Day 38

[from Don't Say a Word]

That night, Shizukesa sat on the side of her bed for a while, thinking things over. While the mission seemed fairly straightforward, she was under no illusions about just how many things could potentially go wrong. It would take just one of those things to ruin the entire operation. However, it certainly wasn't impossible, and to their credit, Mitsukashi appeared to have taken a lot of time and effort to prepare her for what was supposedly an unimportant, low-stakes mission.

Inside the briefcase, as promised, was Shizukesa's payment: 40 million yen. There were also her funds for the trip, totalling about 5 million South Korean won, a fair amount for a tourist to be bringing in. There was a passport with her face on it, and her assumed name of Rei Kuroki. Since the corporations took care of everything these days, even passports, it wasn't a forgery.

The last item in the briefcase had been what appeared to be an ancient Game Boy Color handheld gaming console, nestled snugly inside a case with a few game cartridges inside a separate zip-up pouch. Attached to it, however, was a note that had explained exactly what it was:

"HEY SHIZUKESA. IT MAY NOT LOOK LIKE IT, BUT THIS IS YOUR WEAPON FOR YOUR FIRST MISSION. PLUG IN A CARTRIDGE AND IT TURNS INTO A POWERFUL ELECTROSHOCK WEAPON. SWITCH IT ON, HOLD THE TOP END AGAINST YUI AND PRESS THE A BUTTON, AND IT'LL DELIVER A 100,000-VOLT SHOCK. THE BATTERY HAS ENOUGH JUICE FOR FOUR SHOCKS BUT ONE SHOULD DO THE JOB. ENJOY! -J

P.S. BURN THIS NOTE."

An electroshock weapon was certainly not Shizukesa's weapon of choice. She would have to get up close to Yui to administer the shock, which would presumably mean having to gain entry to her hotel room. If a struggle then ensued, it was always possible that she could end up shocking herself by accident. Not to mention, 100,000 volts wasn't exactly going to be quiet.

There were, however, some advantages, the most obvious being that an inconspicuous-looking Game Boy could easily pass through airport security whereas a gun would never be able to. It wouldn't leave a mess like a gun or a knife would, either, meaning no blood spatters or shell casings. The shock would likely paralyze Yui's vocal chords, preventing her from screaming. All Shizukesa had to do was turn the TV up loudly and the murder would probably be drowned out.

Shizukesa checked to make sure there were no cartridges plugged into the console already. When handling a device this dangerous, she would want to take all necessary precautions to avoid accidentally shocking herself or, indeed, anyone else who happened to come into contact with it. Fortunately, James had even thought of this: though it had not been mentioned on the note, when one switched on the device they would be presented with a glitched, frozen logo screen, giving them the impression that the device was broken. This would, hopefully, deter any inquisitive youngsters from picking it up and playing with it, should they somehow manage to get their hands on it.

Having made sure the device was inactive, Shizukesa placed it on the side, and picked up the folder she had been given. As promised, her flight tickets were inside, along with the address of the hotel that she and Yui had been booked into, and  a set of detailed architectural plans of the hotel. Laying them out on the bed before her, Shizukesa began to plan. There was no way of knowing what hotel room she or Yui would have until she arrived there, so she couldn't take that into account, but knowing the general layout of the place would still be vital.

The first step, it appeared, would be to gain access to Yui's apartment. The easiest way would be to trick Yui herself into letting her in, which would first mean ascertaining which room she was in, and whether she was actually in it at the time that she tried to gain access. Neither of these would be particularly hard, and once she was alone with Yui, all that was left would be to administer the fatal blow and find a way to leave without arousing suspicion. With all that in mind, the plan slowly began to form itself in Shizukesa's mind. If all went well, this should be a fairly simple matter. If not, her first mission for Mitsukashi could very well end up being her last, one way or another.

Shizukesa continued to study the plans for a little while longer, making sure she had them ingrained in her memory, before clearing them away and getting ready for bed. She set an early alarm, allowing herself plenty of time to pack before heading to the airport, and headed off to sleep. The next few days were going to be very important indeed.

Day 37

[from Sonic the Hedgehog Returns]

The rain was driving down hard in Scrap Brain Zone that afternoon, as Sally Acorn sheltered beneath a giant rusting statue, her fur almost completely soaked. Clutched tightly in her left fist was a small USB flash drive, containing the thing that had brought her and half the Freedom Fighters out this far: plans for Dr. Robotnik's latest weapon, stolen from a supposedly top-secret research laboratory of his. Of course, when you had an undercover spy on your side, nothing was ever top-secret.

Sally activated her hidden microphone, speaking in a hushed tone, though still loud enough that she could be heard over the rain. "This is Mary-Sue calling Needlemouse," she said. "Come in, Needlemouse."

"Do we really have to use the codenames?" came the reply in Sally's earpiece.

Sally sighed. "Yes, Sonic," she replied, "that's why we came up with them."

"They sound so lame, though," said Sonic. "I mean, "Needlemouse"? Really?"

Sally rolled her eyes, ignoring Sonic. "I've got the plans," she said. "We'll regroup at the clock statue. Sheepdog, Bergerac, do you copy?"

"This is Sheepdog," said Bunnie Rabbot. "No signs o' trouble here. We're headin' on over."

