Doctor Kuni Zuiken sat back in the uncomfortable plastic seat, unfolding his newspaper and flapping it several times until it was in a readable position. Beside him, Aihime sat with a small cardboard box in her lap. The little girl peered through the eye holes, cooing and whispering at the animal inside.

"When will we go to Togashi Mountain, Doctor?" Aihime asked, looking up at the old man.

Zuiken smiled fondly. "We can't go just yet," he replied. "The flight has been delayed."

"When will we get to go?" she asked, pouting a bit. "When will we get to meet your friends?"

"Soon enough," Zuiken said, smiling kindly. "Do not worry, Aihime. All things happen in their proper time. Just as I arrived in time to save you and your mother from that dreadful creature, so shall we arrive in at the mountain as we are needed. There are no accidents, little one. Everything happens for a reason." He returned to reading the headlines.

"What's the reason?" the little girl asked, blinking curiously at Zuiken.

"Excuse me?" he glanced down from his paper again.

"What was the reason we found Karasu when we did?" she held up the little box. "Of every place in the Empire he could have been, why did he pick us?"

Zuiken considered this for a moment. "I'm not sure," he replied. "I just know that the bird is very special, and you're very special for finding him. Now we just have to get you back to my friends so that we can tell them how special you are."

"Okay," Aihime nodded. She looked down in the little box again. Annoyed cawing sounds came from inside; Karasu was not happy at his confinement. "Shinsei had a pet crow too, you know," the little girl said.

"Did he, now?" Zuiken smiled again, impressed at the little girl's intellect. "And where did you hear that?"

"I learned it in school," she replied. "That's why all my monk teachers wear little birds on their robes."

"Do you know why Shinsei had a crow?" Zuiken asked. "It's a wonderful story."

Aihime shook her head. "Tell me!"

"All right, then," Zuiken said. "When Shinsei first came to show us the way to fight Fu Leng, the Shadowlands were a dark and evil place, not like they are now at all. There weren't any cities there, not even Neo Shiba. There were no people living there, and even the Crab didn't know how to cross the land safely. No one knew how to get through the Shadowlands. Out of all the animals in the world, only one was brave enough to go find Fu Leng so that Shinsei could lead the Thunders to his castle. A little white bird. The crow."

"Crows aren't white, silly," Aihime giggled.

Zuiken looked amazed. "Aren't they?" he said. "I thought they were."

"No, they're not!" Aihime laughed again. "They're black! Like Karasu!" She held up the box. The little black bird peered out at Zuiken.

"Oh, yes," Zuiken nodded in mock realization. "Well, back then they were white. Anyway, when the little bird came back, it had turned black, painted black from the foul smoke of the Shadowlands. The black never washed away, but neither did the wisdom the bird had found. The little crow followed Shinsei everywhere after that, because only the crow knew how to keep him safe."

"That's a nice story," Aihime said, smiling. "Is that why crows are black now? Because they're so wise?"

Zuiken pretended to consider this. "I suppose it is," he said. "What a clever girl you are, Aihime."

"You're silly, Doctor Kuni," she laughed.

"Right again," he nodded sagely.

"I just checked on our flight," Hinako said, rubbing her tired eyes as she settled into the seat beside Aihime.

"It's been delayed?" Zuiken asked.

Hinako nodded. "Yes, how did you know?" she asked.

"An educated guess," Zuiken said, folding his newspaper and smiling sympathetically. "When you've traveled as much as I have, you get a feel for these sorts of things."

"It looks like another storm has blown in from Holy Home City," she said. "There've been weird weather problems in that area for weeks. It could be hours before we take off."

"I'm sure we will be fine," Zuiken said calmly.

"Are you sure?" Hinako looked slightly worried. "What if another of those things shows up looking for us?" she asked.

"We are safe here," Zuiken said. "An oni would not dare attack us in such a public..." the doctor trailed off, his jaw opening wide in wonder as he stared upward. A sudden hush had filled the airport. The scattered few travelers who scurried about the building this early in the morning had all stopped to stare upward as well.

"Doctor Kuni?" Hinako said, nervous. She followed his gaze toward one of the many television screens mounted on the ceiling. At first, Hinako didn't realize what she was looking at. It seemed to be some sort of bizarre monster movie. A great beast of iron and stone was destroying a Shinjo Tower.

Then the terrified KTSU news correspondent returned to the screen. An enormous metallic claw pierced the street only yards from where she stood. A drop of red suddenly hit the screen and the image turned to static. A moment later, the screen featured a bewildered local anchor sitting behind a desk. A startled murmur ran through the crowd as the travelers and workers tried to decide whether or not what they had just seen could possibly be real. A little bald man pushing a refreshment cart collided directly with a support pillar as he stared at the screens, spilling his beverages everywhere.

"What... what was that?" Hinako asked, her voice cracking.

"That was Otosan Uchi," Kuni Zuiken replied. "Something terrible has happened. Something terribly wrong has happened."

"Was that an oni?" Hinako asked quickly. "You said that an oni wouldn't attack a public place."

"That's what I thought until a moment ago," Zuiken shook his head slowly from side to side, as if he had seen the impossible. "It can't be that late, can it?"

"Doctor, are we safe?" Hinako asked.

"Mommy, Karasu's scared," Aihime said. The little box had suddenly filled with a frenzy of terrified squawks and flapping wings.

From the corner of her eye, Hinako noticed a man in a dark trenchcoat and sunglasses separate himself from the crowd, moving in a direct line toward them. His feet crunched on scattered ice as he passed the fallen refreshment cart. The stranger reached into his coat with one hand, pulling the garment open and pushing it aside with the other.

"Doctor Kuni!" Hinako shouted, reaching for her daughter.

The man continued to advance, drawing a large black pistol from his coat. Something strange happened, as the dark metal of the pistol seemed to meld with the stranger's hand. The man's eyes flickered a bright red. Zuiken glanced up and reached frantically for the ring of spells at his belt, but he knew he would be too late.

A sudden metallic ping sounded. The stranger's eyes widened and his shot went wild. He crumpled to his knees, coughing once. A trickle of black blood spilled from his lips and he fell forward. Just behind him stood the little bald man from the refreshment cart, holding a katana in both hands. His eyes fixed upon the doctor, and he took a careful step forward. "What did he want from you?" the refreshment vendor demanded.

Zuiken rose from his chair, watching the little man carefully. "He who sleeps much, learns little," he quoted the Tao.

"The Dragon never sleeps," the other man replied. He flicked the katana in the air and quickly tucked it in his belt with a nod, then advanced to bow before the old doctor. "It is good to meet you, Doctor," he whispered. "Agasha Hisojo-sama told us that you might require assistance, but as usual was unable to provide a description of you. I am Mirumoto Etsuya, samurai of the Hidden Dragon and former vendor of iced beverages."

"It is a pleasure and a relief," Zuiken nodded.

Etsuya nodded. "Kakuzo, Seisi, Mayoko and I shall take you from here safely," he added. Two more tall men and a woman melted from the crowd to stand at Etsuya's side, drawing katanas seemingly from nowhere. They watched the crowd anxiously, making sure that no one approached too close. On the floor, the dead man's body hissed and burned with red steam.

"I think we should go, and quickly," the woman said. "Airport security will ask questions that should not be answered."

"Indeed," Zuiken nodded. "Can we use the Way?"

"The Way would not be wise," said a tall man with long hair. "The Way has... changed recently."

"It seems much has changed, recently," Zuiken answered dryly.

Hinako stared at the three men for a moment, then turned to Zuiken. "Doctor Kuni, what's going on here? Who are these people?"

"Friends," Zuiken said. "We must follow them, and quickly!" Hinako opened her mouth to argue, but Zuiken held up a silencing hand. "I know you deserve a better answer, but it will have to wait. We are not safe here. Aihime is not safe here. We must go, and quickly." The stomp of footsteps resounded from every hallway now, and shouting rapidly approached.

"All right," Hinako said. She lifted her daughter in both hands. Aihime continued to carefully cradle the small box containing the little crow.

It was too late. The crowd parted and a half dozen police and security officers charged toward the group with pistols drawn. "Freeze!" yelled one, a tall man in the dark indigo armor of a Unicorn. "Put down your weapons!"

"I assume you realized this would happen?" Zuiken mumbled to the Dragons.

"A fork for every path," chuckled the man with long hair. With a flick of his wrist, the airport filled with smoke. The police and airport security coughed and cursed as the noxious smoke filled their lungs and startled bystanders stumbled into their path.

A moment later, the smoke cleared. Zuiken, the Dragons, Hinako, and Aihime were gone.

"Evacuate the tower!" Shinjo Katsunan shouted into the radio. "I repeat! All stations, evacuate Shinjo Tower!"

The grizzled daimyo of the Unicorn charged through the halls of the besieged tower, radio in one hand and pistol in the other. He glanced at a window as he passed and saw a single mammoth eye, gleaming poison-green with anger. The eye narrowed and another tremor passed through the building. Support beams cracked like tinkling glass somewhere deep within the tower. The echo of crashing rubble sounded from far below as a part of the building collapsed again.

"YORITOMO!" came the deafening roar of the beast outside, and thunder pealed overhead in reply.

In that instant, Shinjo Katsunan realized that he would never make it down twenty flights of stairs before the oni toppled the building.

In that instant, Shinjo Katsunan knew that he was going to die.

Katsunan had lived his life behind a veil of shady politicking and subterfuge, sacrificing honor for what he saw as the greater good. He was a man who made compromises, and catered to the basest elements of society. He was no hero, by any stretch of the imagination. He was a negligent father. His marriage had been a barren and loveless mockery for the last twelve years. Though he would not have done a thing differently given a second chance, the old Unicorn could not help but feel a pang of regret in the end.

His life had not been a good one.

Turning toward the window, Shinjo Katsunan pointed his pistol directly into the oni's eye.

"I've wasted my life protecting one Oni's Eye," he grumbled to himself in bitter irony. "Apparently the kami have a sense of humor."

The building shivered again and Katsunan did not hesitate. He unloaded the entire clip, firing into the eye of Oni no Yoritomo. A ragged metal lid quickly snapped shut over the glowing green, but a roar of pain caused Shinjo Tower to tremble.

Katsunan waited for the eye to open, struggling to keep his balance on the heaving floor. When the oni opened its eye once more, he seized a fire extinguisher from the wall and hurled it through the window. With a second deft movement he drew a holdout pistol from his belt and fired it. The tank of compressed gas exploded brilliantly and the oni roared another time.

Katsunan knew it would not be enough to harm the beast, only to distract it. When the enormous claw came threw the window a moment later seeking his life, he did not turn to run. The impossibly huge steel spike pierced the Unicorn through his midsection. The claw was so fast, so sharp, Katsunan was not even thrown backward by the force. He simply looked down in surprise as his life bled away. The claw withdrew, and Katsunan slumped to the floor.

The daimyo of the Unicorn prayed that he had given his clan enough time to escape. He smiled and he fired a final defiant shot at the oni, and died a Unicorn.

Shinjo Katsunan's life had not been a good one, but by the Fortunes his death would be.

I am Yashin.

I am Ambition.

I am the Son of Storms.

Now, I am Rokugan.

Kameru's head throbbed savagely. He was confused, uncertain of where he was. Glancing about, he saw nothing but cloudy shapes and dark figures, lingering at the edges of perception. As he turned to face them, they drew away and vanished. Every time, more advanced from the corners of his vision, reaching for him with shadowy fingers. He had retreated into the dream world within the bloodsword again, surrounded by the spirits of those it had slain.

Kameru kept moving, turning continuously in every direction to keep them back. There was no fear in his eyes, not any longer. He had moved beyond fear, beyond pain.

"What do you want?" he demanded. "Who are you?"

"Do you not recognize us?" said a deep voice, and one of the figures stepped forward. The shadows rippled and revealed a broad-shouldered man in dark green armor, the same armor that Kameru now wore. The man reached up to remove his helmet, revealing long black hair shot with grey and intense eyes of pure black.

"Father," Kameru said.

Yoritomo VI nodded.

"Am I dead?" Kameru asked.

Yoritomo VI shook his head. "No, my son," he replied. "You are between the living and the dead. The power of Fu Leng's Mask has pulled a part of your soul to the depths of Jigoku, yet your will and connection to Yashin entices a part of you to hang on. You linger within the realm of Yashin, contained along with all the other souls it has brought to ruin."

Kameru paused for several moments, looking away. He turned to meet his father's eyes again, and was surprised at the words that came. "Father, I am weak," he said. "I was selfish. I considered myself, my love for Kamiko, before the needs of the Empire. I surrendered to Munashi. I feel that I have doomed us all."

Yoritomo VI nodded. "Yes," he said.

"Yes?" Kameru retorted. "Is that all you have to say?"

Yoritomo VI shrugged. "What do you expect me to say? You are correct. Your stupidity and weakness has doomed us all."

"I had hoped for advice, not further condemnation," Kameru replied.

"Advice?" Yoritomo VI laughed. "My advice would be to stop seeking advice. Either meet your fate or deny it. It is as simple as that." The image of the dead Emperor began to fade.

"That doesn't help at all!" Kameru snapped back. The Emperor was already gone. The other entities began to shift and merge, congealing into a single dark cloud all around him. In a few moments, the young Emperor was surrounded by a thick black wall, a presence that sparkled with malevolent intelligence. A gleaming crack, a single flaw, seemed to shimmer on the surface of the wall, then was gone.

"Did you expect me to help?" the presence hissed, its voice echoing through Kameru's mind.

"Yashin," Kameru snarled.

"What did you expect?" the bloodsword answered. "Your father never fell to my power."

"So you have taken to dispensing advice?" Kameru asked.

"That was nothing more than an illusion to still your whining tongue, Son of Storms," Yashin spat back. "Your strength is admirable, but abandon the struggle. Everything you have fought for is gone. The Diamond Palace has been destroyed. An oni carries your soul and your name. The Day of Thunder is nigh. Your will is already bound to mine. Why do you still doubt?"

"I had not realized it would be like this," Kameru said.

Laughter rippled through Yashin's form. The crack in its surface gleamed once more. Its voice was seasoned with amusement. "The last words of more villains than I can remember. Some of them were heroes, before I found them."

"What do you want?" Kameru demanded. "I already surrendered to your power. Why are you toying with me?"

Yashin was quiet for several moments. "A complex question," it replied. "You wish advice? I would gladly give you some. The best way to deal with destiny is to avoid it. Live a long life in the center. Be a part of nowhere. Sire ugly children. Live a life of facile convention. Be dull. Be remembered by no one. That is the only path to true happiness. The life of the hero, the villain, the saint, the conqueror, all lead to ruin. Those foolish enough to seek glory are not worth remembering."

"You're surprisingly cynical," Kameru replied.

"Why should I not be?" Yashin returned. "For all our power, we are pawns, both of us. We always have been, and we always shall be. That is why we work well together, Son of Storms. As much as you deny it, we are the same. You have been cursed with greatness, and I am the embodiment of that curse. Better had the two of us whiled out our days on a farm and died toothless and unremembered."

"Obscurity is no longer a choice for me," Kameru said.

"True," Yashin replied. "Nor for me... I have tried to be forgotten, but I am always discovered by someone."

"So what do we do now?" Kameru replied.

"We?" Yashin asked. "Referring to yourself in the Imperial plural?"

"No," Kameru said. "I'm referring to you and to me. We are stuck in this together now. What will we do next?"

Yashin chuckled again. "Why should I care what you want to do?" it asked. "I have your soul on a string. Why should you care what I do? I have destroyed everything you stand for."

"Like you said, we are the same," Kameru replied. "Neither of us wish to be pawns. Perhaps there is a better way for us."

"Is this some trickery, Mantis?" Yashin asked. "Some attempt to make me release the bonds I have placed upon you?"

"What would be the point?" Kameru asked. "Without your power, Fu Leng's Mask would kill me. I just want to understand."

"Understand, then," Yashin chuckled darkly. "I was created ages ago, a tool suited for the punishment of the foolish. I was born of evil and forged in blood. At the side of Bayushi Shoju I struck down the Hantei and heralded the return of Fu Leng. In the hand of the ronin, Sanzo, I tasted the blood of the Second Dynasty, as well. Those were just the start. I have slain paupers as well as kings, Son of Storms, and I can tell you that the blood of both is equally as sweet. All have dreams. All have aspirations. All have Ambition."

"What about you?" Kameru asked. "Do you have ambition?"

"I am Ambition."

"But you are just a sword," he replied. "Like you said, you are a pawn."

"True," Yashin said. "But unlike you, I have accepted my place."

"Have you?" Kameru asked. "Then why did you stay behind in the Palace?" An image flashed through the wall, a memory of the Emperor burying the bloodsword in the floor before being overcome by his sister's poison. "That was no accident."

"You noticed," Yashin replied with some amusement. "Perhaps I want to be destroyed. My part in this Day of Thunder is complete. Why should I not be destroyed? I have done it before. Oblivion is not an altogether uncomfortable way to while out eternity. It quenches the boredom and it insures that I am not misused. It takes a powerful force for evil, a powerful yearn for something greater, to re-forge a bloodsword."

"What brought you back this time?" Kameru asked.

"The khadi," the sword replied. "They are masters of pain. They invoked the power of your family's curse, though it took long for them to repair me. Your ancestor did his work well the last time I was destroyed, but it was the power of Kuni Shikogu's hatred that awakened me anew. I was repaired, given new power, and sent forth to do... that which I have always done."

"'That which you have always done,'" Kameru repeated. "Yet you say you never wanted to be anything more than what you are?"

"I am what I am," Yashin hissed. "I am a tool of evil."

"A tool that destroys itself each time it is used," Kameru said. "You call it boredom, but perhaps it is remorse?"

Yashin laughed for a long time. "What can you know of remorse, Mantis?"

"I know you," Kameru replied. "We are one now, the two of us. I know from the dreams that there were four of you in the beginning. You were created to destroy the daimyos of the Great Clans. You were the only one that failed."

"I did not fail," Ambition chuckled. "I had a greater destiny."

"Destiny is easy to recall in hindsight," Kameru said. "The truth is something different. The truth is, you hid in a basement for centuries, emerging only to help Bayushi Shoju kill a man who he thought, at the time, would be the doom of the Empire."

