Those Who Hunt Elves Fan Fiction ❯ Forms of Battle ❯ Chapter 4

*

“I'm sorry, but if you want to talk, you will have to meet me in a neutral location,” Airi said into the radio.

“The only safe locations are inside the Empire, and even those are questionable except for Alnus,” argued the Major she was talking with. Airi was sitting in Mike, idly looking up at the Elf World stars. A mile and a half away, Ritsuko was with Milliea, tucked into the grass and watching the enemy camp through her rifle scope. Per the agreement she had made with Delilah, she was going to put a bullet in Tyuule's head for the Warrior Bunny in exchange for Delilah getting her and Airi into the Capital library to look for information on the cult. Airi had some reservations, but didn't see why they couldn't keep the enemy faction off-balance while they searched.

“Major, I'm sure you have your concerns, but please understand we do as well, and one of them is not walking into any place we don't know how to walk out of,” she smiled to herself. Seeing Rapier wave an arm, she waved back. “Excuse me, Major, but we will need to discuss this at a later date. Over and out,” she said before turning off the radio. “What is it, Rapier?” she asked.

“Ritsuko wants you at her location quick, and she said to bring the spotting scope,” the elf said. Airi quickly found the right piece of gear and hurried after Rapier, covering the mile and a half in just over twelve minutes. Panting, she made a mental note to exercise more. She was sure that Rit-chan could have covered that same distance in eight minutes flat carrying Milliea.

“What is it, Rit-chan?” she panted, getting comfortable on the ground next to the red-head. “Is the rabbit woman missing?” guessed the actress.

“No,” Ritsuko answered, PSG1 tucked tight to her, her eye on the scope. “I was about to turn her head into a canoe when I saw she had a visitor,” Ritsuko murmured as Airi got the small tripod set up with the spotting scope. “Just left of the center of the camp, by the striped tarp over the tent that is half-burned,” directed their resident sniper. Airi managed to get the spot centered and began to zoom in.

“Ok, what am I looking…oh, I see,” murmured Airi.

“Is that what I think it is?” asked Ritsuko, coming off the scope to study Airi.

“It is the same symbol,” Airi admitted. “What are they doing?” she wondered.

“Breaking camp,” Ritsuko answered. “The question is do we follow them or do I start reducing their numbers and hope he doesn't get away?” she asked. Usually, Ritsuko made the decisions like this unilaterally, but Airi also knew that when possible, Ritsuko liked to seek her input. Airi saw by the light of the moon that Ritsuko had laid out several magazines of ammo for the PSG1, ready to go. She zoomed out and studied the camp for a bit.

“It doesn't look like all of them are leaving,” she noted a moment later. Ritsuko swept her scope around the camp.

“No, it doesn't,” she murmured. “It looks like about a company-worth of soldiers are packing up. Splitting up their forces after an attack? That seems a poor choice. Unless our new cousins are doing something?” she asked.

“Other than trying to get us to come meet with them, nothing has been said. Are you sure Mari told the story we want them to hear?” she asked her younger teammate.

“As much as I can be sure,” Ritsuko replied. “Why?”

“We might have to split our party,” Airi suggested.

“No,” came the immediate reply from the red-head. “We are too far afield and lack sufficient communications and transport to make that safe. The Japanese here have air power, transportation and communication. If we split up, we risk being isolated and neutralized. Better we fall back and try again than hope every gamble pays off.”

“What about the supplies?” asked Airi.

“One thing at a time. Celsia is priority, though I will admit I am a little tempted to trade her for the supplies,” she laughed softly.

“You are bad sometimes, Rit-chan, but I agree,” Airi murmured back. “We could send Junpei in to see if this Alnus place is a trap,” she suggested.

“If we knew or even strongly suspected, I would be all over that suggestion, but I think they are on the level; more or less, and sending Junpei is pretty much an act of war, don't you think?” she asked.

“I suppose so,” Airi allowed. “How do you propose to follow the group?” she asked, indicating the unit forming up. Ritsuko glanced at the stars and sky.

“They will probably head out right at first light, so let's have a crew in the air fish follow them from altitude and from as far away as we can with our optics. We can follow in Mike, since they won't be covering as much ground as us.”

“Sounds fine so long as you and Milliea are not part of the air fish crew; at least, not the first day. You haven't slept more than an hour or two in almost a day, Rit-chan, and I expect you to get at least six hours rest. You can sleep on the move, or we will find a spot and you will rest,” came the firm order from Airi.

Ritsuko was quiet for a long moment. “Fine,” she capitulated after doing some math in her head. “Milliea, can you stay here long enough for me to send someone to relieve you? All we need to know is if the rabbit woman goes with the column or not. I will probably sent Gabriella to relieve you,” she said, getting a cheerful nod before she quickly packed up the gun and slung the case over her back. “See you soon,” she said to Milliea, caressing the elf's cheek before quickly easing back off the low ridge they had been on and then standing. Airi did the same, the two setting out at a quick pace for the tank and air fish. Arriving back, Ritsuko sent Gabriella to relieve Milliea, telling her what they needed to know. Gabriella nodded and disappeared into the deepening darkness at a lope, silent and swiftly. Ritsuko drank some water, stored her sniper rifle, picked up her M4 and then looked for a good spot to get some sleep. Just after she had picked a nice, comfortable spot on Mike's hull and was arranging her bed, Milliea showed up and before Ritsuko knew it, she and her fellow red-head were snuggled up together on the hull of Mike.

Airi filled in Annette and told her that she and Rapier would be the first air crew. Annette nodded, saying she would try a couple of spells to see if she could pick up where they might be heading early. Airi also briefed her on the protocols she and Ritsuko were using for handling the JSDF here. About the time the sky was brightening, Gabriella returned, saying that the rabbit woman had headed out with the column while the rest of the camp was re-organizing, but appeared to also be decamping. Airi thanked her, told her what she would be doing that day, and minutes later, the elves were on the air fish with a radio, binoculars, compass and some jerky and water. The group would meet up that afternoon. The air tarpon was already up and away when Junpei awoke. Airi intercepted him before he could wake Ritsuko, giving him a busy-work task while she checked on her two hard-chargers. Ritsuko was cuddled up face-to-face with Milliea, sound asleep, her pistol in one hand and peaceful look on her face. Airi rigged a poncho to keep the sun from shining in their eyes before quietly entering Mike and powering up the radio.

*

“If they want the supplies, they will have to come talk to us, that is my final decision,” Hazama said, cutting through a hot conversation between his staff officers.

“And if they won't take the bait, then what?” asked the Colonel in charge of base security. “We aren't talking a bunch of locals with bows and arrows. We are talking about a tank and some people who seem to know how to use it. And she as much as said she has an air force, too. What then, general?”

“Then we will likely not see them for quite a while,” the man in charge said. “It will be at least a year before we can make ships that can reach other continents, probably longer, and we have no idea how many other continents or of what size are out there. We might not find them for a decade or more,” he reasoned.

“A decade they will have to strengthen their forces and plan,” noted the staff officer in charge of the air mobile team.

“Or find a way to fight us we are not prepared for. How did they get here, general? How do we stop them from doing that, or at least find out when they are doing it? We need to capture them, sir,” he pressed.

“There is to be no hostile action taken against them unless they attack us or I personally order the action, is that clear?” the general replied. “What have we found so far?” he directed to the speaker on the table.

“Well, we have found them a time or two with the drones, but they are always moving and seem to know how to stay low-profile. We have only caught sight of the fish once more. We have no idea where it goes or what it does, but it doesn't swim in water; that much we are confident about. The most recent image we got was from earlier today, just before noon,” the tech added.

“Show us,” commanded the general. A moment later, the large-screen TV in the room flickered before showing an enhanced image of a group of women in a small pool of water, obviously bathing. Though hardly a High Definition picture, it was obvious that the women were naked and the water was likely somewhat cold. “Enough,” the general said when he realized the men in the room were dead silent and staring at the screen with rapt attention. The screen went blank. “What about the enemy camp?” he asked. Another video clip came up, showing a camp in disarray, with some tents missing and others being moved. “Are they moving out?” wondered Hazama.

“It isn't clear, sir, but some of them have gone somewhere. We think the unknown group is following a detached column of the enemy,” the tech said, the feed switching to show a small column of soldiers marching along, with a rabbit-eared woman and a cloaked figure in the lead.

“That must be the `Tyuule' we have heard so much about,” Hazama murmured. Delilah had told them a lot about the woman after the incident with Noriko, and Itami had reported that she had stopped him from shooting Zorzal when they first rescued the kidnapped teenager. The former spy was still out in the field, Itami having reported that she told them she would keep an eye on the enemy camp while they came back to Alnus to report, refuel and rearm before coming to pick her up. Itami had made her wear a homing device. That device had been circling the camp endlessly since then.

A knock on the door preceded an administrative officer poking his head in. “Yes?” Hazama asked.

“Sir, we have a messenger from Queen Pina for you, it is urgent,” the admin officer said. Hazama nodded, gesturing. The man stood aside, holding the door open as a fully-armored female knight in Pina's personal order entered and gave a sweeping bow.

“Lord General Hazama, I am the Knight Panache, of the Royal Knights of the Rose Order,” she formally introduced herself. “My queen has asked me to convey this message to you,” she added, pulling a tightly-folded message from under her breastplate and offering it to him, seal outward. Hazama stood and moved to her, accepting the message. The seal was unbroken.

“Thank you, Knight Panache,” he said, breaking the seal and unfolding the message. Struggling a little, he translated the message into Japanese. “We have been asked to assist Queen Pina in a matter regarding the security of the Empire,” he said to the staff, handing the letter to his senior aide. “Please assure your Queen we will come to help her swiftly,” he said to the knight.

“Lord General Hazama, my Queen has asked that I make a personal request of you on her behalf,” the knight said. “It is the belief of the Queen that the company commanded by Lord Itami would be the best answer in many regards. She, of course, understands that you command your forces, but she asks this boon of you as a personal request.”

Hazama wasn't surprised. Itami had managed to make quite the name for himself and his team - Recon Three - during the events starting with Coda Village and stretching right through this current situation. Among the senate, he was mostly liked or respected - by both the Dove and the Hawk factions - and the Queen and her knights were very fond of him and his unit as well. Clan Formal was practically a vassal to him, with the rumor being that Countess Myui had a crush on him. Of course they would request Itami and his team. “I will see what we can do, Knight Panache,” was all Hazama said. She gave him a salute in the local manner.

“Very well, Lord General,” she said. “I would like to ask permission to visit my order-sisters Beefeater and Bozes, who are currently in Alnus town,” she added.

“You and your order are welcome to visit, Knight Panache,” Hazama said, smiling a little.

“Thank you, Lord General,” she said. “I take my leave with your permission,” she bowed. He saluted her back before she turned and exited the room. “Good soldiers, those Rose Order knights,” Hazama said to no one in particular. Returning to the head of table, he sat down. “Well, we will have to let this situation with the visitors be for the moment,” he said. Smiling, he had a thought. “From here on, let's just call them `Nodachi Unit' - it is easier than dancing around the issue. Now, let's figure out how to help our ally with her problem, whatever it might be,” he directed the change in focus.

*

“How does it look, Annette?” asked Ritsuko intently.

“I don't know yet,” came the answer. “She is badly drained of life energy and magical power,” the priestess said, her hands glowing with magic.

“She isn't the only one,” Ritsuko muttered. “But at least we have the main mission objective,” she said.

“Hold still, Rit-chan,” ordered Milliea as she tightened the bandage on the human's side.

“I don't have time for this, Milliea,” Ritsuko muttered. “Gabriella, you ok?” she asked.

“I'll live,” came the answer. “So will Rapier, but I think her leg is broken,” warned the dark elf.

“Airi?” called out Ritsuko.

“I'm fine, Rit-chan,” came the answer. “But we're out of ammo for the fifty and there is only a half-belt or so left for the thirty. I think we have rounds left in the magazine for the main cannon,” reported the actress from where she was standing in the main hatch of Mike's turret.

“Yeah, and Mike's right belt is broken, too,” Ritsuko said, hiding a wince as Milliea tightened the dressing over the wound in her side. “All things considered, we got by better than I thought we would,” she admitted.

They had tracked the column to a mostly-collapsed temple, and once they were sure they had the right target, they had planned their attack. Ritsuko and the others had studied the situation for most of the afternoon. The guards from the camp had set up a basic camp outside the crumbling entrance, and began to patrol, though without the usual enthusiasm they had observed earlier from the soldiers. Ritsuko had wished they had found this place a couple days before, since now they had a lot of cannon fodder to go through; she suspected that the cult - if they were what they were billed as - only intended the soldiers as a form of alarm for their own members inside the temple. Of course, it was just as likely that the cult planned them to be a sacrifice. None of them were willing to take that chance.

When the decision was made, they put together a very basic plan. In the broad strokes, that plan was `kill them all and hope that is enough'. In the finer details, it was still pretty much `kill them quietly until discovered then kill them as fast as possible'. Without a way to study the interior, they could only hope it was like most temples from there world: a central `sanctuary' area with a few smaller rooms scattered around and maybe a couple of hidden passages or hiding-holes. If it was a labyrinth, that would be a problem. Annette tried as hard as she could to determine if there were magical threats, but beyond sensing magic being used in a way she wasn't familiar with, she couldn't be sure. She was relatively certain that Celsia was in there, but likely not conscious.

No one was particularly enthused about the plan, but they had no other option, and waiting was not going to be a wise move, given the developing situation and what was said about the nature of the cult. Ritsuko finally ended the debate, saying they would hit the temple right after the troops settled down for the night. A long day's march, followed by setting up camp and patrolling would make them tired and easier to deal with, while still giving the group time to gather what observational intelligence they could until then. The time and action decided, the group prepared for their work.

Hours later, as the moon was barely rising and the stars were gradually brightening in the dark sky, Ritsuko committed them to business. She and Milliea came in from the west side, Gabriella and Rapier slipped in from the east side, and Junpei worked in from the south side, with Airi and Annette in Mike, for support. Ritsuko had been grimly certain they would need it. One of the ideas that had been discussed was sleep spelling the group, but such a large spell over such a distance would pull a significant amount of Annette's magic energy; energy they might wish they had later when rescuing Celsia. The same went for Gabriella.

So, it was wet work. The sentries were dispatched coldly and silently as the group worked closer. Their total enemy count was about one hundred soldiers, but only about a third of them were awake, and of that third, only about half were geared up and on watch. Rit-chan knew that wouldn't last, and had taken all her remaining frag and Willie Pete grenades with her. While they were fewer than she would have liked, they would simply have to be enough to do the job. Milliea swept up on a pair of sentries, a swing of her sword decapitating them. The soft thud of their helmeted heads hitting the ground was the only sound they made, as Ritsuko grabbed their cloaks and guided the bodies down to the ground before moving forward.

Just as she dared to think things might work out, she heard a steel-on-steel clank! Twisting her head to the south, she swore softly as the hue and cry went up from the camp even as she heard Junpei bragging that there weren't enough men there to challenge him. “Damned idiot,” she muttered, torches streaming out from the three fires in the center of the camp area. Three of them were heading for their position. Of course they want to check the other sentries, she thought sourly, plucking a frag grenade and tugging the pin out. “Frag out,” she warned, lofting the grenade toward the intersection of the camp's areas, where many men were rushing from their tents toward the lines. Touching her throat, she keyed the mic on her radio. “We're boned - idiot boy blew it. Open up on them, but watch out for us,” she radioed Airi in Mike.

“I read you, Ritsuko,” Airi radioed back before the main cannon thundered, a high explosive shell hitting the central fire, right on the heels of her grenade taking out at least eight soldiers. Ritsuko grabbed another frag, pulling the pin and hurling it deep in practically the same motion.

“Moving,” she warned Milliea, bringing up her M4 and quickly tipping off rounds as she worked her way forward. Milliea watched her back and sides. Dumping a mag, she slammed a fresh one home, barely pausing in her fire. Movement caught her eyes. “Cult fighters coming out,” she yelled, just as another round from Mike's main cannon hit right in the middle of them, spraying the derelict entrance with what was left of them and a generous helping of shrapnel. Ritsuko noticed the other cultists didn't even slow.

“Fuck,” she muttered, grabbing a white phosphorous grenade and lobbing it over. “Burn, fuckers,” she muttered, seeing Gabriella and Rapier engaging the first of the cultist to reach them. The robed cult members fought with assorted sharp, unpleasant weapons, but more troublesome was that they didn't have the slightest hint of fear or caution. Ritsuko shot three or four of the ones heading for her friends, but that gave away her location, and cultists began to stream toward her. As they got closer, she saw that their eyes were wild-open, most were frothing at the mouth and they were all nearly vibrating with homicidal rage. Berserkers, she thought absently, shooting the first in the forehead at fifteen paces before things got too busy for her to waste time on details.

It wasn't until she was grabbing another set of loaded magazines for her nearly-smoking M4 that she realized that Mike was in the middle of the camp, machineguns blazing away at the remaining troops and cultists. Airi was saying something, and Ritsuko had to shake herself free of her musing. “What?” she yelled back.

“That was the last of the ammo for the fifty, and there is only about two hundred rounds on the coax,” yelled back Airi.

“Stop shooting, I will clear the rest. Use the NV sight and see if there is anything in the temple that needs that machinegun ammo. How many main gun rounds?” Ritsuko asked before turning to shoot a cultist in the chest and a soldier in the guts with her rifle.

“Maybe six? I think one of them is high explosive, and the rest training and smoke,” Airi answered back.

“Roger. Cease fire, Mike,” she yelled, slapping her tank, the fire stopping. The red-head jumped up on Mike, shouldering her rifle even as she switched the fire select to semi and began to shoot the remaining soldiers. She saw that several had run off, and that was fine with her; less ammo to waste on them. The group met in front of the temple entrance. “What do you see, Airi?” asked Ritsuko, changing magazines again, the empty dropping into Mike's crew space.

“They have a stone wall in there, with a lot of them behind it. I think there might be a spell in there, too,” she said.

“Annette, Gabs, if you know any attack spells, now might be good time. Same for magical shield spells,” Ritsuko noted, slipping into the gunner seat and making sure that a training round was loaded before targeting the wall the cultists had built of fallen blocks and boulders. “Let's get on with it,” she muttered, triggering the main cannon, the training shell - though little more than a steel case with an aluminum nose cone - still blew a huge gap in the wall, killing a few cultist. She was only mildly surprised that none of the cultist came running out to fight them after what had happened to the soldiers and their fellow cultists.

“Looks like we will have to rot them out,” she sighed. “Remember, they want to die, so watch your backs,” she said to her group. Annette incanted and cast her spell, the group glowing briefly.

“Valdemar hex, a shielding spell,” Annette said. Ritsuko nodded, hopping out of Mike. “Stay in Mike, Airi; you too, Annette, until we find Celsia,” she warned, the other forming up and moving forward, into the temple. Ritsuko laid sparing covering fire, aware of how low she was running on ammo and loaded magazines both. You better be alive, or I will be pissed I wasted this much ammo on a dead elf, Celsia!

The cultist at the entrance threw some magic at them, but most of it was blunted by the shield spell Annette had cast, and the group pushed through it. Another frag grenade cleared out the majority of the cultists and she scanned the room as the last of them were dealt with. The room behind the entrance was larger, and seemed sound enough, but there was another - larger - doorway in front of them. “Got another door, Airi,” she radioed. “Moving forward. Watch our backs,” she added, the group moving forward.

It was when they were in the middle of the second doorway when the cultists attacked, catching them in a narrow area and from both sides. Leading the second group was the white-furred bunny girl. Ritsuko didn't have time to shoot her, though, since she was in close-quarter battle with several cultists, Milliea also fully engaged. Between the two groups, Gabriella began to cast a spell, but didn't get to finish before a magical explosion threw the group back into the first room, their magic shields disintegrating from the blow. Ritsuko scrambled around and came up on her knees, her rifle tangled around her gear, but her pistol in hand. She wasted no time opening fire. Beside her, Milliea was getting to her feet, only to be knocked down by a big cultist wielding a halberd. The big man struck at Ritsuko, the red-head barely twisting away from the blow, feeling pain in her side even as she got her gun pointed in his direction, firing a half-dozen shots into him before the slide locked back. The man staggered, bloody bubbles coming from his mouth, but still grinning madly as he started to pull back his halberd for another swing. Ritsuko had a fresh mag in hand, and was inserting it into the magazine well of her pistol, but wasn't going to make it in time when the man fell into three pieces, Milliea behind him, having used her twin swords to cut him into thirds. Blood was flowing down Milliea's face, but she smiled all the same as Ritsuko seated the mag and hit the slide release, immediately pumping two rounds into a cultist running at Gabriella, who was shaking her head to clear it.

Looking forward, she saw that Rapier was just standing, her balance a bit off while Junpei was nowhere to be seen. “Mayday, Airi!” she radioed, even as she spotted three cultists through the doorway and opened up on them.

“I'm coming, Rit-chan!” Airi yelled in her ear over the radio, the rumble of Mike's diesel engine making the chamber reverberate.

“Get clear!” Ritsuko yelled, grabbing Milliea and throwing herself to the side of the entrance, Gabriella doing the same with Rapier just as Mike's armored hull smashed through the first gate, tracks sparking as they slid along the stone floor. The coax roared to life, cutting up cultists. Ritsuko swiftly got up, checked her rifle, checked Milliea and then got herself straightened out, her rifle coming up as the machinegun went silent. Out of ammo, or just out of targets?

“Breach, breach, breach,” she yelled, moving forward, gun up. Inside the larger room, they found that the doorway was on the side wall of the temple, the sanctuary being to the left. At the far end of the room was a group of three cultists, kneeling before a floating altar. The floating altar hovered below a hideous, crude idol, the eyes of which were beginning to glow a dull, sooty red. On the floating altar, magical energy wafting up like smoke that seeped into the idol was a naked, dehydrated-looking Celsia.

Ritsuko centered her reticule and squeezed off a round, the bullet shattering on a flickering, dark shield. “Magic barrier. Get on it,” she commanded, Gabriella casting a spell and releasing it, the shield and sanctuary shaking, but nothing else happening. Annette stuck her head up from the hatch of Mike, hands glowing with magic as she finished an incantation, releasing it. A silver-gold bolt shot from her hands, hitting the shield, which began to make a horrible, shrill sound before shattering. Before Ritsuko could re-engage the targets, a spell shot from the three of them, the stone floor buckling, cracking and forming jagged splinters of rock. The attack hit Mike, tossing the thirty five ton tank like an empty beer can, though fortunately, the roof and walls not only remained intact, but kept Mike from turning over. Airi and Annette got banged around pretty good, though, and the others gained more bumps and lumps.

Picking herself up - again! - from the floor, Ritsuko was beyond pissed. “Fuck magic, and fuck you,” she snarled, sweeping the M4 across the three, barrel held low enough to keep from riddling Celsia, still on the floating altar. This time, her bullets hit home, spraying Celsia and the feet of the idol with blood. Stomping forward, she heard one of the cultists laughing.

“Our Lord's resurrection in our lifetime!” Ritsuko blew his brains out with a single shot. Even as she turned to see how the others faired and to call Annette to get Celsia off that damn altar, she heard a source-less, rough breathing. Spinning back to the idol, she saw that it was beginning to move.

“Ritsuko! Down!” came Airi's voice, the main cannon firing quickly, blowing large holes in the idol, though it seemed to only inconvenience the thing.

“We have to sever its link to Celsia!” yelled Annette, running past Ritsuko. Her face was bloodied and bruised from her roller-coaster ride in Mike, but her hands were glowing with magic again. Ritsuko threw her gun to her shoulder and fire short bursts at the eyes of the idol, not knowing or caring if it would interfere with the vision of the thing or not. Instead of trying to pull Celsia off the altar like she expected, Annette dove right at her senior, tacking the high elf off the altar, and disrupting the magical energy transferring to the idol. Mike's main cannon boomed again, the idol cracking this time. Ritsuko ran forward, grabbing Annette's arm and Celsia's leg, dragging the two out from under the idol as the cracks spread before the entire thing just suddenly fell into a pile of rubble.

“Fuck you too,” muttered Ritsuko to the idol before she turned to see what her team looked like. The first thing she noticed was that Mike's right belt had shattered a link, immobilizing the tank. The next thing she noticed was that Gabriella was missing her fur bikini, and was pretty beat up, burns and scrapes over most of her skin. Rapier was on the floor, holding her leg with a look of controlled pain on her face as Gabriella knelt next to her. Airi emerged from inside Mike, giving her a smile and a thumbs-up even though she had an egg already forming on her head. “Junpei? Anyone seen idiot-boy?” she asked, not seeing their lone male.

“You called, Rit-chan?” came his voice from the corner of the room, the man moving out from behind a pair of columns. He was no longer wearing white leather, having been covered in dust, dirt, blood and soot. He was bleeding from the corner of his mouth, and there was blood on his hand from under his sleeve, but he seemed fine except for the fact his shirt was burned away over his chest, a nasty star-shaped mark there. His other hand was holding something.

“Moron,” she grunted. “What's that?” she asked, indicating the thing in his hand.

“Oh, this!” he seemed to remember it again. “This is a hot little play-bunny that wanted to get with me,” he grinned, pulling his arm forward and lifting it, revealing it to be the ankle of Tyuule. The former Warrior Bunny Queen was unconscious; blood slowly pooling under her and staining her skin and fur. Ritsuko moved over to check on their secondary target.

“Did you kill her?” asked Ritsuko, touching the neck of the demi-human.

“Nah,” Junpei scoffed. “Not a hottie like her,” he grinned at Ritsuko.

“I hope you get magical herpes,” muttered Ritsuko, pulling out a roll of medical tape and a bundle of paracord. “Go do something useful, asshole,” she snarled at the man even as she began to secure their bargaining chip. Her side was beginning to hurt now, but she ignored it until Tyuule was secure. Straightening up, she hissed in pain, touching her side and feeling hot, slick blood on her hand. Milliea hurried over, the medical kit in her hand. Sighing, Ritsuko let Milliea tend to her injury as she surveyed the situation.

With Milliea finished, Ritsuko forced herself to her feet, once more hiding a wince. “We have to fix Mike's belt before we can get him back to the surface, so I want Milliea and Airi to help me fix it. Once he can move again, I want Airi, Celsia, Annette, Junpei and Rapier to take the air tarpon back to the transit gate and get back to Raltaow. Gabriella, Milliea and I will wrap things up here and then go through ourselves, if they think they can manage that. If not, Airi will bring the air fish back once the others are through and pick them up. Mike and I will rear-guard and come through last,” she said.

“You are more seriously injured, Ritsuko,” Airi said.

“I am also the only one who can do this,” countered the younger woman. “I might also see if the JSDF are on the level,” she added softly. “We need that ammo and resup now more than ever,” she reminded Airi as they began to get the parts and tools they needed to fix Mike from where they were stowed on the tank.

“It is risky, Ritsuko,” Airi noted.

“It is necessary, Airi. Besides, you need to handle the politics of the final surrender of the last hold-out; they should have collapsed by now,” she grinned a sharp grin. “And, you know, I won't leave Mike,” she added as they began to lay out the equipment to replace the broken belt section. “I also need to deliver our prisoner to Delilah,” she added, indicating the bleeding, heavily-bound form of Tyuule.

“That is no longer necessary, you know,” pointed out the actress.

“A deal is a deal,” was all Ritsuko said, her bandage beginning to turn red as she worked.

“Stop making your wound worse, and let us do this,” Airi ordered the red-head, getting a nod from Milliea. “Tell us what to do and we will do it.”

An hour later, Mike rumbled back out of the ruined temple, carrying the raiding party. Ten minutes after that, and the air tarpon was away, bound for the tank gate. Ritsuko used the last two shells in the main cannon magazine to completely collapse the temple, sealing it before she checked her compass and ordered him to head south south east. Powering up the radio, she keyed the mike.

“Nodachi six to JSDF, any one read?” She waited almost a minute before the call came back.

“Nodachi six, Alnus Station reads you, signal weak, over,” the voice said.

“Alnus Station, roger that, Nodachi six actual. Traffic for Highseat actual, over,” she radioed.

“Nodachi six actual, Highseat actual unavailable at this time. Break. Highseat three available. What is your preference, over?”

Ritsuko considered that for a moment. “Nodachi six, Highseat Three can take traffic, over.”

“Nodachi six, hold for Highseat Three, over,” was her answer. Ritsuko waited, Milliea taking the opportunity to change the bandage on the elf hunter's side. Ritsuko saw that only two dressings remained in the medical kit.

“Nodachi six, Highseat Three, send traffic, over,” a man's voice came over the radio.

“Highseat three, request rendezvous with Recon Three at first contact location. Break. Request Recon Three bring medic. Break. Further negotiations necessary, over,” she said, crossing her fingers.

“Nodachi six, roger traffic. Will contact you when ready, over,” the man said several seconds later.

“Highseat Three, rendezvous time locked. Will be on station in sixteen hours, repeat: sixteen hours to station. Break. If meeting missed, we are gone. Over,” she warned him.

“Roger that, Nodachi six, be advised, however, that Recon Three may be unavailable due to ongoing operations, over,” replied the JSDF staff officer. Ritsuko frowned, weighting her options.

“Will re-establish contact in eight hours, Highseat six. Request medic at very least. Nodachi six over and out,” she said, turning off the radio before he could even reply. “What will be, will be,” she said softly to herself. Sixteen hours later, just past dawn, Ritsuko saw a military jeep waiting near where they had first run into Recon Three, a familiar medic leaning casually against the side of the jeep, her rifle resting on its sling. Mike rumbled up, stopping.

“Ritsuko, you asked for a medic?” Mari said, straightening. Manning the machinegun on the jeep was a male soldier, though his shoulder patch was the same unit insignia as the medic's, so he was part of her unit. Two more men were pulling security. Ritsuko climbed out of Mike, Mari immediately spotting the bandage on her side and the marks of her battle.

The medic dashed forward and helped her off the tank. “Quickly, let's get you lying down in the jeep,” she ordered, all business. Ritsuko did as she said. Before she knew it, Mari had cut off what clothing she wore and was working on her wound while Milliea and Gabriella watched silently. “Are your companions hurt?” asked the medic as she finished basic treatment.

“Nothing serious,” Ritsuko said.

“You need to come to the base hospital, Ritsuko. This is worse than you think,” Mari said.

“I'm not that stupid,” began Ritsuko.

“You are if you don't believe you need more treatment than I can give you here,” returned the medic, her tone hard and unbending. “And you wanted to talk to me about that other issue, too, didn't you? Well, the gear and data are all back at the hospital. Left untreated in this environment, this wound could kill you, Ritsuko.”

“Rit-chan,” urged Milliea.

“Give us those two as hostages,” suggested Gabriella. “Anything happens to Ritsuko, and we start carving pieces off them,” she smiled lazily. The two men she had been staring at gulped.

“No, Gabs,” Ritsuko said. “If I don't check in on schedule, you do what I said to do. Airi will take over for me,” she countermanded the hostage demand.

“If anything happens to you, we will avenge you. Believe it, Ritsuko,” Gabriella replied. “You are the Rebellion, and I don't want to waste the last two years of effort.”

“It won't be,” Ritsuko said. “The job is all but done, the Captains know their orders, and Boss is a specter that will serve anyone who can pull it off - such as Airi. Follow the plan if things go sideways,” she repeated.

“Rit-chan,” began Milliea. Ritsuko shook her head.

“Airi will need you, Milliea. Now go on, and I will be in touch,” she said. Hopefully, she left unsaid. “Let's go visit your Alnus base,” she said to Kurokawa as Mike rumbled off. “But on the way, you might want to pick up a friend of yours. She is heading back toward Alnus with a gift for her friends,” chuckled Ritsuko, before wincing at the pain chuckling caused. “She should be about ten miles back and twenty miles south of here. Her name is Delilah, and she wants to get back home.”

“Load up,” ordered the medic, keying her radio.

“Medic One to Overwatch, pickup at grid ref three three Victor, cross grid five one Savoy in twenty mikes, break. Home Plate, requesting direct landing at hospital for medical emergency, over.”

“Home Plate to Medic One, roger, cleared direct to hospital, over,” was the reply as the men loaded up and the jeep hurried off. Ritsuko closed her eyes to rest while she could. Feeling a blanket being draped over her, her eyes snapped open. Mari gave her a professional smile.

“You are a bit under-dressed,” she murmured. Ritsuko realized she was nude but only shrugged, closing her eyes again. When she felt someone touch her pistol, she snarled, locking eyes with the man who had been trying to take her gun.

“Touch it and I open fire,” she spat back, glaring at him like she wanted to splatter him all over the interior of the truck. Mari caught his eye, shaking her head. He raised his hands, leaning back away from her. A moment later, Ritsuko closed her eyes, and before she knew it, she was dozing. The next time she opened her eyes, she saw the Warrior Bunny Delilah looking down at her, a small smile and nod being exchanged between them and then she was asleep again.

