El Hazard: Continuations
Chapter 4

Makoto was the sort of person who made sure that his
old friends stayed in touch constantly.
Today, they were all gathered in Kalia's apartment.
She had prepared a modest (modest?) meal of udon and
tempura and he was really looking forward to her tasty
cooking.
He really, REALLY enjoyed spending time with this
group of people: Alielle, Palnus, Ura, Kalia and of
course Ifurita. No matter how many new friends he made
in Japan, nothing could compare to spending time with
this particular group of people.

Everyone was talking and laughing while Palnus was
stuffing a fried shrimp into his mouth. The television
was on and the new mayor of Tokyo who had been elected
a few months ago was seen on the screen surveying some
development projects. It looked like the economy was
booming and good times were rolling.

"Seems like the new mayor has been doing an excellent
job. Better than the old one, I guess."
Makoto continued to watch the news. Alielle was not
paying attention and as usual was thinking lasvicious
thoughts. This time however, she was looking at Kalia
who was busy serving food.
*She's really cute.* Alielle slurped down her noodles,
making an obnoxious slurping sound. *A pretty face,
legs that go on forever, big round.....*
Alielle slapped herself. *What the heck am I thinking
about? The last Kalia almost broke Lady Fatora's arm.
Oh well....she's not the only female in Japan.*

"You know, we are not the only ones from El Hazard who
should be here."
"What are you talking about?"
"I have been reading this book. Sure, the name of the
author is different but anyone can use a pen name."

Ifurita drew out a book. The glossy cover proudly
proclaimed itself as a best-seller and told some story
about a "Magnificent World."

"...and here we have a description about a kingdom
that is constantly at war with some insect tribe.
Then, we have this Shadowy Tribe that wants to use
some 'Ultimate Doomsday Weapon' to destroy everyone."
She continued to turn the pages.
"The heroine of the story is the Priestess of the Wind
and together with the Priestesses of Fire and Water,
they band together to fight evil. On the way of
course, they encounter demon goddesses." (pauses to
smile to herself)
"Hmmm..."

"Afura. Afura Mann." Palnus sat up looking sure of
himself. "I guess that makes sense. She must somehow
have been left in Japan." He continued. "Besides, she
has always had an interest in books and I guess it was
only a matter of time before she started writing books
herself."

Everyone looked surprised. "I guess we need to find
her soon but anyway, there is something that you all
should know."
Makoto sat up and with everyone listening intently, he
began to tell the story of how Akira Kanzaki invited
him to a museum and up to the point when Abzahai left
for Roshtaria.

"G-ran."
"?"
"That was his real name." Kalia was sipping some juice
and she continued. "He was a member of the Phantom
Tribe and he came to Japan with Lagus."
"I guess that explains everything now." Makoto looked
a bit more certain.
"Don't get the wrong idea though. I don't think he
really is a bad person. When Diva was captured, he was
the one who made sure that his men wouldn't harm her
physically. If you ask me, I think he just wanted to
take Abzahai home and study him." She looked as if she
was merely talking about the daily news. "He was
always interested in science and his interest was
purely from the scientific perspective."
"I think I should go back to El Hazard to warn the
others about Abzahai."
"I understand your concern but how are you going to do
that?"
"Ifurita, remember when you first transported me,
Katsuhiko, Nanami and Fujisawa-sensei?"
"Yes, but....20,000 years of floating through time and
dimension have weakened my powers and..."

"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Hmmmm?"
Kalia was sitting back as she proceeded to explain. "I
was transported to Earth through the Eye of God." She
paused to finish some soup. "I am a demon goddess and
if Ifurita can acquire the knowledge to transport
people to El Hazard, so can I. Think of this: if I
were to combine my powers with Ifurita, it might be
possible for us both to send everyone including
ourselves to El Hazard.