The Bloodsword was silent for several moments. "What are you implying, Son of Storms?" it demanded.

Kameru shrugged. "Only that it is just as you said. We all aspire to be something more. All of us. Even you, Ambition."

"What do you think I aspire to be?" it asked.

"Whole," Kameru replied. The broken fissure glimmered again on the surface of Yashin's form.

"Do you believe you can help me?" Yashin asked in a mocking tone. "You can no longer even help yourself. You are the Champion of Jigoku. You are as much a tool as I am."

"At least I have nothing left to lose," Yoritomo Kameru said simply.

Yashin had no reply.

"YORITOMO!"

The oni's thunderous roar echoed throughout the darkened city of Otosan Uchi. The eerie light of the storm overhead illuminated the behemoth of shining steel and twisted stone, casting its shadow over buildings less than half its size as it called its name again.

"YORITOMO!"

A shockwave of fear washed through the city. With it, the fear carried something else, a palpable wave of evil. Those sensitive to such could feel the sudden surge in darkness, the rip in reality as the boundaries between the mortal world became just a hair weaker.

Just a hair, but that was just enough.

"YORITOMO!" the beast cried again, and the floodgates of Jigoku opened.

"Remember that there is good and evil in all things, and sometimes the evil is stronger. You have seen this tonight, Kita, and you must remember it. You must remind Kameru as well."

The words of Hoshi Jack rang through Kita's mind. The young Mantis guardsman stood in the middle of the ravaged street, staring up at the ruined remnants of what was once the Diamond Palace. In the distance, the enormous metal and stone shape of some impossible beast, sculpted from the material of the Palace itself, heaved itself against Shinjo Tower. It's roar cut through the night louder than any storm.

"YORITOMO!"

"Sir?" called out a soldier standing by her side. "Sir, what should we do now?"

Kita glanced at the scattered survivors. When the Palace had begun to animate, she had organized the evacuation of everyone she could find. Even still, only a handful out of over three hundred residents, guardsmen, and workers surrounded her now. The dark gleam of red on the jagged ruins suggested the fate that befell the others - crushed within the oni's body as it took form. Among the unaccounted for were Princess Ryosei, Captain of the Guard Tsuruchi Shinden, Jade Champion Ranbe Yuya, and the Emperor himself.

"Sir!" the young soldier repeated, more forcefully. "What do we do?"

Kita nodded. She realized that she was in shock, terrorized to the core of her being by the cataclysm unfolding before of her. There was only one thing to do. She drew the Ancestral Weapons of the Mantis from their sheaths at her back, holding the twin blades in either hand. The Emperor had charged her with carrying the blades until his successor had been chosen. She hoped perhaps that the ancient nemuranai might help her find some answer to this situation, but they offered no guidance.

Instead, the answer came from the depths of the ruined Palace. A deafening howl sounded from the darkness and a shambling beast emerged from the rubble. The creature was jet black, twelve feet tall and covered with festering boils. Its long arms ended in sharp hooks and its head seemed nothing more than a mass of tumors and pustules. Shambling figures staggered out of the ruins in its wake. They appeared to be the twisted and broken corpses of those who had not escaped the castle, now covered in the same rotting sores as the larger creature. Already demoralized by the transformation of the Diamond Palace, many of the survivors ran screaming into the city.

Kita's face became grim. Her eyes narrowed, and she pointed the Emperor's blades toward the creature. "The Diamond Palace has been destroyed," Kita announced to those that still stood with her. "Who will fight by my side to avenge it?" She held the blades so they shone in the lightning tearing the sky above.

A half dozen guardsmen nodded with confidence and formed up ranks beside her. Four more ran away at top speed as the zombies advanced. It wasn't exactly the result Kita would have hoped for. The plague-infested zombies closed ranks and attacked. The first to reach her was cut in half by the Ancestral Mantis blades, but the next delivered a savage claw to her midsection. She fought on, ignoring the pain that burned her stomach, ignoring the screams of her men as the plague-ridden undead crashed into their ranks. At the rear of the group, the black oni laughed, a terrible bubbling sound that rippled through the sores covering its head.

"YORITOMO!" the greater oni roared in the distance.

A final, cracking sound split the sky and Kita saw Shinjo Tower fall. A cloud of dust swept over the city as the shockwave hit, and she was knocked off her feet. The zombies scattered like leaves, one of them tumbling on top of her. It turned and straddled her prone body, clawing at her eyes and throat with rotting fingers. Kita desperately brought one of the Yoritomo blades to her defense, but could not stop the zombie's attack. The burning in her stomach grew worse. She felt a numb, gnawing pain in one leg.

To her surprise and terror, she recognized the guardsman attacking her. Only a moment ago, he had been one of the ones who had remained by her side. Already, her foolish courage had killed him.

"No!" she screamed, burying the blade in the chest of the zombie with all her might. The zombie staggered backward, wrenching the Mantis blade from her hand as it fell. Kita staggered to her feet, clumsily reaching for the lost blade, when a savage blow struck her in the shoulder. She soared backwards, skidding head first across the street.

Somehow, she had managed to retain her hold on the other blade. As she turned to face her attackers. The black oni itself had attacked her, and advanced on her implacably. She rose to her feet once more to meet it as it shambled forward. Her right leg refused to accept her weight, spilling her to the street again. As she fell, she noticed distantly that her right leg had been gnawed through to the bone.

It didn't even hurt, really.

What was happening to her?

In the distance, the great oni roared the Emperor's name once more.

The black oni advanced on Kita. She held the remaining Imperial blade tightly. In her heart, Daikua Kita realized there was little hope left. The burning in her stomach and the lack of pain in her leg were symptoms of the oni's disease. Soon enough she would be a shambling automaton like the others. She had lost one of the Imperial blades, but that didn't matter much since the Emperor was probably dead. Even an honorable death would be beyond her hopes.

"Give it up, guardsman," the oni hissed as it moved toward her with a loping stride. "The Empire you protect is no more. The Emperor is no more. We have his name. We have his castle. You will be next. There will be no survival. There will be no hope. Only a greater amount of pain should you continue to struggle." The oni stopped six feet away and hunched like a predator prepared to pounce.

Kita's hand shook; she barely had enough strength to hold the blade upright. Her thoughts raced back to the words Hoshi Jack had given her a week ago. What had the old monk meant? A prophecy? A warning? Kita cursed herself for her stupidity. If she had understood the monk's words, perhaps none of this would be happening.

Perhaps...

Perhaps...

Now she would never know. No one would ever know. The city was doomed. Her head began to throb, and her forehead grew hot with fever. The oni bounced on its heels, shivering with expectation.

Daikua Kita's arm went limp, and the Emperor's last sword clattered on the dirty, broken street. The oni advanced, chortling to itself.

Daikua Kita did not have the strength left to scream.

In the distance, the great oni bellowed the Emperor's name.

Somewhere across the city, a thunderous explosion detonated along with a terrifying roar. Kamiko wanted desperately to know what was going on outside Dojicorp but couldn't find a place where the garden's canopy opened to give a view of the city.

She had bigger problems at the moment, anyway. She still had to find a way out of here.

Kamiko rounded a low-lying bush and looked directly into the eyes of a lion.

Not a Lion, not a samurai who carried the mon and the name, but an actual animal. The creature was huge, bigger than they had always seemed on the other side of the bars at the zoo. It lay serenely in the grass and gazed up at Kamiko with great golden eyes.

Kamiko froze. The beast was one of Munashi's pets, there was no doubt about it. She knew that Munashi kept a few tame lions in the garden, a private Dojicorp jest against their long-time rival clan. She wondered now if the beasts were what they seemed to be, or if they hid a darker evil like so much of the Fantastic Gardens. Did it even make a difference? Even a normal lion could tear her apart.

The beast shifted its paws as it considered her, great muscles in its back shifting as it moved position. It's tail swished back and forth languidly. The Rokugani lion was a bit larger than the standard variety, with bright golden fur that tended to whiten during the winter. This one was a bright silver at the moment. It looked quite beautiful and very powerful. It was utterly unperturbed by the sounds of chaos outside the building.

Kamiko glanced past the lion for a split second and spied some sort of door just beyond. An exit? Perhaps. If she wanted to know for certain she would have to make it through the next few moments. She heard booted footsteps approaching and someone shouting for more guards.

Obviously, someone had discovered that she had escaped and was searching for her. Kamiko narrowed her eyes and scowled at the lion.

"Out of my way, kitty," she hissed. "I'm in a big hurry and don't have time for this."

The lion growled deep in its throat and cocked its head. One ear flickered.

"I mean it," she lowered her voice and dared a step toward the creature. "Move. Those men will kill me if I go back there so it's no difference to me either way. I promise you I won't let you eat me without a fight." She had no weapons, but it didn't matter. She had reached the rock bottom of despair already. There was nothing left in her but anger. She wasn't going to give up her freedom to a cat, not even if that cat weighed nine hundred pounds.

As she advanced, the cat lurched to its feet. It chewed the air experimentally and sniffed, trying to decide what to do.

Doji Kamiko kicked it in the face, as hard as she could.

With a baffled look, the lion turned and loped away, glancing back at her in surprise as it fled.

Kamiko breathed a quiet prayer of thanks as she felt her heart start beating again. She ran for the door. A moment later, she slipped through into halls of blue crystal ceilings and white marble floors. She was far from free, but after being trapped in the garden so long the artificial surroundings were a welcome sight. Another roar echoed from somewhere in the city. Kamiko ran to the nearest window and looked out over the city.

"Fortunes!" Kamiko swore. The city's skyline was ablaze. Several buildings, including Shinjo Tower, were missing. It was even worse than the Senpet Invasion. In the background, behind it all, she saw the impossibly huge insectoid form of the oni.

"YORITOMO!" it roared.

"Oh, Kameru," Kamiko said, raising one hand to the glass. "Kameru, what have you done?"

Pulling herself away from the terrible vision outside the glass, Doji Kamiko ran for the stairs, and freedom.

Kitsuki Hatsu strode through the halls of the Factory, feeling much like an animal inside an elaborate cage. The other Dragons avoided him, turning away as he approached or making themselves appear busy so that he would not disturb them. Akkan trotted down the hallway behind him, peering up at her master with sad eyes.

"You ever get the feeling that you're being ignored?" Hatsu asked the little dog.

Akkan wagged her tail. Hatsu knelt on the ground to scratch Akkan's large ears.

"Kitsuki Hatsu," said a voice.

"It has been a long time," added another.

Hatsu glanced up. Two ise zumi appeared before him, seemingly from nowhere. One had dark skin and a crescent moon upon his face. The other bore a tattoo of a rising sun upon his chest. They both looked vaguely familiar.

"You," Hatsu said as he rose. "You were with the group that rescued me from Bayushi's Labyrinth."

"I am Hitomi Mayonaka, Master of Midnight," the dark-skinned man nodded. "This is my brother, Asahi, the Lord of the Dawn."

Hatsu rose one eyebrow. "Master of Midnight? Do people really call you by those titles?"

Mayonaka and Asahi glanced at each other. "Not exactly, outside of ourselves," Mayonaka admitted with a shrug. "The titles were given to us by Lord Hoshi. Even we are not sure what they mean."

"I like the titles. I think they make us seem more mysterious," Asahi added.

"Finally a straight answer from a Hidden Dragon," Hatsu replied with a sigh of relief. He bowed deeply to the pair. "It is good to meet you again."

"Likewise," Mayonaka returned with a bow of his own. "The one who gave his life to save you, Togashi Gunjin, was our sensei."

"It is good to meet the hero for whom Gunjin-sama sacrificed his life," Asahi added. He stepped forward and offered his hand to the detective. "Bowing is well and good, but to the ise zumi only the hand of brotherhood seals a true friendship."

Hatsu nodded and clasped Asahi's hand, and then Mayonaka's. "So you're both of the Hitomi?" he asked. "I was told that my grandmother was a Hitomi."

"Who told you that?" Asahi asked, a curious look flickering across his face.

Hatsu frowned. They were unlikely to believe he had spoken to the Dragon of the Void, and he wasn't certain if he was ready to reveal it. "It isn't important," he said. "I thought the Hitomi family had been destroyed."

"We were, nearly," Mayonaka nodded. "Since the beginning of our line, the Hitomi have been reduced to nothing time and again. The Dragon Clan stands the closest to Destiny's wrath, and it seems it is our family's place to bear the brunt of its anger."

"The blood of Hitomi carries great responsibilities," Asahi added. "Like the Dark Thunder, we are doomed to sacrifice ourselves." He stared into Hatsu's eyes, as if looking for something there.

Hatsu was somewhat unnerved by the tattooed man's gaze, and quickly looked away. He changed the subject. "So is it just my imagination, or is everyone here avoiding me?" he asked, watching as young shugenja quickly dodged past the trio and hurried down the hallway.

"It is not your imagination," Mayonaka replied.

"Agasha Hisojo has given us strict orders," Asahi added. "You are to remain in the Mountain. We are not to assist you in any manner. You must stay here, and we must see that you stay here."

Hatsu frowned. "Until when?"

"Until the Day of Thunder," Mayonaka replied.

"That's ridiculous," Hatsu shook his head. "I'm not going to hide in some mountain while Asahina Munashi is out there doing Togashi knows what to the Emperor! I have to get out there, find Hida Yasu, find Toturi's Army, and strike back at Dojicorp!"

"If Hisojo-sama believes you are ready to leave the premises, then he shall release you, and not before," Mayonaka said calmly.

Hatsu looked at the dark tattooed man. "I wasn't aware I was a prisoner," he replied. "Has my clan turned to kidnapping now that it can't hide any longer?"

"I believe Hisojo-sama merely wishes to indicate that you have made enough mistakes already, Thunder," Asahi said, and turned to walk away.

Hatsu glanced at Mayonaka, then shouted after Asahi. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Only that six Thunders are insufficient to face the Champion of Jigoku," Mayonaka replied calmly. "Though I assume that it was not your fault, it is still a fact that the one we had believed to be the Unicorn Thunder, Otaku Sachiko, died under your protection. Now the Empire itself may be doomed. We can only pray that our information was wrong, and that Sachiko was not the true Thunder."

"Stop wasting time with him, Mayonaka," Asahi called back. "We need to check on Shougo."

Hatsu met the dark ise zumi's eyes. "Well," he replied. "Maybe if the rest of you Dragons were out there trying to make a difference instead of hiding under rocks and showing up when the fight was already over, you wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up other people's messes."

Mayonaka shook his head slowly, a patient smile crossing his face. "No, Hatsu. You misunderstand me. It is we who saved your--"

"Shut up, Mayonaka," Hatsu said bluntly, tired of the strange, shifting nature of the ise zumi. "You saved me, true, but your clan also put me in the position where I needed to be saved instead of telling me the truth."

"The truth," Mayonaka smiled. "And what is truth?"

Hatsu stepped closer to the ise zumi, gesturing angrily as he spoke. "You want the truth? Here's some truth, Master of Midnight. I owe you nothing. If you people had been up front with me from the beginning and told me I was the Thunder I wouldn't have been in any danger. I would never have been shot by Kyo and your sensei would still be alive."

"So you believe that truth is the greatest shield?" Mayonaka asked, his smile becoming forced. "I envy your naivete', Kitsuki, but I hope you discard it before your foolishness kills again, as it killed your foolhardy Otaku friend."

"I don't usually lose my temper," Hatsu said slowly and evenly. "So I apologize."

"Apologize?" Mayonaka asked. "For what?"

Hatsu delivered a punch squarely to the middle of Hitomi Mayonaka's face. The ise zumi stumbled and fell down clutching his bleeding nose. Hitomi Asahi immediately spun about and ran back down the hall. He crouched next to his injured brother and glared up at the Kitsuki. Hatsu seemed not to be paying attention to either of them, closing his eyes and letting himself become lost in the power of the Void. Akkan jumped around at Hatsu's side and barked at all three of them, assuming it was all some kind of game.

"That's it," Asahi snarled, straightening and flexing his muscular arms. "I don't care what your destiny is, Kitsuki, you need a lesson in humility."

The ise zumi lunged forward with a cat-like growl, claws erupting from the ends of his fingers. Hatsu did not open his eyes, took a half step back, and delivered a kick squarely to Hitomi Asahi's throat. The ise zumi's momentum vanished and he fell to the floor grasping his neck. Hatsu calmly made his way past them. Akkan paused to sniff Mayonaka as she followed.

Hatsu stopped short when he saw a third tattooed man standing in his path. This one bore a tattoo of a great dragon-tortoise on his chest, swirling with mists. His expression was slightly sad as he looked upon his brothers. He had not been there only a moment before.

"You," Hatsu said. "I remember you. You were the other ise zumi from the tunnel."

The man nodded and looked upon Hatsu with strange, tortured eyes.

"Are you going to shake my hand, then insult and attack me too?" Hatsu snapped irritably.

"I think not," the man said with a small shake of his head. "My brothers have lost their way. They no longer understand. They resist their destiny. I... apologize for them."

Mayonaka sat up with a groan, peering about groggily. "Shougo," he breathed, eyes widening at the new arrival. "You should not be about on your own! You-"

"I am fine," Hitomi Shougo replied, holding up one hand. "There is nothing Rokugani medicine can do for me. There is nothing that can be done for any of us, Mayonaka, do you not realize that? The time has come to return what we have been given."

"What are you talking about?" Hatsu asked.

"Many years ago, we stumbled upon something we were not meant to know," Shougo said, turning his strange tortured eyes to the detective. "We found the cursed domain of Downtown, and confronted its twisted master, the Kashrak. We fought him, and we lost. My brother Mayonaka was dealt a killing blow."

Hatsu glanced at Mayonaka. The ise zumi lowered his eyes.

"As we escaped," Shougo continued. "We begged Togashi and the Fortunes to have mercy, to restore our brother. Unfortunately, we did not do so entirely out of love, but from a sense of self-preservation. Three could fight their way out of Downtown more easily than two. What we sought was, in the end, good, but our motivations were flawed. We had become selfish. We were no longer Dragons."

"No longer Dragons?" Hatsu repeated. "What do you mean?"

"It is a Dragon's duty is to keep his motivations pure even when that which he seeks may be unclear," Shougo answered. "Togashi answered our prayers, for it was critical that knowledge of Downtown be brought to the Hidden Dragon, but he gave us this gift at a price."