"Zis is Bergerac," said Antoine d'Coolette. "Eez all clear. On my way back with Bunnie."

"Good to hear," said Sally. "Let's hurry up and get back to Knothole before Robotnik's goons find us." Peering round the statue to make sure there was nobody there, Sally darted out from behind the cover of the rusted statue and headed through the driving rain towards a small plaza, where a large clock statue stood lop-sidedly in the centre, its buckled hands rusted in place.

Sonic was, unsurprisingly, already waiting there when she arrived, impatiently tapping his foot. It had only taken her a minute or two to reach the clock tower, but Sonic was so impatient that he probably would have been tired of waiting after only a few seconds. He seemed a little relieved to see her, but carried on tapping his foot until Bunnie and Antoine arrived as well, their soaked hair plastered across their faces.

"Y'all got the plans?" asked Bunnie, wiping a tuft of fur away from her eyes.

"Right here," said Sally, holding up the flash drive.

"Great going, Sal," said Sonic, grinning. "Now let's get outta here before-"

"Going somewhere, hedgehog?"

"…before that happens," finished Sonic lamely, a sinking feeling rising in his gut as he turned to face the source of the voice. It was Robotnik's vile nephew, Snively Kintobor, piloting a large bipedal robot with giant spiked balls for hands. In the driving rain, with visibility severely hampered, he had somehow been able to sneak up on them and surprise them.

The moment he laid eyes on the mech, Antoine froze, his body gripped by panic as his shell-shock kicked in once more. "I'll take Ant and get these plans back to Knothole," said Sally, taking charge of the situation. "Sonic, you and Bunnie take care of Snively."

"We're on it," said Bunnie, readying herself into a combat stance.

"This'll only take a Sonic second," said Sonic, doing the same.

As Snively began to engage the other two, Sally took Antoine by the hand and tried to lead him away. "Come on, Antoine," she said. "We have to get back to Knothole."

Antoine did not respond, nor move an inch. He was in another place, another time, watching for the hundredth time as the armies of the old kingdom crumbled around him before the might of Robotnik's army. The unstoppable wall of metal grew ever closer, a hail of neon-green laser fire coming at him from every direction, about to cut him to ribbons-

BOOM. The giant spiked fist slammed down into the dirt, and Antoine was shaken from his nightmare by the ground reverberating beneath his feet. "Sacre bleu!" he exclaimed. "I… e-eet was…"

"It's okay, Antoine," said Sally, in a soothing, gentle voice. "It's alright. The SWATbots are gone. They can't hurt you now."

"Zey can't hurt me," repeated Antoine, nodding frantically as he tried desperately to keep hold of reality. "Zey can't hurt me."

"Come on, let's head back to Knothole," she said. "Our work here is done."

Antoine nodded again. "Oui," he said. "Our work here eez done."

As Antoine and Sally ran off, headed back towards the Great Forest, Sonic and Bunnie continued to engage Snively's robot. The fist swung down again, and again, trying to crush Sonic, but the speedy hedgehog sidestepped each blow at the last second, grinning up at the robot's cockpit. "I could do this all day, Snively," he taunted.

Snively growled at his tormentor. "Initiate Plan B!"

Both of the robot's fists slammed down onto the ground at once, creating a massive shockwave that knocked both Sonic and Bunnie off their feet. As the pair picked themselves up, the spiked fists began to rotate, ripping up the ground around them and sending clumps of mud flying everywhere. "Let's see you stop my machine now, Sonic!" he proclaimed, grinning nastily.

As the robot advanced towards them, ripping the ground up, Sonic seized Bunnie's hand and ducked behind the statue. "That makes things difficult," he admitted. "If we try to get in close, we'll be mincemeat!"

"Don't y'all worry," said Bunnie, flexing her robotic arm: an unwanted gift from Robotnik, along with her mechanical legs. "This looks like a job for ol' Bunnie Rabbot!"

Bunnie's arm began to transform itself, slowly turning into a powerful laser cannon. Ducking round the statue, Bunnie aimed briefly, and fired. The laser blast struck the cockpit at full force, frying the control panel and rendering the machine almost inoperable. Snively tried to work the busted controls but was met with only a shower of sparks. "Curse you, rabbit!" he growled.

"Curse yourself," said Bunnie, grinning as she patted her smoking metal arm, her hand quickly recoiling from the hot metal.

"Timber!" cried Sonic. Curling into a tight ball, he rushed forwards, rolling along the ground at supreme speed. Leaping up, he barrelled straight into the machine's chest, with more than enough force to knock the crippled robot over. Snively's Egg-O-Matic, docked in the robot's head, toppled out and rolled along the ground for a moment before lifting off, hovering several feet in the air above the broken robot's sparking remains.

"Well, this has been fun," said Sonic, "and we'd love to stay and chat, but… we've got plans. Smell ya later, Snively!" And with that, Sonic took Bunnie's hand - her non-robotic one - and raced off, a loud sonic boom and a bright blue trail heralding his exit. In a matter of seconds he caught up to Sally and Antoine, seizing Sally's hand as he passed and taking the pair of them with him, Antoine suddenly clinging to the princess for dear life.

