chan's head; she gets carried away sometimes,” Airi said, assessing the girl. Why didn't a heart shot kill her? I know Ritsuko didn't miss, but she is still alive. Interesting, part of her cataloged. “Would you come back to life if your body was atomized?” hinted Airi. Rory paused, frowning a little as she considered the question. Usually, no one could completely destroy her body before she could kill them, but she had seen some of what the JSDF could do, and obviously, this group had some of the same technology.

Kurokawa was checking the group out, including Yao, who was glaring at Gabriella. For her part, the dark elf of their party was grinning at the other dark elf. “What tribe are you from, long-ears?” grinned Gabriella. “You're dark elf, but not from my tribe; and we are the only dark elves on this planet; or so the legends say,” she added casually.

“You have that backward,” spat Yao. “We are the only dark elves on this planet, and you are not of my tribe.” Gabriella laughed easily.

“It seems we have a lot to discuss, but it will have to wait,” Airi said, gesturing the others of her party away. They slowly slipped back into the woods; even if Airi had to prod Milliea a time or two. “We have Zorzal, and want to discuss a trade,” she said.

“What kind of trade?” Itami asked.

“Certain skills you have, information and supplies,” Airi replied easily.

“I don't know if I can make a deal with you,” Itami said, scratching his head.

“Call your general, tell them what we have and that we want to deal. If he wants more than Zorzal, we can talk about dealing with his flunkies, but depending on what happens, we might also need a treaty with you,” Airi said.

“We aren't really ready to make any treaties…” began Itami.

“You misunderstand,” Airi cut him off. “The treaty would be that you and others from your world never step foot on our continent.”

“Our world? Aren't you Japanese?” asked the woman with the big rack.

“Long story, but let's say there are more than one world and leave it at that,” Airi dismissed the accusation-as-a-question. “I suggest you get on the radio to the general. We will be in touch,” Airi said, turning and moving toward the woods.

“I will come with you to check out your injured,” Kurokawa spoke up.

“Kurokawa!” protested her team members. She shook her head.

“I am a medic, first and foremost,” she said. “Remember your words to me, Itami,” she said before grabbing her field bag and moving to Airi's side. “You did want to ask for medical aide, didn't you?” she smiled at the actress.

“It is probably for the best. Itami, we will guarantee her safety. Talk to your general, and we will be in touch soon,” Airi said, leading the medic into the woods.

“Itami-dono! You can't just let them take Kurokawa…!” began the other woman in the squad. Itami turned to her, a look of flat anger on his face.

“Enough, sergeant. You and Rory almost got us all killed needlessly. Next time I give you an order, you will obey it or I will have you up on charges, am I making myself clear, sergeant?” he bit out, looming over her.

“Sir, yes, sir!” she barked out immediately, unable to stop herself from the boot-camp response.

“Rory, you have got to stop this crazy behavior. Even if you are difficult to kill - and I doubt you are truly immortal even now - the rest of us aren't. Control yourself,” he said tightly. Rory pouted. “Command radioed me that they have at least one Type 74 with them, and apparently a first-rate sniper, too, if that shot was any indication,” he explained, removing his helmet and ruffling his own hair. “They made that shot from more than two hundred meters, in a wooded area, and hit your heart. Think before you act, please,” he asked.

“What are we going to do about Kurokawa?” asked Kuwabara.

“I think she is safe enough with them,” Itami said. “Even if they are an enemy, they need her skills, and so long as they do, they won't touch her. Besides, she is our best chance of learning more about them and making peaceful contact after what happened here. I underestimated her,” he muttered, chuckling to himself.

“So, what do we do?” demanded Yao.

“We set up camp and I radio command,” Itami said. Looking around, he frowned.

“Where is Delilah?” he asked.

Kurokawa was sitting in Mike with Ritsuko and Airi, the hatches closed to keep Junpei from getting himself killed as the girls talked. The medic was feeling a bit nauseous at what she had just heard. The scars both women bore were proof they were, if anything, understating what they had been through. “And that is just the latest chapter, too,” grunted Ritsuko.