"Brother," Asahi said, rubbing his throat as he rose. "Do not-"

"No, Asahi," Shougo replied sternly. "He is the Thunder. He must know."

"Go on," Hatsu said, leaning against the wall and keeping an eye on the three brothers. Akkan sniffed Shougo's foot and let out a little bark.

Shougo nodded. "Our souls were bound into one, but only for a time. It is our destiny to protect the Thunders, as we once failed to do."

"Failed?" Hatsu asked.

"You were only a child, Hatsu," Shougo continued. "Hisojo and Chojin were afraid, for Lord Hoshi had exposed too much of the destiny of the Thunders, too soon. Hitomi Ishinomori was fearful of her son's destiny. She went to Downtown to destroy the Kashrak so that the Day of Thunder would never come. She was our sister."

"Ishinomori?" Hatsu whispered, repeating the name with awe. "She was my mother..."

"We are family in more ways than you realize," Shougo replied with a small smile. "The tattoo you bear connects you to each of us. You are our brother, just as Ishinomori once was. It is our duty to protect you, as we failed to protect her."

"We did not fail, Shougo," Asahi said sharply. "We had no way of knowing the extent of the Kashrak's abilities, or how far Ishinomori would be willing to go to protect her son."

"A failure is a failure," Shougo said in reply, his voice still calm. "Now cease to blame Hatsu for our faults, both of you, lest I allow him to thrash you again."

Hatsu looked at each of the brothers carefully. "I've been lied to the Dragons before," he said. "How do I know this is the truth?"

"You do not," Hitomi Shougo said sadly. "The only consolation I can give is that there is no longer a reason for lies. The Hidden Dragon have little left, save each other. We must stand together as one. As family. Will you stand with us, Kitsuki Hatsu?"

Hatsu hesitated. "I've never had a family," he said. "I've never really needed one."

"Now who twists the truth?" Shougo replied. "You have always had a family. Hisojo has always protected you. Behind him, there have been a thousand Dragons prepared to fight and die for you each moment of your life. You never needed us. You were strong enough on your own. It is we, now, who need you."

Hatsu still looked unconvinced. "Hisojo could have told me," he said, looking away.

"Consider Agasha Hisojo, then," Shougo continued. "He is the most powerful shugenja the Dragon have seen since Tamori himself. He can pull fire from the sky with the slightest effort, and craft tetsukami inventions to confound the Elemental Masters. He is a genius, one whose like shall never come again. Nevertheless, how has he spent the last twenty years of his life? In a laboratory, perfecting weapons for the Hidden Dragon? In a temple, perfecting magics to protect us from the darkness?"

Hatsu was quiet for a short time. He slowly smiled and shook his head. "No," he said. "He pretended to be an old man in a run-down curiosity shop."

Shougo nodded. "For you. Agasha Hisojo is your family. We are your family. The Hidden Dragon are your family. Do not be angry at us for what we have not done. Direct that anger toward your true enemy - the one who created a world where subterfuge was a necessary weapon."

"Fu Leng?" Hatsu asked.

"No," Shougo replied. "Fu Leng was not evil. You will face the true evil, Hitomi Hatsu, you and the other Thunders."

"You called me Hitomi Hatsu," Hatsu said. "My name is Kitsuki Hatsu."

"You are both," Shougo replied. "The blood of she who was once the moon flows in your veins and we stand by your side as brothers. Kitsuki Hatsu is the man who has stepped forth to fight for the Empire, but Hitomi Hatsu is the Thunder who shall become the savior of all that is good in the world. Do you not find the name fitting?"

"I'm not sure yet," Hatsu said. "Kitsuki is the only name I've ever known, and it's the only one I'll answer to."

Shougo nodded, closing his eyes slowly. "Fair enough," he said.

"What is the true evil you mentioned?" Hatsu asked. "What will happen on the Day of Thunder?"

"That is the next step on our path, Hatsu," Shougo replied. "Come with me, and we shall find out."

The Crescent Moon shuddered uneasily. Ramming through the outer surface of the Diamond Palace had not done wonders for the ship's structural integrity, and it was a tribute to Isawa Saigo's piloting skill that he was able to keep it airborne at all. His leg was in agony, making it difficult to concentrate. Tsuruchi Shinden still lay unconscious on the floor. He could sense the presence of the great oni somewhere in the distance behind them, laying the city to ruin. No doubt the oni knew that they had escaped with the Emperor. It would come seeking the man who bore its name sooner or later, and the Moon was no longer in any shape for a quick getaway.

What in Jigoku were they going to do now?

Ryosei emerged from the rear of the cockpit, staggering to keep her balance as the ship bucked. "Saigo!" she shouted. "Why are we flying so rough?"

"We have to find a place to land," Saigo said over his shoulder.

"In the city?" Ryosei replied. "But your prophecy-"

"I don't like it any better than you do, but we're going to die one way or another. We can't push this thing any further," Saigo said. "We're lucky we made it through the wall."

Ryosei glanced down, her eyes widening. "Saigo! You're bleeding all over the place!"

"Yeah, maybe I should do something about that," Saigo said, looking down at his punctured calf with a slightly glazed look. "I'm feeling a little lightheaded."

"You idiot," Ryosei grumbled under her breath. She dropped to her knees and tore a strip from her sleeve, quickly tying a tight binding over the Phoenix's wound. "Is that better?" she asked.

Saigo nodded. "I think I see a place to put us down," he said. He pointed to a small building nearby. A large area on the roof was marked off for helicopters to land. "I think it's a hospital."

"Good," Ryosei said. "I think you need one. That leg looks pretty bad, and Shinden doesn't look much better. Hopefully they can help my brother, too."

"I think Kameru needs more help than a hospital," Saigo said bleakly.

"Saigo, don't say things like that," Ryosei replied quietly.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean it to sound cold, I just-"

"I know," she said forcefully, cutting him off. "I know you wouldn't be here right now if you didn't want to help him. This is just difficult for me, Saigo. I'm sorry. I'm glad you're here."

Saigo nodded and said nothing in reply. Nothing needed to be said. The Phoenix veered the Moon toward the hospital. Suddenly, a shift in the rear of the ship caught his attention. The Phoenix turned his awareness inward, scanning the inside of the vehicle to determine what had happened. His mouth dropped open in shock.

"What?" Ryosei asked quickly, sensing his dismay. "What's wrong?"

"The rear passenger door just opened," Saigo said.

"Kameru?" Ryosei asked, rising halfway.

"Don't," Saigo said quickly. "There's no cabin pressure back there. You might fall out."

"But my brother," Ryosei emphasized.

"No, Ryosei," Saigo shook his head. "I can see the inside of the passenger hold. Your brother just jumped out."

Kitsuki Hatsu and the three ise zumi stood in the center of an open garden. The term "open garden" was a loose one. In fact, the garden was merely another chamber of the Togashi Mountain Factory filled with plant life and filtered with artificial sunlight. Even yet, the room's proximity to the pureness of nature was more than most Dragons saw within the deep caves.

A half dozen other samurai and shugenja meditated in the large chamber as well. Hatsu considered the intricate designs on the handle of his dragon-claw katana and wondered what he would do next. Hitomi Asahi and Hitomi Mayonaka stood off to one side, watching Hitomi Shougo with some concern as he wandered aimlessly around the garden.

"Brother," Asahi said, moving to Shougo's side. "You must return to your room. You're not well."

"I am well enough," Shougo replied, tilting his head awkwardly as he looked at his brother. "I will not grow healthier locked in that room. Not now. It is coming."

Mayonaka glanced at Hatsu, then at his brothers. "What is wrong, Shougo? What do the spirits say? What is coming?"

Shougo's eyes became glazed, and shiver ran through his body. "It is unclear. Can you not hear them, brothers? We share a soul. They speak to your minds, too. I could hear them, but not alone."

"No," Mayonaka said decisively. "Your episode in the mountains has unhinged-"

"My episode in the mountains changed nothing," Shougo argued, his voice suddenly sharp and clear. His gaze was intense. "Remember who we are, brothers. We are the Hitomi, and one day the world will stand up and ask for us to die. Does that make you afraid?"

Mayonaka and Asahi said nothing, averting their gaze from their brother.

"Do not shirk your responsibilities," Shougo said. "I cannot do this alone. The Dragon were not meant to stand alone."

"What is he talking about?" Hatsu asked.

"The Shadowlands erupted while we were Holy Home City," Asahi said. "Shougo opened his soul to the spirits in order to help a Tainted Phoenix find the source of the Taint. He has been driven quite mad since. He is no longer himself."

"I am myself, Lord of the Dawn, it is you who have changed," Shougo replied, leveling a crooked finger at his golden brother. A low rumble seemed to fill Shougo's voice and his eyes shimmered a sickly green. "I can sense the ebb and flow of Jigoku, now. I sense their power, and it is a part of me."

"I'm sensing that the glowing green eyes aren't normal," Hatsu said.

"Brother?" Mayonaka called out, his voice tinged with alarm. "What can we do?"

"You can help me," Hitomi Shougo said, holding out both of his hands. "You can take a bit of the burden that Zul Rashid has placed upon me, help me to discover what it is that seeks to destroy us, and be destroyed in turn."

"Be destroyed?" Asahi asked.

"Are you afraid?" Shougo asked.

Mayonaka and Asahi both reached for their brother's hands.

Shougo narrowed his green eyes with a hiss, making them both draw back. "Make no mistake, my brothers, if you take this burden, you will pay the price at my side. We still share a soul..."

Mayonaka and Asahi took his hands. The Brothers of the Day were complete once more. A bright glow suffused the garden as the three brothers screamed out in unison.

Kitsuki Hatsu stood up quickly, his sword in one hand. On impulse, he activated the power of his tattoo and took a step back in wonder. The power of Hoshi's blood revealed the flow of countless spirits, swirling around the three brothers. Some were bright and benevolent; most were dark and malicious and flitted about the room with a bitter hunger. Hatsu realized with a start that the vision he witnessed was not this world, but one beyond, a hair's thread from reality. The creatures of light and darkness now swirled about, converging on Togashi Mountain, preparing for their final conflict.

Hatsu noticed very quickly that the spirits of darkness outnumbered the spirits of light.

Hatsu noticed very quickly that the spirits of darkness seemed to be winning.

Above them all, there seemed to be a large, looming, dark presence. It pressed down upon Togashi Mountain, its weight greater than the mountain itself. As Hatsu stared upward into its depths, he realized that the presence was looking directly back at him. He sensed infinite anger, fury, and patient vengeance.

A dark tendril spiraled out, grazing Hatsu's mind.

The darkness spoke to Hatsu.

Iuchi Kenyu paced back and forth across his cell, feeling useless. He looked up at the guard from time to time, then went back to pacing. He never said a word, just kept pacing, like he had since they had arrested him several hours ago.

"I wish you'd stop doing that," the Phoenix guard said from behind her magazine.

"Stop doing what?" he replied, moving to the bars with a curious look.

"Pacing," she glared at him. "It's annoying."

"Hey, I'm sorry," he replied with a shrug. "I have to keep moving. It's just the sort of person I am."

"Yeah, well sit down or I'll help you stop moving," she growled back, narrowing her eyes at him.

Kenyu sat down. He looked around the cell for a few moments, then began twiddling his fingers. "Hey, how is that guy?" he called out.

No response. The Phoenix kept reading.

"Hello?" Kenyu said. "I asked you a question. How is that guy?"

"What guy?" the guard snapped.

"The Inquisitor guy," Kenyu replied. "The guy who had the heart attack. The Asako. I don't know his name. Is he okay?"

"Do you mean Inquisitor Yao?" she answered. "The man you assaulted? I'm not authorized to inform you of his condition."

"I didn't assault him," Kenyu retorted, slightly hurt. "I was trying to save his life."

"That's not the way he tells it," the Phoenix growled.

"He said that?" Kenyu asked brightly. "So he's okay, then?"

The Phoenix lowered her magazine and gave Kenyu a cold, steady look. "Shut up, Unicorn," she said. "You're going to get us both in a lot of trouble."

"Trouble?" Kenyu replied. "With who? Shiba Gensu?"

The Phoenix nodded.

Kenyu shrugged again. "I don't really care," he said. "No offense to your family or anything, but Gensu is a jerk. He wants to kill my friends. He probably wants to kill me too. That means I don't have to have consideration for his feelings."

The Phoenix shook her head and went back to reading.

"I don't suppose I get a phone call or anything?" Kenyu asked tentatively.

"No," the Phoenix said. "There's no one you could call that could save your miserable Unicorn carcass."

"I don't know about that," Kenyu retorted. "Can I use the phone?"

"No," the Phoenix said, her voice growing steadily more terse.

"Can I use the phone please?" Kenyu asked.

She lowered her magazine again and delivered him an evil glare. "Stop bothering me. Now."

"Sorry," Kenyu said, and looked at the floor. "Didn't mean to upset you by demanding my civil rights or anything goofy like that."

She went back to reading.

"Say, what's your name?" Kenyu asked after a few moments.

"Why?" she replied, not looking up.

"I was just curious," Kenyu shrugged. "You Phoenix don't seem like bad people. I was wondering what could make you all follow a jerk like Gensu. I thought maybe if I got to know you that I'd understand."

The Phoenix closed her magazine and slowly stood up. "Stop mocking my clan daimyo," she said, her voice layered with icy menace.

"I didn't," Kenyu replied. "I didn't say a thing about Sumi."

"Sumi isn't the daimyo of the Phoenix," the guard replied icily. "Shiba Gensu is our daimyo."

"That's not what the Soul of Shiba says," Kenyu said. "But I guess Gensu would know best, right?" He laughed nervously.

The guard narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," he shrugged. "Just that Gensu had Sumi accused of maho and imprisoned because she could carry the sword and he can't even touch it."

"Listen, you miserable lying Iuchi," the guard snarled, advancing on the cell. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

Kenyu looked up at her mildly. "Of course I wouldn't," he answered. "Sumi saved me from the Dark Oracle of Water. Shiba Gensu arrested me for giving CPR to an old man. Obviously I'm on the wrong side, right? I don't mean to be impolite or anything, lady, but Shiba Gensu is a tard."

The guard fumed, turned around, and abruptly stormed back to her desk. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you," she muttered beneath her breath.

"Shinsei always said that the empty can rattles the most," Kenyu replied. "Maybe you're talking to me about it because you have some doubts yourself."

She glared over her shoulder at him. "There weren't any cans in Shinsei's time. You got that from a song."

"No I didn't," Kenyu shrugged. "Shinsei was just that good."

"You're an idiot," she said, shaking her head slowly.

"Fine," Kenyu nodded, rising and walking over to the bars with his hands in his pockets. "Let me have one phone call. One call and I'll be out of your hair forever."

"Gensu-sama left specific instructions. You're not allowed any phone calls," the guard replied.

"Hm," Kenyu nodded. "Who is Gensu afraid I'll call, exactly?"

The guard shrugged, went back to her reading.

"Is he afraid I'll call the Elemental Masters?"

The guard did not reply.

The two of them remained in silence for a long time. Kenyu remained where he was standing, watching the guard quietly. She eventually looked up at him again, sneering. "Stop staring at me," she hissed.

"Sorry," he said, looking away.

"What is it with you?" she said harshly, snapping her magazine shut. "Half the time, you do just what I say. The other half, you openly mock my daimyo. What's wrong with you, Unicorn? Can't you decide whether or not you've got any stones?"

"No, I'm pretty sure about that," he said thoughtfully. "I'm just trying to be polite. I don't have any problem with you. I just hate your boss. Compared to some of the people I've hung out with recently, you're pretty nice, actually. I wanted you to like me."

"You're odd," she said, flipping the magazine open again.

"Not that odd," Kenyu said. "Arresting your clan daimyo, stuffing her in a box, and burying her in the backyard - now that's odd. The Unicorn have a word for people like that, you know, and it sure isn't 'sama.'"

"Shut up," the guard said. "You're bugging me again."

"Sorry," Kenyu replied.

She shook her head. "Fine, then," she said. "If Shiba Gensu's such a despicable sort, why don't you prove it?"

"I will," Kenyu nodded quickly. "Let me have my phone call."

"No phone calls," the guard smiled and shook her head. "I know you're a shugenja. You'll try some kind of tetsukami trick."

"Fine, then," Kenyu nodded. "You make the call. Just repeat to them what I say."

The guard looked at the phone, then back at Kenyu. She rose one eyebrow. "Who am I calling?"

"Shiro Otaku," he replied. "See if Ide Daigoro is there."

"Ide Daigoro?" she laughed, drawing her hand back from the phone. "The guy who owns Ide Motors?"

Kenyu nodded. "Yeah, that's him."

She laughed and picked up the phone. "This should be good," she said snidely. "Who should I tell him is calling?"

Kenyu sighed. "Tell him it's Kenyu. Tell him it's his son."

Oni no Yoritomo raised its great claws to the sky and howled. At the sound of its voice the windows of the surrounding buildings exploded into powder. The streets before him were cluttered with traffic and choked with terrified people, screaming and climbing over one another to escape. The great oni looked down upon the doomed of Otosan Uchi and smiled. They were so eager to flee that they killed one another for him. The demon could sense a half dozen people crushed in the street already.

Amusing, but not enough. Not nearly enough. The destruction of Shinjo Tower was merely the beginning. Now the real terror would begin.

The oni opened its mouth wide, drawing air into its great, metallic lungs. It held the air there for a time, allowing the power of its corruption to seep in. With a tremendous roar, it belched forth an inky cloud.

It seemed nothing more than shadows at first, but as the cloud descended upon the fleeing masses it resolved itself into millions upon millions of tiny, metal insects. They slashed through the fleeing populace, reducing men and women to heaps of torn meat and bones in an instant. The oni laughed and screamed its name over the city once more.

"YORITOMO!"

The creature had only been truly alive for a short time. Like all oni, it had existed forever on the boundaries of consciousness, just another bit of the roiling evil mass that was Jigoku. Upon being given a name, it had been given the form and power that came with it. Upon being given the Emperor's name, it inherited everything that name implied. It sensed something else, however... something encroaching upon the full power of its name... protecting it... the oni didn't like that.

