The moon was bright, the sky was cloudless.

Elsewhere, the dark denizens of the were-forests howled, their mournful
cries rent the air.

But here, they just walked home.

Yuri winked at Leilei.  "So, Leilei, now that Bala's walking ahead of us
and out of earshot, maybe I can ask you something?"

Leilei sighed, but smiled back at her friend.  "Sure, as long as it's
not about that so-called engagement.."

Yuri shrugged.  "Well, can I just ask one thing?"

"Well, okay," Leilei said with a smirk.

"Did you actually know that guy or what?"

"Nope."  Leilei shrugged.  "Besides, the whole thing stank of mistaken
identity.  Not that it matters anymore to him."

Yuri bit her lip nervously.  "Um, right.  Let's just forget the
subject."

"Already done!" Leilei answered, throwing up her hands.

"I guess what I really want to know," Yuri paused to order her thoughts.
"I remember you said something about the females of your clan being born
into service of Bala's clan."

Leilei nodded.  "Right, right.  It's no big deal, it's what I've done my
whole life.  I'm used to it.  Besides, I like helping Bala out."

"I'm sure he appreciates it," Yuri beamed at Leilei.  "But seriously,
Leilei.  I'm still wondering about everything and all that service
stuff."

Leilei raised an eyebrow.  "Go ahead and ask.  I don't mind."

"Well," Yuri pursed her lips.  "Okay, how about this - why is it only
the females of your clan that serve Bala's clan? Why not the males? That
isn't really fair."

Leilei giggled.  "Yuri, fair doesn't really enter into it like that.
That's just how it is.  It's ancient history between our clans.  Long
ago, my clan became indebted to the Wargmere clan, and they graciously
agreed to let us live in exchange for an eternity of servitude.
Typical, really."

Yuri wasn't quite sure how to react to this.  "Um, okay.  Well, isn't
there any way you can get free?"

Leilei laughed.  "Yuri, it doesn't work that way.  Although," Leilei
looked thoughtful.  "I had a chance for freedom once, years ago, after I
graduated from high school.  But the price was just too high."  She
smiled up to at Yuri.  "I hope that's not the only thing you were
thinking about."

Yuri shook her head with a smile, glad that Leilei was still cheerful.
"Actually, there was one thing I keep thinking about.  What is the deal
with your dad?"

Leilei's smile fell.  "The deal?"

"Yeah, I mean, his name was, um, Larc-something..."  Yuri trailed off.

"Lacrimamus."  Leilei said emotionlessly.

"Yes, that's right.  Um, I never really understood what the big deal was
with him.  If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay.  Hey, it's
not like I don't know what having an evil dad is like.  But I know that
no matter how many business associates he tortures or friends of mine he
threatens to devour, he'll always care about me."  Yuri smiled
encouragingly at Leilei.

"You're very lucky, Yuri," Leilei mumbled.

Yuri blushed.  "Yeah, I know.  I guess you don't want to talk about,
huh? That's okay, I'll..."

Leilei held up a hand.  "No, no, it's just not an easy subject.  I'm
just sort of used to people already knowing about him."  She looked up
at Yuri.  "You see, I never really knew my father like you did.  I just know
what he did."

Yuri asked.  "What did he, you know, do?"

Leilei closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.  "It's complicated.  I'm
not sure where to start really.  Wait a minute..."  Leilei glanced
around surreptitiously and slowly pulled out her necklace.  "Take a look
at this, Yuri."

Yuri peered at the necklace.  It appeared to be a tiny red and black
horn, with several grooves along its dies.  "Did it belong to your dad?"

"Sort of."  Leilei tucked the necklace back under her dress.  "This
little piece of horn didn't just belong to him, it was a part of him."

Yuri's mouth dropped.  "A part of him?"

"Yeah," Leilei nodded.  "From the tip of one of his horns.  The powerful
one, actually."

Yuri shook her head to try to clear it.  "Okay, so there's a powerful
horn, and a weak horn? Wait, your dad has horns? Then why don't you? Not
that there's anything wrong with that." She added hurriedly.

Leilei smiled.  "Calm down, silly.  Of course there's no problem.  I
just didn't inherit many of the physical characteristics of my father.
As well as a few other things.  A good thing, in my opinion."

"I'm still having some trouble here," Yuri said slowly.  "Remember
Leilei, I don't know anything about Larcrimu, Lacrama..."