The sound of a CH47 woke her up as the Jeep drove right into the cargo chopper, which then took off. Ritsuko slept again. When she woke up once more, she was in a hospital bed, her side bandaged and no longer seeping blood. Her pistol was gone. Adrenaline spiked through her system, and she was about to vault out of bed and fight her way out when the door opened and the medic entered, giving her a smile.

“Ah, you're awake again,” she said, offering her the gun belt, holster and pistol she had been wearing when she decided to risk coming here. Almost snatching the gun, she dropped the mag, expecting it to be empty, but finding it was loaded and there was one in the chamber, just like she had last seen it. Ritsuko lay back in the bed. “The cut to your side nicked a few things in there, and your ribs are broken. We got it all repaired, and I went ahead and had the exam done for that other issue,” the medic began.

“Then let's get to business. I want the supplies,” Ritsuko said directly.

“General Hazama wants to interview you personally, Ritsuko,” the medic said. “I will be there, as will Itami. Understand he isn't opposed to giving you the supplies, but he needs to talk to you,” stressed the medic.

“There isn't anything to say, Mari,” Ritsuko said, frowning.

“Perhaps, but it will take you a couple weeks to be fit to travel again, and why not be sociable while you heal? There are things I am sure you will find interesting here in Alnus. You could even go through the gate to Japan if you are feeling homesick,” she said.

“That isn't my Japan, and you know it,” Ritsuko said quietly. “Do you have a computer and the internet?” she asked.

“I can arrange for a tablet with internet access,” Mari said.

“That will do fine,” Ritsuko said before her stomach growled. The nurse giggled.

“How about I go find you some food while a friend keeps you company?” she suggested, opening the door. Ritsuko watched suspiciously as an old man in a wide-brimmed hat entered the room before Mari left. Ritsuko's eyes spotted the boots and sleeve of a guard by her door.

“I am Kato, master magician of the Empire, and I am told you have some questions,” he said, eyes absently flickering to her hospital-gowned chest. Ritsuko's didn't react beyond ratcheting up her glare, which - when he noticed it - made him cough and move back from her.

“Ok, pervert,” growled Ritsuko, her hand tightening on the grip of her pistol, which she had tucked under her sheet, “let's start with the political and military history of this continent. And get me a map of this place, if you have one.”

*

“Celsia is at the temple, resting and recovering,” Annette reported, sounding tired. Gabriella had cast moonlight mirror once more, connecting them to the temple. “The gate here is up and keyed, as well. We can move between here and Raltaow at will now. As requested,” Annette paused, grimacing at the word, “it can be locked from the Raltaow side and is keyed the group. Honestly, though, I think you are being paranoid,” she tossed in her opinion.

“Thanks for sharing, but I doubt we are,” Airi dismissed the thought. “And how is Rapier?” she asked.

“She is healed, but needs to give it a few more days to let her leg finish recovering. I think she is planning to go through the gate, so keep your eyes open,” Annette replied. “Junpei?”

“He is keeping himself entertained,” was all Airi said.

“Doubtlessly,” Annette sighed. “Idiots are easily amused, after all. Any word on Ritsuko?” she finally got around to asking about what she really wanted to talk about.

“Milliea is with Mike on the Lost Continent, serving as the monitor. Ritsuko has called in twice in the last week. Same thing every time: `I'm ok, hold position'. I am thinking of going through and checking on her myself, but some people don't like that idea,” she shared.

“We can't lose you both,” came Rapier's voice, the elf appearing in the view of the moonlight mirror a moment later.

“I'm coming there tomorrow and will relieve Milliea,” she said simply.

“How about we deal with the situation with the kingdoms first?” suggested Airi. “Ritsuko is a big girl, she can handle herself,” she added, though it sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as she was wanting to convince them. “Where do we stand?”

“Of the last five kingdoms, two are seeking negotiated surrender, one is in complete civil war, and two have formed a military alliance, though their people are on the brink of staving, their trade is non-existent, and they don't have enough indigenous resources to support themselves, so the end of them is not only assured, it is inevitable. Ritsuko scares me sometimes,” muttered the priestess.

“Indeed,” agreed Airi. “What is the Rebellion doing?” she asked.

“What she told them to, apparently. There is a lot of friction between them and the kingdoms that have been captured over the new laws and new systems, but once more, Boss anticipated that, and the friction is basically just malcontentism because the former kings and nobles can't argue with the success of the pattern the Rebellion has been running. The commoners are either neutral toward the changes or actively supporting them by and large. I think they are mostly just glad to have safety and food again. Oh, there is one problem, though - all those sons of noble families and rich courtiers she rounded up during the border war period are being sought by their families. Something needs to be done about that.”

“Boss had them imprisoned as bargaining chips if necessary, so maybe it is time to spend them,” mused Airi. “Do her captains have a list?” she asked.

“Do they ever,” Annette replied, her tone unsettled. “I would rather not ever be an enemy of Boss, if it is all the same,” she almost complained.

“Then don't stab her in the back or betray her,” Airi dismissed the topic. “The two kingdoms that want to negotiate surrender will have to surrender unconditionally. No more nice Boss, and no more negotiations. The one in civil war will have to be occupied and brought back to order,” Airi thought aloud. “Have you heard anything from or about Boss's last few insurgents?” she asked.

“About that,” Annette said, sounding uncomfortable. “There was an incident. It might have been an accident, or it might have been an assassination, but the two older ones died in a house fire, and the lone one in the holdouts was killed in a fight with the royal guard - in the King's own palace. I don't know who all of them are, but I only know of two who are still active,” she said.

“The youngest of the special team? I will recall them here,” Airi said, making mental notes. “There is no point in them dying at this stage,” she added. Besides, if the war is over, maybe Rit-chan will give the young man another chance; or perhaps he will find another use, she thought to herself. “How long until Celsia is recovered enough to bring in on this?” she asked, changing topics.

“A couple months, minimum. She is likely to be unconscious for at least a month, and it could be a decade before she is back to her full strength. If we had been only a few days later…” Annette shook her head.

“But we weren't,” Airi reminded them. She glanced to the side, nodding. “If you will excuse me, I need to speak with my Queen about a certain friend,” she smiled, Gabriella ending the spell.

“In her own way, Airi is as bad as Ritsuko,” Rapier noted idly.

“At least we are on the same side,” sighed Annette, hearing the bishops approaching. “Time for this elf to earn her cookies,” she muttered. Rapier simply turned on her heel and lightly leapt out the window of the study, landing on a small ledge before acrobatically working her way to the grass in the inner sanctum of the Temple of Celsia. “You are supposed to be taking it easy!” Annette yelled after the other elf.

*

Ritsuko was sitting on a bench outside the hospital, dressed in a tee-shirt and shorts, staring at the sky. “Mind if I sit here?” asked a voice, Ritsuko turning to see a girl younger than her standing not far away, a smile on her lips.

“It's a free country,” she replied, her mind elsewhere.

“Thank you,” the young woman said, sitting down. “I haven't seen you around here before. Are you the visitor everyone keeps talking about?” she asked.

“I'm Ritsuko,” was all the red-head said. The other woman produced a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, offering one to the red-head. “I don't smoke,” replied the older woman, glancing at the dark-haired one. “And you look a little young to smoke, too,” she noted. “Sixteen? Seventeen?” guessed the red-head.

“I picked up the habit,” was all the other woman said, lighting a cigarette. “My name is Noriko, by the way,” she introduced herself.

“You aren't JSDF, you are too young to be a diplomat or worker, and you aren't native, so what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in Japan?” Ritsuko asked, her tone casual yet firm.

“There isn't anything for me there anymore,” the young woman said. “I was kidnapped while shopping with some friends. Before I knew it, I was a slave here in the Special Zone. They…treated me and my friends pretty badly. Hiroko died, and I think Nozumi did, too. I was being kept by the crown prince when Lieutenant Itami's squad rescued me. I was glad to be free, but I found out my family had been killed in the invasion, and…well, anyway, there isn't anything there for me now, so I help out around here, acting as a translator for the press and doing odd jobs. How about you?”

“An elf mis-cast a spell and I got hijacked to this world. Things happened. Now I am here,” was all Ritsuko would say.

“Well, at least you can go home now,” smiled Noriko.

Ritsuko just snorted, mind busy. Noriko took a puff from her cigarette, silence surrounding the two. “What do you do in this world?” Noriko asked at last.

“Things,” was all she got for the trouble. Noriko finished the cigarette, stubbing it out on the small smoker box beside the bench. “It has been so long since I saw my friends, I barely remember their faces,” she murmured, mostly to herself.

“Really? It hasn't been that long, has it? I mean, the Queen said that the gate only started up about a year ago, so how long have you been here?” wondered Noriko.

“I have been here nearly a decade,” admitted Ritsuko. Noriko blinked.

“Do…you know about the time difference?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yeah,” was the reply.

“Ten years here. You must have found a good place to live and work,” Noriko said, sounding wistful. “You know they have slavery here? You are lucky you didn't get turned into a slave.” Her tone had a certain air of superiority, the younger girl obviously feeling quite superior to her. “I was a slave to the crown prince; before his half-sister became Queen.”

“They tried that; it didn't take,” came the sardonic reply from Ritsuko, making Noriko blink and look at the red-head beside her, only to physically flinch back from the look on Ritsuko's face. “I spent six years as a slave on a plantation in the Southern Kingdoms, being beaten, raped, nearly starved and abused. Six years. But I didn't waste them. No, I built my power base and then I fucking annihilated them! Don't act like you know more than I do, kid - you won't like the results,” Ritsuko grunted. “And this crown prince,” she turned a smile on the girl that made Noriko shiver. “He wouldn't be an arrogant ass-licker named Zorzal, would he? He have a pet bunny girl named Tyuule?”

“How did you know….?” Blinked Noriko.

“Lucky guess,” purred Ritsuko, standing. “Good news: Tyuule got her treacherous ass killed by the other Warrior Bunny survivors. They invited me to the party, and I think I feel like going now,” laughed Ritsuko, her laugh dark and evil. “Later, Noriko,” she said, turning and walking away. “Don't worry, Zorzal will regret his leisure activities more than he can imagine,” she said over her shoulder.

Ritsuko had not been gone more than ten seconds when a frantic-looking security officer ran around the other corner from the one she had gone around. “Noriko! Have you seen a red-headed woman wearing a tee shirt and shorts around here?” he nearly begged.

“You mean Ritsuko? She went that way, but I don't think you should…!” began Noriko, but the guard was already running off in the direction she had pointed. “Wonder what that was about?” Noriko asked herself, rubbing her upper arms as she tried to shake the chill that had descended on her when she saw the look on Ritsuko's face.

“Noriko,” came the voice of Kurokawa, the medic appearing a moment later. One look at the former slave, and she sighed. “You met her,” the older woman said. Noriko nodded. “And you told her about who had owned you, didn't you?” she sounded resigned.

“No one said not to, and you suggested I talk to her. What was up with the guard chasing after her?” wondered Noriko.

“She is…in protective custody, of a sort,” Kurokawa replied. “Let's just say she can be…moody,” the medic selected her prose.

“She escaped her room?” Noriko frowned. Why didn't I think of that? And how did she do it? wondered the younger woman.

“Technically, she isn't confined, but the idea is similar,” Kurokawa absently remarked. “Did she say anything about where she was going?” wondered the medic.

“She said Tyuule had been killed and she was invited to a Warrior Bunny party,” Noriko shared. Kurokawa flinched. “What's wrong?” wondered the shorter woman.

“Nothing, Noriko,” the medic insisted. “Please do not say anything to anyone about this. It is important, I promise,” assured the taller woman before hurrying off, a radio in her hand.

*

“So, that is the report on her. Your thoughts, gentlemen?” Hazama asked his staff. Itami was sitting in on the meeting - against his will.

“She is very guarded about what she says,” his intelligence officer said, flipping pages. “In fact, she is downright uncooperative when we try to talk with her about where she came from, who she is with, the political or military situation there or even which direction the land lies in. And she flatly stops cooperating in any measure when we ask how she got here from there. I recommend taking her into custody; for our sake as well as her sake,” the man said.

“Bad idea, sir,” Itami spoke up immediately. “She expects it, and we don't know where her friends are or even what they are capable of. What if they have a dozen Ancient Fire Dragons or the equivalent in whatever monsters there are in her land? Besides, she isn't a threat to us or Japan,” he explained.

“At the least, we should seize her tank or destroy it. That is a dangerous piece of equipment for a civilian to use,” the officer in charge of base security suggested.

“Um, that tank is her pet. Apparently it is possessed or something,” Itami interjected again.

“General Hazama, I must warn you that her mental condition is far from stable in the normal sense,” the head of the medical corps spoke up. A full-bird colonel, the man was a thorough professional, and had carefully picked the staff at the hospital in Alnus Base. “She isn't crazy as such, but she does exhibit some of the symptoms of PTSD. Physically, well…let's say this place has left more marks on her than Noriko-chan has,” he muttered.

“How is her health?” Hazama asked directly. “Sergeant Kurokawa refuses to say anything, citing privacy laws. Is she sick?”

“She shows the sign of having suffered several infections and likely has what must be a local fever not entirely unlike malaria, though it manifests differently. Additionally, she has indications of at least one miscarriage and scarring from sexual assault. As for the other issue…I cannot say more but will say she is on an antibiotic cycle and is being treated for other conditions. I have been told she has gone to see the base dentist, has visited the eye doctor here and seems to enjoy spending time in Alnus Village, though how she keeps getting outside the wire is a mystery we haven't been able to solve.”

“Oh, I've had some of the team take her there,” Itami said casually. “She opens up a bit more to Lelei, Tuka, Yao and the others than to anyone here; well, maybe except for Kurokawa. It is good for her and good for us,” he said, unconcerned about being the low-ranking man in the room.

“You had no orders allowing that,” sighed Hazama. Itami frowned.

“Well, sir, I had no orders not to, and you did say to make contact with the locals and establish friendly relations if possible,” he countered. Hazama grunted, shaking his head. “Was that a mistake?” he asked bluntly.

“Never mind,” Hazama dismissed the topic. “What have your friends learned from her, then, Itami?” he asked. Itami frowned.

“A lot, apparently, but they won't tell me much - they say it is girl-talk,” he snorted. “Anyway, she was a slave - that much we know - and she seems to have been influential in running a rebellion that seems to be succeeding very well. She is smart, skilled and careful. Her friends are similar, excepting someone she calls Junpei and has nothing but contempt for, though Yao said she would probably die protecting him in a fight because he is a comrade. Kuribayashi said she is quick to fight and a better shot than anyone on my team. I think we are best off giving her what she asked for and getting her out of here,” he said, nodding to himself.

“Why is that?” asked the head of the base security company.

“Because she is like a grenade with the pin pulled,” Itami said softly. “And we don't have a pin to put back in her; that is the role that her friends fill. Like most grenades, once the pin is out, it is better to throw it far away before it kills you.”

The room buzzed with talk for a moment before Itami spoke up. “I volunteer Recon Three to deliver the supplies and see her off, sir,” he said, saluting the group.

That got everyone's attention. When a slacker like Itami volunteered, there was something up. “You are not known for volunteering, Itami,” Hazama said, watching him. “Why the sudden work ethic?” the older man smiled mirthlessly.

“I am a proud member of the JSDF, sir, and everyone loves us,” Itami said, giving them an idiot grin. “Besides, my team has been the most successful, has it not? Kurokawa is familiar with her, and a medic, so we might be able to convince her friends to get checked out, increasing our knowledge of the group. And if the grenade does go off, well, my team has the most fighting capacity of any team, sir,” he finished.

A knock came on the door, and the general told them to enter. Kurokawa stuck her head in. “General, sir,” she said, saluting before hurrying over to Itami and whispering in his ear. Itami blinked, his eyes narrowing a little.

“General, something requiring my attention has come up, and I need to see to it personally. May I be dismissed? I have offered all can to this discussion, and am a simple unit commander, so I have little else to offer,” he said, saluting parade-ground perfect. Hazama considered him for a long moment before returning his salute.

“Dismissed, Lieutenant,” he said, the two Recon Three members hurrying out of the room. The air wing boss chuckled.

“Five thousand yen it is a comic convention or it involves Rory the Reaper,” he offered at large.

“That's a sucker bet,” laughed the head of the air mobile arm. Hazama let it go on for a moment before clearing his throat.

“Returning to the matter at hand, I want your thoughts on the trade she has offered - the supplies for one somewhat-the-worse-for-wear Crown Prince Zorzal,” the general said, flipping a page on his own clipboard.

“That is a can of worms we really don't need,” his aide spoke up. “Pina is Queen now, and a peace treaty is in place, but Zorzal being captured endangers that cohesion in the Empire government. Pina is still new to the throne, and her seat is not entirely secure. Perhaps we should consult with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?” he suggested.

“No,” Hazama said. “For now, this is a strictly military matter. Let's keep it that way for now. Have we heard back from the investigation team in Japan?” he asked.

“Yes. There is no record of anyone matching her in the nation. Nothing she gave us trace back to anyone even remotely similar to her. Also, the few events she mentioned from her world haven't happened here; or at least, not the way that she described them,” another aide spoke up.

“Another Japan, in another time stream,” Hazama sighed. “I would be shocked, but ever since the Ginza Incident, that is becoming a rare thing,” he admitted ruefully. “We are going from fantasy to science fiction,” he said, slapping the desk. “Tell her once she talks to me personally, we will give her the supplies. As for Zorzal, well, I want to discuss that with her; might send a diplomatic message to Pina, ask for her thoughts, seeing as he is her half-brother.”

“General, are you sure…?” began his senior aide, only to be interrupted by the phone ringing. Hazama answered it.

“Sir, I apologize, but I have lost Ritsuko, sir. She is just…gone!” came the frustrated voice of the guard who had been assigned to keep tabs on her. “I have been chasing her since early afternoon, and now no one has seen her. Orders?” he nearly begged.

“Stand by at your station,” the general said, ending the call and dialing another number. “Communications, get me a line to Recon Three, and make it fast,” he said. A few moments later, Communications came back, saying that Recon Three wasn't answering comms. The general was not surprised. “Call Alnus Town, have the native MP staff there be on the lookout for Itami, his team or Ritsuko. Send them a picture of her so they know what she looks like. Call me if they find anything,” he ordered before ending the call.

“Why would they go to Alnus Town?” wondered the head of base security.

“No idea, but it is the only place we can check quickly. Itami has proven to be highly capable in unexpected ways. For now, let's leave this with him. I want to start compiling the supplies she asked for. Some of it will have to come through the gate from Japan, so let's get started. At the worst case, we will just fold it into our own supply chain,” he said, standing.

*

Airi stepped through the gate, finding Milliea to be sitting on Mike's hull, idly watching the clouds of late afternoon. “Airi? Hi!” chirped the red-headed elf, hopping off the tank and grabbing Airi in a hug. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I'm getting our Ritsuko back,” Airi said, smiling a little as she stroked the elf's short hair. A moment later, the air tarpon came through the gate, along with Rapier. “Rapier will be taking your spot monitoring the radios while you and I go pick up Rit-chan,” Airi smiled. Turning to Rapier, she got a nod from the kick-boxer. “Remember, Rit-chan only speaks elvish when she calls in, so no Common Tongue,” she reminded the kick-boxer. Rapier nodded. “If things go sideways, take Mike back through the gate and lock it. We will get out through the small gate.”

“That's the part I don't like,” Rapier said. “It risks you and Ritsuko both, which would leave Liseria without your guidance, the Rebellion without a leash on it, and us stuck with Junpei.”

“If things turn bad, we will fall back and regroup. Should the worst happen, you have my personal permission to deal with Junpei as you see fit. I have given my Queen all the help I can, and have left written instructions for her that will - hopefully - position her and Raltaow as the center of the new, unified government within four years. Rit-chan chose her bosses carefully, and if necessary, Gabriella can impersonate Boss, so there is that option. I will not abandon Ritsuko; she would never abandon me,” Airi smiled a little.

“Will you at least brief me on the basic plan now that we are on this side of the gate?” asked Rapier.

“Of course,” smiled Airi. “Milliea and I will take the air fish and find this `Alnus Base' or `Alnus Town'. Once we do, I will slip in unseen - my specialty, it would seem - and search for Ritsuko. Milliea will watch my back and guard the air fish. If we need to get out of there in a hurry, we will head straight for the small gate at top speed. Simple enough, right?” she smiled.

“Do you even know where to start looking?” Rapier asked, sounding unconvinced.

“Southwest is a good bet, and I come prepared,” she said, showing the elves a compass. “Ritsuko had a few guesses of where the base might be, from the direction of the aircraft and the movements of the ground forces. We also have a crude map of the area, so we can work it out from there. If there is a Japanese base, they will have electric lights, so if we go up high enough at dark, we should see them glowing from hundreds of miles away.”

“If you say so,” Rapier sighed. Airi nodded, but said nothing as she settled the large canteens of water and the bag of jerky on the saddle of the air tarpon. Her small pack was added minutes later. After running Rapier through the workings of the radios in Mike, she and Milliea swung aboard the air tarpon and the air fish rose into the late-afternoon sun, heading south west. Rapier checked the perimeter and camp condition, finding the crude lean-to shelter Mike occupied to have a modest supply of firewood for the small fire that was carefully situated between Mike and the stone walls under the lean-to. A little rummaging located the food stuffs and Rapier began to make herself a meal.

*

“So, where are we?” asked Ritsuko, looking around. She and Delilah had met up with another warrior bunny named Mamina, who was apparently some sort of maid to a local nobility clan. After a short visit with some native species working in the PX of Alnus Town, the two Warrior Bunnies had slipped away, Ritsuko following them. For nearly three hours, they had jogged through the woods, along half-overgrown tracks and forgotten trails until they reached an old, long-abandoned farm plot, deep in the woods.

“A suitable place for the ceremony,” Delilah said, Mamina nodding. Mamina swiftly made a fire, while Delilah set several things out of the bag she had carried.

“Were you able to get it, Delilah?” asked Mamina once the fire was going good.

“Yes, I finally got it,” answered Delilah, finishing up laying out the stuff. “Did you bring yours?” she asked.

“Of course! I am a Warrior Bunny,” replied Mamina immediately. The two Warrior Bunnies turned to Ritsuko.

“Ritsuko of another land, we invite you to celebrate our vengeance against a traitor. To accept is to become blood-sisters of us, and an honorary Warrior Bunny, with all the rights and responsibilities of that. Do you accept?” Delilah asked. Ritsuko measured the two with her eyes for a long moment.

“Yes,” she said, stepping forward a bit. The two smiled in relief.

“Thank goodness,” Mamina said. “We would have had to kill you if you said no,” she shared. Ritsuko smiled thinly, her hand absently touching her pistol.

“You would have tried,” she said simply.

The two exchanged smiles. “A born warrior,” murmured Delilah.

“Yes, and a worthy blood-sister, even if her ears are lacking,” Mamina giggled softly, the two swiftly stripping naked before donning some skimpy armor. “Yours is over there, Ritsuko,” Mamina said, pointing to a set of similar armor, though it was more ornate. Mentally shrugging, Ritsuko stripped off her clothes - what there were of it - and figured out how to get into the armor. It smelled clean and well-maintained, and the fur trim was nice, though the hole where the tail was supposed to go felt a little weird. To her surprise, the chest and cups of the armor were a good fit for her. Finding the leather and steel plate armor to be like a low-hipped strapless one-piece swimsuit, she tightened the lacing a bit to snug it up. The bottom was a `Y' shaped piece of leather and cotton that was fastened to the back of the body just below the hole for the tail, with the front being buckled to the front at each side, the cut of the piece leaving the entire crease of her thighs visible when fastened. Once she got used to it, it was pretty comfortable on her, and the armor plates were placed right to protect her vital organs while allowing her to move quick.

Looking back at the two Warrior Bunnies, she saw they were marking each other up with some sort of war paint. No sooner had they finished, than they marked her up. Ritsuko let them. With that done, Mamina had pulled out a small obsidian blade from somewhere in her minimal armor, holding it up for the three to see before swiftly nicking her arm, Delilah taking the blade and doing the same before handing it to Ritsuko. The former slave and leader of the Rebellion didn't hesitate, nicking herself the same way.

“For Tribe, Glory, Vengeance and Ruin; for the Pure-Bred,” the two said, Ritsuko echoing them once she figured out it was a ritual saying. The two demi-humans showed her how to do an arm clasp that mingled their blood.

“Sister Ritsuko, we welcome you to our tribe,” Delilah said before pulling Ritsuko to her and kissing her deeply. Practically before Delilah let her go, Mamina was doing the same. She was left gasping, her groin feeling warm and her nipples hard under the armor as the two kissed each other. What kind of celebration is this?

When the two broke the kiss, they turned to smile at her. “Now for the food!” exclaimed Delilah, uncovering a hunk of meat and swiftly setting it on a spit to grill. Mamina was working on something in a bowl, which was soon revealed to be some sort of baste or seasoning. While she gave the meat its first coat, Delilah was uncovering something, a sharp stick in her hand. Moving to the far side of the fire, she stuck the stick in the ground and positioned whatever was in her other hand on the stick. It took a moment, but when she stepped back, Ritsuko saw what it was. Tyuule's head stared at the group vacantly. Ritsuko noticed that the dead Warrior Bunny Queen had her left ear cut off, and her right ear sliced length-wise down its length.

“The traitor is dead! Vengeance for those betrayed has been fulfilled!” proclaimed Delilah. Mamina cheered, a canteen in one hand. She took a big swallow, then passed it to Delilah, who also took a deep drink and then immediately passed it to Ritsuko.

“I hope this isn't mead or ale,” sighed Ritsuko.

“It is a honey-based drink,” Delilah said, Ritsuko taking a pull and finding it to be pleasant enough. The three shared a laugh as the meat cooked, Mamina and Delilah beginning to dance around the fire, Ritsuko being drawn in. Before she knew it, she was being offered the cooked meat. Mentally shrugging, she carefully took a bite, wondering what kind of meat it was. It reminded her a little of pork, and a little of either rabbit or squirrel, she wasn't sure which. The seasoning was a bit sharp and hot, but she liked it. The three of them passed the drink and meat back and forth until it was all gone.

“By tribe vote, we name Sister Ritsuko our Tribe Leader,” declared Delilah, placing a half-helmet, half-circlet on Ritsuko's head. “My life, my sword, my body to your service,” she added before once more kissing the human hungrily. Mamina followed suit immediately after Delilah released her.

“I thought you had a boyfriend, Delilah,” Ritsuko said, feeling warm and comfortable with the two. “And I don't know a thing about being a Warrior Bunny,” she giggled.

“Men are for breeding and entertainment, nothing else,” Delilah informed her.

“And we will teach you what you need to know; though you already possess the heart of a Warrior Bunny,” Mamina said. The two began to tell her of their tribal culture and stories of their deeds, the fire dying as they gradually ended up cuddled up together, Ritsuko sleeping comfortably in the embrace of the two demi-human women, their armor discarded, though Ritsuko habitually kept her gun in hand. The head of Tyuule watched as a new Queen of the Warrior Bunnies was crowned and coroneted.

*

“Excuse me, I am new to town and need some help finding my way to an inn,” the traveler said, leaning casually on the counter of the PX.

“Of course!” chirped the cat-girl behind the counter, turning toward the traveler. “Do you have the coin for a high-class inn or will you be looking at inexpensive ones?” she asked professionally.

“About that,” the traveler said, holding out some coins in her palm. “I don't seem to have any local currency. Is there a way to exchange these for local currency?”

The cat-girl studied the coins for a moment. “If you don't mind direct exchange, we can do that. One moment please,” she said, fiddling under the counter for a moment before producing a simple scale, a gold coin and a pair of notched plyers. Taking each coin from the traveler's hand, she used the plyers to first make a mark on the gold coin she had before doing the same on the coins from the traveler. “Your coins seem to be slightly higher gold concentration than Empire Suwanee,” she said, adjusting the scale before piling up the coins on one side. On the other, she began to slowly add local gold coins to the scale. Once the scale was balanced as close as possible, she did a swift count of both sides, added a couple silver coins and a few copper coins.

“This is the exchange,” she said, indicating the pile of local coins. “I can have another worker verify the results, if you like,” she offered.

“You seem perfectly trustworthy,” the travelers said, sweeping the local coins into her hand, the cat-girl doing the same for her coins, depositing the foreign coins in the lock box and replacing the scale, reference coin and press-plyers. “Tell me, what is all this stuff?” asked the traveler, indicating the shelves of Japanese-made goods.

“They are trade goods from Ja'pan,” the workers said eagerly. “Each and every one is a marvel of technology and workmanship!” gushed the demi-human. “I would be happy to demonstrate some of them to you!”

Her sales pitch was interrupted by two MPs entering the shop. “Welcome!” chirped the non-human staffer to the two in Japanese. It was accented and a bit strange, but it was Japanese and no worse than some the traveler had heard.

“Meia-chan,” smiled the Japanese MP. Beside him was a native MP, a girl who looked half-bird. The traveler drifted down an aisle unobtrusively, seemingly studying the goods. “Have you seen the red-headed woman in here recently? Or any member of Recon Three?” asked the human.

Meia frowned, touching her chin with a fingertip. “It has been at least the day before yesterday,” she replied. “I remember Noriko was in here buying her smoke sticks and a new lighter, and the red-head entered with Delilah. They were talking softly about something I didn't understand, and Noriko spoke with the red-head for a bit. It seemed to irritate the red-head a little, but Delilah said something and the red-head didn't look as annoyed. They left a little later without buying anything,” Meia finished her report. “Is there a problem?” wondered the cat-girl.

“No, not really,” the man said, making the traveler roll her eyes at the obviously insincere answer.

“Have any strangers come in here recently?” asked the bird-girl.

“What a strange question, Myuute! This town is filled with new faces!” laughed Meia.

“I don't mean a person you don't recognize, I mean a person who doesn't seem to be from the Empire,” the bird-girl clarified.

“Oh! Well one came in just before you got here,” the cat-girl said, turning to point at the traveler. “She's over there,” said the cat-girl. To her surprise, the human MP reached for his pistol as Myuute brought her clawed hands together, spirit energy swirling around them.

“Excuse me, we would like a word with you, stranger,” the man said. The traveler turned to face the two, slowly reaching up and pushing back her cloak hood. The human's eyes opened wider, his hand going slack on his service pistol grip as color began to rise on his cheeks. The bird-girl's spirit energy dissipated.

“This is not the welcome I would expect from a fellow Japanese,” Airi said coolly, her expression regally disdainful. “But, as you have decided on this approach, I will play along,” she nearly sneered while maintaining a neutrally-pleasant smile. “You will take me to see General Hazama immediately. I am a member of Nodachi 6, and I have come to retrieve my teammate and friend whom you have been holding prisoner,” she said, her tone ominous as she finished. The man gulped.

“O-of course,” he managed. “But you will need to be searched for weapons…” he said, gaining some measure of control.

“I see my friend made an impression on you,” Airi replied dryly. “But fear not; I am not a fighter,” she said, smoothly shedding her cloak before turning in a circle playfully. Finishing her turn, she saw the male was showing the signs of an erection. Men - so simple, she thought smugly. “I am unarmed,” she reinforced the point. “Now, take me to see General Hazama.”

Twenty minutes later, she was sitting in front of General Hazama's desk, her legs crossed as she sipped some tea daintily. Setting the cup back on the coaster on the edge of his desk, she crossed her legs the other way as she leaned back. She had worn a rather revealing travel dress for her infiltration, suspecting it might be handy. The general showed much greater reserve than the young officers she had left blushing and with tented pants on her way to his office, but she could tell she had him under her spell, too. “Let's get to business, shall we?” Airi said, her bearing regal, composed and supremely confident. “I am here to retrieve my teammate and friend, Ritsuko. Bring her here,” she commanded.

“Ah, well, there is a small issue with that,” General Hazama said.

“Do tell.” Airi's tone was firm and lukewarm at best.

“Your friend slipped off base yesterday and hasn't been seen since,” he answered.

“You allowed my friend to come to harm, Hazama?” the accusation was veiled, but distinct. “After she came here injured, you detained her and then allowed her to come to harm? I cannot believe you would do such a thing, as a proud member of the JSDF.”

“There is no indication she has come to any harm,” Hazama replied evenly. “And what is your name, if I might ask? I suspect you may the woman my medic described to me as `Airi'. Is that you?” he asked directly.

“Komiyama Airi, at your service,” she confirmed, the smile on her lips professionally charming. “I am also Chancellor of a Kingdom and a member of Nodachi 6. Now, let's get down to brass tacks, shall we? I want my friend back, and you misplaced her. That is unacceptable in all aspects. How are you going to make this right, Hazama?”