A mystery for another time. There was destruction to be had this day.

The oni's eyes scanned the city's skyline, looking for another building to destroy. One stood out above the rest now, a perfect crystal blue spire.

Dojicorp.

The Master's power lingered inside, but the Master did not. That meant that Dojicorp's usefulness was at an end. All signs of human hubris would be destroyed. Otosan Uchi would be stamped flat, and Dojicorp would be next.

Oni no Yoritomo lashed out with one claw, inconceivably huge and forged from stone and steel. A twenty story building shattered from the backhanded swipe.

The oni moved on.

A web of multi-tiered highways crossed before him. The oni brushed them aside as easily as if they were cobwebs, sending dozens of vehicles plummeting to the earth. The oni lifted its claws and prepared to destroy another building on its path to Dojicorp, and a sudden, fiery pain lanced along its back. Oni no Yoritomo turned with a growl. A formation of twelve blood red helicopters banked in midair and turn to attack him again. The oni sucked in a great lungful of air and coughed a black cloud of metal insects at the attackers. Two of the helicopters turned wildly and retreated but the rest exploded in red fire.

"YORITOMO!" the oni roared.

The oni glanced down. It sensed a small family hiding in one of the cars beneath it. They had escaped the oni's breath and now hoped to hide until it went away. The oni chuckled darkly and planted one insectoid leg through the roof as it continued on its path to Dojicorp.

Oni no Yoritomo skulked forward on four jagged, segmented legs, twisted from the wreckage of the Diamond Palace. Dark gobbets of black ichor dripped from its back as it moved. Some rippled as they hit the ground, taking on life of their own as more creatures of Jigoku took form. Some burned through the surface of the street and made their way through the sewers to other parts of the city. Each time another creature of Jigoku stepped onto the streets of Otosan Uchi, Oni no Yoritomo sensed itself becoming stronger. It was invincible. There was no stopping it now.

A platoon of wailing sirens echoed through the streets. The oni turned to see a group of heavily armored vehicles screech around the corner, charging directly toward it. Flashing lights blazed on their roofs. Survivors of Shinjo Tower. Samurai. Even in this day and age, they were so foolishly self sacrificing. What had they expected to accomplish?

The oni turned toward them and rose two of its legs high into the night sky, then planted them with a resounding crash. A shockwave rippled through the streets. Cement buckled and tore like rice paper. Gas mains exploded. The police vehicles disappeared in the conflagration, entirely eradicated. The oni chuckled once more, its dark laughter echoing through the city.

It pulled itself onward through the city, confident in its power. The samurai had been foolish to allow things to progress this far. If they had acted quickly, perhaps the oni's supremacy could have been held in check. Now it was no longer vulnerable. Nothing could stop it. Not steel, not magic, not even hated jade.

"YORITOMO!" the oni roared, sharing its new name with the world.

Nothing could stop it. Nothing at all...

"Where in Jigoku do you think you're going?" Kaiu Toshimo called out, storming through the halls of the Kyuden in Hida Yasu's wake.

"Yasu!" Hida Tengyu snarled, marching rapidly beside the engineer. "Stand down, son! State your business!"

"I think Toshimo phrased it pretty well, dad," Hida Yasu replied, not looking back as he continued to tighten and adjust his armor. "The city's just gone to Jigoku. The Diamond Palace turned into a damned oni and killed Shinjo Tower! We need to get out there and fight!"

"We can't charge in there half-cocked, son!" Tengyu roared, seizing his son by one shoulder and turning him around.

"We don't know the situation!" Toshimo added. "Tech-Ops says that readings of Shadowlands Taint have gone off the scale! That creature isn't alone. The entire city is very likely full of Shadowlands abominations. Besides, we still haven't assessed the damage done by Oni no Mizu. The Kyuden may not even be able to fight!"

"Yeah, but we're not going to find out more by sitting out here," Yasu snapped back. "I'm going to take Ketsuen and kick some ass."

Tengyu sighed, shaking his head slightly. "I thought I'd taught you better than that, son. You're a Crab, not a Lion. You learn what the enemy is capable of before you kill it. We don't even know if that thing can die."

"Yeah, I realize that," Yasu said. "I know that we can't risk the Kyuden on something stupid like a frontal assault."

"Good," Toshimo said, looking slightly relieved. "I'm glad there's one Hida on this ship that knows how to listen to reason."

"Exactly," Yasu nodded. "No sense in risking the Kyuden." He turned and headed off down the hall again, toward the hangars.

"Where are you going, Yasu?" Tengyu called out again, glancing irritably at Toshimo before following.

"To Ketsuen," Yasu said. "Here's my plan. Hayato and I go out there with a squad of amphibious tanks, try out all the weapon systems, see what hurts it and what doesn't. If I seem to be doing damage, then you'll know how to kill it with the Kyuden."

"And if your weapons can't hurt it?" Tengyu asked.

"Then we'll know that, too," Yasu turned back and grinned bleakly at his father. Toshimo muttered something under his breath and looked away.

Tengyu paused for a moment, watching his son. After a time, he stepped forward and rested one hand on Yasu's shoulder. "Yasu, I've never seen anything like that monster. This is a fight unlike anything we've ever seen before."

"I know," Yasu nodded soberly. "Don't worry about me. My teachers were the best." He nodded at Toshimo and his father.

"Yasu," Tengyu continued. A look of regret seemed to cross the Crab daimyo's face as he searched for the words. Though father and son had always been good friends, neither had been very intimate or adept at showing emotion to the other.

Yasu nodded, holding up a hand. "Yeah, I know dad," he said, his voice slightly thick. "Believe me, I know. I'll be careful. You guys be careful too, okay?" He looked from his uncle to his father.

"We will, Yasu," Toshimo nodded. "Now don't waste your time. Just get in there and hurt it. Taste it and get away. Leave killing it to Tengyu and the Kyuden. Don't try to be a hero."

"I don't have to try. It's in the blood," Yasu said with his customary smirk, though he seemed less confident than usual. He bowed a final time to the two of them then turned and quickly hurried down the hall.

Toshimo and Tengyu remained where they stood for a while.

"He's stubborn," Tengyu grumbled irritably. "Just like his mother."

"I'm not sure it's all his mother's," Toshimo said with a nervous chuckle. "Don't worry, old friend. He's brave enough. He definitely takes after Moruko."

"Let's get back to engineering, Toshimo," Tengyu said with sudden confidence. "I am sure my son will be fine."

Toshimo turned to his old friend. "Are you that positive?"

"I have to be," Tengyu replied quietly as he turned back the way he had come. "If I saw him dead, I would just stop fighting. Now let's get back up to the bridge and hope Yasu can find a way to hurt that oni."

In the Temple of the Elements, four of the Five Elemental Masters had gathered. In the distance, the chaos and destruction caused by Oni no Yoritomo was clearly audible. The blue-robed Caretakers still went about their duties tending the temple with quiet dignity, hardly aware of the sounds outside. Their lives were dedicated to the temple. If need be, they would die here. Their destinies were clear. Isawa Kujimitsu envied their clarity.

Asahina Munashi was absent, and Kujimitsu was not amused. As the Mater of Water paced back and forth across the Tier of Fire, the other three Elemental Masters, Iuchi Hiro, Hoshi Hisato, and Ranbe Kuro, watched him impassively.

"A decision must be made, gentlemen, it's as simple as that," Kujimitsu snarled. "I can't believe the three of you can possibly ignore what's going on out there for the sake of politics!"

Hoshi Hisato shrugged. He was an elderly man, his head shaven in the manner of a monk. He had only recently returned from retirement to fill the Master of Void's position. "I understand your tension, Master Kujimitsu, but I was once a Phoenix and I understand the way the Council works better than most. It is important that we enter into things in due course. We can't possibly enter into combat with that oni without knowing its capabilities, and without the Master of Air or the Phoenix Champion to offer their opinions on the matter, I'm afraid we cannot make a decision without a proper quorum. A quorum is four votes, as you know, and I'm afraid I must abstain. My vows to Shinsei prohibit me from indulging in any violent behavior. I'm afraid this is no exception."

"Is that so?" Kujimitsu nodded as if considering the monk's words.

Ranbe Kuro nodded. "The proper quorum according to the Council's by-laws is indeed four," the old Mantis said, brushing his long moustache with two fingers. "Either four or the entirety of the surviving council."

"Seven Fortunes!" Kujimitsu swore, pounding one fist on the table. "In an hour, there may not be a Council! What in Jigoku is wrong with you people?"

"Now, now," Hiro said, not looking directly at Kujimitsu. "Losing our tempers is not going to accomplish anything." The young former Unicorn returned his eyes to the table, one hand shivering slightly.

"I pity you all," Kujimitsu growled. "I was a fool to trust Munashi."

"Now you're being paranoid, old friend!" Hisato chuckled heartily. "Munashi is an honorable man. What part could he possibly play in this?"

Kujimitsu stopped pacing for a moment, and met Hisato's gaze evenly. "Paranoia?" Kujimitsu said. "Paranoid suggests some level of uncertainty. As if somehow the burden of evidence falls upon me - the sole member of the Elemental Council who wants to do something about the enormous oni devouring the city, and the seat of the just is retained by three waffling fools and the absent puppet master who controls them. As if your obvious insanity is somehow my duty to correct? Do none of you realize how absolutely ludicrous this situation is? Are any of you listening to yourselves?"

Hisato frowned for a moment. Hiro shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Kuro glanced away.

"Fine," Kujimitsu snapped. "If you want evidence, I shall give it to you. All of you know of the tetsukansen found during the Badger's assassination attempt." Kujimitsu moved to the back of the room. A large, lacquered box rested upon the shrine there. "You know of their affect upon behavior. You know that it has been theorized that more powerful tetsukansen could be created, capable of a greater degree of influence."

"Are you somehow suggesting that the Elemental Council could somehow be influenced by these tetsukansen?" Hisato laughed.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing for sure," Kujimitsu grinned darkly. "The man with the means and resources to do such a thing isn't here right now."

"Tetsukansen?" Iuchi Hiro's eyes widened. "Us? But how? We... I... Is it possible?"

"Well, tell me this, Hiro," Kujimitsu said, turning to the Unicorn. "What should we do about that oni outside?"

Hiro paused for only a moment. "Nothing," he said.

"And why is that?" Kujimitsu said. "Why shouldn't we do anything?"

"We shouldn't..." Hiro paused a moment. "Well, there's a quorum. Yes. The quorum. We shouldn't do anything." Hisato and Kuro shared a nervous glance.

"This is a moronic accusation," Kuro snapped suddenly. "Kujimitsu, you know there's no way of proving that we've been implanted. The implants are undetectable! There's no way of proving or disproving their presence short of an autopsy! This is some kind of personal witch hunt because we won't stand with you in your mad crusade against that thing outside!"

"Well, yes, there's that," Kujimitsu nodded. His eyes hardened, and he glared at Kuro. "Then there's the fact that the three of you, with Munashi's assistance, agreed to have our daimyo arrested on a bizarre accusation of maho."

The three looked surprised. Hisato blinked. "How did you? I mean..."

"Oh, I wasn't supposed to know, I assure you," Kujimitsu nodded. "I certainly was not supposed to survive the poison I found in my dinner last night. Luckily, I happen to have a bit of training recognizing that sort of thing. I didn't call you here to hear you three try to argue your way out of what I know is going on. I called you here to reach a quorum, one way or another." Kujimitsu glanced back over one shoulder and opened the lacquered box slowly.

"Kujimitsu, listen to reason-" Kuro began, rising from his seat. "I've had about enough of reason, I'm ready for a bit of gut instinct," Kujimitsu shouted back, his voice filling the Tier of Void. Isawa Kujimitsu quickly reached back, drew a silenced silver pistol from the lacquered box, and pointed it at the Elemental Council. Three whiffs of burnt air sounded in the Tier of Void, and three men fell forward on the table with bullet wounds in their heads.

"Fortunes!" swore one of the Caretakers. "Kujimitsu-sama, what are you doing?"

"I realize this is a bit unorthodox. I'll answer your questions in a moment," he promised, eyes intense as he approached the dead bodies.

Just as Kujimitsu reached the table, a trio of slithering black machines erupted from each of the heads, quickly skittering across the table. Muffled squeaks erupted from the gore-spattered mechanical creatures as they scurried about the table, cable-like antennae sniffing the air for prey. One of the Caretakers turned away and was violently ill. Kujimitsu merely frowned in grim determination and pointed one finger at the tetsukansen. Speaking a word of magic, the Master of Water filled the room with jade light. The tetsukansen shrieked, burst into flame, and were reduced to smoking ash.

"Master-" one of the Caretakers said.

"Looks like I was right," Kujimitsu sighed, his shoulders slumping from exhaustion and grief. "Don't bother me with questions. Just get the bodies out of here."

"Kujimitsu-sama?" came a voice from the door. The Master of Water glanced up. It was Shiba Genichi, his loyal friend and yojimbo for the last ten years. He was a weathered old warrior, but he still had sharp eyes, and Kujimitsu valued the man's instincts. The yojimbo glanced at the dead bodies for the briefest moment, nodded, and returned his attention to his master.

"Did you find what I asked for?" Kujimitsu asked.

"Yes, Master," the Caretaker nodded. "They were dining in the cafe across the street shortly before the disaster struck. I moved them here. They are waiting outside."

"Well, don't show them in just yet," Kujimitsu replied, gesturing at the bloody Council table and twitching bodies. "Wait until we clean up first. No sense in scaring them any more than I'm about to."

The garden faded. Hatsu now stood on a great plain of darkness with no horizon and no sky. All that he recognized was the gleam from his dragon-claw katana and its pale reflection on the bodies of the three Brothers of the Day on the ground nearby. Hatsu could not tell if they were dead or unconscious, even with the power of his tattoo. He could sense almost nothing, save the looming presence above him.

"Who are you?" Hatsu called out, his voice hardly a whisper.

"WHAT A QUESTION IS THAT," the presence replied, it's voice harsh, angry, and unfathomably powerful. "HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ME. HOW DARE YOU MAKE DEMANDS OF ME. HOW DARE YOU PERCEIVE ME. YOU ARE BUT ANOTHER MEANS TO AN END, THE WEAPON OF A FOE. I HAVE NO MORE CONCERN FOR YOU THAN YOU HAVE FOR THE BLADE IN YOUR HAND."

"Then why are you speaking to me?" Hatsu replied. He took a small step toward the Brothers, hoping to get close enough to ascertain if they were safe without disturbing the evil presence.

"BECAUSE I WISH IT," the presence replied. "SURPRISE DOES NOT COME EASILY TO ME, AND YOU HAVE SURPRISED ME BY PERCEIVING ME SO SOON."

"Who are you?" Hatsu asked again.

There was a curious silence for a moment, and Hatsu felt a wave of confusion from the presence. "YOU MORTAL TOOLS QUESTION EVERYTHING. THERE IS NO PURPOSE IN QUESTIONING. EVERYTHING THAT IS, IS. QUESTIONING WILL NOT CHANGE DESTINY."

"I know many people who might disagree with that," Hatsu replied, taking another step. He glanced down at Hitomi Asahi. He did not seem to be breathing.

"YOUR FRIENDS KNOW NOTHING. YOU KNOW NOTHING. YOU ARE NOTHING."

"Humor me, then," Hatsu said. "Entertain your divine ego, whoever you are. Prove to yourself how little I know by enlightening my fragile mortal mind."

"I AM THAT WHICH LIES BEYOND," the presence replied, a pulse of black thunder running through the deeper darkness. "I AM THAT WHICH CAME BEFORE."

"Before?" Hatsu asked. "Before what?"

"BEFORE EVERYTHING," the presence replied. "YOU MORTALS FOOLISHLY BELIEVE THERE ARE NO ABSOLUTES. YOU ARE WRONG. WITHOUT ABSOLUTES, THERE WOULD BE NO VARIATIONS. THE UNIVERSE IS COMPOSED OF ABSOLUTES. YOUR SHUGENJA TURN TO THE PURITY OF FIRE, OF AIR, OF WATER, OF EARTH, OF VOID, OF THUNDER, AND OF THE VERY HEAVENS THEMSELVES IN THE USE OF THEIR FEEBLE MAGICS. EVERY MORTAL TOOL, IN EVERY CHOICE HE MAKES, TURNS TO AN ABSOLUTE. THERE IS AN ABSOLUTE AT THE ROOT OF EVERY DECISION, AT THE CAUSE OF EVERY EVENT, AT THE ORIGIN OF EVERY ATOM OF EXISTENCE. I AM AN ABSOLUTE. I AM THE ROOT OF THAT WHICH HAS DRIVEN ROKUGAN FOR TWO THOUSAND YEARS."

"Who are you?" Hatsu asked.

"I AM THE CHOICE," the presence replied. "I AM THE DARKNESS OF AMBITION. I AM THE LIGHT IN THE EYES OF THE KILLER. I AM THE FIRE IN THE HEART OF DESTRUCTION. I AM THE JOY THAT PUSHES AWAY REMORSE. I AM THE NEED FOR MORE WHEN THERE IS PLENTY."

"You are Jigoku," Hatsu said.

The darkness seemed to ripple in acknowledgment. "I HAVE EXISTED SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. I AM EVIL."

"I was told that Jigoku and Yomi used mortal pawns," Hatsu said. "I assumed that your abstract existence limited your understanding of our world."

"CORRECT," Jigoku replied.

"Yet you are speaking to me now," Hatsu answered. "You seem to understand me perfectly."

"TO WATCH IS TO UNDERSTAND," Jigoku replied. "YOU HUMANS HAVE A CONCEPT - YOU CALL IT LEARNING. I HAVE ADAPTED THIS CONCEPT. I AM NEVER FAR FROM YOUR HEARTS. BILLIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN HAVE TAUGHT ME SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME, AND I HAVE CHANGED IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND. ONE MORE TEST, AND MY WAY WILL BE CLEAR. YOUR WORLD WILL BE MINE ONCE MORE, AS IT EVER HAS BEEN."

"You are wrong," Hatsu said quickly, he knelt to check the pulse of the nearest brother. He seemed alive, but barely. "The Naga defeated you. We defeated you as well. Twice!"