“Come to Alnus with me, please,” she said. “I can't give you a proper examination here, and certainly can't treat you correctly. Please. We have a full-capability hospital there. I promise you, you will be safe. And,” she paused, reconsidering her decision before pushing forward. “And I want you to talk to a couple of people. I think - hope! - it will help both of you,” she begged earnestly.

Rit-chan laughed without any humor. “You think I am crazy, too, don't you? Maybe I am, but I'm not stupid, either. No way do I walk into your base like a fucking moron. That is just asking to be captured again,” she grunted.

“I promise you,” began Mari.

“Oh, I am sure you wouldn't call it capturing; hell, you probably won't think it is even doing anything wrong! But I will never be made helpless like that ever again!” she finished in a rough yell, her breathing deep and fire in her eyes. Airi touched her shoulder, the younger woman calming a little. Mari wondered if there was anything that could bring her back from where she was now. “Anyway,” Ritsuko began, “You know what you need to know, and you have confirmed we have Zorzal in our possession. We will get you back to your unit,” she said.

Mari bit her lip, not wanting to say what she was thinking about the condition of Zorzal. “Go ahead,” purred Ritsuko, eyes narrowed to slits, “say it. I dare you.”

“I understand now why you did what you did, but it doesn't make it right, you know?” Kurokawa said.

“Tell you what, spend six years as a slave on the plantation I did, or as the sex toy Airi did, and then you can have an opinion,” gritted out Ritsuko. “Spend nine years on this damned world, and maybe you will be qualified to have an opinion on that! Spend over six months on another world watching your friends die for nothing and maybe you won't sound like such a naïve sucker!”

“Rit-chan,” Airi chided her, cupping her cheeks. Mari saw tears in Ritsuko's eyes before Airi pulled her to herself in a tight hug, murmuring in her ear. Itami's words echoed in her ears once more.

“I…I am sorry. I have no right to judge you,” she apologized softly.

“It is ok,” Airi said softly. “Just give us a minute, if you would,” she murmured. Mari nodded, opening the turret hatch and climbing out. She found Milliea standing right by the hatch, an uncharacteristic frown on her face.

“You shouldn't push her like that,” Milliea said, hands on her sword hilts. “Ritsuko is still healing, and you are only reopening her wounds,” the elf said. Mari looked away.

“I realize that now,” she said. Didn't they say she had a learning impediment? wondered the medic. Milliea nodded. Jumping off the tank, she saw that something had happened while they were talking. The dark-haired elf in the leather corset was standing by a familiar bound form.

“What is going on?” Mari asked.

“Caught another bunny girl sneaking around and had to kick her ass, too,” Rapier replied, smirking. The bound warrior bunny growled.

“Her name is Delilah, and she is with us,” Mari said.

“So both sides have rabbit girls?” Gabriella asked, grinning in amusement.

“Both sides?” wondered Mari, easing closer to Delilah.

“When we grabbed that cock-hole Zorzal, we ran into a white-furred bunny girl. She might have been named Tyuule. Anyway, I broke her face and left her there,” Rapier shrugged. “This one was about as good as that one, but she was armed better,” admitted the fighter.

“You saw that traitor Tyuule?” demanded Delilah. “Where?!”

“Back at the jerk-hole's tent,” Rapier said. “Like I said, I broke her face and left her there,” she repeated herself. “What's it to you?”

“I am going to kill her,” purred Delilah. “She was our queen, before she betrayed us all to Zorzal and the Empire. Those of us that survived swore vengeance, and we have been after her ever since. As the prince's slave, she was always out of reach, but not now,” the brown-haired Warrior Bunny nearly giggled. “So many of us died in slavery, or were killed for sport or sold to brothels, but some of us escaped, and one day, one of us will settle the score with that traitorous whore!”