“We have search teams out looking for her, but I think she will turn up back here on her own,” he began. “In the meantime, how about you relax and enjoy modern conveniences? I can arrange for you to go through the Gate to Japan, if you want.”

“While I admit I wouldn't mind some pampering at a five-star hotel, your Japan is not my Japan and I have no use for yet another world that is not my own,” she shot that down easily before sipping some tea.

“How about you take this opportunity to have our doctors examine you, maybe visit the dentist and optometrist? Ritsuko found those to be helpful,” he tried again.

“Did she now? Tell me what your doctors learned of her medical condition; in particular of the results of her savage, sustained sexual abuse and rapes. If I am being unclear, I want to know if she has some venereal disease from the filthy savages who abused her. Did they permanently contaminate her?” Airi said, her tone bordering on god-like.

“I myself have not seen her folder,” admitted the general. “But, I think she might have some treatable conditions, given what was and was not said. Why not go ask the doctors directly?”

Airi rose. “I believe I will,” she said before pausing to look at him. “And General? Do be careful in your choices; the wrong one could have dire consequences for all of us.” With that said, Airi exited the room, the guard falling into place like a retinue. Hazama picked up the phone and dialed a number.

While Hazama was lighting a fire under his staff to find the missing red-head and arrange for more eyes to be kept on the new arrival, Airi was questioning the head of the medical staff. They tried hard to deny her access to Ritsuko's file, but they couldn't sustain the resistance, and Airi read the file. When she was done, she closed it and handed it back to the doctor, thanking him. He asked if she needed medical attention, and after a moment of consideration, she accepted his quasi-offer. After all, she shouldn't waste the chance, and with Ritsuko missing in action - apparently by her own will - she had the time. Besides, the reaction of the doctor to her slave markings would be amusing.

That night, Airi was sitting outside on a bench, enjoying the night after a proper, correct physical exam and doctor visit. Tomorrow she was going to see the dentist and the eye doctor while waiting for Ritsuko. She also planned to work her way through the base and the town nearby. Knowledge was power, and she and Ritsuko had taken that lesson to heart in a permanent way. Glancing over, she saw a young woman approaching the bench. “Excuse me, may I sit here?” she asked Airi.

“Of course,” smiled the older woman. The younger one sat, pulling out a pack of smokes and a lighter. “I am Airi,” she offered.

“Sorry, I am Noriko. Pleased to meet you!” the younger woman said while shaking out a cigarette and putting it between her lips.

“Bit young to be smoking, aren't you? I would say you are about seventeen,” noted Airi. Noriko twitched, shaking her head. “Something wrong?” wondered Airi.

“No, it's just you are the second person to say that to me,” she laughed a little. “It is a habit I picked up after I was kidnapped,” she said, lighting her cigarette.

“I see,” Airi said, not clarifying the answer at all.

“You wouldn't happen to know Ritsuko, would you?” Noriko asked Airi.

“Yes, why?” replied the actress.

“I…think I might have gotten off to a bad start with her,” admitted Noriko. She nut-shelled the first encounter between the two, Airi unsurprised at how prickly her Ritsuko could be in situations like that.

“Noriko-chan, it isn't your fault,” she said once the former slave-girl was done. “Ritsuko is just a little prickly about slavers and the like. Her treatment when a slave herself soured her irreparably on them. The thing that got under her skin was that you didn't free yourself. Forgive me if I sound judgmental, but you were just going to sit there as Zorzal's fuck-toy and feel sorry for yourself, weren't you?”

“What could I do? He was stronger than me, and violent…!” protested the girl.

“Ritsuko and I had magical slave runes on us that made us helpless, but we still fought back and resisted and eventually freed ourselves. I don't hold you to our standards, of course, but Ritsuko is a much less forgiving girl after six years in hell and a successful rebellion. Tell me, did Zorzal ever get you pregnant?”

Noriko mutely shook her head. “The man who bought Ritsuko got her pregnant twice, but both times she miscarried; probably for the best that she did,” Airi shared. “That is another thing that sets you apart from her in her eyes. She is a nice person, but harder than before. Give her some time and don't try to force an apology on her or attempt to ingratiate yourself to her and it will work out. Promise,” smiled the actress.

“You said you were a slave?” Noriko wondered.

“Yes. I was bought as a sex-toy for a crown prince, given to the king's only daughter as her governess and then landed in the King's bed as his mistress. I went from sex toy, to governess, to mistress, and now I am the Chancellor, second only to the Queen. I used my station to find Ritsuko, who had already broken free of her bonds and was burning the kingdoms with her Rebellion. We will remake the lands into something better, so if we can ever find a way back to our world, we can leave knowing we improved the lives of everyone; and rid the entire continent of every last slaver,” she added, her tone dark at the end.

“Wow,” breathed Noriko. “You and Ritsuko are so…” she trailed off, not sure how to convey her awe. “At least you don't have scars,” she said, absently tracing some scars on her cheek and neck. Airi glanced at her with a strange look of amusement before pulling her tee shirt up.

“I wouldn't say that…” she murmured, Noriko dropping her cigarette at the exposed disfigurement around Airi's mid-section.

In the General's office, a white-faced nurse was reporting to the General. “It was what?” he asked, stunned.

“The markings completely encircle her waist, from the crest of her hips to under her breasts,” the nurse said, swallowing roughly. “They were burned, carved and tattooed into her. I have never seen something so…” the nurse trailed off. General Hazama looked at the cropped photo the nurse had handed to him, showing Airi's slave markings.

“I see,” sighed the general. “Fast-track her lab work and see if she wants any treatment for anything. Dismissed,” he said, the nurse hurrying off. Slipping the photo into his uniform blouse pocket, he picked up the phone and dialed his quartermaster to check on the status of the supplies Ritsuko had asked for in exchange for Zorzal. Now we have two grenades without pins in our hands, he thought absently. Finished with the quartermaster, he dialed comms and asked if anyone had heard from Recon Three. Comms said Recon Three was in the capital, and had radioed in. He gave orders for them to be recalled as soon as possible. “I need him to throw some live grenades as far away from us as he can,” he said before hanging up the phone and getting out of his chair. He was calling it a day and was going to get some drinks in Alnus Town, call his wife and then hit the sack early.

*

“Nice outfit, Ritsuko,” Airi said, making Ritsuko twitch as she spun to face the woman.

“Airi!” breathed the red-head, throwing herself at Airi, wrapping the older woman up and locking her lips to Airi's lips. “I'm glad to see you, but what are you doing here?” she asked, easing back a bit.

“I won't abandon you because I know you would never abandon me,” was all Airi said, tracing Ritsuko's cheek with her fingertips. “Where have you been and where did you get that outfit?” she teased, looking over the skimpy armored outfit.

“Um, well, I think I sort of ended up as Queen of the Warrior Bunny tribe because of that thing with Tyuule,” Ritsuko admitted, absently turning in a circle to show Airi the `battle gown'. “It is surprisingly comfortable,” she added

“And so, the legend of Boss grows,” snickered Airi, making Ritsuko roll her eyes. “Is this new crown going to be a problem?” asked Airi directly. Ritsuko shook her head.

“No,” she answered. “It is a pretty easy job; now, anyway. With so few Warrior Bunny girls left who aren't slaves, it is pretty much the three of us. Me, Delilah, and Mamina. But, I think it will be handy when we finish on our continent and start operations here,” she added softly.

Airi frowned. “That might not be wise,” she noted.

“I won't let a single one of those filthy slavers live, no matter what,” murmured Ritsuko, fire in her eyes. “Anyway, have you talked with the general yet or what?” she asked.

“I have. But we need to speak with him again before we leave. I have our sword-happy friend ready with the tarpon,” she said softly, Ritsuko nodding. “But right now, I have an appointment with the dentist and eye doctor,” smiled Airi. Ritsuko hummed, swiftly pulling a simple dress over her Warrior Bunny armor. After removing the helmet/crown, she tossed her red hair, for once not braided into a long rope of red down her back that ended at her hips.

“Let's go,” she said, leading Airi out of the room. The guard twitched at seeing Ritsuko exit the room, not having seen her enter.

“Pin-head,” muttered Ritsuko in elvish as she passed him.

“Making friends again, I see,” Airi said in English, amusement in her voice. Ritsuko shrugged.

“You know me, life of the party,” she replied, offering her friend a crooked smile.

“Hmm,” hummed Airi. The two swiftly made their way to the dentist and after Airi was done there, she showed Airi to the eye doctor. Once she had been checked out, Ritsuko guided her to Alnus Town, brushing off the attempts of the guard to stop her. Settling Airi down in the tavern where Delilah worked, she ordered a beer and steak for Airi, a cup of water and a roasted duck for herself and the two talked quietly in Elvish as the sun set.

“So, you speak our language,” a voice interrupted the pair, both turning to see the dark elf and the blonde elf standing a little outside reach of them.

“And?” Ritsuko asked, her tone even but her eyes sharp.

“Do you mind?” asked the dark elf, gesturing to the empty seats opposite them at the table. Airi inclined her head, one hand touching Ritsuko's arm. The red-head grumbled behind her mug of water. The two elves sat. “I am Yao, of the Schwarz Woods elves, and this is Tuka, of the Hodor clan of High Elves,” she introduced herself.

“Airi, Ritsuko,” the actress handled the introductions, since she doubted that Ritsuko was in a sociable mood at the moment.

“Tell me, what do you know of the dark elf I fought when we first encountered each other?” asked Yao.

Ritsuko snickered. “You mean the one who was punching you in the head until Airi made her stop?” she asked, her tone amused. Yao's eyes narrowed.

“She got the better of me that time, yes,” admitted Yao.

“Her name is Gabriella, a bandit and general outlaw who is a trusted friend,” Ritsuko said, watching the two. “So, you are a high elf, too. Wonder if you are related to Celsia,” she thought aloud.

“What tribe is she from?” Tuka asked.

“No idea. She is the head of the Temple of Common Elves, though,” shrugged Rit-chan before taking a bite of the roasted duck.

“And the dark-haired, pale-skinned elf? What of her?” Yao asked.

“Rapier. Unarmed combat expert. You are lucky you ran into Gabs first - Rapier has a habit of breaking her opponent's bones when she fights,” Ritsuko said, smiling almost teasingly. “You a Summoner, too, Tuka?” she asked the blonde elf.

“No, I am a spirit wielder. Summoners died out thousands of years ago during the Discord Wars,” Tuka said, struggling to remember what her father and the others had said from time to time as they talked about the tribe's history. Ritsuko and Airi exchanged looks. A fox-girl came around, changing the candles on the table. The tavern had some electric lights, but the locals were more familiar with candles, and one of the local products was candles, so it worked out well. Ritsuko caught sight of Delilah, who was handling the main room to their left with practiced skill.

The four were in a corner table, in a dim area of the side room where people sat when eating as well as drinking, while the main room - and largest part of the tavern - was the area where drinking was the main activity, so the tables were smaller and rougher than in the area the two strangers were sitting in. Airi spotted the cat-girl from the PX - Meia - enter the tavern and order a beer before spotting her. Seeing the look of worry on the young demi-human's face, Airi smiled at her and hoisted her beer tankard before turning her attention back to the two elves.

“Where are you from, exactly?” wondered Yao.

“Elsewhere,” was as much as Ritsuko was going to say.

“What do you do? You seem to understand Japanese technology,” Tuka noted.

“Airi is a noblewoman, and I am a revolutionary. Together, we are making a better world,” Ritsuko said, giving the two her best `good girl' expression before slowly dissolving into laughter, Airi snickering a little as well. The two didn't get the humor, but also didn't say anything.

Hearing a woman calling their names, Yao and Tuka excused themselves, moving to join a group of JSDF personnel at a table in the main area. Airi sighed, taking a pull from her beer. “I am going to see if they have any wine,” she said, standing and moving toward the bar, which was pretty slammed at this time of night. Ritsuko finished off her food and toyed with her water, mind busy.

Distracted as she was, it was only her slavery-honed instincts that saved her, Ritsuko detecting movement below the table and throwing herself back hard even as a knife was jammed toward her belly from under the table. The tip of the wicked blade slammed into her gut just below the sternum, but her Warrior Bunny battle gown saved her, stopping the knife with a steel plate; though she would probably have a bruise from the force behind the thrust. Rolling back as she half-tripped over her crude seat, she saw a cloaked figure surging out from under the table.

“Die, assassin,” the figure growled, flipping the knife to stab into her overhand. Ritsuko wasn't about to grant that request, planting her left arm on the floor, bending her right arm over her chest as she planted her left foot on the floor and cocked her right leg. As the figure stabbed down, she blocked with her forearm before turning her hips and kicking him hard with her right leg, driving her shin into his groin as she flipped him over her and into the wall before rolling and coming to her feet.

“Ritsuko!” she heard Airi shout from behind her as she kicked the bench at the cloaked figure, more to clear her footing than to hurt them, though she would be perfectly fine with hurting them. The cloaked figure jumped over the bench as it hit the wall, diving toward her again with the knife leading. Ritsuko sucked in a breath, taking a half-step forward as the figure - shorter than her and seemingly thinner - lunged at her in an attempt to impale her again.

Though not a hand-to-hand pro, she had spent years around Junpei and was a quick study. Years campaigning with Gabs, Rapier and Milliea had given her more insight, and she wasn't interested in how `correct' her forms were or the `honor' of martial arts - results was all that she gave a damn about. And when it came to protecting her skin, nothing else mattered. So, she stepped into the lunge even as she looped her left arm around the extended arm holding the knife. Twisting hard to the outside of the lunge, she used her right arm to grab the head of the figure and jerk it into her right knee, which generated a satisfying wet crackling sound that spoke of broken noses and teeth. Planting her foot back on the floor, she used her muscles to twist back the arm as she kicked the figure's leading foot with her own, which planted the attacker on the floor, his arm locked in her grip.

“Assassin, huh?” she growled, catching the hilt of the knife in one hand and twisting with all her might as she hit the back of the locked elbow with the bottom of her fist of the other hand, snapping the elbow. The figure howled in pain, kicking back at her with a foot, which surprised her when it tore the dress over her chest. Claws, Ritsuko thought. Demi-human?

Her left foot lashed out, catching the figure in the side, low on the chest, and knocking them away. Her torn dress revealed her Warrior Bunny armor instead of her chest, for which she was thankful for, but wouldn't have bothered worrying about it even if she had been stripped naked by the attack. Her hand reached back for her pistol, but she had to dive aside as the figure threw a knife at her face. She thought she heard something fly over her head, but was focused on the figure, who was trying to scramble away. Spotting a useful tool, she snatched up the knife the figure had used and lashed out, stabbing the crawling figure just below their ass and ripping the blade down to their knee, slicing their thigh open to the bone. An inhuman howl of pain filled the tavern.

“Get back here,” thundered Ritsuko as she jerked the knife free before sinking it in the other thigh and ripping it open, too. “You fucking ambush me, you better make damn sure you fucking kill me or I will fuck you up!” she screamed as she kicked them in the lower back, feeling the spine there give.

Ritsuko started to straighten up, but was tackled by Airi, another whoosh! sounding over their heads as they hit the floor. Ritsuko rolled on the floor, finally freeing her pistol and searching for a target. A flash of movement and a crash gave her the target as Delilah kicked a cross-bow out of the hands of another cloaked figure before twisting around and kicking them in the face, knocking them clear of the crowd. Ritsuko opened fire without hesitation, three pairs into the chest, another pair into the head before she pushed herself to her feet, pulling Airi up with her off-hand and guiding her behind herself, pistol sweeping the room. Delilah dashed over to her side, fists up.

“My Queen, that was inspirational,” murmured Delilah even as they heard whistles blowing and running feet outside the tavern.

“Who else wants some?!” roared Ritsuko, eyes blazing as they swept the crowd. “Step up or fuck off!” she yelled as a familiar figure shoved their way through the door. “You back for more, loli?” purred Ritsuko, seeing the girl she had heart-shot with her rifle looking at her.

“I'm always up for more, red,” giggled the loli as she licked her lips.

“This is going to happen fast,” murmured Ritsuko. “When I shoot the loli, we break out and hit the road.”

“Understood,” Airi murmured, Delilah nodding.

“Rory, stop,” a voice said, another pair of JSDF men entering the tavern along with the girl Ritsuko knew as Lelei and a half-bird looking native with an MP badge on her arm.

“Yeah, this was self-defense,” Delilah said, still standing by Ritsuko's side.

“She is telling the truth, Rory,” said Yao, pushing through the crowd to stand beside the loli. “That one attacked her, and the other joined in.” The goth loli girl pouted before giving Ritsuko an assessing look.

“Next time, then, red,” she said, flipping her hair with her off hand before strolling out of the tavern.

“Next time it's your ass, jailbait,” muttered Ritsuko. Airi touched her shoulder. Relaxing a little, Ritsuko changed magazines in her pistol before tucking it back into the holster she had tied to the side of the battle gown under the dress. I wonder if I pour burning thermite down her throat if that would kill her?

The JSDF MPs were unsure what to do. “Miss, we will need to take your gun,” one began.

“Try it and see what happens,” grunted Ritsuko, not even looking at the two as she moved toward the cloaked figure she had nearly killed. Squatting, she tore the cloak off, revealing a green-skinned, dog-like demi-human with a sooty yellow left eye, a patch on his right and what looked like a case of mange. “Who are you and who sent you?” she asked him casually, assessing the condition of the would-be assassin.

“I am Bouro, and you took what was to be mine,” he managed. Ritsuko snorted.

“Boo fucking hoo,” she mocked him, stomping on his broken elbow. “What did I supposedly take from you? And what the fuck are you, other than ugly as hell and stupid as a shit?” she asked, grinding his broken arm under her foot.

“Um, miss you can't…” began a JSDF MP, only to get a glare from her that made him shiver.

“Alnus MP Post, requesting backup,” his teammate radioed, “incident at the tavern involving Nodachi 6 personnel,” he added.

“You killed her, so I will kill you,” the demi-human hoarsely said. Ritsuko stepped off his arm, only to step on the back of his head, slowly increasing the pressure.

“Her who, you mangy whoreson?” demanded the red-head.

“My Warrior Bunny Queen,” he managed, his voice muffled by the floor cutting into his face. “She sold herself to me for vengeance.” Ritsuko doubted anyone else heard him.

“Tyuule? That is what this farce is about?” Delilah asked, scowling. Ritsuko eased off the pressure. “What do you mean she sold herself to you? For what?” Delilah asked. The creature was quiet, so Ritsuko increased the pressure.

“For revenge,” he finally managed. “In exchange for helping her with her revenge, she would be mine, but you took her,” he accused Ritsuko again.

“Sucks to be you,” snorted Ritsuko.

“What revenge?” Airi asked, approaching the group.

“The Empire destroyed as she was destroyed. She had to work on that fool Zorzal for years to set this up, and then JSDF failed to crush the Empire, so she had to make them fight,” he answered.

“It was you,” snarled Delilah, putting the pieces together. “You paid off Bartholomew to send me those fake orders so the JSDF would crush the empire! Do you have any idea what I almost did?!” yelled Delilah, kicking the figure into the far wall. Ritsuko made a mental note that Warrior Bunnies apparently had very strong leg muscles. “You bastard!” she screamed at him, crouching as if about to leap at him again.

Ritsuko grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. “It doesn't matter anymore,” she said, nodding to the figure. It had hit head-first, and left a spray of blood and grey matter on the wall. Delilah was panting with rage. “Let it go,” murmured Ritsuko. “By the way, this thing works great,” she added, smiling at the Warrior Bunny as she tapped the battle gown. Delilah laughed roughly.

“It should, we Warrior Bunnies know our stuff,” she said before exhaling, the tension and anger flowing out of her. “It looks good on you, too - like it was meant for you,” giggled Delilah.

“What about the other one?” Airi asked, indicating the one Ritsuko had dumped half a magazine into. One of the MPs was checking it, carefully pulling the cloak back.

“Human,” pronounced the MP.

“He was a brigand,” the bird-girl MP spoke up. “I remember him from the battle of Italica. He slipped away before the JSDF arrived.”

“So, this one hired that one,” mused the Japanese MP even as a military jeep arrived with four fully-equipped soldiers in the back. Ritsuko had more or less fixed her dress, not wanting to talk about the new armor she had. The soldiers entered the tavern, guns ready but not quite shouldered.

“You're late,” Airi said simply.

“You two will need to come with us,” the leader of the group said.

“Why?” asked Delilah bluntly. “It was an assassination attempt. Everyone saw it,” she added, gesturing to the silent patrons.

“It's fine,” Ritsuko said, touching her shoulder. “You have work to do and we need to talk to the General anyway about another matter, so we'll go talk to him,” she said. Delilah gave her a momentary look before nodding and moving toward the bar.

“Clean up duty; my least favorite,” she sighed tragically. Ritsuko glanced at Airi, the actress nodding. Reaching into her dress's pocket, Airi withdrew some gold coins.

“As an apology for the disturbance, drinks are on us!” she said, tossing the gold coins to the barkeep, who caught them on instinct. Looking at the Suwanee coins, he blinked.

“Miss, this is too much…!” he protested.

“Then I hope everyone is thirsty,” Ritsuko replied for Airi, fishing out a few gold coins of her own and tossing them to the barkeep as well. “For the damage,” she said, the two moving toward the door. The patrons instinctively got out of their way. So did the four JSDF soldiers. Ritsuko moved right to the military jeep and slid into the driver's seat, Airi taking the other. Cranking up the jeep, she glanced at the soldiers. “In or out, boys?” she asked, shifting the car into drive. The soldiers barely managed to throw themselves into the back before Ritsuko hit the gas and turned the wheel, carving a half-donut into the street and leaving the girlish squeals of the men in her wake.

*

General Hazama sighed. “So, that is what this was about,” he said.

“So it would seem, sir,” agreed his senior aide, the general staff members nodding. “Itami and his friends dealt with the assassins in the capital, and with the ring-leader being killed here, it should quiet back down.”

“How are the Alnus Town residents taking it?” asked the General.

“Seem to be taking it just fine,” said the colonel in charge of security. “I guess this sort of thing is far more common here. Most of them are indifferent to the incident,” he added.

“Still, they killed those two like it was nothing; and tortured the one in front of everyone like they were asking for directions to the bathroom! What kind of people are they?” wondered the head of MPs.

“The kind that are like hand grenades with the pins pulled,” Hazama said. “Still, they did manage well enough while they were here. Zorzal is out of the picture, the one pulling his strings is dealt with, and her henchmen are all either dead or scattered to the winds with no reason or means to continue this feud. Overall, this is a victory for us, Queen Pina and peace,” he said, sighing again.

“A dirty victory,” muttered the head of the ground forces.

“A victory is a victory,” the air mobile commander philosophized. “What did you mean Zorzal is out of the picture? Didn't we give them all that stuff to get our hands on Zorzal?” he asked.

“In the larger picture, he was more dangerous in our possession than not,” Hazama answered. “So, we made a new deal, and he is no longer part of the equation. Recon Five is being dispatched to the remains of the army he had, to see if any of them want to swear fealty to Pina and return home. I think a lot of them will. As for the ones who don't…” he said nothing. Those who didn't would witness what an air strike looked like; of course, it would be the last thing they saw.

The phone buzzed. “Yes?” his aide answered for him, since he was standing by the window, watching the base with his back to the room.

“Sir, you have a visitor from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to see you. He said it is urgent,” the sergeant who was his secretary informed him.

“What is it about?” asked the aide when the general didn't react.

“It is about the visitors, sir,” the sergeant said.

“Send him in,” the general replied. Moments later, the door opened and a diplomat entered, still wearing his business suit.

“General Hazama, where are the visitors?” he asked directly.

“Gone. Why?” Hazama asked, turning to stare at the man.

“Why?” gaped the MFA flunky. “We need to talk to them, and the Diet wants to speak with them, that is why,” he said.

“To what ends?” Hazama asked.

“As citizens of Japan…” began the man.

“They are not citizens of our Japan,” Hazama cut in smoothly. “Hell, they are not citizens of our world,” he stressed, “so what authority do you think we have over them?”

“Even so, they are in possession of dangerous weapons and from your report, are very violent. They should be disarmed at the minimum so as to not endanger our diplomatic mission here. I have heard reports that they killed some people…!”

“It was self-defense,” Hazama said. “And attempting to disarm them would have cost a lot of my men's lives for a pointless objective. One fight at a time, hmm?” he hinted.

“You also stated in your reports that they have some influence with the governments of a continent we have yet to discover. We need to learn as much about that as we can so…” began the man once more.

“It will be years before we can reach that continent; if we even want or need to,” Hazama once more cut him off at the knees. “Our experience with them will give us as much good-will as can be had from them, but that is not to say that we should be in a rush to find them. Their continent seems to be on a different template than ours, and we have decades more work here before we should go looking for more trouble,” he warned.

“Did you at least question them about how they got here, then?” the diplomat asked, sounding irritated.

“Yes,” the general smiled. After it became apparent that he wasn't going to say more, the man prompted him.

“Well, how did they do it?” he asked.

“Magic,” replied the general, his staff trying - and more or less succeeding - in keeping their chuckles silent. The red-faced flunky marched out of the room doubtlessly planning to write up a scathing memo to the MFA.

“I don't know if that was wise, sir,” his senior aide said. Hazama hummed.

“Maybe not, but I think you should keep your perspective on this issue,” he said, pulling a photo out of the pocket of his uniform shirt and handing it to the aide. The man glanced at it, twitching as his mouth fell open. The general took the photo back. “That was the dark-haired one. Can you imagine how that must have hurt? Perspective, son - perspective.”

*

“Honey, I'm home and I brought presents!” called out Ritsuko playfully as she entered the Chancellor's suite in the palace of the Queen in Raltaow. Outside, wet, soggy snow was on the ground. The passes would be passable soon; though they no longer needed them.

“Lady Ritsuko!” an unexpected voice said, Ritsuko blinking as the queen jumped up and ran to her, hugging her tightly.

“Good to see you, too, Liseria,” she replied. The queen released her, curiously patting her with her hands.

“Are you wearing a corset?” wondered the queen. Rit-chan snorted.

“Armor, actually,” she replied. “Oh, and I am now Queen of the Warrior Bunny tribes,” she added, smirking a little.

“Warrior Bunny?” wondered the queen.

“Boss!” a voice interrupted and a moment later, a young girl was clinging to Ritsuko. “Chancellor Airi ordered us here,” she began.

“Us?” asked Ritsuko, having a suspicion what was about to happen.

“Boss,” the young man said, bowing to her. Ritsuko sighed before suddenly smiling a nasty little smile.

“I have a job for you two,” she nearly purred. Airi, having entered behind her and move to the side while Ritsuko was being mobbed, poured herself some wine.

“How is the Revolution going?” asked Airi.

“There is one kingdom left, and it is in anarchy,” Liseria replied. “The Captains of the Rebellions should be arriving within the week to give their reports on the integration. They will be pleased you are back, Lady Airi, Lady Ritsuko,” she added.

“And how is Celsia doing?” Airi asked.

“Same as before last I heard,” Liseria answered. “I have received new requests from some of the former kings to allow their sons to pay court to me. I think you should look them over,” Liseria said.

“I will,” Airi confirmed. Seeing Ritsuko talking with her two spies, she found herself almost relieved to be back in the saddle again.

*

“It isn't the same with Delilah gone,” sighed one of the wolf-girls who worked in the tavern.

“She said she needed some time off for a personal matter,” the owner said. “I don't think she is going to be gone long,” he added. “Don't stop working to gossip,” he admonished the wolf-girl.

“Right,” she replied unenthusiastically. Delilah had asked for time off the week before, shortly after the strangers had vanished mysteriously. She claimed it was personal business, and the owner agreed, knowing how important she was to the popularity of the tavern. He hoped she got back soon.

Meanwhile, Delilah was moving through the slums of the red light district in the capital of the Empire. She wore a traveler's cloak with her Warrior Bunny armor and weapons under it. Spotting her target, she moved closer. “How much for the bunny?” she asked, keeping her voice low and rough. The group of whores turned to look at her.

“Three silver denarii,” the rabbit-girl replied, standing. Delilah tossed her the coins and led her toward the nearest blind ally. Entering the alley, she turned to the other woman, who had already slipped off her simple, skimpy gown, leaving herself naked. “What is your pleasure?” she asked, her tone warm and teasing, but without life.

Delilah tossed back her hood, the gold earrings in her ears jingling. “My pleasure, sister, is rebuilding our clan,” she said firmly. The former Warrior Bunny blinked, seeing who it was.

“D…Delilah?”

“Hello, Parna,” she said, reaching out and fingering the cut left ear of the other warrior bunny. “Still satisfied with your choice to become a whore?” she asked. Parna looked away from her, but Delilah took her face in her hand and turned her back to face her. “Is there any warrior spirit left in you, Parna?” she asked directly.

“Of course there is,” Parna said, jerking her head free of Delilah's grip. “But there is no future for our tribe,” she nearly spat.

“Tyuule is dead, and we have a new queen,” Delilah said simply, offering the other warrior bunny a dried, cured piece of fur and leather. It took Parna a long moment to realize it was the skin off Tyuule's skull, tanned and cured to preserve it.

“Three years,” breathed the other survivor. “How…?”

“I made a deal with our new Queen, and she delivered Tyuule for judgment. Mamina and I talked it over, and we performed the ceremony, making her our new queen.”

“What tribe is she from?” breathed Parna, stroking the fur of the late queen's head.

“She is not a pure-bred Warrior Bunny,” Delilah answered calmly. “You know there was no male warrior bunny even before Zorzal came hunting slaves, so that will be the end of pure-breds unless a male warrior bunny was born in hiding somewhere. And that is what brings me here, actually,” Delilah said. “We - my queen, myself and Mamina - need to start gathering the survivors. There will be a lot of unrest soon, and we need to be reunited into a single clan before that time comes. What we need is searchers and recruiters. I heard about you from the JSDF soldier called Kurokawa, and came to find you. I want you to find the others. If they are not completely broken in mind or body, you need to tell them that Tyuule is dead and the tribe calls them back in the name of Queen Ritsuko. They should first travel to the Clan Formal holdings, to the city of Italica. There, they need to speak with Mamina and possibly take employment as maids to the Countess Formal. She is a caring and just mistress, I promise! From there, we will begin to reorganize and train upon our home soil once more. So, what do you say? Are you a whore or a Warrior Bunny?” asked Delilah.

“My life, my sword, my body to your service!” Parna swore the oath, the two grasping forearms.

“Let's get to it, then,” Delilah said, smiling. The two exited the ally, Delilah's cloak already up. Parna split away from her, her gown in her hand and a small purse of coins Delilah had given her. To the surprise of the whores she had called friends for three long years she walked right past them and into the cheap room they shared, emerging moments later in a simple dress and traveling cloak.

“Parna?” blinked Miseria, the `big sister' of the group.

“I am done whoring myself,” the warrior bunny replied. Her entire bearing and stance had changed, and the group noticed. “Goodbye,” she said, moving off swiftly. First, she had to find a battle gown, then she had to arm herself, and then she had to start gathering the survivors of the tribes for her Queen. “I wonder what our new Queen is like?” she asked herself.

*

“You seem to like that armor,” Gabriella noted, grinning at Ritsuko.

“It's comfortable enough and has saved my life once already,” was all the red-head said as she finished securing the groin strap of the armor she had gotten from Delilah and Mamina before reaching for the hip-wrap. She was sure there was a `correct' name for it in the Warrior Bunny culture, but she called it a hip-wrap. It was a sort of tabard, but was closer to an obi than a tabard, wrapping around her hips right above the crest and having a narrow strip that hung between her legs to the knees. With that situated and secured, she checked her boots and gear before donning her cloak and picking up the leather scabbard for her PSG1.

“Are you sure it isn't because it makes you look like a slut?” Gabriella picked at her.

“Says the dark elf who wears a fur bikini,” was all Ritsuko said. “Ready?”

“Let's get this done,” Rapier said, Gabriella nodding. Milliea and Junpei were guarding Liseria and Airi at the meeting of the Rebellion Captains and the kings and leaders of the surrendered kingdoms for their first real policy meeting. Ritsuko had planned to attend, but the lone kingdom that was not represented was more important. Also, Airi pointed out that having `Boss' there would make her Captains nervous and the kings less likely to focus on the important matters. So, she was well over the border of the failed kingdom and was about to `put things in order', as Airi had put it. Mike was their backup, the tank fully loaded and primed, with some extra gear on his hull. Ritsuko was practically giddy with anticipation.