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

"Takuya sure seemed excited to hear from you."
".........."
"You know Palnus, I think he's still in love with you.
Ah..you're blushing. I knew it. You still have
feelings for him."
"Shut up Alielle. I can't hear you. LA-LA-LA-LA!"
Makoto Mizuhara sighed. He was at the wheel of his car
and he was on his way to look for Afura Mann. Ura was
snoring at the passenger's seat. Ifurita couldn't come
because she had classes and Kalia had to work on an
afternoon shift. The Relrye siblings were at it again;
fighting and teasing each other.*Oh well...at least
they still care for each other in spite of their
fighting. At least, they're not like Katsuhiko and
Nanami.*

**************************
Knock! Knock!
"Who is it?"
A very familiar-sounding voice called. It was always
pleasant to hear a voice like that.
*At least the El Hazardians are not all alone in
Japan.*
The door opened cautiously as if the opener was
hesitant of being mugged and then...."Afura!""Sister
Afura! I'm so happy to see you!"Afura Mann was still
dressed in her favorite green. Her eyes lit up
momentarily when she saw us and then she didn't seem
too pleased.The reason was obvious.The Relrye siblings
had each head buried in each of her breasts. If Makoto
didn't know better, he would have said that they
looked like two babies trying to breastfeed from their
mom. Afura politely but forcefully pushed the Relrye
siblings to a respectable distance away and then
invited everyone in.
"Nyaa! Ura happy to see Afura."
"I'm also happy to see you too, Ura."
Afura gently picked up Ura and started to stroke her
fur while she purred contentedly. Everyone then made
their way into the living room to sit while Afura
served them some cups of tea.
"So, how have all of you been doing?"
"Wah! So now you're a famous writer, eh?"
"Shhh, Palnus. Let Makoto explain to Afura."

Makoto Mizuhara began by explaining how everyone had
been doing. Afura leaned forward, looking interested.
As he continued explaining to the part about Abzahai,
he noticed a change of reaction in her eyes but she
quickly hid her expressions.
*So typical of Afura. She cares for everyone but is
always trying to put on a bold front by hiding her
true feelings.*
Makoto finally reached the end of his lenghtly summary
by explaining the need to return to El Hazard to set
things right and extending his invitation to Afura to
join them. Everyone was sitting in suspence for a few
seconds as they waited for an answer....

Silence.
Waiting.
Anticipation.

"I'm sorry."
"Huh?"
"What do you mean?"
"I can't come. You will all have to go by yourselves."
Palnus looked rather agitated as he started to throw
his arms around Afura. Makoto thought he detected a
look of hurt in her eyes but dismissed that as part of
his imagination.
"Didn't the time we spent together mean anything to
you? I guess all the fame and fortune has gone to your
head now, huh? I was wrong to think that I cared...."
"Palnus, let's go. I guess her books are more
important than us." Alielle looked disappointed as she
dragged an upset-looking Palnus to the door. Makoto
hurriedly said his goodbye while Afura wished them
luck in a cold voice.Everyone left and the door closed
with a slam.
Afura slowly leaned with her back to the door and then
gently slided down and rested on the floor.A teardrop
rolled down her cheek.In her entire life, the number
of times she had ever remembered herself crying were
probably less than the number of fingers on her right
hand. And now she covered her face as more tears
started to roll down her cheeks.*I'm sorry everyone.*

They didn't understand.
*Of course they didn't. why would they*
*They're just disapointed,they don't know what I'm
going through.*

*Why do things have to be like this?*
Afura stood up and wiped her tears and went back to
her bedroom. Opening the windows brought a soft gust
of wind that brought with it the smell of crisp clean
air. she inhaled deeply and tried to think. Life has
been difficult since the publishing of the book.
*A career and lots of money or friends: which is more
important?* She sat in silence. *How could I just
throw away my responsibility? How could I just forget
about people who care so much about me?*

*I should have gone with them.*Afura thought, the wind
tousling her hair.*I should have gone with them*

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

Makoto, Alielle, and Palnus drove back to the
apartment in silence. They were still so upset over
Afura's decision to not return home with them that
none of them really felt like talking.

After a moment, Alielle looked up at Makoto, who was
in the driver's seat. "Makoto, why would Afura do
something like that? Is her career more important than
her duties as a Muldoon Priestess? Is it more
important to her than...us?"
Makoto sighed. "I wish I knew, Alielle." He looked
thoughtful for a moment, then added, "I'm not so sure
that it's her career that's making her stay on earth
like this. Right before we left her place, Afura
really did look sad for a moment. I don't think it was
an easy decision for her to make. Maybe there's
someone else in her life that she doesn't want to
leave behind, like a boyfr--" Makoto caught himself in
mid-sentence, and looked at Palnus nervously,
expecting him to explode angrily at the thought of
Afura having a boyfriend.