“Sounds like something I can get behind,” the voice of Ritsuko interrupted the ranting. Turning around quickly, Mari saw Ritsuko watching from the command turret hatch, Airi behind her. If she hadn't seen Ritsuko crying earlier, she would swear the young woman didn't know how to cry. “Killing slavers and betrayers is kind of my thing lately,” smiled Ritsuko, making Mari's spine shiver.

“Unbelievable,” Hazama sighed, shaking his head. Itami said nothing. “Sergeant Kurokawa, I commend your bravery, your commitment to the role of medic and your compassion, but are you insane?” the general asked. The medic of Recon Three didn't even bat an eyelash.

“No, general. I am perfectly sane, thank you for asking,” she replied in her normal manner: calm, soothing and absolutely unruffled. Combat medics and nurses tended to be hard to unsettle by necessity. The general snorted, a smile tugging at his lips. He was seasoned enough to know that he didn't dare try any sort of punishment detail for her - no one messed with the medics if they wanted to live.

“Do you have anything to report, seeing as you spent nearly thirty six hours with them?” the general asked.

“I submitted my after-action report to Squad Leader Itami, sir,” Mari said in the same unconcerned tone.

“So you did. And he attached it to his report to me. Now, what didn't you put in the official record, Kurokawa?” One didn't get to command an army deployed to another world where elves and dragons existed without a very good grasp of how the military worked, after all, and Hazama had been the first, front and final pick for commanding this insane mission for a reason.

“They gave me their price for Zorzal, sir,” she said, pulling out a sheet of notebook paper with a hand-written list on it, along with a caricature of Mari and another woman, the one of Mari sweat-dropping as the other winked and flashed a thumbs-up while wearing what could only be described as a shit-eating grin. At the far bottom corner was another caricature - this one apparently Zorzal, though Hazama prayed it wasn't accurate, given the condition of the person.

“Who is the other woman?” Hazama asked as he scanned the list.

“Nodachi 6, sir,” Mari said. “She is…multi-talented,” murmured the nurse, obviously thinking about something else. The general grunted, his eyes widening a bit as he read the list.

“Eighty rounds main cannon ammo divided evenly between high explosive and white phosphorous, six hundred rounds fifty caliber linked AP, one in six tracer, six hundred rounds of linked mark two eleven RAUFOSS, five thousand rounds linked seven six two NATO, sub-lotted into one thousand rounds linked AP with tracers, one thousand rounds linked incendiary with tracers and three thousand rounds linked ball with tracers, twenty five hundred rounds five five six, half M855, half OTM, five hundred rounds Mk 316 Mod 0, fifteen hundred rounds 9mm sub-lotted into equal amounts of one fifteen ball, one forty seven JHP, and one fifteen +P hollow point, AR-pattern repair kit, G36 field service kit with new barrel, one hundred fragmentation grenades, fifty white phosphorous grenades, twenty concussion grenades, fifty assorted smoke grenades, sixty M18 Claymore mines with clackers, HK USP service kit and ten spare mags in 9mm, five Type 74 track repair sections, three buckets grease, two bogey repair kits, fifteen gallons anti-reflective, low-thermal paint with thinner and brushes in grassland tan, pine green and flat grey, three USB charging cables, two power inverters, portable twelve hundred watt generator with thirty gallons fuel and ten quarts oil, extension cord, MRAP lighting kit with wiring and fuse panel, two dozen each double A and triple A alkaline batteries, five hundred bars of soap noted as `not too flowery but not man-soap' for whatever that means, five cases of toilet paper, five cases of…feminine hygiene supplies, three company medical packs…who asks for supplies like this?!” he asked, stunned.

“Sir, hygiene is extremely important, as you well know; more so for a woman in hard conditions,” Mari cut in, her tone hinting at an edge in her voice. Hazama decided it wasn't worth the argument.

“More to the point, can she even use half that list without killing herself?” he wondered aloud.

“Judging by what I saw and heard, sir, she could likely qualify as a special forces trooper without problem,” Mari said. “While I won't claim to be a SF-rated soldier, she reminds me of the ones in the Special Missions group in the Capital. She knows her stuff, sir. The tank was immaculate inside, you could eat off the machineguns, her personal rifles were parade-ground clean, but everything was well-worn. They have been at this a hell of a lot longer than us, sir,” she said.