"THREE WINS AMONG A PLETHORA OF LOSSES," Jigoku answered. "WHAT YOU CALL YOMA IS A FOE NO LONGER WORTHY OF MY EFFORT. YOUR TIME IS NEARLY DONE, TOOL. ENJOY YOUR FREEDOM WHILE IT LASTS."

A pulse of deafening sound erupted from the heart of Jigoku and Hatsu was thrown backwards, his senses knocked away.

When he recovered himself, he was sitting in the garden under Togashi Mountain, unharmed.

Officer Shinjo Rakki's squad car soared through the window of a small bakery, hurled by the magic of the Dark Oracle of Air. For a moment, Rakki knew that he was going to die. Then his eyes caught the gleam of the stone in his hand and he felt something change just before the world went black.

Eight lightning-scorched figures moved through the wreckage-strewn street toward the shop, their eyes glowing with the Oracle's power. They moved casually, confident and unafraid. Their power was like nothing else in the city save the oni that bore the Emperor's name. One body led the rest, a young boy with no hair remaining on one side of his head. It crawled through the broken bricks and shattered glass of the shop front, eyes eager with anticipation.

A gunshot sounded from behind, shattering the child's skull. It stumbled and fell forward. The remaining seven bodies of the Dark Oracle turned, faces identical masks of anger. A large man in a black suit and a rubber elephant mask stood in the center of the street, an enormous pistol pointed at their group. While they stared in anger, he fired again and took down two more of those closest to him.

The Dark Oracle laughed through stolen mouths. The central body, an old man in checkered green pants, pointed one finger at the Scorpion. "Lightning!" he roared.

Bayushi Zou tried to dodge aside as a bolt of pure electricity hammered down from the sky. The smell of burnt flesh and fried electronics filled the air as the Enforcer rolled headfirst across the pavement. His tumbling was stopped by a parking meter, which bent awkwardly as the Enforcer's back collided with it.

The Dark Oracle's bodies turned their eyes everywhere, searching the streets with an expression of amusement. "I'm no fool, Scorpions, I have been around this Empire for a long time," it called out. "You always operate in pairs. Feint with the pincers and kill with the tail. I think not. Lightning!"

Six bolts of lightning arced from the blackened sky, striking street and buildings randomly. One struck directly into Zou's prone form, making him bounce on the sidewalk like a child's doll.

"Come out, Bayushi!" the Oracle laughed. "Spring your ambush, if you dare. The Enforcer is dead one way or another."

Immediately, a sharp crack sounded from a nearby rooftop. Another of the Oracle's bodies fell, a bullet hole through its heart. Two more shots echoed, dropping a second and wounding a third before lightning scoured the rooftop in reply. A small man in a red mask dangled from the fire escape as the lightning illuminated the building, dropping to the alley just as the glow of the lightning faded. The Oracle summoned its power again, electricity flooding the alley as the Scorpion dove out into the street.

"You are the one from before," the Oracle laughed as the little man dodged and wove pathetically between columns of lightning. "The little kolat who threw the piece of stone away. A pity you shall not live to see the result of your mistake."

"I was about to say the same to you," Oroki shouted back.

The Oracle shrieked in pain as Bayushi Zou suddenly seized two of its bodies from behind, crushing them with a single squeeze of his powerful mechanical arms. Zou quickly threw the corpses aside and ran for the Dark Oracle of Air's final body, the old man in checkered green pants.

"Tornado!" the old man roared. Powerful winds twisted around the stolen body, catching Zou in mid-air and hurling him twenty feet to collide with a wall. Bayushi Oroki retreated behind a broken automobile to escape the buffeting winds.

"You've fooled me quite enough, Scorpions," the Oracle shouted, searching about for Oroki. "Now it's time for this to end." The Oracle took a step in Oroki's direction, then suddenly stopped. It's head snapped in the direction of the demolished shop. It's expression was one of baffled disbelief. "No," the Oracle said. "That can't be. The Bloodwhite Stone..."

A metallic figure emerged from the wreckage of the store, tall and armored in silver and violet. From the waist down, its body was that of an enormous horse. In all, it stood over twelve feet tall, a mighty centaur with a long spear in one hand.

"A War Machine?" the Oracle whispered, amazed. "You've created a War Machine?"

"I have?" the voice of Shinjo Rakki spoke, mingled with electronics. He sounded quite surprised. The mechanical centaur looked down at its own body. "Oh... I guess I have."

Before the Oracle could react, the machine launched itself from the wreckage of the store, ignoring the force of the winds and colliding with the Oracle at full force. Electricity sparkled over them both, turning the two into a dark silhouette. Bayushi Zou rose painfully from where he had collapsed, shielding his eyes with one hand as he watched the pair struggle. The War Machine seized the Dark Oracle with both hands, effortlessly hurling the old man's body through the air. It stopped suddenly in mid-throw, cast a hateful look at its attacker, and darted into the air.

The War Machine sprang forward with the speed of the wind itself, long spear cutting the wind with a harsh whistle.

The Dark Oracle of Wind's final body fell to the earth in two pieces.

The mechanical figure stood in the midst of the street, armor still sparking from the Oracle's power. It stared down at its hands in wonder, as surprised at its own existence. Bayushi Oroki emerged from his concealment, watching the new arrival carefully. He held a small black pistol in either hand. He stopped and studied the Oracle's corpse.

"It's dead," Oroki said with some surprise. "I thought that only the Migi Hidari could kill an Oracle." Zou appeared like a shadow behind his master, cold eyes scanning the War Machine for any sign of hostile intent.

"Hey, it's cool," the War Machine said, holding out his hands to show the Scorpions he meant no harm. "I don't want to hurt anybody. I'm a cop."

"Where did you come from?" Oroki demanded, nodding at the armor. "Shinjo Tower doesn't have technology like that."

"I... um..." the Unicorn looked baffled, then suddenly gave Oroki a look. "How do you know we don't have anything like this?"

"I'm a Scorpion. Now answer the question!"

"I don't know!" Rakki said, sounding a bit frightened. "It just sort of happened. I found this stone and..."

"The Bloodwhite Shard?" Oroki exclaimed. "You found the Bloodwhite Shard?"

"Um... maybe," Rakki said. "I found a glowing stone. I think it did this. That guy was just about ready to kill me, then I wished that I had a War Machine and here we are."

"That's ridiculous," Zou said flatly, glancing over the mechanical centaur.

"Hey, don't blame me!" Rakki retorted. "This isn't my fault."

"Can the Shards do something like this, sir?" Zou asked.

"The Bloodwhite Shards have the power to manipulate reality, Zou," Oroki said, stepping back and watching Shinjo Rakki carefully. "Under proper conditions, a shard of the Bloodwhite Stone can give power to a War Machine. That's how we created you, Zou. The kolat have used Bloodwhite Shards to create all of the War Machines - Lion, Crab, Phoenix, and Scorpion. Still, it can't create one out of nothing. At least not as far as I know. How did you learn to use the power of the Shard, Shinjo?"

"I don't know," Rakki shrugged. "I guess I was just lucky." The Unicorn War Machine glanced left and right, trying to look over its shoulders. "Do either of you see any kind of release hatch or something on this thing? I'd really like to get out now. My legs are all folded up and they're getting cramped."

"Under the circumstances," Zou replied, pointing to the large black shape looming over the city's skyline, "I think it would be a better idea if you stayed inside."

"Good point," Rakki replied.

"Where to now, sir?" Zou asked, straightening his burnt and tattered jacket and turning to Oroki. Oddly, Zou's mask was still in perfect shape.

"The Labyrinth," Oroki replied. "The city's going to hell so we're going to need to get you armored. You're coming with us, Shinjo, whether you like it or not."

"Have you ever seen anything like that before?" Orin Wake asked, staring down the street toward the enormous oni.

Mirumoto Chojin gave the gaijin an irritated look. "Of course I've never seen anything like that before!" he waved one hand at the mantis creature. "Do you think the Hidden Dragon could cover up something like that?"

"Hey, give me a break, I'm not thinking very rationally," Orin replied. "There's a six hundred foot monster destroying the city! It's like some old disaster movie!" A thunderous crash sounded throughout the city as the oni gave another heave against a tormented skyscraper.

"It just pushed over the Shosoil building," Daidoji Ishio said, sitting back on the hood of their stolen Phoenix automobile and staring in slack-jawed awe.

"I hope everybody got out okay," Togashi Meliko said weakly. She was still huddled down in the front seat of the car, as if she were hiding from Oni no Yoritomo.

"I hope we get out okay," Orin said, looking back at her. The street was blocked with bumper to bumper traffic as people struggled to escape. Frightened bystanders ran everywhere, hardly giving a moment's notice to Chojin in his full suit of ancient armor or the great sword Orin wore at his belt. With so much strangeness in the city already, four refugees of the Hidden Dragon were beneath notice.

"What's the plan, Orin?" Chojin asked.

"Yeah, what do we do now, boss?" Meliko said, leaning out of the car window and peering up at him. Ishio stood up and looked at Orin like an soldier at attention.

Orin glanced at them all. "What are you talking about? Chojin is far more experienced than I am," he nodded at the old weaponsmith. "He should be leading us."

Chojin shook his head and smiled tightly. "Hisojo gave you command of the Hidden Dragon in Otosan Uchi," he replied. "I think we can more or less rely on common sense and say that the rest of the Dragon agents are probably fleeing the city. So, as it stands, we four are all that's left of the Hidden Dragon in Otosan Uchi."

"Hey, does that mean I'm a Dragon now?" Ishio said excitedly. "Can I get a tattoo?"

"Chojin, with all due respect, there's a damned oni devouring the city!" Orin pointed at the shape on the horizon. "I know you respect Lord Hoshi and place some kind of special significance on what he said to me, but let's be practical! There's a time and place for quasi-mystical silliness!"

"I agree," Chojin nodded, a sudden steel in his eyes. "This is the time, and this is the place. You can mock the Dragon's ways all you like, but remember, in the end, I am a Dragon. If Lord Hoshi led you to your destiny, then I'm not going to stand in the way. I'm perfectly willing to advise you, Orin-sama, but I'm afraid you are in command."

"Yeah," Meliko said cheerily. "I'm a Dragon, too. What he said. Rock on, Chojin."

"Fine, then," Orin growled. "I'll take charge just so we can stop arguing and get the hell out of here." "Can I have a tattoo, boss?" Ishio asked.

"As my first command - Ishio, shut up," Orin said.

"Hai," Ishio saluted.

"Off to a good start," Chojin mumbled.

"What do we do?" Meliko asked, squirming out of the car window and hopping to her feet. "Which way do we run? What's the quickest way out of the city?"

Orin looked back at the crowds of fleeing, terrified people. He glanced up at the helicopters swarming across the morning sky, charging off in vain to fight an enemy they could not possibly defeat. He heard the wail of sirens and screams echoing for blocks. It would be so easy to leave, to flee, to put it all behind him. No one would blame him, no one would care. What difference could four people possibly make on a night like this?

No difference at all. Better to leave this sort of thing up to the professionals, right? Otosan Uchi had plenty of cops and soldiers and shugenja to deal with this. He would just get in the way. Besides, he wasn't even Rokugani, so this wasn't his problem, right?

"Orin?" Chojin pressed. "What do we do?"

Just then, the street exploded a block away. Wrecked automobiles and shattered pavement scattered everywhere as a maniacal cackling filled the air. Dozens of tiny, dark creatures flooded out onto the streets, waving short blades and other improvised weapons as they chased down the defenseless, fleeing people. They hadn't noticed Orin or his friends. They could escape easily. Orin glanced from the chaos toward the relatively empty streets leading out of the city.

"Orin, this is the sort of time when a quick decision would be helpful," Meliko said. "Which way do we run?"

Orin pointed toward the creatures and drew his bear-sword. "That way."

Meliko frowned. "Orin are you sure? There's an awful lot of them, and-"

"FOR THE DRAGON!" Orin screamed at the top of his lungs. Ishio and Chojin were at his side in an instant. Chojin drew his great gleaming katana and Ishio drew his own blade, a gift from the Dragons not as impressive as Orin's but still remarkable. The three men rushed headlong down the street.

Meliko only paused a moment before following them. She gave her own kiai shout and her body rippled. Tan skin and beautiful red hair were replaced with mottled, swirling tattoos and a wild green mane.

Orin hit the creatures first, bringing his sword down in a powerful arc and splitting three of them from shoulder to hip. He kicked another one aside as it lunged toward a woman cowering in the shadow of a bus stop. Chojin appeared at his side, his katana a blur of motion as he sliced a creature trying to take Orin unaware. Ishio leapt into the fray, savagely bringing his foot down on the nearest and stomping in its skull. Meliko moved in behind them, herding the frightened passersby through the doors of a deserted furniture shop. More of the little black creatures spilled out of the gouge in the street every second. Chojin, Orin, and Ishio fought back relentlessly, and soon the three were covered with dark ichor.

"What are these things?" Orin snarled, splitting one's skull with his blade.

"Bakemono," Chojin said grimly. "Your people would call them 'goblins.'"

"Goblins?" Ishio retorted, stumbling backward as seven goblins barreled into him at once. "I thought goblins were cute, wacky, and stupid."

"You watch to many movies," Chojin remarked grimly. "Trust me, nothing is quite when it's trying to kill you." Another dozen goblins spilled out of the fissure and Chojin retreated a step back, eyes widening when he noticed the creatures had cut them off from behind.

"Where did they come from?" Orin asked, moving so that he stood back to back with the Mirumoto. Ishio stood beside them as well, forming a three-pointed star with the blades of their swords. "Did the oni bring them?"

"It's very likely," Chojin nodded. "The city's literally going to hell, and these are hell's foot soldiers." The bakemono began to close in, cackling and yipping like hyenas.

"Fine with me!" Ishio shouted. "Bring 'em on!" He stomped another goblin and punched the next. He fell back with a hiss and a sharp cry as one creature's rusty blade found its way deep into his stomach. A cackling cheer echoed through the goblin mob as the Crane fell heavily to the ground.

"Ishio!" Orin shouted, leaping to the Crane's defense. He stood over his fallen friend, lowering his shoulders against the mob and forcing them back with strength and raw will. A brick came from nowhere, colliding heavily with the side of Orin's head. The big gaijin staggered and blood streamed down the side of his face. In his head, he took the pain and discarded it. It bothered him no more.

Chojin ducked in front of Orin, concentrating a moment and pointing his katana into the goblin ranks. A moment later, a beam of pure energy sizzled into the mob, reducing several creatures to smoking ash. The mob surged on regardless, zeroing in for the kill. Chojin struggled to raise the sword again, but the effort had drained him.

"Sorry about this, Chojin," Orin remarked grimly as the goblins closed in. "I guess as far as leaders of the Dragon go, I'm not quite as hot as Lord Hoshi thought."

"Eh, you'd be surprised," Chojin laughed, readying himself for the goblins' attack. "You did a better job than some."

The goblins shrieked in triumph. At the center of the group one, bigger than the rest, wielded a mighty sledgehammer. It pointed the weapon at Orin and roared. The goblins charged, wielding broken glass and rusty knives. Orin tightened his hands on the bear-sword and prepared to meet his father.

A savage screech shook the street, and a curtain of flame fell upon the goblin mob. The little creatures scattered, breaking ranks and running for cover as they yelped in terror. Even the leader shambled away, smoke rising from his scorched hat. It turned to give Orin a final glare before vanishing into the mob.

In the shadows of the abandoned furniture store stood Togashi Meliko, smoke rising from her lips. She smiled weakly at them and collapsed.

"Mel!" Orin shouted. Already the goblins were regrouping.

"Go to her!" Chojin shouted, wrapping Ishio's arm around his shoulders and helping the wounded Crane to his feet. "We have to get those people and get out of here!"

Orin glanced up the street, then down the street. "No," he said. "There's no way out of here. Meet me in the store, Chojin, and bring Ishio. We'll fortify here."

The old Dragon nodded without argument. Orin leapt over a heap of rubble and lifted the young girl easily. She weighed almost nothing - Orin imagined that a stiff wind could probably blow her away. The colors that swirled across her skin had faded to dim blues and smoky grey. Her face was wan and tired, but she was alive. Use of such powerful magic had exhausted her. Orin glanced up at the shop, at the eyes of the twenty or so frightened people inside.

"I know you're frightened," he shouted in his roughly accented Rokugani. "But I am here to help. Listen to what I say and we'll all get out of this. Bar up the windows! Block the door as soon as my friends and I get inside!"

With that, he charged into the shop, Chojin and Ishio a step behind. The people complied quickly, heaving tables and cabinets against the windows while others wedged the door shut against the first of the charging goblins. Orin set Meliko gently on a couch and ran to assist, hammering obstructions into place with the heavy hilt of his sword. Chojin ran for the back of the store, pushing more furniture to block the path of the goblins before they circled around. The shrieking outside never stopped, and the hammering against the makeshift barriers was relentless, but nothing made it through.

"What's going on?" asked a young man, looking at Orin with frightened, desperate eyes. "What's happening?"

"I can't explain it to you now," Orin replied grimly, speaking loud enough so that they could all hear. "Do any of you have any sort of medical training? Nurse? Med student? Veterinarian? Anything? My friend is wounded badly."

"I'm a nurse," offered one young woman, raising her hand.

"Great. What's your name?" Orin asked.

The woman looked a bit confused at the question. "Yonai," she said.

Orin nodded, and memorized her name. "Yonai, my friend Ishio has been stabbed," Orin pointed at Ishio. "Help him, please."

Yonai nodded and quickly ran to the Crane's side. After glancing at his wounds for a moment, she looked up helplessly. "I don't have any supplies, any bandages. He's bleeding badly." Ishio groaned in pain and mumbled something about tattoos.

"You, and you," Orin pointed at two men standing idly. "What are your names?"

The young men glanced at each other.

"Ebizu," said one.

"Keichi," said another.

Orin nodded, and memorized their names and faces. "Ebizu, Keichi, Ishio needs medical supplies. Search this building. There has to be a first aid kit, something. Even clean sheets and clean water will do. Go upstairs and find it. If you find trouble, run back here. Don't be heroes. Got it?"

The men nodded and ran off.