The fragmentation of the kingdom had fallen into the predictable pattern of ethnic lines, robber barons and town coalitions. What had once been one kingdom was now a half-dozen or so city-states in constant warfare with each other and the Rebellion forces surrounding it. While she had been on the Lost Continent - which was no longer lost, she thought to herself - there had been a few nasty skirmishes between the factions and her Rebellion forces that led to casualties she didn't need to take in her forces. So, she had ordered them to simply contain the kingdom. It was cordoned off tight and left alone as she prepared her strategy.

Now that she was ready, it was time to introduce them to terror, death and the inhuman Boss. Under her cloak hood, Ritsuko smirked, wondering how this latest phase would change the popular identity of Boss. On her head was the helmet/crown of the Warrior Bunny Queen. Maybe I should have found a rabbit-ear headband, she mused, laughing softly to herself as the group of three moved out toward the city that was the biggest power in the former kingdom. It was ruled by a former nobleman who came from an ethnic group that was native to the lands, and had a large population. With the collapse, he had disposed of his noble title and taken up the ethnic identity, proclaiming his lands to be sovereign and for his group only. Rumor had it he had slaughtered most of the other ethnic groups wholesale.

The area was pretty hilly, with heavy woods and deep, cold rivers. The main products were lumber, coal, and some semi-precious metals like copper and tin. It reminded her of what she had seen of the Balkans in her world, but without modern technology. Ritsuko and her two friends moved steadily and quietly along the road, breathing a bit harder on the uphill climbs but not panting. They were all in good shape, after all. Reaching the saddle of two hills that framed the capital, she paused to look over the city.

Ahead of them, the road led to the biggest of the city gates, where a group of guards were watching everyone coming into the city. Ordinarily they would have avoided the gate, but with a river on one side and a hill on the other, it was much harder to do. And the fact that the `lord' was hiring mercenaries made it less risky to just march in like swords-for-hire looking for work. Glancing at each other, the three headed down the hill toward the gate, timing their arrival to coincide with another group of scruffy, ill-reputable sorts. Seamlessly joining the rear of the procession, they moved into the city like they were entitled to go in, and the guards didn't give them any more notice than they gave anyone else.

Once in the city, they drifted away from the other mercenaries, finding their way to an inn near the wall. Barging in, they demanded a room facing the west - which would mean one by the wall - and intimidated the inn keeper into not asking why they needed a west-facing one. Paying for several nights, the three headed up, finding the room was just a bit higher than the wall, which was about ten feet lower and ten feet away from the window sill. The three watched the guards patrol for a half hour before determining their pattern. Pulling off her cloak, Gabriella un-looped the rope she had slung cross-body over her shoulder while Rapier began inspecting the beams in the ceiling. Finding one, she used a sharp knife to enlarge a spot where the adze had bit too deep on a pass so that the rope could be passed through it. By the time she was done, Gabriella had the rope ready and fed the end through the hole, confirming it was the right size. With that done, she had sat on the crude bed and quickly knotted the rope before carelessly tossing it in the corner, as if it were an unused bit of gear.

Ritsuko dropped the small shoulder bag onto the bed before setting her PSG1 kit aside. Tugging her cloak off, she rummaged in her bag, pulling out a tightly-folded skirt, wrapping it around her hips before tying the ends to secure it. The skirt was cotton weave material like most of the clothes in the Kingdoms, with long slits in it so it didn't hamper movement. The hem of the skirt hung a little past mid-shin on her when she had it where she wanted it. Her battle gown now looked more like a breastplate than something exotic. With her skirt covering her legs, she secured her sheath knife, pistol and spare magazines to her thighs. Bouncing on the balls of her feet to make sure everything was secure, she ran a hand down her tightly-braided hair, making sure it was secure as well before situating her helmet/crown back on her head and swirling her cloak around her, fastening the silver clasp at her throat.

Picking up the PSG package by the strap, she glanced at the other two females, who were just finishing up their preparations as well. Silently, the three left the room. They were all but certain that the innkeeper or the local brute squad would enter and go through their possessions, but there wasn't anything left in the room that would seem out of place. Exiting the inn, the three worked their way through the town, from tavern to tavern, slowly closing in on the palace. As the night deepened, they finally found what they were looking for.

Slipping up to a foursome of fancily-dressed men who were more than a little inebriated, they insinuated themselves into the group, displacing the whores who had been attached to them with little more than some hard stares. After a few more rounds, the men led them back to the palace. Ritsuko tolerated their roaming hands and crude statements of what they would do with the women until they were in a room in the palace that had apparently been part of the Royal suites. As the man closest to her reached for her breasts again, she nodded to Gabriella and Rapier, the three women savagely and violently killing the men as quickly and silently as possible. Ritsuko, they noticed, was particularly vicious with her target.

From the room, it was a simple enough matter to work their way along the outer wall to the room that had been the king's rooms and was now their target's lair. The man and a few of his friends were `entertaining' themselves in the room. From the sound of things, they were the only ones enjoying themselves. Rapier and Gabriella each placed a hand on Ritsuko's shoulders, worried the human would forget the plan and storm the place with guns blazing instead of the stealthier solution they needed to have the effect they wanted. Ritsuko was thinking about it, but had more discipline than they thought.

As the men had been going for some time before they arrived, they tired soon after, and the candles burned low. Ritsuko nodded to herself, tapping her two friend's on their thighs. The three rose from where they had been concealed behind some rose bushes and carefully affected entry into the room by means of forcing the soft steel latch on the window with a knife blade. Displaying her athletic prowess, Ritsuko vaulted into the room first, landing without a sound on the floor before side-stepping to make room for Gabriella, who moved to the other side of the window, allowing Rapier to land silently between them. Looking around the room, they saw the results of the party for themselves.

Several naked women were sprawled out on the floor, most of them clinging to each other. A couple more were hanging half off the bed. Ritsuko suspected that a couple of the women might be dead. Gesturing to Gabriella, she had the dark elf cast a sleep spell on the occupants of the bed. With that done, she and her two friends had systematically awakened the women on the floor, keeping them quiet while signaling their orders. The women who could still move quickly made crude gowns for themselves from the sheets and helped the others out the window, scurrying away in the dark.

With the bystanders dealt with, Ritsuko turned her attention to the men in the room. An hour and a half later, as the group exited, Gabriella and Rapier were more scared of Ritsuko than they had ever been of anyone in their lives. Ritsuko was smiling and giggling softly as she led them out of the palace and to their next location. Reaching the spot she had selected while standing in the room, Rapier and Gabriella set up security as Ritsuko set up her PSG1 and got ready. Hearing Ritsuko softly coo to the ammo while stroking the magazines loaded with her new sniper ammo gave the two elves a chill in their spines.

Dawn had just broken when the palace erupted into chaos. In her hide, Ritsuko smirked, making sure her earplugs were in and the elves were ready before flicking the switch and opening up on everything that moved in her kill zone. Soldiers, ministers, flunkies - she shot them all. After her third magazine, she ceased fire and packed up her gun. The three melted into the crowds, returning to their room and resting. That night, they went out and Ritsuko wired three buildings with demolition charges. The first person through the door ignited the fuse, and ten minutes later, all three buildings simple ceased to be. The city was in a panic, and the guards were getting nervous, which made them mean, which made the city even more restless. That night, Ritsuko and her two assistants placed claymore mines along one side of the mustering yard for the city guard, running the tripwire back to the Marshall's door.

When the Marshall opened his door to inspect the troops, they were decimated, leaving virtually no guards able to serve. From a new hide, Ritsuko reduced the survivors to zero, including the Marshall, who had been standing immobile, jaw on the ground in uncomprehending befuddlement about what had just happened to his brute squad. Leaving the blind after emptying a magazine, Ritsuko tucked a white phosphorous grenade behind the door to the building.

A half hour later, the building was in flames and three more guards were burned to death by the unknown magic spell. The citizens were abuzz with rumors the guards were looking for a trio of strangers. In the common room of the inn, the three calmly ate their meal before casually walking up the stairs, the ears of the elves picking up the whispering. In the room, they tied the rope off to the beam, tossed it over the wall and Rapier leapt over to the wall top, silencing the guards while Gabriella joined her and caught the packs and PSG1 package. Ritsuko used a pot of oil paint to scrawl a message on the wall of the room before the three slipped out of the city walls. Moving to the main bridge, Ritsuko set up a few blocks of C4 on the central arch, linked the detcord to the blasting cap and strung the tripwire across the bridge. That done, they had hurried to the spot where Mike waited.

Before dawn, Ritsuko moved Mike into position and carefully aimed the main cannon. Right at the sun broke the hill to the east, she fired the main cannon. In town, the palace took a direct hit with a high explosive shell, destroying the throne room. “Hear me,” Ritsuko said into the microphone for the PA system. “I am Boss, and I am coming for you! Surrender and you may live. Oppose me, and I will leave nothing but ash from one end of your lands to the other! I have no mercy! I grant no quarter! I come and hell comes with me!” she yelled, firing the main cannon again, blowing the gates off the city and knocking down a section of wall on each side. “Surrender or die!” she added before Mike disappeared. Ritsuko hopped off him and jogged up to watch the bridge. Sure enough, some soldiers came charging across the bridge. When they reached the middle, they died. The city now had one way in and one way out - and that was the smaller gate on the opposite end of the city. Giggling, she made her way back to Mike, the tank turning and heading back to the border so she could give some directions to a detachment of Rebellion soldiers before visiting the next city-state. She figured two or three like that, and word would spread.

*

“You seem pleased with yourself,” Airi noted as she sat beside Ritsuko, who had just finished cleaning her guns.

“Three weeks to bring them to heel,” Rit-chan replied, smiling a little. “How goes it on your end?” asked the red-head.

“We might have a small problem,” admitted Airi. Ritsuko indicated she was listening. “Raltaow is the only kingdom left on the continent. That should be a good thing, but I think we went a bit overboard on the whole Rebellion idea. The former kings are very upset that they lost their crowns while Liseria retains her crown and kingdom. They want her to give up her crown as well,” Airi shared.

“Fuck them; they picked this fight with me, not Liseria,” was Ritsuko's immediate response. “Besides, Raltaow has always stood apart, has it not? Why not stick with what works?”

“Because it does pose something of a problem going forward for there to be a monarchy left,” sighed Airi. “Liseria will not always be Queen, you know,” she added softly.

“So we go with plan `B' and have the kings give up their royal power to a council of appointed ministers. If we make it clear that the council must be filled with people chosen by the citizens, it should curb the tendency to make it a `royal council',” suggested the red-head.

“The problem with that is that in this place, the commoners are still far too in awe of `nobles',” Airi nearly rolled her eyes at the word. “They honestly think that nobles and royalty are superior to them and the best choice to rule. They would vote for nobles every time.”

“Fucking screw-headed morons,” groaned Ritsuko, seeing the problem. “And we can't trust the Church to stay out of politics, so they will scare them into putting their sympathizers into positions of leadership, too. This is why I hate politics,” Ritsuko said, turning sideways and laying back so her head was on Airi's lap. Airi smiled at the younger woman, her hand absently stroking Rit-chan's side and stomach.

“How about we make Liseria and Raltaow the administrator of the other former kingdoms, sort of like a boss in a company?” she said several minutes later. “Using the kings as a board of directors, as it were, with the Queen as the CEO. Would that work?” she asked.

“Then, where would your Captains be?” Airi asked.

Ritsuko considered that. Her situation with her Captains was unique. In order for them to gain legitimacy as administrators of the lands she had first freed, they must be seen as being in charge. As it stood now, everyone - including them - knew they were her Captains, under her orders and direction. Ritsuko considered the problem for a long few minutes. “Boss will have to be removed from the equation,” she said at last.

Airi was watching her face as she said that. To her relief, Ritsuko didn't appear to be too upset. She had worried about how deeply the Boss persona had taken root in Ritsuko. “I will start the groundwork for the big split,” Ritsuko said a few heartbeats later.

“Thank you, Rit-chan,” Airi murmured. Ritsuko gave her a smile back, but didn't say anything. “I was thinking of a rotating council, with kings moving on and off it in four-year intervals,” she shared. Ritsuko shrugged.

“Why not? That would keep any one king from getting too much power or standing, and it would limit the ability of any group to influence the agendas pushed by the council. But, I think we need to make them all sign a sort of constitution as a framework,” added the red-head.

“And I just bet you have a draft of it written up,” smirked Airi. Ritsuko nodded, the two sharing a soft, warm laugh. “What would you say to having the elves be the check on the council's power? Maybe some sort of oversight position or something similar. We could also use the church as an artificial threat to their power; which is something they would understand. That would limit the Church's power grabs to almost nothing. Still, it will be a long process. I doubt everything we want will happen in our lifetimes,” Airi murmured.

“Like I told my slave army, Airi: `I can only give you the chance to be free; it is up to you to be free or to be slaves'. We can't force them to have rights and better lives, but we can give them the chance,” Ritsuko said introspectively.

The two sat in silence for a long moment before Persephone entered the room and cleared her throat. Neither woman moved, but both looked at her. “My apologies, Lady Airi,” the body servant said. “But you wanted to be reminded that you dine with the Queen and her court tonight. Her majesty has also asked that you attend as well, Lady Ritsuko,” added the servant.

“She is doing that on purpose,” muttered Ritsuko, finally sitting up. Airi shrugged before the two headed for the baths to begin preparing. As they were bathing, Airi picked up their conversation.

“So, you have sent your little poison pills through the gate. Are you bored with this continent now?” she asked.

“I am just setting up the groundwork for what you and I both know is coming,” Ritsuko said.

“I had hoped you would keep that nice young man close by,” Airi hinted.

“I already fucked him, Airi,” sighed the red-head. “Besides, I think he and the girl are an item,” she added, frowning a little.

“Really? What do you base that on?” asked Airi.

“Intuition,” was the reply from the younger woman.

“It would explain why I caught them hot and heavy just before they vanished,” Airi shared, seeing Persephone and Artemis nearly writhing with the need to gossip. “And from the look of things, I suspect our dear Persephone and Artemis caught them as well?” she tacitly gave them permission. For the next ten minutes, the body servants recounted a litany of sexual adventures the two insurgents had been seen involved in. Finally, Airi had to silence the two.

“You need to find more work for your servants, Airi,” Ritsuko said dryly. Glancing at the younger woman, Airi decided not to point out that Ritsuko's nipples were hard and her cheeks redder than was warranted by the temperature of the bath.

“Perhaps,” was all Airi said. The two got out of the bath and the two servants rushed forward to help dry them and begin to prepare them for the formal dinner with the Queen and her court.

*

“Excuse me?” Ritsuko said, staring at Liseria. “Can you repeat that, because I must have misheard you.” The two women were in a remote meadow that Ritsuko had turned into a training area. Ritsuko had decided to get some official training in unarmed combat and sword work from Rapier and Gabriella since she would never let Junpei train her or even know that she was training. As usual in the warm mid-summer weather, she was wearing a thin, short loincloth and a simple breast band as she trained. When the queen had discovered where she kept going, and managed to follow her there, the ruler had begun to train in earnest. She ran beside Ritsuko, and trained beside Ritsuko, and worked out beside the red-head. In the weeks since she started, she had slimmed down and put on a bit of muscle, though like Ritsuko, it was toned, slim, wiry muscle rather than bulky muscle.

“I said, I am to be wed to the second prince of the kingdom of Granith,” Liseria said. She had been late to the training grounds because of a meeting with Airi, and now she just up and dropped that on Ritsuko.

“I vaguely recall that kingdom; the royals are a bunch of assholes,” Ritsuko grunted, squatting to scoop up a big tin dipper of fresh, cold water from the water bucket. Raltaow had a surplus of high-altitude ice-melt streams that provided super-fresh water. One was located in the rocks at the side of the narrow field. Taking a second dipper full, she dumped it over her sweaty head, hissing at the feeling of cold water over hot, sweaty skin.

Liseria took the dipper and get herself a drink as well. She was in a summer dress as she usually was when out walking. The notched-top displayed her chest to advantage, and her hair was braided. If one didn't know she was a Queen, they would mistake her for a common Raltaowian teenage girl. “I knew from birth that my fate was to marry for political gain, Ritsuko,” she said. “This was inevitable, even if I put off marrying as long as I could,” she sighed.

“As long as you could? You are barely eighteen, Liseria! And what the fuck does that former kingdom - you do remember I crushed them, right? - have to offer you that would be worth tolerating those ass-drips?” demanded Ritsuko.

“Grain, for one thing. They are the biggest grower of wheat and rye on the continent, and that is one of the basic food staples we can't grow enough of on our own. Also, they have very high influence with the other nobles, and Airi and I need that leverage. As for the other, most women are two or three years married by my age, usually with a kid or two on the way.”

“You are not most women; you are a Queen,” Ritsuko lectured.

“And because I am a Queen - and the last true Queen, thanks to your revolution - I must marry to advantage,” Liseria said.

“Does this second prince think he will become King? I should warn you, I will shoot him in the fucking face if he even says the word `king' in my presence,” warned the red-head.

“Oh, I am sure you would, Ritsuko,” Liseria giggled. “His title will be Prince Consort, and his main duty will be producing an heir with me,” she grimaced a little. “Airi is more worried about the loose titles in this land, as it is customary for weddings to bring in title rats from the lower partner's line.”

“Title rats?” wondered Ritsuko.

“Family and toadies that have no title of their own, whom the lower partner - in this case, the second prince - gives vacant titles to in the kingdom or house they marry into. It is an old tactic to both protect their interests and to gain influence in the new land,” explained Liseria. “Airi is negotiating the exact details of the union, but we need to be sure there are no loose titles around to be had,” the Queen said.

“Dead people can't inherit,” suggested Ritsuko.

“To that ends, Ritsuko, I want to name you to the position of Countess of the House Koeign. The holdings are a manor and some pastures in the highest reaches of the southern-most valley. This past winter, the last remaining member of that house died without heir or successor, and as they had not paid their taxes yet, their title and estate became the Crown's to manage. Currently, they have three small families of landsmen under their title, who work and manage the land, but more important is that they had a seat on the council, and a court position,” Liseria explained.

Ritsuko frowned. “I don't think I'm the right choice for that, Liseria. First off, I am already a Queen,” she began.

“Only on the Lost Continent,” interjected Liseria swiftly.

“For another thing, I am pretty restless and hate court; you know that,” continued the red-head.

“So appoint a representative,” shrugged Liseria. “You would only have to appear periodically, which you would be doing anyway with Airi,” the Queen enticed. “And having a remote, isolated home would give you free reign to do what you wanted without unwanted eyes on you,” she grinned. That did appeal to the red-head. “And since you are going to be separating off your identity as Boss, I think it the perfect cover,” finished the Queen.

Ritsuko studied the younger ruler. “You mean Airi thought this scheme up,” she said, her tone slightly sour. Liseria neither confirmed nor denied that accusation. “Fine,” she said, exhaling. “In the interest of securing our flanks, I accept.”

“Good. You will be the Queen's Maiden in the ceremony,” Liseria said, making Ritsuko bare her teeth.

And so, five weeks later, Ritsuko was watching the Queen and her Consort take their first official dance while she stared a hole in his head from behind a wineglass loaded with water-down white wine. “Careful, Rit-chan, you will set him on fire as he dances with our dear Queen,” murmured Airi, appearing beside the ill-humored red-head.

“Good,” muttered Ritsuko. She was decked out in a court gown that had taken nine seamstresses five weeks of non-stop, frantic work to complete. The red-head wondered if it was possible for so little cloth to take that long to sew. Her chest was practically bare, and her skirt, though full and to the floor, had so many waist-high hidden slits that when she walked, the cloth parted to expose her legs to the top of her hips on the side, and to her upper thigh on the front. Her hair had been contorted into a hairdo that had taken the body servants a full two hours to do, and held over thirty different accessories. She felt like she was wearing a helmet. When the body servants started the makeup, she refused to wear the overly-thick, gaudy makeup usually seen in court, favoring very minimal makeup applied by Airi.

The wedding ceremony had been brief - barely a half hour - but the customs and ceremonies that led up to it and followed after it had soaked up six hours. Ritsuko was ready to kill anyone who tried to extend her suffering. Not far from her were the trio of elven women, gowned and made-up and drawing a huge crowd of men. Officially, they were just there to observe as they were supposedly visiting Airi. Junpei had gotten bored and wandered off with a flock of star-struck young ladies from the groom's kingdom who had recognized him as the arena champion, the White Dragon. By now, he was probably deflowering them like a horny goat.

As the Queen finished the dance, and departed the floor with her Consort to make room for the rest of the guests, Ritsuko watched the groom as he excused himself to go talk up the elves with two of his male buddies. She noted his wandering eyes and free hands. Liseria was getting a goblet of wine as Ritsuko studied her enemy. Nearly chugging the wine, Liseria closed her eyes for a long moment. Airi and Ritsuko cut through the circle of women around the Queen like a knife through air.

“Maintain your poise, Liseria,” murmured Airi, extending her glass so the queen could touch her goblet to hers like she had made a toast.

“We have your back, my queen,” Ritsuko murmured, inclining her head and giving a half-curtsey which the queen returned as if the red-head had offered her good wishes on her wedding and congratulations on her marriage.

Barely a half hour later, Airi was dancing with a foreign dignitary and Ritsuko knew she would be bringing the man back to her suite. Ritsuko herself was dancing with various men, and twice had been forced to endure the attentions of the Consort and his friends. Though she seemed only a little tired to those watching her, she radiated rage to those who knew her. It was then that the elves stepped in, the three of them smoothly separating her from the rest and quietly vanishing from the wedding celebration.

When the royal couple made their good-nights to the guests, Ritsuko was already out of the gown and dressed in her work clothes. Liseria bore up well under the off-color cheers from the guests before leading her consort toward her bed-chambers. Excusing herself to the bathroom, she saw her husband give her a smirk before watching her move toward the bathroom. Once the Queen was out of sight, he entered her bedroom, grinning to himself. That grin lasted a short two steps into the room before someone dropped a heavy black bag over their head and jerked them backward onto the floor. He couldn't even cry out because the bag had a string around the bottom that choked off his air. Whoever had jumped him knew their trade, because before he could even fight back, he was immobilized and silenced by a hand clamping his nose and mouth shut as the person bent his spine the wrong way.

“I am the Queen's Shadow, and I will warn you only once, little man,” a low, rough voice whispered in his ear. “Touch my queen and you will die. Should you lay eyes on her naked body, I will tear your eyes from your head and shove them up your ass. If my Queen even sees a shadow of your limp little rod, I will castrate you and sell you to the bordellos who serve men. Raise your voice to my Queen for any reason, and I will tear your jaw off and beat you to death with it. Offer violence to my Queen and you and your family will be betrayed to Boss to sate her anger. You will develop a deep, burning passion for solitude of the type best found far, far from her and her court. The heirs she will bear will be vigorously championed as your work, though none of them shall be of your foul, filthy seed. In public, you will be the obedient, respectful, subservient consort you are meant to be or you will wish you had fallen into the Rebellion's hands. I see all, I know all, and I have no mercy,” the person snarled.

He couldn't tell if the person was a man or a woman. The strength of the grip suggested a man, but the mass hinted at perhaps a woman of great strength; maybe a young Amazon warrior. “This is the only warning you will ever get. I suggest you take it to heart, little boy,” finished the attacker, bending his spine and bound arms a bit more to emphasize the warning. Abruptly, the attacker was gone, as was the sack over his head. Before he could get up, the door to the room opened, and Liseria entered, a sleeping sift on and a look of strained nervousness on her lips.

The look of nervousness turned to puzzlement at seeing him sprawled out on the floor of her bedroom. “What are you doing on my floor, Consort?” she asked, her eyes narrowing a little.

“M-my apologies, my Queen,” he managed. He thought he saw the shadows of the hall lamp flicker behind the queen, making her shadow shift. “I f-fear I have over-indulged in drink this evening and can hardly stand, let alone perform my duties as your Consort. With your permission, I humbly ask that I be allowed to sleep elsewhere so as not to disturb you with my foolish mistake,” he nearly begged.

“Yes, of course,” Liseria said, clapping her hands. Moments later, Venus appeared.

“My Queen,” she curtseyed.

“Please show the Consort to an unoccupied bed; he is feeling somewhat ill,” the Queen said.

“At once, my Queen,” Venus replied, swiftly helping the man up and guiding her out of the room. Liseria almost fainted in relief.

“Nerves?” asked a voice, making her give a strangled eep! Spinning around, she saw a grinning Ritsuko - wearing her casual gown - leaning against the door frame, arms crossed below her breasts. “Don't know that I blame you; men are clumsy and the first few times hurt anyway so their stupidity only compounds the problem. And you are untouched, too,” sighed Ritsuko, stepping into the room to hug the Queen. “I think you should find a skilled, considerate young man or boy to ease you into things rather than spread your legs for that jackass of a pig,” she growled. Liseria managed a weak giggle as she hugged Ritsuko tight to her.

“You will never think any man is good enough for me,” she half-teased.

“Nonsense,” disagreed Ritsuko. “It's just that man; and most others. Want me to find you a man who can ease you into womanhood?” she asked directly.

“I had no idea you were a connoisseur of men, my dear Countess,” Liseria joked back.

“Connoisseur, no,” agreed Ritsuko, “but I think I am a good judge of them by now,” she added grimly. “And that jackass should never touch you. He is not only an oaf and a cad, he is unimaginative, inconsiderate and untrustworthy. Keep your legs closed and I will find you someone better. Deal?” she asked.

“I bet you five gold Peaks that you will not find a man who can possibly meet your impossibly-high standards,” giggled the queen. Ritsuko grinned at her.

“You, my Queen, have a bet,” she purred before kissing the monarch briefly. Breaking the kiss, she picked up the queen and deposited her in her bed, tucking her in before kissing her forehead. “And I don't lose,” she whispered before blowing out the lamps and exiting the room.

The consort was sleeping in an empty servant's room, having failed to convince the body servant of his new wife to join him when he was suddenly awakened by a hand slapping across his eyes and a sharp, cold knife pressing into his neck even as he felt the air being driven out of his lungs as a person knelt on his breadbasket. “One more thing, little boy,” came the voice of the Queen's Shadow. “I care not if you carouse with whores, sluts and women of no virtue, but remember this: should even one whisper of a rumor about any infidelity on your part be heard, I will erase you and your line forever. Should the Queen chose to take another man to her bed, you will do everything in your power to help her keep it secret, but know that should rumors of her taking other lovers surface, you will not display the slightest unhappiness at them. Were you to be so foolish as to feed such rumors, or speak against anything my Queen may do, and death will be your prayer for eternity under my hand. If you understand my warning, nod,” commanded the voice. The man struggled to nod, though the grip on his face and the knife at his throat made it nearly impossible. “Nod, damn you, or be destroyed!” snarled the voice, the hand clamping down harder as the knife dug in deeper. The man managed a weak, but clear, nod. The knife vanished from his throat before something hit his head and he knew nothing more.

The next morning, the palace was abuzz with the news that the two friends of the Consort had somehow fallen from the top of the palace roof. They had been deep in their cups, most agreed, and though they had left with a girl under each arm, they must have wandered up there by drunken accident and fallen several stories to the ground. When the staff came to find the Consort to tell him the news, they found the Queen sleeping alone. She explained that the Consort was too drunk to perform and had been shown to a spare room. When the door to the room had been opened, they had found the consort unconscious, a bottle of wine near his hand, his head and chest on the stone floor and the lower half of his body on the narrow bed. From the bruises and swollen bumps on his head, it was apparent that he had drunkenly tossed himself off the bed, hitting his head on the floor and knocking himself unconscious.

Countess Ritsuko had some snide things to whisper about at breakfast that morning, the guests and most of the court hearing them. As courtiers loved nothing more than scandalous gossip, by the time the Consort made an appearance at just after the noon bell, he was greeted with veiled insults, vicious barbs and malicious glances from the women of the court and the female serving staff, while the men of the court maintained a firm distance from him. Hearing of his friends' accidents, he had lost all color from his face, and pleaded not feeling well before retiring again. The good Countess had had a few more things to whisper about after that. Liseria was swamped with the support and sympathy of the women of the court and female staff alike.

“Ritsuko,” sighed Airi after she had shown the man she had been dancing with out of her suite so Ritsuko could return to their rooms, “did you throw those two men off the roof?”

“Of course,” came the disinterested reply. “One of them grabbed my ass and the other tried to pull my top down to expose my tits. What did you think I would do?” she said, dropping into a comfortable chair in the central room. “You going to get the sheets changed after that pig dirtied them?” she asked, hiding a yawn. She had been up most of the night, after all.

“Yes,” Airi confirmed. She knew that Ritsuko would insist on clean sheets after a man had been in their bed. The actress wasn't entirely sure why, but if any man so much as lay in the bed they shared, the sheets had to be changed and clean ones put on. It was most likely a sign of her ongoing issues with her abuse while a slave.

“I can't believe you spread your legs for that guy,” muttered Ritsuko.

Airi poured herself a glass of wine and delicately sipped it. “It was necessary. I may end up marrying him,” she admitted. She couldn't help but smirk a little at the look on Ritsuko's face when she said that.

“What about going home? To our world? What about having some standards?” Ritsuko retorted, making a face.

“I have not given up on that, but you and I both know that the odds just keep getting longer. You know of the time difference between this world and the JSDF Japan, right? Have you done the math, should our world be out of temporal phase?” asked the actress.

“The instant that they told me about it,” murmured Ritsuko. “Ten years at an average divergence of one and three-quarters. Nearly twenty years might have passed,” she said, tucking her knees under her chin and wrapping her arms around them. “No telling if the time we spent with the Pilots was at standard deviance or not. Going home…might not be going home,” she whispered. Airi sat beside her and hugged her.

“I am not being cruel, Rit-chan,” she said softly.

“I know, but I still hope…” Ritsuko trailed off before shaking her head. “And that is why we need to fix the major problems with this world,” she said, forcing a change in the topic.

“Have you considered that you may need a husband?” suggested Airi.

“I used to want kids eventually,” she admitted. “But now? I just…can't see it,” she finished awkwardly. “I'm practically a Christmas cake without even realizing it,” she laughed weakly. “But I don't know that any man would survive marrying me,” she smirked.

“It would take a special man, to be sure,” allowed her older friend, stroking her hair with one hand. “But, he is likely around this world somewhere, so maybe you should keep an eye out for him?”

Ritsuko was silent for a long moment before uncoiling her legs and standing. “Can't promise anything,” she said before stretching. “But right now, I have some things to do,” she smiled to herself before turning to Airi and giving her a brief kiss. “See you later tonight. Keep Liseria safe for me!” she called back over her shoulder as she left the rooms.

*

“Not bad, but you need to use finer wood pulp in the casing. Also, you might want to use a fine coating of pure wax,” Ritsuko said, examining the current batch of feminine hygiene products. “Here, something like this,” she said, handing the group of healers one of the tampons she had gotten from the JSDF in exchange for disposing of Zorzal. The healers huddled around the product, marveling at the construction, materials and size of the device. “I have some notes on the manufacturing process for each component, complete with lists of chemicals you will need and how to use them safely. How is the testing and development group doing?” she asked.

“Quite well,” one of the healers said. “The women are very enthusiastic about the potential of this item, though there have been some hiccups in the manufacturing processes,” he admitted.

“I'm sure,” Ritsuko snorted. “You will need to develop a hot vapor treatment system for the cardboard tube manufacturing part, and the cotton inner component must be both properly crafted and completely sterile. If the string is not properly wound around the inner section it will not remove all the contaminated absorbent material, which risks an infection. Study that one carefully in all aspects, and have your medical instrument makers work from these notes,” she said, dropping off a stack of parchments with diagrams, steps, lists and suggestions. “I will check back with you in a few months,” she added, turning to leave.

“Miss, if I may, where did you get this specimen?” asked one of the doctors, gesturing to the tampon.

“You may not,” was all Ritsuko said, not breaking stride as she left, Milliea falling into place beside her. The two walked to where their air tarpon was waiting and boarded. Ritsuko guided the fish up and away.

Ritsuko had been moving forward with her plans. She had hit upon the idea of `inventing' certain things from her world here. It was a source of income and also would help advance the technology level and social development of that world. While she and Milliea were running errands, Gabriella and Rapier were traveling around to key locations and building transit gates that linked to the main hub in Raltaow, though they remained locked and secured. Airi, Ritsuko and Liseria had decided on the best locations for the first batch of such groups, and since they required mages to cast the spells - with Summoners being the best suited to do the spell work - the elves were tapped. Under orders for Boss, the Captains had ordered stone arches built to spec in the three largest cities in the freed kingdoms, while Airi had arranged for certain of the kings who were judged trustworthy to have arches built in their main cities. Gabriella and Rapier were going around powering up the group in the Southern Area and Eastern Area, while Annette and the Bishops were powering up the ones in the Northern Area and Western Area.