Snively hovered in the air for some time, watching them go. Strangely, he did not seem too bothered by the Freedom Fighters' escape. "That's right, hedgehog," he said menacingly, "run while you still can. Once you see what we have in store for you and your friends, you'll see there's nowhere on Mobius you can hide!" Laughing maniacally, he turned the Egg-O-Matic around and headed in the opposite direction, towards Dr. Robotnik's fortress.

Day 36

[from Project Sky]

Having accepted the elder's quest, it is time for me to leave. For now, my goal is to discover the location of The Ruin, somewhere within Alondis. If it's intact, as the elder supposes, then I can try and see if there's a way to reverse its effects. If it's broken, or can't be undone, then at least we will know, instead of eternally wondering whether there's a way to fix all this. But if there is…

"You can ride a pegasus, can't you?" asks the elder suddenly, as we cross the bridge that leads to the next island along. I tell him I can; my mother taught me how. "That's good," he says. "You'll be needing one for your journey. Tell you what: you can borrow mine. I'm getting too old to ride anywhere these days, but I'm sure you could make good use of her."

Pegasi were used a lot in the old days to travel between distant towns, especially when there were impenetrable forests or mountain ranges in the way that horses could not move through. Horses were far more common, and so were used a lot more, but with the devastation caused by The Ruin, pegasi have become ubiquitous up here. Even the smallest colony has at least one pegasus, so they can travel to other colonies for trade, and the larger colonies have huge breeding farms so they can supply the rest of the continent with them. It's strange how pegasi have become so much more common, and yet at the same time they've become so much more valuable.

Here in our village, we have only three pegasi, a fair amount for a village of around thirty-five people. The stables are on the island we're heading towards, the second-largest and centremost of the islands. It's also home to most of the colony's houses, and all of its shops and market stalls. It really is a tiny colony; if you run from the church at the centre of the island we just left, right the way through to the elder's house on the furthest of the islands, it'll take you about a minute. I'm told the largest of the floating islands out there can take you up to an hour to run across, or even more. Having lived here my whole life, I can barely comprehend the thought of having so much space to run around in.

With this in mind, it's not long at all before we arrive at the stables. My mother is there, waiting for me. I guess the elder must have told her he was planning to send me on this mission. She looks a little nervous, which is understandable considering her son is about to leave home for the first time. I start to feel a little nervous as well, as the realization sinks in.

"So, you agreed to go, then?" she asks me. My hunch was correct. I nod in affirmation. "I see," she says. "I know it'll be a long, and probably dangerous journey, but please, try and stay safe, okay? And come home as soon as you can, won't you? I'll be missing you every second you're gone."

Mother hugs me and kisses me on the cheek. I promise her that I'll return as soon as I can, and that when I do, the land will be restored. "I hope so," she says, sounding like she's going to cry. "I'll be cheering you on all the way."

She lets go of me, and she and the village elder help me climb up onto the pegasus, a fine white mare with well-groomed wings. My mother passes me up a backpack full of supplies, and a purse with some money in it in addition to what I already have. I thank them both for their help and support and, once more, I promise them I'll return as soon as the land is restored. I don't know whether it's a promise I can keep, but one way or the other, I'm going to find out.

I put my feet in the stirrups and take the reins. The elder un-tethers it, and it takes off, ferrying me up into the sky. I take one hand off and wave goodbye to my mother as I head out. The elder has his arm round her, comforting her. It's hard to say goodbye to her, and harder still to think that there's a chance it might be the last goodbye. But I can't think that way. I have to approach this task with the belief that I'll succeed, or else I won't.

As my home colony gets smaller and smaller, I turn round and face forward. I know that the closest colony is in this direction, only a few minutes' flying time away. I can already just see it, a faint dot on the horizon, with a faint shadow beneath it where the islands block the sun from reaching the shattered land below. There's almost no chance that the answers I seek are on that colony; it's simply the first stepping stone on what is sure to be a tremendous journey. But if I have to visit every colony in the sky, then I will.

Day 35

[from Project Nero]

"WARNING. UNIDENTIFIED INTRUDER."

Nero reluctantly tore his gaze away from the television screen, looking over at the elevator doors that led directly into his penthouse apartment as the cool female voice sounded its computerized warning. "You've got to be kidding me," he muttered with a sigh. "Now of all times…"

Picking up the remote, Nero hit pause and got to his feet. His programme was going to have to wait. For now, there were more important matters at hand. Heading into the kitchen, Nero pressed his palm against a tile and a moment later a section of the worktop shuddered and slowly descended into the floor, revealing a hidden passageway.

Ducking through the gap, Nero found himself in his apartment's secret control centre. This was just one of the special perks he had asked for when he had slipped the building's developers a couple of extra million during its construction. Another of the perks was the special elevator access system. The elevator did not contain a floor button for the apartment; indeed, officially the apartment did not exist at all. Instead, it was accessed by pressing a special combination of five buttons that changed every week. Only Nero's closest friends knew the combinations from week to week, and his clients only received that week's combination. Nero would then program the elevator to recognize them when they arrived. Whoever this new arrival was, he wasn't expecting them.

 Nero made his way over to the security monitor, where he had a high-definition view courtesy of a hidden camera in the elevator roof. Inside the elevator was a girl wearing black biker leathers, her helmet clutched in one hand. She had short, sky-blue hair, with a long fringe swept to one side that obscured one of her eyes. Though it was hard to tell - one hip was hidden by the helmet and the other was facing away from him - it looked like she had handguns holstered on each hip. Nero recognized the look in her one visible golden eye: it was the look of someone determined. It was the look of a killer.