"Lacrimamus," Leilei corrected.  "You know, when you say the name to
someone who doesn't know about him, it's not that bad to say that name
again."  She held up her hand to stave up Yuri's question.  "Yes, I know, you
don't get that either.  Well, you know what? Let me start at the
beginning.  Many years ago, in one of the Hellish layers, there was this
demon..."

A loud cry interrupted her.

"Prepare to die! Die monster scum!" A young magical girl posed on a
rooftop nearby.  "Prepare to die!"

"Um, didn't you just say that?" Leilei said with a giggle.

Yuri frowned as her hand inched towards her mother's sword.

The magical girl growled.  "Silence, peon of darkness! I will defeat you
both and get MY ice cream reward! ALL FOR ME!" She laughed hysterically
for a moment, then stopped suddenly.  "Pretty Gumdrop Cherry Bomb
Compact Attack!"  Twirling, the magical girl flung her compact
unerringly at Yuri.

Balabalalde casually kicked the compact out of the air, aiming it 
back at the magical girl.  The girl's eyes widened and she started to
open her mouth.  Before she could say anything, Pretty Pretty Gumdrop
Sweetheart was blasted eighteen blocks away.

Yuri shook her head.  "What was that all about? It can't still be about
what happened at Knight School, can it? Or what happened with Lily?"

Leilei shrugged.  "I don't know.  Could be, I suppose." She slapped Bala
on the back loudly.  "Good job, Bala! I know Yuri appreciates you
helping out!"

Bala blinked once.

Yuri blushed.  "Um, yeah.  Thank you Bala-kun."

Bala blinked several times rapidly, and turned away from the girls with
a sudden motion.

Leilei giggled.  "You guys!"

Yuri turned away from Leilei, hiding her face.  "Leilei!" She looked up
to see a familiar sight.  "Oh, wait, it's home."  She turned back to
Leilei and Bala, who had turned back towards her.  "I'll see you guys
tomorrow!" She waved at them smiling.

Bala blinked and Leilei waved.

Yuri walked up to her door and paused.  "Hmm, I wonder if dad knows
about this Laricmus guy.  I'll ask him tomorrow."  Nodding, she opened
the door and stepped inside her house.

                          *** *** *** ***

*********************************************

                          Dark Heart High

              Netherworld Educational Institution for

                 The Universal Propagation of Evil

                          started by Mads

*********************************************

Part Forty Six: Evaporations!

by Jeremy Fogelman

*********************************************

*********************************************

Piercing eyes scanned the empty hallways.  Nothing.  No one.  But it
could smell a familiar stench.  Young ones had been here recently.  It
was only a matter of waiting patiently until they returned.

The beast could wait.  It had done little else while sealed.

And now it was free.  But not quite free enough...

********

Yuri waved at Leilei as she approached her in the hallway.  Balabalalde
stood next to Leilei and kept his eyes on Yuri.

"Hey, guys!" Yuri grinned.  "Let's hope nothing too weird happens today,
huh? No more engagements, right Leilei?"

Leilei snickered.  "Right.  I don't need any, that's for sure."

Bala blinked in Leilei's direction.

Yuri giggled.  "Well, it's still a little early, we have a little time
left until lunch.  Want to walk over to the cafeteria?"

Bala blinked at Yuri and moved a little closer to her.

Leilei grinned widely.  "I think that's a yes, Yuri."

Yuri blushed and smiled at Bala.  She wrinkled her nose and sniffed the
air.  "Hey, do you smell something?"

Leilei's eyes widened in shock.  "Oh no! It can't be! That's the smell
of putrid swamp gas!"

A large green and brown bubble floated down the hall and stopped,
hovering near Leilei.  It began to stretch until it burst, emitting an
awful stench in the immediate surroundings.

Yuri held her nose and turned to Leilei.  Her eyes widened with
surprise.  A short bearded man, dressed in pink robes and carrying a
large wooden staff, stood next to Leilei with a frown on his face.

Yuri looked at her friend questioningly.

Bala, unaffected by the smell, blinked.

Leilei sighed.  "Not now..."

The man cleared his throat.  "Leilei, we have a few things to discuss, now!"

Leilei turned to Bala and Yuri.  "Um, listen you guys, do you mind
giving us a minute? This is kind of important."

Bala blinked and Yuri nodded.

"No problem," Yuri said earnestly.  She looked at Bala with a tentative
smile.  "It'll give us some time to talk about some stuff that's
happened lately.  Like some running into walls stuff."

Bala's eyes widened.