Orin glanced around the shop. His earlier estimate was close; he counted twenty, not counting the nurse or the two upstairs. Six were children no more than twelve years old, huddling in the arms of their parents. Two looked to be old men in their eighties, but there was something about them. Those two were smart enough not to sit anywhere near the windows. They'd been in a situation like this before. As Orin studied everyone in the room, he noticed to his surprise that they were all watching him in return.

They were waiting for him to lead them.

"All right, here's what we're going to do," he shouted in a commanding voice. Chojin appeared at Orin's right, folding his arms across his armored chest and scanning the crowd with steel eyes. "My name is Orin Wake, and this is my friend Chojin. We're here to help you. If we're all going to live, you're going to listen to me. Is that clear?"

The people all nodded.

"First things first, I want to know your names," Orin said. "I want you all to know each other's names. After this point, there aren't any strangers here. We're all in this together. Look out for each other. Know each other. If someone turns up missing, you have to let me know immediately. We're all getting out of this. Is that understood?"

They nodded again. Over the next few minutes, names were exchanged. It was difficult, but Orin managed to place a name with every face, and remembered them all. Ebizu and Keichi returned with bandages and a bucket of water. Yonai began to treat Ishio's injury.

"All right, then," he said. "Have any of you ever been in the military? Police? National Guard? Anything involving weaponry, combat, or tactics?" He looked at the old men, Gyukudo and Haruki.

"Osano Wo's arse, yes!" one of them shouted eagerly. "Haruki and I were in the Mantis Merchant Marines!" He nodded at the other old man, who smiled with toothless pride.

"I'm a bouncer in an... um... strip club," shrugged Gihei, a short but thick-armed ronin.

"Close enough," Orin nodded.

"I'm a security guard at a public school," said Toyoko, a tall, pretty young woman.

"So I guess these goblins are nothing new to you," Orin replied to Toyoko. A chuckle ran through the room, dispelling much of the fear and nervousness of their situation. "All right, then," he nodded. "We split into squads of four. Toyoko, Gihei, Haruki, Gyukudo, I want each of you to pick the five people nearest you. You're responsible for their lives. Keep an eye on them. Make sure they don't wander off on their own, or do anything reckless. If they get hurt, make sure someone else carries them. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Gyukudo said, a sudden fervent look in his eyes. He stood up and saluted.

Orin returned the salute with a smile. The other three stood and repeated the gesture. "Okay, then," Orin said. "Gihei, Gyukudo, I want you to take your groups with me and help me search this building for weapons, supplies, a radio, or any way out of here. The rest of you, stay down here and watch the doors. Do what Chojin tells you to do. Is that understood?"

They nodded. Orin turned to go, and found Chojin smiling out of the corner of his helmet. "What?" he whispered to the old Dragon. "What are you grinning about, you old lizard?"

"For such a reluctant leader, you're pretty good at it," he whispered back. "That trick with making them learn each other's names was excellent. You've taken a bunch of refugees and formed them into a team, and you took less than ten minutes to do it."

"My father was a diplomat," Orin said back quietly. "He always said it was important to learn a person's name if you wanted their trust."

"He was right," Chojin nodded as they continued toward the stairs. Gihei and Gyukudo were a step behind, each keeping a careful eye on their charges. Chojin spoke in a low voice. "You did well, not telling them you didn't know why the goblins are here. Uncertainty shatters confidence. It's better that they think you know."

"And when they find out that I don't?" Orin asked, looking the old man in the eyes.

"Well, at that point it won't matter much, will it?" Chojin said gravely.

Orin nodded. "Keep an eye on Mel, okay?" he asked the old Dragon.

"I will," Chojin said. "Good luck up there."

Orin nodded. "Same to you." He turned and headed up the stairs. He still felt afraid as ever. Any moment, he knew the goblins would burst through their flimsy barricades, or the oni would turn down their street, and that would be it. That would be the end of their little escape. He wouldn't have made a difference at all.

But until then, damn it, he wasn't going to surrender. As long as he could make things better, no matter how small a change it was, he was going to keep fighting. When the goblins came, he would die holding them off and hope that at least a few of these people would escape.

In some small measure, Orin Wake wondered if now he finally understood what being a Dragon was all about.

Agasha Hisojo frowned and steepled his long fingers. "What you're saying is impossible, Hatsu, you realize that."

"I figured you would be well used to dealing with the impossible," Hatsu replied, leaning against a bookcase.

"All four of you were there, you say?" Hisojo replied, rising from his seat and turning toward the three Brothers of the Day. "Did all of you witness the vision?" Mayonaka shook his head. "We were not conscious." "The vision was for Hatsu alone," Shougo added.

"For he is the Thunder," Asahi finished.

Hisojo stared at the Brothers of the Day for a moment. Since the incident in Holy Home City, they had ceased to finish one another's sentences and had begun functioning as separate individuals. Now, they seemed to be of one mind once more. Hisojo paced back and forth across the small work room. Half finished nemuranai and exotic tetsukami weaponry lay all about. A dozen Agasha Tetsukai specialists had been helping Hisojo prepare weapons and equipment for the impending day of Thunder; he had dismissed them with a word when Hatsu arrived.

"I know what I saw," Hatsu said sharply. "I remember every word in perfect detail. I can go through it again, if you like."

"Hatsu, I do not mean to imply that you are lying, or that you remember incorrectly," Hisojo said. "I know you better than that. However, you must understand that this is very difficult for me to digest. I have directed the Hidden Dragon's war against Jigoku for decades. It is a metaphysical battle as much as a physical one. For the struggle against Jigoku and Yoma to exist, certain things must remain constant. It is not a matter that I do not believe that Jigoku could evolve a human-like awareness of its own accord, it is merely that such at thing simply could not happen."

"How so?" Hatsu asked, folding his arms and watching the old man intently.

"The entire war between Jigoku and Yoma, good and evil if you will, exists because the abstract concepts lack awareness as we understand it. Jigoku and Yoma are sentient, and they are powerful, but they exist on a different plane of awareness. They do not understand what it truly means to be human any more than a particular human understands entirely what it means to be good or evil. Since they do not understand us, they are limited to carrying out their conflict through intermediaries."

"Pawns," Hatsu replied. "Pawns like Thunders."

Hisojo gave Hatsu an arch look. "Would you rather consider yourself a pawn or an intermediary?" he asked. "Does Yoma's weight lie so heavily on your shoulders?"

Hatsu shrugged. "I must say I've had jobs with a bit more creative freedom," he replied.

"Yes, well, be that as it may, allow me to continue," Hisojo said.

Hatsu nodded.

"Intermediaries," Hisojo said, emphasizing the word. "Occasionally, one encounters intermediaries of great power and awareness, such power that surely they operate with the open sanction of Jigoku or Yoma. Fu Leng. Iuchiban. Yourself. The other Thunders. I would argue that the naga's Akasha would be such an intermediary, clearly a powerful force for good. These examples are the closest that Jigoku or Yoma ever come to gaining true awareness in our world. In fact, the very ideas of Jigoku or Yoma are clarifications of these abstractions for, as you know, their names and methods of influence have changed many times over the years."

"So what if that wasn't the case any more?" Hatsu asked. "What if their need for pawns was at an end?"

"The war between Jigoku and Yoma is a war of understanding, Hatsu," Hisojo replied. "Their plane of existence teeters on the edge of our understanding. Again, that is evident in the fact that we have difficulty even ascribing them proper names. Jigoku is just as often used as a name for all the spiritual realms, not just the hellish ones, and Yoma was once called Yomi before a Phoenix scribe took it upon himself to-"

"Stop deluging me with metaphysics, Hisojo-sama. I get the point," Hatsu said. "I know what happens when one of them wins on the Day of Thunder. My question is this: what happens if they decide that there aren't any more Days of Thunder?"

Hisojo paused, staring down at a table covered with glimmering Dragon Spheres. When he turned to face Hatsu again, his face looked very old, very worn, and very afraid. "When one of them gains enough influence in our world that they can function openly, then their need for petty subterfuge and manipulation would be at an end. Their need to confront each other indirectly would be at an end. Their need for us would be at an end. The power of either Jigoku or Yoma is such that either one of them could destroy the mortal realm in a heartbeat, but thus far we have been far too valuable a prize to risk in such a fashion."

A long silence filled the room.

"So what you're saying is, after the next Day of Thunder, that's it," Hatsu said made a curt gesture with one hand. "It doesn't matter who wins, we'll be the ones who lose. Even if the Thunders succeed, Yoma or Jigoku could wipe out everything."

"If what you're saying is as it seems, it's a very good possibility," Hisojo replied. "But there's still a flaw that defies my ability to grasp. If Jigoku is already aware, then why go through the trouble of having a Day of Thunder at all? Why does it not simply confront the power of Yoma with its superior understanding and be done with it?" Hisojo chewed one fingernail nervously as he considered the idea.

"I don't know," Hatsu replied. "But I have an idea, if you're willing to listen to a pretty weird analogy."

Hisojo smiled wryly and looked at Hatsu. "Hatsu, acceptance of weirdness is a prerequisite in our family. Please, elaborate."

"Okay," Hatsu nodded. "Try to think of it this way. I was a cop once. I never liked using guns, but I had to go through weapons training like everyone else when I was at the academy. When a perp draws a pistol on you and has you dead to rights, but doesn't fire, there's always a reason. Maybe he's afraid, maybe he's arrogant, maybe he's out of bullets, but there's always a reason and in that reason there's opportunity to turn the situation to our advantage. Jigoku seems to be aware, ready to consume everything, and yet it sits back and taunts us like an old B-movie villain. I think there has to be a reason, and in that reason there is opportunity."

Hisojo smiled wryly. "You're planning to try to get the drop on the raw power of Jigoku itself? What are you going to do, call in a SWAT team?"

"If I have to," Hatsu replied with a small laugh. "At this point, anything is worth trying."

Zul Rashid stepped out into the real world.

The light of the rising sun blinded him. How long he had wandered through the Way, he wasn't certain. Time moved differently in the spirit realms, and after his encounter with the Dark Oracle of the Void, he had lost track. He felt different, almost dizzy. Ishak had claimed to have no interest in him, but Rashid feared that such was not entirely true. Someone as powerful as Ishak would not need to act obviously.

Rashid glanced about quickly, trying to get his bearings. He stood in the midst of a great grassy plain. He stood near the shores of a small lake - calm, blue, and serene. In the distance he could see mountains. That told him very little. Nearly a third of Rokugan was filled with mountains or dotted with plains. There were countless lakes. He could be anywhere from the Unicorn steppes to the Suzume Hills. A sudden thirst burned his throat, and he staggered toward the water's edge.

Falling to his knees, Zul Rashid gathered the water in his hands and drank noisily. How long had it been since he had last drank water? He realized to his shock that it had been nearly two weeks. Since coming to Holy Home Village he had consumed nothing. His search for his father had consumed so much of his time, and the curse of Kaze seemed to sustain him. Hunger gnawed at his belly as he realized he had not eaten, either. Had the curse grown so great that not only he had ceased to realize his own body's needs, but that he no longer even saw such needs as a concern? The thought chilled him. He stared into the surface of the lake, waiting for the ripples to part so he could see how much the touch of the oni had changed him.

What he saw terrified him.

Zul Rashid's face was his own. Circuitry no longer scrawled across his cheek. His eyes were normal eyes, not red pinpoints of machinery. Glancing down at his hand, he saw whole flesh once more, not the pseudo-mechanical texture of Oni no Kaze. Surely this had to be some dream. Any moment he would awaken and find his relief only to be a momentary respite before a greater terror.

Zul Rashid waited, but that moment did not come. How could this be? How could he have been healed of his Taint? How could he have become human once more? This was too easy. Perhaps it was the Dark Oracle's doing? Yogo Ishak had easily bested Rashid, felling him with a single word. The power of his magic was inconceivable.

But why would Ishak heal him? It didn't make sense.

Zul Rashid stood once more, smoothing his robes. He tried to get his bearings as he considered the situation. Surely Ishak couldn't be that foolish? Surely he realized that Rashid was his enemy? Did he think that Rashid would be grateful for this gift?

"No, Rashid," the khadi said to himself quietly. "Your heart was as dark as his, once. You know how his kind thinks. You never offer a gift to a foe, unless you profit more... Or unless that gift is no gift."

Rashid spoke a few words of magic, summoning the power of the kami. Rashid's specialty was in the power of Air, but his will was great enough that such a simple Earth spell was not beyond him. He cast a simple summons into the ground.

"Go, little kami," he whispered. "Bring your cousin to me."

The spell took several minutes, but at last there came a reply. A small patch of earth shifted near Zul Rashid's earth, and a sliver of green sparkled in the sun. Jade. Taking a deep breath, Zul Rashid reached down and plucked the tiny shard from the ground.

With a hiss and a cry of pain, Rashid hurled the jade into the lake. His fingers were raw and bleeding where the stone had touched him.

Zul Rashid cursed Yogo Ishak bitterly as he nursed his wounded hand. The Dark Oracle had not ignored Rashid's Taint. Instead, he had driven the curse deep inside. That was why he had felt so dizzy and confused earlier; not because his body had changed again, but because it was whole. Ishak had taken away all the dark gifts of Oni no Kaze - the superhuman strength, the enhanced mastery of magic, the raw power of the Shadowlands, but he had left Rashid's Taint intact, suffused it through his entire body. While he appeared whole from the outside, there was no telling what the Dark Oracle had done to his soul.

For a moment, Rashid felt the hope drain from him. He knew that there was little he could do. Yogo Ishak had once walked the road of corruption and now Rashid had been placed upon it as well. Once, before the coming of the Shadow Wars, Ishak had been a mighty shugenja, a noble man. The histories remembered that much. Then, Akuma came. In one fell swoop, the darkness consumed everything good that Ishak had been. His honor, his good deeds, his entire family were claimed by the Shadowlands. That was the way of the Taint. The power of corruption took all that was good and perverted it to evil. There was no escape.

How could Rashid fight where so many others had failed?

The former Master of Air stood by the lake and wondered for a long time. The wind whistled through the grass, rippling the surface of the water, cooling his face. Rashid had become very close with the spirits of the wind during his time in Rokugan. The breeze was much like an old friend, comforting him in his time of weakness. He smiled as he turned into the soothing wind.

"Fie," he said, a sinister grin spreading across his face. "So be it. Let the game begin. If my soul is damned to Jigoku, then so be it. There seems to be little I can do. Yet, while I live, I shall not surrender. Kaze, Ishan, Ishak, you look upon me with smug superiority and laugh at the 'gift' I have been given. You are right. I tore out my heart to master the magic of the khadi. I set aside my family to master the magic of the kami. If you think that I cannot master your power as well, it is you who shall be surprised."

Rashid extended one hand and spoke a single word. The spirits in the air around him shivered as a ripple passed through the elements. For years, Rashid had considered methods of combining the dark magics of the heartless khadi with the elemental power of the Phoenix, but had never put his theories to the test. He had always feared the power that may be unleashed.

There was little left that Zul Rashid feared now, and he summoned all the power of his magic now. The elements shuddered, and the sky darkened. Zul Rashid felt a presence hovering above him, what the khadi would call a "third eye," a dark, invisible presence from which there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape.

"Zul Rashid ibn al Kassir," the creature hissed. "Slayer of the Jinn of the Dark Hour. I am the Jinn of the Burning Eye. It has been a long time."

"Indeed," Rashid replied. "He closed one fist, hammering pure will into the creature, seizing its power for his own. The Jinn cowered before the khadi's might, quailing in terror and begging for release.

"Not yet," Rashid said. He spoke another spell and wove the heightened awareness of Rokugani Air spirits into the Jinn, causing a glimmer of gold to appear framing a sinister eye. It pulsed with dark power, but remained shackled to the khadi's will.

"What do I seek, master?" the spirit asked. "Tell me, and I shall find it."

Rashid turned the eye's perceptions inward, toward the dark stain of the oni's curse. "Find the source of this darkness."

The Jinn stared into the pit of Rashid's soul and blinked. "What you seek is more powerful than you imagine," it said. "Are you sure you wish to seek it?"

Rashid nodded. "It began this game," the khadi replied. "Now I intend to finish it."

The eye bobbed in acknowledgment and hovered away. Zul Rashid stepped into line behind it and followed. On some distant level, Rashid realized that what he was doing was not entirely sane. He realized, logically, that no one had ever faced the raw power of Jigoku and come away with their soul intact.

He also found that he no longer really cared.

The time had come for an ending.

Jared Carfax had sent them away.

He had seen it coming, and he had sent them away.

Mazaque' and Selena were no longer part of this, and now they would be safe. Carfax stood at the window of his apartment and looked sadly out at the cityscape as Otosan Uchi burned. Though he knew it would happen long ago, it didn't hurt any less. Rokugan had become Jared's home. Though he was born and raised a gaijin, Jared had lived in the Empire for most of his life. He had been a focus for the power of the Dragon of Air for most of his life. He wasn't just a citizen of Rokugan, he was a living part of it. Every time the great oni took a life, Jared could feel it happen, even without his powers. He could feel another little piece of eternity, burning away forever.

Bit by bit, the darkness was winning. Carfax was powerless to stop it. His magic had vanished hours ago with the death of his dark counterpart. He didn't even have enough strength to see himself safely out of the city.

He was just human again. Just human.

Now that he was human again, he remembered everything.

On that day so long ago, when they had been granted their powers, the Elemental Dragons presented Jared Carfax with an even greater burden. He would be the one to lead the Oracles. He would be the one to direct their search for those who would be significant in the battle to come.

He would be the one to lead the judgment of humanity, and bring down the wrath of the Elemental Dragons who found the race of man wanting. The truth had been bound so tightly within his soul that even Jared had not been allowed to know, though he had always acted with the interests of the dragons in mind. He had lead Hoshi Kenzo and Karasu Meiji to their deaths in the sewers. He had insured the Porcelain Mask would fall into the hands of the Kashrak. He had...

He did not want to think about all that he had done, about motivations he had not realized were motivations until just a short time ago.

He wondered if that upstart new Oracle of the Void was still alive. If he wasn't, then Yogo Ishak was the last Oracle. That surprised him quite a bit. Jared had always figured he would be one of the first to go. The rules of the Oracles were so harsh, so confining, and Jared had once been such a free spirit. Why had the dragons selected him to be the leader? Why had they placed the burden of knowing the truth entirely upon him? He stared at the palms of his hands, where the kanji of the air had once burned. The mystic writings were gone, now, but he still felt as burdened as before.