Fortunately, though, he didn't, and he continued to
look outside the car window. Palnus had been very
upset at Afura's decision at first, but he was able to
calm down, and for the rest of the ride back he seemed
deep in thought.

Palnus looked up and took a deep breath, then began to
speak. "It doesn't really matter what the real reason
for Afura staying behind is. She's made her decision,
and I doubt there's anything we can do to change her
mind. We'll all miss Afura, but all we can do now is
support her and respect the choice that she's made."
Makoto and Alielle looked suprised at Palnus for a
second, but as soon as they realized Palnus was
serious, they nodded their heads in agreement. "You're
absolutely right, Palnus," Makoto replied. "Afura has
the right to decide how she wants to lead her life.
I'm glad you were the one to point that out."
"Yeah, I think that's one of the most sensible things
that's ever come out of your mouth, Palnus," Alielle
agreed.

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

The next morning lead to the same routines. Press
conference, book signing, meetings. Afura just
repeated the same dull lines as reporters waved their
hands like eager children in a classroom, desperate to
rephrase a question that had already been asked. The
book was a best seller in every language it had been
translated into. Joy.

After the meeting with her publisher, Takuya took her
out to lunch. Apparently he had a surprise of some
sort. Afura's mind just floated as he jabbered
excitedly in her ear about something. Her mind was in
the clouds, in the wind, no it was at El Hazard.
*I belonged there didn't I? What was I thinking, What
am I doing in this foreign place...*
"...So my friend introduced me to Ryoe Tsukimura
yesterday, he's really excited about your novel and
wants to talk about doing a screenplay for an anime of
it!!!!! Isn't that great!!!!"
"Oh"
"Oh? OH? I just tell you your novel might become an
anime and you say...OH? AFURA !! What's the matter
with you?"
"I'm sorry..I just.."
"So what do you think Afura? This is great! Are you
going to meet him or what?"
"I don't know, you decide"
"Huh? Why would I decide, you're the writer, it's your
book.."
"....." Afura just stared at her bowl.Then something
in Takuya seemed to snap.

"How on earth did you ever become a writer? Did you
just publish the book because I told you to? What
would you being doing with your life if I hadn't made
you publish that book? Did it ever occur to you?"

There was such a big leap in logic between that first
statement and the next. she thought that they were
like two people standing apart on seperate mountain
peaks,recklessly leaning foward trying to throw stones
at one another without really being aware of the chasm
beneath.
"Takuya,I'm sorry, I just..."
"Oh quite wimpering! What the hell's happened to you
Afura. You're not the person I remember.Grow a
backbone!"
"OH! You're one to talk about growing a backbone! you
become a sniveling little girl everyime you talk to
Palnus!!!"
"Palnus has nothing to...."
And quite suddenly they realized that every person in
the restaraunt had their eyes on them.
*This is ridiculous.."And Afura started to laugh.
"This is pretty ridiculous"Takuya stated watching
Afura giggle.
"That's exactly what I was thinking." The two of them
began to laugh. After awhile they stopped and calmned
down.
"I'm sorry Afura, you've had a long day, I have to get
up to my dad's store, so I'll call you about that
meeting okay?"
Afura nodded and Takuya got up and left.

"Hey!!! You're the writer of my son's favorite
book!!!I know this is silly, but could I get your
autograph?"
Afura smiled gently. "Of course"

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

"You didn't really have to bring so much stuff, you
know."
"Well, there's my manga collection. Then there's this
T-shirt. Then, my toothbrush. Oh yeah, and my
porno...err...educational books."
Alielle was berating her brother Palnus who was
carrying a heavy suitcase. They had arrived at the
promised meeting place 5 minutes late. Makoto,
Ifurita, Kalia and Ura were already waiting but
strangely, no one looked impatient.
"Dimensional travel can only take place through excess
energy and perfect timing," Makoto announced as if he
were making a scientific discovery. Alielle noticed
that Kalia kept glancing at Makoto through the corner
of her eye.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
"Yeah, I'm ready."
"Mmm...hmmm."
"Nyaa."
"Ready."