Leilei rolled her eyes.  "I don't have time for this right now.  I'll
catch up with you in a minute."  She turned to the robed man and nodded.
"Shall we?"

Leilei walked with the man until they moved into a deserted classroom.
After checking to make sure the room was empty, Leilei whirled to face
the bearded man.

"Imicus, what do you want?" Leilei asked in a slightly exasperated tone,
just slight enough that she thought she could get away with.  "You know
as well as I do that looking after Balabalalde is a full time job."

Imicus frowned and cleared his throat.  "Leilei, I am here because of
some disturbing things I have heard recently.  It is my job to monitor
your performance, as you know."

Leilei sighed.  "Yes, yes, I know.  Spare me the rhetoric and tell me
why you're here, sir."  She added as though in an afterthought.

"Very well.  Let me just say it straight out.  Leilei, I am very
disappointed in you.  You have not exactly had the most difficult of
assignments, trust me.  As you know, there are far less pleasant ways
you could serve the clan."
NOTES
serious ones, funny one

Leilei shuddered.  There were many assignments she never wanted to think
of again.  She had heard many roommates from some of her relatives.
The painful cleansings in the lava pits, the horrid ministrations to the
undulating puz goblins, and of course, the worst of them all... the most
awful of all - was playing dolls with Galanilala.

"Yes, I know that, sir.  But I've been doing a perfect job
with Balabalalde! Not one slip up!"

"Not one?" The bearded man shook his staff at Leilei.  "You seem to
forget that we constantly audit you.  Let me see here.  Recently
Balabalalde's seals were taken off for a sanctioned period of time."

"Correct," Leilei nodded.  "But as you said, it was sanctioned.
Everything was well documented and arranged in advance."

"My dear Leilei," Imicus clucked his tongue.  "You are too soon to
forget.  Near the end of your charge's sanctioned time his final
tattooed seal was broken by a very powerful weapon.  This led to young
Balabalalde unleashing his powers far too early and destroying the scion
of a powerful clan.  The elders were not pleased.  That was a white mark
against you."

"But that was hardly my fault," Leilei protested.  "That was the
Doombringer kid! He attacked Bala without provocation, and he was using
an illegal weapon besides! I can hardly be held responsible for such a
rare occurrence!"

Imicus scratched his beard.  "Perhaps.  Then again, perhaps not.  If it
was an isolated incident, it would not be such a problem, Leilei.  But
just yesterday, you were again irresponsible!"

Leilei opened her mouth, then closed it.  She shook her head.  "That's
ridiculous.  The only times I took off his seals was when he needed to,
you know, use the restroom.  As soon as he gets out, I always reseal
everything perfectly."

"Not quite."  Imicus wagged his finger at Leilei.  "During one of those
unfastenings, one of his seals broke loose."

The blood drained from Leilei's face.  "That's impossible.  None of his
seals could have possibly broken.  Unless...  Oh no!"

Imicus nodded gravely, then grinned wickedly.  "That's right, Leilei.
A corruption.  Someone interfered with Bala's bindings."

Leilei rubbed her temples in exasperation.  "It must have been Ki...
or maybe Kashin? Well, whoever it was, you're right.  I didn't notice."

Imicus cleared his throat dramatically.  "In any event, Leilei, as you
know, Bala has a, well, 'beastly' side to him.  Normally this is
sealed away, as he cannot fully integrate his various powers yet.
I can assure you the Wargmere clan does not wish this phantom beast to
wreak havoc - yet.  In any event, due to this seal situation, the beast
has escaped and is somewhere in this building."  He tapped his
staff on the floor.  "You are lucky that this school is warded.
Otherwise the beast would no doubt have escaped."

Leilei cursed.  "Fire Pits! What do you want me to do about it? I still
have to attend to Bala."

"That's not my problem," Imicus said with a wave of his hand.  "But as
you have probably surmised, the elders require this particular act.  It
is an appropriate test of your worthiness.  After all, this phantom beast
is a part of Bala.  It must be destroyed and resealed!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Leilei protested.  "You're not asking me to catch the
beast!"

"That is exactly what we are asking," Imicus bellowed, stamping his
staff loudly on the floor for emphasis.  "In fact, there's more.  You
have twenty four hours to prove you are worthy to retain your current
position.  After that, you will be reassigned to something far less...
pleasant."  The bearded man grinned widely, showing all his teeth.

Leilei sighed but nodded.  "I understand.  I only have one thing to ask.
I want a summoning whistle."  Leilei stood firm against Imicus's narrowed
gaze.  "I'll give it back to you when I'm done."