Nero crossed to a wall-mounted rack containing several gleaming swords, and selected his favourite, a one-handed blade that he had had specially manufactured. It was reinforced with carbon nanotubes to make it almost indestructible, and obsidian-edged for incredible sharpness. There were still a lot of things it couldn't cut through, but it could cut through flesh and bone just fine.

 Sword in hand, Nero left the control centre, the worktop automatically sliding back into place behind him. There were only seconds left before the elevator arrived at the apartment, but that was all the time he needed to prepare. Whoever this girl was, and whatever the reason for her visit, she was in for a surprise.

***

The elevator glided smoothly to a halt, and there was a soft ding as the doors started to open. Taking a look around, the girl could not see Nero anywhere. Perhaps he wasn't home, she thought. Nonetheless, she began to step forward, trying to get a better view. "Hello?" she called out.

The moment she crossed the threshold, there was suddenly a blade at her throat. The girl froze, her eyes transfixed on the blade. "Don't move," said a voice from above her.

The girl dared to look up. Crouched on the wall above the elevator doors was Nero, his expression blank as he held the sword against her neck. The elevator doors were already sliding shut behind her, leaving her with nowhere to run even if she wanted to. Nero's gaze lingered for a moment on the holsters at her hips, then he looked deep into her golden eyes. "Why are you here?" he asked her.

The girl tried to remain calm despite the situation. "Are you Nero?" she asked.

Nero did not answer. Instead, the blade pressed a little harder against her neck. "I asked first," he insisted. "Why are you here?"

The girl backed up against the closed elevator doors. "If you are Nero," she said, "then I need your help."

"Why not call me?" asked Nero. "Why perform what amounts to a break-in?"

"I don't have a cellphone," claimed the girl.

"You could have bought a disposable," suggested Nero. "Borrowed someone else's. Hell, you could have used a bloody phone box. You actually still have those over here."

The girl's calm façade started to slip. "Well, I'm here now," she said, "so are you gonna help me or not?"

Nero, keeping his eyes trained on the girl and his sword pointed at her, walked casually down the wall and back onto the floor, righting himself before crossing to stand in front of her, keeping the tip of his sword pointed at her throat. Though her explanations seemed somewhat flimsy, at the very least it didn't seem like she was there to kill him. For now, Nero decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Depends," he said. "What with?"

"I have people after me," said the girl. "The mob. The police. I need protection from them. A safe place to hide. I've been running for a while now, and I can't run any farther. Not now, anyway."

Nero couldn't help being intrigued. "What did you do to get the cops and the mafia on your tail?" he asked.

"Killed a whole bunch of each," said the girl bluntly.

Upon hearing this, Nero's stance relaxed a little. He slowly broke into an amused grin, then nodded in acknowledgement. "I see," he said. "And what made you think that was a good idea?"

A shadow passed over the girl's face briefly. "I don't wanna talk about it," she said.

"I see," said Nero again. Realizing he had touched a nerve, he decided to move things along, since the girl seemed genuine enough. "Alright then. Take off the holsters and leave them at the door. Then we'll talk."

Day 34 + Apology

[First of all, let me apologize. I hoped I wouldn't fail this early in, but a broken sleep schedule, and the fallout from the death of Monty Oum, a great inspiration of mine, conspired to stop me from posting yesterday. To make up for it, I will be making two posts today. This first one is dedicated to Oum himself.]

[from Vanishing Point]

Twelve girls, against a small army of mecha, did not seem like much of a battle to the unfortunate pilots as they closed in on the miniature blockade. What they did not know, is that these were not ordinary girls.

Standing at the front of the pack, wielding two razor-sharp katanas, was a girl in a long black dress who had to have been at least six feet tall. Her long ebony hair billowed behind her as she watched the mecha advance. Suddenly, a red-haired girl in a magical girl outfit descended from the skies, landing neatly next to her. The ebony-haired girl turned to address the new arrival as though this were a perfectly normal occurrence. "How many of them are there, Ruby?" she asked.

"A whole lot of them!" exclaimed Ruby.

"You didn't count?" said the ebony-haired girl, a little annoyed.

"I tried, but there's a lot of them!" said Ruby. "Like, fifty or something."

"Fifty," repeated the other girl quietly. "I reckon we can take fifty." She turned to the other girls, assembled in a line behind her. "What do you all think?" she addressed them. "Can we take on fifty of them?"

The answer was a resounding "Yes!", from every single girl except one, a shy-looking blonde, who quietly mumbled, "Uhh…I guess so...".

"Alright then!" said the ebony-haired girl. "Let's give these bastards hell!" She turned to a silver-haired girl wearing strange metal bracers on her arms. "Quartz, you're up first."

Quartz nodded. "Okay." With a wave of her arm, the bracers suddenly fell off, clattering to the floor. Static electricity began to spark around the girl's body, her silver hair floating upwards, raised by the static. She closed her eyes, and a large electromagnetic field burst outwards, enveloping the entire group and expanding to a diameter of at least fifty feet.

The mecha pilots at the front of the squadron, noticing the strange pulse, began to open fire, but they were seconds too late; their bullets were effortlessly and harmlessly deflected away. It was at this point that the pilots began to realize they were dealing with something more than just normal girls, but foolishly, they continued to fire.