“You seem to have left out some details, Sergeant,” noted the General. Mari frowned at him.

“Their group consists of two human women, given names Airi and Ritsuko. Ritsuko is the team leader, but Airi has a bond with her that makes them almost co-leaders. There is a male in the group, given name Junpei, who is a close-combat specialist from the look of things and an immature ass as well. The rest of the party is made up of female elves. There are four of them, each seeming to have a separate clan or tribe. One of them is a dark elf, given name Gabriella. Fighter and possibly a magic-user. Another elf is a priestess or a sage, given name Annette. Magic is her role in the group. Third is an elf with dark hair but fair skin. Close combat specialist, possibly also an infiltration specialist. Last is a red-headed elf, given name Milliea. She wears magic armor and has magic swords. She is probably their assault specialist, but I think her actual role is to help Airi with Ritsuko,” Mari frowned deeper, eyes narrowing a little.

“What is wrong with Ritsuko?” asked Hazama.

“Emotional trauma, mostly. Also some medical concerns,” answered the medic.

“What medical concerns?” wondered Hazama.

“Sorry, sir, I cannot discuss patient health details,” was all he got. “There is nothing there of military importance, but even if there was, the law still applies. I know you would never attempt to order me to violate the laws governing that, sir,” she added. Hazama caught the `attempt' part.

“Is it physical injuries?” he asked instead.

“Yes and no,” was all Mari would commit to.

“So what is their story, then? I trust you know,” he added, his tone bland and a bit resigned.

“Why would I know their story, sir?” Mari asked, a soothing (and very false) smile on her face.

“They are almost all women, and you spent thirty six hours with them. You know,” he snorted. “Women always talk,” he said, one finger absently tracing the ring on his finger.

“That's a sexist remark, sir,” Mari's smile was unchanged. “It has been my experience that the men in a unit are bigger gossips,” added the medic. Itami twitched slightly.

“Sergeant,” Hazama said, locking gazes with the medic.

“I suppose I can tell you some of it,” Mari allowed, a faint ghost of a smile on her lips. “They have been in this world for about nine years now. Apparently, something other than a gate brought them here. They were not very forthcoming about that part, and they didn't say much about the `other Japan' they visited about seven years ago, but I believe they did, as they have technology and artifacts from a Japan very, very different from our own. Rit-chan said that world was teetering on the brink of annihilation, but when I pressed, she locked up tighter than a bank vault, and Airi moved the conversation forward.” She paused, seeing a knowing look on the General's face and Itami's.

“I never said we didn't talk, sir. I said your saying women always talk was sexist; and it is,” she wiped the smile off both their faces. “Anyway, they escaped that world somehow, and were apparently hunting elves for some reason involving magic, but none of them would say anything about it, though Gabriella and Milliea both said they didn't mind being stripped, so there is doubtlessly something else going on there that none of them will say. The male - Junpei - bragged he stripped more elves than McDonald served burgers, but was immediately smacked by all the women present. Apparently, he is given to crude jokes, sexual harassment and generally pig-like behavior, resulting in the women punishing him for it. I fear he is beyond rehabilitation, however,” she sighed softly.

“But back to the point, some things happened and Airi ended up the Chancellor of a kingdom on another continent, the second most powerful after the queen. I suspect there is more to it, given the reaction from the rest, but they aren't talking; at least, not yet,” she allowed. “Ritsuko was…less fortunate, but ended up leading a rebellion that is on the verge of crushing every kingdom. She is…intense about certain things,” Mari was frowning again.

“Such as?” Hazama asked. Mari locked gazes with him for a long minute before shaking her head.