"That is not what concerns me," Imicus remarked in a offhanded tone.
"It is that you will misuse it, to attempt to escape your rightful
servitude."

Leilei looked up at Imicus in the eye.  "I will not."

Imicus looked thoughtful.  "Very well."  He reached into nothing and
pulled out a small pink wooden whistle.  Imicus handed the whistle to
Leilei, who accepted it in relief.

"Remember, Leilei.  Twenty four hours."  As he spoke the last words,
Imicus morphed into a large bubble of putrid swamp gas, which then
popped.

Leilei sighed.  "I thought my hunting would be over after school ended.
She walked back to Bala and Yuri, carefully holding the whistle between
her palms.  Yuri walked over to Leilei with a worried expression on
her face.

"Leilei, is something wrong?"

Leilei sighed.  "You're a good friend, Yuri."

Yuri looked at Leilei with surprised.  "Thank you Leilei.  You are too!"

"Yuri, do you think you could do me a favor? I have something I need to
do today.  Can you just hang out with Bala for a while?"

Yuri blushed and looked at Bala askance.  "Um, hang out? But what if,
um, you know, he, um, needs to..?"

Bala turned to Leilei and blinked at her.

Leilei smiled slightly.  "Don't worry about it.  Let me give you
something."  Leilei fished around in her purse for a moment and pulled
out a small whistle.  "This is my summoning whistle.  All of the females
in my clan have one in case of emergencies.  If you blow on it, I'll
come right away."  She handed it to Yuri.  "I won't be leaving the
school grounds anyway."

Yuri looked at the whistle carefully.  "Well, I suppose, if it's okay
with Bala.  But I can't help out during fencing practice.  Kashin-sempai
will not be happy if I'm late.  Is that okay?"

Leilei nodded.  "That should be more than enough time."  She turned to
Bala, who looked a little red.  "Bala, watch yourself, okay? Try not to
get into any major fights if you can help it.  And, um, watch out for
Yuri too?"

Bala blinked in surprise.

Leilei smiled at them.  "See you later, guys!"

********

Shop class was slightly more chaotic than usual, as Shark Eye-sensei was
absent.  His assistant had said something about death rays and escaped
monkeys, and gave the students some assigned reading.  The students knew
better than to leave the classroom for no reason, so chaos reigned
slightly for that period within the confines of Shark Eye's evil
laboratory/classroom.

Lily Ringoshima bobbed around the room unnoticed above the students'
heads.  'I wonder if I should be haunting them or something,' Lily
wondered.  'Maybe I should try scaring them.'  She moved
down to a girl who was sharpening a small black axe.  Lily built her
courage and steeled herself.  "BOO!" She yelled.

The girl whipped her head around and snarled, her hair, many undulating
snakes, snapped at the air.

Lily screeched and fled back to the ceiling.

'I'll try again later,' she told herself.

"Mikagami, I must speak with you for a moment."

Yuri looked up in surprise to see Yasuko looking down seriously at her.
"What's up, Yasuko?"

Yasuko raised an eyebrow and stretched, arching her back.  "What is
'up', Mikagami, is our little talk earlier."

"What little talk?" Yuri asked, a little confused.

"The crossbow! Craig!" Yasuko spat angrily.  "You were supposed to
eliminate him! You were supposed to! Is there some reason you can not
understand or complete such a simple task?!"

"But Kurosawa-sensei said that I should always keep him below my level,
and that killing him wouldn't be necessary to eliminate him as a
threat."

Yasuko snarled.  "That's ridiculous.  I can not believe that even you
would listen to such nonsese.  You should have killed him, after
what he did.  The audacity!"

Yuri looked at the succubus in surprise.  "What he did? What did he do?"

Yasuko looked confused, as if she had surprised herself with that
statement.  "Uh, never mind.  Bear it no mind! It was no meaning whatsover!"
The succubus paused, composing herself.  "Carry on, then.  And remember
what I said! The next time you get a chance - finish the job!" She nodded
once, indicating the matter was closed.

Yuri put a finger to lips thoughtfully.  'I wonder what that was all
about.'

Amy sighed.  Seeing Lily flit around the room reminded Amy of her
feelings of late.  'What is going on with me? Am I really changing after
all? Or is it just love for Yuri-sama?'

Amy glanced over at Yuri wistfully.  Then her eyes narrowed.  'Damn that
mummy boy, he's always hanging around her now.  Now that he's sealed,
I'll teach him a lesson.  Now if I can just figure out what...'