It was not long before the clattering sounds of the mecha's guns were replaced by a chorus of clicks, as one by one they ran out of ammunition. "Crap!" exclaimed one of the front gunners. "Quickly, fall back and let th-AARGH!"

Before he could finish, the ebony-haired girl had pounced upon his mecha and thrust her katana straight through the glass canopy right into his chest. It was time for the counter-attack to begin. The girl leapt elegantly off of the mecha and back down to the ground, as the pilot slumped forward in his harness, dead. His mecha, inoperable, toppled over backwards and fell to the ground, cracking the asphalt.

Quartz was next up, firing a tremendous bolt of arc lightning from an outstretched palm. The lightning struck three of the lead mecha, frying their electronics and rendering them completely useless. Slowly, the mecha squadron's formation began to fall apart, and the girls took full advantage, splitting up themselves to take them on.

As another mecha advanced, rounding the one downed by the ebony-haired girl, another tall girl with short blue hair surged forwards. With a thunderous battle cry, she unleashed a punch that shattered the mecha's leg. Unable to balance, the crippled machine toppled to the ground face-first, trapping its pilot within. Another mecha stepped up behind it and readied its gun but Quartz swiftly set up another barrier, blocking its shots. The blue-haired girl, smirking, then simply walked up to it and demolished its leg with a sweep of her arm, sending it tumbling down on top of its damaged team-mate. Hydraulic fluid spurted from the mecha's shattered leg, pouring over the road like blood from a wound.

The katana embedded in the dead pilot's chest suddenly began to glow. It wiggled a bit, then seemingly tugged itself free, hovering in the air above the downed mecha as a few drops of blood dripped from the tip. The sword then flew across the battlefield, seemingly of its own volition, slashing at the legs of the machines and severing the exposed hydraulic pipes at the backs of their knee joints. About five mecha, crippled by the sudden loss of hydraulic pressure, crumpled inoperably to the ground, leaking yet more fluid.

"What the hell is happening?!" shrieked one terrified pilot, just before Ruby flew right in front of his cockpit, brandishing a wooden staff.

"Prepare to be vanquished, evildoer!" she declared, before banging her staff against the glass windscreen. Nothing happened, but the mere sight of a girl hovering several feet in the air was enough to freak the pilot out completely. Screaming, he backpedalled furiously away from her and straight into the mecha behind him, knocking them both over. Before he could right it, a number of thick green vines burst out of the ground around it, wrapping around its arms and pinning it to the floor. Try as it might, the mecha could not break free.

The remaining mecha began to find their mobility severely hampered by now, not just by their downed comrades that now littered the street, but also by the ever-growing puddles of hydraulic fluid across the ground. Stepping over their fallen machines where they could, and simply kicking them aside where they could not, they battled bravely on.

The katana that had been floating by itself suddenly moved in front of the shy blonde-haired girl, who until now had been hanging back behind the others. "Go on, take it," said a woman nearby in a maid outfit, whose hand glowed an identical colour to the sword. "We'll distract them, you take them out."

"Can I get the other one?" asked a brown-haired woman in an office uniform who, like the blonde-haired girl, had been hanging back.

"Ask Rei if she'll lend you it," said the maid, and with that, she turned her attention back to the fighting. Using her psychokinesis, she picked up the broken leg of what was now one of several mecha that had been downed by the tall blue-haired girl. With hardly an effort, she thrust the leg at a nearby mecha with enough force to rip straight through the cockpit; the pilot was crushed, and a split-second later the mecha exploded in a large fireball.

A green-haired girl, who had been controlling the large vines, was standing too close to the explosion and was knocked back, her eardrums shattered by the blast wave. She clutched her ears, crying out in pain as she lay on the ground. "Diamond!" called out the ebony-haired girl, addressing a white-haired girl in dirty overalls. "Jade's down!"

"On it," said Diamond, rushing over. By the time she reached the fallen Jade, blood was beginning to leak from between the girl's fingers as she continued to clutch her burst ears. "I can't hear anything!" she wailed loudly. "I can't hear anything!"

"Don't worry," said Diamond, kneeling down beside her and laying a hand on her shoulder. "I'm gonna fix you up real quick, okay?"

Diamond's hand began to glow white, a gentle healing pulse making its way into Jade. Her ears healed almost immediately, the blood disappearing and the pain fading to nothing. Jade froze in mid-wail, opening her eyes and blinking in confusion. "Huh? I can hear again?"

Diamond patted Jade kindly on the shoulder. "You're doing good, Jade," she said encouragingly. "Keep it up." Jade nodded, and picked herself up, ready to carry on the fight.

By this point, the dwindling mecha squadron had realized this was not a fight they could win. "God dammit," growled one of the remaining higher-ranked pilots. "What are these girls?!"

"Should we fall back, sir?" asked one of the lesser pilots.

"I'll tell you what you should do."

Hearing the mesmerizing voice, the pilot looked out of the front of the cockpit, and the moment his eyes met the glowing gaze of the girl standing before him, they glazed over as he fell into a deep trance. The girl grinned, pushing her half-moon spectacles up the bridge of her nose, the lenses shining dangerously.

"What you should do," she continued, her voice echoing slightly, "is turn your guns on your comrades. Kill them all."