"I'm sorry I'm late, I...."
Palnus Relrye turned his head not wanting to believe
his ears. Could it be....
"Afura? I...."
Yes, it was her and she was dressed in her favorite
green lugging along a small suitcase. Palnus stood
there standing speechless for a moment and thenAfura
and Palnus hugged for a while without a word being
exchanged.
It seemed like that moment would last forever.

"But how did you..."
"Hush Palnus. It doesn't matter. Let's all get ready."
Makoto spoke reassuringly to the two who probably had
a lot to say but didn't quite know how to say.

Ifurita put her two hands together and sparks of light
started to ignite between them. Kalia did the same but
her glow was even brighter. The energy became more
intense and the two demon goddesses started to combine
their energies as the energy waves became stronger.
Makoto felt his head spinning and he thought he was
floating through empty space. Empty space? Felt more
like colors and patterns were whirling all around him
as he saw his friends flying about him. He clutched
frantically in the air and felt the comforting tug of
Ifurita's hand.
Then that was it.

**************************
Makoto Mizuhara opened his eyes.
"Oohh...my head. Are we there?"
He felt a little giddy but proceeded to stand up.
Sights. Sounds. Colors. Smells.
No doubt about it. This felt like good ol' El Hazard.
He looked around and saw all his friends slowly
beginning to open their eyes. He realized that he was
still holding on to Ifurita's hand. He turned around
and realized that Kalia had been tugging on to his
shirt as they drifted through dimensions. To his
amusement, he realized that Ura's foot was in Palnus'
nose and they were just getting out of their slumber.
"Yes. No doubt about it. We're in Roshtaria all right.
I suppose our next destination will be Florestica but
that's going to be at least a day's walk from here
unless I am mistaken," Alielle wisely proclaimed as
she stood up surveying the surroundings as if she was
a tour guide. Afura was rubbing her eyes and looking
around.

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

The Phantom Tribe.
Otherwise known as the Shadow Tribe. They lived in the
shadows of El Hazard, often in an intricate system of
underground caverns and tunnels and rarely showing
their faces except in Roshtarian disguise. The
textbooks of Roshtaria had barely a mention of them
except to say that they were originally from another
dimension. The textbooks of course never mentioned
about the progress or advancement of their
civilization.

It was such a member that peeped out from his hiding
place as Makoto Mizuhara carefully examined the device
he brought along as his fellow travellers slowly
opened their eyes.
"The key. The Ancient Key. Makoto Mizuhara, the sworn
enemy of our tribe has the key and he's back in El
Hazard. And he has two demon goddesses at his biding.
Nahato would be very interested to hear this."
Makoto Mizuhara of course did not notice the sly
little figure that had disappeared to where he came
from, almost like a worm disappearing into a
worm-hole. His attention had now shifted to his
friends.
"Wake up, sleeping beauty."
"Mmmm..hmmm. Let me go back to sleep."
"We're there."
He slowly caressed Ifurita's cheek as she gradually
stirred. He watched in comical amusement as Ura and
Palnus stirred and were now struggling with one
another; Ura with her feet stuck up Palnus' nose and
Palnus with his mouth nibbling Ura's ear.
"The sights, the smells...Ah...nothing like El
Hazard." Alielle was breathing in the view of the
surroundings. "But what about food? I..."
"I'm glad I saved these while I was in Japan." Makoto
showed her some pieces of metal.

Roshtarian currency! Of course!

Palnus who had finished struggling with Ura proudly
brandished some pieces of glinting metal.
*Looks like my brother has brains* Alielle proudly
thought to herself.

"That should be able to last us until we
err...'borrow' some from Rune Venus again," Makoto
self-assuredly proclaimed as his fellow travellers
proceeded to continue their journey. Afura seemed to
be deep in thought as she surveyed the surroundings.

**********************
"A table for six, please."
Makoto Mizuhara was really hungry. He had been
travelling with his friends for 3 straight hours and
his stomach was beginning to growl. He looked around
and he was sure that his company felt the same.
After being on the dusty road, he had come to this
restaurant by the side of a small village. While he
prefered Japanese tempura or teriyaki anytime,
Roshtarian food was also okay, at least for now.
The restaurant owner eyed him suspiciously.