********

Ki paced angrily on the courtyard.  Things were not going well, and Yuri
had not been acting as predicted.  Worst of all, Ki continued to act
strangely around Yuri and other girls.  This lack of control, as Ki saw
it, was unbearable.

Midori had mentioned something about the perfume having effects - could
this be why? No, that was ridiculous.  And she was also clearly wrong
about the perfume having long term effects if used frequently.

Surprising himself yet again, the heir to the Steel Thorn Clan yelled out
angrily.

A yell nearby answered him, and Ki Tamaida whirled in surprise to see a
Knight School student pose haughtily before him.
Ki smiled slightly and unsheathed his sword.

"You there! Tell me the location of the Yuri Demon, or I will smite you!"

Ki's eyes blazed.  With a roar of anger that surprised himself, as well as the
Knight School student, Ki attacked with a ferocity he was not used to
feeling.  The knight was surprised enough that he could not muster much of a
defense, not that it was likely to matter.

After the foolish student lay in small pieces on the ground, Ki looked
around and noticed a Magical Girl get knocked to the ground by a
large hairy student.  The hairy behemoth stomped off, clearly already having
forgotten the girl.

Ki grimaced.  'Damn that girl! She does not even realize she is ineffective her
with the anti-purity wards!"

Ki raced over to check on the girl.  He carefully picked up the girl and
leapt onto a nearby rooftop.  With great care, he lay the girl down on
the roof.  The girl looked at him in surprise.

"Wh-why did you help me? Aren't you one of them?"

Ki's eyes widened and he quickly stepped back a step.

"Wait, don't go!" the girl protested.  "I-I'm Tomoyo!"

Ki turned and leapt away, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

"Wait," Tomoyo called out.  "What... what is your name?"

Ki did not stop.  'What is wrong with me?'

********

Yuri had volunteered to walk Bala most of the way home, as Leilei was
apparently still busy with whatever she was doing.

Yuri smiled at Bala.  'I'm so glad we got a chance to clear about the
whole thing with Ki.'  "So, anyway, I heard that... what in the?" Yuri
stood next to Bala with her mouth open.

Before them, a small contingent of Magical Girls posed on the street.
Yuri groaned.  "Oh no, not more of them! She turned to Bala and whispered,
"Bala, what's should I do?" Bala could only blink in surprise as the 
Magical Girls began to run towards them.

"That's the evil girl! Get her! Ice cream!"

Yuri began to run away from them, frantically unstrapping her sword as she
ran, hoping to throw them off guard.  She whirled and held up her sword.
It was time to put her practiced malice into use.  "I defeated six of your
best! You had better back off!" Yuri snapped with more confidence then she
felt.

The Magical Girls stopped their charge and looked at each other
questioningly.  "Happy Dancer Peach Fuzz? What should we do?" One of the
girls asked.

Happy Dancer Peach Fuzz frowned thoughtfully and nodded.  "We attack!
Peach Bombardment!" A cascade of peach incendiaries slammed in the
ground behind Yuri, sending her tumbling forward.  She quickly whirled
and struck, knocking one the peach bombs at the Girls, blasting two of
them out of the fight.

Balabalalde narrowed his eyes, and began to run at a group of Magical
Girls who stood between him and Yuri.

The girls began to shriek, but one of them stood up proudly.  "C'mon
girls! Don't let the mummy scare you! Let's use our special group
attack!"

The girls looked relieved and began to chant as one, "Special Friendly
Ice Coffee Freeze Attack!"

A blue cloud of smoke burst from where Bala stood.  When the smoke
cleared, he stood frozen in place, covered in ice.

The girls cheered and congratulated themselves.  The girl who had
initiated the attack pumped her first proudly.  "That ice cream is as
good as mine!"

She ran over to Bala and stuck out her tongue.  "Gotcha!"

The ice surrounding Balabalalde began to crack slowly.  The girl's eyes
widened in fear, and she ran in the opposite direction.

Yuri was now feeling hard-pressed to repel her multiple attackers.  She
was breathing heavily as she parried one fiery ribbon while
simultaneously dodging a spear.  But she had left herself open to the
remaining Magical Girl's attacks.

Happy Dancer Peach Fuzz grinned triumphantly and slashed her long peach
stem sword at Yuri's neck.  Yuri could only watch helplessly as the
thorny blade descended toward her neck.  She closed her eyes and waited.
But nothing happened.

Yuri opened her eyes and saw to her astonishment and joy that Kashin had
intercepted the blade.