"Yes," said the man, his voice a mesmerized monotone. "I should kill them. I should kill them all." Powerless to resist, he turned his mecha around and opened fire on his own squadron. He managed to destroy two of their machines and damage a third, before his team-mates reluctantly destroyed him.

"God dammit!" exclaimed the high-ranked pilot. "Retreat! Fall back! We can't beat them!"

"But it's just a dozen girls!" retorted one of the men. "How can they possibly be doing this?" A moment later, the back of his mecha's knees seemed to split open completely of their own volition, crippling it as so many others already had been. The blonde-haired girl, now completely invisible, had slashed the hydraulics apart with Rei's katana. After that, nobody else objected. The remaining mecha turned and began to flee, leaving their fallen comrades behind.

"Do we let them go, Rei?" asked the blue-haired girl.

Rei nodded. "Yeah. Let 'em go. They won't be coming back again."

"I guess we better start clearing up, huh?" said another blonde girl. "We made a pretty big mess of this place."

"I'll take care of it," said the maid.

"I'll help," said the blonde. Stretching her arm out to an incredible length, she began picking up the random pieces of debris strewn across the street.

"Here, let me help speed things up for you," said the office lady, handing Rei her katana back. Walking over, she took the hands of the maid and the blonde girl. "Whatever you do," she said, "don't let go." The lady closed her eyes, and gradually, the world around them slowed to a crawl. The cleanup would, to the three of them, take no more or less time than it would have done before, but to the outside world, it would now appear to take only a few minutes.

"I'll go get them some snacks and drinks," said Ruby, "they'll be tired by the time they're done. Ruby, Saviour of Tokyo, away!" With that, she flew off into the skies again.

"Does she have to do that every time she takes off?" said Diamond, rolling her eyes.

"You know what she's like," said the hypnotist girl, her eyes no longer glowing. "Let her do her thing; she's not hurting anyone."

The other blonde, who had now turned visible again, headed over to Rei to hand her katana back. "So, what now?" she asked. "Shall we leave them to it?"

"Yeah," said Rei. "Come on, let's go. Our work here is done."

The rest of the girls headed off, as the clean-up operation continued behind them at incredible pace. "Hey, how about we all head to Alexandra's maid café and grab a bite to eat to celebrate?" suggested the only girl who hadn't spoken yet, an athletic red-head whose vest top looked a little singed.

"Good idea," said the blue-haired girl, taking out her phone. "I'll text Hanako, let her know we're coming, and I'll text Alexandra as well so she knows where we've gone."

"Good idea," said the athletic girl. "Maid café, here we come!"

***

"I got the snacks!" called out Ruby as she landed, carrying a large shopping bag. "…huh? Where'd everybody go?"

Day 33

[from StarLight]

"On that note," said the strange winged woman, "how long exactly was I sealed away for? What year is this?"

It took Sanae's brain a moment or two to process what she was seeing, and another moment to process what she had just heard. "...2015." she said finally.

"That would make it... 372 years since I was sealed away." said the woman. "From your incredulous reaction to my appearance, and to your transformation, am I to assume that youkai and their associated abilities are no longer a noteworthy part of human society?"

After another moment of blankly staring at the flying figure before her, Sanae eventually managed to ask, "I'm sorry, can we just start again from the beginning? Who are you?"

"Ah, of course," said the strange woman, "introductions are in order. Not just for myself, it would appear, but for my race as a whole." Descending to the floor, the woman sank to one knee in a deep, reverent bow, her wings folding neatly behind her back, her demeanour suddenly completely changed from her initial irritation. "My name is Kousen, forger of the White Star Emblem. I am a youkai, an immensely powerful being from a world parallel to your own. In taking my Emblem into your possession, you have taken myself and my powers into your possession. You have also taken onto your shoulders a tremendous burden: that of protecting the Kingdom of Mitsuzawa from the evils that plague this world!" After a moment's silence, Kousen suddenly looked up at Sanae. "The Kingdom of Mitsuzawa still stands, does it not?"

"Uhh... no." said Sanae hesitantly. "It's a city, not a kingdom."

"I see... well in that case, it is your duty to protect the city of Mitsuzawa from the evils that plague this world!" corrected Kousen.

"Wait, why?" asked Sanae. "What evil? There's still loads you're not explaining!"

With a sweep of her leathery white wings Kousen took to the air once more. "Fortunately," said Kousen, "I had plentiful time during my imprisonment to plan such an explanation, in the event that we youkai had been completely forgotten, as appears to be the case. Listen well, for I shall not repeat it, mostly because it's quite long and the readers won't want to sit through it twice." Kousen cleared her throat and began.

"First of all, the world you know is not one; rather, it is split into three. There is this realm, home to humanity. Then there are the Unseen Realms, Above and Below. We youkai reside in the Realm Above."

"What about the Realm Below?" asked Sanae. "Who lives there?"

"I'll get to that in a minute," replied Kousen, clearly annoyed that her grand explanation had been interrupted so early on. "Anyway, we youkai possess many abilities beyond those of mere humans: we can fly, we are ageless and immortal, and we can will things into being by reciting simple incantations. This last ability is the essence of what you would call "magic", and is as mundane to us as walking is to you.