Even after all that had happened, here he was. Still alive, though probably not for long. He looked at his reflection in the great mirrored wall of his studio apartment. His hair was white, but preternaturally so. Otherwise, his face was handsome and youthful. He hadn't aged a day since the Shadow Wars. At least he would make a good looking corpse. Carfax straightened his suit jacket and ran one hand through his hair.

The entire building shook as Oni no Yoritomo screamed its name once more. A crack split the mirrored wall. Jared really wished that the damned oni would stop doing that. Everyone had heard the name. Now it was getting on his nerves.

Jared sighed. Maybe it would have been better if he had died back in that trench a hundred years ago. Maybe it would have been better if he had given his life for something. What was the point of it all? What was the point of wielding the wisdom and power of an Elemental Dragon if you couldn't do any good with it?

"Silly gaijin," said the voice. "You see too far ahead, and not closely enough."

Jared looked up at the pool of swirling nothing, lingering in its accustomed place near the chandelier. Brighter pools of pitch black gleamed at him. "You again," Carfax said to the Dragon of the Void. "What do you want this time?"

"This is not over yet," the Dragon said.

"Not over yet?" Carfax gestured at the window with one hand. "Are you kidding? Isn't this everything you wanted? You wanted humanity destroyed. So there. Humanity is destroyed. Happy?"

The Dragon closed its eyes for a moment. Jared thought that he felt a wave of impossible sadness emanate from the creature, but that was impossible. The Dragon of the Void was a creature without emotion, without feeling. He had come to destroy the world, not to save it. And even yet, it seemed somehow remorseful.

"I am not happy," the Dragon replied. "I watched this city rise from a peasant village huddled in an inhospitable region of a forgotten wasteland. I watched the Dynasties rise and a great Empire gather that astounded the immortals. Oh yes, the immortals were the fathers but the children outshone them by far. I have seen heroes. I have seen villains. I have seen stories end abruptly with no one left to tell them, yet none the less worthy for the telling. Now the end begins. Now begins the destruction of everything good that still remains." It opened its eyes. "Should I be happy for this? I am not."

"It was your decision," Carfax said, folding his arms and shrugging at the Dragon of the Void. "That was why you sent me to guide those monks. That was why you told me to send Naydiram to put Ichiro Chobu on his path. As Oracles, our word would never be questioned. We have always been champions of light." Carfax laughed ironically and looked back at the city. "Ironic, isn't it? We've done more to help Jigoku than the Dark Oracles."

The Dragon of the Void spiraled about the chandelier, its gaze ever fixed upon the small man below it. "You still do not understand," it murmured. "A hundred years of prophecy and you understand nothing."

"Really," Jared said. "Enlighten me."

"A strange choice of words," the Dragon of the Void replied. "Are you certain you are ready for such a request?"

"If I'm not, I won't have long to regret it, will I?" Carfax answered. "Look, what good have we done? What purpose have the Oracles served, hiding ourselves away, turning people onto false paths, sitting by idly while Yogo Ishak steals our power? Is there a point to any of this, or is it all some damned game?"

"I love talking to humans," the dragon replied cryptically. "You become abusive over such little things, yet take soul-crushing defeats in stride. This final conflict could not have been what it is without the death of information," it said. "Rokugan remembers little of its past, little of its history, little of its magic. Those who can recall its centuries of tradition draw power from them, standing on the shoulders of giants. That is the purpose of our activities here. We are a source of information, Jared Carfax. We create giants. That is why I instructed you never to meddle with the Thunders."

"So that they would lose?" Carfax asked.

The dragon looped around itself and smiled. "No," it replied. "So that they would have a chance."

"Speak clearly," Jared demanded. "I still don't understand!"

"The information you were given was tainted," the Dragon of the Void replied. "Do you think after everything the humans have done to the Elemental Dragons that your power would still be pure? No. Every piece of advice you have given, every prophecy you have delivered, while true, insure nothing but the quickest route to destruction for those that heed your advice. Do not tell me that you have not noticed."

Carfax's jaw worked wordlessly. He shook his head in denial. "No," he said. "No, no, no... That's impossible. We used our powers... We Oracles used them so that we could discover the identities of the Thunders for ourselves, and nothing came of it."

"Nothing?" the Dragon of the Void seemed amused. "Look at you now, Jared Carfax. Look at Selena and Mazaque' and Naydiram. Look at Moto Hashin and his Elemental Masters. Would you say that the Fortunes have been kind?"

"You never told us!" Jared shouted at the dragon. Jared was angry now, his face a dark red in contrast to his white hair. "You never warned us!"

"A dragon's priorities are different than a mortal's," it replied with disinterest. "So you would die. So you would suffer. It would all be over soon enough, and the greater good would be served."

"Greater good?" Jared laughed. "I thought you had come to judge mankind, not give it a greater good."

"You assume that our judgment would be a negative one," the Dragon replied.

Carfax stared up at the dragon for a long time. "What are you trying to say?" he asked. "That everything we have done here is for some twisted greater good?"

"I am trying to say that history will be the judge," the Dragon of the Void replied.

"And what about Yogo Ishak?" Carfax asked. "He's stolen your powers for himself, just as you claim the humans did to you long ago. Was that part of the plan, too?"

The Dragon of the Void narrowed its eyes for a moment, showing another rare trace of emotion. "Not part of the plan," the dragon said, "but a contingency well provided for. As I said, Jared Carfax, the history of your people is a murky one. There is much that you have forgotten. Much that would surprise you. Much that would surprise Yogo Ishak."

"Such as?" Jared asked.

"Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Void compose the universe, but there are other forces of significance. Thunder. The Celestial Heavens," the Dragon of the Void chanted to itself. "The Elemental Dragons embody all that is, all that will be. Even little Jade embodied the purity that extends through all the spiritual realms, though he never truly was one of us. There were eight dragons, Carfax. Eight Dragons and... Five Oracles?" The Dragon of the Void's voice was amused. "No, Jared Carfax. There are others to be spoken for. The heavens reserve their judgment for now, and jade still recovers from the wounds of the Wrath of Beyond."

"What of Thunder?" Jared asked.

The Dragon of the Void bowed its head. "Thunder has always had a special place in its heart for mortals. So much so that she hid herself away after the cataclysms of the Wrath of Beyond, for the time that she would be needed again. She waits for the time that an Oracle of Thunder is needed."

"I would say that now would be a good time," Jared snapped. "Rokugan is dying!"

"Indeed?" the Dragon of the Void replied. "You wish to help again? How ironic. I thought you had just finished talking yourself out of it." The dragon twisted on itself again and began to fade away.

"Hey!" Jared shouted. "Hey, where are you going? Are you just going to leave me here? I'm defenseless against what's out there! I'll be killed!"

"You humans," the dragon chuckled as it returned to its own realm. "Always underestimating yourselves. Good luck, Jared Carfax. Good luck, Oracle..."

Jared Carfax felt a sudden warmth in his hands. He looked down at his palms. To his surprise, the mystic kanji of air burned there once again.

No... not air... He looked again and realized that they were not the familiar kanji at all.

They were the kanji of Thunder.

The Caretakers dragged the last of the corpses away just as the doors of the Tier of Void opened. One young man and three young women entered a bit pensively, led by Shiba Genichi. All were dressed in the uniforms of Phoenix students.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," Isawa Kujimitsu said. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, Master," they replied in unison.

"I understand that you are all shugenja?" he replied.

"Yes, Master," said the young man, a portly little fellow with a soup-bowl haircut.

Kujimitsu rose one eyebrow.

"Well, technically, yes, Master of Water," said one of the women, a slim girl with dyed blonde hair. "We haven't received our certification yet, but we are capable shugenja." She cast an odd look at the red stains on the floor, and looked back at Kujimitsu with curiosity.

"Good enough," he nodded. "Times are tight, I'll take what I can get. By the power of the Elemental Council, consider yourselves practicing shugenja." Kujimitsu waved one hand.

"Thank you sir!" said the young man. "I-"

"You won't thank me in a moment," Kujimitsu cut him off. "You're about to become Elemental Masters." A gasp rippled through the four

"We can't," said another student, a tall, attractive girl with hair down to her waist. "We're nowhere near powerful or experienced enough."

"Believe me, you can't do worse than your predecessors," Kujimitsu said. "Now, are you up for this? If you're not, I'll find someone else. Keep in mind, though, every minute I have to send Genichi through the city to dig up shugenja is a hundred more innocent people that will be killed by Oni no Yoritomo while the Phoenix Clan sits here without leadership. Now, are you in or not?"

The four looked at one another and nodded their assent. Kujimitsu nodded as well. They were right about themselves. They were young. They were weak. They were inexperienced. They were all he could scrape up at the last minute, but they were brave. That would have to be enough.

Kujimitsu turned to accept set of golden rings from a blue-robed Caretaker. "Now the ceremony," Kujimitsu continued. "I'll keep it as brief as possible. These are Elemental Seals, the symbol of your positions as Masters. You each get one. Now, what are your names?"

"Isawa Hideyoshi," said the young man.

"Asako Jo," said another, a stocky young woman with a square chin and wide eyes.

"Isawa Okiku," replied the blonde.

"Shiba Natsumi," said the tall, long-haired girl.

"I have a few questions for you four," Kujimitsu said. "Whom do you serve?"

"Excuse me?" Okiku replied.

"We don't have much time here, Okiku," Kujimitsu said. "I said, 'whom do you serve?' the correct reply is 'The Fortunes, the Phoenix, and Rokugan.' Don't get creative with the answers, or we'll be stuck here till the oni eats us. The kami are picky about this sort of thing."

"The Fortunes, the Phoenix, and Rokugan," they said in unison.

³What path do you walk?² Kujimitsu asked. "Everybody pick an element. Not Water, that one's mine. I know this is unorthodox, but humor me."

"Fire?" Natsumi said.

"Void," Jo replied.

"Air," Okiku said.

Kujimitsu grinned. "Good choice," he said.

"Um, Fire?" Hideyoshi said.

Kujimitsu sighed. "That one's taken. Here's a hint. Say 'Earth.'"

Hideyoshi blinked. "Okay. Earth."

"And will you serve us now?² Kujimitsu said to all of them, a fierce glint in his eye. "If you aren't ready, by all means say no, I've had a long night and I'm not in the mood for you if you're not serious."

"For the rest of my life," Hideyoshi said, a sudden sincere fire in his voice.

Kujimitsu nodded, impressed, and tossed him the Seal of Earth. He wore it with pride. That one wasn't smart, maybe, but he was reliable. That would help.

"For the rest of my life," Jo smirked, "for as long as that lasts."

"Good," Kujimitsu replied. He tossed her the Seal of Void. She glanced around at the others and slipped it on. That one had a sense of humor. She would keep them sane.

"For the rest of my life," Natsumi said, rising one fist in front of her. Kujimitsu threw her the Seal of Fire. She snatched it out of the air in one hand. That one was fierce, perfect for Fire. Kujimitsu wondered how random it really was that Genichi stumbled over these four. The Fortunes sometimes moved in mysterious ways...

"And you?" Kujimitsu turned to Isawa Okiku.

The young blonde's face held a pensive, suspicious expression.

"Well?" Kujimitsu pressed.

Okiku frowned. "Are you going to shoot us like the others?" she asked bluntly.

Kujimitsu grinned. That one was bright. They would need that most of all. He liked Okiku immediately.

"Are you going to make me shoot you?" Kujimitsu replied.

"I'll try not to," she said without humor, folding her arms as she met his stare. "But I'll be the Master of Air if the Clan needs me."

"Excellent," he nodded. "Your Seal isn't here right now, but I'll be happy to help you take it back from the bastard who stole it. Congratulations, you're the Elemental Council. What do you say we do something about that oni?"

"My ring has blood on it," Hideyoshi said, looking at his seal in surprise.

"Try not to think about it," Kujimitsu replied sharply. "We've got a lot to do tonight."

"You really plan going out there?" the nezumi asked. Its eyes were a pair of depthless black marbles as it watched Hida Yasu gather weapons and equipment.

Yasu nodded and said nothing. He lifted a rather large pistol, considered its weight and balance, then put it down. He tried another, inspecting its quality.

"That big oni," T'Chip said, its whiskers fluttering as it chewed the air. "That real big oni."

"Yeah, T'Chip," Yasu turned to face the smaller creature and nodded. "That real big oni all right. Is Ketsuen ready?"

T'Chip shrugged and looked back at the massive gunmetal War Machine. A small group of nezumi mechanics scrambled over its form, making adjustments with wrenches and acetylene torches. "Not think Ketsuen too ready," it said uncertainly. "Not really fixed from last time. Not know who fix it before, but T'Chip think for sure bet it no nezumi."

"I fixed it," Yasu said. "Well, Mikio helped, but it was mainly me."

T'Chip nodded and smirked. "Yeah. Well, seen better jobs with gum and bailing wire, Yasu. Stick to shooting goblins."

"We had limited resources," Yasu rose one eyebrow.

The doors of the repair bay suddenly slid open to reveal Hiruma Hayato. He stood at the doorway for several moments before entering. "Hey, Yasu," he said. He sounded a bit distant as he stared up at Ketsuen. A group of ten Crabs in flight suits and light armor followed. Some of them were smiling and joking among themselves. Others looked like Hayato - afraid.

"This what you take to city?" T'Chip asked. "Eleven Crab? Eleven Crab and big dumb Yasu?"

"I only asked for nine," Yasu replied.

"You fight six hundred foot tall oni with eleven Crab?" T'Chip asked, looking up at Yasu in disbelief. "Eleven Crab and big dumb Yasu?"

"I wanted to give it a fighting chance," Yasu said.

T'Chip looked at Yasu for a moment, then turned and waddled off, grumbling under his breath.

"You guys sure about this?" Yasu asked, looking pointedly at Hayato, then at the others. "If any of you aren't completely sure, tell me now. I won't think any less of you. It's very likely that we're all going to die. I can't even guarantee you that you'll die for a reason. That thing out there may damn well be just as unstoppable as it looks."

The soldiers all glanced at one another. Even the ones who had been joking and admiring the War Machine a moment before now looked somewhat doubtful. They glanced at one another, then looked at Yasu.

"No," Hayato said, turning and meeting Yasu's gaze with confidence. "No, let's do this."

"You sure?" Yasu asked. "I don't want to get halfway there and have to turn back. It's like T'Chip said. That's a real big oni out there."

Hayato looked away for a moment, then turned to Yasu again. "Yeah," he said. "Let's do this. Let's go out there and blow that thing away." He stood at Yasu's side and looked back at the others.

Yasu turned to the assembled Crabs. "What about you guys?" he said. "I don't want any of you to feel obligated, but once we're out there that's it. If you turn on me, or try to run, I'll kill you myself."

Muffled laughter echoed through the group.

"I'm not kidding," Yasu said, his face dead serious. "This isn't a game. Remember who we are. When the first Emperor handed out the chores, we got the short end of the stick. The Crane get to sit on the beach and make perfume. The Phoenix get to play with magic. The Dragon get to shave their heads. The Unicorn get to ride horsies. The Scorpion get to play games and hide in the shadows. The Lion get to play with their swords and the Mantis get to rule. We get to kill demons. That doesn't leave a lot of room for failure, and it leaves no room for compromise. If we fail, then all of Rokugan goes to hell. If you fail, I'll send you there ahead of me. I am one hundred percent serious. Does anyone want to laugh at me again?"

No one said a word.

"All right," Yasu said. "Do any of you want to stay here and hope my uncle can fire up the Kyuden while Hayato and I go out there to die? I guarantee you that you won't live long to regret it in either case. An oni that size suggests that we may not have much of a future to look forward to so I say we get our hits in while we can. Now who's waiting here?"

"Not me," one of them said. The others all nodded in agreement.

"Good," Yasu said. "From here on in, any of you chicken out when we take off and I'll put a bullet in your heads. Is that clear?" He looked at each one in turn.

Most of the men blanched or tried to look cool in the face of Yasu's intensity. One, the one who spoke first before, frowned back at Yasu.

"If I see Ketsuen turn around, I'll do the same," the man snapped back. "I don't give a crap if you're the daimyo's son."

Yasu smiled. "Good man," he said. "What's your name?"

"Hiruma Yoshi," the man nodded.

"You as good as the original?" he asked.

The man shrugged. "Better."

Yasu nodded. "Prove it. You're in charge of Squad Two."

The man nodded and saluted.

"Now get to your vehicles," Yasu ordered. "I'll meet you at the rendezvous point. " The men nodded and scattered.

Yasu turned away from the doors as they closed, stepping forward to give Ketsuen a final inspection. Hayato stood a few steps away, watching Yasu carefully.

"I won't insult you by asking you if you were serious," Hayato said, climbing the ladder to Ketsuen's cockpit.

"I won't insult you by answering," Yasu replied, mounting the ladder on the other side.

In the shadows of the War Machine, Fuzake T'Chip smiled to himself. He had overheard Hida Yasu's words to the other pilots. He hadn't felt so proud to be a Crab in quite a while.

They were still up against impossible odds, sure.

Now he felt like they might just have a chance.

The Cranes had been outside the walls for hours now. Matsu Chieko had taken control of the situation shortly after Gohei's mysterious phone call. The daimyo's claims had seemed pretty outlandish at the time, but Chieko wasn't the kind of woman who questioned orders. The Lion's Pride had mobilized in moments, locking down the outer perimeter of Golden Sun Studios, seeing all the nigh-useless Ikoma and Kitsu to safety, and putting the arguably tolerable Akodos in positions where they would be less useless when the fighting started.

There was complaining, to be sure, but a Matsu knew how to deal with complaining. The pride of quite a few highly paid Akodo actors had been broken tonight, along with a their highly burnished and store-bought noses. Gohei had told Chieko to allow nothing to interfere with the security of the studio, and she took great pride in ruffling a few Akodo feathers along the way. Even if Gohei's call had turned out to be a false alarm, she would still have considered the evening a good precedent if nothing else.