The gates would remain locked until the new government system was up and running, which could be a few years. The reason was that there was a lot of resistance to the changes being made, and not all of it from the troublemakers. It was Airi's and Ritsuko's plan to use the carrot-and-stick approach to get things done. The carrot would be when they opened selected gates and started rebuilding the economies of friendly and supportive rulers. Seeing the ones who went along with the sweeping changes would - hopefully - push the remaining groups to agree. If not, there was the stick, which covered a range of options, but ended with Ritsuko and her Boss persona.

Even though it was late summer, the weather was already turning cold in Raltaow, and Ritsuko needed to hurry to get things done. She planned to find the right man to deflower Liseria during the winter; and possibly not on this continent. The air tarpon soared along, heading for the capital of Colleena's kingdom. Apparently, Colleena had been in contact with Emily and Dihal and wanted to speak with Ritsuko. So, she would go talk to them and see what was up before looping back to Raltaow.

“You seem happier lately,” Milliea said to her over the roar of the wind. Ritsuko glanced over at her companion.

“Really? Guess I might be,” she allowed.

“You are,” came the certain reply. “Why is that?”

“Not sure, really. Maybe I just like traveling with you?” she smiled at her fellow red-head. Milliea beamed back at her.

“I like traveling with you, too, Rit-chan!” chirped the perpetually-sunny elf. “Can we stop off by that place with the bath and massages and stuff?” wondered the elf.

“The spa? Sure,” Ritsuko agreed, mentally mapping her route and estimating times. “We can beat the snow, I think, and if not, well, we can gate in if necessary,” she said.

Ritsuko liked having the air tarpon. In addition to the air narwhale - which was technically the property of the Temple of Celsia - it gave them a much greater reach and speed, as well as allowing them to move more freely throughout the lands in groups. Mike was still her favorite for when she was expecting trouble, but for all the strengths that he brought to the table, he also had his weaknesses. Speed and stealth were his main weaknesses, and while there were few places he couldn't go, he could rarely go there in a straight line, due to his weight and the rivers in this world. So, she only took him if she was expecting trouble or if she needed to make a statement. Liseria had begun to be a little concerned about the tank tracks that were beginning to populate the kingdom, given how hard they were to get rid of and how hard it was to move wagons or even foot traffic over a heavily-traveled tank path. Ritsuko had agreed to limit her play time with her pet; inside Raltaow's main valley, anyway.

The two arrived at the capital that Colleena called home that evening, having cruised leisurely instead of hauling ass. It was easier on the air fish, and made the trip more pleasant to the riders to cruise instead of running flat out. Landing in the Princess Garden, they secured the air fish and headed in to talk to Colleena. They found the elf princess talking with her husband and some courtiers, along with the two elves. Everything stopped as the two entered the room.

“I hadn't realized I had such an impact when entering a room,” Ritsuko said sardonically, her traveling cloak tossed back over her shoulders, hood down to reveal her braided hair falling over her left shoulder to her hips. The people in the room could see her gun belt on her hips and the top of her battle gown above the simple skirt she wore. Her sturdy, comfortable boots shod her feet.

“Colleena, Dihal, Emily, hi!” chirped Milliea, obliviously cheerful as always.

“You said you wanted to talk, Colleena?” Ritsuko said, moving into the room, eyes burning across the courtiers and the prince.

“Uh, yes,” Colleena gathered her thoughts quickly. “We were just catching up a little,” she began. Ritsuko's hands came to rest on her hips, her right hand uncomfortably close to her holstered pistol.

“Is that what this is? Catching up with courtiers you should see frequently, as well as your husband? Really? And Dihal and Emily are catching up? I recall you were not that close, and given the last time we met up, I would think you had precious little to catch up on. So, why not just tell me what this is about, Colleena?” suggested Ritsuko, suspicion in her tone.

Milliea touched her shoulder, knowing this pattern from the human woman. “Easy, Rit-chan,” she murmured. Ritsuko glanced at her short-haired elf friend before snorting softly. Reaching behind her, she shut the door, then leaned against it, arms crossed under the reinforced cups of her battle gown. Milliea watched her for a moment before deciding she was calm enough for her to take her eyes off. The elf woman turned to the other elves in the room. “What is this about?” she asked curiously.

“It is about what she and her group have been doing lately,” Dihal said.

“Its effect on elves is…” began Emily.

“What effects on elves? You have been untouched through this all,” Ritsuko cut her off flatly. “The only members of your race to have had the slightest interaction in this whole thing have been Annette, Milliea, Rapier and Gabriella. Colleena has occasionally worked with the Chancellor of Raltaow on diplomatic issues; same for Annette. And the Rebellion has left you all alone. So, what effect, Emily?”

Milliea gave her friend a look that made Ritsuko roll her eyes. “It's more about the changes you are proposing to the kingdoms, now that the Rebellion has won,” Colleena interjected. “Without the nobility to moderate the population, the number of human/elf incidents has risen, and to strip power from the kings would mean elves are in danger from humans.”

“Is that a fact?” Ritsuko retorted, unimpressed. “What sort of incidents? Why do you think a king is the only source of authority to buffer relations between the humans and elves? It sounds to me like you are worried about a drop in your status in the eyes of humans, Emily. How is that village treating you lately?” smiled Ritsuko, making Emily scowl and her face color. “That's what I thought,” she muttered.

“The majority of incidents have been over religious matters,” Colleena tried to keep the talk on course.

“Church problems? Not my problem,” shrugged Ritsuko. “Instead of whining about it, why not help Airi and I make these changes? The sooner the new system is in place, the sooner you get peace and security,” Ritsuko said. “I am guessing you haven't paid attention to the changes we are implementing, have you?”

“We've heard…” began Dihal, only to be cut off by Ritsuko.

“You have heard rumors, I suspect, and have come here to talk to Colleena about it, instead of going to the source. That disappoints me, Dihal. For a former city guard captain such as yourself to avoid asking the source is just plain pathetic. Of course,” she said, her tone dropping a little, “I didn't really expect much different from you, seeing as how you sleep-spelled us to try to hog the glory. Tell me, does anyone trust you to be even a simple guard after that?”

Dihal's face turned red as her fists clenched. “Before you start screaming, I warn you that I am far less tolerant than I was back then,” Ritsuko stated, unfastening her cloak, which dropped to the floor, revealing a strap across her chest. With one arm, she slung her G36 around to her front, a scary smile stretching across her lips.

“Rit-chan!” protested Milliea.

“Milliea-chan doesn't like me killing people, but that doesn't mean she can always stop me. Choose carefully, Dihal,” warned Ritsuko. “I suggest you look over the information that Colleena has, and if you have any questions, come see Airi or I. You will find that the quality of life for the elves will be better under the new system than the old. If there is nothing else,” she began, only to have someone knock on the closed door. Ritsuko spun easily, gun coming up as she kicked her cloak aside.

“Come!” called out Milliea, her hands on her sword hilts. The door opened to reveal the King.

“Father,” the prince blinked. Colleena inclined her head.

“I had wondered what was keeping you,” began the king, only to turn to see Ritsuko shaking out her cloak. “I didn't know you were visiting, milady,” he gave her a half-bow.

“It was a last-minute thing, my lord,” Ritsuko replied, her cloak folded over her arm. “How have you been? I trust the gate arch is finished or nearly so?” she asked.

“They finished the arch earlier today, and will have the scaffolding cleared by tomorrow afternoon. The brick pavers will be done by the end of the week. How soon can the gate be brought to operational status?” he asked.

“Our mage will probably visit next week or the week after, but I remind you, my king, that the documents we presented to you must be ratified before the gate will be unlocked. How is that coming?” asked Ritsuko.

“Given the condition of our economy, and the complaints of the merchants and citizens, few nobles have resisted, and most of those are only seeking an advantage against rivals. I have had some civic unrest in the far parts of the kingdom, usually blamed on Rebellion troops, however. Have you spoken with the Captains recently?” he asked.

“Not in a month or so. I will mention it to them,” she promised. “Be aware, however, that it is unlikely to be actual Rebellion soldiers. They have been given very strict orders, and none of them are foolish enough risk bringing their Boss's attention to them,” she smiled as the King swallowed roughly.

“I would imagine so, give how she nearly maimed one of her Captains for asking her to accept our terms,” he replied. “She must truly be an inhuman monster, to do such a thing to a loyal supporter for so small an infraction…”

“I have heard she is quite harsh and more controlling than any slave owner ever was. If you would call her inhuman, what does that make the slave owner who twisted her into what she is?” Ritsuko replied casually. “I actually hope to meet her some day; hopefully without bloodshed,” she added with a small smile. “If, however, you are worried, the sooner the accords are in place and the need for the Rebellion army is gone, the sooner the Captains can assume command from her, which will remove her from the equation.”

“Dare they even try such a thing?” the prince asked.

“They must,” Ritsuko sighed. “I have heard talk of a plan to distract her by interesting her in the Lost Continent. Personally, I think it has a good chance of working,” she shared candidly. The king considered that.

“Yes, perhaps that is for the best,” he mused. “Though some of the other former kings have suggested sending assassins after her,” he sighed.

“That would be a mistake,” smiled Ritsuko without any humor.

“As I tell them every time!” agreed the King fervently. “She is not the sort one can simply have assassinated. The commoners consider her a kind of hero, and the former slaves all but worship her. And then there are the stories of the last time someone tried to assassinate her,” he covered his mouth with a hand.

“What?” wondered Dihal.

“Such horrible tales are not the talk of a group late for dinner,” Ritsuko cut in smoothly. Yeah, I did sort of go overboard with that one, she thought, grinning to herself. But the rumors and stories made it worth it.

“Would you join us as my guest, milady?” the king asked. Ritsuko glanced out the window, then at Milliea before nodding.

“Yes, I believe we will,” she smiled. The king extended his arm and she took it, the two turning for the door.

“Why do you call her `milady', father?” wondered the prince. “Is she not common-born?” Colleena sent him a hard look, but he ignored it.

“I received word earlier this month that the Queen has bestowed upon her the title of Countess,” replied the king. “She is peerage, my son - you would do well to keep abreast of such things,” he hinted.

“Countess of what?” Emily wondered. Ritsuko turned to smile at the wind elf.

“Countess of House Koeign, of Raltaow,” the former elf-hunter said. “And by the way, Airi is Chancellor of Raltaow. Now you know where to come to speak to us. And I urge you to not dawdle; things will progress with or without you. Now, I am famished, my good king,” she turned her attention to the king, who escorted her to the royal dining hall, the others following the two.

“She is much different than I remember,” murmured Emily to Colleena and Dihal.

“I've been trying to tell you that,” muttered Colleena in exasperation. “They all are! Well, ok the male Junpei is still a moron and the same as before, but Airi and her are like completely different people.”

“Where did they go for all those years?” wondered Dihal. Colleena's expression turned grim.

“Better you don't ask,” she warned. “But if you must ask, it will have to be them, as I will say nothing on that matter.”

After the meal, Ritsuko and Milliea excused themselves, boarding their air tarpon and departing, in spite of the best efforts of Dihal and Emily to speak with them or delay their departure. Using her compass, Ritsuko put them on a heading for the spa, though they stopped after only a couple hours, choosing to get a good night's sleep and arrive in the early afternoon the next day.

Setting up a basic camp, the two prepared for bed. Ritsuko took off the battle gown and tended to it. She routinely wiped it down and worked leather oil into it, as well as cleaning the steel plates and making sure the lining on the cups was clean and dry. She also tended to the groin strap, switching the cotton lining for a fresh one and making sure the thin leather was in good shape before working leather oil into it, too. Milliea didn't have to tend to her ensorcelled swords or cursed armor, but she did strip down after getting a large pan of water from the stream not too far away. Ritsuko set aside her battle gown when she was done and accepted a clean cloth from Milliea, the two women enjoying a simple sponge bath.

Their bath was interrupted by the sound of movement close to them. Ritsuko - never one to be separated from her guns - snatched her pistol up as she came to her feet, gun up and ready. Milliea touched her sword hilts and they practically sprang into her hands. “Well, well! Look what dropped in our laps, boys!” came a male voice as some scruffy men came into the circle of light of their small fire. “Two naked women and an air fish! This is our lucky day,” he laughed roughly.

“It is your last day, dick-head,” warned Ritsuko. “Who are you brain-donors?” she wondered, not having heard anything about bandits in the area; though that never meant there wasn't.

“Three behind us, two over there, another behind this one,” Milliea murmured. Neither woman was trying to cover their naked, damp bodies, being more focused on the threats. Ritsuko gave a marginal nod. Her G36 was two steps away, as was her battle gown, though she didn't think she would have time to don it. Not that I should need it, she thought to herself.

“Oh, the lady wants an introduction!” the man who seemed to be the leader laughed, echoing laughter coming from the unseen brigands.

“Another two further back, probably archers,” Milliea adjusted her count. Another faint nod. Ritsuko had a flash-bang grenade on her belt, which was next to her rifle.

“My apologies, lady,” mocked the man. “I am but a humble working man, and me and my companions are seeking a better life,” he orated.

“Working man? You had a trade?” came the snide response from Ritsuko.

“I was a soldier in the Rebellion,” he began grandly, “I served as the right hand of Boss herself, and personally sacked a kingdom for her!”

“I doubt that,” came the amused response from Ritsuko. “I would have remembered you if you had ever served under me,” she explained, her tone ominous. The man frowned. “More to the point, I gave strict orders about turning to crime; and about the conditions for leaving my service. You are a common brigand, nothing more. Pity it will cost you your life,” Ritsuko said.

“Wha…?” began the man, but Ritsuko cut him off with a bullet to the head before diving to her belt. The flash-bang was lofting into the air before the others could register what had just happened. Milliea dove to the ground, covering her ears and eyes as Ritsuko did the same. The flash-bang detonated head-high, deafening and blinding the men. Boss surged to her feet, rifle in her hands, and opened up on the group in her immediate sight while Milliea dealt with the two behind them. Ritsuko dashed into the woods, four shots following quickly. Moments later, Ritsuko walked out of the woods, G36 in her hand.

“Well, this explains the unrest,” she said casually to Milliea before squatting to clean the dirt off her feet. Milliea sheathed her swords, nodding. “They weren't Rebellion, but someone is claiming that to recruit. I will have to have a talk with my Captains and pass the word. Anyone claiming to be Rebellion but who can't prove it will be killed on the spot,” she nodded to herself, pulling her boots on and finding a pair of gloves in her small travel bag. Milliea got her own gloves out and the two dragged the bodies into the woods. Returning to the small camp, the two settled in to sleep, cuddled up together in a simple pallet made from their cloaks and blankets.

Nestling her face against Milliea's neck, Ritsuko could feel the naked elf pressing tight to her own naked form. “You know, Milliea, I do like traveling with you,” she murmured before kissing the elf. The two drifted off to sleep, waking just before sunrise. Dressing, they climbed aboard the air fish and headed toward the spa for some relaxation and pampering before making a side trip to speak with the Captains about this issue and then back home to Raltaow.

*

“So, this is your home,” Airi mused, looking around the manor that Ritsuko had gotten when she was elevated to Countess. Ritsuko shrugged.

“More or less,” she allowed. “It needs work,” she added. Airi looked around the manor. While not in awful shape, it was a bit run-down and not well cared for. Her vassals had maintained it as best they could, but it was not enough. “I have actually thought about demolishing it and building a new one in its place,” she noted. “You know, an actual house with a bathroom and all?”

“What would the locals think?” smiled Airi.

“The locals think this is a great estate,” came the dry response from the red-head. Fires were burning in the fireplaces, but the cold was still seeping in, given the primitive construction. “We need to get the new sawmills up and running, and I want to see about starting a proper foundry so we can get iron pipes and castings, if nothing else,” she added.

“Agreed,” Airi nodded. “I got word that your new and improved terra cotta and pottery works have been receiving a lot of orders ever since you demonstrated plumbing and catchment systems in the Southern Kingdoms.”

“Yes. I have the captains working on public utilities even now, but I keep having to go back and explain the theories to them before they will believe it will work. Annoying as hell…” muttered the younger woman.

“I have begun similar initiatives in the Western and Central kingdoms, but they are slow to catch on,” admitted the actress. Ritsuko glanced at her companion.

“Because such things came from the Rebellion,” she pointed out cynically. “Which is all the more reason to wean back from direct roles. Oh, I want to borrow Liseria for a few weeks after the solstice.”

“Borrow her? She isn't a toy, Rit-chan,” smiled Airi. The red-head just grinned at her. “And what would you do with her?”

“Some bonding time away from here. I think Kaislinn needs to come out again,” laughed Ritsuko.

Airi sighed. “Ritsuko, I know about her training with you, and you teaching her to use one of your M16s, and I know about your terrorizing the Consort to the point where he can't perform, but I must remind you that she is a Queen, and there are certain requirements of her.”

“All she needs is a husband of record, and a kid. Nothing says it has to be that prick's work, and no one will say anything if they want to live, either,” Ritsuko snorted.

Airi was silent, but Ritsuko knew she disapproved of her unilateral tactics. “I haven't seen your insurgents recently. What did you do with them, now that the fighting is over?” asked Airi instead.

“The fighting here is over, you mean,” interjected Ritsuko before moving on quickly. “They are running errands for me, as is their duty,” she said, her tone falsely pompous. Airi reach out, tapping the back of her knuckles against her companion's breast, which was protected by the armored cups of her battle gown under her wool dress.

“I am sure they are,” Airi murmured. “Did you send them through the gate to the Lost Continent? You seem quite taken with your Warrior Bunny armor,” noted the older woman.

“They made me their Queen,” shrugged Ritsuko. It wasn't an answer that anyone but Airi would understand; and Airi understood it perfectly.

“So they did,” she murmured.

“How about we stop talking about me and talk about you,” Ritsuko changed topics. “I have seen men sneaking out of our room in the palace three times now; and they were three different men, too,” she shared.

“One would ask why you were not in bed with me, but I already know the answer,” Airi sassed dryly.

“What is the deal with that, Airi?” Ritsuko asked directly. Airi hummed, turning away from Ritsuko before answering.

“I am likely going to be married before the end of next year, Ritsuko,” Airi answered.

“The fuck you say?” came the immediate response. “Why? To who? For what gain?” demanded the younger woman.

“I said I am likely to be married by this time next year,” began Airi, having expecting that reaction from the Countess. “Why I would marry should be very obvious to you, given our goals and the political challenges facing us. As for who, that is not decided. The gain is the reason. You should consider it as well, being a Countess and all,” she added.

“We talked about this, Airi,” Ritsuko said, her tone tight. “Getting back to you, do you plan to have a kid or five when you get married?” she asked.

“Perhaps,” Airi answered. “Unless of course you go native again on my husband as you did with Liseria's husband.”

“You should be glad I didn't throw him off the roof yet,” grunted Ritsuko. The month before, an old friend of the Consort's had come to visit just as the passes closed. From the trunks with him, he planned to stay all winter. The very first night, he had made some inappropriate remarks about the Queen while drinking in the royal sitting room, unaware that Liseria and Ritsuko were talking in the Queen's private sitting room. The Consort had tried to hush him, but the next day, he had bothered Ritsuko as she was leaving Airi's apartments. As she was wearing a simple dress, he had fondled her and made some rather lewd demands of her. She had led him to the roof - for `privacy' - before throwing him off; right at the same spot the first two had been defenestrated from. Citing grief and the need to escort the body home, the Consort had nearly run from the palace, Ritsuko's cold eyes piercing him like ice arrows the whole time.

“I would be glad; except you said `yet',” noted Airi blandly.

“No promises,” shrugged the red-head.

“Rit-chan, people are talking,” sighed Airi.

“So?” Ritsuko replied. Airi turned to face her.

“I want you to calm down and behave less noticeably, Ritsuko. Please. For my sake and the sake of our goals,” Airi asked of her directly. Ritsuko frowned, but finally nodded.

“Start the rumor in court that I am deeply involved in a project and hint that I might not be feeling too well,” she said, absently studying the plans she had drawn up for the house. “I…will be away for a while,” she added, rolling up the paper.

“Rit-chan,” began Airi, a little concerned.

“I know, Airi,” was all Ritsuko said.

*

Mid-winter solstice had been the week before. There had been a grand ball as usual in the palace of the Queen of Raltaow, with Chancellor Airi and Queen Liseria presiding over the event. The main topic of conversation was the visiting guests, which included several kings of the Allied Kingdoms, as well as two of the Captains of the Rebellion, not one but two elven High Priestesses, an Archbishop of the Church and even a couple heads of merchant guilds, who represented businesses with more annual income than most of the nobles in attendance. There was also the legendary undefeated Arena Champion, the White Dragon.

What most failed to notice was that a Countess was missing from the festivities. In fact, she hadn't been seen in quite some time. Her appearance at the festival banquet was expected, and a few had been told by the Queen she would be there, only to have her not show. Most were distracted by the guests and the political atmosphere of the party, and forgot about the sometimes-prickly Countess. Some, however, thought of nothing else.

“Did you find her?” asked Airi as she covertly met with a cloaked figure near the servant's entrance to the hall.

“No,” came the quiet reply. “I hiked out to her manor, but no one has been there in weeks; maybe months. Her freemen said she told them to keep an eye on the place and she would be back soon, but that was before the first heavy snow, and she hasn't been back since,” the cloaked figure replied.

“And no one saw her use the gate. Mike is in his lair, and both the air tarpon and the air narwhale are accounted for. Where did she go?” worried Airi.

“I checked her cache,” noted the cloaked figure. “Half her guns are missing, so she is armed, wherever she is.”

“That doesn't make me feel any better,” murmured Airi.

“Relax,” urged the other, “we haven't heard of any massacres, right? So, she is probably holed up somewhere, hopefully getting laid every night and sipping fruit ale on a beach during the day. She hasn't taken a break in almost a decade, you know.”

“I know, but she isn't an elf, and she still hasn't gotten a grip on her emotional state. I should have kept a closer eye on her,” sighed Airi.

“Airi, she is a big girl; she can take care of herself,” insisted the cloaked figure. Two former kings and a merchant boss homed in on the Chancellor. “That's my cue - I'm out of here,” the figure added, vanishing.

Meanwhile, Liseria was glad her Consort was visiting an ailing family member in the Eastern Kingdoms over the winter. She didn't need another problem, and that was what he was, most times. The Queen had been trying to find Ritsuko ever since she and Airi realized the red-head had vanished after Airi visited her estate, but so far, no one knew anything. Milliea had been nearly frantic when they realized she was gone, and it had taken a lot of effort to calm down the swordelf. Gabriella had tried casting a Moonlight Mirror spell, but she didn't have any of Ritsuko's hair left and with her slave rune removed, there was nothing to key the spell to. That had not happened before, and it only increased the worry of the group. Annette had performed a tracing spell that had indicated Ritsuko was alive, but not much else.

Understandably, the group was a bit concerned. Misplacing someone like their Rit-chan was not unlike misplacing an armed nuke or the anti-Christ. It wasn't a good idea. Airi and the Queen had been discussing way to put out a net for the woman without making it obvious to the people and groups watching them that there was a problem.

Airi finished her coffee and stared out the windows of her drawing room, a cheerful fire crackling the modified fireplace clashing with the depressed feeling she had been trying to shake. A knock on the door roused her from her musings. “Yes?” she called, turning to the door.

“Chancellor Airi, might we have a word with you?” came a woman's voice. Swiftly, Airi checked herself and the room before answering.

“Yes, please come in,” she said, assuming a comfortable pose on an overstuffed chair near the fire. The door opened, and in came the last two people she wanted to deal with right then: the former plantation owner turned Captain of the Rebellion, and the grizzled old former soldier Captain of the Rebellion. The two entered the apartments of the Chancellor, looking around a moment. “What can I do for you two this fine evening?” asked Airi urbanely.

“We need to see Boss, but no one can find her,” the man said, forsaking any verbal foreplay at all in favor of getting right to the point. The woman sent him a look but didn't disagree.

“From what I gathered at the festival, no one has seen her for several weeks,” the woman added. “I know the passes are snowed in, and her iron chariot is reported to be resting in its shed, so where is she?”

“She is busy,” Airi said. “Perhaps I can help you?” hinted the woman. The two turned to look at each other for a long moment.

“I doubt it, Chancellor,” the former soldier said.

“If it involved the peace negotiations, I must insist,” Airi replied easily.

“It doesn't,” the two said in unison, causing identical expressions to cross their faces. Airi nearly laughed at them.

“It is a personal thing,” the woman said.

“So it appears,” purred Airi, pouring herself a glass of wine. “Thirsty?” she asked the two, gesturing with the wine bottle. “This is a superior vintage,” added the actress. The two glanced at each other before slowly approaching and taking seats facing the Chancellor. Airi nodded to Hecate as the body servant placed two more clean glasses beside the wine bottle before fading back into the background like a ghost. The Chancellor poured the wine herself, handing the glasses to the two Captains. “So, you want to ask Boss's blessings, do you not?” Airi toyed with the two gleefully.

“Well, it…might not be in her plans,” the man offered.

“She can be somewhat….” The woman trailed off, waving her hand.

“Indeed,” Airi agreed with the unspoken thought. “And then there is poor Junpei to consider, as well,” she smiled.

“Junpei?” wondered the man. The woman sent Airi a scorching look out of his sight.

“I am sure he will get over it,” Airi smoothed the topic away. “But to the heart of the matter, I think you should re-consider asking her blessings,” sighed the Chancellor. “It is easier to get her to forgive you than to get her blessings, these days.”

“So, Boss is missing,” the man said, his eyes watching her carefully. Airi wondered if he had spotted a tell or if he had just made that remark to look for a lapse in her performance.

“Boss walks where she wills, when she wills, and none may stop her,” Airi replied distantly. “And in spite what many may suggest or think, neither myself nor my Queen own her. She is much like a cat of late,” Airi finished before sipping her wine casually. The two Captains were silent, each thinking about the information they had received.

“Are the rumors you are accepting suitors true?” asked the woman after several moments of thought.

“They are,” Airi confirmed carefully.

“And did Boss really throw the Consort's friends off the roof?” the former soldier asked, grinning a little.

“Where did you hear such a dreadful rumor?” Airi asked instead.

“Guards talk when gambling,” the man shrugged.

“Do they now,” murmured Airi. Going to have to remind them to keep their gossip to themselves before their loose lips get them thrown off a roof, she made a mental note.

“But she did, didn't she?” insisted the man, grinning widely now. “That is exactly why I follow her,” he added happily, raising his glass of wine in a one-man toast to his absent leader.

“Because she throws people off roofs?” wondered the woman beside him.

“Because Boss acts,” the man answered seriously. The woman sighed but couldn't argue. Their Boss did in fact act; and usually in horrifyingly direct ways. She tapped her glass against his.

“That she does. To Boss,” she said before downing half the wine in her glass.

“To Boss,” the man echoed, taking a deep pull from his own glass. Airi couldn't quite bring herself to join the two.

“Tell me of the Rebellion,” she said instead. “Now that peace is upon us, how fares the administration of the lands Boss conquered?”

In the late hours of the evening, the Queen came looking for her Chancellor, finding her to be staring out a window, empty wine glass in hand, a frown on her face. “Airi?” Liseria asked.

“My Queen,” Airi replied, giving her a nod. “I did not hear you enter. What is it?”

Liseria dismissed the casual tone. It made her feel more comfortable when Airi forgot to put on an act. Stopping beside the woman, she watched the snow falling in the sallow, flickering light of the lamps in the garden that was outside the windows of the Chancellor's suite. The halo effect and the silent, soft coating of the powder-fine dry snow made it seem like a desolate world. “Any news of Ritsuko?” asked the Queen.

“No,” admitted Airi. “I shouldn't have pushed her,” breathed the older woman.

“It wasn't your fault, Airi,” Liseria replied. “Had I not been so resistant to her suggestions…” Liseria stopped, not sure what to say.

“I doubt she is gone for good,” Airi said softly, wrapping an arm around Liseria's shoulders and pulling her to her in a tight hug. “It is most likely she is taking a break from the pressure, and trying to deal with her emotional problems herself. I just pray she returns to us soon,” Airi whispered.

“As do I,” agreed the Queen fervently. Minutes passed. “Does she truly hate men so much now that she would do such things?” wondered the Queen.

“Yes and no, my dear Queen,” Airi admitted. “I don't know that she hates them so much as mistrusts them because of her years on the plantation. Intellectually, she understands that not all men are the enemy, but emotionally, she views them as such. The way they act toward those she considers family never helps, either,” Airi added, thinking of the Consort. The man had developed erectile dysfunction when in Liseria's proximity, and it was rumored that he often wet himself during nightmares, always awakening as he screamed about the shadows coming for him. Liseria had yet to sleep a night in the same room with him, let alone the same bed. People were beginning to talk.

And then, there was her situation. She had taken more than a couple potential suitors to her bed, and each time Ritsuko had learned of it, the young red-head had not reacted well. More than once, Airi had wondered if she was going to shoot the unlucky man on the spot. Fortunately, her Ritsuko had better self-control, but her reaction to the men in their bed - and Airi knew Ritsuko considered her bed to be their bed - had been obvious to the men unlucky enough to linger after a night with Airi and encounter the Countess in the morning. Usually, the potential suitor had not continued their relationship. And that caused talk of another type as well.

That was why Airi had gone to see Ritsuko weeks ago, in fact. And yet, it seemed to have driven her teammate away. Truly, Airi had not meant for that to be how the conversation came across, but Ritsuko was now taking a breather, and she couldn't reach her. While it didn't really affect the political advancement of their plans, it worried her deeply, knowing what could be happening but powerless to do anything about it. “How did she get out of Raltaow?” she asked herself aloud, having more or less forgotten the Queen still hugged tight to her.

“My money is on the gate,” the Queen said.

“The guards all reported no one had used it, and there were no tracks in the snow around it,” Airi reminded the Queen.

“The guards are more afraid of me than they are of the Queen,” a voice came from the door. The two spun to find Ritsuko watching them, a guarded look on her face. The young red-head was dressed in winter clothes, but Airi thought her face was a bit more tanned than before. Ritsuko began to remove her traveling clothes bit by bit, starting with the heavy wool and animal skin winter cloak. Her heavy wool and cotton tunic was next, followed by her wool dress and winter boots. Her wool leggings were last, leaving her in a pair of panties and stiff nipples as she stepped into their bedroom and returned a few moments later wearing a pair of sweatpants and her wool slippers, a thick, warm sweater in her hands. Airi noted that she did seem a little darker overall.

“Welcome home, Rit-chan,” Airi said, moving over to her and hugging her tight, pressing a deep kiss on the red-head. “Nice tan, by the way. Where did you go?” she asked after she broke the kiss.

“Elsewhere,” was all Ritsuko would say. “I finished the groundwork for Boss to become the boogey man, too, so that is taken care of. Pity you weren't with me, Liseria. I found a couple guys who could have made you eternally happy to be a woman,” she smirked at the queen.

“Did you personally test them, then?” asked the Queen, hugging the red-head as well. She kissed her just like Airi had.

“Does it matter?” was all Ritsuko said. “We can have Boss `depart' the leadership role with as little as a week's notice,” she said to Airi, deliberately ignoring the previous conversational thread. “Anything else need my attention tonight? I feel…tired,” she murmured.

“Nothing that won't wait. Sleep well,” Airi said to her. Ritsuko nodded before turning toward the door. “Where are you going? Our bed is in the other room,” Airi reminded her. Ritsuko sighed softly before turning to Airi.

“No, Airi,” she said quietly, “that is your bed. You are welcome in my bed any time, but my bed is in my manor. I'm going to find Milliea; maybe crash with her tonight, maybe head back to my manor, I don't know,” she said before exiting the rooms. The Queen blinked at that, turning to Airi with a questioning look.

“Don't look at me,” sighed Airi. “this is either very good, or very bad, though,” she allowed.

*

“Miserable time to be traveling,” sighed Airi. The snow had turned to sleet earlier that week, but was now back to big, wet, thick flakes of snow interspersed with wet hail of various sizes. Every few decades, Raltaow got a spring like this. Everyone agreed that it was miserable.

“We could walk,” suggested Liseria, who was sitting beside her in the Royal Sled, which was working its way along the rarely-used track to the manor of Ritsuko. It struggled with the wet, thick, heavy slush, which was too wet to run on smoothly. Looking at the messy ground, Airi made a face.

“That would be worse,” she said. The Queen and Chancellor were dressed warmly, the top up and a thick, heavy fur blanket over their laps.

“Do you suppose that is why she hasn't answered any summons for the last week?” wondered Liseria. Airi laughed softly.

“No, she is far more likely to simply ignore them than to be deterred by weather,” she reminded the Queen. “Attempting to summon Rit-chan is like trying to summon a cat,” she added, shaking her head.

“You don't think she left again, do you?” worried the queen.