Takrif Hussein.
While he was generally tolerant of most Roshtarians,
he viewed people who were 'different' from him with
disdain. While he shared a common ideology with his
distant cousin Yasser ibn Hasan who also disliked the
Bugrom, his xenophobia bordered on paranoia.
*Those two women? Weren't they...what you call 'demon
goddesses'?* Wrinkles started to appear on his
forehead as he stared at them with contempt. He deeply
blamed them for the ceaseless wars over the years
which had resulted in him losing his best friend years
ago.
"I can offer you a table for you and some of your
friends but we don't serve demon goddesses."
He startled gesturing wildly at Kalia."Roshtaria would
be better off without a wench like her. They're
nothing but trouble for this country. Should have been
consigned to a trash heap years ago."
Makoto was shaking with fury. He grabbed Takrif by his
shirt collar.
"If you don't take back what you said about her, I
will give you a pummeling that you will never forget."
"That's quite alright Makoto. Let's go somewhere
else." Kalia was gently tugging at Makoto's sleeve,
beckoning him to go.
Makoto released his grip and beckoned his friends to
leave the place. He slammed the door behind him, VERY
LOUDLY. He was obviously upset.

Kalia was looking carefully at Makoto from the corner
of her eye. Though she was quite shaken and upset at
the incident, she felt an even more powerful emotion
in her heart. She felt warm all inside....

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

It had been a few hours after the incident at the
restaurant, and Makoto, Palnus, and the others were
still hiking single file along the forest trail that
lead to the outskirsts of Floristica. All of them
looked exhausted and more than a little hungry.

"God, I'm starving! I don't think I can walk another
step without something to eat!" Alielle complained.
"Stop your whining, Alielle. You're not the only one
who's suffering, y'know. I'm so weak from hunger I'm
beginning to lose feeling in my legs," Palnus replied
moodily.
"I'm sure we'll find something to eat soon," Afura
muttered. Palnus glanced at her from the corner of his
eye. He didn't really know what to say to her but he
was really glad that she was back.

Kalia, who had remained silent for most of the hike,
suddenly spoke up. "I'm so sorry, everyone. This is
all my fault. If it hadn't been for me, you all could
have gotten into that restaurant and you wouldn't be
so hungry now." Kalia looked away from the others,
ashamed of herself.
Ifurita put a reassuring hand on Kalia's shoulder.
"Don't talk like that, Kalia. I'm partly to blame
anyways."
"Yeah, it's all that stupid restaurant owner's fault,
not yours!" Alielle chipped in. "That lousy, no good,
bigoted pile of--"

Ifurita cut Alielle off before she could continue any
further. "Let's just try and forget it, okay everyone?
We're not that far from Floristica, and once we get
there, we'll order all the food we can eat, I
promise."

"Sounds good to me! In the meantime, though, I found a
few snacks for us to munch on." Palnus reached into
his pocket and pulled out several small green leaves.
He grinned, obviously pleased with himself. "Ta-dah!"

Alielle blinked. "Leaves? You brought us leaves? What
good are they going to do?"
"Oh, just hush up for once in your life and listen,
will ya? Look, chewing on something will take your
mind off how hungry you are. It works, I've done it
before." Palnus shoved one of the leaves into his
mouth and began to chew. After a moment, he turned to
Alielle. "Want one?"
"Ugh. No thanks."

Palnus shrugged. "Suit yourself. Just don't beg me for
one later. How about you, Kalia?"

Kalia plucked one of the leaves out of Palnus' hand
and began to study it. "Palnus, you are aware that
these leaves are poisonous, right?"

"They're poisonous?? Uh, I mean--yeah, of course I
knew that. I was just testing to make sure YOU knew."
Palnus' skin started to turn to a sickly
greenish-yellow color. "Anyways, you passed the test.
Now, uh, excuse me for a moment." With that, Palnus
covered his mouth with his hands and dashed behind a
group of trees. Kalia did her best to ignore the
gagging noises coming from behind the trees. Afura
merely smiled to herself. *Just like Palnus to bring a
smile to everyone's face.*

Meanwhile, Alielle and Makoto looked off into the
distance in an attempt to estimate how much farther
they had to go before they reached Floristica.
Alielle turned and smiled excitedly at Makoto. " I'd
say we only have a short distance until we get to
Floristica. If we hurry, we might be able to get there
before the sun sets."