“Sorry, sir, I cannot break patient confidentiality, as it is part of the medical aspect,” she said. “Once more, let's get back to the point. They have another friend or party member they are looking for. She is a high elf, given name Celsia, who is apparently a particularly potent magic user and might be involved in the initial transference of them to this world all those years ago. I get the feeling that Celsia is not exactly well-liked by Ritsuko and Airi, but that either - both - would die for her; or destroy a nation, continent or even world. You understand what I am saying, don't you, sir?” she asked directly.

“Yes, I believe so, Sergeant,” Hazama murmured. They are like members of a fire team who have been in combat so long they are essentially part of each other, even if they don't necessarily like each other, the general considered. He knew how that worked in the military, after all - especially in combat troops. During a rotation as an observer with the coalition forces in the Middle East, he had seen a white soldier with a Nazi SS tattoo on his arm fighting side by side with a black soldier like they were blood brothers when under fire, but who wouldn't say a word to each other when not under enemy fire.

“Which of them is Nodachi 6?” asked Itami.

“I have no idea, sir,” smiled Kurokawa, her expression telling him she knew exactly which one was Nodachi 6, but wouldn't tell him even under torture. “Why? Is Rory upset she got taken like a rookie?” asked the medic.

“Actually, Kurokawa, Rory wants to meet Nodachi 6. She says she smells like blood and death; and that appeals to our demigoddess,” sighed the lieutenant.

“That is not surprising,” Mari said sagely, but didn't elaborate at all.

“Tell me about Zorzal,” Hazama cut in, his tone contemplative.

“They do have him, sir. He is a bit worse for wear, but nothing that would matter considering the situation,” confirmed the medic.

“Worse for wear?” wondered Hazama.

“Worse for wear, sir. Apparently, the raid that captured him got a bit…rough,” she judiciously added. Hazama tapped the caricature of Zorzal, giving her suspicious look. “They had questions, and you know how Zorzal is, Itami-dono. They beat the answers out of him; and in my personal opinion, it is no great loss in his case,” she added, her tone a bit hard. The two men blinked at that statement.

Hazama sighed, leaning back in his chair. “They tortured him for information,” he said, looking at her. She shrugged, saying nothing. “How are we supposed to explain that to the Empire?” he asked, exasperated.

“Who would care? You might not realize just how brutal this place is, sir,” it was Itami who said this, his expression grim. “Queen Pina will not ask questions, I am sure. And in the worst case, if someone does ask, it wasn't us who did it,” he reminded the general. “We rescued him from certain death, which makes us the good guys does it not?”

“We haven't rescued him yet, and the certain death part is going to be a real possibility, given the political situation with Queen Pina,” Hazama noted sourly.

“Pina - sorry, Queen Pina - will be unlikely to order his execution,” Itami predicted.

“That is the problem,” Hazama noted.

“Sir, Zorzal is insane. If he is allowed to live, it will cost many more lives. Just look at the body count on his brief reign,” Mari reminded them.

“You suggest not dealing with the strangers?” Hazama asked, sounding surprised.

“I think we should give them the supplies,” Itami said. “All of them,” he added.

“And why is that?” wondered Hazama, confused.

“I concur, sir,” Mari added her two cents.

“Have you two any idea how much that shopping list will cost the JSDF?” Hazama asked.

“No, and I don't see how that matters,” Itami rejoined. “In the year we have been here, my team alone has found and negotiated for resources worth more than four times our GDP. Sir, the costs do not matter. State alone has spent hundreds of thousands of gold pieces in the Senate here, buying and influencing the Hawk faction, and we have gone through more than ten times that list in scouting missions alone. The costs are irrelevant in that perspective. Of course, if you look at it another way, that list is a cheap investment to establish relations with an entirely new continent in this world; and one that might well be run by Japanese within a year or two, when we can reach it. How can one even argue the costs against that?”

“I have a question for you, Itami,” Hazama said, leaning forward and folding his hands in front of his face. “Answer me this: if we - with all our resources - can't reach this other continent, how did they get here with a tank?”

“I'd say magic,” Itami replied blandly, nodding to himself. Hazama wondered yet again what was wrong with Itami and his team.