“No, I am pretty sure she is still here, holed up in her manor,” Airi replied. She had covertly taken steps to make sure she never lost track of Ritsuko again. The actress had more or less strong-armed Annette into casting a trace spell on the red-head, though she had had to swear to the High Priestess that she would take the heat if - when - Ritsuko found out she had such a spell placed on her.

“The elves are with her?” wondered the Queen. When Ritsuko had more or less moved out of the Palace, the elves had gradually moved out as well, Milliea the first of them. She had moved out to the manor right beside Ritsuko. Rapier and Gabriella followed within days. Junpei had gone to visit, but come back grumbling about being shot at by Ritsuko. He hadn't been back, but Airi knew he had been keeping an eye on the red-head informally ever since. She had encouraged this habit in him, perfectly willing to risk his life to keep her Ritsuko safe.

The reason for their visit to the manor was to make sure they were all on the same page for the spring offensive and to share a bit of news with Ritsuko. It had taken them nearly an hour to get where they were, thanks to the difficulties of getting the sled to run through the heavy, nasty slush coating everything. But, they could see the final turn in the narrow lane that led to the manor house. Ahead of them, smoke rose lazily into the air, indicating that someone was in the manor house. Twenty minutes later, they were carefully slogging through the knee-deep slush to the main door to the manor house, which was the normal two-story, square, wood-framed with stone corners, slate-roofed type common to all of Raltaow. Knocking on the door yielded no results, so they tried the latch, finding it unlocked.

“Hello?” called out Liseria, entering the house. The fireplaces on the ground floor were all banked with coal beds, leaving the house cool but not cold. Hearing some sounds from the upper floor, the two mounted the stair case. Reaching the top, they followed the sounds to what was normally the bedroom of the lord or lady.

“Rit-chan?” Airi said, trying the door.

Opening the door, the two froze, blinking, at the sight before them. In front of the fireplace - which had a good fire going in the modified fire box - were a couple of bear skins on the floor, on top of which were two naked women and a naked male. It took the two a moment to realize the male was the late-teen male insurgent, and one of the women was the teenaged insurgent. The third woman was unknown to them, but seemed very enthusiastic about the activities. Liseria gasped as she realized just what was going on between the three.

Her gasp brought the attention of the group to the two new arrivals. Other than a brief hesitation, they didn't react. “Did you need something?” came Ritsuko's voice from the far end of the room. The two turned to look toward her, finding her to be working on stringing a wooden frame with paracord to form a base. It took Airi a moment to recognize it as a bed frame. Ritsuko was naked, sitting cross-legged on another skin rug, this one of a caribou. Beside her, head on her lap, was an equally naked Milliea, seemingly asleep.

“You have been out of touch for a while now, and we wanted to check up on you,” Airi said, entering the room, a deeply-blushing Liseria following her, trying not to stare at the threesome in front of the fire. The three seemed unconcerned about the new arrivals.
“I see your insurgents are back,” noted Airi.

“Brief lay-over,” Ritsuko remarked distractedly before suddenly snickering at her unintentional pun. Milliea stirred. “What do you need?” Ritsuko asked, tugging on the paracord to tighten the weave before beginning an intricate knot. Once it was done, she jerked on the knot hard a couple times before nodding to herself. “Hey! One of you horny fucks make yourself useful and bring me the hot iron,” she ordered the three by the fire.

“Yes, Boss,” panted the man, jerking his hips a couple times before holding himself deep in the woman he was fucking and groaning. The woman - the one Airi didn't recognize - shrieked before collapsing on the rug. Carefully, the young man eased himself to his feet and retrieved a thin, hot iron from the fireplace, approaching the naked red-head. Offering it to her handle-first, she took it, swiftly using it to both cut and melt the paracord. She seemed completely indifferent to his nakedness; and his semi-hard dick being face-high to her and closer to her than Airi thought Ritsuko would allow a dick ever again.

“Done,” she announced, one hand absently stroking Milliea's face, the elf woman stirring and sitting up. “Take it to the room you were given, and take her, too,” ordered Ritsuko. The man nodded.

“Yes, Boss,” he confirmed, carefully taking the bed frame and carrying it out of the room, nodding absently in passing to the Queen and Chancellor as if they were but citizens on the street. “Zarin, a hand?” he prompted. The other insurgent huffed, but got up and started to help the dazed woman up and out the door. Standing, Ritsuko stretched before reaching for a simple, short, thin shift that barely covered her breasts and ended less than two fingers past her groin.

“You were here for what, again?” Ritsuko prompted, focusing her attention on the two. Airi felt a pang in her chest at the words.

“To check up on you,” Liseria said. “You ignored two summons,” she added, sounding a bit exasperated.

“Get used to it, Liseria,” Ritsuko said quietly, checking a pot not far from the fireplace before scooping up a large cup of water. “No one - not even you - calls me like some dog or slave,” she muttered, staring out the window. Milliea moved over to her, touching her shoulder. The elf woman seemed to be unaware she was still naked.

“I thought Boss was going into exile,” Airi said quietly.

“She is, but I doubt I will ever be rid of her entirely,” Ritsuko sighed. “Is there a problem with the negotiations or a change to plans?” asked the red-head directly. “Or do I get to throw some people off the roof?” she hinted, knowing Airi would understand, but not Liseria.

“I would have thought you would be bored with that,” Airi returned. The tightness in her chest was not going away. Ritsuko shrugged. “Where are Rapier and Gabriella?” asked the actress.

“Somewhere,” Ritsuko replied indifferently. “They are free to come and go as they choose,” she said, refilling the cup and handing it to Milliea, who nodded her thanks before drinking. “Did you need something, Zarin?” she asked, glancing past the two most powerful people in the kingdom. The two turned their heads to see the youngest insurgent hovering by the door.

“Boss, can I stay with you tonight?” asked the young woman, entering the room. She held a shift not unlike Ritsuko's in her hand, but remained naked. Airi spotted the signs she was deliberately trying to make herself as appealing as possible with her pose and body language.

“Bathe thoroughly first,” sighed Ritsuko. Zarin nearly squealed with delight and dashed from the room.

“Who is the other woman?” wondered Liseria.

“No one of any concern to you,” Ritsuko answered, a nearly-malicious smile on her lips. Airi immediately sensed trouble on the horizon for someone from the smile on her teammate's lips. “What was urgent enough to bring you two out here?” she doggedly returned to the original question.

“I will be marrying this spring, Rit-chan,” Airi said. Ritsuko couldn't stop the twitch she gave at that name. “He is a cousin to two of the kings with the most influence, and it will allow us to finish the transition smoothly.”

“Sounds…political,” Ritsuko replied blandly.

“He has a younger half-brother I would like you to meet,” Airi began.

“Back to throwing people off buildings, are we?” Ritsuko replied, still staring out the window. Milliea hugged Ritsuko tightly, saying nothing. “Can you live with it, Airi?”

“I can,” Airi replied.

“Then so can I,” Ritsuko said quietly.

“It is important that you are there, Countess,” Liseria said. Ritsuko turned her head just enough to fix the Queen with a stare from one eye. Liseria shivered at the look in Ritsuko's eye. Airi crossed her fingers.

“You said you wouldn't be jealous, Ritsuko,” she said.

“I'm not jealous,” came the tight reply from the red-head. “I'm trying to give you what you asked for, no matter how much it hurts, Airi!”

Airi nearly ran to Ritsuko, hugging her tightly, trapping Milliea as well, though the elf seemed to not mind. “I am not replacing you nor am I pushing you away, Rit-chan,” she promised.

“You don't have a choice,” Ritsuko replied. “There isn't a viable path forward if I remain close. Too much talk, too much politics, too much jealousy from the man. And apparently, my approach to damage control is too extreme. What else can I do, Airi?” she asked, her voice tight and thick.

Even as she opened her mouth to tell Ritsuko what she could do, Airi stopped without speaking. The easy answer was for Ritsuko to join court and accept some suitors, but that would drive Ritsuko to a psychotic episode within days. Seeing how things had gone gave her a good idea how things would progress. In all honesty, Ritsuko is right - there isn't anything else to be done but for her to distance herself from us, Airi realized. “I'm sorry, Ritsuko. I never wanted it to turn out this way,” was the best she could offer the red-head.

“I don't want an apology,” Ritsuko said. “And besides, it wasn't your fault - none of this was. It is just how it ended up.”

“I don't want to lose you, Ritsuko,” Airi murmured into Ritsuko's hair.

“You won't; not entirely,” Ritsuko replied. But it will never be like it was before, the red-head left unsaid.

“Will you attend the wedding?” Liseria asked, sounding a bit timid.

“Really, Liseria?” Ritsuko sighed. Milliea prodded her side. “On one condition,” she amended herself.

“You can't kill all the guests,” Airi interjected with a weak smile. Liseria's mouth dropped open at that stipulation.

“So I can kill most of them, right?” giggled Ritsuko.

“Only those not of our kingdom,” Airi laughed softly as she replied.

“Airi!” protested the Queen.

“If I attend the wedding, you, my Queen, have to come on a trip with me immediately after. It will take a few weeks to a couple months, and during that trip, I am in charge. Yes or no?” Ritsuko stipulated.

“I can't be away that long…” began Liseria.

“Yes or no. I am not offering terms,” growled Ritsuko, making the Queen flinch. Liseria peeked at Airi. “Don't bother looking at Airi, she can't help you,” warned Ritsuko. “Right here, right now, yes or no, Liseria?” The queen's lips tightened.

“Yes,” she said, lifting her chin. Ritsuko gave her a smile.

“Very brave of you, Kaislinn,” she purred back, a glint in her eyes. “But also very smart. I will attend the wedding, and so long as no one bothers me, I won't kill anyone. Immediately after the wedding, while everyone is fawning over Airi and her new boy-toy, you and I are going on that trip. I will give you a list of what you will need later this week,” grinned the red-head.

“Are we coming, too?” a voice asked from the doorway. Glancing over, the group saw Rapier and Gabriella standing there, travel cloaks over their arms.

“You will be coming, all right,” Ritsuko smirked. “I don't know about the trip, but you will be coming,” she hinted, making color blaze across the Queen's pale cheeks and Airi shake her head.

“Pervert,” sighed Airi. Ritsuko shrugged. Before the two elves could begin to banter with Ritsuko, the young insurgent returned, hair damp, still naked and a gleam in her eye.

“You two want to spend the night?” Ritsuko asked Airi and the Queen. “You can try out my new product,” she smiled, tossing her head toward a large bed in the corner of the room. “Go on,” she encouraged the two. Curious, Airi moved over to the bed and sat down, her eyes widening at the softness. The queen sat on the bed as well.

“What is this?” she wondered.

“This is as close as we are likely to get to a real bed,” Ritsuko said, moving over to the bed and pulling back the cover, sheets and mattress to reveal a wooden frame with an intricate weaving of paracord that served as the support elements. Wooden block legs kept it off the floor. The thick mattress of down and feather in a felt and cotton jacket completed the bed, and the cotton sheets were common in the Allied Kingdoms. The wool blankets replaced the normal heavy animal furs, and Airi suspected that the pillows were hand-made and down filled.

Most of the beds in the land were either wood frames filled with bound grasses and covered with leather skins, on top of which the people slept under more furs. The frame was typically on the floor like a pallet. Ritsuko had never found them to be that appealing or comfortable, though she had gotten used to a simple pallet on a wooden cot while a slave. Now free, she had improved on the existing technology significantly. “I have a spare room or ten, and even a spare full bed like this,” she teased.

“We'll stay,” Airi said firmly, running her hand over the bed, a smile on her face. “And could you make me one like this?” she asked Ritsuko.

“I will make it my wedding gift,” came the dry reply. The Chancellor nodded her thanks. Less than a half hour later, the house was quiet. As the fire burned down to a thick bed of coals, Ritsuko lay in bed, pistol in hand, staring at the ceiling, Milliea cuddled up to her on one side, Rapier and Gabriella spooning tight to the younger elf, and her youngest insurgent cuddled up to her other side. In the room nearest to her room, Airi and Liseria were sleeping comfortably, spooning each other. And down the hall a ways, her other insurgent and the woman slept, his softening member eventually slipping free of her, leaving her full to overflowing with semen. If everything went to plan, she would be with child by the time she returned to her home and the two agents returned to the Lost Continent.

*

“Ah, Countess! There you are,” began the man who had just married Airi, spotting Ritsuko ghosting along the far wall. He moved right toward her, a younger man behind him giving her what he no doubt thought was a charming, suave smile. Ritsuko bared her teeth. “I understand you and my wife are quite close,” the man said, stopping before the red-head.

“Closer than you will ever be with her,” replied Ritsuko in a falsely-cheerful tone. The man seemed unsure how to take that. Ritsuko was once more in a scandalously-skimpy formal court gown, her hair and makeup done by Airi and with a building homicidal rage as her escape attempts kept being foiled by various people. Her gown - built to show off her admittedly impressive physical charms - had attracted men of all ages like a lantern attracted insects; and with roughly the same results for the men.

“Um, yes, quiet interesting,” the man foundered before gesturing to the young man staring at her barely-concealed breasts. “Allow me to introduce a kin of mine, Countess,” he said.

“Yes, yes, your younger half-brother,” she cut him off testily. The man smiled at her, which only made her eyes narrow into a glare. “From the looks of it, we have nothing in common, as his appearance and antics remind me overly much of a drunk, retarded ape I once saw,” she cut into him immediately. “I also find myself assailed by the smell of a brewery, which I find disgusting,” she continued, building speed. From the corner of her eye, she saw Persephone and Hecate hurrying toward her, alarmed expressions on their faces. Further back, Airi was watching her while hurrying toward Liseria, who was involved in speaking with some former peers in a corner.

“You are harsh, dear Countess,” the younger man began.

“You literally have no idea, boy,” Ritsuko all but snarled as Persephone and Hecate arrived, Airi and the Queen homing in on the three as well. Ritsuko's hands were clenched in fists, her right hand near where her pistol was strapped to her upper thigh. “Run along before you get hurt,” she warned.

“Countess, there you are,” began Persephone, bowing briefly. “My apologies, I forgot to give you your potion,” she began. Ritsuko considered punching her in the face, as she just knew this was something Airi had set up and would cause her problems later.

“Did you now,” she replied icily, taking delight in the way her tone and words make the body servant cringe. Fuck it, let's dance, she thought to herself. “I feel fine, so there is no need for the potion,” she replied, eyes alight with unholy glee.

“But Countess, you know what happens when you don't take your potion,” Hecate backed up her friend; though Ritsuko saw that she was beginning to sweat under the pressure.

“Dear Ritsuko, please don't make a scene,” Airi said, arriving with the Queen.

“I didn't make a scene last time - it was you and my Queen who caused such a ruckus over a few unfortunate guests,” began Ritsuko, smiling sweetly before licking her lips. The two men were looking uneasy. “Besides, they were no one important,” added Ritsuko, looking back at the younger of the two. “It isn't like it would be a loss, give how this one acts,” she added, her tone darker and hungrier.

“Don't make me call the guards again, Countess,” Liseria said.

“You did tell the survivors I was sorry I got carried away, did you not, my Queen?” giggled Ritsuko. Liseria laughed weakly, unsure if this was an act or not, given that Ritsuko was more than capable of such things.

“I cannot continue to waste guards on containing you, Countess. Just take your potion like a good Countess. Please?” Liseria replied.

Ritsuko pouted. “The potion makes me feel…weird,” she complained petulantly. The two men decided to cut and run.

“It seems you ladies have much to discuss, so we will leave you to it. I will see you later tonight, dear Airi?” he said to his new wife. She smiled and nodded. Before she could say anything, the two nearly ran from the women.

“Ritsuko,” began Airi.

“I warned you about people bothering me,” Ritsuko replied tightly, her face a shade darker than normal with anger. “You should be very glad I didn't just shoot my way out; or string those two up by their nuts over a fire!” she bit out, struggling to keep her voice low. “That is the asshole you wanted me to meet? Really? And you thought I would somehow be attracted to him? Were you drunk, Airi?” she asked, teeth clench.

Airi sighed. “He was sold very skillfully; and when I met him earlier, he acted much different,” she half-apologized.

“Don't they always?” scoffed Ritsuko. She glanced around the room. “Anyway, per our agreement, I am taking Liseria on a trip. So find that thing you married and dance with him or I won't be responsible for how noisy our exit might become,” the red-head said, taking Liseria's hand in her own.

“Will you at least promise to keep in touch?” Airi asked.

“You will hear from or about us,” smiled Ritsuko. Airi nodded once before moving to where her new husband was whispering with his half-brother. Moments later, the new couple was dancing as the guests looked on. Hardly anyone saw Ritsuko smuggle Liseria out of the hall, and by the time people thought to look for the two, they were nowhere to be found.

Taking a break from the feasting to drain his lizard, the new husband of the Chancellor turned to see Ritsuko standing behind him, a hard look on her face and traveling clothes on. He wondered what she was doing at the men's' latrines, but she didn't give him a chance to say anything. “Shut up and listen,” growled the woman. “I am only going to say this once: if you hurt Airi or make her unhappy, I will personally pay a group of big, burly, hairy men to fuck you in the ass every hour, on the hour, until I get bored and hire a team of mules to fuck you in the ass daily. Airi knows I will do that and worse, so you better keep her happy. Now finish up, wash your filthy hands, and get back to your wife. I will be watching, even if you don't see me.” With that, Ritsuko turned toward the door, nearly bumping into the half-brother, who was just entering. With a growl, Ritsuko slammed him into the stone door frame, giving him a concussion and leaving him lay where he fell as she stepped over him and out the door.

After seeing to his half-brother, the man returned to his wife, who had been holding court in place of the Queen. Seeing him, Airi had smoothly ended the banquet and gotten them away from the guests before anyone could stop them. In her apartments, she sat him down. “I take it from your expression, dear husband, that Ritsuko paid you a visit,” she said without preamble. “I admit I am relieved to see you still breathing. Tell me what she said,” the actress braced herself. The man she would be spending her life with in this land recounted the encounter. “Oh, Ritsuko,” she said softly, shaking her head.

“So she was bluffing,” the man sighed in relief.

“No, she was not bluffing. If anything, she was going easy on you,” Airi said, pouring herself a goblet of wine. “Ritsuko…has a history; one I share with her,” she said delicately, giving him a serious look to make sure he was paying attention. “Because of that, she has become quite moody at times. Everything she did was to protect me, and you best take her warning to heart, dear, or you will experience hell like you cannot even image at her hands. I know you have questions, but I can't answer many of them,” she warned him.

“Can't? Or won't?” he asked her, frowning slightly.

“Both. Do you have any questions?” asked Airi crisply.

“I have heard the rumors that you were originally a slave. Am I correct in presuming that she was, too?” he asked. Airi game him a warm smile.

“A very astute question,” she commended him. “Yes, she and I were both once slaves, but are now both free.”

“When I introduced myself, she said you and she shared a bond that I would never have with you. Is that true?” he asked.

“Yes,” Airi confirmed. The man considered that.

“It is the bond of having been slaves, correct?” he asked. “I have heard the rumors, of course, of her being involved with women, but I always wondered if that was true and if it were, what might have caused it.”

“Don't look for causes; you would not understand them even if you found them,” warned Airi, “but, yes, our main bond is our time as slaves. Anything else?” she asked, feeling tired of the topic already.

“There was never any hope for my half-brother, was there?” the man sighed, shaking his head.

“Not with the way he acted toward her, no,” Airi replied, setting her wine aside. “And I wanted to talk to you about that, in fact,” she added. The man sighed. He had known that Airi was not the sort of woman to be meek and obedient, but this was a bit more than he had bargained for. Still, she was a woman like he had never met before, and he figured it would at least be interesting to be married to her.

*

“Where is this place?” wondered Kaislinn, wiping her brow. Ritsuko turned to grin at her.

“Just a place I know,” she answered playfully. “Come on, we have another three miles to go,” she said, shouldering her pack and resuming her brisk walk. The two had been walking since morning. The Queen had been surprised to be taken right to the gate as soon as she changed into her simple traveling clothes and grabbed her pack, assuming the identity of Kaislinn once more. Ritsuko had appeared at her room moments after she had finished, wearing a skirt and the armor she called her `battle gown' under a cloak, a pack on her back.

Exiting the gate, she had found that they were in a small town somewhere else. Ritsuko had swiftly led her out of the simple wall, down a road and then across a field to a farm house. Speaking briefly with the farmer, she had handed him some gold and then led an air jack out of the barn. Helping Kaislinn up onto the air fish, she had set out, the stars bright overhead and a faintly-glowing compass in her lap.

Mid-day of the following day, she had visited another - smaller - town, stabling the air fish at a merchant's warehouse. The man seemed to know Ritsuko by another name. He also made a point of not asking any questions. More gold changed hands and then they found a good tavern and had a meal before finding an inn. First thing in the morning, they started hiking into the woods. There were heavily-wooded hills around the town, and Ritsuko led them off the main road, then off the side road, then off the normal trails as they climbed into the hills.

Cresting a hill, Kaislinn blinked, seeing a deep blue lake surrounded by hills and heavy pine woods. Turning to look back, she saw that they had climbed higher than she thought, and were farther from the town than she would have guessed. The trail Ritsuko was following was barely a footpath at its widest. After a few minutes, Ritsuko urged them on. As they dropped into the valley, the walking was faster, and by the time that the sun was getting close to the western mountains, Kaislinn smelled smoke and spotted a small finger of it rising from a somewhat large wooden hall built near the lake, some cleared land around it.

As the two broke the tree line, she spotted movement in the cleared area, and realized it was three people tending to a garden. Ritsuko gave a whistle, which brought their heads up like rabbits. Waving, Ritsuko led Kaislinn toward the building. The three people - who were obviously girls - laughed as they raced each other toward the red-head, the first to reach her throwing herself into the open arms of the Countess.

“Ritsu, Ritsu!” the girls yelled in unison, mobbing the laughing red-head. “You're back!” squealed one.

“Yes, I am back, just like I said I would be,” she assured the three, patting their heads. “I brought a friend, too,” she added, indicating Kaislinn. “Her name is Kaislinn,” she introduced the Queen.

The girls studied the other woman for a long moment, as if judging her by some unknown standard. “Kaislinn, these are some friends of mine,” Ritsuko finished the introductions. “How are the others?” she asked.

“They should be back any time now,” the biggest of the girls said, glancing at the sky. “We were just about to make supper. Let's go inside,” she suggested. The two younger girls grabbed Ritsuko's hands and hurried her toward the house while the older of the girls stopped to pick up the three basic baskets they had been collecting plants in from the garden. Kaislinn followed silently, wondering how Ritsuko had come to meet these girls.

Inside the wooden building, she found it was a rather basic wooden frame, a large fireplace in the center, a kitchen at one end, and the other end left more or less empty. A huge stack of firewood covered most of the wall opposite the door, which was set lower than the floor, which appeared to be stone set with hardened mud, three steps leading up to the floor. Putting some wood on the big fireplace, Ritsuko paused to light some candles on holders nailed to the walls before carrying a burning bit of kindling to the kitchen oven, which she lit as the girls set up a bowl of water and began to prepare the vegetables.

Kaislinn silently waited for some hint of what she should do. Ritsuko guided her to the other end of the hall, hanging her pack on a wooden peg in the wall before taking off her cloak and hanging it over her pack. Just as Kaislinn was hanging up her own cloak, the door opened and four young men entered as well as a woman a few years younger than Ritsuko.

“Ritsu's back! Ritsu's back!” cheered the two youngest girls, causing the five to turn to look at Ritsuko and Kaislinn.

“Lady Ritsuko,” breathed the oldest of the women, hurrying to the red-head and hugging her tightly. “Welcome back,” she said, easing back to look at Ritsuko in the light of the large fireplace that illuminated the structure. “You are looking well,” she added, before curiously running her hands over the battle gown.

“Long story,” Ritsuko giggled. “Boys,” she greeted the young men, who were about the same age as the insurgent she had sent to the Lost Continent.

“Lady Ritsuko,” they all said, blushing.

“I told you not to call me that,” Ritsuko laughed, moving over to them to give them hugs and a kisses, which made Kaislinn's eyes bug in surprise. “Anyway, meet my friend Kaislinn,” she turned and gestured the Queen forward. The younger woman did as asked, getting a closer look at the young men. To her surprise, she found herself blushing.

The young men were a little shorter than Ritsuko, but had lean, strong builds, with strong jaws and handsome faces. Kaislinn swallowed roughly, feeling her face heat up. “Kaislinn? Any friend of Lady Ritsuko is our friend as well,” one of them said, smiling at her in a way that made her knees weak. Stop that! You are married! She chided herself. It made no difference.

“Would you boys be so good as to get a bath ready for us?” Ritsuko asked. The four men nodded, hurrying back out the door, before returning a few minutes later with a large tin tub, which they positioned near the fire in the center of the building. With that done, they grabbed up some skin buckets and trooped out, returning shortly with the skin buckets bulging with lake water, which they poured into the tub. While they made trips, Ritsuko had placed several rocks in the bed of coals.

When the tub was half-full, the boys stopped, taking the time to wipe off their chests and backs with rough towels, having built up a bit of a sweat hauling water. The women announced the food was ready, and the group settled around the fire to eat a meal of venison, vegetable and grain porridge and rough bread of a type Kaislinn had never had before. She found it was packed with nuts and dried berries of some kind. As soon as she was done eating, Ritsuko fished out the rocks and dropped them into the water, causing steam to rise. Returning to her place, she talked with the young people as she waited for Kaislinn to finish her own food.

No sooner had the Queen finished her food than Ritsuko announced it was bath time and stood up, casually undressing in front of the others as if it were nothing. Giving Kaislinn a look, she prompted the other woman to strip, too, citing the need for them to finish up before the water cooled so the others could bathe as well. Almost afraid to find out what might happen if she refused, Kaislinn stripped as well. The other watched as if it were nothing of particular interest, though the boys were staring at the two in awe.

As the two bathed, Ritsuko and the other talked as casually as if they were at a table after a meal. When they finished, the girls had swiftly stripped and bathed as well, leaving the young men for last. Ritsuko sat on the stone lip of the central fire pit, naked and with her towel under her as one of the youngest girls brushed her hair carefully. When the girls were done bathing, the boys stripped bare and bathed as well, though they remained standing in the tub, using soap and cloth to scrub themselves clean. Kaislinn blushed as they scrubbed their groins, leaving them semi-hard and shiny with water.

Before she knew it, the boys were emptying the basin as the girls were serving up a desert pie. The group sat on the stone ledge around the fire pit, eating and talking. When the food was done, the girls began to clean up the dishes and food while the boys set up a pile of bedding that had been carefully stacked on pegs on the wall. Kaislinn watched curiously as the boys set up a wooden base that stood about a foot off the floor, then unfolded a thick fur skin over the rough wood before unfolding and evening up a feather mattress. With that done, they spread out simple cotton sheets and then a few more comforters.

The girls finished up with the kitchen and the group got ready for bed. “Come on, Kaislinn,” Ritsuko urged, pulling the Queen to the bed and positioning themselves in the middle. The boys quickly held some sort of finger game before two of them crawled into the bed, each one spooning one of the two women carefully. Kaislinn twitched, but Ritsuko's hand on her cheek and steady stare stopped her from saying anything. The girls got into the bed, finding comfortable places before the last two boys got in. After a few minutes of wiggling around and some giggling, the group was comfortable. Even her nervousness couldn't keep Kaislinn's eyes open, and before she knew it, she was asleep, snuggled face-to-face with Ritsuko, a young man spooning her from behind, his semi-erect dick prodding her rear.

*

“Did you miss us?”

Airi turned to see Ritsuko and Liseria in her doorway, both smiling. Rising swiftly, she hurried to them and hugged them both tightly. “Welcome home,” she murmured. “I was beginning to worry,” admitted the Chancellor. “The work has piled up in your absence, my Queen,” she added.

“It was only five and a half weeks,” Ritsuko scoffed. “Is your pet around?” she asked directly, glancing around the rooms.

“I am, in fact, Countess,” the man said, appearing from the bedroom. “Is there something you needed?” he asked, giving her polite smile.

“No, but remember my warning,” Ritsuko said before pulling Airi into a tight, close hug, her lips brushing Airi's. “Are you happy, Airi?” she asked, fixing the husband with a stare over Airi's shoulder.

“Yes, Ritsuko,” Airi almost giggled. “Everything is fine between us.”

“He best see that it remains so,” Ritsuko said. “I am sure you need to talk to our Queen; and she likely has some things to say to you as well, my dear Chancellor, so I and your pet will give you some privacy. Won't we?” she ordered, staring a hole through the man.

“Um, yes, of course,” the man said, moving toward the door, but pausing to hug and kiss Airi before bowing to the queen. Stepping out of the apartments, he glanced at Ritsuko. “So, Countess, what now?” he asked politely.

“Now? You leave them the fuck alone for a while as they talk, and you stay the fuck away from me,” she said, turning on her heel and marching off. “And get away from that door,” she called over her shoulder as the man turned to look at the door.

“I hear you,” he sighed, turning and walking down the hall in the opposite direction Ritsuko had taken. She really doesn't like anyone, he thought, shaking his head. “I suppose I could find something to occupy my time while the ladies talk,” he mused, heading for the main entrance to the palace, outside of which was the capital with friendly taverns and games of chance.

In the apartments of the Chancellor, Airi was both relieved and a little concerned as Liseria almost giddily told her of the things she and Ritsuko had done in their trip. But what really caught her ear was when she confided to Airi that she had missed her period. Under some careful cross-questioning by Airi, she discovered that Ritsuko had decided to come back when it was clear that Liseria was pregnant. Ritsuko, Airi mentally sighed in exasperation.

This led to some discussion between them about just how many men the Queen had ended up sleeping with, which mildly surprised Airi. It was very clear that Ritsuko had hand-picked every last one of them. This thought prompted Airi to ask if Ritsuko had slept with the men as well. Liseria said that Ritsuko had sex a couple of times, but she didn't know much more than that. The Countess had been setting her up to get laid, not to enjoy the men herself. When Airi asked if Ritsuko was pregnant, Liseria had to think carefully before she said that she was reasonably sure Ritsuko wasn't because she had been on her period for the last three days. Being raised by Airi, the Queen had received a much more complete and frank sexual education than any noble woman in that world.

After figuring out how to break the news that the Queen was expecting, the two had gone to eat, Airi's husband finding them dining in the royal dining hall. Airi had greeted him cheerfully, and shared the news with him; though she swore him to secrecy. The official story was that the Queen and her Consort had arranged a secret meeting out of the capital, which - when coupled with the news that she was now with child - would lead the population to a single, inescapable conclusion of what had happened.

The next day, Airi made the time to take a carriage to Ritsuko's estate, wanting to talk to the red-head, only to find that Ritsuko wasn't there. Neither were the elves that had more or less taken over the place. Mike and the air tarpon were gone as well. The freemen working on the house in accordance with plans left by Ritsuko only knew that the Mistress had come home late the day before, checked on the projects, spoken with them briefly, bathed and then retired. That morning, they had been awakened by the roar of Mike's engine, finding the mistress and her house guests gone when they reached the manor. They had started that day's work on the projects.

Airi had ordered her carriage to go to the gate. When she arrived, she saw tank tracks leading into the gate, and the guards admitted that Ritsuko had gone through the gate on her iron chariot, barely waving to them before vanishing into the gate. The air tarpon had swooped through the gate just behind the tank, two elves on it, laughing audibly.

“What now?” Airi asked herself. Turning to the guards, she gave them very specific and pointed orders, with dire warnings about what would happen if they failed her. Satisfied that they understood she was in no mood to be trifled with, Airi returned to the capital, where she began orchestrating the breaking of the news that the Queen was expecting her first heir. It seemed but a moment later when she discovered it had been a week.

*

“Boss,” her insurgent greeted her.

“Report,” ordered Ritsuko, easily hopping off Mike. The young man bowed.

“As you directed, I have set up shop in Italica, and have become very close to the Countess Formal,” he began. Ritsuko's eyes narrowed.

“If you stuck your dick in her, I will make you regret it,” warned the red-head.

“No, Boss. She is far too young, and innocent for that,” he answered immediately. “Though, I do not know that I can speak for Zarin,” he added.

“Never mind about her, continue,” ordered Ritsuko.

“Mamina has been funneling your subjects through the Clan Formal household and to me. I have been passing some to Delilah at Alnus, but most have been sent where you directed, in the former lands of the Warrior Bunnies,” he paused to inhale.

“How many?” asked Ritsuko.

“Two dozen directly, four to Alnus,” the young man replied.

“How many had their left ears cut?” asked Ritsuko.

“All but two who went directly to the site, two of the four who went to Alnus. There are another two working with Mamina at the Countess's house, but I don't know if they are going to heed your summons,” he noted.