"For the most part, youkai do not interfere with this realm. There are two reasons for this, the main one being that, in general, youkai see themselves as superior to humans. They do not wish to associate with seemingly lesser beings, and so they are content to simply watch humanity's progress, as though it were some elaborate play without end."

"Or a giant reality TV show!" chimed in Sanae. "Oh, right: if that's the main reason, what's the second reason?"

"Again, I'm getting to that!" snapped Kousen. "Stop interrupting! I've waited 372 years to recite this, I'd appreciate some quiet while I do so!"

"Sorry," said Sanae sheepishly, "I'll shut up now."

"Thank you," said Kousen. "Now then, where was I... ah, yes. The second reason youkai do not visit this realm. You see, our magic is only able to function because the Realm Above is permeated by a force known as chi. The human realm contains no such chi, and so in order for us to be able to use our abilities here, we must first forge an Emblem, an artefact made of pure concentrated chi. You just happen to be holding such an artefact in your very hands." Sanae looked down in wonder at the wand she was holding. "Yes. Four hundred of your years ago," continued Kousen, "I crafted that artefact, the White Star Emblem, so that I may cross over into the realm of humans.

"That brings me on neatly to the Realm Below, and its inhabitants. They are, to be blunt, monsters. Creatures of darkness, destruction and hatred. Sometimes, these monsters make their way into the realm of humans, and if left unchecked they could wipe your race from the face of the planet. And so I descended into this realm, so that I might fight these monsters wherever they appeared. As it happens, monsters from the Realm Below are drawn to chi like moths to a candle flame, and thus whenever a monster made its way into this realm it would travel here to Mitsuzawa, away from any other populated areas, and I would swiftly destroy it."

Sanae couldn't help feeling that the monsters' attraction to chi was quite convenient plot-wise. If monsters would be drawn to Mitsuzawa just from her being here in possession of the Emblem, then there'd be a steady, never-ending stream of monsters for her to fight, allowing the plot to progress accordingly. She did not voice this aloud, fearing reprisals if she interrupted Kousen again, and allowed the youkai to continue.

"However, 372 years ago, I was defeated," said Kousen. "My powers were drained, and I was close to death. With the last of my strength, I was forced to seal myself away inside my own Emblem, in the hopes that one day, a human such as yourself would find the Emblem and carry on my legacy."

"I'm sorry, I know I'm interrupting again," said Sanae, "but can't you carry on your own legacy? I mean, I know I'm the main character, but I didn't think I'd be fighting monsters in this show! Besides, you're all better now, right?"

"I am alive, yes, and free of the Emblem's seal." said Kousen. "But you see, there is one last, vitally important thing that must be explained."

"Good thing, too," remarked Sanae, "the readers are starting to get bored of all this exposition."

"I spent 372 years preparing and rehearsing this speech," declared Kousen, "I'm not deviating from it. Now then, the last thing you must know... when a human capable of harnessing chi comes into contact with a youkai's Emblem, as you came into contact with mine, that Emblem becomes that human's for all eternity, and they and they alone may harness its chi. This is an ancient contract made between humans and youkai. The power you feel coursing through your veins is chi flowing from the White Star Emblem, chi only you may control.

"In addition to gaining the power of chi," concluded Kousen, "the youkai who originally crafted the Emblem is forever bonded to that human, as what you might call a "familiar"." Kousen once more bowed respectfully before Sanae, lowering her head until it almost touched the floor. "Congratulations, Insert-Name-Here. You have come into possession of the ultimate power. The clothes you now wear, and the hairstyle you so crassly mocked, are a mark of that power. Using the chi contained within the White Star Emblem, and with my assistance, it is your destiny to protect this realm from the forces of darkness, and bring light to the world!" 

Straightening up, Kousen saw the slightly overwhelmed look on Sanae's face and added, "I said Insert-Name-Here,  didn't I? I practiced it that way so many times, and... oh, heavens above, I never even asked your name at all, did I? How terribly rude of me!" She bowed once more. "What is your name, O mistress?"

Still overwhelmed, it took Sanae a moment to respond. "H-Hikari. Sanae Hikari."

"Miss Hikari, I am eternally at your service," said Kousen, still bowing. "I pray that you will prove worthy of my servitude, and of carrying on the name of White Star."

"I hope so too," said Sanae. "Just one more thing: how do I change back into my normal clothes? I can't really walk around like this, can I?"

"Oh, of course," said Kousen, straightening up. "Concealing your identity as White Star is vitally important."

"How is it important?" asked Sanae. "I'm fighting monsters from another dimension, they won't know who I am."

"This scene has gone on for three pages already," said Kousen, "I'll explain later. But trust me, it's important. As for getting back to normal, simply release the White Star Emblem and the chi will cease to flow through you."

"Like taking the battery out of a cellphone!" remarked Sanae, a comparison that was made utterly pointless by the confused response it elicited from Kousen:

"The what out of a what?"

Day 32

[from Electron]

"-and now, we return live to Boston, and one of the most shocking incidents in our recent history. The superhuman Chris Carmichael, popularly known as the superhero Juggernaut, is currently on a deadly and seemingly indiscriminate rampage through the downtown area of the city. The rampage, which was apparently sparked by the murders of Carmichael's entire family, is so far thought to have claimed at least a dozen lives, injured dozens more, and caused tens of millions of dollars' worth of property damage, making it by far the most deadly super-related incident in American history. Our correspondent, Denise Mitchell, is in Boston, and we go live to her now for more information on this tragedy. Denise, I… what started all this?"