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

Four women engrossed in a sport.
Pettan.

Some people call it a very challenging sport. Some
people simply label it as a complete waste of time.
Others even consider it evil when money was involved.
Miz, Kauru, Shayla Shayla and Nanami didn't care what
other people thought. They just wanted to have fun and
forget about the current problems in Roshtaria.
"Ha! I win again!"
Shayla Shayla cried in joy. To her, Pettan was a
relatively easy game to play. To play, you and your
opponent have to put your cards on the ground. Then
you throw your own card as hard as you can to the
ground in the hope that the force(wind?) caused by it
will turn your opponenent's card over. Being
experienced at it, Shayla Shayla had won thrice in a
row.
"Hey! Not fair!"
"What do ya mean? I won it through my own skill."
"Anyway it's the fun that matters. It should take your
mind off Tunis..."
Shayla Shayla looked serious suddenly. She frowned. "I
have never seen something so awful. Everyone you could
smell charred flesh. Londs looked sick at the sight.
Anyway, let's not talk about unpleasant business and
continue with the game, okay?"
"Miz. How's family life getting on?" Nanami earnestly
asked.
"Okay, I guess. Though I wish I could sometimes get my
son to eat the healthy food I cook for him. He should
know that mothers know best for their children...hey,
what's so funny?"
"Oh nothing." Nanami was smiling to herself thinking
about what Fujisawa had said about his wife's cooking.
"If only Makoto were here, I remember that he used to
be good at Pettan too."
"Shayla. You're getting that far-away look. Thinking
about Makoto again? I bet you wish he were here."
"Whatever. It's too late for me. His heart already
belongs to someone.

********************************
"We were not created by the hand of God, Inari..."

The dark sky was flushing into deep blue as dawn rose
on the Holy River of God. In the forest on the
Roshtarian side the Bugrom had camped for the night,
but no one had slept. The whole camp was still
rustling as the warriors dragged sheets of metal and
mechanisms they had cannabalized from nearby villages
to build the ships that would take them across the
River, back to where they had come from.

Inari sat by the riverbank, motionless as a Buddha. At
Groucho's insistence, she had finally left the tent
where her mother lay ill, and gone to get some air.
Groucho's idea of providing Diva with a transfusion
from Inari had seemed to help a little: it had given
her intervals of strength and lucidity, but the effect
was only temporary. Nothing seemed to be able to
combat this insidious drug.

It was the first enemy she had seen her father
helpless to defeat. Although his speech to the
warriors had steadied them enough to preserve order,
Inari could feel fear rising from the camp like the
mist from a swamp. Ironically, Jinnai had been
likewise unable to reassure his own daughter.

He had come and gone to the royal tent during the
night, checking on the Queen, then tending to the
sentries, the patrols, and the ship-builders. During
his absence, Inari had cried innocently,
"Oh, Mama, why do the Roshtarians hate us so?"

The answer was spoken weakly and fitfully, punctuated
with spells of feverish slumber and bouts of pain.
Nevertheless, Diva's mind was crystal clear. Inari
remembered every word.

"We were not created by the hand of God, Inari. The
Bugrom were...invented...by the ancients of El Hazard.
They experimented with humans and insects in a quest
to produce a creature large, strong and versatile, but
most of all, mindlessly obedient. Our people, Inari,
were bred to be a race of slaves.

Each tribe of Bugrom was bred from a different insect,
to be best suited to their Masters' wants. The
Syntermians, who came from termites, harvested their
forests. The Dorylae, who combined the cockroach, the
scorpion, and the army ant, fought in their wars. And
we, who came from bees, tended their crops and built
their palaces.
Like the great insects, the Bugrom reproduced through
one fertile female, the queen, and our decadent Makers
created the queens in the image of beautiful human
women, so that they might father the slaves
themselves.

That was what proved their undoing. For though
decadent, these men were very clever, and they passed
on their own intelligence to the workers and their
queens, until these slaves finally began to understand
what they were. To understand meant to question and to
challenge, and the queens, who were the most human of
all, were the first to rebel.