Kashin grinned wickedly and spun suddenly, slicing the peach stem sword
in half.  Happy Dancer Peach Fuzz screeched in fear and turned to run,
slamming into several other Magical Girls.  Kashin leapt into the air to
intercept a flaming ribbon attack, ran the length of it and sliced off
the Magical Girl's hand.

He landed on the ground grinning triumphantly.  The upperclassman turned
to Yuri.  "I was tailing some foolish knight when I saw those ridiculous
girls attack you and incapacitate the ineffectual lowerclassman."  He
gestured toward the still frozen Balabalalde.

Yuri smiled weakly, still catching her breath.  "Thank you, Kashin-
sempai.  If you hadn't..."

Kashin held up a hand.  "Do not speak of it.  I did not want any member
of my fencing team to die - then how would we destroy the other teams?"
He smirked and turned, watching the Magical Girls flee.

"It is not quite over, vile one."

Kashin's eyes widened.  "That voice! It's him! My quarry!"

"Not exactly.  The situation is the reverse, vile one!" A Knight student,
hovering a foot above the ground, posed.
He was dressed in a suit of silver armor that covered him completely.
The Knight student waved a silver sword that was nearly seven feet long.
"It is I, Power Prince Silver Sword! And I will defeat you - yet again!"

Kashin snarled.

"But first," the knight paused.  "I must defeat this vile spawn!" He
pointed at Yuri, who looked completely shocked.  "In defeating this
succubus of sin, I will gain my just reward! Have at thee!"

With lightning speed, Power Prince Silver Sword began to attack with his
immense blade.  Yuri was barely able to dodge each blow.  She parried
one slash only to be knocked back several feet.

Craig Maimsworth jumped at the Power Prince and swung his sword with a
mighty swing.  The Power Prince casually blocked the strike and punched
Craig in the shoulder, sending him tumbling.  He turned to face Yuri
again.  "Your days are numbered, vile one!"

Suddenly Power Prince Silver Sword whirled, blocking the lightning fast
strike of Kashin.  The two began to exchange blows so fast that it was
soon impossible to see the blades at all.

The two paused, breathing heavily.

An explosion of ice crystals showered the area, and Balabalalde stepped
free of his icy containment.  He glared between the Power Prince and
Kashin.  He did not wish Yuri hurt, but there was no way he would ever
assist Kashin, not after what he had said, and especially the superior
way he said it.

Power Prince Silver Sword grinned widely.  "You will fall, you cannot
block my ultimate attack!"

"We'll see about that," Kashin muttered, silently pulling out a small
slip of paper that had been blackened about halfway.  He quickly stuck
the paper on his sword and murmured a few mystical words, keeping the
paper firmly attached.

"Ultimate Power Silver Slash!" The Knight slashed down with his sword,
sending a glowing bolt of silver energy at Kenshin.  The Knight stood
arrogantly, waiting for Kashin to fall.

Kashin held up his sword, which was now glowing black.  Almost
effortlessly, he blocked the energy bolt, which ricocheted into the sky.
"I am far more powerful than you could possibly imagine, Silver Fool!"
the upperclassman remarked coolly.  "My new technique can easily defeat
you."

Power Prince Silver Sword growled and leapt forward, sword blazing.
Kashin swung his augmented blade to block, and with little effort,
knocked the Knight and his sword back.  The Power Prince tried again and
again, but the force behind Kashin's weapon was too much for the Silver
Sword.

"Give up yet?" Kashin grinned.  Revenge was such a sweet dish.

Power Prince Silver Sword stood up straight and sheathed his sword.
"NEVER! Desperation Final Attack! Manus Iudex!" He tossed a small
crystal and the ground, where it shattered.  Instantly, a strong wind
began to blow and a glowing figure appeared, covered completely with
shining armor.

"I am Mannus Iudicis!" the being bellowed, his face hidden beneath his
helmet.  "I am the Justicar! I will bring down justice on all!"

The Justicar turned to face Kashin, who looked at the towering being
with a sneer.

The Knight posed haughtily.  "Prepare, vile one, to face the avatar of
true justice! He judges all!"

"You expect a simple summoning to faze me?" Kashin asked confidently.
"I assure you, I am hardly impressed."

"I judge you!" the Justicar intoned.  "You are a liar, a thief, a
murderer, and filth.  That puts you under my power."  Kashin's eyes
widened as he held up his sword.  The Justicar swung an immense hammer,
and smashed it against Kashin's dark blade.  The force of the blow sent
Kashin flying back, smashing into the wall.  Only the great power of the
sword kept him conscious.