“Volunteers only,” Ritsuko said curtly. The man nodded.

“There is one other thing, Boss,” he said. She gave him a look that he knew meant `talk'. “Mamina asked me to tell you she wants to talk to you about something important as soon as possible.”

“I will see her shortly,” Ritsuko said. “What is Zarin's situation?” asked the red-head.

“She has found her way into the palace at the capital, and is reported to be close to Queen Pina, though I suspect she is annoyed with the queen because she tends to only trust her knights and certain of the Japanese soldiers. I did hear her say she was going to seduce one of the soldiers, though,” he shared.

“For her sake, it better not be Itami,” snorted Ritsuko. “If you see her before I find her, tell her I want to talk to her right now, and she better find me fast,” ordered the Rebellion leader.

“Yes, Boss,” the young man said, bowing to her. Ritsuko eyed him for a long moment.

“Your cover - how solid is it?” asked the leader of her underling.

“It has stood up to everything so far,” he allowed.

“Start looking for a wife,” Ritsuko ordered, frowning a little. “Be sure to choose carefully, as you will have other duties that will take you from her for periods of time. She must not be too smart, or too dumb. And it is imperative that she is an obedient wife, as well - I don't have the patience for dealing with a shrew,” she warned.

“Boss?” blinked the young man.

“Do as you are told,” was all he got. It was a very radical shift from what she had been directing him to do until then, but he knew not to argue with her. “Might as well try to find a woman you can be friends with as well as husband to, because you will become known as an upstanding family man in this world,” she added, pulling a map from under her gun belt. The younger man eyed his boss, who was wearing her Warrior Bunny battle gown once more, the helmet-crown on her belt.

“May I say you look good in that, Boss?” he asked her carefully. She turned to give him a smirk.

“Sure, but it won't get your dick in me again,” she answered cheerfully. “At least not right now,” she added a moment later once she saw his face fall a bit. Patting his cheek, she jumped up on Mike. “Get out of here,” she ordered him.

“Where should I tell Zarin to begin looking for you?” he called out.

“I will be visiting my subjects and the Formal clan, so she should start there,” Ritsuko said as Mike cranked up and roared off. The man sighed before untying his horse and swinging astride the saddle. Cantering back toward Italica, he wondered what had brought about the change in directions in his Boss. Still, I do know a few girls who might be fit the bill, he thought, smiling a little as he began to narrow the list to possible candidates; candidates he would be getting to know much better very soon.

*

“My Queen,” Delilah said, entering the small clearing where she and Mamina had crowned and coroneted her the year before. Dropping to kneel before the human, she took Ritsuko's hand in her own, touching it to her forehead before standing again. Grinning, she pulled the red-head into a fierce kiss.

“Good to see you again, too, Delilah,” Ritsuko nearly panted when the warrior bunny released the kiss. The bunny-girl giggled, running her palms over the battle gown Ritsuko wore.

“You maintain this very well, my Queen,” approved the long-eared demi-human.

“I take my responsibilities seriously,” shrugged Ritsuko. “Speaking of that, I need to talk to you about the next phase of my plans,” she said. Delilah was suddenly all business.

“What do you wish to know, my Queen?” she asked.

“My agent tells me that nearly all of the Warrior Bunnies gathered in our clan's former lands cut their left ears,” she got right to the point. Delilah sighed, nodding.

“It is so, my queen,” she confirmed.

“Delilah, I need an honest, no-shit assessment from you,” Ritsuko said, moving a little closer to the tall Warrior Bunny. “Are they still Warrior Bunnies or will they fold up again when things get rough?” she asked.

“A few of them will hold this time,” Delilah said. “But most of them were not elites, like Mamina and myself. Those who did not cut their ears, and those who did not sell themselves or surrendered are likely the only ones you can count on when things are darkest, my queen.”

“I see,” Ritsuko said. “Are they trained? Can they train others in the ways of the Warrior Bunnies?” asked the Queen of the violent race.

“They can. Do you plan to use them to build the clan again?” guessed Delilah. Ritsuko nodded.

“Yes, but not here,” she said. Delilah gave her a curious look. “I have been thinking of taking some or most of them to my lands, on the other continent. This will give us the time and privacy to build our strength. Do you have any thoughts about this?” she asked.

“My Queen knows best,” Delilah said.

“The hell I do,” snorted Ritsuko. “I depend on you and Mamina to help me know what is the right thing to do. So, tell me your thoughts,” she insisted.

“Without knowing anything of the land you come from, it is hard to say,” Delilah said.

“Then I will take you and Mamina there, so you can see for yourselves,” declared her Queen. “Begin arranging for time away from your commitments here; including that creepy guy you have been shacked up with,” directed Ritsuko. “I do not want him involved in our business, nor causing problems for us,” warned the Queen. “I don't care if you have offspring with him, but he is never to interfere in any way with our business. Understood?”

“Yes, my Queen,” Delilah confirmed. “Yanagida is an interesting man, but in the end, he is just a man, and not worth betraying my clan or Queen for,” she assured the red-head. Ritsuko nodded. “It will take about two weeks for me to show you the locations and get your thoughts, so no one should look for you during that time. Is there going to be a problem?” asked Ritsuko.

“None, my Queen,” Delilah assured her.

“Then I will be in touch with you again later. It will be about ten days from now, give or take, before we leave,” warned Ritsuko.

“Yes, my Queen,” Delilah said. “Where is my Queen going to be sleeping tonight?” she asked, grinning.

“Italica,” smiled Ritsuko before pulling Delilah to her for a kiss. Breaking it before the horny bunny girl could begin peeling off their clothes, Ritsuko laughed before turning toward where the air tarpon waited, along with Milliea.

“Tease,” huffed Delilah, feeling how wet and warm she was feeling. “Guess I will have to find another source of relief,” she complained, turning back toward Alnus.

*

“Countess Myui, may I present a very dear friend of mine, Countess Ritsuko?” her agent introduced her to the ruler of the Clan Formal. The young girl sitting stiffly on the throne gave her a small smile, inclining her head. Ritsuko smiled back, bowing to her. She wore a fancy gown over her Warrior Bunny armor, looking the part of a noble.

“Countess Myui, it is a pleasure to meet you,” she greeted the young ruler. “I hope we will become friends,” she added. The young girl seemed to warm a bit at that, glancing to her side, where an armored female knight with the crest of the Order of the Rose stood at attention. “This is my honor guard, the Knight Panache, of the Order of the Rose.”

“Knight Panache,” Ritsuko greeted her courteously.

“Countess,” the knight inclined her head.

“Countess Myui, Countess Ritsuko is the source of the new items I have been showing you lately,” her agent continued. The girl's eyes lit up.

“Truly?” she breathed.

“It is so,” assured the young man. The younger Countess clapped her hands, an older woman in a maid uniform appearing like magic.

“Head Maid Kaine, tea for myself and my guest, please,” she ordered.

“At once, mistress,” the older woman bowed before departing. Myui stood from the chair, carefully stepping off the dais. Ritsuko smiled easily, offering her a hand, which the young girl took before leading her toward a sun room where the maid would set up the tea. Hearing armor clank, she saw that Panache was following them.

“That is a beautiful dress, Myui,” Ritsuko said casually. The young girl beamed at her.

“Thank you! Head Maid Kaine had the maid staff make it,” she explained eagerly. “Each of the maids picked out a part of it, and they all worked to sew it. It is my favorite gown!”

“With good reason,” nodded Ritsuko. “A dress is often more than some cloth, is it not?” she asked, liking the young woman. By the time they arrived at the small table, they were talking like best friends. Almost before they sat down - Panache standing at Myui's elbow - a maid hurried in with the tea set.

“Your tea, Mistress Myui,” the maid said, bowing to her master before setting the silver tray on the table and quickly setting cups and saucers before the two. It wasn't until she looked up at the guest that she realized it was her Queen. She almost dropped a tea cup, but her reflexes were too fast, catching the cup before it could fall to the table or the floor. “Excuse my clumsiness,” she said to Ritsuko.

“It is nothing,” Ritsuko assured her, smiling easily. “Those are beautiful ears, by the way,” she added, making Mamina blush furiously. “I think they would look lovely with some earrings in them.”

“I-if you say so, mistress,” Mamina managed, getting a curious look from Myui. Ritsuko just smiled before delicately sipping her tea. Mamina hurried off.

“You have some very good maids, Myui,” she said casually. The young girl beamed back.

“They are my friends as well as my maids,” she confided. “Not so long ago, they were also my bodyguards.”

“I am sure they were quite good at that,” Ritsuko agreed. The two chatted for a bit more before Ritsuko brought the conversation to the point of her visit. “I wonder if we might discuss an alliance between our clans,” she said, noting a flicker of interest on Panache's face.

Nightfall found her being shown to a room by the Head Maid, Kaine. “You will be here, mistress Ritsuko,” the older woman said, indicating a fancy room.

“Thank you,” Ritsuko said simply.

“If I may be so forward, mistress, you are no noblewoman,” the head maid said. “You play at one very well, but you are not noble-born. Who are you and why are you here? I will not allow any harm to come to my Mistress Myui,” she warned the red-head. Just then, two maids appeared at each end of the hallway the room was off. On one end was a girl with snakes for hair - a Medusa - standing beside a fox-girl, while at the other end, she saw Mamina and a cat-girl maid.

“What gave me away?” asked Ritsuko, unconcerned.

“You are built like a warrior, your hands are heavily calloused and you are wearing Warrior Bunny armor under that gown. But more than any of that, your eyes have the look of seasoned killer in them,” stated the Head Maid. The four maids came closer. Ritsuko smiled, laughing softly.

“My, aren't you the observant one,” she replied, entering the room calmly. “But you should know I am, in fact, an actual Countess,” she said, tugging loose the bow that held the gown snugly to her, the gown going slack before she smoothly pulled it off, leaving her in her battle gown, pistol on one thigh, knife on the other and boots on her feet. “And also all that you accused me of being, as well. Isn't that correct, Mamina?”

The others turned to look at the Warrior Bunny, who stepped up to Ritsuko, bowed and touched her forehead to Ritsuko's hand. “It is so, my Queen,” she confirmed. The other maids were staring, slack-jawed at the two. Mamina turned to her friends. “My Queen, Ritsuko of the Warrior Bunnies,” she introduced the red-head.

“But, Tyuule…!” gaped Kaine.

“Captured by Ritsuko and executed for her betrayal,” Mamina replied. “Delilah and I completed the ceremony making her a member of our tribe, and then we coroneted her as our Queen in accordance with our traditions.”

“When?” wondered the cat-girl.

“Last year,” Mamina said. “That is the battle gown of the Queen of the Warrior Bunnies that she wears; and wears well, I should add,” Mamina smiled at her queen.

“That thing on your thigh,” the medusa maid said, pointing to her pistol, “it is like the Men in Green have, is it not?”

“Yes, it is a gun,” confirmed Ritsuko. “And I am, in fact, known to the Men in Green and the Alnus Community. But my business here is my own, and I do want an alliance with the Clan Formal. I am not a threat to your Countess unless you attack me, and I find her to be like I once was as well.”

“What is it you seek?” Kaine asked directly.

“I already told you: an alliance. I will be speaking with Queen Pina about a similar arrangement, as well. The JSDF and I already have dealings,” she added, tinting the truth to suit her needs.

“Queen Pina will not be easy to deal with,” Mamina warned her Queen. “She is much aligned with the JSDF, and saddled with the politics of the empire.”

“What will be, will be, Mamina. You wanted to talk to me, I believe?” she hinted, closing off the previous topic. Seeing the other maids hadn't left, she gave them a cool gaze. “I do not ask you to trust me, but perhaps you should observe before jumping to conclusions. It would be a shame if we can't be friends,” she added, her tone veiled in ominous overtones at the end. After a moment, Kaine clapped her hands, the other maids leaving Mamina and the Countess alone in her room.

“Sorry to put you on the spot, but that old woman is sharp,” sighed Ritsuko, sitting on the bed.

“She is a very capable woman; for a human of her years,” smiled Mamina. “I wanted to ask you if you had anything against other races,” Mamina said, kneeling before her Queen.

“No, why?” wondered her leader.

“Because I think I want to ask Persia - the cat-girl - if she wants to join with the Warrior Bunnies under your banner,” replied the rabbit-girl.

“Doesn't she have her own queen or whatever?” wondered Ritsuko.

“Not as such, no,” Mamina said. “Their race is a race of fierce warriors, and also often oppressed and discriminated against. We have many common points, in fact. Would you consider allying our tribe with their tribe?”

“Sounds like something to talk about, yeah,” Ritsuko said. “Are you going to be in a tight spot because I was found out?” worried Ritsuko.

Mamina laughed easily. “No, my Queen,” she said. “The group of maids here is…unique. It reminds me in many ways of my old outfit. I will be badgered for details about it, of course, but there won't be any repercussions over it. They know I will not harm Mistress Myui, and I have proven that repeatedly. No, it will be no big deal for them to know,” assured the bunny warrior.

“If you are sure,” the Queen let the question go. “I need to ask you something, Mamina, and I need an absolutely honest answer. Does anyone in the clan Formal keep slaves or condone slavery in any way, shape or form?”

“No. Even before the previous Count - Mistress's father, Colt - the clan has been a firm opponent of slavery. Everyone here is a servant, not a slave, my Queen.”

“Good. Now, tell me about the tribe members here,” she commanded. Mamina gave her a detailed briefing on them, including former clan alliances and what history she knew of the women. Ritsuko memorized it all. “Will they chose to stay in service to Myui?” asked Ritsuko.

“They swore the oath to you, my Queen,” Mamina replied. “You are our Queen, and we will go where you lead.”

“I only want those who chose to be beside me,” warned Ritsuko. “If they would rather be maids or whores or slaves or whatever, then I have no use for them. Volunteers only, Mamina,” she admonished the blonde-furred bunny-girl.

“Very well, my Queen,” agreed Mamina. “The two here will follow you to hell and back; as will myself and Delilah,” vowed the Warrior Bunny, leaning in to kiss her deeply. Ritsuko returned the kiss, but broke it before Mamina could get her battle gown off her. “Later,” she smiled at the look on Mamina's face. “You weren't kidding about how horny you Warrior Bunnies are, were you?” she giggled.

Mamina shrugged. “What's wrong with feeling good?” she asked instead of answering. Ritsuko smiled.

“Nothing, I suppose. Do you like traveling?” she asked. Mamina gave her a curious look.

“To where?” she asked.

“To my continent,” Ritsuko answered, before briefing the woman on her basic plan. Mamina smiled.

“Sounds fun,” she purred. “And you say you have males waiting for us?” she asked. Ritsuko snorted, but didn't answer, instead asking her about the other demi-human races. It was late when Mamina left the room, finding Persia to be leaning against the wall by the door.

“Well?” asked the cat-maid. Mamina smiled.

“My Queen is considering it,” she replied, the two heading toward the room they shared with two other maids, “but I know she will see the advantages; my Queen is a perceptive warrior.”

“She is also human. How did she become your Queen? The Warrior Bunnies have a reputation of looking down on other species; more so if they are plain humans,” noted the feline demi-human.

“Mostly, yes,” agreed Mamina. “But she has the heart and mind of a Warrior Bunny; and she delivered in days what the rest of us have been trying to do for years. The traditions are all satisfied and the rituals have been done. She is my Queen, and I serve her wholly.”

Persia shook her head. “What of Mistress Myui?”

“I like her,” Mamina replied calmly. “And I will protect her and serve her so long as it does not conflict with my Queen's desires. She is taking me on a trip,” grinned the rabbit maid. “Apparently, there are males…” she giggled.

“Pervert,” snorted Persia, though she was smiling as well.

“She needs to rebuild our clan, and that requires males,” was the innocent reply of her friend.

“Uh huh,” came the indifferent reply to that excuse. “What happens if a male Warrior Bunny is born? I recall you said they were given to the queen for breeding before being shared by the clan women. Is your Queen going to be ok with that tradition?” she wondered.

“No idea, but I have faith in her,” was the dismissive answer as Mamina opened the door to their room. Sure enough, their two roommates were waiting, impatience on their faces.

“You two! Tell us everything. Now!” commanded the fox-girl, getting a nod from the snake-girl. Mamina and Persia exchanged looks before grinning. Nothing like good gossip while getting ready for bed, after all.

*

“That's her, Queen Pina,” murmured one cloaked figure to the other. “She's a red-head, just like you. Coincidence?”

“Don't be stupid; she is nothing like me,” murmured the other figure. “She any good in a fight?”

“Supposedly; she founded the Rose Order, and remains one of the best in many weapons, though I have never seen her fight before. She is known best for her swordsmanship and archery. Horsemanship, too, though I don't know for sure.”

“Uh huh,” grunted the second cloaked figure. The two watched the procession of knights pass, on their way to the Royal Palace. “Tell me about her family,” the senior of the two commanded as the pair walked back into the red light district.

“You already met one of her older brothers, Zorzal,” began the junior of the two.

“May he be hell's prison bitch for eternity,” interjected the senior figure.

“She has another brother, who went into exile when Zorzal usurped the throne. There are rumors that he planned to seek aide from beyond the Gate,” continued the figure.

“It was my understanding that only Pina had dealings with the JSDF,” frowned the other.

“It is true, but rumors persist that there are other factions beyond the gate, and he apparently thought that they would aide him in exchange for concessions.”

“Idiot. How would he establish contact with them? How would he even pass through the Gate, with the JSDF in charge of it? And does he even have the slightest idea of what the other nations would be interested in? Is Pina the only one with a working brain in that family?” the senior one asked acidly.

“From appearances, yes,” snickered the junior. The two turned a corner and made their way down a crowded street. A short distance ahead of them, they spotted their target. Nudging the smaller one gently, the taller figure strode forward, eyeing the gathering of whores on the corner. The oldest of them was a woman with feathery wings over her back, smoking a pipe and watching the area around them with a jaded eye. Beside her was a woman with four arms, who was absently petting a horned girl who couldn't be more than fifteen years old. The larger of the two stopped in front of the group.

“How much?” they asked.

“What is your pleasure?” purred the winged woman professionally. “Wings? Arms? Horns?” she hinted.

“All of you,” came the reply. The woman frowned a little.

“I doubt you have the gold for that, stranger,” she replied. Silently, the cloaked figure slipped a hand out from under their cloak, revealing a handful of gold and gems. The whores all blinked.

“At your service!” they all purred.

“We will see,” replied the cloaked figure. “Follow me; I prefer conducting business in private,” they added, turning toward an inn not far from the place the whores waited for business. Though a little uneasy, the whores followed the stranger, figuring that with three-on-one and still being within the area the crime bosses had ceded to the JSDF covert team they should be fine. Besides, it was hardly unheard of for clients to hire more than one whore at a time.

Entering the inn, the stranger led them right to a room, the three entering to find the room was bare, with no sign of anyone staying there. The three slipped off what little clothing they wore as their customer closed the door. Turning to the three, the stranger brushed back their hood, revealing a red-headed human. But it was the look in her eyes that made the whores step back suddenly. “Your payment,” she said, holding out the handful of gold and gems. Carefully, the winged whore took it, finding it to be real.

“What do you desire?” she asked, the three swiftly dividing up the payment and waiting to hear what their generous client wanted. “I assure you, we can make you feel very good,” purred the winged woman added, sensually tracing a fingertip from her hip, over her bare groin and up her belly, briefly toying with a nipple before ending up in her mouth, her tongue languidly teasing the digit.

“For now, be silent,” the woman said, parting her cloak to reveal armor under it. The three did as asked. Their patron would not be the first to have odd tastes, after all. Minutes passed, the red-head not moving from the door. Then, just before the winged whore could speak up, a soft knock came from the door. Pulling the door open, their client allowed a smaller cloaked person into the room.

“We're clear,” the second one said.

“I don't know about that,” muttered the taller one. “The door dog was eyeballing me.”

“Boss, everyone eyeballs you,” the smaller one almost laughed. One look from the taller one and the other fell silent.

“Wha…?” began the winged whore, only to have the red-head gesture sharply for silence, her ear pressed to the door. A moment later, the red-head fluidly drew a sheath knife from the small of her back before snatching the door open and lunging out, pulling a surprised dog-man into the room by the throat, throwing him to the floor before landing on him hard, knife to his neck.

“Door,” muttered the red-head, the smaller cloaked figure swiftly shutting the door and throwing the simple bar before turning back, her cloak thrown open to reveal a dress far too nice to be frequenting the Red Light district, though she had a sharp knife in her hand as well. “Ok, dog-boy, what's the fascination with me?” snarled the red-head, pressing the knife into the furry neck harder.

“Don't you know who I work for?” the dog-man began.

“No, and I don't give a fuck,” interrupted the red-head. “Why are you sneaking around spying on me, you little shit?” she demanded. The dog-man's eyes dropped to the armor she was wearing.

“You wear Warrior Bunny armor,” he began.

“So? You couldn't see that when you started eyeballing me, bitch-boy,” the human cut him off again.

“Um,” began the horned whore, “he works for a local crime group.”

“Do I look like I care?” demanded the red-head coldly.

“He is my manager,” the young demi-human added.

“Manager? As in, pimp?” the red-head was suddenly smiling a smile that made the whores cringe farther away from her.

“Boss,” began the younger human, sounding nervous.

“You should listen to your friend, girl,” the dog-man began.

“Go fuck yourself, I was trying to save your miserable lives,” snorted the smaller girl. “Boss tends to go off like ancient fire dragon on a rampage,” she giggled.

“If I don't show up down stairs soon, a dozen men will come looking for me,” he blustered. The red-head giggled, withdrawing her knife, only to produce something else.

“Promise?” purred the woman, sounding almost drunk. She did something to the small bit of metal that generated a click! “I haven't killed anyone in days, and I'm getting a little twitchy,” shared the red-head, her eyes alight with unholy glee.

“Is that a…pistol?” wondered the winged whore. The dog-man froze.

“How would you recognize it?” wondered the red-head.

“You are with the Men in Green, then?” wondered the winged whore.

“Depends on who you ask,” skirted the red-head.

“Ah, I think there has been a misunderstanding, miss,” the dog-man began.

“Shut the fuck up,” spat the red-head. “Again, how would you recognize this?” she asked intently, gesturing with the pistol.

“Your friends have them,” the four-armed woman said, pointing with two hands.

“At the clinic,” the youngest one added.

“The clinic,” came the even reply.

“Yes, the one where we get our supplies,” the winged whore said.

“She doesn't know about the clinic,” murmured the four-armed whore.

“Maybe she isn't with the JSDF,” suggested the youngest of the whores. The dog-man suddenly tried to throw her off him, snarling and biting at her arm. The red-head turned her forearm, his jaws snapping shut on her forearm, but instead of screams of pain and blood pouring out of his jaws, the red-head just smiled as she forced him back down.

“Bracer, bitch,” she grunted, before punching him in the throat three times, hard. As he choked, she grabbed his lower jaw with her free hand and began to pull it down. “Didn't anyone tell you not to bite humans? It makes us mad,” she grunted, struggling as she slowly tore the lower jaw off the dog-man. The maimed demi-human whined. “Oh, shut up,” muttered the woman, pulling her knife again and burying it in his chest, wrenching it side to side before withdrawing it in a spray of blood. Standing, she kicked the body aside before using the back of the dog-man's shirt to clean her blade.

The three whores were huddled together, terrified as they watched her sheath her knife. “We…we saw nothing, master!” the winged woman replied fervently.

“You better have seen what I just did,” came the warning from the red-head. “Because I hate having to repeat myself. First, who owns you?” she asked directly.

“We worked for the Bessala group, but are now self-employed,” replied the winged whore.

“Except for Lyria, here,” the four-armed whore added, hugging the youngest comfortingly.

“She is the property of the Camidain group,” explained the spokeswoman. “And you just killed her manager,” she added. The younger human groaned, shaking her head. “I'm glad you understand the gravity of the situation,” added the winged woman dryly.

“No, it's you who doesn't understand,” sighed the young human, moving toward the red-head. “Boss, this isn't the time or place,” she urged.

“Was it the time or place when I freed you, Zarin? Was it the time and place when I saved any of you?” came the furious response from the red-head.

“You would blow the mission for personal vengeance? That doesn't sound like you, Boss,” the young human argued. “We aren't ready yet, you said so yourself,” she added, murmuring it intently into Ritsuko's ear. “We will kill them all, but not right now,” urged the young human.

The red-head was nearly glowing with rage, but she sucked in a deep breath and exhaled, forcing the rage back down. Staring at the three whores, she weighed her choices. After what seemed an eternity, she tucked the gun back into its holster before rummaging in a bag belted around her waist. Pulling out a pouch of coins, she glanced at the three whores. “Get dressed and wait here. You, too, Zarin,” she ordered before shrugging her cloak over her shoulders and drawing up the hood. She slipped out the door a moment later, Zarin sighing in relief before positioning herself to the side of the door, knife in hand.

“We got lucky,” she said to the whores. “It was even odds she would kill us all,” she shared casually. “So, please don't tempt fate by doing something stupid, ok?”

The three whores swiftly dressed in the skimpy clothes they had and huddled in the corner furthest from the door. The winged one produced a pipe and a small pouch of dried leaves, lighting it with a cigarette lighter before taking a deep pull, holding the smoke for a long moment before exhaling and immediately passing the pipe to the four-armed woman, who did the same thing before handing the pipe to the youngest of the group. The horned girl tried to do the same thing, but ended up coughing, handing the pipe back to the winged woman.

“Would you mind not drugging yourself in a way that affects me?” the human said, not looking.

“You know what dream-weed is?” the winged woman asked, surprised.

“No, but I can guess what you are doing, and that makes it pretty obvious,” came the indifferent response. The winged woman and the four-armed one swiftly finished the small bowl and put the pipe away. Zarin waited patiently. Almost twenty minutes later, Ritsuko returned, some cloth over her arm and a few more draped over her neck.

“Put these on,” commanded Ritsuko, tossing a simple, plain dress at each of them. The whores found that they were a decent fit, if not flattering. Once the dresses were settled, she tossed cloaks at the three. “Put these on as well,” she ordered. The three had barely settled the cloaks when she fixed them with a hard stare. “You will follow me. You will be silent, even if spoken to. You will not greet anyone, even if you know them. Only if I tell you to will you speak. The hood of your cloaks will be kept up at all times. Your gaze will be on the ground in front of you and my heels. Mess up any of these, and you will regret it. Do you understand?”

“What are you planning to do with us?” began the winged woman.

“I asked if you understood, not if you had questions,” was the ominous response. The three nodded. Ritsuko turned to Zarin. “You know a safe path out of here and to the exit?” she asked. Zarin nodded. “Ok, then we do it like that time with the fortified plantation house,” she said, getting a nod. “We're leaving,” ordered Ritsuko, Zarin leading them out of the room and inn, heading for the gate out of the city.

By nightfall, the three were staring at the lights of Italica several miles distant. “You understand my orders?” asked Ritsuko.

“Yes,” the three chorused, afraid to piss this person off. The ride on the flying fish had done wonders for their cooperativeness.

“You can sleep here tonight, or hurry to the city, your call. You don't say a word about me to anyone but the Clan Formal maid named Mamina. She will give you your next set of orders. Also, be aware that I trust her, and if she decides to kill you, I won't be bothered by it. You have the money I gave you; use it wisely.”

And with that, the red-head turned and walked into the woods, unfastening the bottom strap of her armor as she went. The younger human glanced after her before turning to the three. “A word of warning from someone who has been where you are now,” she said softly as the red-head squatted behind some bushes, back to them, “if you are thinking of making a break for it, do it before you talk to Mamina. And pray that you never run into Boss again; she takes that kind of thing hard. Once you speak to Mamina, you are Boss's creatures forever; and she is a hard mistress. Now go while you can and choose wisely,” she said before moving over to squat next to the red-head. The three nearly bolted for the road that led to the city.

“Laying it on a bit thick, weren't you?” Ritsuko asked.

“Following your lead, Boss,” Zarin replied. “What's the plan?” she asked, sighing softly as she relieved her bladder.

“Back to the capital, rest, try again unless something comes up,” Ritsuko said.

“Do you have the time, Boss?” wondered her insurgent.

“Yeah, more or less,” dismissed Ritsuko. “I want to give Mamina and Delilah time to get things ready for the trip back,” she added.

“You're the boss, Boss,” grinned Zarin.

*

“Back again, I see.”

Ritsuko glanced over, seeing Airi sitting up from her bed. Ritsuko tossed her travel pack down, her cloak falling over it. “What are you doing here, Airi? Don't you have a husband to coddle?” asked the red-head of her friend, her tone teasing.

“Indeed I do, but I wanted to have some words with you about a pregnant queen,” Airi replied. Ritsuko removed her battle gown and then her boots.

“That was the goal, wasn't it?” she asked innocently.

“Yes, it was, but not by some random guy,” began Airi. Ritsuko snorted.

“Oh, so the jackass idiot was the Chosen One? You can't be that stupid, Airi,” the younger woman scoffed. “Besides, he will swear on a pile of bibles that the kid is his,” she predicted smugly.

“With the alternative being a fall from a roof, I don't doubt it,” Airi replied. “But the child will be the next king or queen, and so choosing the father matters. Do you even know which man was the father?” she asked.

“Nope, and it doesn't matter,” dismissed Ritsuko.

“I wish you had consulted me before doing this; or at least let me meet the men,” Airi sighed.

“Like you did with that dick-hole Consort, or your husband and his filthy pig of a younger half-brother?” countered Ritsuko. Airi twitched faintly.

“I knew how you would react, and it had to be done,” began Airi.

“Same here. Sucks, doesn't it?” she replied, moving over to Airi and sitting beside her. “Airi, I am trying my best here, but you are making it difficult lately. All I ask is that you share information with me so we don't end up running into each other with swords in our hands. Please?” asked Ritsuko plaintively.

Airi sighed, putting an arm around the younger woman. “You have a point. I apologize, Ritsuko,” she said, getting a hug from the naked red-head. Airi wrinkled her nose. “You smell like smoke, greasy meat and leather oil,” complained the actress playfully.

“Occupational hazard,” shrugged Ritsuko. “Join me for a bath?” she asked. Airi nodded. The freemen had finished her projects and they needed to test the job, after all. Ten minutes later, the two were enjoying a warm bath in an actual tub with running water. It was crude, yes, but it worked and was a massive improvement over the wooden or tin tubs that often served that role.

“So, where are the elves?” asked Airi.

“They will be arriving any time now,” Ritsuko said. Almost as if they were summoned by the remark, Milliea led the other two into the room, already naked.

“Hi, Airi!” chirped the red-headed elf. “Oh, wow! It works!” she squealed excitedly. An hour later, Ritsuko and Airi were curled up in her bed, drifting off to sleep.

“Will you at least let me meet the men?” Airi asked.

“I suppose I can,” yawned Ritsuko. “What's your schedule looking like this week?”

*

Midsummer marked a special occasion for the continent. After more than a year of negotiation, a new peace accord was signed, along with sweeping changes in the way the Kingdoms would be run. It would take more than a decade for the process to finish, but everyone had agreed, all the parties were signature to the accords, and the groundwork was laid. In the Capital of the Allied Kingdoms, a massive celebration was being held in honor of the peace. Airi, Liseria and Ritsuko were attending as nobles from Raltaow, which had remained - as always - apart from the rest of the kingdoms.

Liseria - her belly beginning to show - had her Consort on hand, the man acting the very model of an obedient Consort to the Queen. Airi had her husband on show as well. Ritsuko was flying solo, as usual, though nobles and wealthy merchants were orbiting around, seeking her attention. Ritsuko was bearing up under the harassment remarkably well; in so far as she was only verbally abusing them and not physically harming them. It had taken a concerted effort by the others to get her to promise not to hurt anyone except in self-defense, and another - more epic - battle to get her to agree to guidelines about what constituted self-defense. Airi wasn't surprised to find that Ritsuko felt that men ogling her was grounds for stabbing them, and any man putting hands on her in any way was grounds for shooting them in the face; repeatedly.

Milliea was with Gabriella, Rapier and Annette, who was acting as the elf liaison for the soiree, the four elves sticking reasonably close to Ritsuko, having promised to watch her back - and sleep spell her if necessary. Junpei was left to his own devices, as having him in this fancy gala was a recipe for disaster. With the official peace treaty and constitution signed, everyone in attendance was eagerly awaiting the celebration, because that meant the gates would be unlocked for use.

For the moment, Rebellion and hand-picked guards of the kingdom the gates were located in were responsible for protecting the gates and collecting the taxes for use of the gate. There was a simple tax chart mounted by each gate, based on number and size of wagons or by count of persons passing through the gate. The party or person paid their taxes, the gate was set by a simple magical index stone, and the person walked through, emerging from the gate at the desired destination. The taxes - while not cheap - were far from overbearing, and generally preferred to long trips between kingdoms. The merchant guilds were already using the gates heavily.