It was a queen of our own tribe who led the Great
Rebellion. During the Great Wars, when our makers
fought one another with the Eye of God and the Demon
Gods and nearly destroyed one another, this queen was
able to take advantage of the chaos and escape,
leading the tribes to freedom. Our makers now saw us
as monsters. They pumped poison into the land and the
water, killing many of the tribes entirely, and making
no place safe for us.
At last our tribe's queen fled with a handful of her
followers over the Holy River, into the Shadowlands,
where our enemies dared not follow. There, she began
to build a hive. When this was done, she sent a
raiding party back to kidnap a man from a village near
the river. The tribe increased soon after, but he was
never seen again. No man ever mated with a Bugrom
queen and lived. This helped to spread the fear of us,
and keep our secret stronghold safe.
The Bugrom stronghold in the Shadowlands grew for
generations, growing stronger and stronger, until the
queens knew they could at last begin to attack their
enemies across the river in earnest. That was when the
war with Roshtaria and her allies began. We were
determined to live free in the sunlight, and never be
slaves again."

Inari had held her mother's hand in silence through
the whole recounting. At times Diva had gripped her
hand tightly, eyes feverish with emotion, and at times
she had lain limp and simply whispered. Yet as
desperately as she wanted her mother to rest, Inari
could not resist the question, "And...Papa?"

Diva had smiled weakly. "I knew you would come to
that. That queen who led the great Rebellion dreamed
of a messenger of God who would come to lead us.
Little did I know he would come in my reign! Your
father was the first man who ever walked willingly
into Bugrom territory. He strode into my court, proud,
passionate, fearless - everything my patient people
were not, and needed to become. To my delight, he
offered of his own free will to stay and be my partner
and lead my people to victory. We enjoyed a power
never known, under him, and I began to feel a longing
no Bugrom queen had ever felt.
Inari, now you know the history of the Bugrom, and our
war with the kingdoms of men. But you will be the
first Bugrom Queen to know both parents, the first to
have a human perspective, as well as Bugrom. Use it,
Inari. Learn how to understand humans, as well as
defend against them. They have hated us for a long
time, but if your father can see us as people, instead
of monsters, then perhaps other humans will too.
Remember this, Inari. You may be the Bugrom's last
hope for peace."

Inari could not bear those last words. She could not
be the queen. She could not lose her mother. And most
of all, she could never live in peace with the people
who had done this. With her father's help, she would
force the Roshtarians to undo their evil work, and
then destroy them once and for all.

She stood up, hands clenched at her sides. The first
rays of the rising sun burned red in her eyes as she
whispered the samurai's oath, "Yurusanai!" I will
never forgive!

Then she turned and strode to the tent, to tell her
father her plan.


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

"(Yawn. Groan.) Hey, Nanami. How 'bout two coffee &
milks over here - second one easy on the coffee?"

The early morning sun was pouring through the windows
of Nanami's restaurant. Nanami looked up, bleary-eyed,
to see an equally bleary-eyed Fujisawa stagger in,
baby son in tow. Too tired to rise, she flicked a hand
at one of the waitresses and pointed to the opposite
seat of the booth where she was sitting. Fujisawa slid
in, disentangling his son from the harness on his
back. "Geez, you're gettin' heavy, slugger." He
gratefully accepted a cup of coffee from the waitress,
and popped a white bottle into his son's chubby hands.
"Ahh, that's great coffee. You slept well last night,
Nanami?"

"Not a wink. Not that it's going to matter, with the
whole town too beat for breakfast. I hink if I tried
to hold to chopsticks, one would slip out of my hand."
Her eyes roved to the toddler. "Where's Miz?"
"Gone to Tunisha with Londs and Shayla-Shayla. Geez,
whatever happened up there must be awful."
"Hmm. And between the soldiersgoing north and the
Bugrom pulling south, it's a wonder anybody slept!"
"It's a wonder nobody got hurt. Londs & the soldiers
kept everybody from rushing the Bugrom...and I gotta
say, your brother kept the Bugrom under control too.
Just funnelled 'em out like sand from an hour glass."
"My brother's not stupid, sensei. Not about war,
anyway. He won't start a fight when he's surrounded.
Whatever he does, he does to get ahead, not behind."