He groaned.  Someone would pay for this.

Power Prince Silver Sword laughed at Kashin's fallen form.  "Fool! None
can stand against the pure avatar of Justice!"

"I judge you!" the Justicar announced suddenly.

The Knight paled and held up his hands.  "No, no, not me, you're
supposed to judge the evil ones!"

"You are guilty of arrogance, deceit, and foul play.  That puts you
under my power."  Before anyone could move, the Justicar had slammed his
hammer into the Power Prince's armor, sending him flying into a tree.

The Justicar began to turn around, his unseen face scanning the crowed.

The Justicar stopped when his gaze fell on Yuri.  "You!"

Yuri paled.  "What?" She held up her mother's sword.  Could it be enough
to stop the Justicar's attack?

"You!" The Justicar said again.  "YOU SHOULD NOT BE!" Suddenly, without
warning, the Justicar slammed his hammer into the dirt.  The instant the
mighty weapon hit the ground, the Justicar exploded into a violent
cascade of lights and colors, sending everyone nearby back a few feet.

The energy faded and the Justicar was gone.

Bala blinked and moved over to help Yuri up, who was kneeling on the
ground.

The Justicar's final words continued to reverberate in Yuri's head.
'YOU SHOULD NOT BE!' Yuri breathed in deeply.  'No,' she thought.  'He's
wrong.  He is wrong.  He was wrong.'  She concentrated, trying to stop
thinking about the words.

Tokiko appeared out of nowhere, walking over to Kashin, who was clearly
in a lot of pain, but was admitting none.  Tokiko turned around, eyes narrowed.
The upperclassman whipped out her Ingram and began to stalk toward Yuri.

"It is a good thing I followed Kashin, Freshman...  And that I discovered you
had planned to take him out so you could become the captain of the fencing
team." Tokiko said coldly.

Yuri held up her hands in protest.  "Wait, Tokiko! Kashin helped out by
himself! I didn't ask him to do anything! And I certainly didn't plan to
'take him out'"

"Nonsense," Tokiko snarled.  She glared at Balabalalde, who stood
protectively near Yuri.  His eyes narrowed as he gazed hatefully at
Tokiko, who laughed bitterly.   "Think you can stop me before I blow
your little girlfriend away? I doubt it."  She held up her Ingram mere
inches away from Yuri's head.  Bala tensed up, ready to move.

Panting heavily, Amy rushed down the street holding her prized Mistypuff.
"Tokiko-sempai! Yuri-sama! Hold on a minute!"

Panting heavily, Amy rushed down the street holding her prized Mistypuff.
"Tokiko-sempai! Yuri-sama! Hold on a minute!"

Tokiko and Yuri turned to face newly arrived two Amy Angeleyes.

One Amy glared at the other, who stepped back nervously.

********

Seichorou carefully poured the last ingredient into the steaming kettle.
His eyes gleamed and he rubbed his hands together.  He began to laugh
evilly, a skill he had perfected while still a freshman.  Then he laughed
more normally.

"Ah, it's been so long since I had a good evil laugh.  With all this
bothersome business of tracking my foolish brother's death, I have lost track
of my master plan.  I will glad when I no longer have to deal with confronting
this 'Bala' creature."

He brushed back his hair and leaned back in a chair he had purloined from
Akurei.  "I will not fail.  I have never failed in my pursuit of any female of
any species before.  Midori was the only one who escaped before
discovering my true intentions.  Not that she would have in any event.  Besides,"
Seichorou sipped a bit of the boiling drink as he relaxed in his chair.  "My
experiments are far more important.  And it appears I have found a slightly
kindred soul - or lack thereof - in this Taimada fellow."

The mighty warrior of the Doombringer Clan carefully pulled a photograph
from his belt pouch.  Seichorou the Ninth gazed at Midori and smirked.
"I help him, he helps me.  A fair and appropriate deal.  My professors would be
impressed.  And with his help, Midori will be mine.  In more ways than one."
He adjusted his bracelet and lay the photograph on the table.

He poured the bubbling mixture on the photograph, watching as it began
to smoke and darken.

Midori's defiant pose in the photograph began to warp and change into
something... different.

Seichorou smiled.

********

Yasuko fingered the small figurine as she hovered above a small
blackened tree.  The figurine depicted a young vampire girl ripping the
throat from a hapless creature.  Normally, it would hardly be something
Yasuko would carry.  After all, who cared about such things when
performing them was far more amusing?