There was a moment's silence due to the transmission delay, before Denise started to speak. It almost made it look as though she was struggling to find the words. "Well, this all started on Monday afternoon, when an anonymous poster on an Internet forum outed 37-year-old Chris Carmichael as the locally-known superhero Juggernaut. Juggernaut was known for using his super-strength to fight crime across the city; he would also perform tasks for the community, such as helping to repair damaged buildings.

"After his identity had been leaked on the forum, news of Carmichael's true identity began to spread across the city, and yesterday morning, while Carmichael was at his day job, a group of criminals seeking retribution against Juggernaut broke into Carmichael's house and brutally murdered his 34-year-old wife, Helen, and their two young children, Chloe aged 8 and Jason aged 6. Later that day, Carmichael's 60-year-old uncle, James Carmichael, and his wife Betty were also found dead at their riverside apartment. Their murders are thought to have been committed by a different set of criminals, but for the same reason: revenge.

"It is thought that these murders were what drove Carmichael to begin what is thought to be the deadliest killing spree ever committed by a super, and which is still ongoing; at least fifteen people are now known to have been killed, including two police officers. You can see behind me, a large section of the downtown area has been cordoned off by the police, as they try to contain the enraged superhero; citizens are being advised to stay in their homes, and not to leave under any circumstances."

"Do think that this will lead to greater regulation of super-powered individuals such as Carmichael?" asked the anchor. "I mean, an incident of this magnitude simply cannot be allowed to happen again, can it?"

Another pause. "You're absolutely right," said Denise, "something does needs to change after this week's events, but the big question is what exactly. On the one hand, this incident has highlighted just how much devastation even a single super can cause, and how difficult they can be to apprehend; it's currently estimated that there are almost a thousand supers in America alone. On the other hand, it's likely that if Carmichael's true identity had never been leaked, then this incident would never have happened at all. Perhaps the government should look at providing more protection for supers and their identities, so that the kind of retaliatory attacks that prompted this disaster will never happen again."

"There's also the issue of, if the government does try to somehow regulate supers, would they even be able to enforce those regulations? The police have so far been completely overwhelmed by Juggernaut; they just don't have the capability to fight back against supers."

"You're right," said Denise, "any kind of regulations regarding supers are likely to be controversial, and met with some kind of resistance. The government are going to have to tread carefully to ensure that they retain the support of-"

Denise was suddenly cut off, as behind her there was a chorus of screams and an almighty bang. "Denise?" asked the anchor. "What going on?"

Turning around, Denise saw a nearby house that had been half-demolished, seemingly by a thrown car. Approaching the police cordon at frightening speed was Juggernaut, easily six feet tall, his muscles bulging as he roared at the cops. Most of them fled. Some stayed and fired their weapons, a largely futile effort.

Denise and her cameraman also began to flee the scene, the camera no longer pointed at her or Juggernaut, but at the floor. "Juggernaut's arrived at our location," said Denise, the pitch of her voice rising in terror. "He's breaking through the pol- OH MY GO-"

The camera shook violently for a split-second, and then there was nothing but static.

***

Electron paused the video, letting Cyclone come to terms with what she had just seen. The girl seemed utterly horrified, her hand covering her mouth. Having been sheltered and lied to for her whole life so far, even this, arguably the most infamous incident in superhuman history, was completely new to her.

"What… what happened?" she asked. "Was she okay?"

"No," said Electron. "Juggernaut threw a car at them. The reporter was killed, and her cameraman was in a coma for months. In total, Juggernaut killed twenty-seven people, injured over a hundred more, and caused an estimated $35 million dollars' worth of property damage, before he was finally killed by the police."

Cyclone gasped. "That's awful!" she exclaimed. "And all that just because his family were murdered?"

Electron nodded. "Yeah. It was just one big cycle of revenge, and it all started with one innocent post on an Internet forum. Within months, the Superhero Regulations Department was set up, and ever since then, every single super in America has been required to sign up for it. Partly so you can be stopped if you ever go rogue like Juggernaut did, but also partly to protect you and your family. Since then, not a single super has had their identity released to the public, or had their loved ones attacked. At least… not here in America, anyway."

"So that's why it's needed…" said Cyclone quietly. "Did… they ever find out who made that post? And how they found out in the first place?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Electron. " A few days after the massacre, a guy owned up to having made the post and then committed suicide. I can't remember how he found out, though. But yeah, revealing the identity of a super is now a federal offence, punishable by a pretty lengthy prison sentence."

Cyclone nodded. "And I guess if another super goes rogue, like my father did, then that's what you're there for, right? To stop them?"

"That's what we're all here for, really," said Electron. "That was the basic idea behind SHRED: if you hire every super as a superhero, then there are no supervillains, and if one does appear - like your father - then they have a thousand superheroes to contend with. Of course, it doesn't quite work like that - there are still plenty of supervillains around - but we're all doing our best to find them, stop them, and contain them. You will too, hopefully, once your training's complete."

Cyclone nodded. "I'll do my best." She paused for a moment. "Thank you, Electron," she added. "I… I think I needed to see that."

Electron nodded. "You did," he said.