As it turned out, Gohei's call was anything but a false alarm. Soon after his warning, a fleet of steel-blue Dojicorp vans arrived to surround the studio. Once the drivers realized the gates weren't going to open and noticed the Matsu soldiers in the security towers they didn't get out, but they didn't leave either. Both sides knew a siege when they saw one, and knew that the whole situation could explode into bloodshed at any moment.

Chieko had been privately looking forward to it. Since arriving in Otosan Uchi she'd been itching for action. The Lions had missed the Senpet, unfortunately. Doji Meda's coup and the Locust invasion were good practice, but they just left her thirsty for more. Bands of rebels and armed heimin weren't the sort of challenge a Lion craved. She wanted real samurai. When the army of Crane surrounded the studio, she thought she had found the challenge she had been waiting for.

She was wrong.

When the oni rose over the city and Matsu Chieko felt fear for the first time in her life, she knew that this was the challenge she had been waiting for. The Crane vehicles left soon after, fleeing the city, no doubt. Chieko stood in the tallest tower of Golden Sun, watching the great specter of Oni no Yoritomo as it heaved against the crumbling skyline of the city.

Kitsu Tono, advisor to Matsu Gohei, stood by her side. He was a small, nervous man and he openly shivered in fear at the sight of the oni.

"What do you think, shugenja?" she asked. "What would you say this portends?"

"I... I do not know," Tono replied. "It's... it's too terrible for me to even comprehend."

"It's a worthy challenge, that's what it is," she replied, a mad gleam in her eyes. "A challenge worthy of a Lion."

"It looks like a very large oni to me, Chieko-san," the shugenja said quietly. "Perhaps we should evacuate the studio, get our personnel out of the city."

Chieko shot Tono a disdainful look. "A beast gnaws at the heart of the Empire and your first thought is escape?" she snarled. "Do you call yourself a Lion?"

Tono frowned. "Not everyone in the studio is a combatant," he replied, trying to keep his voice even. No sense in flustering the Matsu's pride even more. He'd learned to keep cool around Matsu pride by dodging Gohei's fists. "I'm suggesting that we can escort said personnel to the bay as rapidly as possible so that they don't interfere in the fighting."

"Do you count yourself among these unnecessary personnel, Tono?" Chieko asked pointedly.

"No," he said evenly. "Once, perhaps, I would have. Despite my personal feelings for the man, our daimyo has taught me much of what it means to be a Lion. I will remain by your side, Chieko-sama."

Chieko nodded, impressed. She had assumed the little man would be a coward. "Are you certain?" she asked. "There may be no way to fight that creature. We may well all die tonight."

"Everything dies," Tono replied evenly, keeping the fear from his voice.

"Yes," Chieko said, looking up at the oni. "Everything dies."

Asahina Suro stood in the parking lot surrounding the Dojicorp Southern Hub Offices. Around him had gathered a large crowd of frightened bystanders, all staring in the direction of Otosan Uchi.

Unlike the others, Suro wasn't afraid. Not entirely. He felt more relieved. Thirty minutes ago, he had been in the city. That could have been him on the sky-ways right now, plummeting to his death from an idle shrug of the gargantuan monster. The young Crane technician had always had a strong survival instinct, and right now it seemed to be serving him very well. Even from this distance, he could see the towering mass of Oni no Yoritomo demolishing buildings and spewing Taint-corrupted gases into the air.

Munashi had told Suro that there would be an oni, but he hadn't mentioned anything like this. Munashi had not warned him, had not even suggested that Suro leave the city. However, Suro knew his boss well. He knew that Otosan Uchi wouldn't be long for this world. He had decided that this would be a very good time to check in on Sumi's arrival in South Huburb and personally oversee her delivery to Dojicorp.

Suro was not a good man. He was, in fact, quite a despicable little man. The magic had grown thin in his branch of the Asahina, rendering him and his kin useless as shugenja. In response, Suro had been taught to seize what opportunities he could - for there were few indeed for a shugenja with no magic. For most of his life, he'd been fairly greedy, cowardly, and sycophantic. He had back-stabbed his way up through the corporate world to get a cushy job in Dojicorp product development, and had eagerly signed on when Asahina Munashi offered him a position as one of his confidential technical advisors. Suro was not a good man, but he was a great engineer. Munashi needed engineers, and was willing to pay them well to keep quiet.

The truth about Munashi had surprised Suro quite a bit, but he kept that to himself. A job was a job. Suro didn't believe in Jigoku or Yoma. As far as he was concerned, this world was the only real one. No sense in making sacrifices in this life on the gamble that the next one might be better. No, Suro was not a gambling man. Asahina Munashi was simply the best thing going so he followed him.

Now Suro wasn't so sure. He had known about the Day of Thunder, yes. He knew that Munashi's intent had been to kill the Thunders and herald the coming of Jigoku. Suro had known that and had helped in every capacity. He had even figured out a few of the Thunders' identities from the clues that Munashi provided. Until thirty minutes ago, he had been fully prepared to fight for the forces of darkness and be rewarded in the thousand years of Jigoku's reign. He had never considered what that really meant.

Sometimes, Asahina Suro just didn't think things through.

Suro was, at the present moment, having something of an epiphany. Having an old man (who's paying you a lot of money) tell you that the dark creatures will rule the world, and actually seeing those dark creatures slaughter hundreds of people with a careless sweep of a claw were two different things. Asahina Suro quickly did the math in his head and figured out that there would be no place for someone like him in Oni no Yoritomo's world.

Every time Oni no Yoritomo leveled a building with its great stone claws Suro began to realize more and more that he had made a very, very, very, very, very large mistake. He hadn't had a change of heart, by any means. He just began to reconsider his alliances. In Asahina Suro's mind, there wasn't a whole lot of room for advancement on the side that summoned city-devouring onis. If Munashi had that thing on his side, why did he need Suro?

"So what in Jigoku do I do now?" Suro mumbled to himself, pacing back and forth across the parking lot.

"We get out of here!" said a secretary, turning and running for her car.

"That's a pretty good idea," Suro admitted, nodding. He turned and headed back for his own car. He stopped with his key halfway in the lock, cursing under his breath.

No, it was too late. He was stuck in this. Though he was pretty unimportant in the larger scheme of things, he was still Munashi's right hand man. Once all this was over, all the survivors had to do was check the employment records and there would be Suro's name, all over the tetsukansen research and development projects. Thunders, he had practically invented the damned things! Munashi was certainly little help, flitting around in his gardens and playing with the Pekkles half the time.

The bottom line was this. As things stood now, Suro was going to die. If Oni no Yoritomo and his kind won, everyone would die, and that included Suro. If the Thunders rallied and still managed a win, they would sift through the ashes and find Suro's name connected with Munashi. Then they would find Suro. Then they would kill him. Then that would be it. There was nothing he could do.

"Or is there?" the young technician asked himself. He glanced back at the South Huburb Dojicorp Offices. Most of the staff seemed to be fleeing, hurrying to their cars so they could go get their families and get as far away from Otosan Uchi as possible.

Somewhere in there, they were holding Sumi.

Sumi was the Phoenix Clan Thunder.

Suro quickly pocketed his keys and ran towards the building. A few staff members gave him curious looks as they ran past in the other direction. One security guard grabbed him by both arms and shouted in his face.

"What are you doing? Get out of here! Save yourself!"

"I am saving myself!" Suro shouted back, and pushed the man away.

Suro pushed open the doors and stepped into the mostly vacated building. It wasn't nearly as large as the offices in Otosan Uchi, but it was decorated with just as much flair. White marble tile covered the floor and blue stained glass windows threw patterns like rippling water across the floor. The desk in the center of the lobby had been roughly turned over, papers scattered everywhere. Someone had taken the computer, monitor and all. Suro shook his head in disgust. Some people had absolutely no morals.

Something seemed to twitch in the corner of Suro's vision, and he quickly turned to see what it was. For a moment, he thought he saw the image of a sword hanging in the air, a familiar katana with a blade of shimmering blue.

"Yashin?" Suro whispered.

A moment later the blade faded from view. Suro blinked and wiped his eyes. No, on second thought, that wasn't Yashin. The Bloodsword didn't have a pearl-encrusted handle, like that blade. What was happening to him? He chalked it up to a hallucination and ran on.

Suro ran through the lobby, darting toward the door marked Research and Development. With a single swipe of his magnetized card he opened the doors and ran into the pristine white hallway beyond. He prayed to the Thunders that someone else hadn't had the same idea and rescued Sumi before he could get here. A glass wall to his right overlooked a lower operating theater. He could see a hospital bed below with a young girl laying upon it, bound and heavily sedated.

Sumi.

There were no guards, and the door stood open. The operating theater was on a lower level - now Suro just had to figure out how to get down there. He nearly tripped over an ash can as he turned and ran to the end of a hall. A sign on the wall pointed to the stairwell, so Suro turned sharply in that direction and nearly collided directly into Asahina Munashi.

Suro staggered several steps back and looked up in horror, unable to believe his eyes. Munashi's withered face peered down in mild surprise. His robes of pure blue and orange had been discarded. Now he wore raiment of pure black, a shimmering Crane still worked upon the chest. A small child stood on either side of Munashi, smiling up at Suro with quiet mischief.

This was it. Suro was dead. That's all there was to it. "Why, Suro," Munashi said, a tight smile creasing his withered face. "Whatever are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the main office?"

"I thought I would come out here to check on the Thunder," he lied. No one lied to Munashi. Munashi was a master of lies. Suro hoped that the reputation would protect him - maybe no one had lied to the old man in so long that he didn't expect it to happen anymore?

"Is that so?" Munashi replied, raising one eyebrow. "What's the hurry, then? In a rush to make certain all our hard work has paid off?"

"Was I running?" Suro asked. "I hadn't noticed."

"Indeed," Munashi frowned. The image of the blade appeared again, shimmering over Munashi's left shoulder. One of the Pekkles glanced up at the image and a low growl filled its throat. Munashi's eyes narrowed and he glanced back, but the image was gone. He shook his head and turned back to Suro. "Well, I'm here now, Suro-san," he said. "No need for your presence any longer. Why don't you go back to Dojicorp and wait for me there?"

"Go back to the city?" Suro asked, jaw dropping open in terror. "What about the oni?"

"Don't get in its way," Munashi smiled. "It won't get in yours." The Pekkles giggled.

Suro hesitated for a moment, glancing down at the sedated form of Sumi. "What are you going to do, sir?" he asked.

Munashi chuckled. "I'm going to kill her, Suro," he replied calmly. "Not that it's any of your business. Don't tell me that you're feeling a bit of guilt?"

"No, sir!" Suro said quickly.

"Really?" Munashi asked. "I wouldn't be surprised if you did. The Asahina are descended from the Isawa. Luckily, my father was no Asahina. Thus I have no conscience in this matter. Why don't you go on back to the offices, and I'll take care of this. We'll talk later, all right?" Munashi grinned, the grin of a predator who was enjoying toying with his prey.

Suro looked at that grin and knew that Munashi had no plans of meeting him back at the office, or ever meeting him again for that matter. The blade shimmered in the air once more, seeming to dance back and forth behind the black Crane. What was it trying to tell him?

"Suro-san, go," Munashi said, no longer smiling. "I do not like to repeat myself."

"Yes, Munashi-sama," Suro said. He turned and walked back the way he had came. He heard a patter of footsteps behind him and glanced back. Munashi had disappeared into the stairwell, but one of the Pekkles was following him. It smiled cheerfully and waved with one tiny hand.

Suro waved back, and forced a smile of his own. He knew what killers the little Pekkles were, and had always been afraid of them. This one was going to kill him, he knew it. He turned and kept walking, trying to look unafraid. The Pekkle followed. He glanced down at the operating theater a final time, at Sumi, unconscious in the hospital bed. No one would come for her. No one would save her. In a few moments, Munashi would come into the room and kill her and then that would be it.

One less Thunder. One less chance for the world.

Asahina Suro didn't care much for the rest of the world, but he did have to live in it. He glanced around the hallway. The ash can he'd nearly tripped over stood against the wall, filled to the brim with cigarette butts discarded by addicted engineers. Pekkle skipped closer and grinned up at Suro, waving again. It was only standing a few feet away now. Suro could hear a low growl building in its throat behind the constant giggle.

Suro waved back at the Pekkle, and turned back to look down at the operating theater again. He heard the Pekkle begin to skip again. He ducked down, grabbed a handful of sand from the ash can, and threw it in the creature's eyes. It shrieked and reared back, clutching its eyes in pain. Suro picked up the ash can in both hands and bludgeoned the creature across the face. It didn't injure the Pekkle a bit, but sent it stumbling backwards.

Suro turned to run, and glanced down one more time. Below, Suro saw Asahina Munashi sweep into the operating theater, black robes billowing around him. A knife gleamed in one hand. His eyes flicked up to meet Suro's, and he scowled. The other Pekkle stood at his side, and waved up at Suro.

One less Thunder. One less chance for the world.

Suro could still get away...

Without hesitation, Asahina Suro raised the ash can high and hurled it through the observation glass. Fifty pounds of metal plummeted into the room to collide with Munashi's frail body. The old shugenja went down with a startled cry. Suro shouted in triumph, then felt something grab his leg from behind. He heard a wet snap and the sound of wet meat hitting the floor. A sudden pain shot up his leg. Below, Asahina Munashi rose, his face a mild frown of disappointment as he massaged the angry red mark on his forehead. The Pekkle beside him snickered.

"Suro," Munashi said, shaking his head as if the traitorous henchman were a disappointing child. "I have ashes all over my new robes now. I wish you hadn't made me have to get messy. You know how I hate to get messy."

"Sumi!" Suro shouted at the top of his lungs. He grabbed the edge of the window for balance as the Pekkle tried to drag him backwards. The broken glass dug into his fingers, but he ignored the pain. He heard another wet snap and his other leg turned into a lump of pure agony. "Sumi, wake up! Sumi!"

Munashi glanced at the sleeping girl, then back up at Suro. "Dolt. She's anesthetized," he chuckled. "Did you expect her to just leap up out of her bed and save you just because you've had a change of heart?"

Suro felt another stabbing pain in his lower back, and something warm streamed down his leg. Pekkle tugged hard and began pulling Suro's ribs out through his back. Suro didn't look back, afraid he'd lose his strength if he saw the Pekkle killing him. He just screamed again. "Sumi!"

"I am sorry, Suro," he said, knife glittering in his hand once more. "Sumi's not available. By the way, you're fired." The old man turned toward the unconscious girl laying in the bed.

The bed was empty.

Sumi stood before Asahina Munashi, very much awake, with a very real sword in her hands. "The Soul of Shiba never sleeps," she said, and struck the blade across his chest. Munashi sat down hard, stunned, as blood streamed down his chest. He brought up one of hand, seeming somewhat stunned to see it covered with his own blood, pitch black from decades of corruption. The silver crane on his robes was quickly obscured by the blood.

As one, the two Pekkles screamed. The one behind Suro leapt through the window, the technician's entrails dangling from its fingers. The two creatures scrambled to their dying master's side as he stared up at Sumi in shock and surprise. Oddly, a regretful smile drew across the old man's face.

"How disappointing... he chuckled, black blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "After all this... don't I even get... to die on the Day of Thunder?" The Pekkles huddled at either side of their master, hugging his arms and wailing as they scowled up at Sumi's glowing blade.

"For the last time, just die," Sumi replied coldly. Ofushikai cleaved the air, beheading the old Crane and both Pekkles in a single stroke. Suro was surprised to see that her blade could hurt the little demons at all... they were... supposed to be... invulnerable...

Then everything went black, and Asahina Suro slumped to the floor.

In the room below, Sumi glanced up at the broken glass. The Soul of Shiba burned away the fog of the anesthetic. She knew that she had been rescued. The Soul had found a way, found someone connected, a bloodline through which it could make itself known.

A dead man hung limply over the edge of the window, a peaceful smile upon his face.

Sumi closed her eyes and said a quiet prayer for the stranger who had saved her. Whoever he was, he died a hero.

Golden.

Daidoji Eien stared into the golden face and felt nothing. Had he the honor left, he would have felt shame. Had the revenant wished it, he would have felt malicious, perverted glee. Instead, he simply felt nothing. He stared into the golden mempo of the great armored suit and felt as lifeless as a pile of wood.

It wasn't a true War Machine. Not really. Whatever sort of power that the Akodo War Machine held, Kin'Iro seemed to lack. The Crab War Machine Eien had faced seemed to possess the same strange sort of energy. Kin'Iro wasn't quite as strong, quite as quick, quite as powerful unless it was boosted to feed from the darkness of the Shadowlands. Unlike the other War Machines, Kin'Iro wasn't really alive.

How like Eien.

The armor had been forged from a nemuranai, but Munashi hadn't known what sort of catalyst Kitsu Ikimura had used to give Akodo such great power. Instead, he had turned to his own source of power - maho. Fu Leng had his own War Machines, once, and Munashi still had a few pieces of them laying around.

Asahina Suro had called the nemuranai the Armor of the Golden Samurai, though no one was quite sure anymore just who the Golden Samurai was, or why he was so important. Fu Leng's machine, on the other hand, was an unstoppable juggernaut. Once it was bonded with the armor it dominated it, feeding off the other's power and providing incredible strength and speed to both. When Eien was inside, he was invincible. His speed and deadly power were unmatched, but the sick oily power of the Shadowlands crept into what was left of his soul.

Once, the Armor of the Golden Samurai had been a powerful symbol of honor. Munashi cared nothing for that; it was a nemuranai "weak" enough to be controlled, yet still powerful enough to suit his purposes. It was cast aside, and Kin'Iro was born.

Eien looked up into the face of the armor again and saw his own face reflected back in more ways than one.

"You can hear me, can't you?" Eien said quietly. He felt his shoulder burn where the Crab had shot him with jade. A bit of the tainted golden metal had seeped into his blood before his undead flesh sealed over. He felt it coursing through him still.

The armor simply stood, a silent, immobile object.

There was no one else in the laboratory. When Oni no Yoritomo rose, soldiers and technicians scrambled to clear the weapons out of the lab and distribute them. No on had touched Kin'Iro. No one else could. It was far too dangerous for anyone but Eien.

"It's time," Eien said, still looking up at the golden helmet. "It's time for us to go. Are you ready?"

The golden armor said nothing, but Eien sensed its assent.

TO BE CONTINUED