But this particular figurine had been a gift.  Mordred Maimsworth had
given the trophy to Yasuko after they had "celebrated" their successful
kill of Tom Martin.  Mordred had laughed at the time, saying the vampire
reminded him of Yasuko's own killing ferocity.

"Why should I, Yasuko, care about a gift?" Yasuko mumbled to herself.  "I
do not.  Of course I do not."  But Yasuko's voice sounded uncertain, even to
herself.  She was feeling something extremely odd, something completely
unfamiliar.  "I wonder if this is one of those foolish human things they are
always jabbering about."

Yasuko rolled the figurine around in her hand.  It seemed so small, and
yet, had so much meaning.  "It does kind of look like me," she mused.
These feelings were so confusing.  "Maybe I should talk to someone about
it.  Perhaps that silly Mikagami girl would know.  Yes, that is a good
plan.  Even if she does not know anything, I will still be able to use
the chance to advance my own cause."

The succubus nodded.  It was settled, then.

But first, perhaps it would be a good idea to finish off the job Yuri
should have completed - killing Craig Maimsworth.

Yasuko shook her head.  "Now why would I think that? There's no reason
to kill him - he is no threat to me.  Besides, Mordred probably would
not appreciate the death of his brother, no matter how incompetent he is."
Yasuko nodded again.

"Yes, completely incompetent."

********

"Who are you?" one Amy asked the other tentatively.

"Shut up!" the other Amy snarled.  "You know, I'm disgusted with you,
pansy! You could never protect Yuri, EVER!"

The first Amy burst into tears.

"You take that back!" the crying Amy screamed.

"Make me!" the cruel Amy snarled.

Amy wiped the tears from her eyes.  And leapt, screaming at the other
Amy.

The two began to scratch and tear at each other's clothes with extreme
ferocity, sending dust clouds in every direction.

The dust began to settle and Yuri gasped.  Only one Amy, looking very
surprised, sat on the ground.  She looked up at Yuri with a confused
expression.  "Yuri-sama, what just happened?"

Yuri reached out her hand and helped Amy to her feet.  "I-I don't know.
That was really weird."

Tokiko peered at Amy cautiously.  "Hmm, perhaps you have more potential
than even I figured."

Yuri sighed.  "Tokiko, I really need to get home.  Do you think you could
stay her with Kashin? Or not, I don't really care after today.  I just
want to eat dinner and crawl into bed."

Amy blushed.  "I'll stay with you, Tokiko-sempai.  That way Yuri-sama
can go home."  She looked away from Bala, ignoring him completely.

Tokiko looked thoughtful.  "Well, all right.  I am curious after that display,
Angeleye.  I suppose it was foolish indeed to even think that Mikagami and
Kashin could have anything in common, much less any kind of attraction."

Yuri felt like responding, but realized she was just too tired.  "Okay, I'm
glad it's all settled.  Bala, do you still want to walk the rest of the way?"

Bala blinked.

********

This isn't the first time the chapter before me has had a unspeakable
evil emerge at the very end of a chapter.  Last time, it turned out to
be Melvin.  This time, who knows?

I tried to move along a lot of plot threads here, but there was one I
just couldn't think of an idea for - Liza and her new pet Hikari.
Hopefully later authors won't forget them and will find some nice plots
for the young couple.

All new names in the chapter are Latin in origin.  See if you can figure
them out...

Tomoya is from Chapter 45, as is Power Prince Silver Sword.

I tried to shed a little more light on Leilei's past in this chapter,
without giving too much away.  I sort of envision Lacrimamus as one of
those mystery's that be lingering around for a while.  I also think it's
time Leilei had something to do that really mattered.

I didn't completely wrap up the crusades of the Knight School and Sakura
Arts in this one, just had them suffer a significant loss.

I tried to give an kinda-explanation for Amy's quasi time travel, while
leaving it open for later authors.

As for Ki's new attack - let's just say it has something to do with 

I'd like to thank my prereaders: Mads, Dragon Claw, Nicholas Juzda, Smlee, and The Apprentice.

If I forgot anyone, GOMEN.

Thanks everyone!

-Jeremy F

********

The Hammer of Justice lay forgotten on the dirt, as a cold wind blew,
sending dust clouds in all directions.

A lone figure, completely obscured by the billowing dust clouds walked
to the Hammer unnoticed.  A hand reached out.

And then the Hammer was gone.