The funds from the taxes on the gate were split between the origin gate location, the destination gate location and Raltaow. As set forth in the terms, the monies were to be used for infrastructure improvement and civic projects in the kingdoms, with the share allotted to Raltaow being earmarked for gate maintence and expansion. There had been a lot of grumbling when the other kings realized that the gates would be controlled by, maintained by and owned by the stand-alone, sole-remaining kingdom on the continent, but they had nothing to leverage with. The spells were Elven, and known to only a select few. The kingdoms had all be warned that attempts to tamper with the gates, modify the gates or hijack the gates would result in severe penalties, and most accepted that it was just not worth the problems. Those that were not so inclined had other things on their mind.

One of the reasons for the celebration that would begin at noon that day was the news that the Captains of the Rebellion - attending as Governors of the Five Districts, which is what the former Southern Kingdoms were now called - had driven away the feared Boss. The story of how that happened was very sparse on details, but apparently, the savage bloodlust of the Rebellion leader had finally scared her own Captains and supporters so badly that they rebelled against her. The story went that when the Rebellion turned on her, she cursed them as betrayers, promised she would crush them at the first opportunity and then vanished, alone and seething with rage after killing hundreds of former supporters in a bloody battle of attrition. Most of the kings just couldn't bring themselves to feel good about that, as it left them feeling like a monster was breathing down their necks.

Still, the hated and feared Boss was gone, left alone and without followers so that her Captains - now viewed as legitimate rulers of the lands their Boss had conquered - could take over running the lands in a more normal manner. Even so, the prosperity of the Five Districts was the envy of the other kingdoms, and most kings moved to adopt similar models of governance, taxation and administration as the Districts used. Having given up a good amount of their authority, they nevertheless still had some influence through the council of lords, which was how the lands were now ruled.

The council of lords was made up of the king, one representative of the nobility, one representative of the merchants and four elected representatives of the subjects. All save the king had to be elected to serve for a period of two years in open election processes. Each of the representatives could serve no more than three terms consecutively, and they could not be elected to office again for at least six years after their terms. The positions had no pay, no privileges and could not be traded, but were usually sought after because no taxes could be added or changed, and no new laws could be added without the council's approval. The majority vote carried the motion, so the proposed changes or new laws would have to be accepted by most of the subjects.

And least the kingdoms think they could subvert the new government structure, there was a general constitution that put hard checks on the actions the councils could take. No kingdom could ever again allow slavery, even if every person in the kingdom voted for it. No kingdom could vote to leave the Kingdoms and be independent again. No kingdom could vote to wage war against another kingdom unless in self-defense; and then, they could not cross their borders as that would mean it was no longer self-defense.

Once a year, all kings would meet in Congress to handle disputes and issues that were not clearly outlined in the constitution. There were strict rules on how and what they could do here as well. Attendance was mandatory. If a problem was not resolved in regular session, the involved parties were forced to accept mediation from neutral mediators, which by nature had to be Raltaowan. None of the kings wanted that, as the Raltaow Kingdom was known for its rather strict stance on most disagreements.

The legal code got an overhaul as well. Gone were the days of royal judgement. Now, there were laws and a court system that applied to pretty much everyone. A person accused of a serious crime was tried before three justices of neutral kingdoms or lands, who would hear the case from both sides before rendering a verdict. There were rules about sentencing as well - no more nobility privilege. Lesser crimes could still be dealt with by the local magistrate, constable, Marshall, bailiff or High Reeve, though there were rules there as well, such as not showing favoritism, consistent punishments for all found guilty and records keeping on the decisions for review of high courts if necessary.

Alongside these new rules was a raft of new technologies coming out - primarily from the Five Districts and Raltaow. They included plumbing, running water technologies, new tools and new ways of manufacturing things, metallurgy advances, the concept of insulation and new math and sciences. The most wildly-popular were the feminine hygiene product known as a `tampon' and a `pad'. Noble and common women alike eagerly adopted the new products and the manufacture of them was spreading like wildfire. It was said that the Queen, Chancellor and Countess of Raltaow had invented this wonder and were users of the new products, which only helped speed sales. Currently, there were shops in nineteen large cities that had been set up and trained by the College of Healers on the process of making the devices; and who were paying royalties to the Raltaowan crown.

With the gates open, new goods and products were flooding into new markets, creating intense competition. The economies of the kingdoms, which mostly were in ruins from the Rebellion War, began to regrow at a prodigious rate. The population began to rebuild as well from the losses incurred by the war. New work was available, and the food supply was growing as well, thanks to arcane secrets learned from the fearsome Boss and taken by the Rebellion when they drove her off. Lands that had been poor cropland now bore ever-growing crops. Harvesting and transporting crops became much quicker and therefore incurred far less spoilage than before, resulting in less waste of food. The citizens were safe, happy and well fed for the first time in years. It was time for a celebration.

“I hereby declare, on behalf of the Congress of Kings, that this day be remembered henceforth as Unity Day, which shall be a festival celebrating the end of the Rebellion and the rebirth of our lands!” shouted the Chairman of the Congress of Kings, getting deafening cheers from the citizens assembled below his perch outside the Congress hall. Standing in the wings, Airi and Ritsuko exchanged smiles. To be sure, there was work to be done still, but the major hurdle was done, and they could take a little rest. Shortly after, the feasting began, both in the Congress and in the streets of every city on the continent.

Ritsuko was running low on patience. As a young, highly-attractive, unwed Countess of Raltaow, she was a prime target for every male in the room desiring marriage, sex or simple lechery of her. She had been hit on by every male in attendance between the age of fourteen and ninety. Never one to put up gracefully with court functions, Ritsuko was nearing the explosion stage. Her tongue - usually capable of leaving blood on the floor - had started to dismember her tormentors before she poured boiling oil on them and threw a torch on top. Scathing didn't even begin to describe her verbal maiming of the poor sods who dared to attempt to charm her.

“My dear friends, I fear I must borrow our charming Countess for a while,” Airi said to the line of men waiting for a shot at her. The Chancellor guided Ritsuko out of her chair and out of the room, the red-head gritting her teeth to keep from screaming in frustration. Leading her out of the hall and into the garden, Airi spotted a secluded bench and guided her to it, Ritsuko absently recognizing the bench as the one that her insurgent had led her to more than a year before. “You ok, Ritsuko?” Airi asked, though she knew the answer.

“If I go back in there, it will be with Mike,” bit out the red-head. Politics and fancy social events were not Ritsuko's thing. “Why did you insist I come as a Countess?” she asked grumpily.

“Well, for starters, you are one,” began Airi.

“I am also a Queen,” interjected the red-head.

“You would prefer your battle gown to the court gown?” Airi teased her friend.

“It is more useful,” countered Ritsuko.

“And for another thing, you are unwed,” Airi said. Ritsuko slanted her a look.

“There is no force on this world or any other that will compel me to marry any of those drooling idiots,” she stated. “There is no way in hell that we need the political connections, nor the trade connections, and I loathe their very existence. If you thought I was hard on the Consort and your husband, you should see what I would do to the fool who tried to force himself on me!”

“I am sure, though you seem to be mellowing toward my husband,” noted the actress. Ritsuko snorted.

“He has managed to keep you happy and hasn't gotten in our way, so I tolerate him. His younger half-brother, however, is a dead man if he ever shows his face around me again,” promised the Countess.

“I have no doubt,” Airi agreed. “I have asked my husband to warn him to stay away, so you shouldn't encounter him again,” she added. “Are you planning to visit your camps, then?”

“If I need to,” Ritsuko said, glancing away from Airi, who just smirked.

“I admit, those young men you rounded up were certainly not hard to look at,” she purred. Ritsuko snorted.

“Who are you kidding, Airi? I could hear your hormones kick into overdrive the moment you met them! You were staring at that one like you were starving and he was a steak dinner,” snickered the red-head. “You must have liked the dish, since you went back for seconds and thirds,” she lilted in Airi's ear. “Were I a different sort of woman, I would tell your husband,” she added playfully.

“If you were a different sort of woman, I'd call you a madam and whore-monger,” Airi replied sweetly. “I was not the only one sampling the goods, as it were, was I?” she challenged.

“That is what they are there for,” shrugged Ritsuko. “My Warrior Bunny girls seem to like them,” she added playfully.

“So they did. They also like you very much. You are likely more popular with them than Liseria is with her subjects,” agreed Airi. Ritsuko shrugged. “Tell me, how many camps do you have set up?”

“Enough,” was all she got from Ritsuko.

“I see. Do you have enough bunny-girls for whatever you are doubtlessly planning?” wondered the Chancellor.

“So far, I have thirty one in camp. Less than I hoped, but there are some still in position on the Lost Continent,” revealed Ritsuko.

“You seem to consider the girls to be in one of two groups. What's behind that? Does it have to do with their ears being cut?” guessed Airi.

“Shrewd as always,” Ritsuko mused. “The ones with their left ears cut more or less stopped being fighters. After the fall, they chose to be slaves, concubines or whores. A very few, like Delilah and Mamina, kept their ears and kept their warrior status. A few like Parna are between the two, having lost hope, but then gained it again. Most of the ones with the cut left ear will not be suitable for field operations, so I am letting them do what they can, which is rebuild the clan.”

“Ah,” was all Airi said, mind busy. “That makes more sense,” she mused. It also explains why Ritsuko had that one camp with only Delilah and Mamina there; and why it was the only camp she allowed herself to have sex with the residents, as well. “You plan to go back to the Lost Continent soon, I presume?”

“It will take time to get set up and ready, but yes,” Ritsuko said. “We need to know what we are dealing with, and I want to see if I can get Pina to side with us. It could prove to be more useful to have her influence the JSDF rather than try it ourselves. And then there are the slavers…” Ritsuko's voice turned darker and rougher as she said that. Airi sighed.

“You have a home here, Ritsuko,” she reminded her teammate.

“Yes, but it is infested with annoying insects and I have my responsibilities to the Warrior Bunnies,” argued the younger of the two. “Besides, I need to keep the identity of Boss alive so you can use it to leverage things your way if necessary,” pointed out the red-head.

“You are not Boss, Ritsuko,” insisted Airi.

“Maybe not, but she is always going to be part of me now,” admitted the former Rebellion leader. “I…just can't shake her,” whispered the Countess. Airi hugged her.

“Perhaps not alone, but I will help in any way I can, Ritsuko,” promised the actress.

“I know, but right now, the best way to help is to stop forcing me to go to things like this. Besides, seeing you with your husband and Liseria with the Consort feels like sandpaper on my nerves; it just makes me want to kill them. Probably best for all if I maintain distance for the time being.”

“Are you taking your three friends with you?” Airi asked.

“Of course. Milliea won't leave me alone, and Rapier and Gabriella are curious about the Lost Continent and the elves there, so they want to come, too. Don't worry, I won't forget about you, Airi,” promised the red-head.

“And I won't forget about you, either. Neither will Liseria. Come back to visit often, Ritsuko,” Airi demanded, kissing the other girl.

“When I can, Airi, when I can,” Ritsuko said before standing and moving toward an exit from the garden that would lead her out of the Congress of Kings building. Watching her go, Airi sighed, seeing three shadowy figures join her as she slipped out the small side gate.

“You didn't tell her,” a voice said, making Airi twitch. Turning, she saw Annette standing by the bench. The High Priestess was dressed in a very provocative formal gown, her hair up and make-up on.

“It wouldn't have mattered; not at this point,” Airi said, rising. “Besides, she will find out soon enough,” smiled the Chancellor.

“Ah, there you are, my dear Airi,” her husband said, approaching from the opposite direction Ritsuko had appeared from. “I was worried about you when you didn't return from your walk with the Countess. Are you feeling well?” he asked.

“I am fine, my dear,” Airi assured him. “It is still early in the term, after all.”

“I still worry,” the man said, slipping an arm around his wife. Airi smiled at him. “Will the Countess be returning to the celebration?” he asked carefully. Airi's smile faded a little.

“No, she won't be,” was all the Chancellor said.

*

EPILOG

“Did you hear? Another one has fallen ill!” whispered the rather corpulent wife of an Imperial Senator. The lords were all in session with Empress Pina, and the wives - as usual - were clustered in the gardens off the senate hall, engaged in their own political games. The reason for the emergency session was the sudden, sharp increase in Empire nobles falling ill or dying in strange accidents.

“It is the gods' judgement against that child Pina submitting to the Men in Green and the Jayesf D'eff,” another wife accused spitefully. “Had she fought them as her dear brother Zorzal planned to…”

“We would all be dead or slaves, and only an idiot would think otherwise,” another wife cut in. She was the wife of a leading senator, who had been a member of the Hawk faction, but had suddenly switched to the Dove faction after a dinner party that Pina had held two years before. No one who wasn't there could understand how a dinner party could make the man change his stance so thoroughly in less than a day. “There is too great a difference between our fighting power and the power of the Jayesf D'eff. Or did you fail to notice that their flying swords destroyed the Senate building in the blink of an eye? It would have been no harder for them to destroy the palace, our homes or anything else they decided should be destroyed. Fighting them would have been suicide, and Empress Pina understands that much at least.”

“Then what is this curse now upon us, if not punishment from the gods?” insisted another, younger, wife.

“Politics,” came the disinterested answer. “I pray you are not all so naïve as to think that politics doesn't leave dead bodies behind it,” snorted the senior-most. “If you are, I weep for the future of the Empire,” she nearly sneered. “Given who has been unfortunate, and how, I suspect that it is nothing more than a shift in the alignment of the clans within the senate. This happens every time a new ruler comes to power, after all; not that you younger girls would know, having been born while Molt sat the throne,” she bragged.

“Yes, we are all in awe of your advanced years,” came the catty remark from another of the women. “You could be a great grandmother at your age,” she added, getting cruel snickering from the other women. The older one's eyes tightened.

“Ha, ha, ha! The follies of youth and inexperienced little girls,” she laughed falsely. “It is like watching kittens try to growl.”

“Speaking of kittens,” another of the group turned the topic away from the previous one, “have you heard the rumors about Sherry of the Tyueli clan?” she gossiped.

“No, not recently,” another woman pounced on the bait. “Has she done something outrageous again?”

“She is insisting that she has the right to attend our gathering as she is engaged to the ambassador of the Jayesf D'eff!” shared the wife.

“Surely not!” gasped a wife. “She may be of marrying age, but she is unwed, and her future husband is not even a noble!”

“Well, I heard that he is delaying the wedding for some custom of his land!” another chimed in eagerly. Gossip was always best when it involved someone else, after all. Not far from the group of women under the pavilion was another group of women. This group was mostly younger wives and daughters of less-prominent Senate members. Among them was Sherry Tyueli. The barely-fourteen year old girl was dressed in a fancy gown and exotic jewelry that came from the land beyond the Gate. On her left ring finger was a slim engagement ring that she had been showing off. It had taken her some time to get her future husband to finally give her the ring, but in the end, she had gotten her way.

“Just listen to those old hags,” huffed a member of the younger group as more cruel laughter rang out from the assembly of older wives. “Talking like that about your Lord Suguwara!”

“It doesn't bother me,” came the indifferent reply from Sherry. “Our love cannot be understood by bitter old women who only ride their husband's robes to prominence,” she regally dismissed the gossip going around. Not far from her, a female knight of the Rose Order stood by unobtrusively. She had been quietly assigned to guard Sherry with very little in the way of explanation as to why, but Pina herself had ordered it, and she would obey. She had been asked to be as discreet as possible, and to that ends, she had forgone full armor, wearing instead a breastplate with the order's emblem, greaves and her sword belt over a skirt, a thick shirt under the breast plate. Her armored gloves had been swapped for strong leather gloves with dragon scales protecting her fingers and back of the hand.

While the women might not know it, a pattern had been detected by the Empress and her allies. The men being killed had all been enemies or opponents of Zorzal. What they were not sure about was who and how the killings were being conducted. Requesting help from Alnus had brought in new and near-magical ways of identifying who was at fault, but even with the far greater depth of knowledge, it was proving a problem to identify the perpetrators.

More light was shed on the problem when the soldiers who had followed Zorzal and Tyuule when he fled the might of the JSDF were debriefed at Alnus Station before being allowed to return to the Capital. While more than half of the remaining soldiers had asked to be allowed to swear fealty to Pina and return to their families now that Zorzal and Tyuule were dead, the rest had refused; and been dealt with swiftly. The soldiers who were debriefed told strange stories of Tyuule and Zorzal consorting with strange, mongrel demi-humans and misshapen humans in a secretive manner. It was said that Zorzal had bragged that these were his `secret army' and that they had been how he disposed of his father, former Emperor Malt Co Augusta.

The debriefing was conducted by the military intelligence agents of the JSDF with representatives of the Empress in attendance as well; namely, some Rose Order Knights. Once both sides were satisfied that it was safe to allow the soldier to return to the capital, the Rose Order Knights had them swear fealty to Pina then transferred them by groups to Italica, where they were further assessed before being allowed to return to the capital. It was this information, along with other modern forensic skills, that gave them their direction.

But it wasn't until after the incident in the tavern in Alnus town - where Nodachi 6 had killed two assassins - that they asked the right questions and got the right answer. The body of the assassin killed by the hot-tempered visitor from another continent was examined quite closely and found to be of no discernable race known to any of the people they asked. It was, they determined, a hybrid of many demi-human races. When asked, Lelei had given a dispassionate lecture on the races of the land, with emphasis on which races could cross-breed. It had been uncomfortable for the Japanese to listen to a fifteen year old girl describe cross-species breeding issues as if she were discussing the weather, but it gave them more pieces of the puzzle. Lelei suggested they return to Rondel to ask for more information.

When she and Itami's group of misfits returned a week later, they knew both more and less about the problem. It turned out that there were rumors and legends of a group of outcast cross-breeds calling themselves the Haryo. They were of no land, no clan, no race and no history, but supposedly they insisted that they were the native inhabitants of the land because all the other races came from elsewhere through the Gate, while they were born in that land. Lelei had pointed out the logical problems with that theory, and generally dismissed them as idiot, but Itami had made a few observations about what that mindset could end up driving them to that had made General Hazama sit up and take notice.

Then, the killings started up again. The visitors from the other continent had gone home months before, so it wasn't likely to be them, but just to be sure, surveillance was increased, and extra precautions were being taken to guard those critical to the peace process. Pina was briefed by Itami and his group, and she started to work on better means of protecting the senators and their families. News came that three of the friendliest whores in the red light district had vanished, and the JSDF feared the worst, as two of the three were leaders in the group of whores who acted as informants and guides for the covert capital team in the slums of the city. Kurokawa was especially worried, as she had come to like the winged Miseria and the four-armed whore from repeated sessions with them and for their leading role in getting the clinic up and keeping it well informed in exchange for condoms and medical care.

When the three had turned up in Italica, with the youngest joining the maid service of the Clan Formal and the other two volunteering to work in the PX that had been set up in town, Kurokawa had bullied Itami into taking her to the town so she could talk with them. They had been suspiciously tight-lipped about how they had left the capital, but had shared the story of a client who had killed a manager of the youngest in the capital, which would have caused them to be killed in turn by the crime group who owned the young whore, so they had skipped town. Suspicious about the story, Kurokawa had nevertheless let it be, telling Itami they would head back after she gave the two a quick physical.

Once Itami was out of the room and they were alone, Kurokawa had pressed them hard for the truth, but they had not said anything of any use. On a hunch, she casually mentioned a `red-headed friend' she had met in the wilds of the northeast and grown to like. That had tripped the whores up, and she discovered that the person matched the description of Ritsuko; though the news about a second, younger human who obviously obeyed her threw the medic for loop. Ultimately, she had chosen not to say anything about the involvement of Ritsuko for the time being, as she didn't know what it might mean and they had other fish to fry right then.

Before they could return to Alnus Station, one of the kitchen maids had fallen ill while preparing food for the Countess, and Kurokawa had canceled their return to perform medical services. When she identified that it was a poison, Panache had put the house on high alert and locked Myui in her rooms with her four closest maids as body guards while she searched the manor herself. Myui had been scared, but having Persia, Mamina, Aurea and Mohmu there calmed her down. Head Maid Kaine personally stood outside the locked door, glaring at anyone who came close to the door. Panache hadn't found any intruders, and the staff had been cleared of wrong-doing.

While Itami, Panache and Kaine were having a whispered conference about what to do to protect the Countess, a scream had come from the bedroom of the Countess followed by the sounds of a quick fight. Before Kaine could unlock the door, Itami kicked it open, revealing Myui being hugged by Mohmu, Aurea in front of them, her snake-hair weaving in the air menacingly as they hissed, while Persia and Mamina were standing over a cloaked form. Blood dripped from the extended claws on both of Persia's hands, her small glasses knocked off and her tail bristled, while Mamina held a bloody knife in her hand, her other in a fist and her legs set in a fighting stance.

Kurokawa and Kaine had rushed to check on Myui, while Itami - pistol up - edged closer to the cloaked figure. “Teach you to underestimate the eyes of a cat-person,” purred Persia darkly.

“And the ears of a Warrior Bunny,” smirked Mamina.

“No one harms our mistress Myui,” added Aurea, her snake-hair slowly calming.

“Countess Myui is unharmed,” reported Kurokawa, having completed a quick but thorough check of the young ruler. She left her in the care of Mohmu and Kaine as she turned toward the assassin, pulling her own pistol free as she moved closer.

“Persia, Mamina, ease back a little,” Itami said, his tone intent as he kept his pistol aimed at the figure. The two eased back a little. “Did you kill him?” he asked.

“I don't think so; not yet anyway,” came the dark answer from Mamina. “He has much to answer for,” she added, absently twirling the knife.

“Indeed,” agreed Persia, fangs displayed.

“Cover me, Kurokawa,” Itami said, getting a nod as the medic took aim. Easing up, he carefully took the cloak in his gloved hand and pulled it away, jumping back just to be safe. A weak moan came from the figure as blood began to pool on the rug under it.

“It is a Haryo,” breathed Kurokawa.

“It is ass-ugly,” snorted Mamina.

“And an abomination,” Persia agreed. The thing was hideous, to say the least.

“Looks like a cross between a reptilian, canine and siren,” Kurokawa said, noting specific features of the three races in the thing.

“Pig, too, if the face is any indication,” Itami mused. The figure stirred weakly.

“You are the abominations,” wheezed the figure. “And we will cleanse this world of you,” added the figure before fumbling with a small pill.

“Suicide pill!” Itami said, jumping at the figure along with Persia and Mamina. Moments later, the assassin had been forcefully subdued and stripped off all possible weapons and means of self-harm. Persia and Mamina had been none too gentle with the process, either. “Kurokawa, radio base. We need a chopper and security detail here to transport a prisoner. I'll secure him while you do that, and then see if you can keep him alive until we can get some answers,” he directed. The medic nodded, grabbing her radio mic and calling the base. It only took a few minutes to get a chopper and guard detail on the way. In the meantime, Mamina had helped Itami secure the target, showing him some way to negate the natural weapons the assassin had in the form of claws, spines and teeth. When asked in a rather snarky manner how she got so good at tying people up, she had just smirked and said she was a Warrior Bunny after all.

The next day, they had been in a debriefing with the General and his staff. There wasn't much they could do about the threat that wasn't already being done, but they wanted to get as much information as they could. So, the recons would be going out again, looking for information and warning their friends about the danger these being posed. Of note was that some of them seemed to have some basic skill with magic, though it was not of the sort practiced by the formal schools of magic, nor was it similar to the elemental users' abilities.

Itami found he was being given command of a new unit, being called the Special Duty Mobile Team Alpha, which would be getting the weird, odd and usually suicidal assignments that came up; such as dealing with ancient fire dragons, establishing peaceful contact with recalcitrant races or groups, dealing with political problems that couldn't be handled by politicians and the like. He was absolutely under-whelmed to be named the commanding officer. To find he was being advanced in rank from first lieutenant to captain was also met with underwhelming enthusiasm by the chronic slacker. Nevertheless, General Hazama plowed his protests under, making him a captain.

The new team would be comprised of half natives, and half JSDF personnel, and Itami would get his pick of the JSDF personnel and a large say in which native personnel were offered the positions on the team. Itami suspected this was the brain-child of lieutenant Yanagida; and possibly the work of Delilah, as her name popped up right at the top of the volunteer list he was handed; though the form for volunteers had been printed with the names of Lelei, Tuka, Rory and Yao already assigned. Itami knew there was no getting away from those four; and he wasn't sure he wanted to, given their skills. He did notice that Lelei's sister, Arpeggio, was on the list as well. Most of the natives he already knew, but some were unknown to him. Nearly all of them were female, too.

When asked how many men were in the unit, he had been told that he could select one dozen JSDF men, and Hazama had recommended getting a good skill range between them. Itami sighed, but then wrote out the names of Recon Three members and a couple of others. He told the general that he had to have the members of Recon Three as they had worked together and functioned as a team with the natives easily and reliably. Hazama said he was ok with that, and then Itami was whisked off to start the paperwork for all the processes involved, making him groan. “I thought I was in the military, not the bureaucracy,” he had muttered as he left.

He had dissed the others, only to have Kurokawa ask for a moment of his time. Granting her request, he was told that Nodachi 6 had been in the capital well after they had left, but she didn't think they were a threat to them, given her actions. Hazama had considered that, uneasy about the prospect of the volatile red-head being on his continent again. When he had expressed his concerns, Kurokawa had just smiled and asked if Rory the Reaper was not far more of a threat, given her capricious temper and proudly-proclaimed killing habit. General Hazama had to admit that she had a good point.

It was a week before the new unit was officially staffed and equipped, and by then, Hazama knew exactly what mission to send them on as their maiden mission. He chose to give the orders to Itami directly. Special Duty Mobile Team Alpha was to try and find the way that Nodachi 6 came and went from their continent, while also searching for signs of where the Haryo might be holed up. Itami was very unenthusiastic about this, but complied with the order. Forming up his team, he announced they were heading for Rondel to ask some questions of the academies there before recurving back toward Warrior Bunny territory. Delilah - having passed off her tavern duty to another, newly-arrived Warrior Bunny (with a cut left ear) - had only smiled a little, saying nothing. The group was going to be using the newly-acquired Stryker ICV as the main unit, with a LAV and two military jeeps providing the balance of the unit mechanical resources.

The Stryker they would be operating was a unit from the Americans, and armed with a 30mm Bushmaster cannon - the better to deal with those pesky fire dragons - and the LAV would be mounted with TOW missiles for anything bigger. The balance of anti-personnel offense would be handled by the extra personnel and by the nature of the group, who would boast not only two highly-destructive magic users, but also two elemental users and if that wasn't enough, a demi-goddess. It was not lost on Itami that the heavier weapons meant that he would be expected to go in harm's way more often.

While Itami was shaking out his new unit and preparing to depart, Empress Pina was swamped with work in the capital. As she was preparing to retire for the night, she heard a knock on her door. “Come,” she called, expecting Hamilton. Instead, the door opened and a page entered, bowing deeply to her before handing her a sealed letter. Frowning at the seal, she wondered why she didn't recognize the crest on the seal. Dismissing the page, she broke the seal on the letter and opened it. She had to read it three times before she could wrap her head around the letter. Ringing a bell, she had to wait only a few minutes before Hamilton hurried into the room. Her personal aide had been preparing for bed when her lady rang for her, and so she was dressed in her usual filmy night robe, though she clutched her sheathed sword in her hand.

“My lady?” she asked, bowing.

“I need you to have the staff check my late brother's trophies for a certain item,” she began. “All his stuff was piled in a storage room somewhere - the staff should know where. Anyway, I need you to see if the armor of the Queen of the Warrior Bunnies is still in there. Do it now,” she added, frowning at the letter.

“At once, my lady,” Hamilton said, hurrying out the door. It took less than a half hour for Hamilton to return.

“There is no Warrior Bunny armor among the trophies, my lady,” Hamilton said. Pina nodded, looking unhappy. “What is this about, my lady?” wondered Hamilton.

“I received a letter just now from someone claiming to be the Queen of the Warrior Bunnies,” Pina said, waving the letter. “They want to talk to me; tonight,” she added.

“But, wasn't the slave Tyuule the queen of the Warrior Bunnies? I know the Empire annexed their lands when she surrendered to Zorzal, so how can there be a new Queen?” Hamilton asked.

“I guess we will find out,” Pina said.

“Oh, I assure you, you will,” a voice said from the windows. Hamilton shrieked, jumping back and struggling to draw her sword. Pina threw herself out of her chair, rolling across the floor before coming up with her sword in hand. “There shouldn't be a need for that,” the voice said, a figure easily vaulting through the window. It wore a dark cloak, the hood up. Hamilton edged toward the bell pull. “Don't do anything foolish, Hamilton,” warned the figure, throwing the cloak back over their shoulders, revealing a rifle strapped to their chest, over the Warrior Bunny armor. “I came to talk, but if you really want a fight, I think you both know how it will go for you,” the figure sounded both amused and cold.

“Are you aligned with the JSDF?” asked Pina.

“Not exactly,” came the answer, the figure brushing the hood back, revealing a red-headed woman wearing a helmet-crown in the Warrior Bunny fashion. “I am Queen of the Warrior Bunnies. You may call me Ritsuko,” she introduced herself.

“You are human,” Hamilton almost accused.

“Hmm, nothing gets by this one, does it, Pina?” smiled Ritsuko.

“You are Japanese,” Pina stated. “How is it that you are Japanese and yet not aligned with the JSDF?”

“Because I am not,” was all Ritsuko would say. “I come from a different land, and I want to discuss a treaty with you; one you will likely find beneficial for us both.”

“You have an odd way of asking for a meeting,” Pina said, lowering her sword slightly.

“There are reasons for that, but none of them concern you at the moment,” Ritsuko said indifferently. “Let's get to it, shall we? We have some things we need to do, and an alliance with you would help, but do not think for a moment that opposing us would stop us in any way. Also, I should tell you that I have already led a rebellion that conquered every kingdom in opposition to me, and wouldn't hesitate to do that again. I don't want to, but will if necessary. As you know about the JSDF, you know I have the means to do that,” she said, tapping the rifle as she spoke. “And in the interest of being clear, my dear Pina, I will do the things that the JSDF won't. Do you understand my meaning?” she asked, approaching and offering the Queen a bit of fur and leather.

Accepting the offered item carefully, Pina looked at it before she nearly dropped it, realizing it was the face and ears of Tyuule, tanned and preserved. Hamilton's hand flew up to cover her mouth. “I am Queen of the Warrior Bunnies, and we will not be denied,” warned the red-head. “Forget about us ever surrendering to anyone ever again.”

Slowly, Pina lowered her sword. “What is it you want from us, Ritsuko?” she asked, staring at the taller, older woman suspiciously. She couldn't help but notice the build of the red-head as well.

“I want you to come with me for one month. We will be going…elsewhere to talk about what it is we want,” Ritsuko said, taking back the face and tucking it away.

“Never,” denied Pina. “It is a trap!”

“Little girl,” Ritsuko said ominously, “I have no need of trapping you,” she said, once more tapping her rifle. “And unlike your family history, I am a woman of my word. I said we would talk, and that is what will happen. If you refuse, well, that will be your answer as well, and the consequences of that will be on your head. Do not be like your pig of a brother, Zorzal, who angered me and paid the price.”

“You…killed Zorzal,” breathed Pina.

“Damn right I did, and I would do it a thousand times more. He deserved far worse than he got, the filthy, sadistic rapist,” spat the red-head. Pina could not disagree with that after her own experience with him. “If it makes you feel any better, you can bring up to three guards with you. They - and you - will be well-cared for and comfortable. It will also be an educational trip for you as well, about the benefits an alliance can bring you and your nation,” baited the red-head.

“My lady, you can't be thinking…!” began Hamilton.

“Quiet, Hamilton,” Pina said, thinking over the offer. Finally, she straightened up and looked at Ritsuko. “I accept, on one condition,” she said.

“Which is?” asked the red-head, sounding amused.

“You teach me the secrets of the `gun' and `rifle',” stated the Empress.

Ritsuko chuckled softly. “That is acceptable. I will contact you again shortly with a specific time. I suggest you make the necessary preparations while you wait to hear from me,” she said, turning toward the window. “Until then, Pina,” she said, lightly hopping out the window. Pina exhaled in relief.

“My lady, aren't we on the upper floor of the palace?” Hamilton asked. Pina blinked, realizing that her windows were fully five stories off the ground, and there was no ledge to speak of outside. Hurrying to the window, she looked down, not seeing any sign of the new Queen. But glancing up and to the side, she saw a dark from silently climbing away and up from her window, two cloaked figures on its back.

“What new magic is this?” she breathed. The crown on her head got a little heavier.