"Yeah. Guess so." The teacher scratched his chin,
stared into his coffee for a moment, then began. "You
know, Nanami, some people are saying--"

"That my brother was the one who poisoned Diva?"
Nanami met his eyes squarely. "I wondered about that
myself. What do people say he did it for?"

"Well - " he rubbed his eyes wearily, "Londs thinks he
did it because he wants war, and Diva's standing in
his way. With her gone, he could rule the Bugrom
through his daughter. And he had Diva poisoned at the
meeting with Lune Venus to throw the blame on the
Roshtarians, and make the Bugrom fighting mad."

"Mmmm." To Fujisawa's surprise, Nanami merely yawned.
"I didn't think Londs was so eager for peace either."
"What? You don't think Londs -"
"No, no, of course not. He's an honourable man. And my
brother isn't - but he's not a gambler, either. I've
thought about it, and the whole thing just isn't
Katsuhiko's style."
"Oh? Whadda you mean?"
"Well, in the first place, to create a substance
poisonous to Bugrom. The Bugrom are the source of my
brother's power here. Is he going to create a weapon
that could destroy the Bugrom, but nobody else?
Wouldn't he create a poison that worked the other way
around?"

The teacher's eyebrows rose. "Got a point there."

"And Diva's the one who produces all the new warriors.
Without her, he's got no new recruits."
"There is Inari."
"And my brother's dead set against her having kids.
Katsuhiko's funny, sensei. He's as puritanical as a
Victorian maiden aunt sometimes. I can't see him
setting her up as a baby machine."

"Maybe not - but he did warn her not to drink the
wine. Kinda suspicious, don't you think?"
"Not really. If he hadn't wanted her to drink it, he'd
have come himself to make sure. That's the suspicious
part, sensei. I can't see Katsuhiko putting a plan
this risky into action without overseeing it himself.
I mean, Inari's just as sneaky as he is. She doesn't
obey him half the time, and I'm sure he knows it. He
couldn't risk her drinking, or Diva not, and besides,
it would have been the perfect chance for him to climb
on his soapbox and rant about Roshtarian treachery.
Nope, we'll have to look somewhere else for our
poisoner."

Fujisawa sighed and smiled sadly, thinking of Inari.
"Too bad that archer got away. We mighta learned
something. Well, I'd be glad for the girl's sake if
your brother's innocent. Pretty awful to think he'd
poison the mother of his own child." He chucked his
son under the chin. "Though sometimes at dinner it
seems like Mama's trying to do it to Papa, doesn't it,
slugger?"

Nanami smiled wanly at the boy. "I don't really know
what Diva is to him, sensei. Maybe I really don't want
to know. Yuck. But seriously, I would like to know who
did this. And it'll take a better brain than mine to
puzzle it out."

"Yeah. Mine too." They both sat looking at the baby
for a moment. Finally Nanami sighed. "Poison plots -
burning villages - mass chaos - no customers...oh, I
wish Makoto-chan were here."

"So do I, honey. So do I."

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

Smoke.

Abzahai, followed it like a beacon through the blue
morning sky. Veering slightly southeast, he soared
swiftly and soundlessly, clenching his staff as he
massed his strength for the attack. As he approached
the thin, smoky columns, he began to trace a circle
'round them, sensors scanning the ground below.

Fire - but old fire, dying embers, charred flesh. This
was not a village below him, but a ruin, already
destroyed. He registered the discovery without pity or
disappointment, only passionless efficiency. He would
conserve his energy for the real battles that lay
ahead.

Breaking out of the circle pattern, Abzahai trained
his sensors forward again and swooped off.
Far below the smouldering mound, the Dorylae Queen
stirred. Shielded by the wreckage that buried her and
her offspring, she had escaped the Demon God's notice.
She had not even been aware of his presence.

Food.

The Queen, though blind, groped at the smell and
clutched a wet, wriggling form. The grub, one of her
own, struggled weakly. Its mother recognized the
scent, but dragged it to her jaws with desperate
energy. She had thousands of offspring; there would be
enough left, once she had broken free, to swell her
army's ranks once more.